Free Astronomy Course Taught Online by an APOD Editor

[RJN]

This just in from learnoutloud.com:

"Reference number: LTK144015470706X This is a reference number that you can use in your correspondence with us.
Subject: Missing lecture downloads

Thank you for contacting us.

Just to give you full disclosure: Apple recently give us a cease and desist letter with regard to our use of their material related to the iTunes U area of iTunes store. At this time we have been forced to remove all deep links to the content in this area and can only use the overall link to each class within the iTunes store. We realize it's sometimes more convenient to access each item individually, but as you can see, Apple is quite serious about enforcing their proprietary rights.

The withdrawal of deep links applies to the iTunes U programs only. Everything else on our site has been unaffected. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions and we're really sorry,"

[adrianxw]

REFERENCE NUMBER: LTK144015469210X This is a reference number that you can use in your correspondence with us.
SUBJECT: PH1600 lectures.

Thank you for contacting us.

Just to give you full disclosure: Apple recently give us a cease and desist letter with regard to our use of their material related to the iTunes U area of iTunes store. At this time we have been forced to remove all deep links to the content in this area and can only use the overall link to each class within the iTunes store. We realize it's sometimes more convenient to access each item individually, but as you can see, Apple is quite serious about enforcing their proprietary rights.
The withdrawal of deep links applies to the iTunes U programs only. Everything else on our site has been unaffected.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.We're really sorry for the inconvenience.


Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Dinah

*** Edit ***

Okay, sorry for duplication, we were posting at the same time it would seem.

Stinks heh? You are the copyright holder surely? These are supposed to be free to all, not free to all that agree to Apple's iTunes terms and conditions.

[bbcbarry]

Since I know little about iTunes, this is all Greek to me. Our school's IT policy does not allow downloading of the ITune engine. They are fairly strong on this poicy because it opens too many ports that they do not want open. Before iTunes became an issue, I watched the QuickTime version of the lectures. There is no problem with that. Can the Quicktime version be posted on another server so that they can be available to those of us who can not get any further involved with Apple through their iTunes "site"?

[jesusfreak16]

It seems that if the lectures aren't Apple's property,then they can't prevent everyone from watching them.

[Tatiana]

Please someone find a fix! I'm addicted now and I'm having to go cold turkey.

[Case]

Stinks heh? You are the copyright holder surely? These are supposed to be free to all, not free to all that agree to Apple's iTunes terms and conditions.

It seems that if the lectures aren't Apple's property,then they can't prevent everyone from watching them.

It seems that the issue is the use of iTunes bandwidth by deep linking, rather than the videos themselves. They'll host it for free, but in return they expect that everyone uses the interface that they are trying to market.

Most sites for the general public that allow uploads of video have restrictions on the file size and/or duration, which excluded these video lectures. Some will downgrade the quality even lower than it already is.

If Michigan Tech doesn't have the capacity to host these files for all to download, then it must be hard to find an additional host elsewhere. I know my ISP would remove/block the files if the downloads were too many from my personal webspace.

The videos could get torrented for a broader audience, but I think the folks that can't/won't/aren't allowed to install iTunes, will have issues with a P2P protocol as well. So that wouldn't help much.

[g-banjo]

Indeed it is a shame we can't all see these. I, for one, would be very interested indeed. But I will certainly never install iTunes on my PC as it causes so many problems. (I guess it isn't in Apple's interest for a PC to work properly.)

[v13]

If Michigan Tech doesn't have the capacity to host these files for all to download, then it must be hard to find an additional host elsewhere. I know my ISP would remove/block the files if the downloads were too many from my personal webspace.

As I said in a previous post, I'm willing to host them at a University in Greece with 1Gbps internet connection and no traffic restrictions.

If you (RJN) can store them somewhere (not public) I can automate the mirroring procedure. I can also perform format and quality conversions if needed.

Feel free to contact me at v13 - at - it.teithe.gr (I don't read the forum every day)

[g-banjo]

Oh yes please!

[porcupine]

I'm watching your podcasts and LOVING your presentations. My eyes usually glaze over where anything encompassing science and/or numbers is concerned, but you've made it fun and interesting. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge in such a witty and accessible way! I'm hooked!
Regards
Sue

[v13]

I'm using Linux here and I wasn't able to view your videos after the direct links were removed from learnoutloud. So I'm now using a vmware machine running windows and iTunes to download them. I'll be glad to store them online and post the URL here but I need (a public) authorization for such an action. This will hopefully allow everyone out there without iTunes to watch the videos.

So, do you RJN allow me to make available your videos online?
There will be no advertising etc. Just a directory with the videos.

[RJN]

Yes. You have my permission to post my lectures to your website and post the URL here for others to use. This applies to anyone who wants to do this. Please abide by all laws when doing so. I thank you for your efforts here.

- RJN

[emc]

In your tenth lecture you mentioned that if Jupiter disappeared the remaining Jovian moons would maintain their solar orbit. I was thinking that they would not because of the mass to orbital velocity relationship, right? Wouldn't the moons drift further from the sun or is my lack of understanding showing?

[BMAONE23]

I would imagine that, like the Jovian Trojans, They would find equilibrium with the Solar Gravity and become part of an enlarged asteroid belt. Though some of the interactions with the older belt asteroids could prove disasterous over time

[v13]

Yes. You have my permission to post my lectures to your website and post the URL here for others to use. This applies to anyone who wants to do this. Please abide by all laws when doing so. I thank you for your efforts here.

Here it is: https://titanas.it.teithe.gr/shared/v13/astronomy/

I'll try to keep it up-to-date but it won't hurt to contact me if you (or anyone else) notices that there are missing videos.

Keep up the good work!

[emc]

I would imagine that, like the Jovian Trojans, They would find equilibrium with the Solar Gravity and become part of an enlarged asteroid belt. Though some of the interactions with the older belt asteroids could prove disasterous over time

Thanks BMAONE23, You're telling me that Jupiter's moons would drift into similar to existing orbits. I expect you are correct as I know little to nothing of astrophysics/orbital mechanics. And that is what Professor Nemiroff said too... it just threw me for a loop. I was thinking that since the moons are traveling at Jupiter's velocity around the sun that they would tend to move away from the sun's gravity due to their lower mass reaching relative escape velocity.

Yes. You have my permission to post my lectures to your website and post the URL here for others to use. This applies to anyone who wants to do this. Please abide by all laws when doing so. I thank you for your efforts here.

Here it is: https://titanas.it.teithe.gr/shared/v13/astronomy/

I'll try to keep it up-to-date but it won't hurt to contact me if you (or anyone else) notices that there are missing videos.

Keep up the good work!

Thank you v13!

[Indigo_Sunrise]

Thank you, v13! I hadn't had a chance to view past the first two, so many, many thanks!!!

8)

[Chris Peterson]

I was thinking that since the moons are traveling at Jupiter's velocity around the sun that they would tend to move away from the sun's gravity due to their lower mass reaching relative escape velocity.

When the mass of the orbiting body is much less than the mass of the central body, mass can be ignored. If Jupiter disappeared, its satellites would still be moving mainly in the same orbit as Jupiter. Each would find itself moving slightly faster or slower as its own orbital velocity component around Jupiter was added to its much larger solar orbit velocity. This would result in a slight spread of the satellites inward or outward, depending on where each was in its Jupiter orbit when the planet disappeared.

[adrianxw]

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I get that when going to the URL for the lectures. Clicking continue to site seems to do so though.

[v13]

There is a problem with this website's security certificate.

The security certificate presented by this website was not issued by a trusted certificate authority.

I get that when going to the URL for the lectures. Clicking continue to site seems to do so though.

This is because the certificate is not signed by a well-know Certificate Authority. If you want to get rid of this message you must either accept it permanently or get the CA certificate from here: http://hydra.it.teithe.gr/ca/.

I'm sorry but the server is used for sharing files some of which are password protected and thus we need to have encrypted communications. Since there is no easy way to differentiate between protected and non-protected areas, it isn't possible to provide a non-https URL for now.

[emc]

I was thinking that since the moons are traveling at Jupiter's velocity around the sun that they would tend to move away from the sun's gravity due to their lower mass reaching relative escape velocity.

When the mass of the orbiting body is much less than the mass of the central body, mass can be ignored. If Jupiter disappeared, its satellites would still be moving mainly in the same orbit as Jupiter. Each would find itself moving slightly faster or slower as its own orbital velocity component around Jupiter was added to its much larger solar orbit velocity. This would result in a slight spread of the satellites inward or outward, depending on where each was in its Jupiter orbit when the planet disappeared.

Thanks Chris, I feel like a student who hasn't been paying attention in class.

I found this article on the subject of Earth's mass which touches on orbital mechanics which also helps...

physlink.com online Q&A
<<"Now, here is the really neat part: all objects accelerate to the Earth at exactly the same rate given the same distance from the Earths center. In other words, even the Moon is accelerating towards the Earth at a rate that is appropriate for its distance from the Earth's center! If another object, say with the mass of this desktop computer, were to be placed in the moon's orbit it would circle the Earth at exactly the same speed as the moon. Why? Because both objects are accelerating towards the Earth and all objects, regardless of their mass, accelerate towards the Earth at exactly the same rate.">>

So the above quote also applies to what you, BMAONE23, and Dr. Nemiroff are saying... the moons of Jupiter would follow their same solar orbit even after their adjustment to loosing the gravity of Jupiter because they share the same relationship to the sun's gravity as Jupiter did.

I was complicating/confusing the loss of Jupiter's gravity as a "release" relative to the moons allowing them to move away from the sun kind of like how acceleration allows our spacecraft to exit Earth's gravity. I see I was wrong.

Thanks again!

[Chris Peterson]

<<"Now, here is the really neat part: all objects accelerate to the Earth at exactly the same rate given the same distance from the Earths center. In other words, even the Moon is accelerating towards the Earth at a rate that is appropriate for its distance from the Earth's center! If another object, say with the mass of this desktop computer, were to be placed in the moon's orbit it would circle the Earth at exactly the same speed as the moon.

BTW, we don't need to keep this hypothetical. There are small bodies in the same orbit as larger ones. There are satellites orbiting the Sun in Jupiter's orbit, ahead of or behind the planet. These trojan satellites are, of course, much smaller than Jupiter.

[BMAONE23]

If the mass of Jupiter were suddenly removed the objects most affected would be the Trojans at the lagrange points since their cohesion was dependant on the mass of Jupiter for stability. The lagrange points would disappear and they would need to seek stable solar orbits which could lead to many interctions.

[Chris Peterson]

If the mass of Jupiter were suddenly removed the objects most affected would be the Trojans at the lagrange points since their cohesion was dependant on the mass of Jupiter for stability. The lagrange points would disappear and they would need to seek stable solar orbits which could lead to many interctions.

The Trojans are in stable orbits. The thing that is special about the Lagrange points is that they are the only stable points in Jupiter's orbit. If Jupiter disappeared, the Trojans could spread out to fill more of the orbit. Of course, over time, with so many bodies in the same orbit, there would be interactions and collisions. But for the most part, the Trojans would carry on just fine if Jupiter disappeared. In the absence of interactions with each other, or with Saturn, they wouldn't "seek" new orbits.

[jose palacios]

I became addict to APOD about two years ago, and the classes I just found make a fantastic use out of it. I want to thank prof Nemiroff for the great idea, and for the great classes, too.

In fact, I would like to try something similar from my microbiology classes (the other end of the size scale). how difficult it is to convert the classes into the podcast? Could it be enough with QuickTime software or I need much more support?

Thanks again,

jose