Astronomy Links

If you found this page via a search engine and live near the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, be sure to check out the The Wehr Astronomical Society, Inc. Home Page.

Table of Contents

Astronomy 101

Astronomy for Kids

Catalogs and Images

News

What's Currently Up in the Sky

Weather

Observing Guides

Online Star Atlases

Naked Eye Observing Lists

Deep Sky Observing Lists

Planet and Comet Guides

Dark Site Finder

Constellations

The Solar System

The Sun

The Moon

NASA

Satellites

Telescope Information

Telescope/Binocular Buyer's Guides

Telescope Formulas

Telescope Collimation Guides

Manufacturers

Dealers

Astronomy Software

Magazines

E-zines

Observatories

Planetariums

Organizations

Astronomy Clubs

Other Amateur Astronomer's Home Pages

Usenet Newsgroups

• Astro C10 / LS C70U Introduction to General Astronomy video lectures from the University of California, Berkeley. This is a true college level astronomy class, more about physics and less about observing, but don't let that discourage you from watching it. (Note: The audio for the first lecture for the Fall 2006 class is distorted. Other lectures are better). If you have problems watching this online, we have the professionally made lectures on tape that are available to members.
• Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS)
• Ask the Astronomer
• Ask the Space Scientist
• Space Educators' Handbook PDF Library from NASA
• Small Telescope Astronomy For Beginners
• The Astronomy Thesaurus
• Basic Celestial Phenomena
• Can I buy a star, or have one named?

• Space & Astronomy for Kids
• StarChild: A learning center for young astronomers
• Astronomy for Kids

• SEDS Messier Database
• Virtual Messier
• Chris Randall's Astronomical Observations Index Page. See what the Messier objects really look like through a telescope by looking at his drawings.
• The Interactive NGC Catalog Online
• The NGC/IC Project Home Page
• Astronomical Data Center Home Page
• NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
• The Web Nebulae
• The STScI Digitized Sky Survey
• SkyView Virtual Observatory
• Astronomy Picture of the Day
• Hubble Space Telescope information at the Space Telescope Science Institute Home Page

• Astronomy's News
• Sky & Telescope's Current Astronomical News
• Astronomy Now: Breaking News
• The Universe Today
• Astrocast Podcasts
• arXiv.org: The latest research papers in physics, mathematics and computer science

• Observing Highlights from Sky & Telescope
• Sky & Telescope's Sky at a Glance
• Astronomy Now On-Line - Night Sky
• NASA JPL Space Calendar
• CalSKY - The Astronomical Calendar

If the Clear Sky Chart is broken, please use the Canadian Meteorological Centre site. Note that you will have to convert from local time to UTC time.

• Weather Undergound provides a Forecast for Milwaukee, WI (Also check out their high resolution forecast down to every three hours). Leave it to Weather Undergound to know that us astronomers are constantly looking at the weather.)
• Weather Underground Zoom Satellite allows you to zoom in to county level.
• Real-time Weather Data includes satellite and water vapor images. Check out how clear the skies are going to be.
• US satellite image from Yahoo
• Milwaukee Satellite Image from Intellicast
• StarCast from Intellicast
• Wisconsin Satellite Image from the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Milwaukee Radar from Intellicast
• WTMJ 4 doppler radar
• FOX 6 SkyVision Plus

Online Star Atlases

• Skymaps.com - Featuring The Evening Sky Map, a publication quality sky map.
• Free 6.0 Mag PDF Star Atlas
• Free 8.5 Mag PDF Star Atlas
• Sky View Cafe
• AstroViewer
• Stigs Sky Calendar
• Your Sky, the interactive planetarium of the Web.
• ScienceNet Starmaps
• Java StarGazer. An online dynamic star chart.
• Akkana's Java Star Chart. Another online dynamic star chart.
• Star chart from Weather Underground.
• Make your own planisphere.

Naked Eye Observing Lists

• Earth & Sky's Skywatching Center for something each day of the month (with charts)
• Star Hustler Home Page

Deep Sky Observing Lists

• Terry's Hunt of the Month. A monthly guide to what deep sky objects currently in the sky.
• Collection of catalogs from the Saguaro Astronomy Club
• Basic finder charts in pdf format. Contains Messier and Caldwell objects. The maps appear to be generated by Sky Map Pro.

Planet and Comet Guides

• Akkana's Java Jupiter program that displays the position of the Great Red Spot, the four Galilean moons and their shadows.
• Jupiter Great Red Spot (GRS) transits
• Comet Observation Home Page

Dark Site Finder

• DarkSky - A Web Tool for Stargazing. Find a dark site near you.
• Wehr Astronomical Society's list of dark sights near the Milwaukee area

• Constellations page from the Peoria Astronomical Society. Also lists many interesting deep sky objects in the constellation.
• The Constellations and their Stars
• Constellations from SEDS
• Constellations Index page by Basic Celestial Phenomena
• The Constellations Web Page

• The Nine Planets
• Views of the Solar System
• The Solar System

Current image of the sun from the Big Bear Solar Observatory:

• Solar Observing
  • A.L.P.O. Solar section
  • A.L.P.O. Solar section report forms
  • Stonyhurst Disks
  • Planetary Sketching Blanks including Stonyhurst Disks
  • Solar Observing by Peter Meadows
  • Helio - Software to help with solar drawings
  • Current Solar Data
  • Big Bear Solar Observatory - Latest Images
  • National Solar Observatory Live Images
  • Mt. Wilson 150-Foot Tower Sunspot Drawing
  • Mt. Wilson 150-Foot Tower
  • National Solar Observatory
  • Sunspots and the Solar Cycle
  • Sunspot Numbers
  • Active Region Maps
• Space Weather and Aurora
  • SpaceWeather.com
  • Space Environment Center
  • Hourly STD DMSP/POLAR Auroral Activity Report
  • Space Physics & Aeronomy Research Collaboratory
• Eclipse Information
  • Espenak's Eclipse Home Page

Current phase of the moon from the U.S. Naval Observatory:

• Moon Nomenclature
• Pictures of Lunar Features
• Clementine Lunar Image Browser
• Moon phase calendar
• Another moon phase calendar
• The Inconstant Moon with features that are visible each day.

• NASA
• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• National Space Science Data Center
• Kennedy Space Center
• All NASA space science missions

• Heavens Above Find Iridium flares, where the International Space Station is and other satellites.
• Visual Satellite Observer's Home Page

Telescope/Binocular Buyer's Guides

• Telescope Basics from Celestron (This is the best guide I have seen from a manufacturer. Also available as a 31 page book titled "Telescopes for Astronomy" from Celestron)
• Binocular Basics from Celestron
• How To Start Right in Astronomy from Sky & Telescope
• Choosing Your First Telescope from Sky & Telescope
• sci.astro.amateur FAQ on Telescope Buying and Usage
• A Telescope for Under $500.00
• Company Seven's telescope reviews and helpful advice

Telescope Formulas

• Ken's Telescope Calculator
• Astronomical Formulas Compiled by Company Seven
• The ATM (Amateur Telescope Maker) Page

Telescope Collimation Guides

• Collimating Newtonian Optics
• Collimation FAQ
• Exercise in Collimation
• The Collimation shows examples of star testing and what images look like in a collimated and non-collimated scope.

Manufacturers

• Celestron
• Meade
• Orion Telescope & Binoculars
• Discovery Telescopes
• Tele Vue Optics
• If you want a real light bucket, check out the following:
  • Obsession Telescopes
  • StarMaster Portable Telescopes
  • Starsplitter's Home Page

Dealers

• Welcome to Eagle Optics Online!
• Orion Telescope & Binoculars
• Astronomics / Christopher's Ltd. Home Page
• Astronomy-Mall
• Pocono Mountain Optics

• A list of different Planetarium Software packages
• Cartes du Ciel - Sky Charts
A freeware planetarium program as good as the commercial programs
• SkyMap Software Home Page or SkyMap's home at World Wide Software Publishing
• Starry Night
• The Sky
• MegaStar Sky Atlas

• Astronomy Magazine
• Sky & Telescope
• Amateur Astronomy Magazine
• Astronomy Now Magazine

• Astronomy Digest

• Observatories list from Yahoo
• Keck Observatory
• Mount Wilson Observatory
• Palomar Observatory
• Big Bear Solar Observatory
• http://www.sunspot.noao.edu/sunspot/sp_index.html">National Solar Observatory
• Yerkes Observatory Home Page

• Loch Ness Productions Planetarium Web Sites

  Local (In or near Milwaukee, WI)

• Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL
• Horwitz Planetarium in Waukesha, WI

• The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) Home Page
• Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers (ALPO)
• The International Astronomical Union
• The International Dark Sky Association
• International Meteor Organization
• American Lunar Society
• The Antique Telescope Society

• The Astronomical League

  Local (In or near Milwaukee, WI)

• The Wehr Astronomical Society
• Northern Cross Science Foundation
• The Milwaukee Astronomical Society
• The Racine Astronomical Society
• The Sheboygan Astronomical Society
• Try Astronomy: Urban astronomers in Milwaukee
  

  Other clubs

• The Astronomy Connection
• Peoria Astronomical Society
• The Prairie Astronomy Club
• The Hawaiian Astronomomical Society
• The Saguaro Astronomy Club
• The Rose City Astronomers

• Phil Schumacher

• Bill Arnett's Home Page
• Todd Gross' Weather/Astronomy Page
• Dr. Odenwald's ASK THE ASTRONOMER
• Chris Dolan's Home Page
• Mel Bartels' Homepage
• David Nash's Homepage
• Paul Schlyter's Homepage

The best way to search the newsgroup is to use the Usenet Group Search at Google and go to the Advanced Groups Search form and put "sci.astro.amateur" in the "Newsgroup" field.

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