For more information about the topics discussed at this month's Observatory Open House events, follow the links below.

September 20th - Building the Universe at the National Air and Space Museum

• National Air & Space Museum
• Explore the Universe (exhibit)

Sept 5th - Have you seen the Milky Way?

• The Milky Way Galaxy (from SEDS)
• Multi Wavelength Milky Way

Aug 20th - Gravity, From Here to Eternity

• Gravity Probe B
• Exploring Gravity
• KC-135A Reduced Gravity Research Program (aka, the Vomit Comet)

Aug 5th - Looking at Other Wavelengths: A Survey of Astronomy Observatories from Radio to Gamma Rays

• The Electromagnetic Spectrum
• It takes more than one kind of telescope to see the light
• What you see is not what you get?

July 20th - Fasten Your Seatbelts! The Bumpy Ride to Star Formation

• Stellar Nurseries
• The Center for Star Formation Studies
• Dr. Ostriker's pub list

July 5th - The Problem with Mars

• The Mars Exploration web site has the latest on Mars and links to sites with information on Mars missions, pictures, science, kids and classroom pages, and much more, at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov.
• Center for Mars Exploration

June 20th - X-Rays and Gamma Rays on the Sun

• "The Sun in X-rays" - Evidence of solar X-rays.
• X-Rays - General reading on X-rays, touches on the presence of X-rays in the Sun.
• Solar Flares - Solar flares, X-rays, and gamma rays.
• Gamma-Rays - General overview of gamma rays.

There are numerous sites that contain beautiful and informative photographs and digital images of space. Some of our favorites...

• Astronomy Picture of the Day - one of our favorite web sites, there's a cool new image every day!
• Hubble Heritage Gallery - This site puts together some of the best images from the Hubble Space Telescope.
• UM Observatory Gallery - Gotta show off our own pics!

• Maryland Science Center
• US Naval Observatory
• National Air and Space Museum
• Goddard Space Flight Center Visitors' Center
• Howard B. Owens Science Center

We also have a detailed list of Local Astronomy Places.

• Introductory Level Astronomy Supplemental Pages - This site was put together by former UM Astronomy graduate students Scott and Kristen Miller as an online study aid for Astro 100 students. It contains basics information and online quizzes.
• Windows on the Universe - An online tutorial that allows the user to select an elementary, intermediate, or advanced level of explanation on virtually any topic related to astronomy.

These links lead to sites that contain computer simulations of astronomical concepts.

• Astronomy Workshop - This web site was put together under the direction of Dr. Douglas P. Hamilton of the University of Maryland Astronomy Department.
• 3-D Comet Impact Simulations - This site, put together by Sandia Labs, show time elapsed animated simulations of major impact events on the Earth.
• Virtual Lab Physics Applets - The University of Oregon makes a number of interesting applets for use in physics, astronomy and environmental science courses available on this site.
• Orion Nebula Fly Through - This movie provides a three dimensional look at the Orion Nebula. It was put together using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and other sources by Robert O'Dell of Vanderbilt and W.J. Henney of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Deep Impact - This exciting mission is being run out of the University of Maryland Astronomy Department by Principal Investigator Dr. Michael A'Hearn!

• NASA's Discovery Program - This site contains information about NASA's Discovery Program and its many missions.
• Astrobiology@NASA NASA's program to look for life in the universe.
• NASA's Space Interferometry Mission Page This site contains information about space interferometry, what it is, and how it will be used scientifically.
• StarLight, the first flying interferometer
• Terrestrial Planet Finder This mission is designed to look for Earth-like planets around other stars.
• Deep Space 1. The mission launched from Cape Canaveral on October 24, 1998 and tested 12 advanced, high-risk technologies in space.

  This link takes you to the central clearing house for NASA educational materials.

• Deep Impact's Education Resources - The mission has two activities developed and more in the works.
• UM Astronomy Resources - although geared for the TAs in the UM Astronomy Department, there are some hints and ideas that other astronomy teachers might find useful.

• Deep Impact - a NASA Discovery mission led by UM astronomy professor Dr. Mike A'Hearn!
• Gary W. Kronk's Comets and Meteor Showers - Good resource for times and locations of visible comets and meteors.
• Comet Observation Home Page
• Comets from 'Views of the Solar System' - A good start for learning about comets.
• North America Meteor Network
• International Meteor Organization
• American Meteor Society

• Sky and Telescope Magazine - the online version of one of the top amateur astronomy magazines.
• Astronomy.com - Astronomy magazine's online presence
• Scientific American - The online version of this magazine often contains articles on astronomy as well as other sciences.
• Science@NASA - NASA's science news site
• Space.com - the latest in space and space exploration news