Additional reading and links
Unless otherwise noted, the level is appropriate for middle-school students and above. Popular books and textbooks are being published at such frequency that any bibliography is quickly out of date. The references that are listed here serve as a general view of what is usually available.
Web Sites
Neutron
Brief information from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
with resources and a "Teachers' Corner".
The
Sounds of Pulsars
Sound clips give a physical feeling for the rapid spinning
of these incredible objects.
Best
Image of the Crab Nebula
A huge, glorious mosaic (enhanced color) taken by the
Hubble Space Telescope.
Astronomy, Astronomers, and
the Steward Observatory
Good general information on astronomy and astronomers,
plus what's up at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory today:
telescopes, people, research.
Astronomy
at Different Wavelengths
From Caltech, a readable explanation of how astronomers
make use of many kinds of telescopes to study objects in wavelengths from
radio to x-rays.
The Princeton
Pulsar Group
The group offers some basic pulsar information and visual
and sound clips for the public. The site also lets you see how they carry
on their work (scientific papers, telescope schedules, etc.).
Jodrell Bank Observatory Pulsar
Group
Another major research group in action, including college-level
course materials complete with technical equations and a bit of history,
and more links.
NASA Space Link
An educators' gateway to NASA's huge resources, mostly
on spaceflight and the planets but including astronomy.
NASA's Astronomy Picture
of the Day
Fascinating browsing on all astronomical topics.
Readings
Levy, David H. Skywatching (A Nature Company Guide). New York:Time-Life Books, 1995.
Bite-size chunks of information on astronomy including
historical overview, astronomers today, skywatching guide with constellations
etc., and descriptions of astronomical objects including pulsars.
DeVorkin, David, ed. Beyond Earth : Mapping the Universe. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and National Geographic Society, 2002.
A lavishly illustrated history of cosmology from ancient
times to the present, particularly rich in information about instruments.
By a leading historian of modern astronomy.
Ferris,
Timothy. The Whole Shebang: A State of the Universe(s). New
York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
Little on pulsars, but this is among the best-written of
the popular-level descriptions of the history and status of modern cosmology,
by a premier science journalist. (Note however that the field advances
so quickly that within a few years all books get partly out of date.)
Kaufmann,
William J. III, and Roger Freedman. Universe. New York: W.H.
Freeman, 5th ed., 1998.
Pasachoff, Jay. Astronomy: From the Earth to the Universe. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 6th ed., 2002.
These are two of a number of readable and well-illustrated
textbooks designed for introductory college astronomy courses, and accessible
to an advanced high school student with a strong interest in science.
Pulsars are discussed in chap. 23 of Kaufmann/Freedman and chapter 30
of Pasachoff.
Lyne, Andrew G., and Francis Graham-Smith. Pulsar Astronomy (Cambridge Astrophysics Series, Vol 16). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed., 1998
An authoritative technical work for advanced science students
and practicing researchers, with a chapter on the history of pulsar discovery.
Magazines
To keep abreast of the latest discoveries in astronomy, consult recent issues of Sky and Telescope and Science News, both available in most libraries.