| Astronomy Center Department of Physics & Astronomy |
University of South Carolina Columbia, SC |
[Astronomy Student Interaction Page][Videos for self-paced astronomy]
[USC Home] [Physics Home] [Melton Observatory Home] [Errata for Goldstein Classical Mechanics 3rd Edition] [National Association of Academies of Science] [Midlands Astronomy Club];Page Last revised on 25 March 2008
Welcome to the USC Astronomy Center Web pages. The Astronomy Center, located in the basement of the Jones Physical Science Building (PSC), is where students enrolled in the self-paced astronomy courses may study, take tests, and complete required labs. These pages contain information about Astronomy at USC. They also contain links to a variety of astronomically interesting sites for anyone interested in astronomy.
If you find a link that has no information at the other end or the link returns no document, please drop us a line and we will update the link list as quickly as possible.
Your Instructors: Varsha P. Kulkarni, Associate Professor, Parker Page, Instructor, and Dan Overcash, Instructor
Course Designer: John L. Safko, Distinguished Professor Emeritus,
USC Astronomy Courses and Syllabi - General general descriptions of the Columbia Campus courses and requirements
Specific Course Syllabi:,
Unit Material for the above courses not currently available in the Study Guide:
Unit
56 An Introduction to the Special Theory of Relativity,
Unit
57 An Introduction to the General Theory of Relativity,
Unit
59 How CCD Cameras Work, and
Unit
60 Using the CCD Camera for Astronomical Work
Units 59 and 60 require Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 or later. If these two units did not load, you must install the current Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) for your operating system.
Details of Units offered by Melton Obs. are in your syllabus. They are the following Units
Unit 55 (Solar Observation),
49/50(Night Sky Observations),
59 (CCD Intro), and
60 (Image Processing and Analysis)
Eventually you will be able to signup online. Currently signup sheets are posted outside of Room 007C.
For the South Carolina Honors College course (SCHC 115 ):
Please check with the Instructor
Other advanced astronomy courses which may be offered as announced:
ASTR 320, ASTR 340, ASTR 520, ASTR 533, ASTR 534,
The astronomy center also coordinates Distance Education and Independent Learning Courses intended for students who are unable to attend classes at the Columbia Campus. Astronomy courses are offered as Independent Learning ("C" courses) The "C" courses have a year to be completed. The C course is offered as WEB based courses ASTR C111 and ASTR C111A. "C" courses require special approval from your dean or university. Current materials require completion of C111 before you enroll in C111A. For detailed information about enrollment for the "C" courses contact the Office of Distance Education.
The final lesson in C111 on Science and Pseudoscience is not a part of the WEB source material. It is posted on this site as Pseudoscience
If you have an astronomy paper to do, there is a link somewhere on this page that will help you!! This list contains links to sources of Astronomical interest and is not meant to be 'The List of Astronomically Interesting Sites' (we will try to make it as complete as possible but there are literally hundreds and thousands of pages that could fill in these categories!). The index is as up to date as the "last modified" date at the top of this page.
NASA's Solar System Sampler Need we say more?
Bloopers the professional astronomers have made Mishaps and goofs at several optical and near-infrared telsecopes. See the dead ladybug!
Space Questions and Answers at all levels Teachers and students (at all levels) , and space buffs can read previously submitted questions and answers and ask your own.
Space based biological experiments from NASA's Life Sciences Data Archive.
Information, classroom demos and ideas mostly for the introductory college level.
Physics and Astronomy Tutorials Sources of information at all levels complied by the American Association of Physics Teachers. High School through Graduate Studies. Lots of simulations.
What would happen to the Earth if a wandering star or object passed through the Solar System? Simulations for students from Junior high through college.
Watch for Falling Rocks Simulation of the effects of meteorite impacts on the Earth.
Celestia is a free space-travel simulator program by Chris Laural. Travel to Betelgeuse or elsewhere. Download the program and enjoy. There are more detailed and additional voyages that you can download from the Celestia Mother Lode.
| Site | description | Students | Teachers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astronomy Workshop | -has a variety of programs to explain such concepts as astronomical distances, solar system collisions, scientific notation, equations, orbital elements, and more! -University of Maryland -uses JAVA | !!! | !!! |
| NASA's Home Page | a public access site for Earth and space data." and a Source for Educators -presents NASA material in an easy to understand format along with 'games and puzzles.' | !!! | !!! |
| StarChild Project | -A learning center for young astronomers (NASA) -geared for younger astronomers | !!! | !!! |
| Imagine the Universe | -similar to StarChild but geared for students 14+ | !!! | !!! |
| Quest | -NASA K-12 Internet Initiative -to provide support and services for schools, teachers and students to fully utilize the internet, and its underlying information technologies, as a basic tool for learning." | ! | !!! |
| Space Science Institute | nonprofit corporation located in Boulder, CO, linking researchers and educators to "expand our knowledge of the space sciences...." -links to educational and outreach materials | ! | !!! |
| the Shoder Education Foundation, Inc. | math simulation programs -geared for advanced students | !! | !! |
| Working Group on Astronomical Education | ! | ||
| the Woman Astronomer | -newsletter by subscription links to info about women in astronomy and the space sciences | !! | !!! |
| Educational links from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific | links to info about astronomy courses at all levels in the US | !!! | |
The following provides selected links on astronomical topics for all ages. They are not intended to be comprehensive. For more links go to your search engine. Return to this page using your browser's back button.
| General | The Sun | Mercury | Venus |
| Earth | Mars | Asteroids and Comets | Jupiter |
| Saturn | Uranus | Neptune | Pluto |
This document is at http://astro.physics.sc.edu
This page maintained by John Safko
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of the page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of South Carolina.