Students:  Syllabi are here.

Astronomy 320 Links 

(Listed by Chapter or Section)

Some links have notes after them in Red

 

 Introduction 

The nature of Science  (This one is important if you want to understand how my tests work!)

http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/howscienceworks_01

About Skepticism and the Paranormal

http://skepdic.com/

http://www.skeptic.com

What harm does paranormal thinking cause?  Here's actual examples:

http://whatstheharm.net/index.html

Fallacies of argument

http://www.skepdic.com/ticriticalthinking.html

http://www.freewebs.com/thinkingstraight/Fallacies.htm

Test yourself - watch this & count the number of B-ball passes... then watch it again

http://viscog.beckman.illinois.edu/flashmovie/15.php

What can you trust on the Web?  (Look at the table at the bottom)

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/crlnews/1998/jul/teachingundergrads.cfm

Conspiracy “theories”

http://skepdic.com/illuminati.html

Other weirdness

http://www.crank.net/science.html

Scale of the Universe (Powers of Ten)

http://www.cern.ch/CERN/Microcosm/P10/english/P0.html

Lookback times

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/intro/lookbacktimesim.html

Small scales

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/

Observing and amateur astronomy 

http://www.dma.org/~wagner/ast_tel.htm  

    - The local astronomy group for Sacramento 

http://www.svas.org  (If you live in Sacramento, look here)

 

 Chapter 1 

Applets - Ancient Astronomy

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/ancientastro.html

Constellation myths - The stories behind them  

http://www.comfychair.org/~cmbell/myth/myth.html

http://www.greekforme.com/constellations.html

Parallax

http://www.astro.ubc.ca/~scharein/a311/Sim/new-parallax/Parallax.html

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/stellarprops/parallaxdiag.html

 

 Chapter 2 

Applets - Renaissance astronomy

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/renaissance.html

Ancient civilizations and astronomy  

http://www.sir-ray.com/Ancient%20Astronomy.htm

    - Namoratunga

http://www.bluegecko.org/kenya/tribes/turkana/articles-namoratunga.htm

Geocentric Model (Ptolemy)

http://www.astro.utoronto.ca/~zhu/ast210/geocentric.html

Heliocentric Model (Copernicus)

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/retrograde/copernican.html

Phases of Venus

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/renaissance/ptolemaic.html (Before Copernicus)

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/renaissance/venusphases.html (After Copernicus)

Kepler’s "laws"

http://www.phys.hawaii.edu/~teb/java/ntnujava/Kepler/Kepler.html

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/renaissance/kepler.html

Have fun destroying planets with gravity:

http://www.arachnoid.com/gravitation/

Newton’s first principle of motion

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/newtlaws/mb.cfm

Newton’s second principle of motion

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/newtlaws/efff.cfm

    -Newton's satellite cannon

http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/109N/more_stuff/Applets/newt/newtmtn.html

Orbit shapes

http://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/java/projectileOrbit/projectileOrbit.html

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newtonkepler.html

Escape velocities

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vesc.html

 

 Chapter 3 

Applets - Light & Spectra

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/light.html

Manipulate an electromagnetic wave: 

http://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/java/emWave/emWave.html

Wave interference

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/applets/twoslitsa.html

EM spectrum

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/waves_particles/

Seeing in other colors

http://www.chromoscope.net/

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/emspectrum.html

Blackbody radiation

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/meltednail.html

http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/light/stellarEncounters-frames.html

http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/light/heating2.html  

http://webphysics.davidson.edu/alumni/MiLee/java/bb_mjl.htm

http://www.bu.edu/smec/qsad/applets/blackbody/applet.html

Doppler effect

    -Source

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/applets/doppler.html

    -Observer

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/applets/doppler2.html

    -Applet

http://www.phys.hawaii.edu/~teb/java/ntnujava/Doppler/Doppler.html

 

 Chapter 4 

Applets - Light & Spectra

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/light.html

Types of Spectra

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/threeviewsspectra.html

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/spectrum010.html

Spectra of different elements

http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/elements/Elements.html

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/spectrum010.html

Atoms and ions

http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~acarpi/NSC/3-atoms.htm

Bohr Atom

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/hydrogenatom.html

Broadening

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/spectrum010.html

 

 Chapter 5 

Applets - Telescopes & astronomical instruments

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/telescopes.html

Telescopes

    - Chromatic Aberration and "Solutions"

http://www.yorku.ca/eye/chroaber.htm  

http://www.yorku.ca/eye/achromat.htm  

    - Resolution power 

http://www.pk3.org/Astro/index.htm?scopes_resolution.htm

    - Magnification 

http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph14e/refractor.htm

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/telescopes/telescope10.html

The plans for a 100m (yes, really) telescope

http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/eelt/owl/index_3.html

Radio telescopes

http://www.astronomynotes.com/telescop/s4.htm

http://cass.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/Radio_Tel.html

Interferometry

http://www.astronomynotes.com/telescop/s7.htm

 

 Chapter 16 

Applets - Sun & solar energy

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/sunsolarenergy.html

Solar atmosphere

    - Photosphere

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/sun/atmosphere/photosphere.html

http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/feature1.shtml

        - Granules

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/sun/granulation.html  

    - Chromosphere

http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/chromos.shtml

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/sun/atmosphere/chromosphere.html

    - Corona

http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/corona.shtml

http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/feature3.shtml

    - Recent pictures of the Sun 

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html

http://web.ct.astro.it/sun/

http://mlso.hao.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/mlso_homepage.cgi

Sunspots

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/Sun/sunspots.html

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/sun/sunspots.html

Sunspot cycle and Maunder minimum

http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml

The Earth's auroras

http://www.exploratorium.edu/auroras/photography.html  (Nice pictures)

Nuclear fusion of hydrogen

http://www.jet.efda.org/fusion-basics/what-is-fusion/

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/sunsolarenergy/fusion01.html

Neutrinos

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980605.html

 

 Chapter 17 

Applets - Stellar properties I & Binary stars

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/stellarprops.html

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/binaryvariablestars.html

Measuring parallax:

http://www.astro.ubc.ca/~scharein/a311/Sim/new-parallax/Parallax.html

Stars near Q

http://www.solstation.com/orbits.htm

http://www.chara.gsu.edu/~riedel/10pc2011.html (Several Animations Here)

Distance Modulus

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/stellarprops/stellarmag.html

Space velocity

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/motion/space.html (Has a calculator to play with values)

Star magnitudes

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/stars/magnitudes.html

http://domeofthesky.com/clicks/magnitude.html

Stellar spectra

http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/spectra.html#sequence

     - About Annie Jump Cannon, one of the "stellar goddesses" 

http://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/cannon.html

HR Diagrams 

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/Stars/hrdiagram.html

http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/star_life/hr_diagram.html

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/Stars/hrdiagram.html

    - A bit more advanced:

http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/hrd.html

    - Simulations

http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~javahrd/v071/index.html (Watch stars live and die)

http://www.astro.ubc.ca/~scharein/a311/Sim/hr/HRdiagram.html (Watch stars live and die)

http://astro.unl.edu/naap/hr/animations/hr.html

Binaries 

    - Center of Mass

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/binaryvariablestars/centerofmass.html

    - Spectroscopic binaries 

http://astro.ph.unimelb.edu.au/software/binary/binary.htm

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/radialvelocitydemo.html

    - Eclipsing binaries

http://www.astro.ubc.ca/~scharein/a311/Sim/ebinary/EclipsingBinary.html

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/binaryvariablestars/eclipsingbinarysim.html

 

 Chapter 18 

Pictures of nebulas

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-astro-nebula.html

Types of nebulae

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/milkyway/ism.html

http://www.blackskies.org/neb101.htm

Interstellar Molecules 

http://www.shantanurastogi.homestead.com/files/ismol.html

http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/allmols.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_molecules_in_interstellar_space

 

 Chapter 19 

Steps of starbirth 

http://www.phy.duke.edu/~kolena/starbirth.html

http://www.cosmiclight.com/imagegalleries/starbirth.htm

Brown Dwarf formation 

http://astro.berkeley.edu/~stars/bdwarfs/formtnbd.html

http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=4720

Herbig – Haro objects 

http://www.noao.edu/outreach/press/pr03/sb0308.html  

http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cms/astro/cosmos/h/Herbig-Haro+Object

Star clusters, open and globular

http://www.phy.olemiss.edu/Astro/Topics-Extrasolar/Clusters-N.html

http://seds.org/messier/cluster.html

http://outreach.atnf.csiro.au/education/senior/astrophysics/stellarevolution_clusters.html

 

 Chapter 20 

Hydrostatic Equilibrium

http://www.astronomynotes.com/starsun/s7.htm

Starlife

http://www.seed.slb.com/flash/science/lab/airspace/byo_star/en/byostar.htm?width=805&height=550&popup=true  (Make and grow your own star!) 

Red giant phase of Stardeath 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant

White Dwarfs

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/the_universe/WD.html

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/astro/whdwar.html

Main sequence turnoffs

http://astro.berkeley.edu/~dperley/univage/univage.html#msturnoff

Algol

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/binaries/algol.html

http://www.solstation.com/stars2/algol3.htm

 

 Chapter 21 

Type II (Core collapse) supernovas

http://legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/snr.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/3103/nonshocked/topics/supernovas/supernovas.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/universe/super2.html

    - Before and after Supernova1987a

http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~wendy/SN1987a.html 

Type I (Carbon detonation) supernovas

http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/bmendez/ay10/2000/cycle/snI.html

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/supernovae/type1.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/universe/super1a.html

Supernova searches (by amateur astronomers) 

http://www.supernovae.net/isn.htm

Nucleosynthesis

http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/Academics/Astr221/LifeCycle/highmassburn.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesis#Key_reactions

 

 Chapter 22 

Neutron star and black hole flyby movies:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/rjn_bht.html

Neutron stars:

http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/objects/binaries/neutron_star_structure.html

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/N/neutronstar.html

Pulsars

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/pulsars/pulsars.html  

http://www.seasky.org/celestial-objects/pulsars.html

Gamma ray bursters

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/bursts.html

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/gamma-ray_burst.html

http://spacespin.org/article.php/gamma-ray-burst-challenges-theory

Special Relativity - Time dilation

http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph14e/timedilation.htm

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/shwave/tdilate.cfm

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/shwave/contract.cfm

Black holes

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/black_holes.html

http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/home.html

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/guidry/violence/blackholes.html

http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/research/gr/public/bh_intro.html

 

 Chapter 23 

Applets - Milky Way Galaxy

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/milkyway.html

The Milky Way

http://cassfos02.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/MW.html  

RR Lyraes

http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys230/lectures/mw_size/mw_size.html

Cepheids

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/shadow/cepheids.html

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/MilkyWay/cepheid.html

Formation of the Milky Way

http://www.noao.edu/swift/proposal/node7.html

http://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/astronomy-terms/galaxy3.htm

 How spiral arms are maintained:

http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/Academics/Astr222/Galaxies/Spiral/spiral.html

    - A new model for the formation of spiral arms:

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-theory-evolution-spiral-galaxy-arms.html

Rotation Curve

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/milkyway/milkywayrotationalvelocity.html

Gravitational lensing

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/grav_lens.html

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/galaxies/lensing.html

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/gravlens.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_lens#Simulation

 

 Chapter 24 

Galaxy types

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/Galaxies/types.html

http://www.astr.ua.edu/preprints/white/gal_tuningfrk.html

http://skyserver.sdss.org/dr1/en/proj/advanced/galaxies/tuningfork.asp

Seyfert galaxies

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/active/seyfert.html

http://www.seyfertgalaxies.com/

Radio galaxies

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/active/radio.html

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/ActiveGalxy/lobe.html

Quasars

http://www.seasky.org/cosmic/sky7a09.html

http://images.nrao.edu/AGN/Quasars

Blazars

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/exhibit/cgro_blazars.html

Local Group

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/gclusters/localg.html

Local Supercluster

http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/virgo.html   (Called the Virgo Supercluster here) 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Supercluster

 

 Chapter 25 

Active galactic nuclei

http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/objects/agn/agntext.html

Supermassive black holes

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/active/smblack.html

Exotic matter

http://hepwww.rl.ac.uk/ukdmc/dark_matter/rotation_curves.html

Lyman alpha forest

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980224.html

Galaxy formation

http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast123/lectures/lec25.html  

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/1996/ph123/galaxies.html  (With movies) 

 

 Chapter 26 

Applets - Cosmology

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/cosmology.html

Possible fates of the Universe

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/the_universe/Future.html  

Curvature of Spacetime

http://universe.sonoma.edu/activities/geometry.html

Cosmic Microwave Background

http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/www_astro/submm/CMBtutframe.html  (Extensive - related to the 2006 Nobel Prize)

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/cosmology/cbr.html

 

 Chapter 27 

Superstring models

http://superstringtheory.com/cosmo/index.html  (Warning: this is heavy)

The end of the Universe

http://www.pbs.org/deepspace/timeline/

 

 The Fringe 

Skeptical resources (again)

http://skepdic.com/

http://www.skeptic.com/

Fallacies of argument (again)

http://www.skepdic.com/ticriticalthinking.html

http://www.freewebs.com/thinkingstraight/Fallacies.htm

End of the world as we know it (failed predictions of Apocalypse)

http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrl2.htm

http://alma-geddon.com/lastjudgment.html  (An excellent site!)

    - Sign up for TEOTWAWKI Alerts!

http://www.rowdydow.co.uk/eotw/

2012

http://www.2012hoax.org/  (Your one-stop shopping for 2012 madness)

    - Crystal Skulls

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread357958/pg1

(Watch out for the nonsense while you search for the few facts here!)

    - More end-of-the-world predictions for the future

http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrl18.htm

http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrl20.htm

Effects of the full Moon

http://skepdic.com/fullmoon.html

About claims that the Moon landings were faked:

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast23feb_2.htm  

http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html

    - About why you can't see stars in the Apollo pictures

http://www.skywise711.com/Skeptic/MoonPics/MoonPics.html

    - Actual pictures of the Apollo landing sites from Lunar Orbit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html

Were aliens here in the past?  Check out:

http://skepdic.com/vondanik.html

    - Where von Däniken likely got his ideas from… 

http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/04-04-26.html

How we know that the Earth and Universe are very ancient

http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/56/index.html  

    - Why creationists (and Intelligent Design folks) aren't doing science:

http://www.noanswersingenesis.org.au/

    - Non-Judeochristian creationism 

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/wic.html#nonchris  

Why astrology isn't science:

http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/astrology.html

Skeptical views of UFO claims:

http://www.debunker.com/ufo.html

http://www.krysstal.com/ufos.html

    - Everything you ever wanted to know (no matter how depressing) about Billy Meier: 

http://www.iigwest.org/investigations/meier/

Problems with alien abductions:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/aliens/

    - Take the survey!

http://www.abduct.com/survey.php

    - The Strange Case of Sr. A. Boas that took abductions to a whole new level:

http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/UFOs/boas-abduction.htm  

    - Betty and Barney Hill

http://www.thetriangle.org/news/2005/04/15/SciTech/Ufo-couple.Use.Story.To.Spark.Alien.Abduction.Fear-926219.shtml

   - Fire in the Sky and Travis Walton (A hoax?)

http://www.debunker.com/texts/walton.html  

   - Sleep Paralysis and Alien Abductions 

http://www.skepdic.com/sleepparalysis.html

    - False Memory Syndrome 

http://skepdic.com/falsememory.html

http://www.fmsfonline.org/

Protection from Alien Abductions?  Can't decide if this is for real or not:

http://www.stopabductions.com/

Roswell

http://www.csicop.org/si/show/roswell_incident_and_project_mogul

http://skepdic.com/roswell.html

 Looking for life in all the right places:

http://www.solstation.com/habitable.htm

The Fermi Paradox 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox#Explaining_the_paradox_theoretically

Drake Equation

   - Drake Equation calculators (also different forms of the Equation) 

http://www.activemind.com/Mysterious/Topics/SETI/drake_equation.html#Try

http://www.classbrain.com/artmovies/publish/article_50.shtml

http://frombob.to/drake.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/drake-equation.html

http://www.scigames.org/

Radio SETI

http://www.seti.org/ata/targeted-star-search

http://www.seti.org/ata/galactic-center-survey

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/seti1.htm (Lots of ads)

    - The "Wow" signal

http://www.bigear.org/6equj5.htm  

http://www.damninteresting.com/the-wow-signal

    - Help find alien radio signals with SETI @ Home

http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/  

Optical SETI

http://www.coseti.org/introcoseti.htm

IInterstellar Travel

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/warp/warp.html

 

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