The public video lectures just cover the astronomy content from the Astronomy Notes textbook. The public lectures do not include the material that is for the astronomy class such as how to use the class Canvas, lecture outlines in the Student Guide, exam review documents, etc. Students in the Bakersfield College astronomy classes should use the astronomy class lecture videos posted in the class Canvas to get that class-specific content.
The video lectures are grouped together in the Telescopes Public YouTube playlist. Here are the individual videos for telescopes:
Video 1: (for webpages #1 to #5) This video is about the two basic types of telescopes: the refractor telescope which uses a glass lens and the reflector telescope which uses a mirror. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of telescope are covered. At the end is a description of the Hubble Space Telescope and why it needed corrective optics.
Video 2: (for webpages #6 to #9) This video is about the three powers of a telescope to extend our sense of sight: the light-gathering power, the resolving power, and the magnifying power. Several examples are given to show how the light-gathering power and resolving power increase with the diameter of the telescope. It ends with a description of interferometers and the magnifying power.
Video 3: (for webpages #10 to #13) This video is about the distorting effects of the atmosphere on starlight. The effect of “seeing” is described along with the blocking of parts of the electromagnetic radiation. At the end is a brief description of what we can see with radio telescopes.
last updated: June 24, 2022