Helpful Material--hints for users, glossary, guide to teachers, problems, timeline etc.
For easier reading, view this site with size 14 font (but print out with size 10 or 12). The material is self-contained, at the high-school level, rich in history and is best studied in the order listed below. "Stargazers" files are also available
as a TARed and GZIPed file via anonymous
FTP You are also invited to visit our sister site
or to send comments or questions to the author.
"From Stargazers to Starships" follows an earlier site "The Exploration of the Earth's Magnetosphere". "Stargazers" deals with the world of gravity--of massive planets and stars, and the way spaceflight is achieved despite their strong pull. "Exploration" on the other hand looks at the hot (but usually rarefied) gases which fill most of space, which are ruled by magnetic and electric forces rather than by gravity. The polar aurora, the radiation belts, the solar wind, magnetic storms, "space weather", cosmic radiation--this is the site which tells you all about them.
Author and Curator: David P. Stern
NASA/GSFC Code 695 u5dps@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov
Web Design: Conway Carter
Image Editing: Eddie Welker