Aerospace Science for Educators

(Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics 120)


Course details:

  • Syllabus (PDF)
  • Instructor: William C. Keel, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, 311B Gallalee Hall, 348-1641 ( email)

  • Current assignment: Moonwatching. Between now and September 14, on every clear night you can, note the following about the appearance of the Moon: (1) its phase (make a sketch, noting which way is up), (2) time of night and date, (3) Moon's location in the sky (for example, compass bearing and altitude above horizon; again, a sketch may help). When you turn it in in class on the 14th, include your results from the above, and describe what patterns you see connecting these bits of information.
  • Animated class picture from Huntsville trip
  • Location map for astronomy viewing area in Moundville
  • How to avoid trouble - see the library's guidelines on what professors define as plagiarism. A citation a day keeps the Dean at bay...
  • Demonstrations using the PC Skyglobe program

    LOCAL INFORMATION:

  • UA Observatory public nights
  • UA Astronomy home page
  • Interactive sky chart
  • Satellites visible from Tuscaloosa

    BREAKING NEWS:

  • Latest news items from the Hubble Space Telescope
  • Sky and Telescope weekly news bulletin
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA Goddard
  • Mars Exploration Rovers and Mars Global Surveyor
  • Bad Astronomy - what not to believe!

    THE EARTH

  • Latest satellite weather pictures
  • Terrestrial impact craters
  • Earth photos from space missions
  • Nighttime pictures from space: city lights
  • Recent earthquake data (US Geological Survey)
  • Real-time aurora information

    THE MOON

  • Current phase of the Moon (from US Naval Observatory)
  • Lunar images from the Clementine mission
  • History of lunar exploration
  • Apollo Lunar Surface Journal

    OTHER PLANETS

  • Mars Exploration
  • Welcome to the Planets information site
  • Browse planetary images
  • Views of the Solar System
  • Magellan radar atlas of Venus
  • Digital atlas of Mars
  • Mars Global Surveyor images of the "Face on Mars" and the Happy Face on Mars.
  • Eclipse shots: MER transits | Saturn shadow | Uranus shadow transit | Venus in transit, 1882 | Mercury transit 8 Nov 2006

    THE SUN

  • Daily sunspot pictures from Big Bear Solar Observatory
  • Daily visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray solar views

    SPACE EXPLORATION

  • NASA Shuttle/Space Station web page
  • NASA Watch
  • Jonathan McDowell's weekly space newsletter
    UA Astronomy Home Page | Bill Keel's home page

    Rights, usage, and disclaimer: all original content here may be reused only with written permission of the originator. E-mail keel@bildad.astr.ua.edu for details. The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of The University of Alabama or its officers and trustees. The content of this page has not been reviewed or approved by The University of Alabama, and the author is solely responsible for its content. (Yes, I know that sounds odd for a course home page, but them's the rules).

    keel@bildad.astr.ua.edu
    Last changes: 8/2006   links checked 24 Aug 2006