A FEW
GOOD
WEBSITES

BAD ASTRONOMY (www.badastronomy.com)

Astronomer Philip Plait of Sonoma State University reviews space-related news, movies, etc. and gives us the real scoop on common astronomical misperceptions. Check out "The Pantry" for a FAQ of "bite-size astronomy" articles; put together, they make a nice introductory text.

HEAVENS ABOVE (www.heavens-above.com)

Provides sky-charts and times of satellite, space station and shuttle fly-bys at your location. Free registration required.

SEDS: Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (http://www.seds.org/)

Nice "Nine Planets Solar System Tour" plus a Messier Object index with descriptions and directions, and constellation maps with descriptions of the deep-sky objects found in each constellation.

SKY & TELESCOPE (www.skyandtelescope.com)

From the publishers of the magazine. Take a look at their "Observing" section for up-to-date highlights and skymaps and the "Celestial Objects" section for a listing of objects, how to find them, and pretty pictures of them.

For great photos and images, check out:

NASA Image Exchange (http://nix.nasa.gov/)
Hubble Space Telescope Gallery (http://hubble.stsci.edu/gallery/)
Astronomy Picture of the Day (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/)

The Stars: A New Way To See Them by H.A. Rey

This is a fine introduction to naked-eye astronomy for both adults and children. Rey draws the constellations as easy-to-recognize stick figures, gives clear directions for finding all 88, and even provides practice charts. He also has good explanations of the real and apparent motions of planets and stars.
    (You may recognize Rey and his drawings from his children's book series Curious George.)

The Binocular Stargazer: A Beginner's Guide to Exploring the Sky by Leslie H. Peltier

A concise guide to finding a variety of deep-sky objects, binary stars and other points of interest visible with binoculars, arranged season-by-season.

Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson

A spiral-bound field guide / handbook to observing sky objects with both telescopes and binoculars, with practical advice for the urban star-gazer.

Turn Left at Orion: A Hundred Night Sky Objects to See in a Small Telescope--and How to Find Them by Guy Consolmagno

Another excellent beginner's guide to observing the sky with binoculars or telescope.

Rose City Astronomers (http://www.rca-omsi.org/)

Portland's astronomy club. RCA runs star parties, has informational programs for both kids and adults at the general meetings, and operates a telescope library as well as a book/video library.

Mount Hood Community College Planetarium (www.starstuff.com)

Astronomical Society of the Pacific (http://www.astrosociety.org/)

Society for both amateur and professional astronomers. Publishes Mercury.

National Space Society (http://www.nss.org/)

Nonprofit society "dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization."