Astronomy

Explore outer space or look at pictures of Mars. Find out about the planets and the solar system. You can even learn about black holes!

Resources in this category:

Aboriginal Star Knowledge: Native American Astronomy
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/stars/starmenu.html

What do the stars mean to Native Americans? This is the place to find out.

Amazing Space
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/

Interactive activities on topics like comets, stars, black holes, the solar system, and the Hubble Space Telescope with its amazing multimedia gallery. The site is organized into four areas: Online explorations, The Star Witness News, Capture the cosmos, and Homework help. Requires Java.

Astronomy for Kids
http://www.frontiernet.net/~kidpower/astronomy.html

Fun facts about the sun, moon, stars, comets, and planets. There are lots of pictures of things in space that you can't see without special instruments.

Astronomy Picture of the Day
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

You can see today's picture or browse through previous pictures of the day. Great resource for photographs of space!

The Big Picture: Jupiter's Rings Discoveries
http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/content/science/space/jupiter.h...

A guide to many places on the Web where you can learn about the planet Jupiter and its rings, with links to current news stories about Jupiter's Rings.

Bradford Robotic Telescope
http://www.telescope.org/

Anyone on the Internet can access this telescope and ask it to look at anything in the northern night sky! The Web doesn't get more hands-on than this!

Build a Solar System
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/solar_system/

This site will help you build your own accureately scaled model of our solar system.

Earth and Moon Viewer
http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/vplanet.html

Come and see the earth in a whole new way--from the moon. This and other really cool ways to look at the earth at Earth Viewer. (Warning: Some of the pictures take a while to load. Be patient!)

EARTH: The Living Planet
http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?content_spotlight/earth

Learn all about Earth, including its history, climate changes, and the people who study it.

Exploring the Planets
http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/ceps/etp/etp.htm

This site "highlights the history and achievements of planetary explorations, both Earth-based and by spacecraft."

An Inquirer's Guide to the Universe
http://www.fi.edu/planets/

Investigate planets and the universe through a list of science facts and science fiction ideas. In addition, an imaginary planet gallery allows users to explore planets, and the space story studios and portfolios provide opportunities for writing and reading about stories created at this website.

Life Beyond Earth
http://www.pbs.org/lifebeyondearth/

"Join in the search for life beyond Earth: Take a drive on the Highway Through Time to learn how life began here on Earth. Explore what scientists call The Habitable Zone as you search for life within the solar system. And look into the future to see what a Terraforming project might involve."

Live from the Hubble Space Telescope
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/hst/

Look at pictures of the planets, stars, and gallaxies in the Image Gallery. You can read about the things you've seen too.

Man on the Moon
http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/moon/

Read about the first man on the moon, look at tons of photos, and watch some historic videos.

Mars Madness
http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5579/

Learn all about Mars from this site created by a team of six elementary school students from Hawaii. Learning has never been so much fun -- quizes, puzzles, games, and more! The site also includes a lesson plan for Teachers.

MARS: Exploring the Red Planet
http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?content_spotlight/mars

"World Book editors have compiled a collection of articles about the planet Mars, including efforts to explore the Martian atmosphere and surface, and prospects for sending humans to the planet."

NASA Glenn Learning Technologies Project
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/index.html

This website provides teachers and students with aerospace technology resources through lessons and activities, free simulations, student videoconferencing, a glossary of related terms, and educator workshops.

NASA Observatorium
http://observe.arc.nasa.gov/nasa/core.shtml.html

"NASA's Observatorium is a public access site for Earth and space data. We have pictures of the Earth, planets, stars, and other cool stuff, as well as the stories behind those images."

NASA Quest
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/index.html

Learn about what it takes to fly in outer space. You can read about the typical work day of several NASA employees or watch videos on a variety of topics. You can also explore the solar system and deep space on this NASA site.

NASA's Solar System Exploration: Kids
http://www.solarsystem.nasa.gov/kids/index.cfm

Explore the Solar System... through your computer! From fun facts to cool games, from pictures and models to create, you'll find everything you're looking for about the solar system at this cool website!

NOVA Online--Hunt for Alien Worlds
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worlds/

Are there other solar systems besides our own? How do planets begin? Is there life on other planets? Scientists explore the answers to these questions and more. And, you can become a stargazer! This site tells you how. Includes a star map, "how to find the planets," and a guide to some of the constellations. Based on a program originally aired on PBS' NOVA television series.

OLogy
http://www.ology.amnh.org/

"OLogy means "the study of." And here on the American Museum of Natural History's OLogy Web site, you can study and explore many cool OLogies." You can learn about Volcanology (volcanoes), Arachnology (spiders), Astrology (planets and stars), and much more.

Sea and Sky
http://www.seasky.org/

Sea and Sky features image galleries, games, articles, and links to other resources on the Internet, all relating to astronomy and oceanography.

SKY Tonight
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/

Almost everything you need to know about astronomy is listed right here at this site. Are you interested in getting astronomy software for your computer, or are you more likely to look at stars in your back yard? Either way, this site has something for you!

Sky Watch
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/skywatch/index....

Learn about the stars and the night sky on this site from the Discovery Channel.

Solar Eclipse
http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/

Learn about solar eclipses: what causes them and how to view one safely.

Solar System Simulator
http://samadhi.jpl.nasa.gov/

The Solar System Simulator will show you a picture of any planet or moon as it would look if you were standing on another planet or traveling with one of the NASA space probes.

Space and Astronomy for Kids
http://space.about.com/od/educationastronomyspace/a/kidsastr...

This site will help you use the Internet to learn fun things about space and space travel, including the Moon, the Solar System, and People in Space.

The Space Place
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/

You can make spacey things, or do spacey things, or read about amazing facts at this website. You could make a Super Sound Cone, or launch a spacecraft from a merry-go-round, or play the Intergalactic Adventures board game. It's neat!

Space.com
http://www.space.com/

This is "your place for space" - Play space games, ask questions, send postcards, vote in the weekly poll, and check out space news. Don't forget to check out the pictures from the EarthKAM, taken by kids like you!

SpaceBuffs
http://www.spacebuffs.com/

Want to learn more about outer space? Find pictures, news, and facts about space exploration, planets, stars, and galaxies. Join in discussions with other people who love space.

Star Journey
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/stars/

"View the nighttime sky using National Geographic’s popular Star Chart, now with overlays of Hubble Space Telescope images. Visit our Star Attractions highlights of the heavens or take a look at the Hubble Space Telescope itself using our model and guide. Take charge of the telescope and plot your own course through the cosmos."

StarChild: A learning center for young astronomers
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html

"A learning center for young astronomers." NASA provides information, games, and trivia about the planets and the universe.

The Nine Planets: A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System
http://www.nineplanets.org/

A multimedia tour of the solar system. Contains photos, information and data for not only the planets, but their moons and other astronomical bodies, such as comets and asteroids.

The Virtual Sun
http://www.michielb.nl/sun/

Journey to the sun and learn about our nearest star and its relationship to Earth. A slide tour offers factual information and lots of graphics.

Virtual Trips to Black Holes and Neutron Stars
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/rjn_bht.html

Take a trip to a black hole, or a neutron star, or a white dwarf star that is in strict adherence to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Explanatory texts are set at the undergraduate level, but the tours are the show.

Windows to the Universe Kids Space
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/

Doing a report about a planet, or just interested in astronomy? This is the place for you. Lots of information, and fun stuff like coloring pages too. Plus, the information is available at three different levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) so you can pick the one that's right for you.

Women of NASA
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/intro.html

Do you want to know more about the women who work for NASA? This site has interviews, profiles, and even chat times that let you have your questions answered by NASA's female scientists and astronauts -- live! Some documents and interviews are also available in Spanish.

Your Weight on Other Worlds
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/index.html

Would you like to know what you would weigh on Jupiter, Mars, or the Moon? Visit this site and find out.

Zoom Astronomy
http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/subjects/astronomy/

Learn all about the planets, stars, comets, astronauts, and other topics related to the solar system. With an Astronomy Dictionary and fun classroom activities, including interactive puzzels and a solar system tutorial, a wide variety of information is provided.