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Activities, Experiments, Projects

Lesson 2: Astronomy

Note: This section is an abbreviated overview of the experiments online.

mission in 1969! Neil Armstrong
Experiment: Star Trails
was the first man to set foot on the
moon with his now legendary
These are a set of videos made
words "One small step for man, a
using planetarium software to help
giant leap for mankind." This is a
you see how the stars and planets
truly amazing video. If you think
move over the course of months
about it, you have orders of
and years.
magnitude more processing power
in your mobile phone than they did
Experiment: Space Shuttle
in the whole space craft!!
Launch
Incredible!

Something every person should do
Experiment: Meteorites
in their lifetime is watch a rocket or
space shuttle launch. Since this is A meteoroid is a small rock that
getting harder and harder, and
zooms around outer space. When
most folks don't live in a
the meteoroid zips into the Earth’s
convenient area for viewing
atmosphere, it’s now called a
launches, here's one of the best meteor or “shooting star”. If the
launches filmed on video. STS-119
rock doesn’t vaporize en route, it’s
(ISS assembly flight 15A) was a
called a meteorite as soon as it
space shuttle mission to the
whacks into the ground. (The word
International Space Station (ISS)
meteor comes from the Greek
which was flown by Space Shuttle word for “high in the air”.)
Discovery during March 2009.

For meteorite-hunters, look for
Experiment: Apollo 11 and rocks that are black, heavy (almost

Saturn V Rocket Launch twice the normal rock density), and
magnetic. Note – there is an Earth-
This is the actual video of the very made rock that is also black,
first moon landing of the Apollo 11 heavy, and magnetic (magnetite)

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