© Reeth Informal Astronomy Group unless otherwise indicated
Reeth Informal
Astronomy Group
covering the Northern Yorkshire Dales
Astronomical websites
There are a multitude of sites available to the astronomer, whatever your level of experience or interest. The following are a few, of many, however this selection will give you the idea of what is out there and the diversity of information available.
We will start with Solar System Scope: http://www.solarsystemscope.com/ A free to access and free to use program that allows the user to manipulate the solar system through time to see what planet is where. SSC also has a database of comets, asteroids and other objects in space. A fun piece of software.
In a similar, yet more complex vein is World Wide Telescope: http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/ Produced by Microsoft, it is free to use, but uses compilations of images taken over several years, so may not be up to date, however it is a useful tool for finding objects in the sky and seeing professional photos.
And now the news!
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ This is a general news site for all space news and space weather. There are a variety of links to other sites as well as a large catalogue of images sent in by both amateur and professional astrophotographers.
Phys org: http://phys.org/ This is a general science news and events website, it does have a very comprehensive astronomical section with links to other sites . This can come across as a bit technical, however it is a step up from Spaceweather in information and content.
As for technical, we have Helioviewer: http://www.helioviewer.org/ This is a scientific yet artful website that presents all kinds of images of our Sun. If you wish to see plasma raining down onto the surface of the Sun, then this is the place to come. It may be a bit difficult to get to grips with, however the truly stunning images are well worth the effort.
And finally, the big boys, ESA: http://www.esa.int/ESA This is the site for the European Space Agency with all manner of information and videos.
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/ The American Space Agency, too much to describe in terms of videos and links. Just try it out.
The Russian Space Agency: http://www.federalspace.ru/ This site is in Russian, so you will need to translate it using your internet search engine. There is lots of info on the International Space Station and all manner of videos and links.
Have fun. Back to Index>