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Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)

Resources

Saturn's Moons February 19, 2016

Craters and Extinctions February 19, 2016

Neptune's Triton February 19, 2016

Mars' Moons February 19, 2016
Comet

Comets February 19, 2016

Ongoing Explorations March 3, 2014
Virgo, the virgin

Virgo October 4, 2011
Aquarius

Aquarius October 4, 2011
Cancer, the Crab

Cancer, the Crab October 4, 2011
Libra, the Scales

Libra, the Scales October 4, 2011
Pisces, the fish

Pisces, the Fish October 4, 2011
Aries, the ram

Aries, the Ram October 4, 2011

The Solar System: Home Sweet Home August 12, 2010

Astronomical Firsts June 10, 2010

Facts and Figures June 10, 2010

Remnants from the Beginning June 10, 2010

Realm of the Giants June 10, 2010

Exploring Our Own Back Yard June 10, 2010
Orion, the Hunter

Orion, the Hunter May 25, 2010
Gemini, the Twins

Gemini, the Twins May 25, 2010
Canis Major, the Great Dog

Canis Major, the Great Dog May 25, 2010
Auriga, the Charioteer

Auriga, the Charioteer May 25, 2010
Cassiopeia, the Queen

Cassiopeia, the Queen May 25, 2010
Capricornus, the Sea-Goat

Capricornus, the Sea-Goat May 25, 2010
Scorpius, the Scorpion

Scorpius, the Scorpion May 25, 2010
Lyra, the Harp

Lyra, the Harp May 25, 2010
Cygnus, the Swan

Cygnus, the Swan May 25, 2010
Aquila, the Eagle

Aquila, the Eagle May 25, 2010
Boötes

Boötes, the Herdsman May 25, 2010

Energy: Tools of the Trade May 21, 2010
Tiny variations in the "afterglow" of the Big Bang are shown as different colors

Age of the Universe May 21, 2010

Galaxies Fade May 21, 2010
Close up of Andromeda galaxy.

The Local Group May 21, 2010
The Sun and our solar system lie in the "thin disk" of our galaxy.

The Milky Way May 21, 2010
What looks like the glowing eyes of an angry cybernetic owl in this Hubble Space

Galaxy Formation May 21, 2010

Types of Galaxies May 21, 2010
Nurseries of bright young stars glow red in this detailed image.

Galaxies: Cities of Stars May 21, 2010
Artist's concept of a possible Neptune-mass planet orbiting Rho 1 Cancri.

Finding Earth-Like Planets May 21, 2010
An artist's concept of a giant planet orbiting a star other than the Sun.

Signs of Life May 21, 2010
Rings encircle a young planet in this artist's concept.

Exoplanets May 21, 2010

Black Holes May 21, 2010

Exploding Stars May 21, 2010
The diagram shows the largest and smallest stars to scale.

Colorful Dwarfs May 21, 2010
Sun cutaway

Star Color and Energy May 21, 2010

Cosmic Beacons May 21, 2010

Publicly Accessible Telescope Viewing May 14, 2010

Explorations in 2009 January 7, 2009

Explorations of Minor Bodies July 7, 2008

Explorations of Outer Planets July 7, 2008

Explorations of the Inner Solar System July 7, 2008

Radio Programs

Mars on Earth Getting ready for Mars February 27, 2016

More Plutonium Powering up trips to deep space February 25, 2016

Moon and Regulus Marking the rhythms of the sky February 21, 2016

Pollux Mapping out a nearby star February 20, 2016

New Names New names for a family of planets February 19, 2016

Moon and Aldebaran A stellar alphabet February 15, 2016

Planetary Pebbles Ingredients for a giant planet February 14, 2016

Horsehead Nebula Destroying a dark horsehead February 13, 2016

Interferometry V Looking at giant black holes February 12, 2016

Interferometry IV A whole passel of telescopes February 11, 2016

Interferometry III Adding up the telescopes February 10, 2016

Interferometry II Sharpening the view of the stars February 9, 2016

Interferometry Taking the measure of a giant February 8, 2016

Faint Neighbors Two close but faint neighbors February 7, 2016

Lepus Bounding past the hunter’s feet February 6, 2016

Luna 9 The first soft landing on the Moon February 3, 2016

Moon and Saturn Scoping out a giant ring February 2, 2016

Moon and Mars Breaking up a small moon January 31, 2016

Moon and Companions Stirring up two Martian moons January 30, 2016

IC 1396 A busy stellar nursery January 28, 2016

Winter Milky Way Adding to the winter Milky Way January 27, 2016

Moon and Regulus A stellar “king” and his entourage January 25, 2016

Auriga The charioteer’s bright shoulders January 24, 2016

Procyon The revenge of the scrawny January 23, 2016

Big Dipper Clock Ticking off the hours of the night January 22, 2016

Comet Doom Debating the end of life on Earth January 21, 2016

Doomed Comets Tracking doomed comets — after this. January 20, 2016

Stardust Catching bits of stardust January 15, 2016

Caroline’s Cluster A surprising star cluster January 14, 2016

Aludra The showiest “dog” star of all January 13, 2016

The Dog’s Tail The big dog wags its tail — after this. January 12, 2016

Bigger and Hotter Jacking up a star’s brightness — after this. January 11, 2016

Sirius Two dogs that are moving apart — after this. January 10, 2016

Featured Images

Planetary nebula known as the Eskimo Nebula

Cyclops? November 29, 2015
Hubble view of galaxy Markarian 231

Double Double November 22, 2015
Hubble view of the Eta Carinae system

The Homunculus October 21, 2015
Cassini view of north polar region of Enceladus

Headin' North October 15, 2015
Global view of Charon, Pluto's largest moon

Red Roof Moon October 2, 2015
Comet ISON has disintegrated

Comet Fizzles? September 14, 2015
Comet ISON streaks ever-closer to the Sun in this November 19 image

Breaking Up? September 14, 2015
Artist's concept of a young Jupiter-like planet

Young Giant August 27, 2015
Two views of Messier 22

Stellar Sparkler August 24, 2015
August 17, 2015, view of Saturn's moon Dione in front of the giant planet

Last Visit August 18, 2015
Multi-wavelength view of the center of the Milky Way galaxy

Galactic Hub August 13, 2015
The Southern Owl Nebula, the last gasp of a dying star

Perfect Bubble August 5, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope image of the Lagoon Nebula

Colorful Lagoon July 31, 2015
Abell 78, a planetary nebula

Last Round July 28, 2015
The system V664 Cassiopeia is creating a planetary nebula

Bread Crumbs July 23, 2015
Artist's concept of Fermi bubbles

Blowing Bubbles July 20, 2015
July 8 view of Charon, Pluto from New Horizons

Dynamic Duo July 10, 2015
Artist's concept of New Horizons passing by Pluto

First Encounter July 9, 2015
Diagram shows the location of the Kuiper Belt

Icy Realm July 6, 2015
Cassini view of a giant storm in Saturn's northern hemisphere

Stormy Skies June 28, 2015
Two views of Saturn's moon Dione from Cassini

Near and Far June 18, 2015
Artist's concept of a moons orbiting a Jupiter-like exoplanet

Worlds of Worlds June 9, 2015

Stepping Out June 3, 2015
Artist's concept of Alpha Centauri A and B, plus a planet

Busy Neighbor May 25, 2015

Ringfest May 20, 2015
The constellation Corvus, near brilliant Spica

Sailing On May 17, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope view of the core of M13, a globular cluster in Hercules

Old Sparklers May 12, 2015
Artist's concept of Scholz's Star passing close to the solar system

Former Neighbor May 7, 2015
The Messenger spacecraft's final image of the surface of Mercury

The End April 30, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope image of a young star cluster

Anniversary Portrait April 23, 2015
Dawn images of north pole of Ceres

Over the Top April 17, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope image of spiral galaxy Messier 66

Evidence of an Encounter April 12, 2015
Infrared view of the interstellar medium

Filling the Void April 9, 2015
Cassini view of Saturn's family of gings

Family Portrait April 7, 2015
Rosetta view of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko on March 22, 2015

Messy Comet April 2, 2015
G2 survives its swing around the black hole at the center of the Milky Way

Narrow Escape March 27, 2015
M3, a globular star cluster

Reborn Stars March 17, 2015
Artist's concept of MY Camelopardalis, a contact binary star system

Close Twins March 15, 2015
Image of a powerful solar flare on March 11, 2015

Solar Flare March 12, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope view of Abell 2744, a massive galaxy cluster

On the Frontier March 9, 2015
A full rotation of Ceres as seen by the Dawn mission

Final Approach March 3, 2015
Dawn image of mysterious bright spots on Ceres, February 19, 2015

Bright Mysteries February 26, 2015
Canopus, the second-brightest star in the night sky, from the space station

Stellar Beacon February 24, 2015
The Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms

Arming the Milky Way February 18, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope view of V838 Monocerotis in 2006

Brilliant Echo February 11, 2015
Depiction of National Ignition Facility probing the interior of a giant planet

Into Darkness February 2, 2015
Hubble image of the aftermath of a galactic collisio

Beautiful Disruption January 30, 2015
Dawn image of Ceres, January 25, 2015

Getting Closer January 28, 2015
View of the underground Soudan Laboratory

Underground Astronomy January 26, 2015
A brilliant aurora from the International Space Station

Fiery Sky January 21, 2015
The Huygens probe arrives at Titan in 2005

Cold Landing January 14, 2015
Gemini Observatory image of VV 166 galaxy group

Galaxies Galore January 11, 2015
Three dwarf planets shown to scale with Earth and Moon

Dwarf Planets January 5, 2015