Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Space Science
See also: Black holes --
Open Directory Project: Astronomy
- Categorized and annotated links. A version of this
list is at
Google, with entries sorted in "page rank" order.
CASS/UCSD Astronomy Education Directory
- Excellent categorized list, with special emphasis on educational
material, including astronomical images, outreach sites, tutorials,
Web-based courses, and astronomy publications.
PAM Resources in Astronomy
- Good quality, mostly unannotated list of links, maintained by the
Special Libraries Association.
Yahoo Astronomy Links
- Annotated list of links.
- Categorized site directory. Entries usually include
Has a subcategory for
Griffith Observatory Star Awards
- "The Griffith Observatory Star Awards were established to recognize
excellence in web sites that promote public awareness of astronomy. These
are the best astronomy sites on the World Wide Web."
Related Web Sites of Interest
- List at the
Nasa/Ipace Extragalactic Database site. Has both professional
and educational links. Emphasis on extragalactic astronomy.
Yahoo: Full Coverage: Hubble Telescope
- Links for gamma ray bursts & Hubble Telescope sites
Sites with general resources
- A virtual astonomy text provided by the University of
Hertfordshire, UK. Covers most of the basic topics, such as
stars, galaxies, and cosmology. Provides a mixture of
locally written information and external links, and includes
a glossary of astronomical terms.
Best of Physics Web: Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Directory of best feature articles, news stories, and
external links on astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology at the
Physics Web site.
Astronomy Education and Outreach
- An excellent educational site, maintained by the
Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences at the
Univesity of California, San Diego. Features a great
astronomy tutorial by Gene Smith, and many
Imagine the Universe!
- A service of NASA's High-Energy Astrophysics Learning Center.
Presents news, features, and tutorial information on astronomy,
astrophysics, and cosmology.
Includes a good list of resources (Web, magazines, and books).
science page and the
advanced science page for lists of the main topics.
For frequently asked questions, see
Ask a High Energy Astronomer.
High-Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center
- Home page of NASA's high-energy astrophysics research program
(HEASARC). Information on planned research missions.
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
- An excellent general site dealing with space exploration and
astronomy. Features include an
The Nine Planets multimedia solar system tour, and a
National Space Science Data Center
- One of many NASA sites. Includes sections on astrophysics, solar
physics, space physics, lunar and planetary sciences, and
Earth sciences. There's also a
catalog of spaceborne imaging and a
Space Telescope Science Institute
- The main site for anything having to do with the Hubble Space
Telescope. One of the main sections is
HubbleSite. There's also a
which includes a press release archive, image galleries, and
NED: NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
- Very large collection of data, literature references, and
tools for extragalactic astronomy. Key features include a database of
extragalactic objects, a knowledgebase called
of articles on extragalactic astronomy and cosmology, a
- A good site dealing with general astronomy, maintained by
the University of Texas
(mostly books), and general information on
- A portal to space information and news stories.
- The site is mostly about the magazine, but there is a
section of recent news.
Sky and Telescope Magazine
- Good section of
current news and
news stories. The collection of
is quite extensive.
The Astronomy Cafe
- Excellent general astronomy site by Sten Odenwald.
Has a good collection of
articles on astronomy and cosmology.
Also includes a question/answer feature called
Ask the Astronomer
A Wormhole in the Cosmos
- Elementary information on such topics as black holes and
supernovae. Also contains a glossary, some links, and a message
board for asking questions.
The Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center
- General information about the Chandra X-ray observatory satellite.
Includes photo galleries, infomation on x-ray astronomy,
and discussion of various
x-ray sources, such as supernovae, black holes, galaxies,
Center for Theoretical Astrophysics
- At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Emphasis
on general astrophysics and relativity.
Site contains some video animations on relativistic phenomena,
external links to other astrophysics and general relativity
sites and related lecture course sites.
- Large site with extensive collection of news and external
links. Topics covered include astrobiology, earth sciences, future
technology, space missions. Other features include an events
calendar and photo gallery.
BBC Science - Space
- Variety of resources related to astronomy, space science,
space exploration. Includes news, tutorials, pictures.
Stars and Galaxies
- General news and information on discoveries in astronomy
associated with NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Frequently Asked Questions in Astronomy
- General Q & A from the Usenet sci.astro newsgroup. Includes
galaxies, clusters, and quasars, and
cosmology. Also has general information on astronomy and
useful external links.
Mysteries of Deep Space
- Part of the
Space Today Online site. Contains information and external links
stars, and associated topics.
Surveys, overviews, tutorials
Eric Weisstein's World of Astronomy
- Extensive collection of encyclopedia-style articles.
- Article from
High Energy Astrophysics
- A ScienceWeek
"symposium" consisting of excerpts and summaries of
articles from various sources.
Topics covered: pulsars, quasars, high energy cosmic rays, gamma
ray bursts, relativistic jets.
Stars and Galaxies
- Lecture notes, handouts, and other material from a college
astronomy course by Martin Weinberg. Touches on relativity and
Notes on Astronomy and Astrophysics
- College-level course material by Andreas Albrecht.
Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology
- Material from a course at the University of Tennessee,
Mike Guidry and others.
Many of the lectures are especially worthwhile, particularly
the ones on galaxies, galaxy clusters, and cosmology. There are
also useful external links on many pages.
Ask an expert
Galaxy: Ask an Astronomer
- Categorized site directory. Entries usually include
Ask a High Energy Astronomer
- Good service provided by NASA's
High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center.
Questions may be submitted by email. Questions that have already been
answered are archived under a number of topics.
SIRTF's Ask an Astronomer
- Maintained by the
Space Infrared Telescope Facility. Contains general information
on infrared astronomy as an archive of previously answered questions.
New questions may be submitted by email.
Ask the Space Scientist
- An archive of questions and answers provided by Sten Odenwald,
in the areas of astronomy and space science.
Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer
- Very good Q and A site maintained at Cornell University.
Covers all areas of astronomy, as well as some general physics,
relativity, and other topics. There are also some selected
Ask an Astronomer at Lick Observatory
- Maintained by graduate students at
Lick Observatory. There is a
large archive of previously answered questions arranged by topic.
Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center
- A service provided by NASA. Questions are handled mainly
in the areas of cosmic rays and solar astronomy.
Stanford SOLAR Center -- Ask a Solar Physicist
- This resource is aimed at pre-college students, for questions
related to solar astronomy.
- Star Seeker
Michael D. Lemonick
Discover, November 2001, pp. 38-45
- The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is an ambitious project to produce
the most detailed 3-dimensional map ever of astronomical objects.
To be completed by 2005, it aims to catalog everything from
asteroids to the most distant quasars.
- The Next Generation Space Telescope: Predicting the Past
Astronomy, February 2001, pp. 40-45
- The Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) may be launched
and operational by 2009. It will be able to collect infrared light
with as redshift as high as 20, corresponding to a time just
200 million years after the Big Bang. Astronomers are now trying
to guess what the NGST may find.
Science News, October 21, 2000, pp. 266-268
- The Chandra X-ray observatory has, since its 1999 launch,
made important discoveries about such things as supernova
remnants, midsize and supermassive black holes, and active
- Stars and Strips Forever
Richard Kron, Sharon Butler
Astronomy, February 1999, pp. 48-53
- The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, just beginning, will create a
catalog of extragalactic objects visible in the northern
hemisphere up to 1.5 billion light years distant. The visual and
spectroscopic data collected will provide a database of
astrophysical information that should be useful for the next 50
- Fast Forward: A Look at the Next 25 Years
Astronomy, August 1998, pp. 52-59
- A panel discussion among 9 eminent astronomers features
speculation on astonomical questions which may be answered in
the next 25 years.
- 25 New Citizens of the Cosmos
Astronomy, August 1998, pp. 60-65
- Most of the "top 25" discoveries in astronomy of the past
25 years have settled important old questions while raising
at least as many new ones.
- When Galaxies Were Young
Anne L. Kinney
Astronomy, May 1998, pp. 44-49
- The Next Generation Space Telescope is scheduled for launch
in 2007. The research it will be involved in covers many of
the open questions of astronomy and cosmology.
- The New Gamma-Ray Astronomy
Neil Gehrels, Jacques Paul
Physics Today, February 1998, pp. 26-32
- Two satellite-based gamma-ray instruments known as Granat and
the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory have made new discoveries
relating to nucleosynthesis sites, galactic black holes, blazars,
and gamma-ray bursters.
- Beyond Hubble
David H. Freedman
Discover, February 1998, pp. 50-56
- Four new orbiting telescopes are planned for the next 15 years:
the Next Generation Space Telescope (a general-purpose optical
telescope), the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (infrared
telescope), the Space Interferometry Mission (detection of
extrasolar planets by interferometry), and the Terrestrial Planet
Finder (direct observation of Earth-size planets).
- NASA's Next Space Observatories
Astronomy, January 1998, pp. 46-49
- The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) will be used
in the search for black holes and in the study of many other
phenomena visible in the X-ray portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum. The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) will
help study the dynamics of stellar and planetary formation
through observations in the infrared.
- Gravity's Rainbow
Astronomy, August 1997, pp. 44-49
- Gravitational lensing, an effect predicted by the general
theory of relativity, is not just another curiosity, but may
be of great observational value in studiying dark matter and
distant objects in the early universe.
- J. Craig Wheeler -- Cosmic Catastrophes: Supernovae,
Gamma-ray Bursts, and Adventures in Hyperspace
Cambridge University Press, 2000
- Wheeler offers a good book for general readers on some of the
more spectacular astrophysical phenomena. The core of the book deals
with supernovae, but it begins with general information on
stellar formation and evolution. It also deals with the
aftermath of supernovae -- neutron stars, pulsars, and black
holes. The most violent events of all, gamma-ray bursts, are
- F. Combes, P. Boissé, A Mazure, A. Blanchard -
Galaxies and Cosmology
Springer-Verlag, 1995 (translation), 1991 (original)
- Technical but largely non-mathematical survey of topics
such as galactic structure and morphology, quasars, active
galactic nuclei, and large-scale structure of the universe.
- Martin Harwit - Astrophysical Concepts
- A respected textbook with mathematical details of a variety
of astrophysical subjects, including stellar struture and
evolution, quasars, galaxy formation, and life in the universe.
Copyright © 2002-04 by Charles Daney, All Rights Reserved