LibGuides: Astronomy: Gather Information

Find Articles

Research article databases:

Astrophysics Data System (ADS) Digital Library
Search abstracts for research in Astronomy and Physics. The ADS covers three bibliographic databases that search more than 10.9 million records in Astronomy, Astrophysics, Physics, and arXiv e-prints.

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Use to access many UMass online journal subscriptions.

Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

You can access Google Scholar with UMLinks buttons from outside the UMass Amherst IP range ("off campus") by two methods:

1. Access Google Scholar through the Library web site by using this link.
2. Go to generic Google Scholar.
a. Click on "Settings."
b. Click on Library links.
c. Type in "University of Massachusetts" or "UMass Amherst" (or a few other variations).
d. Check "University of Massachusetts Amherst - UMass Check for Full Text" and Save.
e. You will be asked to authenticate somewhere along the way to full text.
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
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Index to articles from peer-reviewed journals in all disciplines.Search by cited reference, topic, author, and more. Arts and Humanities covers 1975-present; Social Sciences 1900-present; and Science 1900-present.

Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Find Books

The Five College catalog will help you find books (print and eBooks) in the combined library catalogs of UMass Amherst, Amherst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke and Smith Colleges.

Discovery Search This link opens in a new window
The Five College Catalog is included in Discovery Search, and will lead you to books (both print and eBooks).

Free to use for anyone to find records. Some results, and detailed information such as PDFs and full text links, are available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Books in the libraries at UMass (and at many academic libraries in the United States and in several other countries) are organized by the standards set up by the Library of Congress. This system helps libraries classify and organize the books on their shelves. It's not always intuitive, but there are guides to help you learn how to decipher the system.

Most of the materials in Astronomy are in the QB call number area. See below for specific topics. And of course, try searching the catalog!

QB 1-991 Astronomy

QB 1-139 General
QB 140-237 Practical & Spherical Astronomy
QB 275-343 Geodesy
QB 349-421 Theoretical Astronomy & Celestial Mechanics
QB 455-456 Astrogeology
QB 460-466 Astrophysics
QB 468-480 Non-optical Methods of Astronomy
QB 495-903 Descriptive Astronomy
QB 980-991 Cosmogony, Cosmology

Find Theses & Dissertations

ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst This link opens in a new window
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A repository for the research and scholarly output of members of the UMass Amherst community.

Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window
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US and Canadian dissertations and theses from 1861 to present. Mostly full-text 1997 to present.

Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) This link opens in a new window
Indexes of over 3.5 million graduate-level electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) that are freely available online.

Content is freely available for use by all.
Theses Canada This link opens in a new window
Full-text Canadian theses and dissertations in the Library and Archives Canada collection

Content is freely available for use by all.

Find Technical Reports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
References to Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports (STAR), journal articles, conference reports, 1958 -present.

TRAIL This link opens in a new window
U.S. government technical reports issued primarily prior to 1975.

Content is freely available for use by all.

Find Patents

Find Patents information on this Library Guide for Patent Research.