[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Looks at the size and shape of planet orbits.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Examines the eight planets of our solar system and their orbits and rotation.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Examines the eight planets of our solar system, their orbits, and rotation.

Students explore orbits of planets and satellites. Some topics examined in the activities are planetary motion, angular momentum of orbits, and Kepler's laws. The resource consists of video clips, lecture notes, practice problems, and...

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.

An outdoor activity where pupils simulate how planets orbit around the sun using different sizes of balloons.

An information page all about Pluto! Learn about Pluto's size, path around the sun, temperature, location, and traveling partner Charon.

Kepler's second law of planetary motion is stated and explained. An animation of the orbit of a planet and an accompanying graphic assists in explaining the meaning of the law of equal areas.

In this interactive module students will explore what different ancient cultures believe was an explanation of the stars and planets. They will look at how the work of Nicolas Copernicus revolutionize the world of astronomy and learn how...

Launch into space with Orbital Order! Amplify your knowledge of the Sun and the planets of our Solar System in this astronomical activity. Do you have what it takes to put the planets back in order?

Through GEOLogic puzzles, students are given clues about properties about the terrestrial and Jovian planets respectively, and challenged to match the planet with the correct equatorial radius, mean orbital velocity, and period of rotation.

Our solar system is filled with a wide assortment of celestial bodies - the Sun itself, our eight planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids - and on Earth, life itself! The inner solar system is occasionally visited by comets that loop in...

The BBC provides a general overview of the planet Earth. Content includes statistical information, a focus on the four seasons, moon information, and more.

[Free Registration/Login Required] The meteor is orbiting one of the 3 planets in a circular orbit. Drag the point associated with each planet to the meteor to see its orbit around that planet.

Based off of the hit television show NUMB3RS, this lesson describes what would happen to various satellites if their planets vanished. Implicit differentiation is used to determine the tangent to each satellite's orbit, which is the path...

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....

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

A table listing the average radius of orbit for the nine planets about the sun; expressed in astronomical units. Data can be used to calculate the orbital speed or the orbital period.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Learn about the distinctive features of the planet Venus.

A university-level course that looks at the structure of the solar system, the sun, the planets, and other bodies in space. Includes course readings, assignments, and study notes.

A basic overview of the dwarf planet Pluto. Links to information about the other planets and objects in our solar system are included.

Students must calculate the mass of a planet based on the orbital motion of the moon going around the planet.

A diagram of the solar system.

This site from the Illinois Institute of Technology provides a set of directions for the creation of a solar system model out of paper mache. Includes orbital distances and planet diameters for the nine planets. Great idea for a student...