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Free "Astronomy 101" course
Are you interested in learning about astronomy?
If so, here's a set of about 300 short videos that will take
you through the basics of our solar system.
The videos will start with the why we have seasons, and go on through a
tour of the sun, planets, night sky, and many other astronomy-related topics.
This is what you might call a typical "astronomy-101" class. In fact, they were made for a college-level
ASTRO-101 class, recorded for students during the 2020 lock-down/pandemic.
You should watch the videos in the order that they appear.
The "questions," like "Q10" and "Q4" referred to in the videos refer to these.
Enjoy, and we hope you learn something!
Lesson 1: Class introduction: Me encouraging to stop looking down at your phone, and up at the sky
Lesson 2: Class introduction: More encouragment to look up at the sky, be a better camper, themes in this class
Lesson 3: Class introduction: look at the calendar, and where grades will come from
Lesson 4: A taste of ASTR-101 Part I: colors in the sky, Uranus, moon front and back
Lesson 5: A taste of ASTR-101 Part II: dark side of moon, and Mars
Lesson 6: A taste of ASTR-101 Part III: going to Mars, comets, and telescopes
Lesson 7: A taste of ASTR-101 Part IV: the night sky, sizes of objects in the sky
Lesson 8: A taste of ASTR-101 Part V: Death Star/Mimas, Star of Bethlehem, Neptune's orbit
Lesson 9: Some astronomy definitions: difference between astronomy, astophysics, and astrology
Lesson 10: Some astronomy definitions: contellation art, Orion, Pollux/Castor, astrology in our lives
Lesson 11: Solar system start: first look at the solar system and basic structure and motion
Lesson 12: Solar system start: names of planets, mother and nachos or pizza,orbit vs rotation times
Lesson 13: Solar system start: finish orbit vs. rotation times
Lesson 14: The earth's tilt and seasons: why we have seasons: the earth's tilt and 4 key positions in its orbit
Lesson 15: The earth's tilt and seasons: tilt map of all planets
Lesson 16: The earth's tilt and seasons: Four key positions of earth around sun, and looking at light rays of first 2
Lesson 17: The earth's tilt and seasons: Four key positions of earth around sun, label dates and solstice or equinox and season
Lesson 18: The earth's tilt and seasons: northern and southern most reach of the sun's direct rays
Lesson 19: The earth's tilt and seasons: Annual motion of the sun's direct rays and defining the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
Lesson 20: The earth's tilt and seasons: Sun's setting direction during the year.
Lesson 21: The earth's tilt and seasons: Seasonal constellations seen overhead at midnight during the year.
Lesson 22: The earth's tilt and seasons: Astrological stories of Orion and Virgo.
Lesson 23: The earth's tilt and seasons: My trip to Australia and the Tropic of Capricorn.
Lesson 24: The solar system (and beyond): what you'll encounter out there.
Lesson 25: The solar system: Distances and the astronomical unit.
Lesson 26: The solar system: Astronomical unit, light year, parsec.
Lesson 27: The solar system: Han Solo and the Kessel-run quote.
Lesson 28: The solar system: discussion of Han Solo and the Kessel-run quote.
Lesson 29: The solar system: Beyond our galaxy and zooming in on the Andromeda Galaxy
Lesson 30: The solar system (and beyond): Sizes of things out there (planets to Stars and some distances). CVS receipt as the A.U.
Lesson 31: The solar system: Great Youtube videos on the proper relative size of things in the solar system.
Lesson 32: Gravity: What holds the planets in their orbits?
Lesson 33: Gravity: Law of gravity and setting up an orbit (balance between force of gravity and speed).
Lesson 34: Gravity: Newton's first thoughts on gravity (Newton's Cannon).
Lesson 35: Gravity: PHeT gravity simulator, earth/sun and earth/sun/moon
Lesson 36: Gravity: Jab at astrology Part I: the newborn and hospital worked winning the lottery.
Lesson 37: Gravity: Jab at astrology Part II: gravity on the newborn due to Neptune and the hospital equipment.
Lesson 38: Gravity: Jab at astrology Part III: Computing the force of gravity due to Neptune and the hospital equipment.
Lesson 39: The night sky: being a better camper and first patterns in the night sky (Big Dipper and Polaris).
Lesson 40: The night sky: starting with Polaris and the Big Dipper.
Lesson 41: The night sky: existence of Polaris using Stellarium.
Lesson 42: The night sky: different orientations of the Big Dipper to find Polaris.
Lesson 43: The night sky: practice finding the Big Dipper (and possibly Polaris).
Lesson 44: The night sky: list of things to find (Polaris, Big Dipper, Arcturas, Spica, Pollux/Castor, Antares, Cassiopeia, Scorpius/Teapot).
Lesson 45: The night sky: Star hopping from the Big Dipper to find Arcturas, Spica, Pollux/Castor.
Lesson 46: The night sky: Star hopping in Stellarium, from the Big Dipper to find Arcturas, Spica, Pollux/Castor.
Lesson 47: The night sky: Big stars, and angular distances and using your hand to measure them.
Lesson 48: The night sky: The "other side" of Polaris to see Cassiopeia and the location of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Lesson 49: The night sky: Cassiopeia in Stellarium.
Lesson 50: The night sky: Contellations vs. Asterisms.
Lesson 51: The night sky: Scorpius and the Teapot and the direction to the center of our galaxy.
Lesson 52: The night sky: South of the equator. Is there a "south star?"
Lesson 53: The night sky: History of Polaris. Finding it if foggy, times of slavery, introduction to latitude.
Lesson 54: The night sky: Using polaris and how far to bend your neck to see it.
Lesson 55: The night sky: Polaris's altitude vs your latitude.
Lesson 56: The night sky: Polaris/latitude wrap-up and declination of other stars (Dubhe, Vega, Spica, Arcturas).
Lesson 57: The sky's motion: do the sun, moon, stars, planets move?
Lesson 58: The sky's motion: Actual motion
Lesson 59: The sky's motion: Apparent motion: A380 landing speed and motion of the Big Dipper.
Lesson 60: The sky's motion: Apparent motion on a merry-go-round
Lesson 61: The sky's motion: star trails with CL........ICK of an SLR camera.
Lesson 62: The sky's motion: Extreme star trails at the north pole and equator.
Lesson 63: Celestial Sphere: definition part I
Lesson 64: Celestial Sphere: definition part II
Lesson 65: Celestial Sphere: nice graphics in "Rotating Sky Explorer."
Lesson 66: Celestial Sphere: The horizon
Lesson 67: Celestial Sphere: uses of it.
Lesson 68: Celestial Sphere: rising and setting of stars and polaris.
Lesson 69: Celestial Sphere: Circumpolar stars, starts that never rise, and different visible vs invisible timing of stars.
Lesson 70: Celestial Sphere: Worksheet Part I.
Lesson 71: Celestial Sphere: Worksheet Part II.
Lesson 72: Celestial Sphere: Worksheet Part III.
Lesson 73: Celestial Sphere: The Sun on the celestial sphere and the hardest figure in all of astronomy.
Lesson 74: Celestial Sphere: The hardest figure in all of astronomy and the Sun on the celestial sphere.
Lesson 75: Celestial Sphere: Orion and Mintaka (an E/W beacon).
Lesson 76: Celestial Sphere: The size of Betelgeuse compared to our solar system.
Lesson 77: Celestial Sphere: Let's draw our own!
Lesson 78: Celestial Sphere: Sun moving on the Celestial sphere and a hint of the seasons.
Lesson 79: The moon: Basic facts
Lesson 80: The moon: Some basic pictures
Lesson 81: The moon: The backside we never see
Lesson 82: The moon: Setup for why there is no dark side
Lesson 83: The moon: Seeing it appear in front of the earth
Lesson 84: The moon: why there is no dark side
Lesson 85: The moon: Why we see the same side of it
Lesson 86: The moon: A model for why there can't be a dark side
Lesson 87: The moon: Break in its orbit
Lesson 88: The moon: Is the moon that far from us?
Lesson 89: The moon: Introduction to tidal locking
Lesson 90: The moon: Tidal locking and its orbit
Lesson 91: The moon: Tidal locking and warping of rocks
Lesson 92: The moon: Tidal forces on rocks and water
Lesson 93: The moon: Tidal locking and energy losses
Lesson 94: The moon: Excellent videos on tidal locking
Lesson 95: The moon: where is came from
Lesson 96: The moon: evidence of where it came from
Lesson 97: The moon: more evidence of where it came from
Lesson 98: The moon: origins in centrifugal force and fission
Lesson 99: The moon: origins in capture and condensation
Lesson 100: The moon: origins in a big cosmic collision
Lesson 101: The moon: summary of its origin
Lesson 102: Craters: Introduction
Lesson 103: Craters: A field of craters on the moon
Lesson 104: Craters: Geosleuthing a crater field on the moon
Lesson 105: The moon: its near and far sides in terms of craters
Lesson 106: Eclipses: sometimes this happens
Lesson 107: Eclipses: finish introducing them
Lesson 108: Eclipses: What you would see
Lesson 109: Eclipses: going to a total eclipse
Lesson 110: Eclipses: why no eclipse once a month
Lesson 111: Eclipses: Formal discussion p1
Lesson 112: Eclipses: Formal discussion p2
Lesson 113: Eclipses: Formal discussion p3
Lesson 114: Eclipses: Formal discussion p4
Lesson 115: Eclipses: Formal discussion p5
Lesson 116: Phases of the moon: Introduction
Lesson 117: Phases of the moon: more introduction
Lesson 118: Phases of the moon: First 3 phases
Lesson 119: Phases of the moon: Nice graphic
Lesson 120: Phases of the moon: Last of the phases
Lesson 121: Phases of the moon: Earthshine
Lesson 122: The Sun: Introduction to the sun
Lesson 123: The Sun: more on an introduction
Lesson 124: The Sun: why do we draw the sun so happy?
Lesson 125: The Sun: The sun in Australia
Lesson 126: The Sun: Fusion in the interior
Lesson 127: The Sun: Proton-proton chain p1
Lesson 128: The Sun: Proton-proton chain p2
Lesson 129: The Sun: Proton-proton chain p3
Lesson 130: The Sun: The solar wind p1
Lesson 131: The Sun: The solar wind p2
Lesson 132: The Sun: Comets
Lesson 133: The Sun: Comet tails p1
Lesson 134: The Sun: Comet tails p2
Lesson 135: The Sun: Comet tails p3
Lesson 136: The Sun: Evidence of the solar wind
Lesson 137: The Sun: More solar wind evidence
Lesson 138: The sun: introduction to Auroras
Lesson 139: The sun: introduction to Auroras (current and wires)
Lesson 140: The sun: Auroras and mag field outside of a wire
Lesson 141: The sun: Auroras and now a wire makes a magnetic field
Lesson 142: The sun: Auroras moving charges make a magnetic field
Lesson 143: The sun: the Earth's magnetic field
Lesson 144: The sun: the Earth's magnetic field like a bar magnet
Lesson 145: The sun: Auroras how earth's magnetic field deflects the solar wind
Lesson 146: The sun: Auroras and where the light comes from
Lesson 147: The sun: Auroras and where the light comes from (with sound)
Lesson 148: The sun: Auroras on other planets
Lesson 149: Solar wind: wrap up worksheet
Lesson 150: Solar wind: wrap up worksheet (part 2)
Lesson 151: Active geology: maps of earthquakes, volcanos, rock ages, and elevations
Lesson 152: Active geology: subduction zones
Lesson 153: Active geology: Barringer and wolf craters
Lesson 154: Active geology: crater formation
Lesson 155: Active geology: going to Mars
Lesson 156: Quick inventory of questions answered
Lesson 157: Light: the great astronomy messenger
Lesson 158: Light: map of earth at night
Lesson 159: Light: light pollution
Lesson 160: Light: if the skies were really dark...
Lesson 161: Light: dark skies and the structure of our galaxy
Lesson 162: Light: what is light? Photon and wave
Lesson 163: Light: intro to wave frequency
Lesson 164: Light: wave frequency, Hz and all
Lesson 165: Light: frequency into via sound waves
Lesson 166: Light: hear some different frequencies
Lesson 167: Light: wavelength and amplitude
Lesson 168: Light: where photons come from
Lesson 169: Light: where light waves come from
Lesson 170: Light: Blue comet tails based on photons and waves
Lesson 171: Light: Color
Lesson 172: Laws of light: notation on what happens when light encounters something
Lesson 173: Laws of light: the law of reflection
Lesson 174: Laws of light: law of reflection visuals
Lesson 175: Laws of light: retroreflectors and the moon
Lesson 176: Laws of light: law of refraction
Lesson 177: Laws of light: law of refraction visuals
Lesson 178: Laws of light: the index of refraction
Lesson 179: Laws of light: snell's law for refraction
Lesson 180: Laws of light: refraction trends (bending toward or away)
Lesson 181: Laws of light: everyday light effects
Lesson 182: Laws of light: lie of the sunset
Lesson 183: Laws of light: why stars twinkle
Lesson 184: Laws of light: twinkling stars in Stellarium
Lesson 185: Laws of light: model of twinkling stars
Lesson 186: Laws of light: Minute Physics on twinkling stars
Lesson 187: Laws of light: Jurassic Park and the law of reflection
Lesson 188: Laws of light: setup for how mirages occur
Lesson 189: Laws of light: air layers for mirages
Lesson 190: Laws of light: path of a sun ray with mirages
Lesson 191: Laws of light: wrap up how mirages occur
Lesson 192: Laws of light: into to why the sky is blue
Lesson 193: Laws of light: light waves and the blue sky
Lesson 194: Laws of light: blue light in nitrogen and oxygen
Lesson 195: Laws of light: charges in molecules
Lesson 196: Laws of light: "Gravity" clip of upper atmosphere
Lesson 197: Laws of light: how air filers blue of out of white light
Lesson 198: Laws of light: conclusions on why the sky is blue
Lesson 199: Laws of light: why sunsets are red
Lesson 200: Laws of light: silent conclusion on blue sky and red sunset
Lesson 201: Laws of light: why the red moon in a lunar eclipse
Lesson 202: Laws of light: when sunsets are too red
Lesson 203: Laws of light: dispersion
Lesson 204: Laws of light: how index of refraction depends on wavelength
Lesson 205: Laws of light: define dispersion
Lesson 206: Laws of light: how rainbows form part 1
Lesson 207: Laws of light: how rainbows form part 2
Lesson 208: Laws of light: how rainbows form part 3
Lesson 209: Laws of light: why clouds are white
Lesson 210: Laws of light: where the greenflash comes from