The Mars Project - Will Earthlings ever try to inhabit Mars? What would a human colony look like? This site imagines a Mars where humans are landing at a rate of 2,000 a week. Take a look at what some people think is the fate of Mars and then imagine one of your own.

Cosmic Evolution: From Big Bang to Humankind - This site traces the cosmic origin and evolution of matter and energy from the Big Bang to 12 billion years later. You'll learn from movies, diagrams, animations and educational activities. From Tufts University, Wright Center for Science Education, and the Foundation for the Future. You'll need the free QuickTime Player and free RealPlayer for the movies.

Interactive Mars Habitat - Journey to Mars with this Web-based simulator!

Astronauts' Views of the Home Planet: Earth from Space - Fascinating images of Earth from the Space Shuttle! Searchable by type of image such as images relating to Earth-human interaction, hurricanes and weather, and more.

Earth & Moon Viewer - See real time images of the earth and moon.

SETI Institute - The mission of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute is to explore, understand, and explain the origin, nature, and prevalence of life in the universe. Find out more about this important field of study.  

At Home Astronomy - Hands-on science experiments for the whole family from The Center for Science Education at UC Berkeley

NASA Kids - Fun interactive games, educational cartoons, puzzles, and more make learning astronomy fun!  

SOHO: Exploring the Sun - Learn about the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) that was designed to study the internal structure of the sun. You can view spectacular images of the sun, watch movies of solar events, and see on-line exhibits.

University of Michigan Detroit Observatory - Take a virtual tour of an historic astronomical observatory! You'll find 360 degree panoramic views of the building, a movie that shows how the observatory's dome rotates and its shutter opens, and more.

"Do-it-yourself" instructions for making a model of the Hubble Space Telescope - Build your own model of the Hubble Space Telescope! Come to this site for a complete set of instructions.

Amateur Astronomy - Nice site to help you start stargazing. Among the site's features is an astronomy tutorial, a section on do-it-yourself astronomy projects (like making your own observatory), and printable observation log sheets.
Cool Site: April 2001

Bad Astronomy - The author of this great site uses popular misconceptions about astronomical phenomena and "bad astronomy" from the movies and on television as a starting point for astronomy education. His approach makes learning astronomy relevant and fun!  

Canadians in Space -This site offers great lesson plans and assessment tools for teachers on the topic of humans in space. The lessons cover a range of themes from robotics to how the human body adapts to living in space. Specific lessons are geared toward grades 3 through 12. You can also learn about the role the Canadian space program plays in the International Space Station.  

Dr. Strous Answer Book (now called Mr. Sunspot's Answer Book) - Does it ever rain on Mars? What happens to space trash? What is the average latitude of a sunspot? Visit this site to find the answers to these and other questions about the universe.

Exploring Planets in the Classroom - A great resource for teachers, this site features more than 25 hands-on activities for exploring Earth, planets, and space science.

Chabot Space and Science Center - At this site, you can visit a virtual planetarium, explore online exhibits, and learn about upcoming celestial events in the sky calendar.

A Virtual Journey into the Universe - You will feel like a real space explorer when you visit this very cool astronomy site. Explore the planets in our solar system on many different levels. Or watch beautifully crafted Flash animations of the planets' orbits from several different viewpoints.

Space.com - Read the latest space exploration news at this site. You can also watch videos of space shuttle landings, look at spectacular photos of space, and play entertaining astronomy quiz games. If you're a kid or just feel like one, make sure you visit the fun and educational "spaceKids" part of the site.

Arty the Part-time Astronaut - Explore the solar system with Arty the part-time Astronaut! This site features fun, interactive games and movies that help children learn about the solar system.

Jason Digital Lab: Be a Spacecraft Engineer - Learn how NASA modified a spaceship to use in their STARDUST mission which will rendezvous with comet Wild-2 and bring a sample of comet dust back to earth for scientific analysis. You can also "build" your own spaceship online with images this site provides.

Izzy's Skylog - A thorough, entertaining astronomy site, which includes such features as the Constellation of the Month and an astronomy quiz.

Project Full Moon - Visit "A Voyage" section to view a slideshow of NASA photos from the Apollo missions. The slide show requires "Shockwave."

CosmoNet - Explore the origins of the universe, theoretical physics, and more at this excellent ThinkQuest site.

A Mystery of Space: Stars -The students from the ThinkQuest project have produced yet another stellar site, so to speak: a detailed, beautiful resource on stars.

Chandra X-Ray Observatory - NASA's latest orbital x-ray observatory, Chandra, will be launched later this year. Learn about the history and science of x-ray imaging in astronomy.

J-Track Satellite Tracking - Tune in to this site and track the positions of the Hubble Orbital Telescope, the Mir space station, or any other of your favorite satellites.  

Cosmology and Astronomy - Complex cosmological terms and theories are explained using simple, everyday language. Learn about anti-matter, quasars, quantum mechanics, and more.  

International Supernovae Network - Amateur astronomers worldwide scan the skies for signs of exploding stars. Their efforts and discoveries are collected on this site.

The Space Place - This NASA site offers information and activities about the upcoming deep space probe missions. An excellent resource for students K-6.

StarMap - Enter a time, date, and location, and this site will generate a detailed star map for you. You will need to download a free program to view the maps, but they are worth the time.

NASA Space Weather Bureau - Find out what's stirring with the solar wind, or read about the latest research on the aurora borealis. Another informative site from NASA.

NASA Infrared Astronomy Center - This clear, informative site includes the first images of a possible planet around another star.

Galactic Odyssey - This is a thorough history of human exploration of space, with background on the people, organizations, and inventions that have made such exploration possible. This informative site was created by high-school and junior-high school students.

Peoria Astronomical Society - This well-designed site offers an interactive astronomical handbook. Click on the names of constellations to see detailed star maps and pictures of the star formations, or explore the life cycle and physics of black holes.

The Galileo Project - This site uses the visual metaphor of Galileo's family villa to enable visitors to explore the life and work of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Find out about the struggles, triumphs, and lifelong curiosity of the man who set the stage for modern science.

The Maya Astronomy Page - Learn about these accomplished early astronomers. This site is concise, clearly written, and easy to navigate. It's a great starting point for exploration into the fascinating culture of the Maya.

Solar System Simulator - This simulator lets you view planets, moons, and spacecraft from different points in the solar system. No plug-ins or special software are required.

The Yohkoh Public Outreach Project - This site contains stunning X-ray images and movies of the sun taken by the Yohkoh orbital telescope. The site also includes background information on the Yohkoh telescope and learning activities for classroom use.

Stanford Solar Center -This thorough and well-organized web site contains activities, images, a glossary, and other resources related to the sun. A great site to learn about the sun's magnetic field, sunspots, solar physics, and more.
Cool Site: October 1997

Window to the Universe - Attractively presented and very informative--this site provides an introduction to the Universe. Topics include, "Our Planet," "Space Missions," "Our Solar System," "People," and much more.

The Astrobiology Web: Life in Extreme Environments - Discover how scientists study the possibility of life on other planets by studying life in harsh environments on earth.

Mars Pathfinder Current Rover Status - See the latest images, check out the newest data from the Mars Pathfinder.

Maximov Online -The latest news on the troubled Mir Space Station. The site has online events, archives, and images.

Black Holes and Neutron Stars - Learn about black holes and neutron stars in this simple and very focused page.

GalacticSky Charts -You choose your latitude and this site provides a sky chart. There's a QuickTime Player VR page with a 360-degree view of the night sky. Also, check out the photo gallery while you're there.


Other Worlds, Distant Suns -Learn all about the planets by taking a 3-D (VRML) tour. Even if your computer can't support VRML, they have some great astronomy links.

The Comet's Tale - A self-guided module designed to acquaint individuals with facts about comets. Check out the build your own comet section. Graphically, this is one of the best-looking sites we' ve come across.

Shuttle Launch Countdown Home Page -The countdown has begun. Actually, there is always a countdown for the next shuttle launch. This site contains live video feeds, mission information, and lots more.

Earth and Universe - Graphically not the most engaging site, but does provide an excellent audio and visual presentation on the universe. The site focuses on stars, nebulae, and galaxies. Well worth the visit.

North American Skies -This page contains information on stars, planets, eclipses, meteor showers, and other events
 visible in the sky. Times and locations of events are provided.

Cassini:Voyage to Saturn - The countdown has begun! Well, ok there are still 476 days to launch (as of July 1st), but the Cassini mission to Saturn is still worth checking out. Why wait until 1997 when it's on everyone's hotlist?

San Francisco State University Planet Search Project -Updated information on the search for extrasolar planets. This site includes information on two newly discovered planets!

The Center for Mars Exploration - Plenty of information about the red planet including images, news and even software. The site also includes information on how to receive a free Viking 20th Anniversary Educational CD-ROM!

The Virtual Sun - An informative tour about the sun. This site includes lots of fascinating images and MPEG movies. You can choose to take a tour in English or view it in Dutch.

MIR Space Station Page - The Mir Space Station Page. Current Mir news and more.

Comet Hyakutake public & press information page - The latest in comet information. This page includes some stunning images.

Solar System Live - This site provides an interactive view of the solar system. You can set the time, date, viewpoint, and more. There is also a link to the "Earth Viewer" which shows the day and night regions of the earth.

NASA K-12 Internet: Live from the Hubble Space Telescope - An opportunity for students in grades K-12 to participate in a project involving the Hubble Space Telescope. The site includes a chat area for teachers.

Astronomy Picture of the Day - This excellent site gives you something new to look at every day. A must for astronomy enthusiasts.

JPL Public Image Archive - A great collection of NASA images maintained by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Images of comets, planets, quasars and some extremely interesting images of our own planet. Nearly 100 gifs.

Project Galileo: Bringing Jupiter to Earth - The Galileo probe arrived at Jupiter in December, 1995. This site is updated frequently with new photos. Visit the Galileo home page and learn more about this exciting event!

The Space Educators' Handbook - An interesting site that uses science fiction to help teach about space technology and scientific laws. You can download the software version (Mac and Windows) of the Space Educators' Handbook. The site also includes a collection of QuickTime Player movies and other surprises.

Principal Investigator Microgravity Services - Get data about the microgravity ("zero-g") conditions on-board the shuttle Orbiter and the Mir space station.

Space Radar Images of Earth - Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is a joint U.S.-German-Italian project that uses a highly sophisticated imaging radar to capture images of earth that are useful to scientists across a great range of disciplines.

NASA K-12 Internet Initiative - Yet another interesting NASA site, this one is geared for K-12.

Views of the Solar System - An educational tour of the solar system. It contains images and information about the sun, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids found within the solar system.

The Nine Planets - An in-depth look at the solar system. Text, pictures, sounds, and an occasional movie help tell the story.

CEA Science Education Page - Visit the Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics and check out their educational resources. A good site for teachers.

HST Greatest Hits 1990-1995 Gallery - Spectacular images from space taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Mars Multi-Scale Map - An interactive look at the Martian surface.

Aurora Page - Get information about the "Northern Lights."