Whether you’re looking for interesting facts or tidbits,
trying to solve a riddle or puzzle, or just want to know how
far or how big, we can help.
Check the Capture the
cosmos page, which puts fun facts at your fingertips. You’ll
find info on everything from gravity to the death of stars.
Select a topic and start exploring. Be sure to keep an eye open
for Fast Facts or Q&A
files, which provide extra details.
If you need to write a report, make a poster, construct a model,
create a crossword puzzle or come up with a science project,
you’ll find plenty of ideas and facts here.
Select a topic on the Capture
the cosmos page. To begin gathering information, look for
a Fast Facts or a Q&A
file. Don't miss the Tales of … files,
which offer more in-depth knowledge. And if you download a PDF
lithograph, you'll get an information page along with
a large, colorful image.
Put our facts in your fiction! Find out what happens when a
star explodes, or something gets sucked into a black hole. Once
you’ve selected a topic, look in Capture
the Cosmos for Fast Facts, a Q&A,
or Tales of … to spice up your story
with realistic details.
Articles about the Hubble Space Telescope's
most recent observations fill the pages of The
Star Witness. In our featured story, learn how scientists
are watching Neptune go through its spring season that will
last for more than 40 Earth years.
First, get your teacher’s approval for
an extra credit project. Then let us turn that additional work
into fun. Our Online explorations
section has games and lessons that let you shoot comets at Jupiter,
build a galaxy, and more. When you’re done, write a report,
create a quiz, make a puzzle or design a scavenger hunt using
what you’ve learned. You can expand your project with
other resources on the Amazing Space Web site that relate to
your topic.
Try the History of Science
section in Capture the Cosmos. From there,
enter Online exploration: Telescopes from the Ground
Up,
to learn how telescopes have changed the way we view the
universe. Or use the Tales of… series
to keep up on amazing cosmic events. Explore everything
from Martian dust storms to the tale of an exploding star.
Math and science are two sides of the same coin. In the
Online explorations
section, use the Hubble Deep Field Academy
to explore the way statistics help us understand space.
Technology is the nuts-and-bolts part of
science. Go to the Hubble Space Telescope
section in Capture the Cosmos to find out
how the telescope functions, inside and out. Could you work
for NASA? Test yourself by trying to unscramble a Hubble servicing
mission. Go to Online explorations
and choose Mission Mastermind.
Which of these things is not like the other?
Our Graphic Organizers tell the difference
between cosmic objects. Learn what separates a comet from
an asteroid, a spiral galaxy from an elliptical, or the Eagle
from the Eskimo nebula. You'll find them in three sections
of Capture
the Cosmos: Comets and Asteroids, Galaxies,
and Stars and Stellar Evolution.
Use a Q&A file from Capture
the Cosmos to sharpen your thinking. Memorize the material,
then have a family member or friend quiz you on what you’ve
learned. Your partner can read the question aloud and let you
supply the answer. Or you can do it “Jeopardy”-style,
letting your friend read off the answer and responding with
the question.
Our Graphic Organizers also
make good study sheets. Memorize the items that belong in each
category, then identify the category as a friend lists the items
aloud. You can also study on your own by covering up the official
answers with a sheet of paper and quizzing yourself with the
questions.
Some of the questions in our Q&A
files lend themselves to debate. Are we due for a comet or asteroid
strike? Get the facts to support your argument in Q&A:
Gravity. Should Pluto be called a planet? Examine the controversy
in the Q&A:
Our solar system. Which had a greater impact: Galileo’s
telescope or the Hubble Space Telescope? Develop your position
by reading Q&A:
Hubble Space Telescope.
You can make a model of the Hubble Space Telescope for under $20 with parts from your local hardware and craft stores. Your model won't be a working telescope, but it will show many of Hubble's important features.
Visit HubbleSite for instructions on how to build your own Hand-Held Hubble. Once you're done, submit a picture of yourself and your model, and HubbleSite may post it online.
