Astronomy and Space! Like most humans really.... I have gazed at the heavens all of my life and craved to know more and even understand. I remember the childhood Scrap books that I kept in the Sixties, concerning man's early fumbling into space. Where are they now?. Even today I marvel at the pictures produced by the latest Earth and Space telescopes. It seems that just as the earth has in relative terms become smaller, then so will Space...... We may never get there but as we look out to the edge of the Universe, we may see as far back as the estimated 14.7 Billion years....Check out the following pages as a taster to my pastime and get all the latest News and pictures on this enthralling hobby.
Then ask yourself this question. If the Universe is expanding what is it expanding into and if you where able to travel in a flash to the edge, where this was happening and survive the extremes out there what would you see as the universe burnt itself into that nothingness?
Excellent Site with the primary role of providing information on the Earth-Sun environment, therefore the effect of the Sun's activity on the Earth. This as we know, has the most obvious effect as solar flares, also known as coronal mass ejection. These CME's, hurl vast amounts of energy/matter/radiation etc., away from the Sun and often in our direction, which we see as auroras. In addition to this interesting information, there is an excellent selection of links on other 'Off-Planet' activities.
Nine Planets is an overview of the history, mythology and current scientific knowledge of each of the planets and moons in our solar system. Each page has text and images, some have sounds and movies, most provide references to additional related information. Bill Arnett's site is probably one of the nicest Space exploration sites I have found and it deserves the many awards it has received. Keep up the good work Bill.
Aunty Beebs adventure into all things space, with links to the "Sky at Night" page. It is hard to find such a comprehensive source on so many Space subjects, seen from the British perspective. My licence fee is worth this page on it's own.
No space page would be complete without the home of space exploration - here on earth. The site is extremely large and sometimes unwieldy to navigate - well there's so much really. The front page is a good place to get the latest on space news and on the whole it is an excellent research site for either amateur astronomers, or space news hounds like myself.
PThis is NASA's science vision: using the vantage point of space to achieve with the science community and partners a deep scientific understanding of our planet, other planets and solar system bodies, the interplanetary environment, the Sun and its effects on the solar system, and the universe beyond...... Well that's what they say - but as a Space/Science related site, it is an ideal source of daily Space news.
The European Space Agency is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission... is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the people of Europe. Again that's what their publicity says. I just like it, as it's a well designed site and full of space issues from a European perspective.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a collaboration between ESA and NASA. It is a long-term, space-based observatory. The observations are carried out in visible, infrared and ultraviolet light. In many ways Hubble has revolutionised modern astronomy, by not only being an efficient tool for making new discoveries, but also by driving astronomical research in general. The Hubble is available through the NASA perspective here but I prefer the ESA site.
The Space Telescope Science Institute provide the Scientific support to The Hubble and the next generation Space telescope (NGST).
Sky & Telescope Magazine captures the essence of astronomy. Written by renowned astronomers and science writers from every continent, it’s an essential resource for stargazers of all levels, from novices learning the constellations to veteran telescope makers, astrophotographers and is as enticing and colourful as the universe itself. The site and magazine is essentially American in origin but that makes it no less worthy. I found it a valuably source of information and is an ideal resource for those hoping to grasp some understanding of the universe.
SPACE.com is the world's premier space web site, offering rich and compelling original content about space, science, and space technology that is as educational as it is entertaining.
Spaceflight Now, provides unrivalled daily coverage of the space Program and is a trusted source for accurate, up-to-the minute news for the space community. It provides a unique "Mission Status Centre" launch coverage, a comprehensive worldwide launch schedule, daily news updates together with numerous other features and historical reviews. As it says on the tin, an all round useful site on Space flight.
An excellent amateur astronomy site produced to a professional standard. Forrest Egan from Florida produces an excellent example of what it is possible for the hobbyist to create with the correct equipment and makes it interesting source for the student and professional alike. One day I’ll have the time, money and inclination to produce such a quality site.
If you're interested in satellites or astronomy, this is the perfect site to provide all the information you need to observe satellites such as the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle, spectacular events such as the dazzlingly bright flares from Iridium satellites, as well as a wealth of other spaceflight and astronomical information. Register and select your location and it sets up all that in space which can be seen from your part of the world effectively laying on a plate for you - here's mine . What's even better is that it's free.......Perfect.
An attractive site full of interesting facts and articles about space and even the Earth itself. Ideal source of information for the novice astronomer.
If you like Science-fiction and space, then you have probably seen some of the British artist David Hardy’s Talents, having worked for - Arthur C. Clarke, Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov etc. This beautifully designed site, is a credit to the Astronomical Artist community and contains many of his works and numerous links to space related subjects.
Astronomy Today is an ideal resource where you will find lots of articles and features on astronomy, amateur astronomy, cosmology, space science, space exploration, telescopes and a monthly sky guide detailing the planets, moon & stars.
This was a project that is close to my heart for many reasons. Firstly it's British, my company had a small part to play in it's development and in typical British fashion, it's was done on a shoestring budget with the best in British engineering, combined with supreme effort and initiative. There were momentous odds and sadly the project failed at the end of 2003 - Mars is littered with the debris of past Human effort and He/She is no respecter of Nation or resources applied. I think we have a long way to go before we can send humans there.
The University of California's, Lick Observatory at Mount Hamilton, California USA, has one of the most attractive and complete large telescope websites that I have seen. In the pecking order of large telescopes ‘Lick’ is probably no more worthy than many others, but for the site design and the wealth of features that I found therein, I found it excellent. Try it out and see if you agree and if you find any others worthy of comment, I’ll include them at your request.
The PhysLink.com is a comprehensive physics and astronomy online education, research and reference web site. In addition to providing high-quality content, PhysLink.com is a meeting place for professionals, students and other curious minds. Although predominately North American in content the site is a valuable source of Scientific news.
No Space related site would be complete without the obligatory SETI link. SETI (search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), has been running since 1999 as a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers using a screensaver during computer idle times, to analyse stings of data from an earlier download from Arecibo . You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyses this radio telescope data. - Check it out and do your bit to change the destiny of Mankind.
No Web site on any subject would be worth its salt, if there wasn’t some reference to the efforts of the local talent. Newbury Amateur Astronomical Society and their Beginners Webpage is worthy of inclusion in this category. Produced by a former/fellow employee… Steve Harris, this colourful site contains an enormous amount of data and despite its suggestion that it is for beginners, the site contains high quality and professionally produced information. A site that many societies could aspire to I suspect… Keep up the good work Steve.
