"From Stargazers to Starships" -- Site Map
by David P. Stern
Astronomy of the Earth's motion in space:
1a. The Celestial Sphere
1b. Finding the Pole Star
2. The Path of the Sun, the Ecliptic
2a. Building a Sundial
3. Seasons of the Year
3a. The Angle of the Sun's Rays
4. The Moon: the Distant View
4a. The Moon: A Closer Look
4b. Optional: Libration of the Moon
5. Latitude and Longitude
5b. The Cross-Staff
6. The Calendar
6a. The Jewish Calendar (optional)
8. The Round Earth and Christopher Columbus
8a. Distance to the Horizon
8c. How Distant is the Moon?--1
8d. How Distant is the Moon?--2
The central role of the Sun
9a. Aristarchus: Is Earth Revolving around the Sun?
9a-1. The Earth's Shadow
9b. The Planets
P-1 Links and Tables about the sections below.
P-8 Io and other Jupiter moons
P-13 Pluto and the Kuiper belt
P-14 Comets and other small objects
9c. Copernicus, Galileo, and the Discovery of the Solar System
Guide to the sections on Kepler's Laws which follow below.
10. Kepler and his Laws
15a. Atmospheric Energy and Climate (optional)
16. Newton and his Laws
17a. Mass Measurements aboard Space Station Skylab
17b. Comparing Masses without the Use of Gravity
18. Newton's Second Law
18a. Newton's Third Law
18d. Work against an Electric Force: The Van de Graaff Generator
19. Motion in a Circle
20. Newton's theory of "Universal Gravitation"
21. Kepler's Third Law
21a. Applying Kepler's Third Law
22. Frames of Reference: The Basics
The Sun and related Physics
S-4A-2 Frequency Shifts and the Expanding Universe
S-4A-3 Rotating Galaxies and Dark Matter
S-5. Waves and Photons
Q-1. Quantum Physics
Peripheral Subjects related to section S-7 above:
(A very quick overview of the relevant history.)
S-7A The Black Hole at the Center of our Galaxy
S-8. Nuclear Power
S-8A-1 1. The Foundations: Atoms and Nuclei
S-8A-2 2. Nuclear Binding Energy
S-8A-3 3. Fission of Heavy Nuclei
S-8A-4 4. Controlling the Nuclear Reaction
Article by Leslie Allen on using Thorium for nuclear fuel
S-8A-5 References, Questions and Answers
S-9. Nuclear Weapons
Spaceflight and Spacecraft
26. Robert Goddard and his Rockets
27. The Evolution of the Rocket
29a. Satellites observing the Sun, solar system and the universe
29b. Satellites observing Earth from above
29c. Satellites which observe the local space environment
29d. Satellites for commercial benefits
29e. Missions to planets and distant space
30. Far-out Pathways to Space: Great Guns?
30a. Project HARP and the Martlet
31. Far-out Pathways to Space: Nuclear Power
32. Far-out pathways to Space: Solar Sails
32a. Early Warning of Interplanetary Disturbances
33. Ion Rockets
34. Orbits in Space
34a. The Distance to the L1 Point
34b. The L4 and L5 Lagrangian Points
34c. The L4 and L5 Points--Another Derivation
35a. Planetary Swing-by and the Pelton Turbine
Afterword: "Do Frogs Exist there Too ?"
A Math Refresher
Elements of algebra
(M-1) Basic ideas
Elements of trigonometry
Elements of logarithms
(M-13) Logarithms -- Introduction
Questions and Answers -- Listed in the order they were received.
Hints to users.
A Glossary of Terms (Cross-linked, keyed to the text)
Annotated Timeline (Chronology with links and added dates from history).
Of special interest to teachers:
"Stargazers" and National Science Education Standards
Inventory of concepts, calculations and stories, by section.
A list of problems related to the material.
"Using Space to Teach Physics" (draft of article in The Physics Teacher, Feb.'99) "Kepler's 3 Laws of Planetary Motion," a one-hour overview lecture to teachers presented 23 March 2005.
Afterthoughts on what this site has become.
Author and Curator: Dr. David P. Stern
Last updated: 9 October 2007