Calvin College Observatory: Extended Astronomy Links

Calvin Observatory

Related Links

Wildrik Botjes Planetarium

Physics & Astronomy Department

Topical Links

The Solar system
- Orbits
  - Horizons, JPL's On-Line Solar System Data and Ephemeris Computation Service: "Any Body--Anytime"
  - Astronomy Workshop (for PCs only)
  - Satellite Tracking Tool (PCs only)
  - The Botjes Planetarium
  - Planetarium software (Free and commercial)
  - JPL's Solar System Dynamics
  - FIND_ORB, free PC orbit determination software from Project Pluto
- The Sun
  - Currently active spacecraft
    - SOHO: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
    - Realtime SOHO images of the Sun
    - HINODE (Japanese solar satellite)
    - STEREO
- Mercury
  - Messenger spacecraft (flyby January and October 2008)
  - NASA's Mercury home page
- Venus
  - Venus orbiter: Magellan
- Earth and Moon
  - Continents and crust
    - Earth Impact Data Base (John Spray, U.NB)
- Mars
  - Pathfinder
  - Exploration Rover: Spirit
  - Global Surveyor
  - Mars Global Surveyor Camera: JPL | Malin SSS |
  - MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer (check out the dust storm movie!)
  - Mars Viewer 2.0
- Asteroids
  - IAU: Minor Planet Center
  - Asteroid Groups by Petr Scheirich (beautiful images and animations of orbital elements)
  - Description of the System of Asteroids by Gerard Faure
  - Asteroids - Dynamic Site
  - Asteroids with Satellites
  - Minor Planet section of ALPO
  - Light Curves:
    - Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL)
    - M. Kaasalainen's asteroid model references
    - Database of Asteroid Models from Inversion Techniques (DAMIT)
    - Light Curve Inversion software from MPO
  - Near Earth Objects (NEOs)
    - NASA
    - Orbit animations
    - Automated searches: LINEAR | Spacewatch
    - Hohmann Transfer
      - Asteroid Risk Tables
      - Traffic Report
  - Spin vectors tabulated by the Poznan Observatory
  - Spacecraft encounters with asteroids:
    - Rosetta flyby of 21 Lutetia (7/10/2010)
    - Rosetta flyby of 2867 Steins (9/5/2008)
    - Hayabusa sample return 25143 Itokawa (Nov. 2005)
    - Stardust flyby of 5535 Annefrank (11/2/2002)
    - Deep Space 1 flyby of 9969 Braille (7/29/1999)
    - NEAR Shoemaker touchdown on (433) Eros (2/12/2001)
    - NEAR Shoemaker flyby of 253 Mathilde (6/27/1997)
    - Galileo flyby of 243 Ida (8/28/1993)
    - Galileo flyby of 951 Gaspra (10/29/1991)
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Uranus
  - Uranus Viewer 2.0
- Neptune
  - Neptune Viewer 2.0
- Pluto and trans-Neptunian objects
  - New Horizons spacecraft (2006 launch)
  - Occultations: 18 March 2007; 25 August 2008
  - Current plot of the Outer Solar System
- Comets
  - Comets (from Sky & Telescope Magazine)
  - Deep Space 1: flight to Comet Borrelly
Extrasolar planets
- The extrasolar planets encyclopedia
- Pulsar planets: Penn State
Stars
- All Sky Automated Survey
- X-ray stars: XTE Monitoring Project
- Spectroscopy: Digitized Spectral Data
- Pulsars: Introduction | Sounds
- Black holes FAQ
- Eclipsing Binary Predictions (by J. M. Kreiner)
- Stardial: A slice of sky over the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
- Skydot: Sky database for objects in Time-Domain (includes NSVS)
Astrometry
- Hipparcos astrometry satellite
- Where is that star? Positions of 526 million stars to within a quarter arcsecond from the USNO A2.0 catalog.
Spectroscopy
Nebula and Galaxies
- The Caldwell catalog (SEDS)
- The Messier Catalog
- Finest NGC objects: by Alan Dyer, by the Saguara Astronomy Club
- List of bright quasars
- Atlas of the Universe
Cosmology
- Cosmic Background Imager (CBI)
- Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
Physics:
- Light: Interference animations
- Special relativity
- Timekeeping: Definitions of astronomical times
Telescopes, NASA's Great Observatories:

Popular Magazines

EDUCATIONAL (including textbooks)

Institutions

American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
American Astronomical Society (AAS)
- Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS)
- Division on Dynamical Astronomy (DDA)
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP)
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO)
Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Society for Astronomical Sciences (SAS)
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Academic Resources

Journals
Data archives
- Asteroid Data Sets (from PDS Small Bodies Node)

Astronomical Data Center
CASTLES Gravitational Lens Database
Horizons, JPL's On-Line Solar System Data and Ephemeris Computation Service (Any Body - Anytime)
IRAS
NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED)
National Virtual Observatory
Planetary Rings Node
SIMBAD Astronomical Database
SkyView, a virtual observatory from HEASARC
VizieR catalog server
VLA Archive Database

Web resources
- AstroWeb (the most complete list of astronomical links available)
- Calendar of Academic Conferences
- Heliocentric Julian Day
- PERANSO (time series analysis software)
- StarHeads, Strasbourg listing of astronomical Web resources
- News group: sci.astro.research

Commercial products:

Apogee Instruments, Inc. (CCD Cameras, etc.)
ASCOM (Astronomy software standards [no cost])
Ash Manufacturing Company (Observatory domes, etc.)
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (posters, T-shirts, books, etc.)
Binary Maker 3.0 (simulation of binary star light curves)
Celestron (Telescopes, accessories)
COMSOFT (Telescope control software)
DC-3 Dreams (Astronomy control and analysis software)
DFM Engineering, Inc. (research telescopes)
Diffraction Limited (Maxim CCD software)
Jim's Mobile, Inc. (JMI) (Telescope Products: cases, focusers, etc.)
Learning Technologies, Inc. (Educational equipment from Project STAR)
Lumicon (Filters, etc.)
Meade (Telescopes, accessories)
Meridian Controls (computer controls)
Minor Planet Observer (data analysis software and books)
Observa-dome Labs., Inc. (Observatory domes, etc.)
Optec, Inc. (Filter wheels, telecompressors, temperature controlled focusers.)
Optical Guidance Systems (research telescopes)
Orion (telescopes, binoculars, accessories)
RegiStax (free image processing software)
Santa Barbara Instrument Group (CCD Cameras, etc.)
Sky & Telescope (publications, posters, etc.)
Software Bisque (Astronomy software; robotic telescope mounts)
Technical Innovations (Domes)
Tele Vue Optics, Inc. (Telescopes, eyepieces, etc.)
Van Slyke Engineering (Telescope accessories, versaport sliders)

Miscellaneous

History
- Benjamin Banneker
- Working Group for the History of Astronomy
- High Energy Astrophysics
- MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive (includes biographies of early astronomers and descriptions of mathematical astronomy)
- NASA Solar System Exploration
- The Nobel foundation
Astronomy Clubs
- Directory of Astronomy Clubs
- Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers
Women
- The Woman Astronomer
- Women in Astronomy

updated 10/24/2008 by L. Molnar