Physics

Astronomy Club Links

  • Wittenberg Astronomical Society on Facebook
    Joining our Facebook group is a great way to stay updated on the club's activities and share interesting astronomy news. Don't worry, we won't spam you with dozens of meaningless updates. :)

  • American Association of Amateur Astronomers
    Exactly what it sounds like. The site is written to be easy to understand, and the extensive FAQ covers topics from how to use a telescope to how to plan a star party.

  • American Association of Variable Star Observers
    This website has a variety of links leading to information about possible observing projects, variable stars, and charts.

  • American Astronomical Society
    The American Astronomical Society is a professional organization, but its site is accessible to the general public and may be interesting to those interested in pursuing a career in astronomy.

  • Astronomical Society of the Pacific
    The Astronomical Society of the Pacific works to link professional astronomers, amateurs, teachers, and the general public together. The society has general, technical, and student membership, and also publishes a non-technical astronomy magazine.

  • Moon Phase Calendar
    The calendar shows the phase of the moon for every day of the month. Set it to your current location and the month. The link defaults to the current month and Springfield, OH.

  • Astronomy Picture of the Day
    APOD features a different image of the universe each day, with a brief, easy-to-understand explanation written by a professional astronomer provided.

  • Bad Astronomy
    Bad Astronomy is a site devoted to debunking...bad astronomy. It includes sections on why there is no Planet X, why the moon landing is not a hoax, and the faulty premises in astrology. It also has Bitesize Astronomy, a collection of short articles on a variety of astronomical topics, and analysis of science in some popular TV shows and movies.

  • Clear Sky Clock (main page)
    The Clear Sky Clock uses data from the Canadian Meterological Center to predict the condition of the sky in order to help amateur astronomers judge when observing will be best. The link is set to the clock for the Champaign Star Gazers Observing Site, the site closest to Wittenberg, but other locations can be found by following the "main page" link above. Scroll down on the clock's page to learn how to read it.

  • The Zooniverse
    Help astronomers with real scientific research through the site's many projects. The site's original project, Galaxy Zoo, seeks to identify galaxies by asking users to categorize gorgeous Hubble galaxy images. Other projects include Solar Stormwatch, Planet Hunters, Ice Hunters, Milkyway Project, Moon Zoo, Understanding Cosmic Mergers, and The Hunt for Supernovae.

  • Stardust@Home
    Similar to the Zooniverse projects, Stardust@Home is a citizen science project that allows you to inspect microscope images of the aerogel collector used in the Stardust spacecraft, which returned samples of interstellar dust from beyond our solar system to Earth. By participating, you can help scientists locate these tiny dust particles so that they can be studied further.

  • Heavens Above
    Heavens Above provides a way to track satellites, including the International Space Station, in the night sky, by allowing you to enter your location to find detailed information about what will be passing above you and when. The site does have registration but it is not required.

  • The Hubble Heritage Project
    The Hubble Heritage Project creates extremely detailed images from data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope and displays the images in their online gallery. The site also includes information about how the images are created.

  • HubbleSite
    HubbleSite includes news about the Hubble, images taken by the Hubble, and a guide to the Hubble itself, as well as providing other astronomical information.

  • HubbleSite: Black Holes
    This subsite of the HubbleSite is a fascinating look at one of the most famous astronomical phenomena: the black hole.

  • An Introduction to Astronomical Photometry Using CCDs (PDF)
    This PDF is an extremely helpful guide to the CCD camera.

  • The Mars Society
    The Mars Society is focused mostly on encouraging future exploration of and travel to Mars, but includes current news on the site as well.

  • Official NASA Site
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration doesn't really need a description, does it?

  • The Nine 8 Planets This site features guides to each of the nine planets (now eight planets and one dwarf planet) and their moons, as well as other astronomical bodies in the solar system. It also includes information on how objects are named, names for the planets in different languages, and an overview of how the solar system formed.

  • Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
    Dedicated to educating the public about space development and exploration, this site also hosts a number of enormously informative subsites, including a Messier deep-sky catalog. These sites may be accessed by clicking "links" on the left-hand menu.

  • Systemic Challenge
    From the same concept that brought you SETI@home comes the Systemic Challenge, in which you try to match a curve to datapoints using premade dials. A match means you've identified a planetary system that could create observed changes in a star, and if you have the best match, you could win a star atlas. Click here for the main page.

  • The Quasar: The Witt Astronomy Club Blog
    It has meeting reports, observing session reports, and other club-related posts about our own astronomy club here at Witt. 

Unfortunately, we've misplaced the login information, so there will likely be no updates, but it's always fun to look back.

  • Ten Commandments of Amateur Astronomy
    Should the contents of the preceding links interest you to the point where you take up amateur astronomy yourself, keep these ten commandments in mind.

  • TransitSearch
    TransitSearch is remarkable for its valuable information on the extrasolar planets.

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