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Open Educational Resources

Introduction to Astronomy

Picture license: 
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike

Take a journey from the solar system, to the stars, to distant galaxies and beyond while learning about the physical processes which govern our understanding of the universe.

Date created:

2015-09-29 13:08
Tutor: 
Elizabeth Charlton
Subjects: 
Astronomy
Keywords: 
solar system, Space
Course type: 
Weekly class

Course: Further details, online booking

Resources for this course

Displaying 1 - 20 of 20
Type Resource Description People Full details
Document Lecture 1 -Introduction

A Brief History and Constellations, Size Scales of the Universe

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Document Lecture 2 -Observing Techniques

Light and the telescope.

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Document Lecture 3 -The Sun-Earth-Moon System

Moon phases, tides, and calendars.  Also celestial coordinates.

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Document Diffraction Grating Activity

Formative Assignment 1 -Due October 15  Associated with lecture 2.

May be used as a summative assignment for final portfolio.

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Document Astrolabe Activity

Activity 2 is to be used as a possible summative assignment for the final portfolio.  It is associated with lecture 3.

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Document The Great Planet Debate Activity

Activity 3 is to be used as a possible summative assignment.  It is associated with lecture 5.

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Document Observing and Classifying Stars

Activity 4 is to be used as a possible summative assignment.  It is associated with lecture 7.

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Document Black Holes -Debunking the Myths

Activity 5 is to be used as a possible summative assignment.  It is associated with lecture 8.

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Document microObservatory Activity

Activity 6 is to be used as a possible summative assignment.  It is a associated with multiple lectures.

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Document Lecture 4 -Solar System 2

The inner, terrestrial planets and the asteroid belt.  (Black and white version)

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Document Lecture 5 -Solar System 2

The Outer Jovian Planets and Small Bodies

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Document Exploring the Solar System

PDF file of the slide show explaining Paul Hatherly's course Exploring the Solar System

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Document Lecture 6 -Our Star, the Sun

This lecture details the properties of the Sun, its interior, and atmosphere.

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Document Revised Assignment 6

This is the revised version of assignment 6 (one of your possible summative assignments).

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Document Lecture 7 -Observing Stars

Star birth, stellar interiors, and stellar evolution.

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Document Lecture 8 -The Death of Stars

White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes.  This lecture will also continue on from Lecture 7, Observing Stars.

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Document Lecture 9 -The Milky Way and Beyond

Nebulae, Galaxy Classification, and the Milky Way Galaxy

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Document Lecture 10 -Cosmology and the Future of Astronomical Research

This lecture discusses Cosmology; the study of the origin, evolution, and fate of the Universe.

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Link Image Processing Tutorials

This is a link to the MicroObservatory image processing tutorials.

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Document Introduction to Astronomy -Lecture 1

Introduction: A Brief History and Constellations, Size Scales of the Universe

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