Internet Links

Here are a selection of useful astronomical links that are recommended by the Stratford upon Avon Astronomical Society (we don't link swap). If there is an astronomical web site or forum that you think should be included, please use the Feedback form, or Contact us. We link to sites that we think will be of interest to our members or other amateur astronomers.

Please note that there are many more links, specific to particular content, dotted around the website. Many of these are to be found in the Light Pollution, Tonight's Observing Prospects, Observing Under Light Polluted Skies and Software sections.


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Contents


Amateur Societies

  • Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society – www.bmas.org

    We're not the only Stratford Astronomical Society. There's also one in Connecticut.

  • Coventry and Warwickshire Astronomical Society – www.covastro.org.uk

    Another astronomical society in the Warwickshire region.

  • Rugby and District Astronomical Society – www.rugbyastro.org.uk

    Another astronomical society in the Warwickshire region.

  • The Federation of Astronomical Societies – www.fedastro.org.uk   

    The FAS is a UK wide organisation to which almost all groups including the Stratford upon Avon Astronomical Society belong. Their site contains a very useful List of Member Societies, grouped by region.

  • The Hanwell Community Observatory – www.hanwellobservatory.org.uk

    The Hanwell Observatory is based near Banbury. Although a separate organisation, many of their members are also members of the Stratford upon Avon Astronomical Society. They are currently building a 75cm reflecting telescope.


Astronomical Companies

  • Celestron – www.celestron.com

    Manufacturer of telescopes.

  • Graystel Software – members.aol.com/graystel

    Publishers of Graystel Star Atlas 3 and The Graystel Astrophotography CD.

  • Meade – www.meade.com

    Manufacturer of telescopes, in particular the popular LX-200 computer controlled Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.

  • Skymap Software – www.skymap.com

    Authors of Sky Map 7, a planetarium program. A freeware version is available for download in which all but the brightest 30,000 stars out of 15,000,000 have been removed from its database.

  • Russian TAL Telescopes – www.telescopes.ru

    Makers of a range of cheap, but good quality telescopes.

  • Southern Stars Software – www.southernstars.com

    Creators of Sky Chart 3, a planetarium and space simulation application. Available for download is a freeware demonstration version in which save and export functions have been disabled.

  • Web Cam Adaptor – webcaddy.com.au/astro/adapter.htm

    Makers of adaptors for connecting webcams to telescopes.


Observation

  • The Faulkes Telescope Project - www.faulkes-telescope.com    

    An exciting new project that will allow students in schools and colleges in the United Kingdom, Hawaii and Australia to make astronomical observations with research class telescopes, direct from the classroom via the Internet.

  • BBC Weather Centre – www.bbc.co.uk/weather   

    Up to the minute weather information.

  • The Collimation – perso.club-internet.fr/legault/collim.html

    An excellent guide to Collimating telescopes.

  • Comets and Meteor Showers – comets.amsmeteors.org

    A guide to Comet and Meteor spotting, with plenty of up to date information.

  • The Planets – www.cpac.freeserve.co.uk/docs/solar.htm

    Java applet on Castle Point Astronomy Club's website, showing the positions of the planets and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

  • Quickcam and Unconventional Imaging Astronomy Group – www.qcuiag.co.uk

    Meeting point for amateur astronomers using webcams as image detectors. The organisation also has a Yahoo Group.

  • The Salopian Web – www.r-clarke.org.uk   

    This site contains general astronomical content such as information about all the constellations, advice for telescope buyers and a dictionary. It also contains current information including that on currently visible planets, upcoming meteor showers and sky maps.

  • Variable Stars Sky Survey – www.sky-survey.com   

    The Poor Meadow Dyke Sky Survey is an amateur project to search for long period variable stars and other interesting objects. It uses a homemade drift scanning camera to image objects down to 15th magnitude. An online archive of data is available as are email alerts of interesting objects for further investigation.


Further Links


Magazines and TV Programs

  • Astronomy Magazine – www.astronomy.com   

    The website of Astronomy Magazine is home to news, Discussion Forums and more.

  • Astronomy Now – www.astronomynow.com   

    The website of Britain's best selling astronomy magazine. Although the magazine contents isn't available online, there is much to see on the website, and its Spaceflight Now sister site.

  • BBC Space – www.bbc.co.uk/science/space

    Home to all BBC science programs about space, including The Sky at Night, which has been broadcast since the 50's.

  • Christopher Riley – www.chris-riley.com

    Writer, broadcaster and film maker specialising in science and history of science. Producer of the BBC's "Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets".

  • New Scientist – www.newscientist.com

    Although New Scientist is a general science magazine, they often run articles about astronomy. Much of the contents of the magazine can be read for free online.

  • Scientific American – www.sciam.com

    Scientific American is a general science magazine that often has articles about astronomy. It can be read online for free.

  • Sky and Telescope – www.skyandtelescope.com   

    The worlds best selling astronomy magazine. Their website is home to a huge resource of astronomical information.


Miscellaneous

  • AstroPlace – www.astroplace.com

    Astronomy news and information. Includes a worldwide listing of astronomical societies and observatories.

  • Atmospheric Optics  – www.sundog.clara.co.uk/atoptics/phenom.htm

    Comprehensive explanation of atmospheric optical phenomena such as halos, sun dogs and rainbows. Free software is available for download to simulate rainbows and ice halos.

  • Aurora Watch – www.aurorawatch.york.ac.uk

    Information about Aurorae, and the changes in the earths magnetic field that can be used to predict them. Includes up to the date information about the earths magnetic field, and instructions on making your own magnetometer.

  • Bad Astronomy – www.badastronomy.com   

    A fascinating site dedicated to debunking both popular misconceptions of astronomy and astronomical conspiracy theories. A huge range of topic are covered, including astrology, claims that the Apollo moon landings were faked and errors in science fiction films.

  • The International Astronomical Union – www.iau.org

    The IAU is an organisation promoting astronomy worldwide. It is the only organisation with the authority to name astronomical objects and opposes the various Star Naming companies run by charlatans who falsely claim otherwise.

  • Marcus Chown – ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/MChown

    Home page of astronomical broadcaster and author, Marcus Chown.

  • The National Schools Observatory – www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk

    An exciting project to make professional grade telescopes that are robotically controlled available to schools and colleges.

  • Students for the Exploration and Development of Space – www.seds.org   

    An organisation advocating space exploration. Their website includes Discussion Forums and extensive astronomical resources. Of particular interest is their Nine Planets tour of the solar system.

  • Space – www.space.com   

    An online magazine devoted to Astronomy and Spaceflight.


Newsgroups


Space Flight

  • The European Space Agency – www.esa.int

    Although they receive far less publicity than NASA, the European Space Agency is behind many famous space missions, including the Huygens Titan lander accompanying the Cassini spacecraft to Saturn.

  • NASA – www.nasa.gov   

    NASA, the American space agency have got one of the largest sites on the Internet, split into literally thousands of smaller, though in many cases still huge sites. Some of the most interesting sites from an astronomical point of view are those of the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Cassini mission to Saturn, Mars Exploration, the Hubble Space Telescope and The Astronomy Picture of the Day.

  • Space Daily – www.spacedaily.com   

    Online Magazine devoted to Space Flight and Technology.