Astronomy Research Guide

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  • Academic OneFile Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Some full text available
  • Access Science Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Some full text available Resource contains images Resource contains video Resource contains audio
  • arXiv Unrestricted Access Some full text available
  • NASA Astrophysics Data System Unrestricted Access Some full text available
  • Web of Science Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Resource contains images
All Items by Source
Biographical Information
Books: other Catalogs
Citation and Style Guides
Encyclopedias
Government Information
Handbooks and Guides
Images
Journals/Magazines
Local
Resources for Thesis Students
Reviews
Statistics/Data
Web Sites

Journals/Magazines

Academic OneFile Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Link to Article Some full text available
1980 - current. Interdisciplinary index covering over 10,000 scholarly and popular journals and magazines. Most references include full-text or links to full-text. Contains all of Expanded Academic Index ASAP. Coverage of scientific journals is limited.  Shortcuts:  go/onefile (on campus),  http://go.middlebury.edu/onefile (off-campus).

arXiv Unrestricted Resource Some full text available
An e-print service in the fields of physics, mathematics, non-linear science, computer science, and quantitative biology. Many of the papers are scheduled to be published in professional journals. Because papers are submitted and posted without peer review, the archive represents extremely up-to-date research. Materials are added on a daily basis.

Google Scholar Unrestricted Resource Link to Article
Searches for many types of primarily scholarly sources including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other organizations. Some documents will be available for free while others require a subscription or a one-time access fee.

  • Enclose phrases in quotes " "
  • To prompt Google Scholar to display links to resources in Middlebury's collection: 1) Go to "Scholar Preferences" (click on the cogwheel in the upper-right), 2) Search "Library Links" for "Middlebury," 3) Select all displayed Middlebury locations, and 4) "Save Preferences."

NASA Astrophysics Data System Unrestricted Resource Some full text available

References to articles published in scholarly journals, bulletins and conference publications in Astronomy and Physics.  This is not a subscription resource, but accessing it from a library page might help to enable linking to full-text articles.

To connect to Middlebury's journal collections from NASA ADS:

  1. Create a NASA ADS account and modify your settings:  a) Look for the "Sign on" link in the upper-right of every page, b) Create an account and sign in, c) Click on "My Account," d) Click on "Library Links Settings," e)  Beside "Select Library Link Server," choose "Middlebury College" from the drop-down menu.  From now on, when you sign in to your NASA ADS account, your search settings will be activated.
  2. Sign in to your NASA ADS account, then search.  In your results list, you may click on the "L" beside any reference you would like to find at Middlebury. Alternatively, you may click on the "E" or the "F" to see if NASA ADS has made the article available through its own database.

Tips:

  • Enclose phrases in quotes " " .
  • Truncate search terms with an asterisk *
  • For more tips, click "Help" in the upper-right of the search screen.

Physical Review Online Archive (PROLA) Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Some full text available
1893 - 4 years ago. Includes all American Physical Society (APS) journal content. 

ProQuest Science Journals Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Link to Article Some full text available Resource contains images
1986-current.  References to articles on a wide variety of topics in the sciences including Physics, Engineering, Astronomy, Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and more.  The database includes over 660 titles, with more than 540 available in full text.

ScienceDirect Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Link to Article Some full text available
This is a collection of journals published by Elsevier.  The Middlebury College Libraries subscribe to 2,000+ titles published 1995-.  (For better coverage, use Scopus instead.)  Articles from journals to which we subscribe are marked with a green full-text icon.  To find out if we have alternative access to journals not available via ScienceDirect, click on the "360 Link to Fulltext" button or consult our Journals A to Z list.  Tip: Use image search to look for terms in tables and figures.

Scopus Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Link to Article
Scopus is an abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and quality web sources with tools to track, analyze and visualize research. Its content falls most heavily in the physical and life sciences, but it also covers social sciences and humanities literature.

  • Contains more than 47 million records, 70% with abstracts, more than 19,500 titles from 5,000 publishers worldwide.  70% of content is pulled from international sources.  Includes MEDLINE.
  • Records since 1996 include searchable cited references.
  • Shortcut: go/scopus (on campus) or http://go.middlebury.edu/scopus (off-campus)

Middlebury College Libraries Databases A-Z List Unrestricted Resource
Links to all indexes and databases available through the Middlebury College Libraries. Shortcuts  =  go/databases (on campus); http://go.middlebury.edu/databases (off-campus).

Books: other Catalogs

Middlebury College Libraries Interlibrary Loan Department Unrestricted Resource
Advice on how to request books and articles from other libraries.

NExpress Unrestricted Resource
Use the  button in Midcat to search for and request items from a consortia of 6 other northeastern libraries, Middlebury borrowers can also visit these libraries and check out items directly. These libraries are: Williams, Bates, Bowdoin, Wellesley, Colby, and Northeastern University.  See the NExpress page for full details.

WorldCat Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Link to Article
Use this union catalog of over 40 million books, documents, reports, and media from libraries worldwide to identify books to request via InterLibrary Loan. If we don't own the book and you want to borrow it from another library, click on the ILL icon from the record. (OCLC)

Web Sites

AstroWeb Unrestricted Resource
Links to astronomy-related information available on the internet, maintained by the AstroWeb Consortium.

Futurity Unrestricted Resource Some full text available
News about scientific research at research at 35 universities in the United States and Canada.

ScienceDaily Unrestricted Resource
News culled from journals, magazines and other online sources about scientific research.

Scientific Commons Unrestricted Resource Some full text available
A searchable database of freely available scientific publications stored in online archives around the world. 

Government Information

Science Accelerator Unrestricted Resource Some full text available
Searches resources made available by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), U.S. Department of Energy. Smaller in scope than, but not necessarily replicated in, Science.gov.

Science.gov Unrestricted Resource Some full text available
Selective coverage, as far back as 1948. Science.gov is a search engine for government science information from the Departments of Agriculture; Commerce; Defense; Education; Energy; Health and Human Services; and Interior. Also the Environmental Protection Agency, Library of Congress, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, and the US Government Printing Office. Results are authoritative and selective and may include scientific or technical data, publications, databases, documentation, or other forms of information.

Tip:  To limit your search to a subset of the database, click on the "Advanced Search" link

WorldWideScience Unrestricted Resource Some full text available
A global science gateway to national and international scientific databases and portals containing results of scientific research conducted by government agencies.

Biographical Information

American Men and Women of Science Unrestricted Resource
Main Library Ref Q141 A474 next to latest ed
Armstrong Ref Q141 A474 latest ed

Note: Print Resource

American National Biography Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Some full text available Resource contains images
Oxford ANB Online is an exploration of American history through the lives of the men and women who shaped the nation.

American Women in Science Unrestricted Resource
 Armstrong Ref Q141 .B254 1998
Note: Print Resource

Biography in Context Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Link to Article Some full text available Resource contains images
600,000+ biographies covering more than 525,000 individuals.  Includes 170+ Gale reference titles, periodical information and multimedia content.

Black Women Scientists in the United States Unrestricted Resource
 Armstrong Ref Q141 .W367 1999
Note: Print Resource

Dictionary of National Biography Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Some full text available Resource contains images
Oxford DNB - 56,000 biographies of deceased people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond, from the earliest times to the present. Also available in print- Main Library Reference CT773 .D4 2004.
Note: Oxford

Dictionary of Scientific Biography Unrestricted Resource
Multi-volume Armstrong Ref Q141 .D5
Note: Print Resource

Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century Unrestricted Resource
 Armstrong Ref Q141 .D535 1996
Note: Print Resource

Emilio Segrè Visual Archives Unrestricted Resource Some full text available
span id="mainContent" style="display: inline;">More than 30,000 historical photographs, slides, lithographs, engravings, and other visual materials, on American physicists and astronomers of the twentieth century.  Includes many scientists in Europe and elsewhere, in other fields related to physics, and in earlier times.

Notable Twentieth-Century Scientists Unrestricted Resource
Multi-volume Armstrong Ref Q141 .N73 1995
Note: Print Resource

Who's Who (Marquis) Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Some full text available Resource contains images
Select volumes available via Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
Some older volumes in print (consult Midcat for additional titles)

Marquis Who's Who in the World

Marquis Who's Who in America

Wilson Current Biography Illustrated replaced by Gale Biography in Context Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Some full text available Resource contains images
Gale Biography in Context includes 600,000+ biographies covering more than 525,000 individuals.  Includes 170+ Gale reference titles, periodical information and multimedia content.

Citation and Style Guides

Abbreviations.com Unrestricted Resource
Directory and search engine for acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms.  Holds hundreds of thousands of entries organized by a large variety of categories from computing and the Web to governmental, medicine and business.

AIP style manual Unrestricted Resource

Current edition at Armstrong Reference QC5.45 .A45
Older edition online at AIP Style Manual

The Chicago Manual of Style Unrestricted Resource
Print and Online.

Citation and Style Guides Unrestricted Resource
Created by Middlebury College librarians.  A guide to writing papers & citing sources.

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers / Kate L. Turabian Unrestricted Resource
This is the "Turabian" style.  See also the online Turabian Quick Guide with basic examples, available from the publisher. Free citation generator available from eturabian.com
Multiple print copies including:
Davis Family Library Ref LB2369 .T8 2007
Davis Family Library Stacks LB2369 .T8 2007 (7 day loan)
Armstrong Ref LB2369 .T8 2007

MLA (MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers) Unrestricted Resource
Examples online at:

  • MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide (OWL at Purdue)
  • MLA Style Guide (Research & Documentation Online)

Periodical title abbreviations Unrestricted Resource
a target="_blank" href="http://biblio.middlebury.edu/record=b1264657%7ES2">Armstrong Ref PN4832 .P47
Note: Print resource

RefWorks On-campus use only Link to Article
RefWorks will automatically generate bibliographies and format your research papers in any of hundreds of styles including MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian. For more information, see the Middlebury-specific RefWorks Guide located at  http://go.middlebury.edu/refworks?midd.

CSE (Council of Science Editors) Unrestricted Resource
Examples online at:

  •  CSE Quick Citation Guides (Penn State)

eigenfactor Unrestricted Resource
A free database of journal rankings in the sciences.  An alternative to Thomson ISI's Journal Citation Rankings, eigenfactor attempts to measure the relative importance of a journal based on factors such as the number of articles which cite it.

SCImago Journal & Country Rank Unrestricted Resource Some full text available

A free database of journal rankings in the sciences.  An alternative to Thomson ISI's Journal Citation Rankings, SCImago attempts to measure the relative importance of a journal based on factors such as the number of articles which cite it.  It also tries to measure the scientific productivity of a country using the same factors.

 

Encyclopedias

Access Science Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Link to Article Some full text available Resource contains images Resource contains video Resource contains audio
Provides authoritative information for non-specialists on a wide variety of science-related topics. Includes the 20-volume McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms and the Yearbooks of Science & Technology in addition to biographies from the Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography, selected Science News articles, and links to evaluated web sites.  Shortcuts:  go/accsci (on campus), http://go.middlebury.edu/accsci (off-campus).

Encyclopaedic dictionary of physics Unrestricted Resource
a target="_blank" href="http://biblio.middlebury.edu/record=b1170633%7ES2">Armstrong Reference QC5 .E52
Note: Print resource

Encyclopedia Britannica Online Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Some full text available Resource contains images
Academic edition. Search by subject or keyword.  In addition to topical essays, timelines, images, and videos, it provides links to full text journal articles and links to related websites.

Encyclopedia of astronomy and astrophysics Unrestricted Resource
a target="_blank" href="http://biblio.middlebury.edu/record=b1575257%7ES2">Armstrong Reference QB14 .E534
Note: Print resource

Eric Weisstein's World of Astronomy Unrestricted Resource Some full text available Resource contains images
Compiled by Eric W. Weisstein with assistance from the internet community, this growing encyclopedia provides explanations for technical subjects with illustrations and examples. 

MIDCAT list - Astronomy encyclopedias Unrestricted Resource
Try these encyclopedias too.

Oxford Reference Online Premium Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Some full text available Resource contains images
General reference resources, including encyclopedias, bilingual dictionaries, chronologies, and maps and illustrations.

Wolfram Alpha Unrestricted Resource Some full text available
This is a new search engine that attempts to answer factual questions (eg, what is the density of lead, where was Venus on May 13, how many calories would be burned with 30 minutes of jogging). It is still under development (by the makers of Mathematica); read the About document, watch the video, or check out the search examples for details.

Handbooks and Guides

The Astronomical Almanac Unrestricted Resource
Armstrong Reference and Armstrong Stacks QB8 .U11

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics Unrestricted Resource

Armstrong Ref QD65 .H3

The contents can be searched online at CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.  Search results will include section number and section title.  We do not have an online subscription, so once you know the section number and title of the information you seek, you'll need to consult the print edition (at Armstrong Ref QD65 .H3).
Also consult Tables Relocated or Removed from CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, as information is sometimes removed or rearranged in subsequent editions.


Note: Print resource

Handbook of Optics Unrestricted Resource
a target="_blank" href="http://biblio.middlebury.edu/record=b1379091%7ES2">Armstrong Reference QC369 .H35
Note: Print resource

The Observer's handbook Unrestricted Resource
a target="_blank" href="http://biblio.middlebury.edu/record=b1355705%7ES2">Armstrong Reference and Armstrong Stacks QB9 .R7

Sky Maps - Hawaiian Astronomical Society Unrestricted Resource Resource contains images
From the Hawaiian Astronomical Society, an online atlas of the sky combined with photographs and descriptions of significant objects.

Images

Google Earth Unrestricted Resource
Download a free virtual globe from Google.  Also includes Google Sky, with photographic images of the universe.

International Space Archives Unrestricted Resource Resource contains images Resource contains video
The International Space Archives is a growing online archive of still and video imagery captured by national and private space agencies and programs worldwide, including  NASA ( the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the space programs of Russia, Japan, China, India, the European Union and others.

Lunar Orbiter photographic atlas of the Moon Unrestricted Resource Resource contains images
High-resolution photographs that enable the study of the surface of the moon.  The atlas is also availaible in print at Armstrong Oversize QB595 .B67

The Periodic Table of Videos Unrestricted Resource
A clickable version of the periodic table that opens a short YouTube video about each element.

Planetary Photojournal Unrestricted Resource Resource contains images
Images of the planets from NASA

Scitalks Unrestricted Resource Some full text available Resource contains images
Links to recorded lectures on scientific topics.  Viewers can vote on the quality of the lectures and ratings are visible to all.

Sloan Digital Sky Survey Unrestricted Resource Resource contains images
When complete, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) will provide detailed optical images covering more than a quarter of the sky, and a 3-dimensional map of about a million galaxies and quasars. As the survey progresses, the data are released to the scientific community and the general public in annual increments.

WorldWide Telescope Unrestricted Resource Resource contains images
Enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope—bringing together imagery from ground- and space-based telescopes around the world for a seamless exploration of the universe. (Requires free software download.)

Local

Middlebury College Department of Physics Unrestricted Resource
Middlebury College Department of Physics web site

Middlebury College Libraries Unrestricted Resource
Library hours, borrowing policies, and research and technology resources from the Middlebury College Libraries. [Shortcuts = go/lib (on campus), http://go.middlebury.edu/lib (off-campus).]

Middlebury College Observatory Unrestricted Resource
Middlebury College Observatory web site

Reviews

Advances in atomic, molecular, and optical physics Unrestricted Resource
a target="_blank" href="http://biblio.middlebury.edu/record=b1300380%7ES2">Armstrong Stacks QC173 .A2543

Advances in geophysics Unrestricted Resource
a target="_blank" href="http://biblio.middlebury.edu/record=b1278852%7ES2">Armstrong Stacks QC801 .A283
Note: Print resource

Annual Reviews Sciences Collection Middlebury Students, Faculty and Staff only Link to Article Some full text available
This annual series identifies and summarizes principal contributions in 37 disciplines in the sciences and social sciences from their inception in 1932 to the current-year.

Progress in biophysics and molecular biology Unrestricted Resource Some full text available

In print 1968-2005 at Armstrong Periodicals.
Online 1995-current at ScienceDirect.

Review of scientific instruments Unrestricted Resource Some full text available

In print 1930-current at Armstrong Periodicals
Online 1985-current via EBSCOHost

Reviews of modern physics Unrestricted Resource

In print 1930- at Armstrong Microfilm and Armstrong Periodicals
Online 2005-current via EBSCOHost

Statistics/Data

Canadian Astronomy Data Centre Unrestricted Resource
Research data from the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre operated by the National Research Council of Canada with the support of the Canadian Space Agency.

Lunar and Planetary Science Unrestricted Resource Resource contains images
From the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC).  Planetary and lunar data from NASA and non-NASA missions.

US National Virtual Observatory Unrestricted Resource Resource contains images
Access to astronomical data from ground- and space-based telescopes worldwide.

Resources for Thesis Students

Thesis Guide Unrestricted Resource
This guide is designed to review the variety of library materials and services for Middlebury thesis students.  Follow the link above to access the guide.



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Subject Specialist
Picture: Steve Bertolino

Steve Bertolino
Reference and Instruction Librarian
Office: Lib 206
(802) 443- 5818
sbertoli@middlebury.edu


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Last updated: March 21, 2013
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