Astronomy News for the Month of August 2020

	Excerpts from JPL mission updates are provided as a public service as part of the JPL Solar System Ambassador/NASA Outreach program. For special JPL programs and presentations in your area visit the JPL Solar System Ambassador website. (Click on the logo to link to the JPL SSA homepage.)

"Perseid meteors streak away from the shower's radiant in 2018, with the Milky Way as a backdrop." Astronomy Magazine, p. 36, August 2020.
Tony Hallas

The Month At-A-Glance
A calendar displaying the daily astronomical events.

(All times are local unless otherwise noted.)

Planetary Highlights for August "The summertime planetary bonanza continues through August as Jupiter and Saturn maintain their dominance of the southern sky soon after sunset and remain visible all night. Jupiter's moons offer a triple dose of combined Io and Ganymede transits. After midnight, it's time for Mars, which is really brightening now and is a fine object in telescopes. Together with the Red Planet, Uranus and Neptune share a traditionally dim region of the sky. In the hours before dawn, Venus provides a treat and Mercury is visible during the first week of the month, low in the northeast." Astronomy Magazine, August 2020, P. 36. "The famous Perseid meteor shower is active between July 17 and August 24, and peaks on August 12. The predawn hours are the best for viewing the shower, but this year a Last Quarter Moon in Aries adds a lot of light to the sky. Consequently, low rates of only the brightest meteors will be observable." Astronomy Magazine, August 2020, P. 37.
	Mercury Is in superior conjunction on the 17th. Mercury rises at 4:39 a.m. on the 1st, but quickly descends toward the eastern horizon until conjunction when it swings behind the Sun, returning to the evening sky. Look for Mercury low to the east about 30 minutes before sunrise during the first week of the month. After conjunction, Mercury will be visible low to the west about 30 minutes after sunset during the last week of the month in the evening sky. Mercury sets at 8:05 p.m. by month's end. Mercury moves from the constellation of Gemini into Leo shining at magnitude -0.9 on the 1st.
	Venus Is at greatest western elongation (46°) on the 12th. Venus rises at 2:43 a.m. on the 1st and about 2:50 a.m. by month's end. Look for Venus in the east before sunrise. Venus moves from the constellation of Taurus into Gemini shining at magnitude -4.4 on the 15th.
	Earth N/A.
	Mars Rises at 11:14 p.m. on the 1st and about 9:36 p.m. by month's end. Mars is at perihelion (128.4 million miles from the Sun) on the 3rd. Mars is now visible in the late evening, but still best observed after midnight. Look to the south after midnight to spot Mars. Mars is in the constellation of Pisces shining at magnitude -1.4.
	Jupiter Rises at 6:58 p.m. on the 1st and about 4:47 p.m. by month's end. Look for Jupiter soon after sunset. Jupiter will be one of the first objects to be spotted once the Sun sets to the east. Follow Jupiter across the sky all night long this month. Jupiter is in the constellation of Sagittarius shining at magnitude -2.7.
	Saturn Rises at 7:24 p.m. on the 1st and around 5:16 p.m. by month's end. As with Jupiter, look for Saturn in the evening sky after sunset to the east. Now is a great time to get your binoculars or telescope out and observe Saturn for most of the night. Saturn is in the constellation of Sagittarius shining at magnitude 0.2.
	Uranus Rises at 11:55 p.m. on the 1st and around 9:53 p.m. by month's end. Uranus is also visible in the late evening but is still best viewed after midnight under dark skies. Look for Uranus to the south before sunrise. Uranus is in the constellation of Aries shining at magnitude 5.8.
	Neptune Rises at 9:54 p.m. on the 1st and about 7:51 p.m. by month's end. Neptune can be spotted to the southeast once the skies darken. Neptune can be observed all night long. Neptune is in the constellation of Aquarius shining at magnitude 7.8.
	Dwarf Planets
	Ceres Is at opposition on the 28th. Ceres rises at 10:36 p.m. on the 1st and around 8:26 p.m. by month's end. The best time to spot Ceres will be around midnight, when it is highest in the south. Ceres is in the constellation of Aquarius shining at magnitude 7.8.
	Pluto Rises at 7:12 p.m. on the 1st and around 5:08 p.m. by month's end. Pluto is about half way between Jupiter and Saturn and may be visible if skies are dark enough. Pluto is in the constellation of Sagittarius shining at magnitude 14.7. As always, good luck at spotting Neptune, Ceres and Pluto, a large telescope and dark skies will be needed.

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Astronomical Events

	Meteor Showers The Northern Delta Aquarids [meteor shower] extends from July 16 to September 10. Maximum occurs on August 13. The hourly rates reach a high of 10. The Perseids meteor shower is generally visible between July 23 and August 22. Maximum occurs during August 12/13. The hourly rate typically reaches 80, although some years have been as low as 4 and as high as 200. The meteors tend to be very fast, possess an average magnitude of 2.3 and leave persistent trains. Meteor Shower Radiant Report For more information about Meteor Showers, visit Gary Kronk's Meteor Showers Online web page. Meteor Scatter (or Meteor burst communications) - "is a radio propagation mode that exploits the ionized trails of meteors during atmospheric entry to establish brief communications paths between radio stations up to 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) apart." Tune your shortwave or your HF amateur radio to 54.310 MHz SSB and see if you can hear any pings. Try other frequencies as well... 6m FT8 digital - 50.313 Mhz & 50.276 Mhz, JP-65 digital mode and the carrier frequencies of the lower VHF bands for TV channels 2, 3 & 4. Meteor Rx How-To by Terry Bullett (WØASP)
	Comets Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE is now in the constellation of Virgo. From the handle of the Big Dipper, follow the arc to Arcturus, then continue that line down with binoculars to spot Comet NEOWISE as it continues to fade. Comet 88P/Howell is also passing through the constellation of Virgo this month, but is a bit dimmer than NEOWISE, shining at 11th magnitude, so will require at least a 4-inch telescope to view. For information, orbital elements and ephemerides on observable comets, visit the Observable Comets page from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. For more information about Comets, visit Gary Kronk's Cometography.com webpage.
	Eclipses Solar Eclipses No solar eclipse activity this month. Lunar Eclipses No lunar eclipse activity this month.
	Observational Opportunities Look for Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune all night long. Look for Mars and Uranus in the late evening and early morning. Look for Comets NEOWISE and Howell in the late evening. Look for Venus in the morning before sunrise. Look for Mercury in the early morning sky during the first week of the month and then in the early evening during the last week of the month.
	Asteroids (From west to east) Iris is in the constellation of Ophiuchus. Massalia is at opposition on the 28th in the constellation of Aquarius. Flora is in the tail of the constellation of Cetus. Information about the Minor Planets can be found at the Minor Planet Observer website.
	Ocultations Information on various occultations can be found by clicking the IOTA logo.

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Subscriber Gallery

I have created a web page containing images taken and submitted by subscribers to the email newsletter, check-ins to the Colorado Astronomy Net and readers of the online newsletter. Any one wishing to submit their own images to the gallery, please let me know. The images must be taken by the submitter and be astronomy related. Please include a description and your information so that I can give proper credit to your work.

Featured Image



This image taken by Ed Hubbs (W6RDZ).

"C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) or Comet NEOWISE is a long period comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered on March 27, 2020, by astronomers during the NEOWISE mission of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope." (Wikipedia)

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Member Meteor Sightings

In this section I will post meteor, fireball, etc sightings that have been published on the American Meteor Society's web site. I want to make this an active section of the web pages and newsletter and would like to publish the links to member sightings. If you have any published sightings, please provide me with the links and I will post them here for all to enjoy.

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Planetary/Lunar Exploration Missions

(Excerpts from recent JPL mission updates)

	JPL Latest News The Latest from Space JPL Latest News July 30, 2020 NASA, ULA Launch Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission to Red Planet Full Article & Images "NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is on its way to the Red Planet to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples to send back to Earth. Humanity's most sophisticated rover launched with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at 7:50 a.m. EDT (4:50 a.m. PDT) Thursday on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. "With the launch of Perseverance, we begin another historic mission of exploration," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "This amazing explorer's journey has already required the very best from all of us to get it to launch through these challenging times. Now we can look forward to its incredible science and to bringing samples of Mars home even as we advance human missions to the Red Planet. As a mission, as an agency, and as a country, we will persevere." " Read the latest news and discoveries from JPL's dozens of active space missions exploring Earth, the solar system and worlds beyond. Past, Present, Future and Proposed JPL Missions. For special JPL programs and presentations in your area visit the JPL Solar System Ambassador web site.
	Juno - July 22, 2020 NASA Juno Takes First Images of Jovian Moon Ganymede's North Pole Full Article & Images "On its way inbound for a Dec. 26, 2019, flyby of Jupiter, NASA's Juno spacecraft flew in the proximity of the north pole of the ninth-largest object in the solar system, the moon Ganymede. The infrared imagery collected by the spacecraft's Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument provides the first infrared mapping of the massive moon's northern frontier. Larger than the planet Mercury, Ganymede consists primarily of water ice. Its composition contains fundamental clues for understanding the evolution of the 79 Jovian moons from the time of their formation to today." Images from NASA's JunoCam. More information on the Juno mission is available at: Juno and Mission Juno. The public can follow the Juno mission on Facebook and Twitter.
	New Horizons - July 17, 2020 Memories of an Amazing Encounter Full Article & Images "No Sleep Until After the Flyby Gabe Rogers, an engineer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, was the New Horizons Guidance and Control subsystem lead during the mission's historic flyby of Pluto in July 2015. He currently serves as New Horizons' deputy mission system engineer. Guidance and Control system lead Gabe Rogers awaits the outcome of a May 2015 trajectory correction maneuver in the New Horizons Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. (Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Southwest Research Institute) By the Pluto flyby on July 14, 2015, most of the New Horizons engineering team was running on fumes. The spacecraft had been operating in 3-axis (observation) mode for most of the year, conducting optical navigation, long-distance science, and the occasional trajectory correction maneuver to stay on course. Given the cadence of communications with New Horizons through NASA's Deep Space Network, sometimes I would be on shift starting at 6 a.m., only to start another shift at 8 p.m. the same day." New Horizons gallery Find New Horizons in the iTunes App Store. For more information on the New Horizons mission - the first mission to the ninth planet - visit the New Horizons home page.
	TESS - June 30, 2020 NASA's TESS Delivers New Insights Into an Ultrahot World Full Article & Images "Measurements from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have enabled astronomers to greatly improve their understanding of the bizarre environment of KELT-9 b, one of the hottest planets known. "The weirdness factor is high with KELT-9 b," said John Ahlers, an astronomer at Universities Space Research Association in Columbia, Maryland, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "It's a giant planet in a very close, nearly polar orbit around a rapidly rotating star, and these features complicate our ability to understand the star and its effects on the planet." " For more information on the TESS mission, visit the Latest Tess Stories page.
	Past, Present, Future and Proposed JPL Missions Visit JPL's mission pages for current status.

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Mars Missions

Be A Martian

Mars website mobile version is here!

	Mars on the Go! NASA Be A Martian Mobile App If you want the latest news as it happens, try our Be A Martian app. Download on Mobile Devices Android | iPhone | Windows Phone
	JMARS JMARS is an acronym that stands for Java Mission-planning and Analysis for Remote Sensing. It is a geospatial information system (GIS) developed by ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility to provide mission planning and data-analysis tools to NASA's orbiters, instrument team members, students of all ages, and the general public.
	Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics "The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) began in 1948, a decade before NASA. We are the world's only research institute to have sent instruments to all eight planets and Pluto. LASP combines all aspects of space exploration through our expertise in science, engineering, mission operations, and scientific data analysis. As part of CU, LASP also works to educate and train the next generation of space scientists, engineers and mission operators by integrating undergraduate and graduate students into working teams. Our students take their unique experiences with them into government or industry, or remain in academia to continue the cycle of exploration. LASP is an affiliate of CU-Boulder AeroSpace Ventures, a collaboration among aerospace-related departments, institutes, centers, government labs, and industry partners."
	LASP/MAVEN - July 14, 2020 Emirates Mars Mission launching this month in partnership with LASP at CU Boulder Full Article & Images "The Emirates Mars Mission, the first interplanetary exploration undertaken by an Arab nation, is scheduled to launch this month on Mitsubishi H-IIA launch platform from Tanegashima, Japan and arrive at Mars in February 2021, coinciding with The Emirates' 50th anniversary as a nation. The mission is being carried out by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in the UAE in collaboration with a number of US research institutions, including the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder." Visit LASP and MAVEN for more information.
	Mars 2020 - Perseverance - July 30, 2020 NASA, ULA Launch Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission to Red Planet Full Article & Images "NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is on its way to the Red Planet to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples to send back to Earth. Humanity's most sophisticated rover launched with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at 7:50 a.m. EDT (4:50 a.m. PDT) Thursday on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida." Learn more about the upcoming Mars 2020 (Perseverance) mission.
	Mars Science Laboratory - Curiosity - July 6, 2020 Curiosity Mars Rover's Summer Road Trip Has Begun Full Article & Images "NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has started a road trip that will continue through the summer across roughly a mile (1.6 kilometers) of terrain. By trip's end, the rover will be able to ascend to the next section of the 3-mile-tall Martian (5-kilometer-tall) mountain it's been exploring since 2014, searching for conditions that may have supported ancient microbial life. Located on the floor of Gale Crater, Mount Sharp is composed of sedimentary layers that built up over time. Each layer helps tell the story about how Mars changed from being more Earth-like – with lakes, streams and a thicker atmosphere – to the nearly-airless, freezing desert it is today." Follow the Mars Curiosity rover on Foursquare. For information about NASA's partnership with Foursquare.   Mars Rover Landing - Free for the Xbox 360 (requires Kinect)   Visit the Mars Science Laboratory page.
	Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission - February 18, 2020 NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Undergoes Memory Update Full Article & Image "From Feb. 17 to Feb. 29, 2020, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) will go on hiatus from its science mission and its relay operations while engineers on Earth conduct long-distance maintenance. During the hiatus, other orbiters will relay data from the Mars Curiosity rover and Mars InSight lander to Earth. The maintenance work involves updating battery parameters in the spacecraft's flash memory - a rare step that's been done only twice before in the orbiter's 15 years of flight. This special update is necessary because it was recently determined that the battery parameters in flash were out of date and if used, would not charge MRO's batteries to the desired levels." MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER HIRISE IMAGES All of the HiRISE images are archived here. More information about the MRO mission is available online.
	Mars Odyssey Orbiter - June 8, 2020 Three New Views of Mars' Moon Phobos Full Article and Images "Three new views of the Martian moon Phobos have been captured by NASA's Odyssey orbiter. Taken this past winter and this spring, they capture the moon as it drifts into and out of Mars' shadow. The orbiter's infrared camera, the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), has been used to measure temperature variations across the surface of Phobos that provide insight into the composition and physical properties of the moon. Further study could help settle a debate over whether Phobos, which is about 16 miles (25 kilometers) across, is a captured asteroid or an ancient chunk of Mars that was blasted off the surface by an impact." Daily Mars Odyssey THEMIS Images Can be found at the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) website. The Odyssey data are available through a new online access system established by the Planetary Data System. Visit the Mars Odyssey Mission page.
	Journey to Mars - InSight - Revealing the Heart of Mars - July 7, 2020 NASA's InSight Flexes Its Arm While Its 'Mole' Hits Pause Full Article and Images "NASA's InSight lander has been using its robotic arm to help the heat probe known as the "mole" burrow into Mars. The mission is providing the first look at the Red Planet's deep interior to reveal details about the formation of Mars and, ultimately, all rocky planets, including Earth. Akin to a 16-inch-long (40-centimeter-long) pile driver, the self-hammering mole has experienced difficulty getting into the Martian soil since February 2019. It's mostly buried now, thanks to recent efforts to push down on the mole with the scoop on the end of the robotic arm. But whether it will be able to dig deep enough -- at least 10 feet (3 meters) - to get an accurate temperature reading of the planet remains to be seen. Images taken by InSight during a Saturday, June 20, hammering session show bits of soil jostling within the scoop - possible evidence that the mole had begun bouncing in place, knocking the bottom of the scoop. While the campaign to save the mole continues, the arm will be used to help carry out other science and engineering work. Here's what you can expect in the months ahead from the mission, which is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California." Interactive selection of raw images taken by the cameras aboard InSight. Learn more about the InSight Mission.
	Mars Missions Status New Mars missions are being planned to include several new rover and sample collection missions. Check out the Mars Missions web page and the Mars Exploration page.

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Astronomy Links and Other Space News

(If you have a link you would like to recommend to our readers, please feel free to submit it.)

Colorado Astronomy Links

• Brighton Astronomy Group - Astronomy in Brighton, Colorado (under construction).

• Cloudbait Observatory, Guffey Colorado - Submit your fireball reports here. Interesting, knowledgeable site.

• Colorado Amateur Satellite Net - On our net, we discuss anything that has to do with amateur satellites, ham radio with the space station, and more. *** Off the air until further notice. ***

• Colorado Springs Astronomical Society - The Colorado Springs Astronomical Society (CSAS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the enjoyment of the nighttime sky.

• Denver Astronomical Society - Promotes the enjoyment and understanding of astronomical phenomena, history and lore by providing educational and observing opportunities for our members, general public, and outreach activities at the University of Denver's historic Chamberlin Observatory, schools, and nature centers.

• Gateway2Space - More information about the Star Light -- Star Bright Observatory.

• Little Thompson Observatory - The Little Thompson Observatory (LTO) offers no-charge public access to the wonders of the night sky, either on one of our regularly scheduled public nights, or as a private group affair. When the weather co-operates, each session includes a guided tour of the sky using our large (18") telescope.

• Mike Coletta's SatWatch - Orbiting object and satellite watching. ORBITING OBJECT TRACKING … It's the thrill of the chase. Promoting and supporting the hobby of amateur radio, Mike - KG0UFO, along with many other radio hobbyists around the globe use the reflected signals of the AF Space Fence to detect orbiting objects as they make their way over the US. - The AF Space Fence was shut down in Sept. 2013. These are recordings of Mike's many observations.

• National Space Science & Technology Institute - NSSTI runs the Star Light--Star Bright Observatory in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

• Northern Colorado Astronomical Society - The purpose of our organization is to encourage the understanding & interest in the science & hobby of astronomy.

• Rocky Mountain Star Stare - The Premier Star Party in The Rocky Mountains

• Sangre Stargazers - New astronomy club in the Wet Mountain Valley of Custer County (about 45 miles due west of Pueblo, CO.)

• Southern Colorado Astronomical Society - The Southern Colorado Astronomical Society, CSU-P and the Pueblo Nature and Raptor Center welcomes everyone to participate in the discovery of our night sky.

• Star Cruiser Bill's Astrophotography - Great astrophotography from Aurora Colorado.

Radio Astronomy Links

• AMSAT - The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, or AMSAT, is a worldwide group of Amateur Radio Operators (Hams)... AMSAT's goal is to foster Amateur Radio's participation in space research and communication.

• HighQ Software Group - Blog of Ralph Boyd, Software engineer, amateur radio operator, radio astronomer.

• Radio Astronomy News - Radio Astronomy news and information.

• Radio Astronomy Research Posts - Radio Astronomy Research news posts and observations.

• Radio Astronomy Supplies - Radio Astronomy Supplies, the International leader in research radio telescopes for universities, observatories and individual.

• Radio JOVE Project - Radio JOVE students and amateur scientists observe and analyze natural radio emissions of Jupiter, the Sun, and our galaxy.

• Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers - The Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) is an international society of dedicated enthusiasts who teach, learn, trade technical information, and do their own observations of the radio sky.

Other Astronomy Links

• A Guide to the Galaxy Right from our Bedroom Window - An interesting site suggested by the students from Lexington Middle School Science Club in Nebraska. Lots of good basic astronomy information.

• A Kid's Guide to Astronomy - A great site with other links to learn about stars and astronomy for kids of all ages.

• "TheSky" - Astronomy Software by Software Bisque.

• A Sea of Stars - Voyages of a Merchant Mariner & Amateur Astronomer - I'm a retired Navy veteran, currently sailing with the US Navy's Military Sealift Command as an Operations Chief. My dominant interests are science (esp. astronomy), history and photography, and I enjoy naval and military wargaming WHEN I can find the time.

• A Short Guide to Celestial Navigation - Celestial navigation is the art and science of finding one's geographic position by means of astronomical observations, particularly by measuring altitudes of celestial objects — sun, moon, planets, or stars.

• The ARRL - Amateur Radio Relay League - Information about amateur radio and how to become an amateur radio operator.

• American Meteor Society - Provides amateur observers a place to learn about and report meteor, fireball and related sightings.

• Astrogirl Homepage - Family-friendly educational astronomy website.

• Astronomia - Online web applications that use catalogues of astronomical objects. Applications and their description are also prepared in English.

• Astronomy Picture of the Day - A different picture of the cosmos every day.

• Astronomy 2009 - This site has some good links a young, interested student wishes to share.

• Beginners Guide To Astrophotography - A Quick & Easy Tutorial Of How To Take DSLR Astro Photography

• Be an Astronomer right from your Window - At-home astronomy techniques.

• Black Hole Encyclopedia - Excellent site from StarDate - University of Texas McDonald Observatory

• Caelum Observatory - The LARGEST dedicated public telescope in the Southwest at the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter!

• Celestial Bodies and Astronomy.

• Celestron Telescopes - Celestron telescopes.

• Clear Skies Observing Guides - CSOG, short for Clear Skies Observing Guides is a new concept in visual amateur astronomy. It is a digital publication that will enable observers to target all deepsky objects and carbon stars within reach of their equipment.

• The Constellations and Their Stars - Good site for finding out more about the 88 constellations and their associated stars.

• CosmoQuest - The place where you map other worlds, explore out universe and contribute to science.

• Distant Suns - Desktop Astronomy package for PCs.

• EarthSky - Astronomy news.

• Groovy Adventures - Unique adventures and vacations including astronomy related vacations.

• Heavens-Above - As the name implies - What's up in the heavens, particularly satellite passes.

• The International Dark-Sky Association - To preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies.

• informED: 10 Teaching Tools for Educators - informED - Teacher Resources.

• iTelescope.net - iTelescope.Net is the world's premier network of Internet connected telescopes, allowing members to take astronomical images of the night sky for the purposes of education, scientific research and astrophotography.

• JPL Solar System Ambassador Program - "Volunteers Bringing the Solar System to the Public"

• JPL Solar System - Jet Propulsion Laboratory information on our solar system.

• K8JTK.ORG - Welcome to the home page of Jeffrey Kopcak. You will find pages and posts I wrote about my hobbies, interests, projects, and things I'm involved in.

• Kids Space Center - Telescopes and Astronomy - Another site suggested by a young student - Great info about telescopes.

• Mars Exploration, Mars Rovers Information, Facts, News, Photos - National Geographic - Mars Exploration - Investigating the Red Planet.

• Meade Advanced Products Users Group - Mapug-Astronomy Topical Archive & information resource, containing a massive 335 page archive of discussions about Meade equipment, and much more: observatories, observing lists, permanent piers, equatorial wedges, remote operations, software, eyepieces, etc.

• My Stars Live - Interactive Star Chart

• NASA - Lunar and Planetary Science - General information, Missions to Comets, Data, Press Releases, Meteors and Meteorites, Other topics of Interest.

• NASA Science News - NASA missions, updates, astronomy news, excellent resource.

• National Archives info on space exploration - Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) - Space Exploration - Information about the United States' space flight programs, including NASA missions and the astronauts who participate in the efforts to explore space.

• Predictions for Solar and Lunar Eclipses - A website dedicated to predictions and information on eclipses of the Sun and Moon.

• Skymaps.com - Free sky maps each month.

• Skywatch Sightings from NASA - This site gives you the best times to watch the ISS pass over or near your location.

• Space.com - Interesting space and astronomy articles.

• Spaceflight Now - Launches and satellite news.

• SpaceLinks/Space Careers - SPACELINKS is a specialist staffing consultancy sourcing and supplying high caliber professionals for a wide range of world class organizations in the Space and Defense industry.

• "SpaceRef.com" - SpaceRef's 21 news and reference web sites are designed to allow both the novice and specialist alike to explore outer space and Earth observation.

• Space Weather - Check out what the sun is doing as seen from space.

• Stellarium - Free, downloadable planetarium/astronomy software.

• The Most Expensive & Amazing Telescopes In History - Some of the most expensive and amazing telescopes in history - From The Hub Post.

• The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Astrophotography - Looking up into the night sky with just your eyes and maybe a telescope is amazing on its own. But it can be even better when you photograph and record it for your memories.

• Top 50 Astronomy NASA Photos of All Time - A list of the most interesting moments in the history of science - From The Hub Post.

• Ultimate Resource Guide for Astronomy - The resources we have provided below cover everything from discussing what astronomy is all the way to social media groups that focus on this popular and interesting topic. Use this resource guide for finding some great sites on astronomy whether you are a teacher looking for lesson plan ideas, a student wanting to brush up on their knowledge, a college student looking for a career or you just love the stars and want the most from your experiences.

• UniverseToday - Short, interesting articles about space and related topics.

• Wikisky - WIKISKY is a non-commercial project. The main purpose of WIKISKY is to consolidate astronomical, astrophysical and other information about different space objects and astrophysical facts.

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Astronomical Lexicon

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Read the Universe Today Newsletter by clicking on the logo.

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Acknowledgments and References

The author will accept any suggestions, constructive criticisms, and corrections. Please feel free to send me any new links or articles to share as well. I will try to accommodate any reasonable requests. Please feel free to send questions, comments, criticisms, or donations to the email address listed below. Enjoy!

More Acknowledgements and References

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Subscription Information

• To subscribe: visit Astronews subscription page.

• Email Newsletter archives

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Keep looking UP!
73 from KIØAR

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