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Defining and defying Roche limits

Students will review force diagrams and gravitational force and discuss planetary ring and moon formation using the concept of the Roche limit. Learning Outcomes: Applying gravitational forces and interactions in space to understand ring and moon formation.

What’s the deal with DART?

In this quick activity, students will create a TikTok video about the outcome of a NASA mission to knock an asteroid off course.

NASA’s DART Mission Is a Success

Did you hear about the spacecraft that crashed into an asteroid — on purpose?! In this guide, students will learn about NASA’s DART mission and discuss the core physics principles behind it.

Bumping asteroids off course

Students will answer questions about a NASA mission to smash a spacecraft into an asteroid after reading a Science News article and watching a Science News TikTok video about the mission. A version of the article, “NASA’s DART mission is a success,” appears in the November 5, 2022 issue of Science News.

Pushing the boundaries of outer space

Students will answer questions about the Science News article “Here are the James Webb Space Telescope’s stunning first pictures,” which highlights dazzling cosmic wonders seen in farthest and clearest views yet of deep space. A version of the article, “Postcards from a new space telescope,” appears in the August 13, 2022 issue of Science News.

New space images dazzle with data

Share a universal celebration in science with images of deep space from the James Webb Space Telescope. Have students collaborate to think about the science shown in the images and the implications of images as data. Learning Outcomes: Observe, interpret and compare data in images; explore universal questions about science.

Unlocking universal questions

Students will discuss the mission of the James Webb Space Telescope and explore how scientific discoveries over the last few decades have shaped the telescope’s to-do list.

Get to know your local geology

Students will learn about plate tectonics, research the geologic and tectonic history of their region or state and analyze geologic maps to understand how plate tectonics shaped the landscape.

The joy of science

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “From Elvis worms to the Milky Way’s edge, these science stories sparked joy in 2020,” which summarizes Science News stories from 2020 that provided a happy distraction from the world’s worries. A version of the story, “Stories that sparked joy,” can be found in the December 19, 2020 & January 2, 2021 issue of Science News.

The hunt for other worlds

Students will research exoplanets and their properties and detection methods. Then students will use fictitious data to create a light curve of a transiting exoplanet and to calculate the exoplanet’s motion through its solar system.

Mission to Mars

Students will develop a design for an exploratory Mars mission to gather and study data about one aspect of Mars. The ultimate goal of the mission will be to gather data to help plan for a future human-crewed mission to Mars.

Capturing an exoplanet family portrait

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “This is the first picture of a sunlike star with multiple exoplanets,” which describes a young solar system 300 light-years from our own. A version of the story, “A weird solar system cousin makes its photographic debut,” can be found in the August 29, 2020 issue of Science News.