Awards and Reviews

The editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica have chosen Cosmicopia as a Britannica iGuide site. Britannica identifies and screens web sites to supplement their own content, and selects sites with high-quality content to present as recommended resources for their online readers.

Cosmicopia is the NetWatch column's featured education website in the December 16, 2005 issue of Science.

From the column, available here:

"Cosmic rays spew from the sun, hurtle out of the remains of supernovas, and escape from other extraterrestrial sources. The speeding space particles, which constantly pelt Earth, interest astronomers studying questions such as the composition of the galaxy. NASA's Cosmicopia explains cosmic rays and related topics such as space weather for students and the public. Subjects include Earth's magnetosphere, the magnetic cloak around the planet that rebuffs many cosmic rays. The site also offers a Q&A written by experts, a timeline of ray research, and links to news stories."

The Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center is listed in the Digital Library for Earth System Education. DLESE is a community resource that supports teaching and learning about the Earth system. It is funded by the National Science Foundation and is being built by a community of educators, students, and scientists to support Earth system education at all levels and in both formal and informal settings. The full listing is available here.

The Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center is included in AstronomyCenter.org, a collection of introductory astronomy digital resources for teachers and students. AstronomyCenter.org is a service provided by the American Astronomical Society in collaboration with the American Association of Physics Teachers and the ComPADRE project. It is supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation and the American Physical Society Campaign for Physics. The full listing is available here.

The Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center is listed in The Gateway to Educational Materials. The Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) project is a consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to the substantial, but uncataloged, collections of educational materials found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. GEM is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Resources are organized by subjects and keywords, and the database is searchable.

The Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center has been selected by SciLinks for inclusion in their listings of scientific subject matter links. SciLinks is a partnership between textbook publishers and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to include Internet science resources in textbooks. Sites are chosen by a network of teacher-webwatchers, tied by subject to specific material in textbooks. Students can reference a code within their textbooks to find the related sites listed by SciLinks.

The Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center was selected by the Physical Sciences Information Gateway in 2003 for inclusion in their science resource database. PSIgate provides free access to high quality Internet resources for students, researchers and practitioners in the physical sciences (specifically in astronomy, chemistry, earth sciences, physics, and science history and policy).

From the listing:

"This NASA site is aimed at the general public and provides an introduction to cosmic and heliospheric science. It covers: astrophysics basics (composition, energetic particles, acceleration, magnetic fields); cosmic rays; the Sun; and space weather. Links are provided to related sites and news coverage."

Solar Wind page is also listed separately in the PSIgate database.

From the listing:

"A short primer on Solar wind, part of the Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center provided by NASA. The site includes a basic definition of Solar wind, links to numerous articles and news headlines, activities for school students, and links to other resources."

The Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center was selected as an edHelper Honor Roll Site in November 2000, named as an excellent resource. ed Helper lists over 14,000 resources, including 7,000 lesson plans, 1,000 webquests, and free worksheets.

Description of the Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center from the site:

"Come here to study life's cosmic questions--such as what were the effects of the coronal mass ejection in January 1997? This collection of mostly NASA resources covers Astrophysics Basics, Cosmic Rays, and the Heliosphere. Recent news in these areas is highlighted, and selected activities are featured in specific topics. Try the Ask-a-Physicist feature to explore the space physics questions that keep you up at night!"

Enthusiastic independent reviews were conducted in August 1999 of the Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center by Classroom Webivore, part of The Learning Company, for students and teachers of grades 4 - 12.

According to the site, Classroom Webivore "is a complete, easy-to-use research system that enables students and educators to efficiently search educational web sites, collect relevant graphical or textual information, and then create Internet-enriched reports or presentations."

Review of the history page: "Which came first, the idea that the sun was the center of the universe or the earth? Browse through this site and you will know the answer to that question and many more. Every definition is presented in non-technical terms with pictures to help better explain the concepts. You'll also find internal and external links to more detailed information about various events in history." (The history page is previewed on Webivore's site under High School/Astronomy/People & History/Developments in Astronomy.)

Review of the Glossary: "If you ever have a question about an astronomy term, this is the glossary that will have the definition. With well written, non-technical definitions, picture illustrations, and both internal and external links to more detailed explanation, you will be well versed in the language of astronomy." (The glossary page is previewed on Webivore's site under High School/Physics/Resources/Dictionaries & Glossaries and under High School/Astronomy/Resources/Dictionaries & Glossaries.)

Review of the entire site: "Did you know that the heliosphere is an "immense magnetic bubble that contains our solar system, solar wind, and the entire solar magnetic field?" Or that cosmic rays are "particles and high-energy light that bombard the Earth from ANYWHERE beyond its atmosphere?" I didn't until I found this site. It investigates all of the materials which make up our solar system and how they've changed over time. That may sound like a lot, but this site makes it easy to search and learn. Enjoy!"

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