Total Run Time: 161 minutes

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Comet Hunters/ Asteroid Seekers Classroom Edition for grades 6-12

Killer Comets: Beautiful and Dangerous
Ominous Asteroids: Get them before they get us!

On the SPACEWATCH...

Join SPACE.com correspondent Dave Brody as he spends the night on Kitt Peak with the SPACEWATCH Project stalking the flying mega-mountains that could destroy us...or save us. Eleven experts will tell you how...

Comet Hunters/ Asteroid Seekers Classroom Edition takes you and your students on a space voyage of discovery. You will learn the differences and similarities between comets and asteroids, as well as the promises and threats they hold. Hear what the experts have to say about the science of comets and asteroids. Learn the good and bad about the past, present and future of the solar system's smallest members.

The 2005 Telly Award Winner for Education Video, this DVD comes complete with a teaching guide full of discussion questions, cross-curricular activities and correlations to national science standards. It is a wonderful educational resource that will inspire and excite your students about space science.

See our review from  NSTA Recommends:

Starry Night Comet Hunters/Asteroid Seekers  starts with an engaging session with Dr. Joe Montali at Kitt Peak. In a short (5-minute) segment, Montali describes the "Spacewatch" program in which scientists search for near-Earth objects in the solar system. Students and teachers who want to tackle this subject in more depth can see a bonus section in which Montali puts in an all-night session, discovering a comet as he works.

Other segments explain current understanding of the origins, composition, and effects of comets and asteroids on the Earth. Students will learn about the discovery of the comet Shoemaker-Levy and see the amazing images of its impact on Jupiter's cloud tops in 1994.

Suitable for study by an entire class or for individual and small-group research, Comet Hunters/Asteroid Seekers will be a valuable resource for classroom instruction and student research.

Teaching Guide includes:

• Strategies for whole-class or individual instruction
• Discussion questions that develop science process skills: initiating and planning; analyzing and interpreting; performing and recording; and communication and teamwork
• Cross-curricular activities with tie-ins to language arts, social studies, geography, math, biology, chemistry and physics
• Interviews with scientists and insight into careeers in science
• Curriculum correlations for United States and Canada

• Comet Image Gallery
• Asteroid Image Gallery
• Attend a private Comet Tail Meteor star-party
• Chapter Index lets you navigate to nine different topics
  1. Near Earth Objects
  2. Comet or Asteroid?
  3. Comet Origins
  4. Comet Composition
  5. Dangerous Comets
  6. Colliding Asteroids
  7. Double Impacts
  8. Asteroid Mining
  9. Vulcanoids

Total Run Time: 77 minutes

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Danger! Solar Storm Classroom Edition for grades 6-12

Is Earth's new technology safe from the Sun's fiery flare-ups?
Solar Flares, Sunspots; Coronal Mass Ejections, Auroras...

Join SPACE.com correspondent Dave Brody as he takes you deep inside NOAA's Space Environment Center - the first place on Earth to feel the Sun's wrath. Fifteen solar scientists illuminate the Sun for you.

Danger! Solar Storm Classroom Edition shows you just how dynamic and changeable our daytime star really is. You will see the vibrant surface and atmosphere of the Sun through the multi-wavelength eyes of satellites and high-tech detectors. Hear what the experts have to say about the Sun and how it influences Earth and today's modern society.

This 2005 Telly Award Finalist for Multimedia Video comes complete with a teaching guide full of discussion questions, cross-curricular activities and correlations to national standards. It is a wonderful educational resource that will inspire and excite your students about space science.

See our review from  NSTA Recommends:

Danger! Solar Storm, discusses the nature of coronal mass ejections(CMEs) and solar flares on the Earth. Students will learn about a 1998 event in which a CME interrupted the service of a communication satellite, disrupting pager service throughout most of the United States. Classes that study the Northern and Southern Lights will find a three-minute introductory segment on the aurorae as well as a longer segment with numerous photographs and film clips of notable displays in recent years.

Divided into nine segments plus some "bonus content," the DVD also covers sunspot cycles, investigations into the structure of the corona, attempts to predict solar weather, and a comparison of the Sun to other stars.

With the recent interest in solar power, it is advisable for students to have some solid background on the nature of the Sun, and Danger! Solar Storm provides just that. Even schools that do not purchase the entire Starry Night set will find this DVD to be a worthwhile addition.

Teaching Guide includes:

• Strategies for whole-class or individual instruction
• Discussion questions that develop science process skills: initiating and planning; analyzing and interpreting; performing and recording; and communication and teamwork
• Cross-curricular activities with tie-ins to language arts, social studies, geography, math, biology, chemistry and physics
• Interviews with scientists and insight into careers in science
• Curriculum correlations for United States and Canada

• Aurora Image Gallery
• Flare Movie File
• Chapter Index lets you navigate to nine different topics
  1. A Solar Storm
  2. Impact on Space
  3. Earth Reacts
  4. Watching the Sun
  5. The Solar Cycle
  6. The Aurorae
  7. Impact on Earth
  8. The Sun’s Corona
  9. Sun vs. Other Stars
• Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Digital Stereo
• Music by Jonn Serrie and others
• Images, and animations and predictive simulations: NASA, ESA, Maas Digital, JPL, Cornell University, Malin Space Systems, Dana Berry / Skyworks Digital. Spaceship window element by Thomas O. Miller (atomicart.com) and Ron Miller.

Total Run Time: 55 minutes

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Eyes on Mars Classroom Edition for grades 6-12

Explore the mysterious Red Planet.

Journey to the mysterious Red Planet with SPACE.com correspondent Dave Brody to learn about its history.

The history of Mars science is a story full of false starts and good ideas gone wrong. Through it all, scientists have perservered in the effort to separate fact from fiction, and to understand Mars as a place that is similar to, but different from, Earth.

Winner of the 2005 Telly Multimedia Video Award and recommended by the Parents' Choice Foundation, this DVD comes complete with a teaching guide full of discussion questions, cross-curricular activities and correlations to national science standards. It is a wonderful educational resource that will inspire and excite your students about space science.

Teaching Guide includes:

• Strategies for whole-class or individual instruction
• Discussion questions that develop science process skills: initiating and planning; analyzing and interpreting; performing and recording; and communication and teamwork
• Cross-curricular activities with tie-ins to language arts, social studies, geography, math, biology, chemistry and physics
• Interviews with scientists and insight into careers in science
• Curriculum correlations for United States and Canada

• Chapter Index lets you navigate to seven different topics
  1. Eyes on Mars Main Feature
  2. Backstage on Mars
  3. Yesteryear’s Eyes on Mars: The Rocky Road to the Red Planet
  4. Building ‘Bots: Your Virtual Eyes on Mars
  5. Artist’s Eyes on Mars: A Gallery
     • Ron Miller
     • Chris Butler
     • David A. Hardy
  6. Experts on Mars
  7. Social Martians
     • A. Mars Life?
     • B. Mars Water?
     • C. Mars People?
     • D. Mars Terraform?
     • E. Mars Color?
     • F. Mars Time?
     • G. Mars Dust?
     • H. Mars Places?
     • I. Mars Roving?
     • J. Mars Music?
• Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Digital Stereo
• Music by Jonn Serrie and others
• Images, and animations and predictive simulations: NASA, ESA, Maas Digital, JPL, Cornell University, Malin Space Systems, Dana Berry / Skyworks Digital. Spaceship window element by Thomas O. Miller (atomicart.com) and Ron Miller.

Total Run Time: 157 minutes

Home DVD player and TV, or computer with DVD player.

Searching for SuperStars Classroom Edition for grades 6-12

Private and Pro Astronomers bag the biggest blasts the Universe has to offer...

Novas, Supernovas, Hypernovas, Black Holes, Colliding Stars...

SPACE.com correspondent Dave Brody visits Tenagra Observatories on a quest for the precise age of the Universe. Meet 11 world-renowned astrophysicists and a private astronomer who has dedicated a fortune to the search.

Searching for SuperStars Classroom Edition lets you see giant stars up close, learn what they are made of, how they behave, and how they sometimes interact with each other. You will see how the most massive stars end their lives in spectacular and violent fashion. Hear what the experts have to say about neutron stars, pulsars and black holes. Learn how past generations of stars have shaped the Earth and its inhabitants, and how supernovas can tell us about the age and future of the universe.

This 2005 Telly Award Finalist for Education Video comes complete with a teaching guide full of discussion questions, cross-curricular activities and correlations to national science standards. It is a wonderful educational resource that will inspire and excite your students about space science.

See our review from NSTA Recommends:

Searching for Superstars discusses the end stages of stellar evolution in massive stars. Neutron stars and supernovae are the central areas of emphasis. Students will observe the latest techniques in finding supernovae. (Sadly, the backyard telescope just won't do any longer.) This process is described by Michael Schwartz of the Tenagra Observatories. For classes that go into reasonable depth on this topic, the concept of the "standard candle," the means by which astronomers determine the distance of the most remote galaxies, is developed concisely and understandably.

In another segment, astronomers discuss how they decide which stars are candidates for future supernovae and what they can learn from observing a supernova event take place.

Finally, physicist and artist Mark Garlick displays his paintings showing what he thinks these giant stars would look like from near proximity, perhaps showing science students an obvious and enjoyable interdisciplinary opportunity to integrate art and science.

Teaching Guide includes:

• Strategies for whole-class or individual instruction
• Discussion questions that develop science process skills: initiating and planning; analyzing and interpreting; performing and recording; and communication and teamwork
• Cross-curricular activities with tie-ins to language arts, social studies, geography, math, biology, chemistry and physics
• Interviews with scientists and insight into careers in science
• Curriculum correlations for United States and Canada

• Tenagra’s Technology: Behind the scense with Owner Michael Schwartz
• Special Super Star Artworks by Mark A. Garlick
• Chapter Index lets you navigate to nine different topics
  1. Supernovas
  2. Pulsar: Crab
  3. Black Holes
  4. Spotting SuperStars
  5. Novas
  6. Colliding Stars
  7. Standard Candles
  8. Hypernovas
  9. Next Supernovas?
• Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Digital Stereo
• Music by Jonn Serrie and others
• Images, and animations and predictive simulations: NASA, ESA, Maas Digital, JPL, Cornell University, Malin Space Systems, Dana Berry / Skyworks Digital. Spaceship window element by Thomas O. Miller (atomicart.com) and Ron Miller.

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Wheels on Mars Classroom Edition for grades 6-12

Close Encounters with Spirit & Opportunity...

And 7 of the top experts who sent them.

What the Mars Exploration Rovers found, the obstacles they overcame and why it matters so deeply...

SPACE.com correspondent Dave Brody takes you inside the realm of the Mars Rovers as Starry Night goes to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Cornell University, command centers for Earth's science assault on Mars.

Wheels on Mars DVD is a wonderful resource to inspire and excite your students about space science. See scientists at work as they guide the Rovers across previously unexplored terrain, overcome obstacles, and succeed in conducting superb science from the surface of Mars.

Sequel to the 2005 Telly Award for Multimedia winning Eyes on Mars, this DVD comes complete with a teaching guide full of discussion questions, cross-curricular activities and correlations to national science standards.

See our review from NSTA Recommends:

Wheels on Mars follows the Spirit and Opportunity exploration teams as they await the landings of the two robotic spacecraft on Mars' surface. Students will meet some of the scientists involved in the project and will learn how the Rovers have been able to work for much longer time than had been expected.

Highlights include analysis and investigation of "blueberries" (unusual rock formations exposed by erosion and thought to be evidence of the action of flowing water), discussion of a rock named "Bounce," because it seems to be out of place on Opportunity's Meridiani Plains landing site, having been ejected from an impact event several kilometers away, and the arduous trip (3 km) by Spirit to find evidence of water's presence in Mars' past.

The producers use one of the bonus sections to editorialize, as they assert that missions like these are obvious preludes to manned expoloration; students might benefit more from a discussion of the relative merits of manned vs. robotic exploration. The missions of Spirit and Opportunity make a powerful case for robotic exploration.

Teachers looking for a connection to current events may wish to assign students to find out about budget cuts in robotic missions that have been deemed necessary by the current administration to finance the stated goal of placing humans on the Martian surface.

Teaching Guide includes:

• Strategies for whole-class or individual instruction
• Discussion questions that develop science process skills: initiating and planning; analyzing and interpreting; performing and recording; and communication and teamwork
• Cross-curricular activities with tie-ins to language arts, social studies, geography, math, biology, chemistry and physics
• Interviews with scientists and insight into careers in science
• Curriculum correlations for United States and Canada

• Spirit Image Gallery
• Opportunity Image Gallery
• Chapter Index lets you navigate to nine different topics
  1. Healthy Rovers
  2. Meridiani Water
  3. Blueberries
  4. Bounce
  5. Gusev Water
  6. Driving Ms. Rover
  7. Favorite Photos
  8. The Human Team
  9. Ships of Exploration
• Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Digital Stereo
• Music by Jonn Serrie and others
• Images, and animations and predictive simulations: NASA, ESA, Maas Digital, JPL, Cornell University, Malin Space Systems, Dana Berry / Skyworks Digital. Spaceship window element by Thomas O. Miller (atomicart.com) and Ron Miller.

Total Run Time: 98 minutes

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