"An online 1.9 gigabyte astronomical server"
A textbook approach to how space vehicles actually work.
Beginning with an overview of the solar system, with planetary statistics and distances, the course proceeds through celestial mapping and timekeeping to the physics involved in spave travel. This is all presented in short, easily digested segments and test questions. If working onscreen is too irksome (not to mention costly) you can download a Postscript or Adobe Acrobat file containing the entire workbook.
The Center for Mars Exploration (CMEX) WWW server is constantly being updated Mars missions are still a number one priority at NASA and over the next decade new technologies and smaller, cheaper, faster spacecraft will continue robotic exploration of the Red Planet. Here you will find a Martian global map, just click on any area for more details of Mars missions, past and future, a colour rotating MPEG of Mars and hundreds of photographs.
On July 23, 1995, an unusually bright comet outside of Jupiter's orbit was discovered independently by Alan Hale, New Mexico and Thomas Bopp, Arizona. The new comet, designated C/1995 O1, is the farthest comet ever discovered by amateurs and appeared 1000 times brighter than Comet Halley did at the same distance. Normally, comets are inert when they are beyond the orbit of Jupiter, so it has been speculated that Comet Hale-Bopp is either a rather large comet or experienced a bright outburst. As the comet approaches the Sun, its brightness should increase even more. Anticipation is high that in early 1997, the new comet may be the brightest naked eye comet since Comet West in 1976. Astronomers warn however, that it is still possible that Comet Hale-Bopp may fizzle out, and could follow the way of past disappointments such as Comet Kohoutek (1973) and Comet Austin (1990). On the other hand, Comet Hale-Bopp may put on a dazzling celestial show to Earth observers. Only time will tell.
This site contains photographs, computer simulations and animations of the effect of the collision between comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and the planetJupiter. There are links to other Shoemaker-Levy sites and general comet sites.
It is intended that the comet portion will assist the casual and serious observer by providing not only accurate positions of each currently visible comet, but on-line star charts as well, which can be printed and taken out with your telescope and/or binoculars......Some of the more interesting historical comets will also be included, as well as a table that will eventually give information on every periodic comet.
The Meteor Shower portion is centered around the 1988 book Meteor Showers: A Descriptive Catalog. The book has been divided into months and each meteor shower has its own page.
"The Cydonia Zone is a dynamic page of links focusing on the Cydonia Mensae region on Mars. The goal of this page is to provide access to the wealth of information surrounding this controversial topic. This page serves as a starting point to links throughout the web and the world."
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an international organization composed of 14 Member States which aims to "provide for and to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation among European States in space research and technology and their space applications, with a view to their being used for scientific purposes and operational space applications systems."
At this site you will find an overview of ESA's role in the space programme, information on the various sites and personnel, and details of all ESA flights. You can download a 5.5mb set of slides, together with a viewer, for later perusal.
With the collapse of the Communist regime in Eastern Europe, the old hostilities between the Eastern bloc and the US have begun to thaw. This site is part of a new information service called 'Friends and Partners', and jointly developed by the USA and Russia, traces the development of the seperate NASA and Russian Space Agency (RKA) programmes and their recent joint ventures, such as the spectacular Shuttle/Mir space docking. There are images and mission details of current and future joint ventures, a FAQ list, links to other sites, and regular space reports.
Check out the latest news on the NASA Today page, use the NASA Centers page to find out about individual NASA space centres, visit the Gallery for thousands of high-quality space related images, video and sound clips. The sheer volume of information presented here makes it a must-visit site.
A large collection of planetary and astronomical objects including asteroids, comets, galaxies, globular clusters, nebulae, stars and exotic objects.
This service, developed as a collaboration between NASA's Planetary Data System Imaging Node, the Solar System Visualization Project, and JPL's Public Information Office, is designed to provide you with easy access to the publicly released images from various Solar System exploration programs.
The Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter on December 7, 1995, and fired its main engine for 49 minutes for a successful orbit capture around Jupiter. On the same day, Galileo's atmospheric probe plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere, and relayed information on the structure and composition of the solar system's largest planet. The spacecraft's orbiter will spend the next two years orbiting the giant planet, studying Jupiter and its moons, and returning a steady stream of images and scientific data. Galileo has now made its encounter with Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede
The home of the Shuttle. Data, photographs and videos from previous missions, and a constantly updated countdown clock to the next one.
Regularly updated, this site has only one function - to itemise dates and times of all events connected with space. You will find planned launches, astronomical discoveries and events, eclipses, etc. In addition, there is a vast amount of information on recent celestial events and an 'on this day' feature.
A huge online collection of space animations with a lot more on the way.
You will find movies in various file formats of:
Apollo missions
DCX-Y project
Future missions
Kennedy speeches at Rice University
Lunar probes
Meteorology
Satellites, rockets and space probes
Science-Fiction
Shoemaker-Levy
Solar eclipses
Solar system bodies
Space
Star Trek
STS-67 Astro 2 Endeavor mission
STS-69 Spartan 201 Endeavor mission
STS-71 Mir-Atlantis encounter
STS-73 US Microgravity Laboratory Columbia mission
A proposal currently being considered by NASA is STARDUST - a mission to fly a craft within approximately 100 kilometres (62 miles) of the comet Wild-2 in 2003 to collect cometary dust. This site will be interesting to watch if the STARDUST proposal is adopted.
"The emphasis here is on aesthetics, not science. While there is a little information to help you appreciate the images this is not a tutorial on the astronomy of nebulae. If these images inspire you to study stellar evolution that's great, but my intent is primarily to showcase a part of Nature's beauty that is accessable to us only via the telescope."