Explorations in Astronomy
Dave Snyder
Observing
Ordinary people can do astronomy without a telescope. (Dark skies and binoculars are very helpful.) Here are some articles I wrote on the subject:
- Snyder, Dave. 1999. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers.
“Mercury Transits the Sun.” December 1999, pp. 1-3.
Here.
- ______ 2000b. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “University Lowbrow Astronomers Naked Eye Observer’s Guide.” May 2000, pp. 2-8.
Here.
- ______. 2000c. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “The Perseids and the Aurora.” August 2000, p. 8.
Here.
- ______. 2007a. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Belize and the Magellanic Clouds.” March 2007, Volume 31, Issue 3, pp. 7-8.
Here.
See also this presentation...
- Yasu Inugi, Charlie Nielsen, Dave Snyder, Jack Brisbin. “Amateur Astronomy: From Ann Arbor to the Universe.”
Presentation given to Saturday Morning Physics at the University of Michigan, March 14, 2009.
Here.
Telescopes
Here are couple articles I wrote on unusual telescopes:
- Snyder, Dave. 2001a. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Fall 2000 Saturday Morning Physics: X-ray Astronomy.” January 2001, pp. 2-3.
Here.
- ______. 2007b. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “The Allen Telescope Array –
A Wide Angle Panchromatic Camera for SETI And Radio Astronomy.” July 2007, Volume 31, Issue 7, pp. 6-8.
Here.
Unmanned Space Missions
The following describes a talk by Roger Tanner. He was working on camera that was to be part of a Mars
Mission:
- Snyder, Dave. 2002. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers.
“Roger Tanner Comes Home.” October 2002, pp. 4-5.
Here.
Nucleosynthesis
Nucleosynthesis is the process where hydrogen has been converted into heavier elements.
This has taken place in a variety of locations: the Big Bang, stars, neutron star collisions among others.
It is a complicated process. Most of the steps in this process were determined about 60 years ago; however a number of details have only been fleshed out in the years since,
and a handful of corrections have been made.
Because of its complexity, some people have felt a temptation to skip steps or simplify the process, and this has led to certain misconceptions.
I discovered these misconceptions early on: I started to research the subject on my own terms, and subsequently wrote a series of articles. Pointers to these articles are as follows:
- Snyder, Dave. 2012a. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Nucleosynthesis.” March 2012, Volume 36, Issue 3, pp. 3-4.
Here.
- ______. 2012b. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Nucleosynthesis, Part 2.” August 2012, Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 3-7.
Here.
- ______. 2013. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Nucleosynthesis, Part 3.” October 2013, Volume 37, Issue 10, pp. 3-5.
Here.
- ______. 2014. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Nucleosynthesis, Part 4.” July 2014, Volume 38, Issue 7, pp. 4-7, 13-16.
Here.
- ______. 2020a. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Nucleosynthesis, Part 5.” July 2020, Volume 44, Issue 7, pp. 5-13.
Here.
Cosmology
Two articles I wrote on the subject of Cosmology:
- Snyder, Dave. 1998a. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers.
“Computational Cosmology and the NSF Technology Grid.” February 1998, pp. 2-3.
Here.
- ______. 2020b. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Expansion of the Universe.” November 2020, Volume 44, Issue 11, pp. 4-6.
Here.
Other
Some other articles...
- Snyder, Dave. 2004b. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Two Days in Manhattan.” December 2004, pp. 5-7.
Here.
- ______. 2005. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “A Tale of Two Observatories.” March 2005, pp. 4-6.
Here.
- ______ 2008b. Reflections, Newsletter of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. “Titan, Dark Matter and Black Holes.” June 2008, Volume 32, Issue 6, pp. 3-4.
Here.
Links
Modified August 21, 2025