Astronomy Links

Physicists and astronomers invented the Web and were using it extensively long before it entered the commercial realm. So it's not surprising that you can find a great wealth of astronomical information on the Web. There are more great sites than we can possibly list here, but the following list makes a great starting point for any kind of astronomical Web surfing. (For more specific lists of sites, check the individual chapters using the chapter menu above.) Have fun!

Beautiful Astronomical Pictures
Astronomy Picture of the Day is a site that posts a new picture every day, and also has an archive of all the past pictures of the day.

Nearly all the pictures available from the Hubble Space Telescope are here, organized in several different ways to help you find specific images or just browse.

David Malin's Astronomical Images. Malin is world-reknowned for his spectacular, true-color photographs, many of which appear in The Cosmic Perspective. His images are posted here at the Web site for the Anglo-Australian Observatory, where he works.

Views of the Solar System has lots of great pictures, movies, and animations.

Sites for Recent Astronomy News
For recent news articles about astronomy and the space program, try Space.com.

For news from the past week, check the pages at Sky and Telescope News Notes and Astronomy Magazine News.

Other good sources for astronomy news include: Astronomy Now, a British astronomy magazine; NASA Science Discoveries; Earth Science News and the Space Daily.

Observatories and Space Missions
NASA's Office of Space Science Missions page is a great starting point for virtually every past, present, and future space astronomy mission (including planetary missions). Every mission is listed here by name, with a direct link to a site where you can get further information about the mission. Note that you can click on the column headings to get brief descriptions of each mission.

Here is a list organized by size of the world's largest optical telescopes, with links.

Astronomical Organizations
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is an organization for both professional astronomers and the general public, devoted largely to astronomy education.

The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is one of the largest organizations of amateur astronomers in the world. Check this site if you are interested in serious amateur astronomy.

The SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is devoted to the search for other civilizations.

The Planetary Society has more than 100,000 members who are interested in planetary exploration and the search for life in the universe.

The American Astronomical Society is the leading organization of professional astronomers in the United States. Although this Web site is aimed primarily at members, it also has a few items of general interest.

The International Astronomical Union is the leading international organization of professional astronomers. Again, this Web site is aimed primarily at professionals but has some items of general interest.

Magazines about Astronomy
The Web sites for both Sky and Telescope and Astronomy magazines are loaded with useful information and current news about astronomy.

Mercury Magazine is available to members of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and also has a nice Web site.

Animations, Simulations, and Activities
Find a bunch of cool activities about astronomy, particularly high-energy (X-ray and gamma-ray) astronomy at the HEARSARC Web site.

Project CLEA has a series of computer-based astronomy labs that you can download and explore.

The University of Oregon Virtual Laboratory has a series of very good physics and astronomy simulations.

Great Reference Sites
Get access to almost any NASA image ever taken by starting from this terrific NASA photo gallery.

The Johnson Space Center has a huge archive of photos from Space Shuttle missions and other past human missions in space (including Apollo). Although this site is actually a subset of the site listed above, it is still very useful.

Astroweb is a large database with links to all kinds of astronomical information.

For information relating to the boundaries between science and pseudoscience, check out the Web site of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).

Other Favorites
Learn about the latest discoveries of extrasolar planets (beyond our solar system).

Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy dispels common misconceptions about astronomy and space.

Take a multimedia tour of the solar system, with the option to study almost any solar system object in detail, at the Nine Planets site at the University of Arizona.

Go straight to the Web site for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the latest on many planetary missions managed by this laboratory.

The New York Times Exploring the Solar System contains recent articles and other information about the Sun and the nine planets.