Read about the birth of Earth's moon, its composition, orbit, visible phases, and other interesting facts. Link to a virtual moon phase interactive which shows the current lunar phase and the phase on any date in the past or future.

This unit will use demonstrations and student examples to help students gain an understanding of rotation, revolution, and orbit. Through hands-on activities students will explore the concepts of day and night. Technology will be...

Explore the motion of a satellite as it orbits the earth in this interactive simulation.

Use this site to learn how the Earth's not-so-circular orbit around the sun has affected our climate over thousands of years, and continues to affect our climate now.

Named in honor of Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted, Denmark's first satellite has been observing and mapping the magnetic field of the Earth.

This kinesthetic activity demonstrates to students that the Earth's tilt is what is responsible for shifting light patterns and the change in seasons.

This webpage uses diagrams and video to explain the causes of the seasons.

Here is a clear, simple picture of the solar system. Click on the names of the planets to learn more about each. Clicking on underlined terms takes you to more and more detailed scientific information.

This activity is designed to assess a student's comprehension of a basic meteorological phenomenon.

Every four years, we gain an extra calendar day. Neil deGrasse Tyson explains the science behind the leap year. [3:22]

Interesting biographical information, fun facts, and famous quotes about John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth.

Explains the design of a simple device that shows the progress of the phases of the Moon on its 29 1/2 day orbit around the Earth.

This site from NASA lists common and uncommon misconceptions about Sun-Earth Science. Site also provides links to activities and lesson plans as well as background reading.

An excellent and thorough answer to the often asked question about high tide "bulges" on the side of Earth facing away from the Moon or Sun.

This site provides a moving diagram of a Lunar eclipse, showing Earth's umbra and penumbra and the appearance of the Moon as it passes through these shadow regions.

In this online textbook produced by the Smithsonian, students explore the phases of the moon, the moon's orbit, the origin of the moon, and the tides. Includes numerous inquiry-based activities.

This site from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration provides a fun project on rockets. "Nothing in space stands still. Everything either orbits around something else, or moves toward or away from something else. So how do...

This site from the Astronomy Department of Cornell University provides brief introduction to both solar and lunar eclipses. Links are provided for pictures and charts of the eclipses, and this is a good site to check out on the subject.

There are eight planets in orbit around our Sun. These planets form our solar system. The eight planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. There are also rocks, moons, comets, and other objects going...

Travel back in history and see the first men on the moon. See photos of the crew, the launch, the landing and more.

An introduction to our solar system: the planets, our Sun and our Moon. Students begin by learning the history and engineering of space travel. They make simple rockets to acquire a basic understanding Newton's third law of motion. They...

In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite. The 184-pound, 22.5-inch sphere orbited the earth once every 96 minutes. Sputnik transmitted radio signals for 21 days and later burned up in...

The Mission to Mars curricular unit introduces students to Mars-the Red Planet. Students discover why scientists are so interested in studying this mysterious planet. Many interesting facts about Mars are revealed, and the history of...

The homepage of the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas whose mission is "to conduct research in orbit determination, space geodesy, the Earth and its environment, exporation of the solar system, as well as expanding the...