Where in the Solar System
See if you can name these spots from around the solar system. Some are easy, some are deceptive, and some have interesting things if you bother to notice the details. All of these images are from various NASA missions. The quality of this free data is unparalleled. Each image was chosen to show some unique about the particular solar system body. Only one photo is not in normal visible light. Check out the slide show for higher resolution versions or click each image for a larger version.
The Night Sky & Historical Astronomy
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 1 Slides*
- Stellar Parallax Demo*
- Lecture-Tutorials & ConcepTests
- Position*
- Motion*
- Seasonal Stars*
- Solar vs. Sidereal Day*
- Ecliptic*
- Star Charts*
- Moon Phase Causes*
- Predicting Moon Phases*
- Path of the Sun*
- Seasons*
- Sun Size*
- Labs & Activities
- Constellation Project
- AstronomyNotes.com correlation
- Method for Finding Scientific Truth
- Astronomy as a Science and a Sense of Scale
- Astronomy Without a Telescope
The Copernican Revolution & The Rise of Modern Science
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 2 Slides*
- Geocentric view of the solar system from above*
- Heliocentric view of the solar system from above*
- Mars in retrograde motion*
- Kepler’s 1st Law of Orbital Motion
- Kepler’s 2nd Law of Orbital Motion
- Pisa Thought Experiment*
- Earth Captures Temporary Moon*
- Gravity Demo On Moon*
- Lecture-Tutorials & ConcepTests
- Kepler’s 2nd Law*
- Kepler’s 3rd Law*
- Newton’s Laws & Gravity*
- Observing Retrograde Motion*
- AstronomyNotes.com correlation
- History of Astronomy
- Newton’s Law of Gravity
Solar System Overview
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 6 Slides*
- Solar System Photo Journal (JPL/NASA)
- Solar System Simulator (JPL)
- Days of the week – planets correlation
- Size & Scale of the Terrestrial Planets 1*
- Size & Scale of the Terrestrial Planets 2*
- Size & Scale of the Gas Giants*
- Astronomical Ruler: The Solar System in AUs*
- Beta Pictoris Planetary Disk Warp*
- Solar System Formation*
- Lecture-Tutorials & ConcepTests
- Overview of the Solar System ConcepTest
- Sun Size*
- Solar System Formation*
- Labs & Activities
- Scale of the Solar System*
- AstronomyNotes.com correlation
- Planetary Science
- Solar System Fluff
Earth
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 7 Slides*
- Atmospheric Lifetimes*
- Earth Seen by Galileo*
- NEAR Earth Swingby*
- Northern and Southern Lights*
- Ozone Hole*
- The Greenhouse Effect*
- Lecture-Tutorials & ConcepTests
- Earth’s Changing Surface
- AstronomyNotes.com correlation
- Earth @ AstronomyNotes.com
The Moon & Mercury
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 8 Slides*
- First Step on the Moon*
- Full Rotation of Moon*
- Lunar Flyby*
- Protoplanet Collision Animation*
- Mercury Transits the Sun*
- Virtual Moon Atlas Software
- Lecture-Tutorials & ConcepTests
- Predicting Moon Phases*
- Labs & Activities
- Moon Watching with Stellarium
- Intro to Comparative Planetology with the Moon & Mercury Lab
- Moon Notes Y’All!
- AstronomyNotes.com & NinePlanets.org correlation
- The Moon @ AstronomyNotes.com
- Mercury @ NinePlanets.org
Venus
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 9 Slides*
- Alpha Regio Flyover*
- Sif Mons Flyover*
- Rotation of Venus*
- Topography of Venus*
- Transit of the Sun by Venus*
- AstronomyNotes.com correlation
- Venus @ AstronomyNotes.com
Mars
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 10 Slides*
- Columbia Hills Flyover*
- Opportunity Crater Flyover*
- Tharsis Bulge Flyover*
- Hubble Telescope view of Martian Polar Caps*
- Hubble Telescope view of Mars Rotation*
- Earth Meteorites Ejected from Mars*
- Controversial Mars Meteorite Fossils*
- Mars Rover Landing Animation*
- Deimos Animation*
- Phobos Animation*
- Labs & Activities
- Mapping with Google Mars
- AstronomyNotes.com correlation
- Mars @ AstronomyNotes.com
Jupiter
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 11 Slides*
- Overview of the Gas Giants*
- Comet Shomaker-Levy Impact on Jupiter Video*
- Video of Galilean Moons Transit*
- Video about Galileo Mission to Jupiter*
- Galileo Satellite view of Ganymede*
- Galileo Satellite view of Europa*
- Cutaway animation of Io*
- Great Red Spot Video*
- Video of Jupiter’s Rotation*
- Video Showing Jupiter Atmosphere Dynamics*
- Tutorial about Jupiter Differential Rotation*
- Proposed Mission to Jupiter’s Moons*
- NinePlanets.org correlation
- Jupiter @ NinePlanets.org
Saturn
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 12 Slides*
- Animation of Huygens Probe Landing on Titan*
- Saturn Cloud Rotation*
- Saturnian Eclipse Video*
- Saturn Moon Transit*
- Saturn Ring Plane Crossing*
- Voyager view of Ring Spokes*
- Labs & Activities
- The Universe: Saturn – Lord of the Rings questions
- NinePlanets.org correlation
- Saturn @ NinePlanets.org
Uranus & Neptune
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 13 Slides
- Rotation of Uranus*
- Rotation of Neptune*
- Motion Neptune’s “Dark Spot”*
- Geysers on Neptune’s Moon Triton*
- Labs & Activities
- Uranus & Neptune Celestia Lab Activity – Uranus & Neptune Celestia Lab Questions
- NinePlanets.org correlation
- Uranus @ NinePlanets.org
- Neptune @ NinePlanets.org
Pluto and the Minor Planets
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 14 Slides*
- Hubble Telescope View of Pluto’s Rotation*
- Historical Observations of Pluto Video*
- Orbits of Neptune and Pluto Video*
- Anatomy of a Comet Video: part 1 & part 2*
- Asteroid or Comet Breakup Explained*
- Simulation of Deep Impact collision*
- Deep Impact probe collision with Comet Footage*
- Video of Meteor near Orion*
- Animation of nucleus of Comet Hale-Bopp*
- NEAR Orbits Eros*
- NEAR lands on Eros: animation & actual footage*
- Footage of meteor fireball in New York State*
- Earth Impact Effects Program
- SOHO video of sun-grazing comets*
- Lecture-Tutorials & ConcepTests
- Pluto: Dwarf Planet
- Labs & Activities
- Pluto Celestia Lab Activity – Pluto Celestia Lab Questions
- Asteroids & Comets Celestia Lab Activity – Asteroids & Comets Celestia Lab Questions
- Pluto Debate
- AstronomyNotes.com & NinePlanets.org correlation
- The Kuiper Belt @ AstronomyNotes.com
- Pluto @ NinePlanets.org
- Dwarf Planets @ NinePlanets.org
- Small Solar System Bodies @ NinePlanets.org
How Solar Systems Form
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 15 Slides*
- AstronomyNotes.com & NinePlanets.org correlation
- Solar System Formation @ AstronomyNotes.com
- Other Planetary Systems @ AstronomyNotes.com
Life In the Universe
- Slides & Demos
- Chapter 28 Slides*
- Labs & Activities
- SETI Celestia Lab
- SETI Celestia Lab Worksheet
- AstronomyNotes.com & NinePlanets.org correlation
- Life Beyond Earth @ AstronomyNotes.com
- Drake Equation @ AstronomyNotes.com

















