Understanding the universe [videorecording] : an introduction to astronomy

Introduction to astronomy

Great courses (DVD). Science & mathematics. Astronomy

Great courses (DVD). Science & mathematics. Astronomy.

Observing the heavens: Celestial sights for everyone. ; grand tour of the cosmos. rainbow connection. Sunrise, sunset. Bright objects in the night sky. Fainter phenomena in the night sky. Our sky through binoculars and telescopes. celestial sphere. reason for the seasons. Lunar phases and eerie lunar eclipses. Glorious total solar eclipses. More eclipse tales. Early studies of the solar system.

geocentric universe. Galileo and the Copernican revolution. Refinements to the heliocentric model. On the shoulders of giants. Surveying space and time. Scale models of the universe. Observing the heavens : Basic concepts and tools. Light: the supreme informant. wave-particle duality of light. colors of stars. fingerprints of atoms. Modern telescopes. better set of eyes.

Contents of the Universe : Our solar system. Our sun, the nearest star. Earth, third rock from the sun. Our moon, Earth's nearest neighbor. Mercury and Venus. Of Mars and Martians. Jupiter and its amazing moons. Magnificent Saturn. Uranus and Neptune, the small giants. Pluto and its cousins. Asteroids and dwarf planets. Comets: gorgeous primordial snowballs. Catastrophic collisions.

formation of planetary systems. Contents of the universe : Other planetary systems. The quest for other planetary systems. Extra-solar planets galore! (ca. 31 min.) ; Life beyond the Earth. search for extraterrestrials. Special relativity and interstellar travel. Contents of the universe : Stars and their lives. Stars: distant suns. intrinsic brightnesses of stars. diverse sizes of stars. Binary stars and stellar masses. Star clusters, ages, and remote distances. How stars shine: nature's nuclear reactors.

Solar neutrinos: probes of the sun's core. Brown dwarfs and free-floating planets. Our sun's brilliant future. White dwarfs and nova eruptions. Exploding stars: celestial fireworks. White dwarf supernovae: stealing to explode. Contents of the universe: Stellar explosions and black holes. Core-collapse supernovae: gravity wins. brightest supernova in nearly 400 years. corpses of massive stars. Einstein's general theory of relativity. Warping of space and time. Black holes: abandon hope, ye who enter.

quest for black holes. Imagining the journey to a black hole. Wormholes: gateways to other universes? Quantum physics and black-hole evaporation. Enigmatic gamma-ray bursts. Birth cries of black holes. Contents of the universe : The Milky Way and other galaxies. Our home: the Milky Way Galaxy. Structure of the Milky Way Galaxy. Other galaxies: "Island universes". dark side of matter. Cosmology: The universe as a whole. Cosmic expansion and distant galaxies. Cosmology: the really big picture. Expansion of the universe and the big bang.

Searching for distant galaxies. evolution of galaxies. Active galaxies and quasars. Cosmic powerhouses of the distant past. Supermassive black holes. Feeding the monster. Cosmology: The universe as a whole. structure and evolution of the universe. The paradox of the dark night sky. age of the universe. When geometry is destiny. mass density of the universe. Einstein's biggest blunder? afterglow of the big bang.

Ripples in the cosmic background radiation. stuff of the cosmos. Dark energy: quantum fluctuations? Dark energy: quintessence? Grand unification & theories of everything. Searching for hidden dimensions. Cosmology: The universe as a whole. birth of the cosmos, and other frontiers. shape, size, and fate of the universe. In the beginning. inflationary universe. ultimate free lunch? universe of universes. Reflections on life and the cosmos.

A visual guide to the universe [videorecording]

Great courses. Science

Great courses (DVD). Science & mathematics.

A visual guide to the universe

Great courses. Science, Astronomy

Great courses (DVD). Science & mathematics.

Probing the cosmos from space -- The magnetic beauty of the active sun -- Mars: water and the search for life -- Vesta and the asteroid belt -- The dark side of the bullet cluster -- Saturn: the rings of enchantment -- The ice moons Europa and Enceladus -- The search for other Earths -- The Swan Nebula -- The Seven Sisters and their stardust veil -- Future supernova, Eta Carinae -- Runaway star, Zeta Ophiuchi -- The center of the Milky Way -- The Andromeda Galaxy -- Hubble's Galaxy zoo -- The brightest quasar -- The dark side of the bullet cluster -- The cosmic reach of gamma-ray bursts -- The afterglow of the Big Bang.

Skywatching [videorecording]: seeing and understanding cosmic wonders

The great courses. Science & mathematics : Astronomy

Great courses (DVD). Science & mathematics.

Day and night skies across all distances ; The blue sky, clouds, and lightning ; The rainbow family : sunlight and water ; Solar halos: sunlight and ice crystals -- The colors of sunrise and sunset ; Bright stars, constellations, and the zodiac ; Viewing the planets and their motions ; The moon, phases, and lunar eclipses -- Satellites, comets, and meteors ; Observing solar activity and Earth's auroras ; Solar eclipses: marvelous coincidences ; Celestial sights when the night is darkest.

Experiencing Hubble [videorecording] : understanding the greatest images of the universe

Great courses (DVD).

Great courses (DVD). Science & mathematics.

The rationale for a space telescope ; Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter ; The Sagittarius star cloud ; The star factory inside the Eagle Nebula ; The Cat's Eye Nebula--a stellar demise ; The Crab nebula--a supernova's aftermath -- The Sombrero Galaxy--an island universe ; Hubble's view of galaxies near and far ; The Antennae galaxies--a cosmic collision ; Abell 2218--a massiver gravitational lens ; The Hubble ultra deep field ; Hubble's legacy and beyond.

The search for exoplanets : what astronomers know [videorecording]

Great courses. Science & Mathematics : Astronomy

Great courses (DVD). Science & mathematics.

Why study exoplanets? -- How to find an exoplanet -- Doppler and transit planet-finding methods -- Pioneers of planet searching -- Misplaced giant planets -- Explaining the misplaced giant planets. Disc 2. Transits of exoplanets -- Shifing planetary atmospheres -- Stellar rotation and planetary revolution -- Super-Earth or mini-Neptures? -- Transiting planets and the Kepler Mission -- Compact multiplanet systems. Disc 3. Planets circling two stars -- Lava worlds -- Earthlike planets -- Living with a dwarf star -- Living with a giant star -- Our nearest exoplanetary neighbors. Disc 4. Finding planets with gravitational lensing -- Finding planets with direct imaging -- Near-term future planet-finding projects -- Long-term future planet-finding projects -- Search for life on exoplanets -- Coming soon: Biosignatures, Moons, and more!