Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
Astronomy

For Further Exploration

AstronomyFor Further Exploration

Articles

Earth

Collins, W., et al. “The Physical Science behind Climate Change.” Scientific American (August 2007): 64. Why scientists are now confident that human activities are changing our planet’s climate.

Glatzmaier, G., & Olson, P. “Probing the Geodynamo.” Scientific American (April 2005): 50. Experiments and modeling that tell us about the source and reversals of Earth’s magnetic field.

Gurnis, M. “Sculpting the Earth from Inside Out.” Scientific American (March 2001): 40. On motions that lift and lower the continents.

Hartmann, W. “Piecing Together Earth’s Early History.” Astronomy (June 1989): 24.

Jewitt, D., & Young, E. “Oceans from the Skies.” Scientific American (March 2015): 36. How did Earth get its water after its initial hot period?

Impacts

Boslaugh, M. “In Search of Death-Plunge Asteroids.” Astronomy (July 2015): 28. On existing and proposed programs to search for earth-crossing asteroids.

Brusatte, S. “What Killed the Dinosaurs?” Scientific American (December 2015): 54. The asteroid hit Earth at an already vulnerable time.

Chyba, C. “Death from the Sky: Tunguska.” Astronomy (December 1993): 38. Excellent review article.

Durda, D. “The Chelyabinsk Super-Meteor.” Sky & Telescope (June 2013): 24. A nice summary with photos and eyewitness reporting.

Gasperini, L., et al. “The Tunguska Mystery.” Scientific American (June 2008): 80. A more detailed exploration of the site of the 1908 impact over Siberia.

Kring, D. “Blast from the Past.” Astronomy (August 2006): 46. Six-page introduction to Arizona’s meteor crater.

Websites

Earth

Astronaut Photography of Earth from Space: https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/. A site with many images and good information.

Exploration of the Earth’s Magnetosphere: http://phy6.org/Education/Intro.html. An educational website by Dr. Daniel Stern.

NASA Goddard: Earth from Space: Fifteen Amazing Things in 15 Years: https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/earth-from-space-15-amazing-things-in-15-years. Images and videos that reveal things about our planet and its atmosphere.

U.S. Geological Survey: Earthquake Information Center: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/

Views of the Solar System: http://www.solarviews.com/eng/earth.htm. Overview of Earth.

Impacts

B612 Foundation : https://b612foundation.org/. Set up by several astronauts for research and education about the asteroid threat to Earth and to build a telescope in space to search for dangerous asteroids.

Lunar and Planetary Institute: Introduction to Terrestrial Impact Craters: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/craters/. Includes images.

Meteor Crater Tourist Site: http://meteorcrater.com/.

NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab Near Earth Object Program: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/neo/.

What Are Near-Earth-Objects: http://spaceguardcentre.com/what-are-neos/. From the British Spaceguard Centre.

Videos

Earth

All Alone in the Night: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120305.html. Flying over Earth at night (2:30).

Earth: The Operator’s Manual: http://earththeoperatorsmanual.com/feature-video/earth-the-operators-manual. A National Science Foundation–sponsored miniseries on climate change and energy, with geologist Richard Alley (53:43).

PBS NOVA Videos about Earth: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/. Programs and information about planet Earth. Click full episodes on the menu at left to be taken to a nice array of videos.

U. S. National Weather Service: http://earth.nullschool.net. Real Time Globe of Earth showing wind patterns which can be zoomed and moved to your preferred view.

Impacts

Chelyabinsk Meteor: Can We Survive a Bigger Impact?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-e6xyUZLLs. Talk by Dr. David Morrison (1:34:48).

Large Asteroid Impact Simulation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU1QPtOZQZU. Large asteroid impact simulation from the Discovery Channel (4:45).

Meteor Hits Russia February 15, 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpmXyJrs7iU. Archive of eyewitness footage (10:11).

Sentinel Mission: Finding an Asteroid Headed for Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efz8c3ijD_A. Public lecture by astronaut Ed Lu (1:08:57).

Order a print copy

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Jan 28, 2022 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.