 |
 Comet Holmes ~ There has been a lot recently about Comet Holmes, discovered in 1892 but enormously increased in brightness during October 2007. Personally I found this feature most useful in locating its position, although it’s vastly outshone by nearby Mars at the moment and by Sirius that looks so bright, I thought it was an aircraft. |
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| Cometography ~
Comets have always inspired awe and wonder. This site is for all those
who have ever been gripped by such phenomena. You’ll find comprehensive
information regarding comets that are currently visible, periodic comets,
memorable comets and comet researchers and discoveries. An excellent resource. |
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| Constellation
Mythology ~ A commendable contribution to the worldwide Web comes
from Legg Middle School in Coldwater, Michigan. They are proud of their
planetarium and have produced this wonderful guide, for information
on the history and mythology of each of the eighty eight astronomical
constellations. |
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| Corot ~ Launched on 27 December 2006, the Corot space mission is searching for telluric exoplanets, meaning planets outside the solar system that are like the Earth, or exoEarths, to you and me. They expect by
observing thousands of stars, that “tens” of new Earths will soon be earmarked for the next property boom. |
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| Current
Impact Risks ~ Can anyone remember a time when
there wasn’t an asteroid about to hit the Earth? It’s a perennially popular
subject for the media everywhere, but here you’ll find the true facts
and all the latest data. Again a part of NASA’s Near Earth Object program,
making a speciality of this sort of thing! |
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| Dawn Mission Home Page ~ With the launch of the Dawn mission to the protoplanets (their word!) Ceres and Vesta scheduled for July 7, 2007 this extensive site from NASA answers every question you could possibly have, plus a whole bunch more. Just don’t hold your breath though. Rendezvous with Vesta is scheduled for 2011, with Ceres for 2015… |
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| Dawn - Voyage to the Giant Asteroids ~ And I thought Ceres wasn’t an asteroid anymore… Looks like even NASA has a hard time keeping up with the latest changes in nomenclature. Anyway, let’s hope they have a clearer idea about where they’re going, because the robotic probe Dawn is off to Ceres in July 2007 and will be taking in Vesta along the way. |
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| Dwarf Planets ~ You’ll remember, back in August 2006, when Xena became
Eris, Pluto ceased to be a planet and Ceres ceased to be an asteroid, and
all three became the first dwarf planets. That would be that you’d
think, except that at the time of writing, there are six known objects beyond Neptune bigger
than Ceres, and their classification remains unclear… |
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| Eclipse
Home Page ~ Painstakingly maintained by Fred Espenak of NASA and
the Goddard Space Flight Centre, this site “strives to be the ultimate
resource for online information about eclipses.” From an astronomical
perspective it most certainly is too. Anything you’d ever wish to know
is here, plus a whole bunch more you’d never even thought about. |
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| Encyclopedia Astronautica ~ This guy is in love with his subject. Look his name is
Wade, there’s a surprise! Don’t be scared off by the front page and the
eye to erm, design. Anything you wanted to know about space travel is here,
plus a lot more besides, so just start clicking and see where you end up.
Think it isn’t rocket science? Oh yes, it is! |
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| Encyclopedia
of Astrobiology, Astronomy and Space Flight ~ This site is an online
reference of information about astronomy, astrobiology, space flight,
physics and other areas of science and mathematics, both conventional
and more speculative, such as teleportation and time travel. It is updated
daily by astronomer David Darling. |
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| Ephemeris.com ~ An ephemeris lists planetary positions and other astronomical data, at regular intervals and over a given period. This online ephemeris doesn’t seem to have been updated for a while, but still works beautifully across all operating systems, as well as giving details of your sidereal time that can be hard to find out. |
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| Goodbye Xena ~ With dreadful inevitability, Xena has been renamed Eris,
after the Greek goddess of discord. Those familiar with mythology
know her as the companion of Ares (Mars), yet now they are at opposite
ends of the solar system. Another quality outcome from the astronomers
then, as unfortunately we have come to anticipate… |
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| Heavens-Above ~
No-nonsense astronomy site that encourages registration, but only so everything
can be customised for you. Rewards include personalised sky maps and data,
plus a timetable of your next space station fly-past and Iridium flare
- as the sun catches the antennae of an Iridium communications satellite. |
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| Hermit
Eclipse ~ Another great site for practical eclipse information
from an astronomical perspective. Clearly presented and readable with some detailed graphics, an eclipse search facility and extensive
statistical analysis. This site is more accessible than most, yet takes
you as far as you want to go… |
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| HubbleSite ~
With its new advanced camera, the Hubble Space Telescope captures supreme
imagery of both the known universe and beyond. The official website has
the full story with superlative details and extensive interactivity.
The Hubble Deep Field multimedia tour is quite simply breathtaking! |
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| Ian Ridpath’s Star Tales ~ Ian is a professional astronomer and a prolific author who regularly features in the media. His book Star Tales was first published in 1988 and outlines the myths surrounding the 88 constellations used nowadays, plus a few obsolete ones besides. It’s now available online, with updates and additions on the way… |
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| International
Astronomy Union (IAU) ~ The IAU is made up of astronomers from all
over the world and is responsible for the naming of new planetary discoveries.
So if you would like to know why the object internationally called Xena,
should in February 2006 still catchily be referred to as 2003 UB313,
then these are the people to ask. |
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