Toolkit
Laboratory Laboratory


http://mo-www.cfa.harvard.edu/OWN/


 

NASA's space science researchers control some of the world's most sophisticated space probes and orbiting telescopes to get amazing images of objects in space. Now YOU can join them by operating your OWN ground-based "MicroObservatories" - real robotic telescopes that you command through this website!

MicroObservatory is a network of automated telescopes that can be controlled over the Internet. The telescopes were developed by scientists and educators at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics and were designed to enable youth nationwide to investigate the wonders of the deep sky from their classrooms or after-school centers. 

They are located and maintained at observatories affiliated with the Center for Astrophysics, including the Harvard College Observatory in Cambridge, MA and the Whipple Observatory in Amado, AZ.

  • Quick laboratory facts:
    • Science subject: Astronomy
    • Offered by: Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
    • Language of the interface: English
    • Registration needed: NO
    • Recommended because: #
    • Additional software needed: MicroObservatory Image is needed to process images
  • Guides and material for teachers:
    • Teacher and learning material offered: Here it is possible to download lots of material, such as teacher guide, a student/learner guide, documentations, etc
    • Academic publications on pedagogical lab use: Sadler, P. M., Gould, R., Leiker, P. S., Antonucci, P., Kimberk, R., Deutsch, F., & Hoffman, B. 2001, "MicroObservatory Net: A Network of Automated Remote Telescopes Dedicated to Educational Use," Journal of Science Education and Technology, 10(1), 39.
Activities Activities

How does Gravity Work?
Students will observe the possible motion of a comet near the Jupiter and the Earth with the animation "Planet Impact" and investigate the effects of gravity on a comet's trajectory by changing the angle of approach, the speed, and the mass of large and small bodies. In the assessment activities, students will use their knowledge to crash a comet into Jupiter or make a comet fly past the planet without colliding with it.

astronomy virtual planet-impact all good practices
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