It seems to me that a familiarity with Astronomy is vital to any scientist. It is perhaps the oldest science and has influenced Mathematics, Physics, and Religions around the world. Most ancient mathematicians by trade were astronomers. More importantly, stargazing was perhaps the starting point for humans asking the question "why". I was first exposed to stargazing at age 10 by my uncle, a sailor. From then on, I began reading and observing. Astronomy opened my eyes to science at a young age.
Special Thanks
A special thanks goes out to Attilla Danko at ClearDarkSky for creating the "Wells Observing Site" clear sky chart.
Topics
Here are some topics of astronomy that I am interested in:
- Amateur Radio Astronomy
- Eyepiece Projection Astrophotography
- Light Pollution Advocacy
- Lunar, Planetary, and Deep-Sky Object Observing
- Naked Eye Astronomy
- Software for Astronomy
- Space Exploration Advocacy
- Telescope Operation
Upcoming Events
Here are some upcoming astronomical events:
Picture of the Day
Provided by APOD.
Related Links
- Amateur Astronomy Guide: Listing of local astronomy clubs
- APOD: Picture of the day from NASA
- Astronomy Magazine: An astronomy magazine
- Celestron
- ClearDarkSky: Forecasts of astronomical observing conditions
- DarkSiteFinder.com: Light pollution maps
- ESA: The European Space Agency website
- Heavens-Above: Information on satellites
- HubbleSite: Hubble space telescope news releases
- International Dark-Sky Association: Light pollution advocacy organization
- Light Pollution Map: Light pollution maps
- NASA: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration website
- NASA's Radio JOVE Project: Radio telescope kits for solar, Jovian, and galactic observing
- Orion Telescopes & Binoculars
- PSC Planetarium and Space Theatre: Planetarium in Pensacola, FL
- Sky & Telescope: An astronomy magazine
- Space Frontier Foundation: American space advocacy group
- SpaceWeather.com: Sun-Earth environment information
- Star Gazers: Weekly 5 minute PBS television series on naked eye astronomy
- Stellarium Web: Online planetarium
- The Astronomy League: Amateur Astronomy interest organization
- The Planetary Society: Space exploration interest organization
- Universe Today: Astronomy news
Related Software
Astronomy Picture of the Day
: APOD homescreen wallpaper
Celestia: Space 3D simulator; and Add-ons- KStars: Desktop planetarium
- Lux Lite: Auto brightness solution, include red Astronomy mode
- Marble: Virtual globe, includes Earth, the Moon, Venus, Mars and other planets
Stellarium: Very realistic desktop planetarium- Xplanet: Planetary and solar system image renderer
Also...
Visit ##astronomy on Freenode, nick bigmalletman.