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Activity
NASA

Exploring Exoplanets with Kepler

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Calculate the movement and properties of planets like professional astronomers! Scholars use Kepler's third law to find Mercury and Venus's distance from the sun. Using changes in brightness of distant stars and Kepler's third law,...
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Interactive
Las Cumbres Observatory

Agent Exoplanet

For Students 6th - 12th
Not everything revolves around the sun! Believe it or not, there are planets, called exoplanets, that orbit stars other than our sun. Learners use an interactive online resource to research several of these planets. They learn about the...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Data Plots of Exoplanet Orbital Properties

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Scientists discovered the first exoplanet in 1995 and by early 2018, they confirmed the existence of more than 3,700—that's a lot of data! As part of the PBS 9-12 Space series, scholars interpret data about exoplanets. They compare...
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Interactive
PBS

Analyzing Light Curves of Transiting Exoplanets

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Scientists detected exoplanets by measuring how the brightness of stars changed over time. Young astronomers interpret and analyze the same data that led to exoplanet discoveries. They learn to apply light curve graphs and connect the...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Light Curves of Kepler's First Five Discoveries

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Kepler missions discovered and confirmed more than 2,650 exoplanets to date. A video shares the data from the first five discoveries. It provides graphs and diagrams to put each discovery in perspective to help scholars discuss the...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Exoplanets through Kepler’s Laws

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The majority of all confirmed exoplanets relied on Kepler's laws to discover their locations. Scholars learn how to apply Kepler's laws and then practice using data to discover exoplanets. They benefit from NASA video footage, NOVA...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

The Engine of Life

For Teachers 5th - 11th Standards
There is a specific zone, or distance from a star, that a planet must be in order to have water in a liquid form. The activity demonstrates how flux density depends on its distance from the source. A photovoltaic cell gets power to drive...
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Article
BBC

Bbc Newsround: Top 5 Amazing Space Discoveries

For Students 2nd - 5th
Read about some of the most important space discoveries in recent times.
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Article
Other

Aaas Science News: Week of 2 24 14: Europe to Launch Hunt for Exoplanets

For Students 6th - 8th
Article reports on the European Space Agency's upcoming program to search for exoplanet in space.
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: 3 Planets That Shouldn't Exist

For Students 9th - 10th
Scishow explores several exoplanets whose features suggest that they shouldn't even have been able to form in the first place! [5:06]
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Handout
NASA

Nasa: Space Place: What Is a Planet?

For Students 4th - 8th
Explore our solar system's planets- more specifically what planets are made of, and how they are formed.
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Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Earth Science: Exoplanets

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes the features of exoplanets.
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Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Earth Science: Exoplanets

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes the features of exoplanets.
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Website
Harvard University

Micro Observatory Robotic Telescope Network: Explore the Universe

For Students 9th - 10th
This website introduces you to the MicroObservatory Robotic Telescope Network operated by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Links and resources for both teachers and students are included.
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Graphic
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Gallery: Earth & Solar System

For Students 9th - 10th
A gallery of pictures of the cosmic beauty of the Sun, our Solar System, and exoplanets. Pictures include a caption of what the viewer is looking at.
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Handout
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Earth Science: Other Celestial Bodies Study Guide

For Students 9th - 10th
Review celestial bodies using this study guide.
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Website
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: News in Science: Astronomers Find 28 More Exoplanets

For Students 9th - 10th
From ABC News in Science, Maggie Fox's article explores a new string of "exoplanets" discovered orbiting distant stars. This research leads to numerous possibilities, one of which being the existence of planetary systems containing life...