Recent and exciting discoveries in astronomy and cosmology have inspired many high school students to learn about these fields. A particularly fascinating consequence of general relativity at the forefront of modern cosmology research is gravitational lensing, the bending of light rays that pass near massive objects. Gravitational lensing enables…

Nine experiments and 17 activities are presented in this handbook. The experiments are related to the earth's size and orbit, Piton height, telescope operations, Mars and Mercury orbits, stepwise approximation, and models of comet orbits. Further naked-eye observations in astronomy are designed in connection with the sun, moon, and planet…

Combines coordinate systems, planetary positions, use of the celestial globe, and synodic period in a graphing exercise. Information is given to duplicate an occurrence of 1940 in which five naked eye planets were simultaneously visible. (CP)

Describes how to collect micrometeorites and suggests a number of related activities such as determining the number of meteors entering the atmosphere and determining the composition of the micrometeorites. (BR)

Described is an experiment that allows students to determine the distance to the moon by triangulation. Included is a description of parallax methods and photographic techniques. (CS)

Exercises for introductory to intermediate level college students are proposed. Observations of pulsars can be used to illustrate the phenomena of dispersion and Faraday rotation of radio waves, and to illustrate the differential rotation of the galaxy. (BB)

Describes a simple method to measure the size of the Earth to an accuracy of order of magnitude 10 percent. The procedure involves finding the time interval between two sunsets, a sunset observed at sea level while lying down, and a sunset viewed at eye height after standing up. (GA)

Describes a student computer experiment that shows how the properties of the star, the temperature, and the opacity determine the nature of the observed spectrum of a star. (MLH)

Discusses various ways established by the Task Group on Education in Astronomy, including publication of teaching resources and lists of speakers for teachers' meetings at all levels and of writers of articles for teachers' journals. (CC)

Describes a demonstration in which the local inertial frame of reference can be obtained in the laboratory by allowing a cage to fall freely without rotation under the influence of gravity. (HM)

This booklet describes the results of NASA's Viking spacecraft on Mars. It is intended to be useful for the teacher of basic courses in earth science, space science, astronomy, physics, or geology, but is also of interest to the well-informed layman. Topics include why we should study Mars, how the Viking spacecraft works, the winds of Mars, the…

Up-to-date knowledge about Skylab experiments is presented for the purpose of informing high school teachers about scientific research performed in orbit and enabling them to broaden their scope of material selection. The first volume is concerned with the solar astronomy program. The related fields are physics, electronics, biology, chemistry,…

Describes physics experiments and apparatus construction for studies in astronomy, electricity, wave measurement and speed, the behavior of steel, and intermolecular forces. Includes a detailed description of how to simulate apparent trajectories of the moon and sun. (CS)