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The Heavens declare the glory of God! I believe God declares Himself through the beauty and ultimate majesty of the heavens, and that astronomy is like the 67th book of the Bible. I have elaborate more on this in another area of my Web site, but I believe modern science is readily confirming that the God of the Christian Bible exists, and this proof is most apparent in cosmology – the study of the origins and characteristics of the cosmos. With our increasing understanding of astronomy and the ultimate origins of the universe, it has become possible to literally see the fingerprint of God upon all creation – something that was impossible until very recently. At no other time in history has this been the case because at no other time in history has mankind had the knowledge and understanding of the origins of the universe that he now possesses. It must be becoming more and more frustrating for those scientists bent on an atheistic agenda to continue in their beliefs and to promulgate them. But more than the amazing confirmation of the Christian God, astronomy is also extraordinarily beautiful and majestic. Few other sciences offer the ordinary person the same awe and grandeur as does astronomy. Like most sciences, the more you learn the more you understand how much you don’t know and don’t understand, but even for the nonscientist there is so much to appreciate and understand to occupy a lifetime. With just a simple pair of binoculars or an inexpensive telescope, it is possible to dramatically extend the capability of the ordinary eyes to observe countless galaxies, beautiful double stars, intricate stellar clusters, and glowing interstellar gases. You can readily observe the cratered surface of the moon, the four larger moons of Jupiter, and the intricate rings around Saturn. And should you care to do a little, non-technical reading on the subject, your understand and awe of the subject will know no bounds! Astronomy can be a social science as well; there are frequently star parties organized in every community where a group of friends and associates will go out several miles from their city or town, point their telescopes at interesting areas in the night sky, and share their telescope with those who are not as fortunate to own their own. Also, families can make a night of conversation and friendship by going into a nearby field and watching the celestial splendor go by. Dads can communicate with their sons over a telescope pointed at a stellar cluster in a relaxed and non threatening environment. People with a bent toward solitude will certainly find their hobby here, as long as they don’t also mind the freezing cold if they are stargazing during a late winter’s night! I would encourage everybody with a bend toward science or wanting to get to know their family better to consider learning more about the Universe, and even their ultimate origin many billions of years ago, by purchasing a small, inexpensive telescope and looking at God’s creation. Some great astronomy links are presented here: Abrams Planetarium Skywatcher's Diary - provides a daily listing of astronomical highlights for both amateur and expert stargazers. On this site, you might learn the best time to view Saturn's rings or when to inspect the lunar landscape, or follow the constellations as they move through the sky Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum - Chicago. American Astronomical Society - Includes link to Astrophysical Journal Electronic Edition American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) American Meteor Society - Non-profit scientific organization established to encourage and support the research activities of both amateur and professional astronomers who are interested in the fascinating field of Meteor Astronomy. Offers a Fireball Sightings Log, Weekly Meteor Activty Outlook, Meteor Studies at Majden Observatory (Courtenay, B.C. Canada), Audio Gallery of Radiometeor Events and Comets & Meteor Showers. Ames Research Center - Located in Moffett Field, California, the Center is part of NASA. There are links to Research Tools on the Web. Antique Telescope Society - Glenn Oclassen Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc (AURA) Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazards - NASA. See also their Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Mission page. Astrobiology Web - Keith Cowing Astronomiae Historia / History of Astronomy - Wolfgang R. Dick. Astronomical League: No list of links would be complete without mentioning this fantastic organization and site. They are maintaining a "virtual library" of everything having to do with astronomy from history to quantum physics to a list of astronomical societies. Astronomical Museum | Museo della Specola - Università di Bologna. Astronomiæ instauratæ mechanica (1602) - Tycho Brahe. Digital Edition. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Libraries, 1999. (Another Digital Editions is Systema Saturnium (1659) by Christiaan Huygens.) Astronomy Magazine - Kalmbach publication is "the world's largest English-language magazine for Astronomy hobbyists". Astronomy Picture of the Day - NASA Astronomy Thesaurus - Compiled by Robyn M. Shobbrook & Robert R. Shobbrook, Sydney University, with web interface by David Fullagar AstroWeb: Astronomical Internet Resources - Bob Jackson's massive collection of astronomy resources. (Also available here.) Aurora Page - Information, links and images about the Northern Lights Australia Telescope National Facility Bad Astronomy - Phil Plait ("astronomer, teacher, lecturer and all-around science junkie") devotes this site to "airing out myths and misconceptions in astronomy and related topics". Berkeley Lab Science Beat Blast from the Past - "Convincing new evidence of an asteroid impact 65 million years ago, when dinosaurs went extinct." Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History Bologna Astrophysical Preprints Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit - Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK Canadian Space Agency | Agence spatiale canadienne Catalog of Infrared Observations - "Database of over 374,000 published infrared observations of more than 62,000 individual astronomical sources over the wavelength range from 1 to 1000 microns." Center for Earth & Planetary Studies - National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution Chandra X-ray Observatory Center - With Cyycle 1 Chandra Science Images. (See June 9, 2000 story Chandra Images Unveiled This Week Wow Astronomers in Unisci: Daily University Science News.) Ciel et Terre - Online exhibition from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France includes images from the Catalan Atlas (1375-1380) and offers a wealth of information on the history of astronomy with biographies, a glossary, a chronology, bibliography, maps and a quantity of images from the library's manuscript collection. Elegant and beautifully designed - worth a visit even if you don't read French. Comet Observation - Charles S. Morris, NASA Constellations Index - Kerry Magruder, Librarian, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma. (Magruder is also responsible for two other astronomy-related pages: Basic Celestial Phenomena and Nota a Medieval Woodcut.) Constellations - Richard Dibon-Smith Dark Sky: Observational astronomy is made very difficult with bright skies. Light pollution has become a growing problem all around the United States, and this is the society that is trying to regain some "dark sky" for us all. It makes for interesting reading. Deep Sky Database - "Tool for amateur astronomers who love to pursue deep sky objects. It employs a web-based version of the Saguaro Astronomy Club's database (ver 7.2), consisting of over 10,000 records. This online version of the SAC database allows amateur astronomers to compile detailed and customized observing lists." Earth and Sky - Award winning daily science radio series. EarthRise - Database of photos taken by astronauts out of the windows of the space shuttle. (Maintained by Paige Elliott, San Diego Supercomputing Center.) Elementary Astronomy Notes - These notes were created by Nick Strobel for the introductory astronomy courses he teaches at Bakersfield College. Encyclopedia Astronautica - Mark Wade ERAU Virtual Libraries - Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida European Space Agency Expanding Universe: A Classified Search Tool for Amateur Astronomy - Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library Galileo Project Information - National Space Science Data Center Geophysical Institute Auroral Activity Forecasts - University of Alaska Goddard Space Flight Center - Site highlights include a Library section with access to the catalog and electronic journals, a Photo and Movie Gallery, Hot Topics, and daily and Weekly newsletters. David Stern's The Exploration of the Earth's Magnetosphere, From Stargazers to Starships and The Great Magnet, the Earth: 400 Years of "De Magnete" are useful K-12 resources. Great Images in NASA (GRIN) - Over 1,000 images of significant historical interest. Great Astronomy Links: Great comprehensive links to astronomy links and current research. This is an excellent start point for looking for anything related to astronomy. Great Physics Links: Great comprehensive list from the same place as the astronomy links, but for everything having to do with physics. This is a great start point for everything having to do with the physical universe! Handbook of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics - Online version of the second edition of Martin V. Zombeck's technical reference book published in 1990 by Cambridge University Press Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics - Cambridge, Massachusetts. Offers Current Sky Information and CfA Preprint Abstracts. Heavens-Above - Resource for obtaining the longitude and latitude for over 2 million locations. Provides detailed predictions of the Earth-orbiting satellites, generated in real-time and customized for your location and time zone. Hubble Space Telescope News - Space Science Telescope Institute Hubble Space Telescope Public Pictures - Jonathan Eisenhamer, Space Telescope Science Institute IMAGE Science Center - IMAGE (Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration), a NASA project to study space weather, solar winds and magnetic fields, was launched March 25, 2000. The POETRY section (Public Outeach, Education, Teaching and Reaching Youth), provides images, live data and facts. Institute for Advanced Study - Princeton, New Jersey. Astrophysics page has a list of Natural Sciences electronic journals with full-text access Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory International Planetarium Society - Has links to its Affiliates and to Planetaria Around the World organized geographically. Jet Propulsion Laboratory - National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), California Institute of Technology. Provides a site directory, a description of their missions, and Recent News. Kennedy Space Center - They also have a Scientific, Technical and Engineering page. Kopernik Astronomical Society Liftoff to Space Exploration - Marshall Space Flight Center site enables users to find the precise location of the Mir space station, the Hubble Space Telescope, and other orbiting satellites and any of the shuttles when they are in orbit. Major Facility Inventory - "Data on major government aerospace facilities which were prepared by the individual installations, who are responsible for the content." Search for facilities by location, type, keyword, parameters, or program supported. Mars Global Surveyor - Real time updates Mars Pathfinder Home Page - Jet Propulsion Laboratory. See also Mars Missions. Marshall Space Flight Center - Huntsville, Alabama. (NASA) Meteors - from the University of Arizona - Everything you ever wanted to know about meteors and meteorites - and more! Meteors, Meteorites and Impacts - A site full of links about meteors and meteorites. Mir Space Station Mount Wilson Observatory - Pasadena, California NASA Astrophysics Data System - Provides access to 4 searchable databases (Astronomy, Physics, Instrumentation, and Preprints) with a total of over 1.25 million references. The Journal Query Page provides access to over 800,000 scanned journal article pages form over 20 astronomical journals. The ADS Digital Library has online books relating to astronomy and astrophysics. (Mirror Site.) NASA Center Libraries NASA Human Space Flight - Provides live tracking during missions NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Technical Report Server - Database of Abstracts, Citations and full text Technical Reports written by and for the scientific and technical community. NASA's Planetary Photojournal - Provide easy access to over 2,000 publicly released images from various Solar System exploration programs. NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) National Air & Space Museum - Washington, D.C. With access to Air & Space Magazine which has an Online Article List. National Space Science Data Center - Their Photo Gallery includes images of Mars. National Space Society Near Earth Object Program - With information on Asteroid 2000 SG344, which has a remote 1 in 500 chance of impacting the Earth in 2030. Near Live Comet Watching System - NASA New Mexico Skies Guest Observatory - Located on 7,300-foot Mount Joy in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico, this bed and breakfast is "dedicated to providing sophisticated astronomy aficionados memorable experiences of the night sky." See also the Star Hill Inn in Sapello, New Mexico. Nicholas Copernicus: "De revolutionibus" - Manuscript from the Biblioteka Jagiellonska, Krakow, Poland Nine Planets: A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System - Bill Arnett Noble Dane: Images of Tycho Brahe - An exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford on the sixteenth-century Danish astronomer Observatorium - "Public access site for Earth and space data" includes headlines, weekly observation, games, data, images; NASA Remote Sensing Public Access Center Planetary Society - "The Planetary Society was founded in 1980 by Drs. Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman to encourage the exploration of our solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life." It provides "over 550 pages of information about space exploration and more than 480 images, artwork and other graphics. It is an on-going labor of love on the part of volunteers and dedicated professionals." Site highlights include an Site Map, Learning Center, Hot Topics, Publications and Space Links. Princeton Observatory Preprints (POPS) Project Galileo: Bringing Jupiter to Earth - NASA site offers "just-released images and data from Jupiter" as well as Galileo Solid State Imaging Full Data Releases Royal Astronomical Society - London ScienceDaily Magazine - Science news. Has search engine. Other news sites include Science News Online, which is searchable and provides selected full-text articles, ABC News: Science, Eurekalert, also searchable, Scientific American, with search engine, and Unisci: Daily University Science News, (searchable). Sky & Telescope Magazine - With News, Sights and Resources. Stuart Goldman's Astronomy Online column is a good resource for keeping up with online astronomy-related sites. SkyView: Virtual Observatory - NASA SOHO Summary Database - NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, an observational satellite providing researchers with the first long-term and uninterrupted look at the Sun Sojourner Rover Home Page - Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Simulator - Create a color image of your favorite planet or satellite. (From NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.) Space.com - News, information, education and entertainment. Space Calendar - "Space-related activities and anniversaries for the coming year. Included are over 1,000 links to related home pages"; maintained by Ron Baalke, Jet Propulsion Lab Space Telescope Science Institute - Carries out the scientific mission of the Hubble Space Telescope. Has Preprints. StarChild Project - NASA's "learning center for young astronomers" Stephen Hawking's Universe - PBS Today@NASA Understanding the Universe - Discovery Channel's exploratory guide of the galaxy for kids in grades K-8. University of California Observatories & Lick Observatory - Santa Cruz United States Naval Observatory U.S. Space Camp - Huntsville, Alabama Views of the Solar System - Calvin J. Hamilton, Los Alamos National Laboratories. (Also available in Spanish and Portuguese.) Virtual Sun - Michiel Berger, the Netherlands Virtual Tours of Astronomical Observatories - Douglas J. Mink, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Virtual Trips to Black Holes and Neutron Stars - Robert Nemiroff, Michigan Technological University WWW-VL: Astronomy and Astrophysics & AstroWeb - Sergio Paoli Welcome to Mars! - Information on the Mars Pathfinder Mission from the American Museum of Natural History |
