How to Use This Site

1. Choose a method to look through the site: Follow the links and browse, use the Search feature, or the Site Map.

2. Have fun learning, and don't forget to Give Feedback!

Conventions

In general, this site uses astronomy units where appropriate and otherwise uses metric units. Usually these will be converted to imperial (in parentheses) but not always.

Multiplication signs are "ยท" as opposed to "x" in order to make notation more concise.

Years are sometimes abbreviated. For example, the convention "G" prior to "yrs" is used to indicate "billion." "M" is used for "million," and "K" is used for "thousand." Also, "ya" is used to indicate "years ago." So this site may list Venus' surface age as "700 Myrs," or the Big Bang having occurred "12-14 Gya."


This sidebar appears throughout the site and will contain such items as intrapage navigation, handy definitions, and useful links.

The definitions that appear in this side bar will be italicized in the text. Words in "quotes" in the text will be defined within the actual text.

Welcome to Journey Through the Galaxy

JTG LogoThis is a "mini-net" of pages that explores our solar system, stars, extra-solar planets, the theories about the past and future of the universe, and human exploration of space.

This website is geared towards Middle School, High School, and Non-Astronomy-Major College students. The text assumes readers know what an atom is and can understand algebra. There is some advanced math, but understanding the website does not rely upon the math.

To browse this site, choose a section from the ribbon at the top of the page. The "Home" button will take you back to this page, but if you hold your mouse over it other options will appear, including the Search feature, Site Map, and Feedback form.

This site can roughly be understood in terms of "What We Know," and "How We Know What We Know." The former involves the following sections:

The last two sections of the site, "Exploration" and "Extras" are geared more along the lines of "How We Know What We Know:"

You are visitor number Powered by PHPCounterPowered by PHPCounterPowered by PHPCounterPowered by PHPCounter since May 21, 2001.


Browser Requirements: You must have JavaScript enabled to properly view this site. Please also ensure that you have the most recent version of your browser installed. The following table illustrates the browsers that this website has been tested on.