Pupils learn of multiple ways astronomers look for planets outside of the solar system. By completing a hands-on activity, scholars discover that trying to see the planets directly because of the glare from the nearby star is nearly...

Pack just enough to fit. Crews determine what personal items to take with them on a trip to Mars. Each team must decide what to take with them on a two-and-a-half year trip to Mars and whether their items will fit within the allotted...

Break down light into spectra. Scholars learn how atoms emit and absorb photons and come to understand how this process allows scientists to identify different atoms based on either absorption lines or emission lines. Learners then...

Learn some of the characteristics of Mars. These characteristics lead some people to believe that life forms may be found on the fourth planet from the Sun.

Article reports on the recent discovery that many suns in the universe host "Earth-like" planets. Includes a vocabularly list.

Earth's temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and leaving the planet's system . When incoming energy from the sun is absorbed by the Earth system, Earth warms. When the sun's energy is reflected back into space,...

Discover interesting facts about Venus, the hottest planet and the second planet from the Sun.

While astronomers and philosophers have long mused on the possibility of other solar systems, the first planets confirmed to orbit a star other than our Sun weren't found until 1992. The reason it took so long is that it's really hard!...

Learn what aspects of our planet have an impact on climate. Links to related materials.

The Earth's atmosphere is a thin layer of gases that surrounds the Earth. It composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases. This thin gaseous layer insulates the Earth from...

Even with disruptions like weather fronts and storms, there is a consistent pattern to how air moves around our planet's atmosphere. This pattern, called atmospheric circulation, is caused because the Sun heats the Earth more at the...