| VOLUME 36 2006/07 |
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EARTH AND ORBIT |
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 The earth occupies a special place in our solar system: it is the right size, distance from the sun and has a composition that makes it ideal to support life. This might not be readily apparent if you were just flying by the planet in a space ship. From that view, you might see vast oceans, huge weather systems and some seasonal changes. |
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MOON AND JAW DROP |
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 The formation of the Moon was a cataclysmic event in the history of the Earth. In this program students will see that it was probably a giant impact on Earth that caused the Moon to break away from the Earth. Students will see how the Moon affects many phenomena on Earth including our tides and our climate.
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SUN AND GALAXY
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 The Sun is a nuclear reactor, releasing energy that drives the entire Solar System. The reactions drive a Solar wind containing the entire spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. The Sun creates enormous magnetic fields that regularly twist and trigger mass ejections that turn the solar wind into a storm. |
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INSIDE TRACK AND VENUS |
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 The inner planets, Mercury and Venus are rocky worlds with fascinating histories. Mercury has double sunrises and a day twice as long as it's year. There may even be ice in the deepest craters at the poles, deposited by comets: they are permanently shadowed from the sun. At one time, Venus might have been Earth's twin, but scientists speculate that a maturing Sun doomed Venus. Its environment is brutally hot and constantly being covered by molten lava oozing from thousands of volcanoes.
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THE RED PLANET AND QUEST
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 Mars has some features that would be considered normal to someone from Earth. A 24½ hour day and daytime temperatures just above freezing. It has planet-wide dust storms, the largest volcano in the Solar System and the biggest geologic fault. Mars once had water flowing on its surface and was capable of supporting life. Today, scientists detect no evidence of life. But, there are other places in the Solar System such as Jupiter's moon, Europa, which might be capable of supporting life. But, the question remains: Is Earth the only place in the Solar System whre life exists?
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ASTEROID AND JUPITER |
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 An impact with extraterrestial bodies is a common experience for all planets in the Solar System. The inner planets are most at risk of impact from bodies that lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. In this program, students will see how we are preparing our planet for a possible impact and how we are using spacecraft to learn more about the asteroids. Beyond the Asteroid Belt lies the largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter. Students will learn that with over 60 moons, Jupiter has its own mini solar system. A detailed study of Jupiter's four largest moons reveals that one, Europa, may even be able to support life.
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SATURN AND THE OUTER GAS GIANTS |
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 Saturn, second largest of the gas giants, rules a dazzling domain. The rings of Saturn are billions of moonlets - from grains of dust to rocks the size of trucks. The planet is so light that it would float on water. Titan, Saturn's greatest moon, is bigger than the planet mercury. Students will see detailed images of the outer gas giants, Uranus and Neptune. Imagery from the Voyager spacecraft and the Hubble space telescope show students fascinating details about these two mysterious planets. They will also see Neptune's large moon Triton, the coldest place in the Solar System. |
