Astrobiology Survey: An introductory course on astrobiology

AstrobiologySurvey.org(tm) : An introductory course on astrobiology

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One of the goals of this course is to equip you with an intellectual toolkit for the multi-disciplinary study of astrobiology that will allow you to embark upon a course of lifelong learning regarding astrobiology. Here are some recommended resources for your toolkit:

Here is a series of excellent graphic novels to introduce you to astrobiology: NASA Astrobiology Graphic Histories.

Here is an introductory textbook on astronomy: OpenStax Astronomy

Here are some excellent news Web sites:

Astrobiology at NASA is the best dedicated astrobiology news site. Published by NASA, it is updated regularly.
Astronomy Picture of the Day - "Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer."
Many Worlds - from journalist Marc Kaufman who covers news related to astrobiology.
Planetary Society Articles - "a guide to interesting stuff going on in space science, space exploration, and space advocacy."

Here are some excellent radio shows available as podcasts:

Big Picture Science from the SETI Institute, hosted by Seth Shostak, often covers topics related to astrobiology.
Planetary Radio is from the Planetary Society. Their tag line is "The travel show that takes you to the final frontier."
Star Talk Radio hosted by astrophysicist and science educator extraordinaire Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Science in Action and Discovery are general science programs from the BBC and often cover topics related to astrobiology.

Here are four excellent television programs that cover astrobiology very well:

PBS Nova - Finding Life Beyond Earth
PBS Nova - Origins
PBS Nova - Life Beyond Earth by Timothy Ferris

Here are three tools that help you visualize our solar system and universe:

Google Sky and Google Moon and Google Mars - all also available within Google Earth
Microsoft WorldWide Telescope
NASA Eyes On The Solar System

Here are citizen science / crowd-sourced astrobiology research projects that you can participate in:

CosmoQuest
SciStarter
SETI@home - help in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Zooniverse - participate in research in and beyond our solar system.

Here are some Twitter feeds you can follow:

@AstrobiologyMag - Astrobiology Magazine
@DrFunkySpoon - David Grinspoon
@Elakdawalla - Emily Lakdawalla
@NASA_Astrobio - NASA Astrobiology
@PaleBlueDotBlog - Pale Blue Dot Org

Fiction can be a wonderful learning tool. Here is an anthology of astrobiological science fiction stories from the European Astrobiology Institute in .epub / .mobi / PDF formats: Strangest of All

First contact scenarios are a focus of the Contact Conference - explore especially the "Cultures of the Imagination" part of the site and the Semi Official Contact Archive to view examples of first contact scenarios.

Here is the one (long) review article to read that best covers the current state of astrobiology: The Astrobiology Primer v2.0.

Here is the one book to read that best introduces you to astrobiology: Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Here is a field guide to astrobiology analogs in the US National Parks: Stars Above, Earth Below: A Guide to Astronomy in the National Parks by Tyler Nordgren.

Here are a number of excellent TED Talks and the topics they relate to:

Topic 1 - Introduction

John Delano - Is anyone else out there?

Topic 2 - In the Beginning (Life, the Universe and Everything)

Topic 3 - Sensors

Topic 4 - What is Life?

Topic 5 - Life in our Solar System

Topic 6 - Life in the Universe

Topic 7 - Impact Events (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly)

Topic 8 - Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

Topic 9 - Manned and Unmanned Spaceflight

Topic 10 - Future Astrobiology Missions

Topic 11 - The Arts and Astrobiology

Topic 12 - Astrobiology and the Divine

Topic 13 - Contact and Conclusion

Brian Cox: Why we need the explorers

The BBC Radio 4 series In Our Time has covered many of the topics in this course, in roundtable discussion format. Related episodes may be found in its Science Archive.

The BBC Radio 4 series Great Lives has covered many of the individuals in this course, in roundtable discussion format. Related episodes may be found in its Archive.

If you are near California, visit the yearly Jet Propulsion Laboratory Open House. Otherwise view their Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series.

Here are lectures in online courses:

Life in the Universe taught by Richard Pogge at Ohio State University on iTune University
Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life from Dr. Charles Cockell on Coursera
Astrobiology: Exploring Other Worlds from Dr. Chris Impey on Coursera
Cosmology and Astronomy at the Khan Academy and many of these relate to astrobiology
International Astronautical Union - Online Courses in Astrobiology
Introduction to Planetary Science and Astronomy taught by The Planetary Society's Dr. Bruce Betts at California State University Dominguez Hills.
ESA Astrobiology Course Network on YouTube
NASA Astrobiology Institute - YouTube Channel