Astronomy: Web Resources

Biographies prepared by the Johnson Space Center

This site recounts the careers of lesser known astronomers of African American, West Indian, etc. descent.

This site lists and provides brief biographical information on those who have been Bruce Medal recipients.

YouTube channel featuring episodes of Carl Sagan's Cosmos as well as other videos.

This site is a directory of sources on the contributions of women to the science of astronomy, from past to present.

"Arizona State University and NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have teamed up to make high-res scans of original Apollo flight films available online."

The NASA program site defines astrobiology as the study of life in the universe. It provides a biological perspective to many areas of NASA research, linking such endeavors as the search for habitable planets, and efforts to understand the origin of life.

An extensive site that covers the history of astronomy, biographies, topics in astronomy.

Students and educators will find 28 sections that cover material on stars, galaxies, and cosmology through illustrations, animations, and written explanations. Ex: properties of light, energy production in stars, and stellar motion.

Several sections: "Ask the Astronomer," has thousands of questions and answers; "NASA Image-Poetry Site," with various educational resources; and an "Astronomy Career Guide." Operated by a NASA astronomer.

A new photograph is offered daily with description and definition of terms.

Includes news and discoveries, classroom activities, images, Ask an Astronomer videos, astronomy for kids, and more.

Weisstein is an encyclopedist who hopes to make science accessible to the public.

Great photos taken by the orbiting Hubble telescope. Arranged both by subject and by date. The images can take some time to download. Links to other web sites with astronomical images are also included.

The IAU works to promote astronomical education, research and public outreach.

Great set of links put together by the Library of Congress. Divided by category.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration oversees the U.S. Government space program. This site has daily updates on activities & links to significant ongoing and historical projects, like the Space Shuttle, Mars Surveyor, moon landing, & Sputnik.

Site offers public access to NASA's images, videos and audio collections. NASA Images is constantly growing with the addition of current media from NASA as well as newly digitized media from the archives of the NASA Centers.

"This website is an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of the planets, moons, and other objects in our solar system."

Material relating the history, science, and legend behind the Northern Lights, also referred to as "Aurora Borealis." The site is sponsored by Andya Rocket Range, the Norwegian Space Centre, and Nordlyssenteret.

An astronomer, teacher, and lecturer, Phil Plait's page is devoted to "airing out myths and misconceptions in astronomy and related topics," as they appear in the media, particularly in movies and on television. His book developed from the website.

The Photopic Sky Survey is a 5,000 megapixel photograph of the entire night sky stitched together from 37,440 exposures.

Scientists at NASA and JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) are seeking Earth-like exoplanets. Includes up-to-date news reports on research, a searchable New Worlds Atlas, missions and educational resources.

A companion Web site to the PBS/NOVA program, 'Runaway Universe,' originally broadcast on November 11, 2000. The program follows the efforts of two teams of astronomers as they search for exploding stars, and map out gigantic cosmic patterns of galaxies.

This is a search engine for government science information and research results. It provides searches of more than 50 million pages of science information with just one query, and is a gateway to over 1,800 scientific web sites.

The Internet's virtual telescope.

This site presents a collection of fun educational activities based on Solar Oscillations Investigation (SOI) and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) data.

The program serves as the public education and outreach arm of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory. Includes weekly tips, a stargazing almanac, a beginner's guide, and tips for viewing the planets and meteors.

"Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope." This free downloadable software includes features such as overlays of constellation art.