Issue 3.01

The Astrophysics Spectator

January 4, 2006

Happy New Year. In this new year I am introducing a new look and organization to The Astrophysics Spectator. This new organization is reflected in the menu of links at the top of each page.

The Surveys link has been replaced by a Topics link. This is the principal link for the web site. As under the Topics link, the Surveys link leads to an index of topical survey paths. Each set of pages under a given topic forming a coherent series. Each page in a series contains a index of pages for that series. This new organization drops the distinction between background pages and research pages.

Each page containing a simulation or live figure belongs to a topic path. These pages are also listed under the Interactive Pages link.

The Commentary link remains as before, while the Information link points to contact information and information about the editor of this site. The Store link now points to a page at Cafe Press containing items such as cups and tee-shirts bearing images from this site.

The Other Pages link is a catch-all containing links to pages indexed by type. Among these pages are book reviews, tables of information, bibliographic information, a news archive, and links to other astronomy and astrophysics sites.

The site now makes use of cookies to provide you with the information you see to the upper left. This box contains links to pages added to the site since your last visit, or in the last-three months, whichever is shorter. If you are a frequent visitor, this box will contain additions of the past-three weeks.

The new pages added this week serve as introductions to three of the topic paths. Despite the slow start to the year, I intend to publish new editions of The Astrophysics Spectator every fortnight. The next issue is scheduled for January 18.

Structure of the Universe

Overview. This page is the introduction to the Structure of the Universe topic path. This is a new path that incorporated the older pages on distance in Astronomy. This topic path presents an overview of Astrophysics. Much of the emphasis is on the relative size and distance of astronomical objects. (continue)

Observational Astronomy

Overview. This is the introductory page to the Observational Astronomy topic path. The pages on this path describes how objects in astrophysics are observed, and what can be learned from these observations. (continue)

Electromagnetic Radiation

Light in Astrophysics. This is an introductory page to a path that barely exists: the creation of light, ranging from the radio to the gamma-ray, in astrophysics. This is a fundamental piece of astrophysics, and one cannot understand most stellar systems without understanding how light is created, transported, and destroyed within that system. (continue)