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 IOTA ~
Standing for the International Occultation Timing Association, this is
an astronomy site that emphasises the further study of these important
celestial events. Occultations are similar to eclipses, but can involve
almost any celestial body, usually obscured by the Moon. They are significant
events for astrologers too of course. |
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| Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer ~ Jack Horkheimer has been director of the Miami Planetarium for over 35 years and since 1976 has been writing and presenting what claims to be the only weekly television series on naked eye astronomy, giving highlights to watch for during the week ahead. Now the show is also available online, it’s quirky and quite brilliant… |
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| Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) ~ Under the NASA umbrella, the JPL is a leading centre for the exploration of space. Give or take the usual differences in definition, so far their spacecraft have visited all of the known planets except Pluto and that mission is currently underway. There’s some great material here on all aspects of the solar system and more… |
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| JPL Small-Body Database Browser ~ The Dawn mission to Ceres and Vesta is delayed until September 2007, but then that’s what NASA get for planning to launch with Mercury retrograde. Until then, you can see awesome animations of the orbits of these bodies by searching on 1 for Ceres or 4 for Vesta and then selecting Orbit Diagram. You’ll need Java… |
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| Keith’s
Moon Page ~ Keith Cooley’s site has detailed explanations of everything you could possibly want to know about
the Moon and then some. If you’ve ever wondered how much the Moon
weighs, how heavy you would be on the Moon, or how long it would take
to drive there by car ( !!! ), then this would be the place for you… |
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| Kepler Mission ~ NASA’s Kepler mission has been designed to find planets about the size of the Earth orbiting stars at distances where water could pool on the planet’s surface. It launched successfully on March 6, 2009 at 22:49 EST from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Liquid water is currently believed essential for life as we know it to exist… |
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| Kuiper Belt ~ Continuing with the extremes of the solar
system, David Jewitt is Professor of Physics and Astronomy
at the University of Hawaii. He is on the cutting edge
of Kuiper Belt research and his site is aimed firmly at his astronomical
mates. But if you’re feeling strong, you never know, you could learn
something blinding. |
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| List
of Centaurs & Scattered-Disk Objects ~ Remember the days when
there was only Chiron? As of March 2005 there are now 150 known centaurs
and scattered-disk objects, with more constantly being discovered.
Here you will find the latest astronomical data. Be prepared for lengthy
concentration on a site like this. |
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| Lunar and Planetary Institute ~ The Lunar and Planetary Institute conducts planetary science research under the leadership of staff scientists and visiting researchers, also providing support services for NASA and the planetary science community. For humble astrologers like me, they have some great images of the planets and of the Moon especially! |
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| Makemake ~ Following the adoption of the term dwarf planet by the International Astronomy Union, five bodies have by early 2009 so far been awarded this status. Makemake was fourth and on July 11, 2008 joined Ceres, Pluto, Eris and later Haumea in a group growing all the time. Come on astrologers, what do you think of this one? |
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| MESSENGER ~ MESSENGER is an acronym for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment GEochemistry and Ranging. As I write Mercury is retrograde and NASA are presenting their findings from the first rendezvous of a proposed four this mission will make with the planet in question, leading up to orbit insertion in March 2011. |
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| Meteor Showers Online ~ Gary Kronk is famous for his work with comets and similar phenomena, he even has a minor planet named after him. At the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower it was great finding this definitive reference for anything connected with meteors, that swiftly covers every astronomical question you never knew you had… |
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| Minor Planet Names ~ This section of Wikipedia looks unpromising, but lists all the minor planets so far, with links to more about their names, discovery, orbit and physical characteristics. Minor planets include the asteroids, centaurs, trans-Neptunians and Kuiper belt objects. They are named after many things, including their discoverer’s pets… |
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| NASA ~ Over the years I’ve recommended many subsections of this enormous site, but curiously I’ve never linked directly to their home page. This is my opportunity to put things right and to encourage you to visit what’s probably the best astronomy site out there. It’s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration folks… Enjoy! |
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| NASA Headline Stories ~ Space technology improves all the time, with new discoveries best communicated via the worldwide Web, much more swiftly
than was possible before and at a depth to suit you. For example, take
a look here at some of the latest headline developments from NASA. There
is bound to be something to capture your attention. |
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| Near-Earth
Asteroid 3753 Cruithne ~ Erroneously highlighted
as the Earth’s second Moon, asteroid Cruithne actually shares the Earth’s
orbit around the Sun. This site is maintained by Paul Wiegert and has
the latest facts concerning this astronomical oddity, written by a man
at the forefront of Cruithne’s observation. |
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| New
Horizons ~ With the excitement and speculation surrounding the true nature of
the Pluto/Charon binary, it is easy to forget that a space mission to
take a closer look is already on the way. This is the official website
of NASA’s New Horizons mission, which lifted off in January 2006 to rendezvous
with both these bodies in July 2015. |
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