The public video lectures cover just 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.
This video set concentrates on the "solar system fluff"---bodies in our solar system that are not the planets, large moons, and the Sun. This means the asteroids, meteorites, comets and also what these objects can tell us about the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. The video lectures are grouped together in the Solar System Fluff Public YouTube playlist. Here are the individual videos for the solar system fluff:
Video 1: (for webpage #2) This video is about asteroids—what they are, the three types, where they are found in our solar system, and why they’re important. It also covers the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, binary asteroids, and why almost all asteroids are not round. First of a set about asteroids and meteorites and first lecture for chapter 10 of Astronomy Notes.
Video 2: (for webpage #3) This video is about meteorites—what they are, the three types, and why they’re important. It includes the SNC meteorites from Mars. It also covers going to Antarctica to get an unbiased sample of meteorites. Second of a set about asteroids and meteorites and second lecture for chapter 10 of Astronomy Notes.
Video 3: (for webpage #4) This video is about radioactivity and the radioactive age dating technique. An example problem is worked out. Third of a set about asteroids and meteorites and third lecture for chapter 10 of Astronomy Notes.
Video 4: (for webpage #5) This video is about the impact craters found on Earth—where they are located and why some places are more heavily cratered than other places. Special attention is paid to Meteor Crater in Arizona. Fourth of a set about asteroids and meteorites and fourth lecture for chapter 10 of Astronomy Notes.
Video 5: (for webpage #7) This video is about the structure of comets—the nucleus and the coma and tails that form as they near the Sun and why comets are important for figuring out how the solar system formed.
Video 6: (for webpages #8 and #9) This video is about the types of comets as determined by their orbits, where comets come from (Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud), and creation of meteor showers from the dust trails left behind by comets.
Video 7: (for webpage #11) This video is about the formation of the solar system and how we know the formation process 4.6 billion years ago from looking at the primitive objects of asteroids, meteorites, and comets as well as other star formation regions now in the process of forming planetary systems.
last updated: June 24, 2022