Mike+Carey

Links, Etc. from Mike Carey at [|Middlesex High School]

1. One of my favorite sites is the Astronomy Picture of the Day: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ Ways I've used APOD:
 * Have students find an interesting picture and do some research about it. I had my students write a short paper about the object in the picture.

2. Nebula Lesson:
 * Have students research the different types of nebulae (planetary, emission, reflection dark)
 * Use the [|SharetheSkies] telescope to find examples of each type of nebula

3. I highly recommend downloading Celestia http://www.shatters.net/celestia/ It is a little like GoogleSky but is a 3-D planetarium program that allows you to fly through space. You can also download cool add-ons from http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/ (I've installed several of the Star Wars add-ons!) You can add some nebulae and then fly through and around them! Some ways I've used Celestia:
 * Show the scale of the solar system
 * Show where asteroids are
 * Show how eccentric comet orbits are and what causes a comet's tail
 * Compare size and brightness of various stars

4. This is a good graphic organizer: [|Comparing Globular and Open Clusters] I think it has a lot of potential for leading to interesting discussions. You can use the [|SharetheSkies] telescope to find/look at different star clusters and discuss many things from stellar evolution to galaxy structure to H-R diagram star characteristics.

5. The Sky Scout can locate objects that are below the horizon. It might be a good way to illustrate the rotation of the Earth by locating an object below the horizon and then again, later, when it is above the horizon. Also, you could show that Polaris doesn't really move and that the circumpolar constellations are always above the horizon.

6. I also highly recommend [|NASA World Wind] It takes a lot of bandwidth but it is worth it.
 * Landsat images of Earth
 * Topographic maps of Earth with 3-D vertical exageration - really cool!
 * Explore the moon and several planets and their moons

7. Plan astronomical observations with tools from the [|Night Sky Network]