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PHY121 Descriptive Astronomy Fall 2009 ... last edit 8/8/2009 THIS WILL BE REVISED FOR AUGUST 2010

Text: Voyages to the Universe, 5th edition by Fix
Disclaimer: I give no endorsement or recommendations for the use or applicability of the following websites for any particular purpose. Each user must independently evaluate the information and contents of each page. I cannot be held responsible or liable for unavailability of any page or for any damages that result from your use of any of these pages.
Sections on this page: [Often Used Links]   [Constellations]   [Coordinates and Sky Introduction]   [Stars, Sun, Moon Motions]   [Ancient Astronomy]   [Astronomical Images]  
Links from 2008
[Eclipses]   [Moon and Mercury]   [Miscellaneous]   [Solar System]  [Weather]   Bottom of Page

Often Used Links
Course Textbook Interactives highered.mcgraw-hill.com/fix Astronomy, Journey to the Cosmic Frontier by Fix. This site has the interactives students in PHY121 can access to enhance their understanding of the course topics. You will need the Flash Player installed on your computer to use the interactives.
Amazing Space amazing-space.stsci.edu This site has a short Flash movie directing you to the month's recommended observations. Other sections of the site are optional. There is a section for educators.
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Constellations
Alpha List astro.wisc.edu Alphabetical Listing of Constellations, Facts about the stars, Simple star map of the constellation
Background Information seds.org Alphabetical Listing, Stars and Objects, Mythological Background
Constellation Detailed Map stargazing.net/david Select from the list of constellations. You will see a single constellation with neighboring constellations identified.
Constellations on Full Sky stargasing.net/david Select the date and time of night for the chart. You can select to have stars only, or have constellation lines and names displayed.
Google google.com/sky or sky.google.com Rectangular star map. Click on Historical to see constellation art work.
Hawaiian Astro. Soc. hawastsoc.org Good star maps, mythology, images of objects in the constellation
Heavens Above heavens-above.com Predictions of satellite visibility, Comet and Asteroid positions and more. You should select an observing location first. The site will allow you to print the observing predictions.
Sky Maps skymaps.com This site has .pdf all sky maps available for the current and previous month. The maps are free for personal and educational use.
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Coordinates and Sky Introduction
Altitude Azimuth astro.unl.edu This interactive Flash tool lets the user select the altitude and azimuth for a hypothetical star that is then plotted on the celestial sphere. You can drag the observer's plane to change the viewing position. The meridian and zenith are shown and can be labeled. You can type values for the altitude and azimuth into the boxes if you don't want to use the sliders.
Celestial Sphere astro.illinois.edu/~jkaler This web page explains the concepts of the Celestial Sphere, Ecliptic and Zodiac, Sun and Seasons, Time and Coordinates, and Equinoxes and Solstices.
Circumpolar en.wikipedia.org This Wikipedia article explains the term circumpolar. The page has an animated .gif picture that shows circumpolar stars in motion, with the Big Dipper and the W of Cassiopeia highlighted.
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Eclipses
Eclipse NASA sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov; Solar and Lunar eclipse information for Past, Present, and Future eclipses. Also, the site has information on Mercury and Venus transits across the disk of the sun.
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Images to Increase Your Interest in Astronomy
Anglo Australian aao.gov.au Images from the Anglo Australian Observatory (Southern Hemisphere) and links to other image pages.
Astronaut Photography photos taken by astronauts; has a search feature
Aurora Cam Aurora Web Cam; near Fairbanks, Alaska; gallery online
Aurora, Michigan Tech photos, links to sites that map current aurora activity, space weather, live fisheye webcams of the Night Sky at several locations
David Malin davidmalin.com Extensive collection of photographs of atmospheric conditions and astronomical objects.
Earth at Night Click on the photo. Click again to magnify the photo.This is a composite photo of the nighttime view of earth.
European South eso.org European Southern Observatory images for public outreach. Other sites have better images for use in this course.
Hubble Hubble Space Telescope; news, photos, wallpaper, educational resources
Hubble Heritage Project easy access to Hubble photographs and art
Hubble Archives hubblesite.org You can select a category of images on the left side of the page. There is a description for each image.
Messier Messier Catalog; photos and information
NOAO Images noao.edu A collection of images from various telescopes. I did not find outstanding photos for our course at this site.
Planetary Photojournal photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov Well organized site. You can read descriptions of the photos and download different resolutions.
Picture of the Day antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov This site has a new picture each day with an explanation. You can search the archives.
Valles Marineris antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov This image was selected by searching for "valles".
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Miscellaneous
AAS aas.org; American Astronomical Society
Astro League www/astroleague.org Astronomical League
Astronomical Society of the Pacific www.astrosociety.org; General Astronomy information. There are educational resources at this site, and much more.
Astronomy Camp summer camp near Tucson, AZ, organized by the University of Arizona
Astronomy Cast astronomycast.com; Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela L. Gay; Podcast and blog of astronomy news
Bad Astronomy badastronomy.com; Phil Plait's site; This site corrects misinformation about astronomy
Nebraska Nebraska Star Party
Orbitessera www.orbitessera.com This site has information on objects orbitting earth and links to related sites.
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Moon and Mercury
Digital Lunar Atlas Search lpi.usra.edu This site lets you search for a named feature. Then you can view images of the feature.
Digital Lunar Atlas List lpi.usra.edu This site lets you browse for a named feature. Then you can view images of the feature.
Lunar Features planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov This site has a list of lunar features. After you click on a feature you can select the name of the feature and view its image. The image can be zoomed in and out.
Lunar Features Basic amlunsoc.org This site has somewhat fuzzy images of the moon with major features labeled.
Mercury Messenger nasa.gov The home page for the Messenger spacecraft that will orbit Mercury.
Nine Planets Moon nineplanets.org/luna.html This site has a wide variety of information about the Moon.
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Sky, Sun, Moon
Calendar wise-obs.tau.ac.il This site lets you create a monthly calendar that lists the Moon and Sun rise and set times, the Moon phase, and other information that you select. You enter your latitude and longitude and time difference from Greenwich.
Earth and Moon Viewer fourmilab.ch This site generates views of the Earth (day/night) or Moon at various locations.
Sky In Motion theskyinmotion.com This site has Flash movies of the stars in motion. The movies were assembled from multiple exposures of a digital camera. You will have to let the whole movie load to see smooth motion. Click on the playlist link on the left side of the screen to select different locations.
Sunrise Sunset and more gaisma.com This site has sunset, sunset, dawn, dusk, sun path, monthly average data, day/night map, etc.
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History of Ancient Astronomy
History of Astronomy www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche The www is required if you are typing in the web page address. This site has links to all aspects of the history of astronomy.
Famous Astronomers D. Mark Manley's page; brief info and links to more detailed information
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Solar System
Hamilton Images www.solarviews.com This site has many images of various Solar System objects. There are also other astronomical and general Earth-based images. The images are copyrighted but may be used for educational purposes if no fee is charged. Read the copyright statement.
Nine Planets nineplanets.org; facts, history of observations, and links for the sun, planets, comets, asteroids, spacecraft, more
Planets JPL; photos, facts, spacecraft that have explored the planets
Planetary Data Table LSW www.lswpub.com; This site has a good table of data for the 8 planets (no Pluto).
Planetary Satellites LSW www.lswpub.com; This site has a good table of data for the full set (e.g. 63 satellites of Jupiter) of natural satellites.
Planetary Satellites SkyPub skytonight.com; This site has text and data for the natural satellites. You will need to click on "Next Page" at the bottom of each page to move through the solar system.
Planets NASA planetary photojournal; images and information
Sun
High Altitude Observatory Realtime solar photos at various wavelengths
Solar Eclipse video archive, information about eclipses, world map of future eclipses
Solar Storms solarstorms.org; Dr. Sten Odenwald's site; This site has background information on space weather: the transfer of energy and matter from the sun to the earth. The site also has pages that discuss environment, health, electrical utilities, and technology (satellites). There is also a page of Internet links for information about the sun.
Eclipses and Transits NASA; solar, lunar eclipses; transits by Mercury and Venus; solar system data
Mars
Mars Exploration Program NASA; Spirit and Opportunity Rovers, Mars Surveyor, Past Mars Missions
Mars Global Surveyor photos of Mars from the orbiting surveyor spacecraft
Exoplanets exoplanets.org; This site collects information about planets in orbit around other stars.
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Weather Conditions and Forecast
Mead Nebraskacleardarksky.com Observing Conditons forecast for 15 miles south of Fremont, Nebraska.
Intellicast Sky Watch intellicast.com You will need to select the date and time for the forecast. If you select daylight hours the map is more or less all white. Select a night time e.g. 00 hours (midnight) to get the night cloud forecast.
Weather Channel weather.com This link gives you information on weather conditions in Fremont, Nebraska. The page will include an overlay of radar in motion on the map that has city names. This is useful when storms are in the area.
Weather Underground wunderground.com This site has the local weather and forecast for Fremont, Nebraska.
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