This site started out as a list of links for the Open University course S281 (now ended). I have been updating it from time to time, but some links might be dead or outdated for which I apologise.
Book 1 -Stars
The Sun
- Sun Block. Highly recommended introductory site.
- IAU Eclipse Page. From the International Astronomical Union
- Space Weather. Information about the Sun-Earth environment.
- National Solar Observatory (of America). Includes Kitt Peak which has the world's largest instrument designed especially for studying the Sun.
- Big Bear Solar Observatory
- Solar Observatories of France
- SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory)
- Wendy Carlos experienced eclipse watcher
- Hermit Solar /Lunar Eclipses
- Partial Eclipse in Portsmouth 1999
- IAU Eclipse Page. From the International Astronomical Union
- Sun Block. Highly recommended introductory site.
Stellar Evolution
Supernovas
Black Holes
Book 2 -Solar System
General Sites
- Welcome to the Planets, from NASA
- SEDS, Multimedia tour of the Solar System
- Planetary Society
- Planetary Web, from London University, for a more academic approach.
- Flat Earth Society. Good starting point before they start feeding you bunkum about the Earth being round.
- Lunar and Planetary Institute particularly good for the Moon and Mars
- SEDS, Multimedia tour of the Solar System
Solar System Mechanics
- An explanation of the Analemma and Equation of Time
- Solar System Dynamics
- Motion in the Heavens, Kepler's Laws, although links lead to a more comprehensive overview of heavenly motions.
- Kepler's Law, including animation
- Kepler - His Life, Laws and Times
- Kepler's Laws
- Solar System Collisions
- Solar System Dynamics
Comets
- Hale-Bopp
- Comets and Meteor Showers
- Comets with several links
- BAA Comet Section
- Comets and Meteor Showers
Mercury
Venus
-
Transit of Venus on 8. June 2004, the first transit since 1882. Historically
transits were particularly important in the eighteenth century when there were two close
together. Captain Cook was sent in the Endeavour ostensibly to study the Transit
from the South Pacific. One of the major outcomes to accrue from these studies was an
accurate determination of the distance to the Sun.
- Magellan probe to Venus from the 80s
The Earth
Craters
- Meteor Crater, Arizona
- Chicxulub Impact Structure, more technical report from Leicester University
- DINO Sites, for information on extinction of the dinosaurs
- Chicxulub Crater which is currently believed to be a prime candidate for causing the extinction of the dinosaurs.
- Chicxulub Impact Structure, more technical report from Leicester University
Volcanoes
- Pyroclastic Flows and Surges
- Michigan Technological University Volcanoes Page
- Volcanic Phenomena at Pompeii
- Michigan Technological University Volcanoes Page
Atmospheres
The Moon
- The Moon
- NASA Moon Page
- Current View of the Moon
- Clementine orbiting satellite which returned over 2 million images in 1996
- Lunar Reclamation Society
- The Moon
- Lunar Eclipses providing a useful list of sources of information
- Lunar and Planetary Institute particularly good for the Moon and Mars
- Moon Timeline
- Images lunaire de jour moon picture of the day, with English option
- SEMS
- Phases of the Moon
- NASA Moon Page
Mars
- MARS 2003
The return of a lifetime from the Arkansas Sky Observatory
- NASA Mars Missions from a historical standpoint
- NASA Mars Exploration - current missions
- The Whole Mars Catalog
- Mars Watch
- Beagle 2
- Mars Express which carried Beagle 2. The first European probe to another planet.
- Volcanoes
- NASA Mars Missions from a historical standpoint
Jupiter
- Jupiter's Great Red Spot
- Galileo to Jupiter and its Moons
Saturn
- Saturn / Titan Page
- Cassini to Saturn
- Will Hay and his discovery of the White Spot
- Cassini to Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
-
George Airy, who has often
been classed as the baddy in the search to detect the planet Neptune from Britain.
- The Discovery of Neptune, including the funny goings-on more recently when the 'Neptune Files' containing corrspondence and papers from Adams and Airy surfaced, only to disappear again, only to re-surface again a few years ago in the office of an astronomer in Chile.
- Scientific American on the Neptune Discovery,
- The Discovery of Neptune, including the funny goings-on more recently when the 'Neptune Files' containing corrspondence and papers from Adams and Airy surfaced, only to disappear again, only to re-surface again a few years ago in the office of an astronomer in Chile.
Asteroids
-
Astrometry of Asteroids, from Project CLEA
- Solar System Collisions
- Spacewatch, Asteroids and Comets
- Near Earth Asteroid Tracking
- Lowell Observatory - Near-Earth Objects
- Spacewatch
- |Near Earth Asteroid Tracking
- Solar System Collisions
Meteorites
- Meteorite Central
- Meteorites and Tektites
- Meteorite Resources on the Web, from Aberystwyth University
- Meteorite Impact
- Meteors, Meteorites and Impacts
Martian Meteorites
- Meteorites and Tektites
Book 3 - Galaxies
- Hipparcos which analysed
distances to 'nearby' stars
- Extra-Galactic Distance Scale
- Extra-Galactic Astronomy from Mullard Space Science Laboratory
- AGNs, Cambridge X-Ray Astronomy Group
- X-Ray Astronomy
- Classifying Galaxies
- Gamma Ray Bursters
- Messier Objects listed
- Extra-Galactic Distance Scale
Book 4 -Cosmology
- Cambridge Cosmology
- The Big Bang was not a Fireworks Display, written to counter some misconceptions about the Big Bang.
- Ned Wright's Cosmology Tutorial
- Supernova Cosmology Project, and their theory that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating
- COBE
- FAQ in Cosmology Big Bang
- The Big Bang was not a Fireworks Display, written to counter some misconceptions about the Big Bang.
General Sites
- Space Daily
- Windows to the Universe
- Kaufmann's Universe
- Astronomy Notes
- Astronomy Homework Help, resource pages for researching astronomy on the Internet
- Patrick Moore's Sky at Night
- Web Rings
- The Sky
- Astronomy Cafe, the site for the astronomically disadvantaged.
- W
- Windows to the Universe
Telescopes and Observatories
Robotic Telescopes
Telescopes (Amateur)
Photography
Space Travel
- European Space Agency
- NASA
- NASA Manned Flight, Space Station and Space Shuttle
- Russian Space Web
- Russian Space Agency only in Russian
- Japanese Space Agency
- Chinese Space Agency
- NASA
Probes (for planetary probes, see under relevant planet
- Chandra, Comprehensive and recommended site on the probe and related scientific information
Magazines and Television
- Regulus, the Astronomy Newsletter for Amateurs at All Levels
- The Astronomer
- Astronomy
- Astronomy Now
- Mercury, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Sky and Telescope
- Sterne und Weltraum, Zeitschrift für Astronomie
- The Astronomer
- Final Frontier, Open University
program on astronomy
- Discovery Channel
- Star Gazer
- Discovery Channel
Mathematics
- Space Mathematics (appears to be dead)
Astronomy Education
- Association for Astronomy Education
- European Association for Astronomy Education
- IAU Education Page International Astronomical Union
- Astronomy Education Resources
- NASA Spacelink Aeronautics and Space Resource foe Educators
- NASA Space Educators Handbook - Astronomy Home Page (appears to be dead)
- Leicester University's Educational Guide to Space and Technology
- American Astronomical Society - Education Page
- Online Planetarium Show
- European Association for Astronomy Education
Societies
- British Astronomical Association
- Royal Astronomical Society
- Federation of Astronomical Societies
- American Association of Amateur Astronomers
- Royal Astronomical Society
Professional Organizations
- PPARC Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
Star Maps etc.
Miscellaneous
- SETI at Home
- Frequently Asked Questions in Physics and Astronomy
- Astrobiology
- International Dark Sky Association
- Bad Astronomy
- San Francisco Exploratorium
- Frequently Asked Questions in Physics and Astronomy
History
- Astronomy in Berlin, including the discovery of Neptune in 1846, among other things
- History of Astronomy
- History Journals
- Astronomers
- Discovery of the Marine Chronometer and the means of calculating longitude
- Columbus and Longitude
- Bruce Medallists
- History of Astronomy