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"Understanding Scale & Proportion: Earth's Place in the Solar System"

"The Voyager 1 spacecraft's 35th anniversary is proving to be unexpectedly exciting, as scientists gathered this week to examine new hints that the spacecraft is on the verge of leaving our solar system. Voyager 1 is now more than 11 billion miles away from Earth. It blasted off in September 1977, on a mission to Jupiter and Saturn. But it also carried a Golden Record filled with music and the sounds of our planet, in case it encountered intelligent life as it moved out toward the stars."

"overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of the planets, moons and other objects in our solar system. "

"If you caught last night's transit of Venus, you might have seen the sun as a smooth bright ball with a hole punched in it. NASA's orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) had a much more dramatic view. "

Outbursts observed on the sun last week do not portend new problems for GPS reception or other systems as solar flares and eruptive events known as coronal mass ejections fire up during an increasingly active phase,

Middle School Science Solar System, Galaxy, and Universe Earth and Space Science

"solar array totting, wind turbine holding, rover meant to analyze snow accumulation on the glaciers of Greenland."

While early adopters were quick to jump on the renewable energy bandwagon for sustainability reasons, the rising cost of traditional energy has spurred growth in wind and solar.

"The games section of Try Engineering features 29 games. Some of the games were developed specifically for Try Engineering while others are hosted on other educational sites like those of NASA and PBS. Like the lesson plans, the games collection cover a variety of topics including solar energy, space science, and bio-engineering."

"Name That Asteroid! OSIRIS-REx mission NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona OSIRIS-REx is going to fly to an asteroid and bring back some pieces. Right now, the asteroid's name is 1999 RQ36, but we think students can do better! The Planetary Society, MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, and the University of Arizona are asking students around the world to suggest better names for the asteroid. Enter by December 2, 2012 to have a chance to name a piece of the solar system!"

"More than 400 years after Galileo's discovery of Io, the innermost of Jupiter's largest moons, a team of scientists led by Arizona State University (ASU) has produced the first complete global geologic map of the Jovian satellite. The map, published by the U. S. Geological Survey, depicts the characteristics and relative ages of some of the most geologically unique and active volcanoes and lava flows ever documented in the Solar System."

"Two of the solar system's best natural timekeepers have been caught misbehaving, suggesting that the accepted ages for the oldest known rock samples are off by a million years or more. According to two new studies, a radioactive version of the element samarium decays much more quickly than previously thought, and different versions of uranium don't always appear in the same relative quantities in earthly rocks."

"America's first experimental space station, Skylab, was designed for long durations. Skylab program objectives were twofold: To prove that humans could live and work in space for extended periods, and to expand our knowledge of solar astronomy well beyond Earth-based observations. The program was successful in all respects despite early mechanical difficulties."

Astronomy - Solar System, Space Exploration, Stars, Universe

New at spaceplace.nasa.gov One type of Earth-observing spacecraft is the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, also known as GOES, built by NASA and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The GOES are workhorse satellites doing everyday tasks; they watch and warn of developing severe weather, monitor events such as floods and fires, and monitor solar storms that can have damaging effects on Earth.

"Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration launches visitors into the exciting future of space exploration as it boldly speculates on humanity's next steps "out there" in our solar system and beyond. The exhibition features a full-size recreation of a lunar habitat, a model of an elevator reaching up into space, a walk-through diorama of the Martian surface, and challenging computer interactive exhibits. See authentic equipment and models of historic spacecraft from select voyages in the past. "

"My human body is acting as a wireless energy receiver which can supply enough electricity to light up this "White Led". The maximum energy transfer distance to the led is about 20" ( 50cm) and the total current generated is about 650 micro-amps...This experiment proves that the human body does pick up residual energy from our environment, just like a solar cell that coverts sunlight into electricity... "

"The deepest depths of space, out beyond our atmosphere, our Solar System, and even our galaxy, hold the richness of the great Universe beyond. Stretching for billions of light years in every direction, there are structures large and small, dense and sparse, everywhere we've ever dared to look. "

The Vibro-Wind Research Group, led by Frank Moon, the Joseph Ford Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is working on an efficient, low-cost method of converting vibrations from wind energy to electricity. Much the way solar panels now grace many rooftops, the researchers envision buildings outfitted with vibro-wind panels, which would store the energy they convert from even the gentlest of breezes.

"Afterschool Universe is an out-of-school-time astronomy program targeted at middle school students. It explores astronomy concepts through engaging hands-on activities and takes participants on a journey through the Universe beyond the solar system. This program is now widely available to afterschool program providers to run in your local communities. "