Podróże z Celestią 2009Jacek Kupras

http://djkupras.blogspot.com/search/label/Celestia

Tytułem wstępu:• Prezentacja którą przeglądasz stanowi pewnego rodzaju podsumowanie

moich ubiegło oraz tegorocznych zabaw z Celestią, szczególnie zaś z pakietem Celestia Educational Activities Franka Gregorio.

• Pierwszą częścią prezentacji jest galeria pokazująca możliwości Celestii. Stworzyłem ją na podstawie opisów tego, co Celestia potrafi, znajdujących się na stronie Gregoria. Każdemu opisowi przyporządkowałem grafikę, pochodzącą z moich notatek lub z Internetu – warto sprawdzić powiązane z grafikami łącza

• Druga część prezentacji to spis scenariuszy wchodzących w skład Celestia Educational Activities. Towarzyszą im hiperłącza prowadzące do moich tekstów znajdujących się na blogu. Aby przejść od razu do spisu kliknij tutaj.

• Na koniec zostawiłem tekst, w którym Frank Gregorio opowiada o swoich doświadczeniach w stosowaniu Celestii w szkole. Trafisz do niego bezpośrednio klikając tu.

• Prezentacja ta ma charakter roboczy.

Learn the unbelievable size of our universe with a journey from Earth to the far reaches of the galaxies … at hyperspeed.

Watch solar flares and prominences rise off the Sun and measure its rotation using sunspots.

Hover over each of the planets in our Solar System as they rotate below. See clouds drift by and shadows cast on mountains and craters as the Sun sets low.

Fly with Mariner 10 on its historic flyby of Mercury.

Visit the searing surface of Venus and view it in a panoramic 360° vista.

Take a spin down to Earth’s surface in your hyperdrive spacecraft. Skim over the oceans below the clouds. Soar back into space to see the lights come on in the cities of Earth.

Be present as Apollo 11 lands on the Moon in 1969, or fly with Sputnik in 1957.

Rendezvous with the ISS or the Hubble Space Telescope. Attempt a docking at the ISS Shuttle port.

Peer deep into the cosmos through the focus of the Hale Telescope on Palomar Mountain.

View Earth’s Magnetic Field from space and see the Aurora shimmering.

Display an internal X-section of Earth and its tectonic layers.

Discover Mir passing over the Russian homeland with its cosmonaut crew onboard.

See the massive size of Hurricane Katrina as it makes landfall on New Orleans.

Hover over Mar’s Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum and drop down to visit Spirit and Opportunity.

Fly over to Olympus Mons and through Valles Marineris.

Be there in the year 2029 when the asteroid Apophis will approach Earth on a possible collision course.

Observe a spectacular lunar eclipse of Jupiter’s moons.

Examine the erupting volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io. Fly through a spewing volcanic plume.

Hover far beyond Saturn, plunge through its rings, and count its 60 moons.

Witness Cassini arrive in Saturn space in 2004 and drop the Huygens probe into the atmosphere of Titan.

Take up station behind comet Halley in 1986 as its gaseous tail streams out near Earth.

Seek out Ceres, Eris and Makemake, three of our Solar System’s new “dwarf planets”

Follow Voyagers 1 and 2 as they head to distant stars beyond our solar system.

Witness the Deep Impact spacecraft crash onto the surface of comet Tempel1 in 2005.

Set your ship at faster-than-light speed and sail to Rigel Kentaurus A, 4.3 light years away.

Visit a future space station orbiting Mars.

Travel in time to 3000 CE to witness giant mirrors melt the Martian polar ice caps and help to terraform Mars into a verdant world of water, plants and cities of the future.

Travel far into the future and rendezvous with a colossal rotating Space Station orbiting Earth.

Journey to the edges of a massive rotating Black Hole as it spins near its stellar companion. Witness another Black Hole swallowing its companion star.

Travel to Betelgeuse, a distant Red Supergiant star that will Hypernova someday.

See stellar creation from deep within the Rosette and Eagle Nebulas, giant stellar nurseries.

Observe the deep field galaxies that were photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Hear the sounds of the pulsar in the Crab Nebula, spinning before you at over 30 times a second.

Witness the end of Earth, as it is swallowed by our swelling Red Giant sun 5 billion years from now.

Jump at hyperspeed to the Andromeda galaxy, and to M 87 located in the Virgo Cluster.

Cruise next to Hector Servadac’s, a revolutionary new spacecraft that can sail on a “wind” of aether.

Travel backward in time 4 billion years to witness the planet “Orpheus” catastrophically collide with Earth to form our Moon.

Learn the efforts being taken to discover if extraterrestrial intelligence exists in the universe.

Travel with the USS Enterprise commanded by Captain Picard as it battles the Borg Empire.

Explore the world of Hollywood and visit the StarWars® worlds of Tatooine, Endor and Hoth. Pace the Death Star or Star Destroyer as the Millennium Falcon swoops in for an attack.

Fly directly through a theoretical wormhole on your way to a distant solar system.

Explore fictional solar systems, complete with meticulously detailed, exotic alien civilizations, terraformed moons, futuristic space stations, space fleets, and interstellar spacecraft.

Introductory Guide• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: tutaj• Summary: Contains a general outline

of our Educational Activities and how to install and use them at home or in a classroom. Please download and read this first!

• Description: This guide contains an introduction to the Educational Activities, with all of the information needed for the installation and usage of Frank's Educational Tools. Please download and examine this package prior to attempting to install any of the other Educational Activities.

Celestia-1.5.1-ED• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: • Summary: A Customized Windows version of

Celestia 1.5.1 designed to operate with all Educational Activities. This must be installed into the Celestia-ED folder and used with all educational activities on a Windows computer.

• Description: Celestia 1.5.1-ED is a customized version of Celestia 1.5.1 containing additional coded features to include sound and overlay textures. It was customized by Vincent Giangiulio, Victor Gomes, Jean-Marc Izard and Frank Gregorio, and was compiled for Windows by Vincent Giangiulio. Copyright © 2008 - Vincent Giangiulio.

Please contact Vincent Giangiulio if you wish to use the original or modified version of this file for any commercial activity. Contact: vince.gian@free.fr.

Educational Base Package• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj.• Na blogu: • Summary: Contains

everything REQUIRED for use of the Educational Activities. Please install this package into your Celestia-ED folder before installing any of the educational activities below.

• Description: Contains the add-ons and all planet textures which are REQUIRED for all of the numbered Educational Activities. Please download, unzip and install this into your Celestia-ED folder before installing any of the educational activities below.

The World of Celestia• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: tutaj• Summary: A spectacular introductory showcase

journey through Celestia space. Explore over 60 separate destinations.

• Description: This is a spectacular introductory showcase journey through Celestia space. It begins on Earth. Under your command, launch a sleek hyperdrive spacecraft and climb above the clouds and atmosphere into orbit. Try docking with a massive space station of the future. Fly by the ISS and Hubble Space Telescope. View Hurricane Katrina from orbit, discover the cause of our aurora, then travel to our Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Halley’s Comet. Stop by a Red Dwarf, and the Red Supergiant, Betelgeuse. Traverse the Rosette Nebula. See Black Holes, Pulsars and a theoretical wormhole. Fly beyond the Milky Way into intergalactic space. Visit the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Learn the true scale of the universe. Explore fictional Hollywood spacecraft. The tour makes 60 great stops in all.

Activities 1&2 - The Universe• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: CelEdu0102• Czas: 2-3h• Summary: A detailed educational tour of the size and

wonders of our Universe from Earth to beyond the Milky Way with stops at planets, moons, stars, nebula, black holes and galaxies. This Activity can serve as a primary/key teaching tool on this topic.

• Description:This is a detailed astronomical tour of the visible universe. Explore the concept of infinity. Take off from Earth and soar into space in your own hyperdrive spacecraft, stopping at the sun, and some of our solar system’s planets, moons, asteroids, comets and spacecraft. Rendezvous with Voyager 2 as it leaves our Solar System. Swing by the Rosette Nebula and Ring Nebula, and then hover above and actually hear the spinning pulsar in the Crab nebula. Pass a dramatic Black Hole deep in space and attempt to fly directly into it. Examine the Virgo Cluster up close. See the Ultra Deep Field of 10,000 galaxies that the Hubble Space Telescope photographed. Learn the unbelievable size and magnificent scale of the universe.

Activity 3 - Inner Solar System• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: tutaj • Czas: 3-4h (łącznie części 3 i 4)• Summary:Educational Activity 3 - The Inner

Solar System. A basic journey through the inner Solar System, with stops at the Sun, the inner planets, their moons and selected spacecraft.

• Description:Study the Sun and measure its rotation. Observe Helios 1 on its solar flyby. Discover the brutal conditions on Mercury and Venus. Orbit Earth, and then fly down to the Kennedy Space Center. Visit the Hubble Space Telescope and ISS. Accompany Apollo 11 as it orbits the Moon in 1969. Hover over Mars and see the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on its surface. Fly over Olympus Mons and Valles Marineris.

Activity 3E - Inner Solar System - Extended

• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: CelEdu03E• Czas: około 3h• Summary: The Inner Solar System (Extended).

An extended tour of the inner Solar System.• Description:An extended tour of the inner Solar System with

detailed discussion and stops at the Sun, the inner planets, their moons and selected spacecraft.Is a tutorial on the Inner Solar System and can serve as a primary teaching tool on this topic. Observe the Sun’s solar flares, prominences and granules and measure its rotation. Chase Helios 1, then see Mercury during the Mariner 10 flyby. Watch Magellan map Venus. Drop a probe to the surface. Experience Earth from high orbit and witness its magnetic field and Aurora Borealis. Fly down to the Kennedy Space Center and the Florida Keys. Witness the size of Hurricane Katrina from orbit. Delve into Earth’s interior via a rotating cutaway. Visit the Hubble Space Telescope and ISS. Travel back in time and pace Apollo 11 as it orbits the Moon in 1969, and lands the LEM on its surface. Observe a dramatic lunar eclipse. Travel to Mars where the Mars Spirit and Opportunity await you. Orbit with Mars Global Surveyor and MRO, and observe a rare conjunction of nine solar system objects. Learn what a Mars colony might experience. Fly over Olympus Mons and through Valles Marineris canyon. See where the new Mars Phoenix has landed to look for the waters of life.

Activity 4 - Outer Solar System• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Czas: 3-4h (łącznie części 3 i 4)• Summary: Educational Activity 4 - The Outer Solar

System. A basic journey through the outer Solar System, with stops at the asteroids, the outer planets, their moons, comets and selected spacecraft.

• Description: Activity 4 is a continuation of the basic journey through the outer Solar System, with stops at the asteroids, the outer planets, their moons, comets and selected spacecraft.Chase several asteroids, then rocket over to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Fly through Saturn’s rings. Witness a triple eclipse of Jupiter’s moons and examine Europa up close. Fly through an erupting volcanic plume on Io. Pace the Cassini spacecraft. Discover Pluto and its moons. See Makemake, our Solar System’s new dwarf planet and comet Halley. Enjoy a flyby of Voyager 2 as it passes Neptune and leaves the Solar System forever. Conclude with a flyby of a lonely comet in the Oort Cloud as it silently orbits the sun.

Activity 4E - Outer Solar System - Extended

• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: CelEdu04E• Czas: około 3h• Summary: The Outer Solar System (Extended).

An extended tour of the outer Solar System.• Description:Activity 4E is the extended companion

journey of the outer Solar System and can serve as a primary teaching tool on this topic. See two Near Earth Object asteroids almost hit Earth. View Gaspra, asteroid Ida and its moon Dactyl. Then move on to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. See Galileo orbit Jupiter. Examine the four Galilean moons close up. Observe actual volcanic eruptions on Io. Witness a triple Jovian lunar eclipse. Fly through Saturn’s rings. Pace Cassini in 2004 and follow the Huygens probe to the surface of Titan. Visit Uranus and hover over Neptune then fly by Triton while accompanying Voyager 2 as it leaves our solar system forever. Discover Pluto and its three moons. Travel to Ceres, Eris, Sedna and our newest planet Makemake. Consider Comet Halley’s beautiful tail close up. Journey through the Kuiper Belt and on to visit a dark lonely comet in the distant Oort Cloud of comets.

Activity 5 - The Terraforming of Mars

• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: CelEdu05• Czas: 1h• Summary: The Terra forming of Mars is an amazing

educational journey into the 26th century to witness the Terra forming of Mars into an Earth-like, colonized world.

• Description:This activity takes you into the 26th century to witness our attempt to transform Mars from a dead, cold, dry planet to a wet, warm and breathable world covered in seas and suitable for colonization. The Activity can serve as a primary teaching tool on this topic. Travel to Earth of the future, to visit a massive rotating space station in orbit. Then it’s on to Mars to view a battery of eight giant reflecting mirrors orbiting Mars, reflecting sunlight onto Mar’s polar caps. Over centuries, see Mars become a world of seas, life and new beginnings. View and hear a video made by future Martian colonists showcasing some of the scenes of their world.

Activity 6 - The Life and Death of Stars

• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: CelEdu06• Czas: 4h• Summary: A detailed tour of the complete life cycle

of stars from nebula through black holes. We visit 27 separate locations.

• Description: This Activity can serve as a primary teaching tool on this topic. The journey begins in our Solar System and travels through the galaxy, stopping at nebula, protostars, main sequence stars, brown and red dwarfs, yellow, white, red and blue Supergiant stars, planetary nebula, white dwarfs, black dwarfs, supernova, hypernova, neutron stars, whirling pulsars and spinning black holes. There are over 27 stops in all. Fly through the Rosette and Eagle star-forming nebula, skim across the surface of an exploding star, witness the death of Earth when our Sun swells to a Red Giant, hear a pulsar rotating 30 times a second. Visit the largest known star in the Milky Way … up close! Orbit three rotating black holes and spinning protostars. Fly through the event horizon of a Black Hole!

Activity 7 - Spacecraft, part 1• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Czas: 2-3h• Summary: This is part 1 of the Spacecraft of

Celestia. It visits many of the spacraft launched in the vicinity of Earth and Moon orbit.

• Description: This activity guides you on a visit to some of the spacecraft built by humans to explore Earth orbit and can serve as a primary teaching tool on this topic. Pace Sputnik 1 in 1958 and listen to its actual signal. Hover next to Vostok 1, Explorer 1, and the Mercury and Gemini capsules. Examine Skylab and Mir, then it’s on to the U.S. Space Shuttles, the International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope, Carot, Spitzer, and Chandra space telescopes. See Shenzhou V and VI. Be there when the Apollo 11 spacecraft makes its monumental landing on the moon. See the threat that space junk can pose to spacecraft. Fly near Cosmos 1, the first spacecraft to sail the night on sunbeams. Witness potential new spacecraft designs of the future.

Activity 8 - Spacecraft, part 2• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: CelEdu08• Czas: 2-3h• Summary: This is part 2 of the spacecraft of Celestia. It

visits over 20 spacecraft and probes launched to explore our other planets, moons, asteroids, comets and the sun.

• Description: The Activity can serve as a primary teaching tool on this topic. See Mariner approaching Mercury and the Venera probes drop onto Venus. Watch the Venus Express brake around Venus. Fly with Magellan. Visit Viking on Mars and follow the Mars Odyssey, MGS and MRO from orbit. Consider Spirit and Opportunity and the new Phoenix mission as they search for evidence of water. Fly with Pioneer and the Voyagers past the outer planets. Witness Galileo orbiting Jupiter and the Cassini probe enter Saturn orbit. Follow Huygens down through the Titan’s atmosphere for a soft landing. See NEAR land on Eros. Chase New Horizons on its way to Pluto. Fly next to Ulysses. Observe Deep Impact hit comet Tempel1. Then, travel into the fictional future to stop at Deep Space 9 and Valley Forge around Saturn. Try docking with a massive Space Station orbiting Earth. Locate Discovery and its pod and the monolith, adrift in Jupiter space as you listen to Also Sprach Zarathustra. End your trip by exploring the Cygnus orbiting a Black Hole.

Activity 9 - The Primitive Earth and Moon

• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: CelEdu09• Czas: 2-3h• Summary: A spectacular journey back in time

to witness a massive collision of a planet with earth and the reformation of a new earth, and our moon.

• Description: Journey back four billion years to a time when Earth had no moon and was a big volcanic ball of hot rock and primitive ocean. Witness the collision of Earth with another planet called Orpheus, breaking both worlds into pieces that splatter into orbit forming a huge ring of hot rubble. Fly through the ring and over time, watch as gravity reshapes that debris into a new Earth … and our moon.Can serve as a primary teaching tool on this topic.

Activity 10 - The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Na blogu: CelEdu10• Czas: 2-3h• Summary: This activity investigates the search for

extra-terrestrial intelligence.• Description: You will journey through the world

of SETI. Consider infinity and the number of stars and planets that could be home to life and to intelligence. Contemplate what life on other worlds might be like. Solve the Drake Equation. Travel at the speed of light. View the messages to aliens on the Pioneer and Voyager probes. Then, visit some famous Hollywood’s spacecraft as they meet alien races. Witness the USS Enterprise battle the Borg Cube. Help Luke Skywalker and R2D2 in their X-Wing fighter battle the Death Star and Star Destroyer protected by tie fighters in orbit around Tatooine. Finally, journey to the fictional civilization of Ran, a beautiful fantasy Solar System filled with striking alien planets and moons with advanced civilizations, mining colonies and starships capable of interstellar travel.

Conjunctions and Occultations ED v1.1• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• Summary: These scripts take you on a journey through space and

time to demonstrate theprinciple of Conjunctions. It especially serves an Educational purpose, for users of all ages, at home, in school or in a public presentation.

• Description:The script EN151-2009 (and NL151-2009)works with Celestia v1.5.0 and Celestia v1.5.1. When used in combination with Celestia-ED v1.5.1 or Celestia v1.6.0 or later, it is advised to run the 160-version (EN160-2009/NL160-2009) of this script!

The script EN160-2009 (and NL160-2009) works with Celestia v1.6.0 or later and Celestia-ED v1.5.1 or later. When used in combination with older Celestia versions, this script will not run.

This script takes you on a journey through space to demonstrate the principle of Conjunctions. Conjunctions are alignments of planets and moons and can take different forms. The script also explains the morer rare appearances of Conjunctions, namely Occultations, Transits and Eclipses one celestial body blocks or comes in front or in the shadow of another).

This script especially serves an Educational purpose, for users of all ages, at home, on school or in a public presentation. Besides educational explanation, the script also contains spectacular and sensational views of our Solar System in the present, past and future. It travels around the world, to the moon and even further away through our Solar System. It will also show you the world of Eclipsing Binaries, which represent unique alignments of paired stars.

Large Igneous Provinces• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj• 3D CMOD mesh showing the

Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) around the world.Note: This add-on is designed for the LuaEduTools by Vincent Giangiulio!

• Description: Please note that this add-on will work with the LuaEduTools only!More information about the LuaEduTools

CELESTIA WORKSHOP

• Lokalizacja w Internecie: tutaj

• Experienced astronomer and astrophotographer Paul Luckas of the Centre for Learning Technology at UWA has written an extensive guide for the brilliant astronomy software, Celestia.

Frank Gregorio o Celestiihttp://www.shatters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=78185#p78185

• As a teacher of Astronomy in a high school, Celestia has become the most important tool I can use. In fact, four years ago, when my high school administrator first asked me to teach Astronomy, I refused. I had no way to actually get the kids out of the classroom and up into space. Who wants to learn about the universe while staring at me while I lecture? Although there are plenty of good videos to show, I simply could not see anyone getting really excited about the universe, unless they could go into it and see all of its wonders for themselves, preferably while piloting their own spacecraft.

When I discovered Celestia 1.2.0 on the web, I instantly recognized its potential to get my students out of the classroom and up into space. I realized I could use the program two ways. First, I could load the program on my teaching computer, connect it to an LCD Projector, and use it to fly to different locales. Back in 2003, Celestia had relatively few add-ons, and was primarily a Solar System simulation, so the views I could offer my students back then centered around trips to the planets and their moons. Some spacecraft were also offered, but the list was short.

Frank Gregorio o Celestii 2• I tried this method and found it somewhat cumbersome (user-friendly scripts had not been

put into use yet). The LCD Projector brightness was too low to display the stars properly. I had to hit lots of keystrokes. Nevertheless, it did work and I was able to display Celestia to my class via a projector, and take them to some neat places in the solar system. The downside of this was that they were still in their seats ... listening to me. I was not getting them personally into space!

The 2nd approach was to load Celestia on a class set of computers in a computer lab, and allow an entire class of kids to take their own journeys into Celestia space. Celestia 1.2.0 was not CPU heavy and even a school computer could run it.

I felt this would be more enjoyable to the kids so I tried it out with my Earth Science class. I set up Celestia on our school's computer lab (with 30 computers). My students really liked it, but it had problems. I had to constantly speak, give them directions on what buttons to push, what keys to press, then lecture about what they were seeing. They liked the visual appeal, but it felt too much like a classroom with the teacher lecturing. There was also the MAJOR problem of them not paying attention to me while they played around with the program, and losing their way quickly (which I would then have to fix).

Frank Gregorio o Celestii 3• Instead, I tried something else. I wrote a guided tour of Celestia space, using MS Word. In it, I

included complete step by step instructions for how to operate the program, while also including a detailed written lesson about the places they were visiting. They could read it and learn at their own pace. I also provided a written worksheet for them to complete.

This initial written tour did not include any cel:urls (not invented yet by Chris). It required no add-ons. Celestia default was all they needed. It took about 45 minutes to read and execute.

It was a BIG HIT! My students loved going at their own pace, without constantly listening to me yelling out instructions in the background.

The guided tour was placed on the Celestia website by Chris for others to use.

I joined the forum and learned that there were LOTS of plans for future versions of Celestia ... lots of new features. That convinced me that I had discovered a way to get my students into space. I, therefore, agreed to begin teaching a dedicated course in Astronomy in my high school. I even talked my school principal into buying 30 Nvidia FX 5600 video cards for the computers in our science computer lab.

Frank Gregorio o Celestii 4• Shortly thereafter, NASA discovered my guided tour and realized that something like it was exactly what

they wanted to do on their own website ... give visitors a means of interactively going into space. They contacted me and under a consulting agreement, I began to develop a series of journeys through Celestia space. Unfortunately, that was not simple to do. There was still very few custom add-ons for the program. It is one thing to develop a tour of the Life Cycle of Stars, but another to realize you have no protostars, pulsars, black holes or even nebula to take visitors to.

Since the old phrase "necessity is the mother of invention" has always been true, I began working not only with NASA, but with some of the gifted designers on the forum to develop new add-ons for the educational activities that I wanted to design. Don Edwards, Jack Higgins, Rassilon, Grant Hutchinson, Selden, BH and many others designed some spectacular new places to visit in Celestia ... new planets, spacecraft, nebula, protostars, etc. In the meantime, Chris and the Celestia development team added new features that augmented the use of Celestia in education.

As a result of this wonderful collaborative effort by so many talented people over the course of a year, I was able to write/assemble six new detailed journeys through Celestia space in 2004. The add-ons were loaded into Celestia in my school. The written Activities were loaded on the computers. The software was upgraded to version 1.3.0 and my students were given a chance to not only visit the Solar System, but to go deep into space to see spacecraft, travel to the edge of the universe, learn the complete life cycle of stars or travel into the future to see Mars become a terraformed world of cities and oceans.

Frank Gregorio o Celestii 5• It worked so well in a school setting that my course became the most popular course in my high school. I

began to turn away students wanting to get in. In the meantime, wholesale improvements to Celestia continued to be made in 2005 and 2006. Cel:urls appeared ... nebula became animated in 3D, spacecraft of all kinds began to be designed, sounds were added to the program along with celx scripting, galaxies took a quantum leap in design and appearance. In particular, the use of Cel:url links embedded in the Activity documents was a godsend, enabling me to take my students instantly to any time or place in the Celestia universe.

The Activities became a bit too long and complex for use on the NASA site. Instead, they opted for a simple approach with just a few cel:url links and a few rhymes to showcase Celestia.

Today, through the generous contributions of dozens of new graphics artists and add-on developers on the forum today to include Jestr, Cham, Runar and others, plus the incredible talents of the development team, to include Chris, Fridger, Toti, Christophe, Vincent, Victor and Boux, Celestia 1.4.1-ED is approaching the level of a Star Wars movie in sophistication. That has enabled me to create and contribute 12 spectacular Activity journeys, with two more now under development ("The Origin of the Universe", and "The Impact that Shook the World" (the asteroid impact of 65 million years ago)).

These trips include detailed tours of the universe and our solar system, the complete life cycle of stars, an extensive review of over 40 different spacecraft in the space program, trips to the future to see Mars terraformed and our Sun swell to a Red Giant, a trip 4 billion years back in time to witness the impact of Earth by Orpheus and the formation of the moon, and an exciting look at the world of SETI.

Frank Gregorio o Celestii 6• My students absolutely LOVE taking them ... far more than listening to me lecture I play some

ethereal space music in the computer room, turn out the lights and let them travel Celestia space at their own pace, following the detailed instructions and teaching lessons in the written Activities. They complete detailed worksheets as they go, which they use as study guides and notes. The visual appeal is so extraordinary that they consistantly get top grades in the subject content that they are learning about.

All of the Activities can be downloaded one at a time for free, or a self-installing CD set of them can be obtained from me for a minimal fee. They are available on the Motherlode education site located at:

http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/educational.php

I can honestly say that the use of Celestia via these Activities has transformed my high school Astronomy course from a room with a teacher, some videos and a blackboard, into a high-tech space simulation experience far more exciting than anything these kids have ever experienced in a school. In part because of my use of Celestia, I have been recognized by USA Today as one of the "best" teachers in America. I've been nominated three times for the Disney Teaching Awards and this year, was a close runner-up for the award, for the use of computer technology in the classroom.

Frank Gregorio o Celestii 7• That said, there are five limitations to the use of Celestia Educational Activities. These include:

1. The documents and corresponding trips are detailed journeys, and they can be long. They can take from 1 - 4 hours to experience (e.g. - the Life Cycle of Stars is a 4-hour lesson)

2. You do have to switch from the on-screen instructions to Celestia, then back again. It can get tedious, but there is no way around it. Over 400 cel:urls are used in these journeys and obviously they do not work on a paper document. The Activity must be interactively accessed and interfaced with Celestia.

3. Celestia has gotten VERY sophisticated and now demands a good video card with OpenGL capability to enjoy the best that it has to offer. Many school computers simply don't have that level of video processing. Even my Nvidia FX 5600 cards are reaching their limits.

4. The kids have to read a long document. Some are poor readers and will tend to fall behind. This can be overcome if they are willing to stay after school, or you can tell them how to load the Activity on their home computer to complete at home (a real PLUS for some situations).

5. As mentioned by Andrea above, not all schools have a full class set of computers that students can access (although that is getting better).

In closing, I believe Celestia is the best thing Astronomy education has ever seen. Using it in a guided way via scripts or written Activity documents is the absolute best way to stimulate kids today and give them a universe not only to learn about, but to EXPERIENCE!!!

If you haven't experienced a Celestia Educational Activity journey yet, visit the website above and see for yourself just where they can take you. Pick any topic that interests you. Just remember that you have to download the add-ons, and the customized version of Celestia-ED to run the Activities.

Feel free to email me for advice or comments. Enjoy!

Frank

Notatki:http://www.gregs-educational.info/review.htmhttp://www.gregs-educational.info/outline.htmhttp://picasaweb.google.pl/JacekKupras/ATourOfTheCelestiaUniverse#