Interesting Links and Material to Help You Out
(see also Comments after Lectures which is a separate
webpage!)
GENERAL ASTRONOMY TOOLS (courtesy of UMD's own Professor Doug
Hamilton) Most of these will open up in a new window
-
Computer Programs for use in ASTR330. Practice scientific
notation and working with equations. Learn about astronomical
distances and giant impacts!
-
More Computer Programs for use in ASTR330.
Watch the planets move around the Sun on their actual orbits! Follow
this link to the Inner Solar System and Outer Solar
System animations.
-
Even More Computer Programs for use in ASTR330.
Check out the orbits of all the known moons of the planets in our
Solar System!
-
Astronomy Picture of the Day This site is updated daily and
has a nice archive of pretty astronomy images.
- Interactive Sky Chart at Sky and Telescope's
website. You can use my email and password (apeel@umd.edu, astro330)
to launch it.
SOLAR SYSTEM
- Welcome to
the Planets Information about planets and spaceprobes from JPL.
- A Tour
of the Solar System This page contains information about the planets,
satellites, asteroids, comets, and Solar System related topics.
- Spacewatch
This page contains information about this program which searches for
near Earth objects.
- The Kuiper Belt In 1993, the first small
asteroid-like body was discovered
beyond the orbit of Pluto. Now there are
hundreds
thousands of known Kuiper Belt
Objects, some larger than Pluto itself!
- Mars!
NASA has a very strong dedicated Mars program. Read about the latest
results from
multiple missions. The surface rovers Spirit and Opportunity are still
going strong.
- The
Galileo
Spacecraft Galileo completed its historic mission to
Jupiter and crashed into the giant planet in September 2003 -
find out more about the mission and its discoveries!
- The Cassini
Spacecraft Cassini is currently orbiting Saturn and is making
exciting discoveries about the planet, its rings, and its satellites.
- Dawn spacecraft site
Dawn entered orbit around 4 Vesta in July 2011! First visit to a major (fourth
discovered, hence "4" Vesta; 2nd most massive after Ceres) asteroid - headed
to Ceres later on.
- New Horizons site
New Horizons is half way to Pluto (a dwarf planet now). Should get
there around 2015 (launched in 2006, gravity assist from Jupiter in 2007).
After visiting the binary dwarf planet Pluto/Charon, it will head out into
the Kuiper belt! Discoveries await.
- COOL NEWS ABOUT HOW STARS
"SEED" METALS FOR NEW STARS!!! See article on how Mira seems to
shmear out useful material for the next generation of solar systems!