Astronomy Demonstration Videos

AU is a series of short videos (2-3 minutes) of demonstrations commonly performed in introductory astronomy classes. The videos are appropriate for:

1. Viewing by students as a substitution for the live demonstration. We hope that movies never replace live demonstrations — but these videos make demonstrations accessible for students in distance education courses and at institutions with limited equipment.
2. Preparation for teachers interested in performing the live demonstration. As the demonstration is performed, we comment on the necessary equipment, its availability, and common pitfalls.

Completed Videos

• Sunspots Overhead (854 x 480 px, 31 Mb, 2.0 minutes) — provides an analogy for sunspots appearing dark because they are cooler than the surrounding photosphere. Direct link to the .mov file (31 MB)
• Differentiation (854 x 480 px, 28 Mb, 2.5 minutes) — the separation of materials according to density in the context of planet formation. Direct link to the .mov file (28 MB)
• Thermal Transport in the Sun I: Radiation (854 x 480 px, 32 Mb, 2.1 minutes) — a random walk demonstration analogous to photons making their way out of the interior of the sun. Direct link to the .mov file (32 MB)
• Thermal Transport in the Sun II: Convection (854 x 480 px, 34 Mb, 2.2 minutes) — a demonstration analogous to granulation on the surface of the sun. Direct link to the .mov file (34 MB)
• Supernova Bounce (854 x 480 px, 33 Mb, 3.2 minutes) — two different versions of a demonstration similar to the "core bounce" that occurs in a supernova. Direct link to the .mov file (33 MB)
• Precession of Earth (854 x 480 px, 26.5 Mb, 3.2 minutes) — an air gyroscope is used to simulate the precession of Earth and the changing position of the North Celestial Pole in the sky. Direct link to the .mov file (33 MB)
• Magnetic Deflection (854 x 480 px, 25 Mb, 2.5 minutes) — shows the deflection of charged particles in a magnetic field as an analogy for aurorae. Direct link to the .mov file (25 MB)
• Phosphorescence (854 x 480 px, 31 Mb, 2.7 minutes) — demonstrates that photons of different wavelengths have different energies. Direct link to the .mov file (31 MB)

Videos in (or soon to be in) Production

• Rayleigh Scattering (1280 x 720 px, 29 Mb, 4.1 minutes) — Rayleigh and Mie scattering are demonstrated on the overhead. Direct link to the .mp4 file (29 MB)
• Eclipse Seasons
• Helioseismology
• Visualizing Spectra
• Tidal Heating

These videos were created by undergraduate art major Ben Skudlarek as part of the UNL UCARE Program.