Modeling Lab
Part One: Detecting an Alien World
Orbits Lab:
What does the orbit of an alien world look like?
Change the orbit and viewing point to investigate. Use the lab to predict what you might find when you use the telescope.
Part Two: From Pixel of Light to Portrait of a Planet
Oceans, Ice, and Land Lab:
What can the reflected light from an alien world tell us about the surface of the planet?
Download the Oceans Lab:
Spectrum Lab:
What can color tell us about an alien world?
Explore colors and their graphs... in both visible light and infrared light.
Temperature Lab:
How do we take a planet's temperature across the icy coldness of outer space? Infrared light holds the key.
Download the Temperature Lab:
Atmospheres Lab:
Can we find out what an alien world's atmosphere is made of, from 6,000 trillion miles away?
Download the Atmospheres Lab:
Create a Portrait of Your Planet
Portrait Lab:
Based on the evidence, what does your mystery planet look like?
Create a portrait of your planet, and be prepared to support your artwork with scientific evidence. Congratulations! You've transformed a few pixels of light into a portrait of an alien world!
Download the Portrait Lab:
