Welcome to 'Astronomy & the Media'

Our primary goal is to inform and interest high school and college students as well as the general public about recent astronomical discoveries and the physical sciences in general.
Specific objectives include:

· focusing on recent astronomical discoveries, allowing people to stay in tune to new developments.

· providing links to related web-based news articles that discuss these current events

· providing links to science pages that offer discussions of the physical principles that underlie astronomical phenomena.

Astronomy is a fast-evolving field, with frequent technological advances allowing further scientific discoveries every month. New results are transmitted from the scientific community to the general public via the media (Internet, TV, radio, etc.). The media may not always propagate information 100% accurately, however, as sources may mix some 'hype' in with the science or over-simplify the science for the general public. Informational and educational websites such as ours and those we provide links to help educate the general public about scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs used in astronomy to achieve these discoveries.

Our web site is geared towards a target audience consisting of two groups: Students taking Astro 7, "Astronomy and the media," here at UCLA, and the general public. Astro 7 is a course that investigates the role of the media in the presentation of scientific and technical results. A goal is to learn how to "calibrate" the media, and to develop an instinct for filtering hype from substance. The general public is invited as well to explore the media's role in astronomy. Further, we have a general goal of increasing everyone's interest and knowledge in the physical sciences, though we admit to having a slight emphasis on professional and amateur astronomy organizations in Southern California.

First time here?

Highlights of this sight include some of the current hot topics in astronomy which are frequently discussed in the news. These include discoveries of extrasolar planets, Mars explorations, cosmology (origin and fate of our universe), and the search for extraterrestrial life elsewhere in our universe, and we strongly encourage first-time visitors to explore those pages. The pages on other important topics in astronomy such as black holes, Einstein's relativity theories, and our own solar system, are also worth exploring.

First-time visitors to this site are also strongly encouraged to explore the following highlights:

• Links to nifty astronomy pictures (i.e., from Hubble Space Telescope or the Chandra X-ray Satellite)
• Of course, astronomy is more than just photography-- it's an investigation into physical phenomena. That's why we strongly encourage folks to look at the list of tutorials/introductions to major topics in astronomy.
• Browse the Telescopes Page at your leisure.
• The page on Amateur Astronomy + Stargazing includes info. on what to see in the current night sky over Los Angeles

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Send us your comments and feedback!

Why should you give us feedback?

• It helps us evaluate the organization and content of each of the site's many pages.
• It helps us and others evaluate specific astronomy resources--is a certain resource not helpful at all? Do you find a certain resource overwhelmingly helpful?
• Are there any specific topics you wish us to cover in detail, either by adding our own discussion or adding more related links?
• If you know of a helpful astronomy resource on the WWW that is not listed in our pages, please e-mail us the URL so we can add a link to it.