Astronomy Bookmarks at Wichita State University

Visit the Lake Afton Public Observatory and see the universe for yourself!

The Astronomy Picture of the Day presents a different view of the universe each day.

The Astronomy Place is the web site for our textbook, which contains a variety of useful tutorials and supplementary information.  This site requires you to login, using a code that came with your textbook.  If you do not have this code, access can be purchased on-line.

Web Search & Catalogues

• Google - returns well focused search results.
• Northern Light - sorts results by topic.
• Alta Vista - most pages indexed.
• Yahoo! - serves both to search and as a portal. 

Magazines:

• SKY & Telescope - magazine including news, sights, tips, images, and articles.
• ASTRONOMY Magazine - magazine including news, sky events, articles, and products.
• Astronomy Now - British astronomy magazine that offers late breaking news, stories, pictures, and more.

Astronomy Organizations:

• The Astronomical Society of the Pacific - includes information on the catalog, membership, and professional publications.
• American Astronomical Society - organization of professional astronomers, with information on membership, journals, committees, and publications.  Provides information on careers in astronomy.
• International Astronomical Union - information on membership, educational activities, meetings, and publications.

Misc. Astronomy:

• The ASTRONOMY CAFE - a general guide to several aspects in astronomy for the astronomically disadvantaged.
• Welcome to SkyView - a Virtual Observatory on the Net generating images of any part of the sky at wavelengths in all regimes from Radio to Gamma-Ray.
• Students for the Exploration and Development of Space - a diverse site with many pages including general topics in astronomy and resource guides. 
• AstroWeb - contains pointers to a wide variety of relevant web resources for astronomy.
• Space Telescope Electronic Information Service - information, images, and educational activities from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Solar System:

• Views of the Solar System - provides a multimedia adventure of the solar system through images and video.
• The Nine Planets - overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of each of  the planets and moons in our solar system.
• Planets and the Solar System - descriptions of the nine planets including an extrasolar planet encyclopedia.
• Planetary Photojournal: NASA's Image Access Home Page - a photo gallery of the planets, satellites, and minor bodies taken from different spacecraft.
• NSSDC Photo Gallery - a photo gallery of the planets, nebulae, galaxies, and globular clusters.
• PDS Home Page - archives and distributes digital data from past and present NASA planetary missions, astronomical observations, and laboratory measurements.
• ALPO Homepage - The Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (A.L.P.O) is an international group of students of the Sun, the Moon, the major planets, minor planets, meteors, and comets.  A.L.P.O. teaches amateur astronomers how to observe our solar system and what tools to use.
• Planetary image finders - lists the best sources of high-resolution, often unprocessed images, for each planet or moon.
• Planetary Spacecraft Missions - provides detailed information on past and future space missions.

Sun:

• Solar Eclipse Images - images and movies of several solar eclipses.
• SDAC Home Page - news, images, and information on existing, new, and proposed solar missions.

Mercury

• MESSENGER Mission to Mercury (2004)

Earth:

• EPA's Ozone Science Information - resources and links with information about ozone in Earth's atmosphere.
• Earthquakes - a page of neat links giving information about earthquakes

Moon:

• Lunar Prospector - news and information from the Lunar Prospector mission.
• Lunar Data on NMC - provides detailed information on past and future lunar missions.
• Clementine - news, information, and images from the Clementine spacecraft and mission.  Detailed information on possible water sources found on the moon.

Venus:

• Magellan Mission to Venus (JPL) - this home page offers Venus images taken by Magellan and other highlights from the mission.

Mars:

• Mars Exploration - provides detailed information and images regarding various NASA missions to Mars.
• Global Images of Mars - color images of Mars.
• UW Mars Image Mosaics and Meteorology - contains meteorological data from the Viking Landers,
  images from Mars gathered by the Viking orbiters, and other Mars related information.

Jupiter:

• Project Galileo (JPL) - contains information on the Galileo Mission and Spacecraft.  Describes past, present, and future explorations of Jupiter.

Saturn:

• Planetary Rings - devoted to archiving, cataloging and distributing scientific data sets relevant to
  planetary ring systems.
• Cassini-Huygens Mission - official web page for the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moon, Titan.

Pluto

• New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt

Minor Bodies:

• Minor Planet Center - responsible for the efficient collection, (computation,) checking and dissemination of astrometric observations and orbits for minor planets and comets.
• Comet Home Page - explains comets that are currently visible and will be visible in the near future, recent news and observations, and comet definitions.

Stars:

• Stars and Constellations - describes in detail all 88 constellations, the major stars, nebulae, and galaxies that can be found in each, and various other information.  Includes great links to other constellation sites.
• BLACK HOLES by Ted Bunn - frequently asked questions and answers about black holes.

Nebulae:

• The Web Nebulae - images and information on specific nebulae.

Galaxies:

• Galaxy Gallery Page IV: The Movies - animations of colliding galaxies, dark matter, and various other cosmological events.
• CCD Images of Galaxies - includes astounding images and information on several galaxies.

Observatories:

• Hubble Space Telescope Pictures - recent and archived images taken by Hubble Space Telescope.
• The World's Largest Optical Telescopes - information, images, location, and upcoming events on the world's largest telescopes.
• Hubble Heritage Project - astronomers and astrophysicists comb the rich HST public archive of
  exposures that have been accumulating for almost a decade and present a new picture each month.
  

History of Astronomy:

• History of Astronomy - includes biographies and links to astronomers, history of observatories, and historic articles and journals.
• History of Space Exploration - descriptions and dates of space exploration and missions.
• General biography search - very extensive and detailed site indexes biographies by last names or chronological order. 
• Albert Einstein Online - Overviews, Moments, Physics, Writings, Quotes, Pictures, Miscellaneous, and Announcements.
• The Galileo Project - source of information on the life and work of Galileo Galilei and the science of his time.

Computer Simulations:

• Project CLEA - CONTEMPORARY LABORATORY EXPERIENCES IN ASTRONOMY-- develops laboratory exercises that illustrate modern astronomical techniques using digital data and color images.  Each CLEA laboratory exercise includes a dedicated computer program, a student manual, and a technical guide for the instructor.

Astronomy Education

These sites contain resources aimed primarily at teachers, with lesson plans, activities, on-line resources, and other tools to help teachers convey the exciting but abstract ideas of astronomy to students.

• Powers Of 10
• Astronomy Diagnostics Test Version 2.0
• Astronomy Education Research Literature Survey
• NASA Origins Program
• Exploration in Education
• The Astronomical Society of the Pacific
• Neat Sites in Astronomy, etc
• Hands On Universe
• Project SPICA: A Teacher Resource to Enhance Astronomy Education
• Imagine the Universe