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.

Observe the sun and the rotation of the planets in this moving image from NASA. Observe the axial tilts and directional rotation of planets and how they differ for each planet. Be sure to read the background information on how planets...

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.

Excellent Eight Planets site that provides a vast amount of information about planet Earth. Very comprehensive and complete site.

Explore the mythology, structure, observational history, gravitational force, and orbit of Earth's Moon.

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...

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....

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...

[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...

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

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

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...

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.

Facts about the Earth including its orbit, its atmosphere, and its landforms. Includes a discussion question on seasons, with facts about them, and the answer. A linked page covers similar material in a "Level 2" version, and has a...

Use this handy chart to help acquaint yourself with major facts about the solar system. This chart is broken down by planet and displays data such as the size of the planet, distance from the sun, rotation period, orbital period,...

Use the following lithographs to envision the scale of our solar system. View different models of planets at different scales, an infographic about the relative sizes of the planets and distance from the sun, and images of the largest...

Eight hands-on lessons module in which students explore the characteristics of planet Earth, its moons, the sun, the solar system, planets, and the difference between science fact and science fiction.

An illustration showing Pluto's and the other planet's orbits around the sun.

Students explore orbit transfers and, specifically, Hohmann transfers. They investigate the orbits of Earth and Mars by using cardboard and string. Students learn about the planets' orbits around the sun, and about a transfer orbit from...

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)...

An equation for the law of universal gravitation is stated. The weight equation (W=m*g) is related to the law. An interactive JavaScript form allows the user to practice determining the force of gravity and the acceleration of gravity...

Describes scientific research into volcanic activity on the surface of Venus. Using information transmitted from the orbiting Magellan spacecraft, data is collected. Includes a glossary of vocabulary terms. [ November 8, 2010]