Libby Young explores the skies with astronomy websites
The Africlipse website provides a guide to the total solar eclipses of June 21 2001 and December 4 2002, with maps of the eclipse paths and online tutorials on how eclipses occur.
www.eclipse.za.net
Visit the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory website for information on teacher workshops offered. You’ll also find a detailed guide on how to make a sundial.
www.hartrao.ac.za
The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Sutherland has one of the largest telescopes in the world. The website provides predictions for the visibility of the young crescent moon, phases of the moon, rising and setting times for the sun and moon.
www.saao.ac.za
Further afield, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific offers a free newsletter for teachers entitled “The Universe in the Classroom”.
www.aspsky.org/education/naep.html
Learners may get a thrill out of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) website. The SETI@home program uses thousands of Internet-connected PCs to help in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. When not in use, participants’ computers analyse chunks of data collected by the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico, in the hope of tracing extraterrestrial signals.
www.seti-inst.edu
The NASA Kids site looks at astronomy and space travel, and offers a variety of puzzles and games. http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/ Thursday’s Classroom provides a connection between NASA’s latest research and the classroom environment, with lesson plans and activity sheets for both younger and older learners.
www.thursdaysclassroom.com
– The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, July 2001.