Astro Links

Local Astronomical Equipment Sources

Support your local astronomy resources. They both support HAL in many ways. Please return the favor every chance you get.

• Company 7, Laurel, MD
• Hands On Optics, Damascus, MD
  

Before You Go Out

• A Simple Guide to Backyard Astronomy Using Binoculars or a Small Telescope
• Fourmilab (Nice web based planetarium suite)
• Heaven's Above (Satellite Predictions)
• MegaStar Sky Atlas
• Real-time ISS Tracker
• SkyMaps - Free Sky Map Downloads
• Sky Spot - Finder Charts for Telrad Users (not free)
• Satellite Visibility at Alpha Ridge  (Iridium Flares, Satellites, Starshine, ISS, Mir, etc.)
• Tonight's Sky (Find out what's visible tonight)
• U.S. Census Bureau Mapping (Provides a location's longitude and latitude)
• Your Sky (Create maps for any date, time, viewpoint, and observing location)

Planetary Resources

• Explore Mars Now
• Mars Explorations
• Mars Entry on Nine Planets
• Mars Previewer II (Free software from Sky and Telescope)
• Venus Introduction
• Venus - Windows on the Universe
• Saturn
• Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan
• The Planets (Jupiter satellite transits, Saturn moon positions, etc.)
• The Nine 8 Planets (A multi-media tour of the solar system)
• Planetary Photojournal
• Sky and Tel's Red Spot Transit Times (Times are shown in Universal Time so be sure to convert to local time. EST is -5, EDT is -4.

Sun and Moon Resources

• Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon (Features can be listed by name, coordinate range, or ascending/descending by location)
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Moon  (Extensive collection of moon resources)
• The Inconstant Moon (What will you see if you look at the moon tonight (or any night))
• Lunation (Let this animated gif fully load, and you'll be able to see the moon "move" through the lunar month. Libration is readily apparent, too. From the Astronomy Picture of the Day folks at NASA.)
• Earth and Moon Viewer (View the current day/night state of the earth or the moon from various points, such as the sun or above selected cities. Very realistic.)
• SOHO - Exploring the Sun
• Space Weather ( Find our what the Sun is up to now)
• Stanford's Solar Center (Pinhole viewers, cameras, telescope viewing and more)
• SunGazer (The joys of Sun Watching)

Amateur Radio Astronomy

• http://www.radiosky.com/booksra.html
• http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/
• http://physics.gmu.edu/~hgeller/astr402/
• http://www.radio-astronomy.org/
• http://fringes.org/

Beginner's Corner

• Windows to the Universe  (Excellent site by the University of Michigan -- but it is graphically intensive.)
• Hints for Beginners (From the San Jose Astronomical Association)

On-Line Equipment Sources

(This list is informational only and does not constitute an endorsement by HAL)

• Adorama
• Anacortes Telescope & Wild Bird
• Andy's Shot Glass  (Affordable Astronomy Solutions)
• Astromart (Buy and sell used equipment)
• Astronomics
• Explora Dome
• EyepieceCaps.com
• OpticsPlanet.com
  
• Orion Telescopes & Binoculars
• ScopeStuff
• Telescopes.com
• The Binocular Site - Everything you every wanted to know about binoculars

Other Astronomical Information Resources

• Astronomical Filters Spectral Transmission  (Covers most popular production filters)
• Astronomical League
• Astronomy Picture of the Day
• Cleaning Lenses. Mirrors, and Corrector Plates
• Cosmic Adventures (Portable Planetarium, Presents programs for schools and other organizations.)
• Cloudy Nights (Reviews, Forums, General Astronomy Info)
• Explora Dome Forum
• International Dark Sky Association (The Light Pollution Authority)
• Hubble Website (The ultimate resource for deep space photos)
• International Occultation Timing Association
• NASA
• Observatory Design Links
• "Pierre-Simon Marquis de Laplace and the Formation of the Solar System." (Essay by Jerry Persall.)
• SEDS Messier Database (Sort by Messier number, object type, constellation, RA/DEC, mag, etc. plus view photos of each object. )
• SETI@Home
• Sidewalk Astronomers
• Space / Astronomy (on About.com.Lots of links to astronomy related sites)
• Star Date (publication of The Univ of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory)
• 2 Micron All Sky Survey Messier Objects

Area Clubs, Organizations

• Maryland Science Center
• Delmarva Star Gazers
• Greenbelt Astronomy Club 
• Northern Virginia Astronomy Club
• Tristate Astronomers Club - Hagerstown
• Westminster Astronomical Society of Maryland
• York County Astronomical Society