This curriculum guide uses hands-on
activities to help students and teachers
understand the significance of space-based
astronomy--astronomical observations
made from outer space. It is not intended to
serve as a curriculum. Instead, teachers
should select activities from this guide that
support and extend existing study. The
guide contains few of the traditional
activities found in many astronomy guides
such as constellation studies, lunar phases,
and planetary orbits. It tells, rather, the
story of why it is important to observe
celestial objects from outer space and how
to study the entire electromagnetic
spectrum. Teachers are encouraged to
adapt these activities for the particular
needs of their students. When selected
activities from this guide are used in
conjunction with traditional astronomy
curricula, students benefit from a more
complete experience. The guide begins with a survey of astronomy-related spacecraft NASA has sent into outer space. This is followed by a collection of activities organized into four units: The Atmospheric Filter, The Electromagnetic Spectrum, Collecting Electromagnetic Radiation, and Down to Earth. A curriculum matrix identifies the curriculum areas each activity addresses. Following the activities is information for obtaining a 35 mm slide set with descriptions showing current results from NASA spacecraft such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), and the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE),. The guide concludes with a glossary, reference list, a NASA Resources list, and an evaluation card. Feedback from users of this guide is essential for the development of future editions and other classroom supplementary materials. |
Within months of each other the United
States and the Soviet Union launched
their first artificial satellites into orbit around
Earth. Both satellites were small and
simple. Sputnik 1, a Soviet spacecraft, was
the first to reach orbit. It was a 58-
centimeter-diameter aluminum sphere that
carried two radio transmitters, powered by
chemical batteries. The satellite reached
orbit on October 4, 1957. Although an
extremely primitive satellite by todayUs
standards, Sputnik 1 nevertheless enabled
scientists to learn about Earth's
geomagnetic field, temperatures in space,
and the limits of Earth's atmosphere. A much larger Sputnik 2 followed Sputnik 1, carrying a small dog as a passenger. Although primarily investigating the response of living things to prolonged periods of microgravity, Sputnik 2 did sense the presence of a belt of high-energy charged particles trapped by EarthUs magnetic field. Explorer 1, the United States' first satellite, defined that field further.
The cylindrical, 13.6 kilogram Explorer 1
rode to space on top of a Juno I rocket on
January 31, 1958. It was launched by the
United States Army in association with the
National Academy of Sciences and the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory of the California |