Open Education Resources: NASA Earth Observatory

Open Education Resources: NASA Earth Observatory:

 

This website is an old favorite for use in adult basic education.  Through satellite images, one can learn a lot about Earth science/space science, geography, technology, the uses of mathematics, and current events (meteor fragments over the Urals, for example).  Here is a brief sample of the riches of this resource:

 

Image of the Day: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/

The image for February 27th shows ocean sediment swirling around Cape Cod, Massachusetts as a result of “the erosive power of a recent New England storm”.  You can sign up to receive a daily satellite image, complete with connections to science and its practical applications. 

 

Earth at Night 2012: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/NightLights/?src=features-recent

What are the major population centers of the world?

 

City Lights of the United States 2012: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79800

Can you identify the major cities on this map of the United States, based upon the night-time lighted areas of the country?

 

Korea and the Yellow Sea: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79796

What does this night-time satellite image say about population as well as use of resources?

 

Great Graph Match: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Experiments/Biome/graphindex.php

In this activity, you analyze some temperature and precipitation graphs from different cities and trying to match them up to the correct biome where they would be located.