Resources

There are many online data archives about exoplanets, so here we have gathered together some of the better ones. Most of these will provide you with up-to-date information on the current status of exoplanet discoveries, including new results from the NASA TESS mission. NASA Exoplanet Archive: This is a very up-to-date and comprehensive data archive … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://onlineobservatory.eu/resources/planets-and-exoplanets/exoplanet-databases/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Exoplanet databases"</span></a></p>

“Stars are much like humans. They are born, live their lives and die.” Ilgmars Eglitis, astronomer Observing the spectra of stars allows us to look deep into their origin and characteristics. A large catalog of star spectra exists at Baldone Observatory in Latvia, which is being made available online this year. In the picture above, … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://onlineobservatory.eu/resources/sun-and-stars/introduction-to-stellar-evolution/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Introduction to stellar evolution"</span></a></p>

In astrophotography, colours are treated in different ways – telescopes generally do not take colour pictures, but use special filters to capture light in particular parts of the optical spectrum (e.g. red light only). This interactive app from the Faulkes Telescope project will show you how colour images are made using different filters, combining them … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://onlineobservatory.eu/resources/observing/learning-colours-in-astro-photography/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Learning about colours in astro photography"</span></a></p>

In this activity, pupils will learn about the formation of the Moon. They will also learn about the lunar orbit and the distance to the Moon. In groups, pupils will perform simple classroom experiments to investigate how craters are formed when a small asteroid strikes a planetary surface. They will understand that the appearance of … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://onlineobservatory.eu/resources/moon/formation-of-the-moon/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Formation of the Moon"</span></a></p>

Gain access to the Faulkes Telescope project, where teachers and students can access a global network of telescopes. Both live- and queue-based observations are available. Choose what you want to observe and get your own pictures of planets, galaxies and nebulae. Access to the Faulkes Telescope project is available for teachers and students in Denmark, … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://onlineobservatory.eu/resources/access-online-telescopes/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Access online telescopes"</span></a></p>

This app allows you to simulate impacts on the Earth, Moon or Mars. You can select the impactor parameters (composition, size, velocity, angle of impact) and then choose a target location. The crater that would be produced by your impactor is then displayed, along with various facts and figures about the impact. You can compare … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://onlineobservatory.eu/resources/small-solar-system-bodies/impact-calculator/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Impact calculator"</span></a></p>

The rotation of the Earth is investigated by observing the length of a toy figure’s shadow in the course of a day. As an introduction, the pupils can spin around themselves like the planet Earth to reveal the daily motion of our planet, and they can try to create different kinds of shadows with a … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://onlineobservatory.eu/resources/young-astronomers/the-sky-above-us/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "The sky above us"</span></a></p>

Every day, several tons of material fall from space down on earth. Some of this material are rocks of sufficient size to make meteors (shooting stars) that survive the extreme heat as they are decelerated through our atmosphere. A few times every year, we see big fireballs, meteors big enough to survive all the way … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://onlineobservatory.eu/resources/small-solar-system-bodies/meteor-camera-network/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Meteor camera network"</span></a></p>