This lab is designed to allow students to explore different aspects of satellite motion. Students can vary the mass of the satellite, the orbital radius of the satellite and the body that the satellite is orbiting. Students can measure...

Students must determine speed of a satellite by timing the satellite for part of its orbit. Students must also determine the period of the orbit based on their timing.

Students must calculate the period of a satellite moving around one of the bodies in our solar system.

How do we communicate with each other? How do we communicate with people who are close by? How do we communicate with people who are far away? In this lesson, students will explore the role of communications and how satellites help...

Students must determine the kinetic energy of a satellite as it orbits around a planet.

Students must calculate the altitude of a satellite that is in a geosynchronous satellite going around the planet.

This task models a satellite orbiting the Earth in communication with two control stations located miles apart on Earth's surface. Students determine distances between various locations and, given a rate of travel, they determine the...

Through illustrated examples and interactive practice, students explore Newton's ability to relate the cause for heavenly motion (the orbit of the moon about the earth) to the cause for Earthly motion (the falling of an apple to the...

In this interactive module, describe and explain the motion of objects that either move in circles or can be approximated to be moving in circles. Kinematic concepts and motion principles will be applied to the motion of objects in...

This site contains a lesson on the ellipse. The lesson has students draw an ellipse with pencil and string, and discussions on orbits and theoretical orbiting situations.

A lesson in which students research the development of satellite technology and how it has evolved over the last 50 years. Students will examine the impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and discuss the role of a diverse, free...

This is the homepage of all of the archived information about and from the Galileo Mission. Included is data from the flybys of Venus, Earth, Moon, and Asteroids Gaspra and Ida, as well as the current data from Jupiter and its moons. See...

GPS location apps on a smartphone can be very handy when mapping a travel route or finding nearby events. But how does your smartphone know where you are? Wilton L. Virgo explains how the answer lies 12,000 miles over your head, in an...

This site from NASA states Kepler's second law of planetary motion and depicts its meaning with an informative diagram. Relates the law to conservation of energy principles and discusses the eccentricity of a satellite's (or a planet's)...

This site from NASA provides a complete collection of images during orbit 3 of Jupiter's moon Callisto. Also links to data released from all Galileo orbits to date. Check the "Family Portraits" of the Galilean moons and other images at...

Discover how satellites that orbit the Earth can save lives. Then use images obtained by satellites to construct a three-dimensional paper model of the Earth.

This site from NASA provides biographical details about the lives of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Discusses Kepler's successes at developing laws of planeatry motion. States the three laws and discusses each one individually....

Through illustrated examples and practice problems, this interactive physics tutorial helps students clear up their possible misconceptions about weightlessness.

Students must determine mass of a planet based on the orbital motion of a satellite around the planet.

3-D Data from ICESat: Orbiting the Earth at nearly 17,000 miles per hour, NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) is collecting spectacular new three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface and atmosphere.

The Sun is the ultimate source of the energy that powers weather systems on Earth. Geomagnetic storms are sun-powered storms in the upper atmosphere, arising from energized particles that are periodically ejected by the Sun. Among other...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Learn about geosynchronous orbits and their use in satellite communication.

This slideshow explains how satellites are used to measure the movement of tectonic plates.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Learn about orbits and how an object can stay in orbit under the influence of gravity. By adjusting launch velocities users will understand how to successfully put a virtual satellite into orbit without...