A 3 minutes story written on Feb 2017 by Adrian B.G.

This year I decided to invest time in a new hobby, and as I went along I decided to share the best free online resources I found on these subjects.

“UFO Galaxy.” NGC 2683 is a spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on

Background

Space has always been an interest for me, but in the last 6 months or so more adjacent things have made me to pursue this passion: I started to be a Star Citizen fanatic, I stumbled upon some science youtube documentaries, I started reading Isaac Asimov books and read about the most recent NASA discovery.

The basics

I do not have the experience to suggest a particular order for these resources, I stumble upon them in a random order.

Carl Sagan Cosmos TV series— 13 hours of pure gold for a newbie (kid or grownup), explains the basics with examples. The videos are 30 years old, a lot of discoveries were made on the way, but I think most of it is still accurate. It also handles the history of astronomy as a science, even how astrology was dismantled 300 years ago.

Note that these videos are on youtube too, but several episodes are muted because of copyright issues.

Khan Academy cosmology and astronomy classes

These will build a solid ground, introduction to our universe, galaxy, black hole, life and so on. Sometimes I get annoyed because the author keeps repeating facts, but repeating is the mother of learning, some say.

Cosmos: A space time Odyssey

It is a Cosmos reloaded edition, hosted by the contemporary version of Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson. You can watch it on Netflix.

Misc resources on various related topics

• Star Talk Radio— Science explained by scientists and comedians, it has over 8 seasons of science answers on Youtube and SoundCloud.
• [Current real plans to colonize Mars] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9olSzNOh8s)presented by Elon Musk
• Witness real current Scientist debates (2011–2016+) on various topics like Nothing and Everything Theory, Is universe a simulation, part of Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate hosted by American Museum of Natural History
• The best explanation of the 4th dimension by Carl Sagan.
• Albert’s Einstein life and discoveries HistoryHD documentary
• Why we should thank physicist and the Universe by Michio Kaku
• Elon’s Musk top 3 future fields and a message to young generations
• Isaac Asimov about religion, scientifical discoveries, global problems
• Real photos from NASA, some are mind blowing beautiful
• 1988 greenhouse effect and global pollution talk by Isaac Asimov
• Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking and Arthur C. Clarke — God, The Universe and Everything Else (1988)

I will update this article as I found more reference materials or the readers will suggest more. I am biased with video lectures because I’m used to watch/listen them in background, as a secondary activity.

Last update: 25 Apr 2017 Earth Time