Look! Up in the Sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's your future!

What do you see in the sky at night? When the main light is the moon, you can oftentimes see stars, some of which might actually be planets. They are the same heavenly bodies that our ancestors saw, although there has been some movement over time.  Are the stars in your future? Explore now!

 CONNECT:

• Start by exploring the history of space at http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space
• Find out about lunar landings at http://www.kidport.com/reflib/science/moonlanding/moonlanding.htm (and maybe some of your relatives saw the first moon landing on TV!)
• What size would other planets look like if they were the same distance from earth as is the moon? See this simulation at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usYC_Z36rHw
• People have been observing the sky for thousands of years. One famous ancient observatory was Chichen Itza; find out more about that Mayan site at http://www.exploratorium.edu/ancientobs/chichen/flash.html 
• Amazing Space (http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/) uses the Hubble Space Telescope's discoveries to inspire and educate about the wonders of our universe.

CREATE:

• The magazine Sky and Telescope offers several interactive observation tools: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/javascript
• Tour the solar system at http://nineplanets.org/tour. The main site is an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of the planets, moons and other objects in our solar system. Each page has text and NASA's images, and some have sounds and movies.
• Anyone on the Internet can access the Bradford robotic telescope and ask it to look at anything in the northern night sky! The Web doesn't get more hands-on than this! http://www.telescope.org/
• The Solar System Simulator (http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/)  will show you a picture of any planet or moon as it would look if you were standing on another planet or traveling with one of the NASA space probes.
• http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html is a learning center for young astonomers.

CARE:

• Search for and design a habitable planet in this Astro-Venture: http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/
• People have been telling stories about stars for even longer than the Mayans. Read some of those star stories, especially as combinations of stars were labelled constellations: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/skywatch/stories/index.htm. Learn some of these stories, and tell them to the kids in your neighborhood; it’s a great babysitting activity!
• Teach others how to be a stargazer by studying this PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worlds/stargazer.html
• NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is collecting information about resources on the moon; all of this information will help humans learn to live and work safely on another planetary body! http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/LRO/ includes activities for children where they work in teams to prioritize environmental and scientific criteria to recommend a lunar landing site. Ultimately, they get to design and build a lunar colony!
• Want to show your love by naming a star after your special someone? It may be a scam. Find out the details at http://www.iau.org/public/buying_star_names/

CAREERS:

• Want a career in space? The first place you might think of is NASA, but its future is in jeopardy. Nevertheless, their website explains about space-related careers:  http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/careers-index.html
• This college teacher gives a realistic picture of astronomy-related careers, and suggess further resources: http://www.astronomynotes.com/careers.htm
• A really reputable source for finding out about physicists and astronomers careers is the U.S. Department of Labor: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/physicists-and-astronomers.htm