Welcome to the Franklin & Marshall Fall 2008 Astronomy 120, Section B, homepage.

This is a working page for members of the class. Look for updates!

Course Information

• Elizabeth Praton (Click here to email the instructor).
  Office: Hac 225
  Office Hours: MTW 3-4 pm or by appointment.
  Phone: (717) 291-3813
• Syllabus
  Syllabus for Astronomy 120, Section B.
• Course Project
  Course project description and assignment.

Useful Course Links

• Blackboard
  Click here to go to Blackboard, where our daily course Warmup quizzes are posted. Access is restricted to members of the course. Contact F&M's ITS staff if you are having difficulty logging onto Blackboard.
• Ace Astronomy
  Click here to go to Ace Astronomy login page. On your first visit, use the access code in card attached to your book to get in. (If you have no card, you can buy one at the bookstore or on-line.) You do not need a course code, since we are using Ace Astronomy just for self-study.

  Once in, go to the "Study Tools" tab.

• FAQs
  Answers to questions from members of the class.

Weather Reports

We will try to take advantage of any clear lab nights to do observational labs out on the Observing Deck (Hac 425). Therefore, sometimes our lab plans may change at the last minute. Use the links below to find out what's happening, weather-wise.

• National Weather Service
  Five day weather forecast for Lancaster from the National Weather Service; includes night-time forecast, satellite and radar images.


• Grundy Observatory Clear Sky Clock
  Clear Sky Clock for F&M's own Grundy Observatory (located on Baker Campus). Shows at a glance cloud cover, transparency, and seeing for up to the next two days. Predicts when Grundy (or the Observing Deck) will have good weather for astronomical observing.

Research Information and Resources

• Library
  Franklin & Marshall College library home page with links to college catalog, periodical list, electronic resources.

• APOD
  Astronomy Picture of the Day.
  A different image each day of an interesting or puzzling object, with brief explanation.
• Astronomy Magazine
  Accessible articles written for the general public about recent discoveries and theories in astronomy.
• Ned Wright's News of the Universe
  A digest of recent discoveries and claims about galaxies, large scale structure, and cosmology. For professionals, but accessible to astronomy students. Quirky and interesting.
• ADS Abstract Service
  Astronomical Data System abstract service. A searchable database of abstracts from all major astronomical journals.

• NASA Homepage
  National Aeronatics & Space Administration homepage.

• U Tenn On -Line Astronomy Textbook
  Hypertext introductory astronomy module from University of Tennessee. Easy to read and use, with links to in-depth information on a wide range of topics . Part of an extensive site maintained by UTenn for their intro astronomy students.

• NED
  NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. A compilation of information published to date about specific extragalactic objects (galaxies, quasars, etc.). Searchable by object name or by position on sky.

Astronomical Links

• EarthViewer
  View the day and night regions of the Earth at this moment from the Sun, the Moon, or above any location on Earth.

• Newton's Cannon
  Try your hand at putting the cannonball into orbit.
• International Space Station Tracker
  See where the ISS is at this moment. Includes global position, altitude and speed.
  Note: Availability of tracker varies. For example, if a hurricane affects Johnson Space Center, tracker will be off-line.
• Sun's visible spectrum
  Extremely high resolution image of the absorption lines in the visible portion of the Sun's spectrum.
• Spectra of various elements
  Color spectra of various elements whose absorption lines are present in the Sun's spectrum, together with a list of the 19 most common elements in the Sun. Hosted by amateurspectroscopy.com.
• SOHO Satellite
  Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) homepage. SOHO is a joint NASA/ESA spacecraft launched 2 December 1995 to study the sun and solar wind.
• Parallax Demo
  jParallax homepage. Scroll down for a striking interactive demo of parallax in action. (jParallax is an application that allows you to create pseudo 3D pictures using layers and parallax motion.)
• Pulsar Information
  An introduction to pulsars by the Australia Telescope Outreach and Education. Parkes radio telescope in Australia is where F&M professors Lommen and Crawford do much of their pulsar observations.
• Hubble Heritage Gallery of Images
  Greatest hits from the Hubble Space Telescope. Planets to galaxies.
• RR Lyrae Variables in Globular Cluster
  Time-lapse movie of globular cluster M3, with many pulsating RR Lyrae stars. 2004 October 12 Astronomy Picture of the Day
• Hubble's Sweeping View of the Coma Cluster of Galaxies
  Zoomable image of the Coma Cluster. Zoom in this high resolution image to get a feel for the impressive number of galaxies contained in a typical large galaxy cluster.
• Superluminal Expansion Applet
  Adobe flash applet that illustrates apparent superluminal motion in relativistic jets, such as jets emerging from quasars at near liglht speed. User can change the jet by setting view angle (smaller = more pointed at observer), Lorentz factor (bigger = closer to speed of light), and source's redshift (higher = more distant). To implement a changed setting, click RESET before START.

Franklin & Marshall Observing Programs

• National Undergraduate Research Observatory
  NURO is the observatory in Flagstaff Arizona where F&M undergrads go every year to observe.