Understanding the Universe - An Introduction to Astronomy, 2nd Edition - Series 2 - Part 1

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Science Documentary hosted by Alex Filippenko, published by The Teaching Company in 2007 - English narration

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Image: Understanding-the-Universe-An-Introduction-to-Astronomy-2nd-Edition-Series-2-Part-1-Cover.jpg

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Understanding the Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy, 2nd Edition is a nontechnical description of where that picture stands today. In 96 richly illustrated half-hour lectures, you will survey the main concepts, methods, and discoveries in astronomy—in-depth—from the constellations drawn by the ancients, to the latest reports from planetary probes in the Solar System, to the most recent images offered by telescopes probing the farthest frontiers of space and time. These lectures fully update Professor Alex Filippenko's 1998 edition of this course and his companion course from 2003. All of the material in this course is integrated so that one topic builds on another as you develop the conceptual tools that allow you to explore the Universe. For example, the study of the Solar System leads naturally to the investigation of planets around other stars and the possibility of life elsewhere in the cosmos. Likewise, rainbows and similar atmospheric phenomena introduce the subject of light, and light is the key to unraveling the mysteries of stars and galaxies. Dr. Filippenko uses thousands of diagrams and photographs. There are almost 300 short movies and computer animations that make astronomical phenomena easier to understand, and they put planets, stars, and galaxies into context as you zoom through the cosmos. A showman in the classroom, Dr. Filippenko delights in simple, easily reproducible demonstrations that use tennis balls, apples, paper plates, and other objects to explain scientific concepts. Furthermore, he has a gift for analogies: at one point, he makes the energy content of one erg vivid by comparing it to one fly doing one push-up! Altogether, this course is an unrivalled opportunity to experience a full-year introductory college course on astronomy, delivered by a five-time winner of "Best Professor" on campus at the University of California, Berkeley, who himself is a leading participant in some of the groundbreaking discoveries at the forefront of the field. Professor Filippenko is both a world-class teacher and researcher: In 2006 he was named one of four national Professors of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and in 1998 his international team of astronomers was credited with the top "science breakthrough of the year" for their amazing discovery that the expansion of the Universe is speeding up—a finding that is now shaking the foundations of physics. Stars and Their Lives 33. Pluto and its Cousins Discovered in 1930, Pluto was long considered a planet. However, the detection of more and more objects in the same region strongly suggests that it is a member of a reservoir of comet-like bodies in the Kuiper belt. 34. Asteroids and Dwarf Planets Under a new definition adopted in 2006, planets are more narrowly defined and a new class called dwarf planets has been created, which includes Pluto, Eris (a Kuiper-belt object larger than Pluto), and Ceres (the largest asteroid). 35. Comets - Gorgeous Primordial Snowballs Comets are "dirty snowballs" from beyond the orbit of Neptune. As they approach the Sun, they begin to evaporate and produce gaseous tails. In 2005, a space probe impacted Comet Tempel 1, revealing the nature of its interior. 36. Catastrophic Collisions Comets and asteroids have struck Earth throughout its history. One such collision 65 million years ago probably caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Astronomers now search for asteroids that could be a potential threat to Earth. 37. The Formation of Planetary Systems Planets form inside a rotating cloud of dust and gas, which flattens as it contracts. At the center, the temperature is high enough to create a star; farther from the center, leftover material collects into planets. 38. The Quest for Other Planetary Systems In 1995, the first extra-solar planet was discovered around a Sun-like star. Since then, about 200 have been found. The easiest to detect are those with large masses, close to their host stars, and with brief orbital periods. 39. Extra-Solar Planets Galore! Because extra-solar planets are too dim to be seen directly, they are detected using a variety of ingenious techniques. Two examples: Minute variations in a star's spectrum and tiny changes in its brightness can signal the presence of planets. 40. Life Beyond the Earth The recent discovery of extra-solar planets rekindles the age-old question of whether there is life beyond Earth. This lecture examines the possibility of rudimentary life on other planets and moons in the Solar System. 41. The Search for Extraterrestrials Are there intelligent extraterrestrials elsewhere in our Galaxy? One way to search is to scan the radio spectrum for evidence of their electronic signals. The Drake equation suggests ways to estimate their prevalence. 42. Special Relativity and Interstellar Travel Are interstellar voyages possible within a single human lifetime? According to Einstein's special theory of relativity, the answer is "yes" in principle but "no" in practice, given current technology. You explore the reasons for both answers. 43. Stars - Distant Suns A voyage to another star would require exact information on distances and properties of the stars. This lecture shows how astronomers measure the distance to nearby stars and how they determine their surface temperatures, which are the basis for stellar classification. 44. The Intrinsic Brightness of Stars Apparent brightness is the observed brightness of a star. Because stars are at different distances, astronomers need a standard reference by which to compare stars in absolute terms, as if they're all at the same distance: This standard is called intrinsic brightness, or luminosity. 45. The Diverse Sizes of Stars This lecture discusses the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a plot of stellar surface temperature versus luminosity that contains a wealth of information. Stars spend most of their existence on the diagram's well-defined main sequence; outliers include supergiants and white dwarfs. 46. Binary Stars and Stellar Masses Many stars are members of binary systems, in which two stars orbit a common center of mass. Our best estimates of how much mass stars have come from observations of binaries. We find that massive stars have far shorter lives than low-mass stars. 47. Stars Clusters, Ages and Remote Distances Star clusters are gravitationally bound groups of stars that are all about the same age and the same distance from Earth. Astronomers can determine the approximate ages of clusters. This lecture also explains how the distance of extremely remote stars is found. 48. How Stars Shine - Nature's Nuclear Reactors When the central temperature of a contracting cloud of gas grows sufficiently high, it becomes a star - a gigantic, controlled, thermonuclear reactor, fusing hydrogen into helium and maintaining a constant luminosity and size. 49. Solar Nutrinos - Probes of the Sun's Core Physicists had long assumed that nuclear fusion occurred in the Sun's core, though without a way to physically measure or observe this. Ghostly particles called neutrinos provide direct evidence of events in the Sun's nuclear furnace. 50. Brown Dwarfs and Free-Floating Planets Brown dwarfs are low-mass objects whose dim glow is caused by slow gravitational contraction and the fusion of deuterium, a heavier but far less abundant isotope of hydrogen. Free-floating planets have even less mass than brown dwarfs and are not associated with any star. 51. Our Sun's Brilliant Future As it gradually uses up the hydrogen in its core, fusing it to helium, the Sun will expand to form a red giant star. Through a series of relatively nonviolent eruptions, it will expel its outer layers of gas, producing a beautiful, glowing nebula around the dying core.As it gradually uses up the hydrogen in its core, fusing it to helium, the Sun will expand to form a red giant star. Through a series of relatively nonviolent eruptions, it will expel its outer layers of gas, producing a beautiful, glowing nebula around the dying core. 52. White Dwarfs and Nova Eruptions The burned out Sun will eventually contract into a white dwarf. This is the fate of all stars between roughly 0.08 and 8 solar masses. A white dwarf in a binary system may steal matter from its companion star and flare up in an eruption called a nova.


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  • Duration per episode: ~30mn
  • File size per part: 114 MB
  • Container: AVI
  • Width: ~496 pixels
  • Height: ~378 pixels
  • Display aspect ratio: 4:3
  • Overall bit rate: ~520 kbps
  • Frame rate: 29.970 fps
  • Audio Codec: MP3
  • Channel(s): 2 channels
  • Sampling rate: 48.0 KHz
  • Credit goes to: anonymous

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