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ABC News: Dr Karl discusses mining asteroids

Imagine an asteroid, half the size of a football field, hurtling towards Earth at a speed of 28,000 kilometres per hour! Watch this clip to find out about Asteroid 2012 DA14 and whether it poses any threat to Earth. You will also discover why mining prospectors are keen to capture asteroids such as this one. Could the next ...

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Phases of the moon

Can you name the different phases of the moon? Watch this video and learn about the phases, how long a full lunar cycle is and why the moon looks larger at times.

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BTN: Living on the International Space Station

What would it be like to live on a space station? In this clip you'll see footage of astronauts on the International Space Station and discover what their daily life is like. You'll also find out about how the space station was built and about some important research being done there.

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A long history of the Moon

The Moon is a familiar object in the night sky and impacts life on Earth as it orbits our planet. Watch this animation showing how the moon has changed since its formation 4.5 billion years ago. See how the Moon's surface altered over time as volcanoes and asteroids created the basins and craters present on the Moon today.

Interactive

Day and Night

Students use this resource consisting of five slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand how the movement of the Earth causes day and night, the apparent daily movement of the Sun from east to west and the orbit of the Earth over one year. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

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How the sky works

This ABC Astronomy Basics article is an excellent example of simple explanations of many of the phenomena we observe in the sky. Features such as constellations, neighbouring galaxies and nebulae are outlined. It explains that finding constellations and planets in the ever-moving night sky can be challenging. It gives tips ...

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Catalyst: Why do astronauts float in space?

Have you wondered what it would be like to be an astronaut floating around in the International Space Station? In this clip, Catalyst's Dr Derek Muller investigates what causes this weightlessness in space. Derek challenges some people visiting the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney to explain why they think astronauts float. ...

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Catalyst: Scaling down our solar system

Can you imagine how huge the Sun is, or how far away planets such as Saturn are? Watch this clip to discover how 'mind-bending-ly big' the solar system is. Presenter, Bernie Hobbs, scales down the the solar system to fit into a football field to demonstrate the relative sizes and distances of the Sun and planets. Find out ...

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Aboriginal astronomy

This resource is designed to support the teaching of Australian Aboriginal astronomy in Stage 3. It includes many examples of how Aboriginal people used their knowledge of astronomy to manage daily activities, such as food gathering and ceremonial activities. It also highlights how they explained the origins of many features ...

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Solar System Quiz

This is a non-threatening ten question multiple choice quiz that gives students feedback on their understanding of our solar system that continues to reveal amazing facts and inspire some out-of-this-world fantasy. Excellent explanations given in the feedback. A useful resource to stimulate discussion or establish student ...

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Catchment Detox

Students play the game and make decisions about the development of a catchment with competing economic and environmental demands. Students receive feedback on how sustainably their catchment has been managed.

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Year Length

Students use this resource consisting of three animated slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand the length of a year. It could also be used to demonstrate day length and the duration of the moon's orbit. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

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Do-it-yourself podcast

This resource for educators and students details a do-it-yourself podcast activity that gives students the opportunity to host a show featuring astronauts conducting experiments on the International Space Station, or NASA experts explaining scientific concepts. A set of NASA audio and video clips is provided, along with ...

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Our world: moons in our solar system

This is a NASA 'Our World' video clip focusing on the celestial objects that orbit the planets of the solar system. The narrators include an enthusiastic young student and a planetary scientist who provide intriguing information about a variety of moons. The presence of water on some moons raises the possibility that there ...

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Our world: communications in space

This is a NASA 'Our World' video clip focusing on the different ways that astronauts on the International Space Station use technology to communicate with ground staff and others on Earth. The narrators include the puppet Lily and actual astronauts on the space station. Different modes of communication include radio contact, ...

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Solar system exploration

This is a comprehensive NASA website that provides extensive factual information for teachers and students about the celestial objects making up the solar system. The website provides a general introduction to the solar system and a network of links to information about each of the major components: the Sun, each of the ...

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Our world: what is a solar system?

This is a NASA 'Our World' video clip exploring the largest objects found in the solar system. The narrators of the clip include an enthusiastic young student, a synthesised voice and an amateur astronomer who address the issues of what exactly is a solar system and how the major celestial objects making up our solar system ...

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My solar system

This is an interactive resource exploring the orbital motion of a system of planets. Using the orbital simulation, students can build their own system of planets and watch the gravitational ballet. They can set initial positions, velocities, and masses of 2, 3, or 4 bodies, and then see them orbit each other. This interactive ...

Interactive

NASA: Eyes Eclipse 2017

This interactive 3D simulation of the total eclipse of August 21st, 2017 enables users to navigate to different locations to watch a simulation of what the eclipse would look like from that area from start to finish. The simulation is available as a web and desktop applications suitable for most devices.

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Our solar system - set of lithographs

This resource is a series of lithographs containing high-quality images and information about the planets of the solar system, moons of various planets, and asteroids, meteors and comets. Each lithograph contains a high-resolution image of the planet or planetary body, as well as several smaller images of particular features ...