This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey uses models, vivid descriptions, and analogies to explain the structural integrity of matter at the atomic level. You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but the atoms that make up a solid piece of iron contain more space than stuff. How is it then th
Learn how a giant storm on Saturn sent temperatures soaring in this video from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. About once a Saturn year, the planet develops a massive storm called a Great White Spot. Planetary scientist Brigette Hesman describes observations of the storm that erupted on Saturn i
Learn about powerful cyclones seen at Saturn's north and south poles in this video from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. From a distance, Saturn appears to be serene; however, the Cassini spacecraft has provided detailed views that show the planet's active atmosphere. A giant cyclone (with a diamet
Learn about the discovery of conditions that would have been suitable for life on ancient Mars. In 2013, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) science team released initial findings from its first drilled sample using the Curiosity rover. MSL scientist Joel Hurowitz describes the sedimentary rock sample
Learn about the education of chemist Percy Julian. Julian's early educational years paralleled an educational movement that prepared African Americans for industrial jobs, the growing white supremacist movement, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Julian would eventually move north, and finally to Eur
In the early 1900s, most geologists thought that Earth's appearance, including the arrangement of the continents, had changed little since its formation. This video segment, adapted from the "Earth Explorer" episode of Discovering Women, describes the impact the theory of plate tectonics has had on
Launched in September 2011, find out about the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to measure the gravitational field of the Moon and study how the Moon developed over time. Animations illustrate technical aspects of the mission's design, including the launch, orbital insertion
Discover how scientists plan to use data from the GRAIL mission and a map of the Moon's gravitational field to learn about its internal structure. By comparing data about the Moon's gravity with information about its topography, scientists can gain a better understanding of the Moon's formation and
Discover the instruments that Curiosity, a rover on Mars, used to gather and analyze soil samples in this video from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In 2012, Curiosity took its first scoop of Martian soil to test and analyze from an area called Rocknest. One of the project scientists describes how
Explore how human understanding of planetary orbits has changed throughout history in this video about Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Kepler's three laws of planetary motion accurately describe the elliptical orbits of objects around the Sun. This video presents the story of Johannes Kepler and
This video from NASA introduces a proposed mission to study potential habitable worlds around gas giants such as Jupiter. The Europa Jupiter System Mission, a proposed joint venture between NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency), would send two spacecraft to study Jupiter and its four largest moon
Discover how and why Curiosity, the Mars rover, measures wind and radiation on Mars. Mars Science Laboratory scientist Ashwin Vasavada describes two of the instruments onboard the rover that study Mars' present environment. The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) measures high-energy radiation from
