Astronomy is currently one of the most interesting and dynamic of today's sciences. It is still in developement, and will always be expanding as our view of the universe changes with new tools and opportunities. So take a chance and learn something new with some of my favorites below.
Websites
Astronomy Now- Astronomy news, plus archive
Astronomy Picture of the Day- A new picture every day, plus a huge image archive
Ad Astra- A collection of space images some friends and I have taken
*Celestia- Free program similar to Google Earth, but for the whole universe-- one of my favorite programs
Custer Institute- Observatory on the island
Dark Sky's Resources- Website dedicated to reducing light pollution, with resources on light pollution
***Heavens Above- vital astronomy information (username: hhhastroclub password: astro)
Hubble Site- Great image archive
Official Kopernik Website- Observatory upstate near Binghamton with an awesome summer camp
Robert Gendler's Astropics- Gallery of amateur astrophotography by quite a professional amateur
SAVE KOPERNIK- Help Kopernik, in just 30 seconds-- another site by me
SPACE NEWS- Latest space news
SpaceWeather.com: Current info on the Sun, and other changing space conditions
Lectures
Lectures broken up into smaller pieces of the same lecture for hosting purposes. May take a minute or so to load.
John Dobson, 10/7/06- 1, 2, 3, 4- The original amatuer astronomer, at 91 years old
Kenneth Lanzetta, PhD, 10/21/06- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5- Lecture about cosmology by an observational astropysicist and professor in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy at SUNY Stony Brook. Click here for my notes from his lecture.
Robert Gendler MD, 10/21/06- 1, 2, 3- Dentist by day, astrophotographer by night. Sorry the recording is incomplete, I had to leave early- but the lecture isn't whole without the powerpoint anyway.
Other
Images edited by me for screens 1024x768 or 1280x1024 resolution, but should work for others too. Feel free to recommend other backgrounds for the future.
Hubble Ultra Deep Field 1, 2: The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is the picture of the farthest objects ever seen by mankind. This looks some 13 billion light years out, which means the light has been traveling for 13 billion years, placing the time stamp on this image at 800 million years after the Big Bang-- the dawning of the universe.
Omega Centauri: A very dense star cluster that makes one wonder how many planets may actually exist with that many stars out there
Orion Nebula: One of the most detailed, colorful and inspiring images of the Orion Nebula I have ever seen
Sombrero Galaxy: M104, my favorite galaxy
Hourglass Nebula: My favorite nebula
Saturn's Rings: Taken up close by the Cassini spacecraft, this is probably the best natural color image of the rings I've come across
Moon 1: My favorite of my moon pictures, on August 12, at about 12:30 using my digital camera and binoculars
Moon 2: Picture I took November 1, at about 5:30 using my digital camera and Meade telescope. Click here for a version with labeled mare, craters, and Apollo landing sites.
Plane Transiting Orion: Animation I put together of some pictures I took of Orion as a plane passed by
Sun Pics 11/1/06, 11/2/06: Look at some pictures I took (and edited) of the sun and Sunspot 921
Any suggestions? E-mail them to us, and I'll post them.