College of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) (OER Hub): ASTR 1010: Planetary Astronomy & Lab (ASTR 1011)

For thousands of years the visible planets of our solar system have captivated experts and the general public alike. With a history more ancient than that of any other of the physical sciences and with recent popularity and prestigiousness, it is difficult to believe that this field was avoided by astronomers and scientists during the first half of the twentieth century. However, during the field's darkest hours at midcentury, planetary astronomy experienced a dramatic and miraculous rejuvenation, entering an era of solid achievement, mushrooming growth, and spectacular triumphs. Experts credit this unexpected turn of events to the rise of the U.S. space program, in particular the programs beginning in 1958 administered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA funds provided both ground-based facilities and spacecraft that made it possible for those scientists to make a series of stunning discoveries. But, before examining the present, the past must be explored to fully illustrate and understand how times, ways of thinking, and planetary astronomy itself have changed over the millennia. In Planetary Astronomy: From Ancient Times to the Second Millennium, Ronald A. Schorn presents a firsthand account of the triumphs, tragedies, and fiascos in the field. He covers why the science "fell from grace," presenting both the nonplanetary astronomers' and planetary astronomers' viewpoints. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, direct observation, and extensive documentation to render events with a sense of immediacy and reality, he gives the reader an idea of what situations were like when no one knew the answers. Schorn's look into the world's oldest science from ancient times to the present offers more than the usual time line of events. This rare "inside" examination will interest readers of space exploration, astronomy, and the history of science.

Planetary Crusts explains how and why solid planets and satellites develop crusts. Extensively referenced and annotated, it presents a geochemical and geological survey of the crusts of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, the asteroid Vesta, and several satellites like Io, Europa, Ganymede, Titan and Callisto. After describing the nature and formation of solar system bodies, the book presents a comparative investigation of different planetary crusts and discusses many crustal controversies. The authors propose the theory of stochastic processes dominating crustal development, and debate the possibility of Earth-like planets existing elsewhere in the cosmos. Written by two leading authorities on the subject, this book presents an extensive survey of the scientific problems of crustal development, and is a key reference for researchers and students in geology, geochemistry, planetary science, astrobiology and astronomy.

Astronomy is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal on observational astronomy, theoretical astronomy and other specific subfields published quarterly online by MDPI.

Astronomy & Geophysics (A&G) is the RAS's bimonthly house magazine, distributed to all Fellows of the society. It publishes articles, news and reviews on topics in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, solar-terrestrial physics, global and regional geophysics, and the history of these subjects. A&G also publishes discussions of topical items, reports of meetings, scientific news reports, and acts as a forum for discussion of all matters of interest to professional astronomers and geophysicists.

Overview: Most exoplanets are found through indirect methods: measuring the dimming of a star that happens to have a planet pass in front of it, called the transit method, or monitoring the spectrum of a star for the tell-tale signs of a planet pulling on its star and causing its light to subtly Doppler shift. Space telescopes have found thousands of planets by observing “transits,” the slight dimming of light from a star when its tiny planet passes between it and our telescopes. Other detection methods include gravitational lensing, the so-called “wobble method.”---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

Overview: Welcome to Astronomy 1020 Lab 1! The Introduction to Stellarium Software lab will cover the installation, navigation, and use of Stellarium, the software which will be used to complete ASTR 1020 lab work.Stellarium

Mars is getting a new resident! Mars rover Perseverance will land on the Red Planet this month. Celebrate the landing with a live chat all about Mars, featuring Abigail Harrison, aka "Astronaut Abby."

Students compare real-time Earth and Mars measurements for temperature, wind speed, humidity and atmospheric pressure by accessing Internet-data resources from NASA.

Students will learn about the Transit of Venus through reading a NASA press release and viewing a NASA eClips video that describes several ways to observe transits. Then students will study angular measurement by learning about parallax and how astronomers use this geometric effect to determine the distance to Venus during a Transit of Venus. This activity is part of the Space Math multimedia modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school textbooks. The modules cover specific math topics at multiple levels of difficulty with real-world data and use the 5E instructional sequence.

This online source provides students to see the universe from a unique perspective. It utilizes certain images provided by NASA. This might fascinate students and captive their attention when presenting them with astronomy.

This page presents links to a new series of astronomy resource guides for educators, students, and the public. Compiled and annotated by veteran astronomy educator Andrew Fraknoi, these include guides to women in astronomy, debunking astronomical pseudo-science, Pluto and Planet 9, plays and movies about astronomy, light pollution, free astronomy lab exercises, and finding great images in astronomy.