Astronomy & Astrophysics

Astronomy

This page was written by Christopher Spry.

Index

1. Astronomy & Astrophysics links
2. NASA resources
3. Advice for beginners
4. Reporting fireballs or meteor strikes in the U.K.
5. Solar eclipses

1. Astronomy & Astrophysics

Astronomy.com portal and magazine

Aurora Borealis & Australis, current activity map from NOAA POES, Alaska forecasts and UK 'AuroraWatch' alerts by emails sent from the University of Lancashire.

BBC's 'Sky at Night' monthly magazine.

Big Bear Solar Observatory, New Jersey Institute of Technology. Observations of the Sun.

Bluebird Observatory. The lunar cycle, how to track planets and where to look for meteor showers.

'Cambridge Relativity' and research by the 'Computational Cosmology Consortium' on the origin of the Universe and Stephen Hawking's pages.

Comet Hale-Bopp

Comet Shoemaker-Levy

Constellations: information on them, by Richard Dibon-Smith.

Earth satellites and meteors : Overview.

Search for the latitude and longitude of many places, worldwide. Streetmap UK can also be used to define latitude and longitude with more precision.

European Space Agency

European Southern Observatory ESO

Faulkes Telescopes. UK robotic telescopes for education.

Irish Astronomical Association

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society

Moon: high resolution photo

The Naked Sky information on current events to view in the sky

New Zealand astronomy, Carter Observatory, Wellington

Planets multimedia tour

Rent-a-Scope astrophotography over Internet with telescopes in the Arizona desert. US$50/hour.

'Sky and Telescope'

'SkyMap Pro' astronomical companion software including real-time sky maps and star charts.

Space Weather Now, NOAA. SpaceWeather, interactions of the Sun and Earth including solar storms and Aurora borealis alerts. A map is available showing predicted area covered by Aurora.

'Telescope House' Telescopes and amateur astronomy equipment

UK amateur astronomy pages. UK Amateur Astronomers. The 'Webb Society' for observing double stars and 'deep sky' objects.

University of Glamorgan robotic telescope 'RoCCoTO'

University of London Observatory.

2. NASA resources

NASA astronomy home page

NASA planets home page & Mars data.

Ames Research Center

Astrophysics data system, Cambridge Mass.

Goddard Space Flight Center

Hubble telescope information server

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

J-Track satellite tracking Track major satellites in real-time.

Kennedy Space Center

Langley Research Center

Langley Technical Library

SOHO images including current sun activity.

Space calendar of events

BAADER AstroSolar film for binoculars and scopes and observe the sun safely. Black polymer from Thousand Oaks is said to be more durable.

3. Advice for beginners

'How to start right in astronomy' by Alan MacRobert has excellent advice for beginners. After ten years, I am still only at the binocular stage!
The important things to consider, in order of importance, when selecting a telescope are: high quality optics (large aperture etc.), a stable mount, observer comfort and convenience. Gadgets, GOTO functions, etc., are of less importance.
Buying a telescope in the UK: The 'small ads' section in the "Astronomy Now" magazine, which can be bought in many large newsagents, offers a wide variety of second hand telescopes and related equipment for sale. A 'reasonable' used telescope will cost about £200 - £300. New telescopes can be bought at Broadhurst Clarkson & Fuller (BCF), London and Sherwoods in Birmingham.
A Sky-Watcher refracting telescope, available from Sherwoods is an excellent choice for a first new telescope. Also see www.warehouseexpress.co.uk, www.telescopehouse.co.uk, www.scsastro.co.uk, www.orionoptics.co.uk
Stephen Tonkin's astronomy site with useful links, amateur telescope making and tutorials on theoretical and practical issues for budding astronomers.
Centro de Observação Astronómica no Algarve, astronomy holiday centre.
Celestron telescopes.

4. Reporting fireballs or meteor strikes in the U.K.

The BAA meteor section and email.
The SPA meteor section and email.
The IMO meteor reports.
It is important that you report as many details as possible, of the event you witnessed.

5. Solar eclipses

Hermit.org describe the orbital conditions necessary for an eclipse and describes when solar and lunar eclipses will take place.
There is a total solar eclipse on 29 March 2006 in Libya. All of Europe will see a partial eclipse. A map of the central line in Libya and projected weather is available. Several tours are being organized.

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