Exploring the Universe with Voyager 4: 24 Astronomy Projects for Windows and Macintosh

Exploring the Universe with Voyager 4: 24 Astronomy Projects for Windows and Macintosh contains twenty-four computer projects designed to make full use of Voyager 4, one of the finest and most powerful “desktop planetarium” programs in the world. It is available for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. The projects are written for freshman and sophomore astronomy survey courses on the solar system, or stars and galaxies, or both. 

The projects take one to two hours each to complete, and have been tested and revised over years of use by introductory astronomy students. Project instructions, especially for Project 18, are based on the command menus of the most recent versions of Voyager 4.5. 

Projects 1–3 are recommended for all courses because they introduce students to the operation of Voyager 4, to celestial coordinate systems, and to stargazing with Voyager-produced star charts. The remaining projects are arranged thematically: Projects 4–12 treat the solar system, Projects 13–16 involve orbital mechanics, and Projects 17–24 address stars and galaxies. 

In each project, the main text presents the essential astronomical background and relevant Voyager 4 commands, the Results paragraphs guide students through the investigation, and the tear-out pages of the Report section help students conveniently organize and submit their findings. The projects assume students are familiar with basic high-school algebra and trigonometry. Students should have calculators that can handle scientific notation, trig functions, exponentiation, and logarithms.