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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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| Life Cycle of a Star ~ More astronomy than celebrity, this site explains the process of development that stars undergo, compared with a person’s life from conception through infancy, into adulthood and finally old age. An educational slant makes the journey fun to follow, with some great interactive tutorials to conclude and that reinforce the main facts… |
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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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| LPOD ~ Since 2004 the Lunar Photo (or Picture) of the Day has furthered the concept pioneered by APOD and later continued by EPOD, for astronomy and earth sciences respectively. Every day there’s a new image that either highlights an important feature of the Moon, shows our satellite in a different way or that otherwise intrigues… |
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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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| Lunar Perigee and Apogee Calculator ~ Perigee is when an object comes closest to the Earth. Apogee is the exact opposite, the point at which it is the furthest away. In terms of our Moon the difference between these two is almost one eighth, so here’s an excellent Javascript calculator that I stumbled across, to help spot when the full moon is going to look especially huge… |
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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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| Moon Zoo ~ The images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show the Moon’s surface in remarkable detail, including features down to about 50 cm across. Here is your chance to help count craters on the lunar surface along with areas of boulders too, both important factors when it comes to understanding the history of our satellite… |
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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 SkyWatch ~ An interesting offering that tracks twenty-six NASA science spacecraft as they orbit around the world. It tells you when they will next be observable from your chosen location and whereabouts to spot them in the sky. Data for the International Space Station is included too, though you will need the Java plug-in to interact with this site. |
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| National Space Science Data Center ~ The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) website serves as a permanent archive for NASA space science mission data. Space science includes astronomy and astrophysics, solar and space plasma physics, planetary and lunar science too. This site offers access to related data for researchers and the general public… |
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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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| Neave Planetarium ~ Paul Neave’s speciality is interaction design and this is his personal website, where he gets to showcase his talents and test-drive ideas he might not get to develop otherwise. Check out a certain one I won’t mention and that’s no surprise, but his planetarium is great and lists every star that should be visible with the naked eye… |
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