Type and hit ENTER

Articles for the Public

These are links to some articles I have written that are aimed at a non-technical audience:

 

An Astronomer Looks at Astrology (skeptically): 

http://bit.ly/astrologydebunked

An Astronomer Looks at UFO’s: A Lot Less than Meets the Eye (brief skeptical overview):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269402762_An_Astronomer_Looks_at_UFOs_A_Lot_Less_than_Meets_the_Eye

Astronomy in Popular Culture (Article from the 2014 Handbook of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261707922_Astronomy_in_Popular_Culture

Astronomy in Popular Culture (A Quiz):
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/sky-and-telescope-magazine/beyond-the-printed-page/astronomy-in-popular-culture/

Celebrating the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s 120th Anniversary: Some Glimpses from our Past:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261513030_Celebrating_the_Astronomical_Society_of_the_Pacific%27s_120th_Anniversary_Some_Glimpses_from_our_Past

Comets: Visitors from Deep Space (brief introduction):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272817198_Comets_Visitors_from_Deep_Space

Decidedly Demented Definitions of Astronomical Terms (full of bad puns):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320099739_Andrew_Fraknoi%27s_Decidedly_Demented_Definitions

Doomsday from Pole Shifts (a skeptical look):
http://multiverse.ssl.berkeley.edu/Calendar-in-the-Sky/Articles/Doomsday-from-Pole-Shift

Doomsday from Rogue Planets (a skeptical look):
http://multiverse.ssl.berkeley.edu/Calendar-in-the-Sky/Articles/Doomsday-from-Rogue-Planets

Doomsday from Stellar Explosions (a skeptical look):
http://multiverse.ssl.berkeley.edu/Calendar-in-the-Sky/Articles/Doomsday-from-Stellar-Explosions

Exploring the Red Planet Mars (a brief primer):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269136272_Exploring_the_Red_Planet_Mars

Extra-solar Planets (brief introduction for the general public):
http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/extrasolar-planets.html

Fifty Years After Our First Step: What Do We Know about the Moon (transcript of a 2019 talk to the Commonwealth Club): 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336287334_50_Years_Since_our_First_Step_What_Do_We_Know_about_the_Moon

Finding Planets around Other Stars (brief popular-level article):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262344297_Finding_Planets_Around_Other_Stars

Gamma-Ray Bursts (brief introduction for the general public):
http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/gamma-ray-bursts.html

Getting Started in Astronomy (a guide for those who want to become arm-chair or amateur astronomers):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270905253_Getting_Started_in_Astronomy

Glossary of Basic Astronomical Terms (a guide for those starting out in astronomy):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261726046_Glossary_of_Basic_Astronomical_Terms

How Fast Are You Moving When You Are Sitting Still? (the motions of the Earth for teachers):
http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/docs/HowFast.pdf

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Astronomy: Cosmic Fiction, Drama, and Poetry (from CAP Journal):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282356348_Interdisciplinary_Approaches_to_Astronomy_Cosmic_Fiction_Drama_and_Poetry

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Astronomy: The Music of the Spheres (from CAP Journal):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306746125_Interdisciplinary_Approaches_to_Astronomy_The_Music_of_the_Spheres

Light as a Cosmic Time Machine (brief introduction for the general public):
http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/light-as-a-cosmic-time-machine.html
(and another version at:
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/261707511_Light_as_a_Cosmic_Time_Machine
)

Lives of the Stars (a brief introduction for the general public):
http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/lives-of-stars.html

Mars (a brief introduction):
http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/mars.html

Revisiting Pluto (first result from the New Horizons flyby; brief introduction):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284009472_Revisiting_Pluto

Ten Science Fiction Writers for Scientists and Science Enthusiasts:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261364023_Ten_Science_Fiction_Writers_for_Scientists_and_Science_Enthusiasts

What’s a Planet and Why is Pluto not in the Planet Club Anymore (brief introduction):
http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/planets-and-pluto.html

Articles for the Public - Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources