Anatomy of a Rover

In this interactive activity from NOVA, learn about the sophisticated scientific instruments on two identical robotic rovers that have explored Mars — Spirit and Opportunity.

Astronomical Images in Different Wavelengths

Visible light is just one portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that a telescope may detect. This collection of images produced for Teachers' Domain features radio wave, infrared, visible light, and X-ray images of distant stars and galaxies as well as images of the telescopes designed to detect the various wavelengths of radiation.

The Beginnings of the Telescope

This animated essay from the NOVA Web site examines the design of Galileo's refracting telescope and Sir Isaac Newton's reflecting telescope.

Counting Neutrons on the Moon

Find out how scientists are using a neutron detector onboard a satellite to try to find water on the Moon in this video adapted from NASA.

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Evidence for the Big Bang Theory

This video segment adapted from NOVA tells the story of two scientists who inadvertently discovered microwave radiation that is now believed to be heat left over from the Big Bang.

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Galileo: Discovering Jupiter's Moons

This video segment adapted from NOVA shows how Galileo, using his newly developed refracting telescope, observed four of Jupiter's moons, the first astronomical bodies to be discovered since ancient times.

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Hubble's Expanding Universe

This adapted video segment, using footage from NOVA and NASA, examines Edwin Hubble's work and how his findings laid the foundation for the Big Bang theory.

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Hubble Telescope: Looking Deep

This video segment adapted from the Space Telescope Science Institute shows what the Hubble telescope found when it stared at a single, nearly empty spot in the sky for 10 days in 1995. The unexpected result was a picture of a multitude of galaxies stretching into the distance.

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Infrared Gallery

How would your world look if you saw heat instead of light? In this interactive resource produced for Teachers' Domain, see what familiar objects look like through an infrared camera and watch infrared videos of geysers, mudpots, and hot springs.

Infrared Search for Origins

This interactive resource from NASA illustrates how infrared technology has advanced space exploration and can offer insight into questions about star formation, planetary systems, brown dwarfs, and the origins of the universe.

James Webb vs Hubble

Compare two space telescopes—the Hubble Space Telescope and its planned successor, the James Webb Space Telescope —in this interactive activity from NASA.

LIDAR 3D Mapping

See how researchers create 3-D maps of planets by using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) instruments in this video adapted from NASA.

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Mapping Magnetic Fields

This video adapted from NASA explains how a magnetometer determines magnetic fields around planets.

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Meet Curiosity, a Mars Rover

Learn about the sophisticated scientific instruments on Curiosity, the latest Mars rover, in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.

Relativity and the Cosmos

This illustrated essay from the NOVA Web site introduces the basic concepts of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and what we know about cosmology as a result.

Robotic Exploration of Space Timeline

This interactive timeline from NASA journeys through the last century, detailing key discoveries, experiments, missions, and other events that brought robotic space exploration from science fiction to reality.

The Search for Another Earth

This NASA video provides an overview of technology under development to explore the planets and stars outside our solar system. These will be the most sensitive instruments built to date.

Solar Magnetism

This video segment adapted from NOVA describes how the Sun's magnetism can have an effect here on Earth, from dramatic auroras to a mini-Ice Age in the 1600s.

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Spectrometry Explained

Find out how light can be used to identify chemical compounds in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.

Speed of Light: How Fast Is That?

How fast is 300,000 kilometers per second? This text from the NOVA Web site offers a few real-world comparisons for the speed of light.