Astronomy Resources for Learning & Research

In summary, most of the sites here are not very helpful for learning astrophysics, but they are amazingly useful for learning more about astronomy in general.
  • #1
Simfish
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Most of the sites here aren't very helpful for learning astrophysics. However, they are amazingly useful for learning more about astronomy in general (and many cover far more than what you will find in any book or textbook)

http://www.solstation.com/ - amazing amounts of detail for many stars

http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/sowlist.html

http://www.astro.princeton.edu/universe/

http://www.3dgalaxymap.com/

http://galaxymap.org/drupal/node/23 - amazing maps

For site discovery, this really helps: http://www.google.com/search?q=related:solstation.com (or just google related:[domain address for any astronomy website you really like])

Blogs:

http://www.google.com/reader/shared/user/10516082170111880850/label/!astro - My astronomy blogroll - note that I tend to be more into the technical side and less into the popular side of astro so you won't see "Bad Astronomy" in there.

Basically, for the technically inclined (but not overly so), some of the best blogs are at http://invaderxan.livejournal.com/, http://www.centauri-dreams.org/, http://lifeunbounded.blogspot.com/, http://exoplanetology.blogspot.com/, http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/, http://blogs.zooniverse.org/galaxyzoo/, and http://oklo.org/.

Crowdsourcing astronomy: (the stuff you do is very basic, but the papers are quite technical)

http://www.galaxyzoo.org/

Link Directories:

http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/links.html

http://www.reddit.com/r/astro (reddits also have their own discussions, and are very up-to-date)

http://www.reddit.com/r/space

http://www.reddit.com/r/astronomy

http://www.delicious.com/tag/astronomy (huge numbers of links, some very nice, many trivial. But at least very up-to-date [like reddit])

Also, a very interesting way to see the more interesting discussions is to arrange them in order from "most replies" to "least replies". Here are some examples:

https://www.physicsforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=68&daysprune=-1&order=desc&sort=replycount

http://www.reddit.com/r/Astronomy/top/

Very basic tutorials:

http://donald.phast.umass.edu/~arny/indextut.html

http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/anamunn/Astro500/tutorials_astro101.html

Others:

http://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/index.htm - not much astro, but really amazing for fields necessary for astro
 
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http://www.astro.columbia.edu/~arlin/ASTROTOOLS/astrotools.html => Departmental Tools - very nice list of lots of astro tools

http://www.astro.washington.edu/astrotools.html => another list of tools, but not as comprehensive as above
 
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This is so great :) Thanks Simfish.
 
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Amazing planetary science lecture slides:
http://lasp.colorado.edu/~bagenal/3750/
 
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Any youtube or open courseware video lectures on there for teaching Stellar Astronomy?
 
  • #21
Simfish said:
Amazing planetary science lecture slides:
http://lasp.colorado.edu/~bagenal/3750/
I would like to say Thanks for sharing such a nice video. What a superb collection.
 

1. What is the best way to get started in astronomy?

The best way to get started in astronomy is to familiarize yourself with the night sky. This can be done by observing with the naked eye or using a pair of binoculars. You can also start by reading introductory books or taking online courses to learn about the basic concepts and terminology of astronomy.

2. What are some reliable online resources for learning about astronomy?

Some reliable online resources for learning about astronomy include NASA's website, which offers educational materials, images, and videos. Other websites such as Space.com and Astronomy.com also provide up-to-date news, articles, and resources for learning about astronomy.

3. How can I find a local astronomy club or group to join?

To find a local astronomy club or group, you can start by checking with your local planetarium or observatory. You can also search online for astronomy clubs in your area or join online communities and forums dedicated to astronomy. Attending star parties or events hosted by these groups can also be a great way to meet other amateur astronomers and learn from their experiences.

4. Are there any free tools or software for conducting astronomy research?

Yes, there are several free tools and software available for conducting astronomy research. Some examples include Stellarium, a free planetarium software, and Aladin, a tool for analyzing astronomical images. NASA also offers many free resources and data sets for conducting research, such as the Virtual Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope archive.

5. What are some recommended books for learning about astronomy?

Some recommended books for learning about astronomy include "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan, "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking, and "The Universe in a Nutshell" by Neil deGrasse Tyson. You can also check with your local library or bookstore for other popular books on astronomy and astrophysics.

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