Favorite Links
Astronomy belongs to everyone. This page gathers talks and videos for students, teachers, and the generally curious, along with places on the web I find myself returning to.
On YouTube
Astronomy Not Astrology
My YouTube channel, with lectures ranging from introductory astronomy to intermediate and advanced astrophysics. Three to start with:
-
Intro to Astronomy #3: The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard (White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes)
Introductory astronomy, part of a playlist of introductory lectures.
-
Stellar Astrophysics #1: Interiors of Stars (The Equation of Hydrostatic Equilibrium)
Material we cover in our intermediate-level astrophysics course on stars.
-
How to Find the Constellations in the Sky: Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Lyra, Bears & More
A tour of the springtime constellations. Take astronomy at Allegheny and you can learn them for yourself in the College's Wible planetarium.
Watch
- KITP talk: Dealing with SPH codes A recorded research talk I gave at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in 2017.
- KITP talk: Modelling light curves of luminous red novae A second KITP talk, on the light given off when two stars merge.
- Cosmic Collisions (Discovery Channel) A television program featuring visualizations from our simulations.
Research tools
- NASA Astrophysics Data System The search engine astronomers use to find research papers.
- collAIder A machine learning tool that enables rapid predictions of stellar collision outcomes.
- StarSmasher Our open-source smoothed particle hydrodynamics code for simulating stellar collisions and mergers.
Community
- Allegheny College Department of Physics My academic home, and a great place to study physics and astrophysics as an undergraduate.
- SkAI A multi-institutional research organization dedicated to merging artificial intelligence with astrophysics
- collAIder collaborators The students and researchers behind the collAIder machine learning tool.
Observing tonight
- Heavens-Above Predicts when the ISS and other satellites will pass over your location, with charts to help you spot them.
- Tonight's Sky A quick rundown of the stars, planets, and deep-sky objects on view after dark.
- Clear Outside An hour-by-hour cloud and observing-conditions forecast, so you know when the skies will cooperate.
Explore the universe
- NOIRLab News and images from the US national optical observatories.
- ESO Discoveries and pictures from the European Southern Observatory's telescopes in Chile.
- NASA Universe NASA's hub for stars, galaxies, black holes, and the science behind the missions.
Do science yourself
- Zooniverse Help real research projects classify galaxies, hunt planets, and more. No experience needed.
- PhET Interactive Simulations Free, hands-on physics and astronomy simulations from the University of Colorado.
- LIGO: Learn More How we detect gravitational waves from merging black holes and neutron stars.
The sky and its pictures
- Astronomy Picture of the Day A new image of the universe every day, with a short explanation by astronomers.
- Webb Space Telescope image galleries The sharpest infrared views of the cosmos ever taken.
- Stellarium Web A free planetarium in your browser. See what is above your horizon tonight.