Web Sites Used in the
Project
U.S.
Naval Observatory Astronomical Observations (http://aa.usno.navy.mil)
This site can be used to determine solar angles.
Geographic Names Information System
(GNIS) (http://geonames.usgs.gov/)
This U.S.G.S site can be used to find the latitude and longitude of U.S.
populated places as well as geologic features.
Solar Position
Calculator (http://www.srrb.noaa.gov/highlights/sunrise/azel.html) This
calculator provided by NOAA is used to find the solar declination.
Background Science
Tutorial on
Earth-Sun Relations and Seasons
(http://daphne.palomar.edu/jthorngren/tutorial.htm)
This tutorial gives
easily understood information about the earth’s relation to the sun. The part
of the tutorial that discusses the earth’s tilt is particularly relevant to
this project.
Here Comes the Sun (http://vortex.plymouth.edu/sun.html)
A
very simple tutorial titled from the Plymouth State College Meteorology Program.
Earth's
Axial Tilt and the Seasons
(http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/980211f.html)
A NASA high-energy astronomer gives a short answer to the question “How does the earth's tilt affect the
changing of the seasons, and what different angles cause those different
seasons?”
Other Useful Web Sites
Sun Angle Basics (http://aurora.crest.org/basics/solar/angle/index.htm)
Discussion of solar angles.
(http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/EarthSeasons.html)
Determination of Sun
Angle (http://susdesign.com/sunangle/)
This calculator accepts input from the user, then
determines sun angles at specified locations and times.
Aphelion Away!
(http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast03jul_1.htm)
A Science@NASA
article discussing the seasonal changes in the distance between the sun and
earth.
Astronomical Unit, a.u. (http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/glossary/au.html)
The mean distance between the
Earth and the Sun according to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
(http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaResources/Energy_Balance.pdf)
A
NASA Earth Observing System Terra Series article about the earth’s heat budget.
Alaska Climate
Research Center (http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/)
This site includes databases of pertinent Alaska
weather and climate.
The Geophysical Institute
at UAF (http://www.gi.alaska.edu/)
This site is the home page for the University of
Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.
Solar Concepts
(http://www.usc.edu/dept/architecture/mbs/tools/vrsolar/Help/solar_concepts.html)
This site considers solar matters from an
engineering perspective.
TI-83 Plus Resources
(http://education.ti.com/student/hs/res/resource.html)
Information and guidebooks about the calculator
from the manufacturer.
CBL Guidebook (http://education.ti.com/product/tech/cbl/guide/cblguideus.html)
If you need more information about the CBL, you may
download a guidebook from this site. You will need Acrobat Reader installed on
your computer to read it.
Alaska Region,
National Weather Service (http://www.alaska.net/~nwsar/)
This site includes satellite images of Alaska
weather.
TV
Weather Images (http://www.alaska.net/~nwsar/html/tvwx/tvwx.html)
This site contains images used in the PBS show,
"Alaska Weather."
Clickable
Map (http://www.sweethome.de/giesen/sunearth/)
This site contains a java applet that allows you to
click on a world map and see the current location of the sun. It has other
useful features, too.
Heating
the Earth (http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfltl/geog120/unit7a.htm)
The site discusses the reasons for the seasons,
including useful graphics.
Climate and Climate Change
(http://www.atmos.washington.edu/1998Q4/211/topics2.htm)
This site contains a technical discussion of
atmospheric issues, including solar intensity.
Hands
On Physics (http://hop.concord.org/lph/lph.concepts.angle.html)
This site discusses the angle of the sun and how to
determine it.
Weather
in Yukon and Canada (http://www.pyr.ec.gc.ca/Weather/Weather_eIndex.htm)
This site has weather information about Yukon
Territory and other sites in Canada.
Fourmilab
(http://www.fourmilab.to/)
This site allows you see earth and sky from various
viewpoints, which you determine. When you get to the site, choose Earth and
Moon Viewer menu item. The stills from which the Alaska Summer Solstice movie
was developed came from this site.
Web Version of
MICA (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/WebMICA_2.html) This page enables you to obtain many kinds of astronomical data. It may
be used in this project to find the seasonal differences in the distance
between the sun and the earth.
Watt Engineering Ltd. On the Nature and
Distribution of Solar Energy. U.S. Government Printing Office: Washington D.C.,
1978.
Dogniaux R. (ed.) Prediction
of Solar Radiation in Areas with a Specific Microclimate. Kluwer Academic
Publishers: Boston MA, 1994.
Robinson,
Walter A. Modeling Dynamic Climate Systems. Springer-Verlag: New York 2001