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Windows to the Universe is a user-friendly learning system covering the Earth and Space sciences for use by the general public. Windows to the Universe has been in development since 1995. The project started, with support from NASA for a proposal submitted by Dr. Roberta Johnson, Director of Windows to the Universe, to NASA while she was on the Research Faculty at the University of Michigan's Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences. In 2000, Dr. Johnson moved with the project to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), where she continued development on the project with her talented staff on numerous grants and contracts over the past decade. In 2010, website management and ownership moved to the National Earth Science Teachers Association, where we will be expanding opportunities to collaborate with the project - with the hope that it becomes a platform for Earth and space science education globally.

Welcome!  Real World Math is a collection of free math activities for Google Earth designed for students and educators. Mathematics is much more than a set  of problems in a textbook.  In the virtual world of Google Earth, concepts and challenges can be presented in a meaningful way that portray the usefulness of the ideas.

OurAmazingPlanet explores the wonder and beauty of Earth through news, features and images. Our team of experienced science reporters and editors explain the latest discoveries, interviewing expert sources and offering up deep and broad analysis of what's out there and explaining how the world works. We also feature articles about scientific exploration and adventures, plus lots of imagery, so you can explore the planet, from top to bottom, from the sky to mountains to the depths of the oceans, every day.

"Once upon a time, high above the earth, fluffy white clouds drifted through the atmosphere. In the clouds lived a little Droplet of water, round and content with life. For as long as he could remember, he spent his days lying on his back, relaxing and soaking up the sun's warm rays. One day, he took his usual place in the sun but the light didn't seem to be as bright. In fact, as the day went on, it grew darker and darker, loud claps of thunder shook the cloud, and the Droplet felt as if he were getting so heavy he could hardly move. "

"A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below the surface of the earth. When pressure builds up, eruptions occur. Gases and rock shoot up through the opening and spill over or fill the air with lava fragments. Eruptions can cause lateral blasts, lava flows, hot ash flows, mudslides, avalanches, falling ash and floods. Volcano eruptions have been known to knock down entire forests. An erupting volcano can trigger tsunamis, flashfloods, earthquakes, mudflows and rockfalls. "

"Geology Labs On-Line was initiated in 1999 to develop Web-based activities which enhance the learning and teaching of earth science from middle school through college classrooms. With these activities, students complete a sequence of tasks that require observation, measurement, and data analysis. Upon successful completion, they receive a personalized certificate. "

"The truth is that no one knows for sure though there are some pretty good guesses. The chances are that a number of processes combined to create the views that you see in todays Grand Canyon. The most powerful force to have an impact on the Grand Canyon is erosion, primarily by water (and ice) and second by wind. Other forces that contributed to the Canyon's formation are the course of the Colorado River itself, vulcanism, continental drift and slight variations in the earths orbit which in turn causes variations in seasons and climate. "

"Do not go where the path may lead," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. "Go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail." That could be the motto of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Trailblazing has been the business of JPL since it was established by the California Institute of Technology in the 1930s. America's first satellite, Explorer 1 which launched in 1958, was created at JPL. In the decades that followed, we sent the first robotic craft to the moon and out across the solar system, reconnoitering all of the planets. Pushing the outer edge of exploration, in fact, is the reason JPL exists as a NASA laboratory.