SAO Project 2 Information
Project #2. Missing Mass
All our most powerful telescopes only see about 10% of the matter in the Universe. Quite frankly, we haven't the foggiest idea what the other 90% is made of, which is somewhat, ahem, embarrassing. This must be the single biggest puzzle in astrophysics at the moment. Students are not expected to solve it (bonus marks & a Nobel Prize if you do). But to achieve high marks for this project you would need to have a look at some of the ideas which abound on the internet (and elsewhere), and use your astronomical background from HET603 to sort out the wheat from the chaff.Below I list some web sites and reference books to get you started. The books are not to be regarded as "must buy". They are not required reading for each project, because there is no required reading! I list well known books that I hope can be found in libraries.
I am happy to comment on a summary of what you intend to do (in fact please send me a summary as soon as possible so I know you are on track).
Caution! The Internet
Internet search engines are listed below the Projects. A word of warning/caution to users of Internet/Web resources. Just because information is on a Web page, doesn't mean that it is correct. After a while you will be able to identify the more reputable sites (eg. most .edu, .ac sites). Check the credentials of the author of the site. Has the web site been updated lately? Does it agree with other (non-Internet) information?The truth is out there, but so is a lot of rubbish!
Gene Smith's Astronomy Tutorial
Book: Quintessence : The Mystery of Missing Mass in the Universe by Lawrence Krauss
Book: The Big Bang by Joseph Silk (Freeman and Co.)
Book: Just Six Numbers - The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe by Martin Rees (Phoenix)
Book: Wrinkles in Time by George Smoot , Keay Davidson (Avon Books)
Astronomy Resources
Resource Lists * Astronomical Resources on the World Wide Web: A Guide to Surfing
Internet Search Engines
Google * HotBot * MetaCrawler
General References
CNN Space * Astronomy * Sky and Telescope * Scientific American * Mercury * New Scientist * New Scientist Astronomy Links
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Swinburne Astronomy Online
Last updated: 1-Apr.-2003