Welcome to
RADER'S INTERACTIVE SPACE EXPLORATION CENTER
(RISEC)
Welcome to RISEC! We've developed this astronomy site for the fans of our other KAPILI science sites. Now that you know the basics of science, it seemed logical that we introduce you to the Universe as a whole. Before we started building RISEC we realized that astronomy and the Universe are huge topics. We tried to make it all a little easier for you by breaking it into five major sections.

UNIVERSE | GALAXIES | STARS | SOLAR SYSTEM | EXPLORATION
Section Map | Section Tour

A good place to start would be the Universe section. This is the area where we will set the stage for our discussions in the other sections. If you like, we also have a sitemap which lists what RISEC has to offer. Let's start by explaining what Astronomy is...

Astronomy is the study of everything in the Universe. You've got your galaxies, stars, systems, planets, asteroids, comets. All of it. It is a science that uses two techniques, observational and theoretical. Observational techniques include using telescopes and sending astronauts into space to run studies and gather data. Theoretical techniques use complex mathematics and physics theories. One good theoretical example is astronomy's description of the Big Bang and black holes.

That's a start. Now it's time for you to do some exploration of your own. So have fun and check out RISEC. Hold on one second. We want to take the time to acknowledge NASA for the wonderful photographs we use on the site. If you want to check out more, go to www.nasa.gov and get more details about space exploration. Okay, now you can go for it, let's start with the Universe.