Astro Links
! Our Favourites !
- All-Star Telescopes - retailer for astronomy hardware, books, workshops and travel - Didsbury, Alberta
- Amazing Sky – Alan Dyer - Well-known Canadian astronomy author and master at multimedia keeps us current
- Astronomy Picture of the Day - Astronomy through photographs from NASA - daily photo and description
- Bad Astronomy Blog - Debunking myths about astronomical subjects by Phill Plait
- BBC – Astronomy - The Sky At Night, Explore the Solar System, and all things to do with astronomy and cosmology
- Friends of the DAO - An NGO supporting public access to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, the Centre of the Universe, and the historic Plaskett telescope on Observatory Hill, Victoria, BC, Canada
- Imagining the Skies - To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, there are two separate competitions: one for astrophotography and sketching at the eyepiece and one for creative works (drawings, paintings, quilting, sculpture, etc.).
- Quarky Science - An astronomy and science dealer located in greater Victoria.
!! Victoria Centre !!
- Archive website for RASC Victoria Centre - An archive of the RASC Victoria Centre website covering the years 1995 to 2013.
- Gallery of RASC Victoria Centre members' photos and sketches - An online gallery of RASC Victoria Centre members' photos and sketches of the night sky, as well as photos of our Centre's public outreach events
- Gallery of RASC Victoria Centre's videos - Videos of RASC Victoria Centre's events and member videos of astronomical scenes
- The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, with chapters across Canada.
Astro Kids
- Amazing Space - Astronomy news for older kids
- Astronomy: Computer Software Games for Kids - Interactive games to show off our Universe in a fun way!
- BBC – Astronomy - The Sky At Night, Explore the Solar System, and all things to do with astronomy and cosmology
- Bill Nye the Science Guy -
- Exploration In Education - Picture books, tutorials, and other information about astronomy
- Exploratorium - The museum of science, art and human perception
- Eyes on the Sky, Feet on the Ground – Hands on astronomy - A collection of children's online astronomy activities
- Galaxy Zoo - Amateur astronomers classify galaxies for researchers
- Imagine the Universe - Learning about the universe - ages 14 and up
- Nine Planets - There are only eight now, but they kept the name!
- NSTA – National Science Teachers Association - Teaching materials and publications for all grades
- Powers Of 10 - View the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth. Then move through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude, ending up at the sub-atomic level of quarks
- Schoolzone - UK-based, teacher-run free educational resources
- SEDS: Students for the Exploration and Development of Space – High School/College - Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) is a 501(c)3 non-profit that empowers young people to participate and make an impact in space exploration.
- Solar System Live - An interactive Orrery
- Space Place - Explore fun facts, videos and pictures; do activities, books and colouring; play games, puzzles and quizzes. Created by NASA.
- Space Scoop - news about space and astronomy for kids
- Star Child - For ages 4-14
- Understanding Evolution - Created by the University of California, Museum of Paleontology
- Windows to the Universe - A user-friendly learning system on the Earth and Space Sciences by the University of Michigan. Games, info about space weather and space missions, space mythology
Astrophotography
- Amazing Sky – Alan Dyer - Well-known Canadian astronomy author and master at multimedia keeps us current
- AstroDoc - Astrophotography by Ron Brecher
- Canadian Astronomical Images - A collection of photos taken by both amateurs and professionals, celebrating the International Year of Astronomy 2009
- Catching the Light - All about astrophotography by Jerry Lodriguss
- Enjoy! Digital SLR camera - Very informative intro into dSLRs, how to choose one and how to use them. Slanted toward Canon's DSLRs, but still a good resource. Website requires Adobe Flash.
- Image Processing for Astrophotography - Warren Keller & Peter Proulx offer free online resources to learn to use PixInsight image processing software, and also offer subscriptions, blogs and workshops.
- Imagining the Skies - To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, there are two separate competitions: one for astrophotography and sketching at the eyepiece and one for creative works (drawings, paintings, quilting, sculpture, etc.).
- Lunar Photo Of the Day - LPOD gives us a photo of our nearest celestial neighbour - the Moon - to look at every day
- Photopic Sky Survey - A new full colour, full sky survey done over a year by a dedicated photographer, and Sky Guide app for iOS
- TWAN – The World At Night - Superb astronomical scenic photos celebrating the wonder of astronomy worldwide
Current News & Links
- Cosmic Dawn - Witnessing the birth of stars would require a telescope larger in diameter than many cities. Say hello to ALMA. A National Geographic article.
Dealers & Sales
- All-Star Telescopes - retailer for astronomy hardware, books, workshops and travel - Didsbury, Alberta
- Anacortes Telescope & Wild Bird - Our closest large volume astronomy dealer, Anacortes, WA, USA
- Astromart - Buy or sell astronomy stuff to the US & Canada
- Astronomy Buy & Sell – Canada-wide - Buy or sell astronomy stuff in Canada
- Canadian Telescope Astronomy Buy and Sell - A Facebook group to buy and sell astronomy gear within Canada
- Kendrick Astro Instruments - Dew control & other astronomy gadgets, located in Toronto
- Orion Telescopes and Binoculars - Huge direct-to-consumer astronomy dealer (US-based)
- Quarky Science - An astronomy and science dealer located in greater Victoria.
- ScopeStuff - All sorts of astronomy gadgets (online, US-based)
- ScopeTronix - Online retailer of astronomy hardware - website in German, based in Berlin, Germany
- Takahashi - high quality Japanese optics - Telescopes, Swarovski Binoculars, CCD Cameras
Groups
- Canadian Comet Catchers - Videos of comets and sky phenomena
- Cowichan Valley Starfinders - A small group of astronomy enthusiasts from Vancouver Island - the Malahat to Chemainus
- Fraser Valley Astronomer's Society - An astronomy group based in Abbotsford, BC, but covering the whole Fraser Valley. The group operates a Dark Sky Park near Abbotsford.
- Friends of the DAO - An NGO supporting public access to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, the Centre of the Universe, and the historic Plaskett telescope on Observatory Hill, Victoria, BC, Canada
- Hamilton Amateur Astronomers - Largest independent amateur astronomy group in Canada.
- Nanaimo Astronomy Society - A small group of astronomy enthusiasts from Vancouver Island based in Nanaimo and environs
- RASC Sunshine Coast Centre - The Sunshine Coast group is the newest regional centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. They are based in Sechelt, but cover the complete Sunshine Coast, located north of Vancouver, BC.
- RASC Vancouver Centre - Vancouver Centre is one of the larger centres of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, based in Vancouver, BC.
- The Official Sidewalk Astronomers Organization - a public service amateur astronomy association, taking telescopes TO the public.
Manufacturers & Builders
- Adirondack Video Astronomy - Stellacam CCD astronomical cameras
- Antique Telescope Society -
- Astro Hutech - Borg & Takahashi telescopes, modified Canon dSLRs, imaging hardware, IDAS filters, other astronomy accessories
- Astro-Physics -
- Bahtinov Focusing Mask Generator - Generates a template for a mask to help focus your scope - undoubtedly the best way to achieve perfect focus for astrophotography
- Celestron - Manufacturer of consumer grade telescopes, binoculars, and other astronomical gear. Order Celestron products through your astronomy dealer or online.
- Denkmeier Optical Binoviewers - A US-based manufacturer of fine quality astronomical binoculars for use with telescopes.
- Enjoy! Digital SLR camera - Very informative intro into dSLRs, how to choose one and how to use them. Slanted toward Canon's DSLRs, but still a good resource. Website requires Adobe Flash.
- ITE Telescopes -
- JMI Telescopes - A manufacturer and supplier of astronomical accessories and optics.
- Kendrick Astro Instruments - Dew control & other astronomy gadgets, located in Toronto
- Meade - Telescopes, instruments (includes Coronado)
- Orion Telescopes and Binoculars - Huge direct-to-consumer astronomy dealer (US-based)
- Skywatcher Telescope - Generic telescopes, mounts, eyepieces and other astronomical gear available through their website. A Richmond, BC importer and distributor.
- Tele Vue Optics, Inc. - A US-based manufacturer of fine quality eyepieces and telescopes
- Vixen North America - A manufacturer and supplier of fine quality telescopes, mounts and other astronomical optics.
Messier Marathon
- Books – The Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide by Harvard Pennington - this book is highly recommended. It has excellent finder charts
- Charts – Map and Constellation Key to Messier Objects for TELRAD Finders -
- Charts – RASC Messier Object Lists & Charts -
- Charts – Star Hopping Guide to the Messier Marathon (Charts) -
- Charts – Star Hopping Guide to the Messier Marathon (Instructions) -
- Charts – The Ultimate Messier Object Log -
- Lists – Messier Marathon Search Sequence List - from Don Machholz' Messier Marathon Observer's Guide
- Messier Marathon Log Sheets - Choose simple to complex logs to download and print
- Messier Marathon Tips -
- RASC – Messier Forms -
- RASC – Observing – Certificates – Messier - You might as well try for the RASC Messier Certificate
- Rose City Astronomers -
- Rose City Astronomers Messier Log pages -
- Rose City Messier Marathon Log -
- Tips – List of Messier Goodies -
Missions to Space
- Cassini mission to Saturn - Mission to Saturn - NASA & JPL
- MESSENGER MErcury - Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging - On January 14, 2008, more than three decades after the third Mariner 10 flyby, the last spacecraft visit of Mercury, MESSENGER passed 200 kilometers above Mercury's surface
- NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, charged with leading space missions for the U.S.A.
News Magazines Blogs & Portals
- Amazing Sky – Alan Dyer - Well-known Canadian astronomy author and master at multimedia keeps us current
- Astro Photons - Astrophotography and Astronomy apps blog
- Astronomy – Google News - Google's news clipping service, showing results for "astronomy"
- Astronomy – Stack Exchange - Have a question about astronomy or cosmology? Find the answer here on this peer edited wiki.
- Astronomy Cast - Weekly audio podcasts on a broad range of astronomy subjects
- Astronomy Magazine - mainstream astronomy magazine
- Bad Astronomy Blog - Debunking myths about astronomical subjects by Phill Plait
- Dark Sky Travels magazine - astronomical travel locations, articles, forums, tutorials
- Discover Magazine - Space news, articles and outer space pictures
- HAMweather forecast for Victoria, Canada - Try the 3 hour interval for forecasts
- History of Astronomy -
- HubbleSite - Images and lots of info about Hubble
- Lunar Photo Of the Day - LPOD gives us a photo of our nearest celestial neighbour - the Moon - to look at every day
- Naked Astronomy - Don't worry...this isn't an x-rated site. Just some interesting podcasts about the latest astronomy projects and space missions
- Portal to the Universe - learn about astronomical discoveries that don't always make it to the news
- Sea & Sky - An amateur astronomer sharing his love of the seas and the stars.
- SETI@home - a scientific experiment, based at UC Berkeley, that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
- Sky & Telescope - mainstream astronomy magazine published by Sky Publishing
- SkyNews - mainstream Canadian astronomy magazine, published by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
- Smithsonian Air & Space Museum - Smithsonian Air & Space Museum - planetary and space exploration, and the universe
- Space Blogs – Discovery Space – Discovery Channel - Astronomy, cosmology, physics, NASA, space travel, aliens & more
- Space Weather Radio - Audio news and information about sunspots, solar flares and meteor showers
- SpaceRef - Space News As It Happens
- SpaceRef Canada - Your Space Reference - Canadian edition
- StarDate - Short radio clips on astronomical topics, along with other useful resources - has been running since 1995!
- Starry Messenger - An Electronic History of Astronomy
- The Night Sky Guy - A very comprehensive collection of current information to help observers find celestial objects
- The Universe in Mind- Ivan Semeniuk’s Embedded Universe - Weekly podcast & blog profiling scientists working on exploring the cosmos
- Uncle Rod's Astro Blog - Rod Mollise's down-to-earth blog is mainly about astronomy equipment and observing on a budget
Observatories, Planetariums & Space Agencies
- Astronomy Research Centre (ARC) – University of Victoria - The centres of excellence in astronomy - University of Victoria's Physics and Astronomy Dept., NRC's Herzberg Institute at Observatory Hill, TRIUMF at UBC in Vancouver, and the DRAO in Penticton.
- Big Bear Solar Observatory -
- Burke-Gaffney Observatory robotic telescope - BGO's Ralph Medjuck Planewave CDK24 telescope is a robot which can be used to remotely request astronomical images. (Signup required)
- Canadian Space Agency - Canadian space technology and missions
- Cassini mission to Saturn - Mission to Saturn - NASA & JPL
- Cosmic Dawn - Witnessing the birth of stars would require a telescope larger in diameter than many cities. Say hello to ALMA. A National Geographic article.
- Curious About Astronomy- Ask an Astronomer - http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/index.php
- Gamma Ray astronomy – the Compton Observatory -
- NASA – SDO – Solar Dynamics Observatory - Studies how solar activity is created and how space weather here on Earth comes from that activity. Very cool time lapse movies of the Sun.
- NASA ScienceCasts - science videos produced by NASA
- NASA Sun-Earth Connection Media Viewer - Live Solar Images, required Adobe Flash Player
- NASA-ESA Hubble Space Telescope - European home page for the Hubble Space Telescope
- NASA-IPAC Extragalactic Database – NED - An online database of nearly 200 million extragalactic objects - useful to find those obscure objects
- SpaceWeather.com - NASA's Space Weather Bureau - sunspots & Solar activity, aurora, meteors
- STScI Digitized Sky Survey - The entire Palomar Observatory/National Geographic Sky Survey online and free
- The Adler Planetarium -
- The Griffith Observatory -
Observing
- Atmospheric Optics - Ice halos, ray & shadows, water droplets, rainbows, other atmospheric phenomena
- CalSKY - The most comprehensive online calculator for timing astronomical observations
- Citizen Sky – Take part in Citizen Science! - Everyone, regardless of science background, can play a role in the Citizen Sky Project… discover yours! Get involved.
- Comet Chasing - From Skyhound
- Free Mag 7 Star Charts - Printable in B&W or colour on normal printers
- Galaxy Zoo - Amateur astronomers classify galaxies for researchers
- Heavens-Above - Satellite predictions
- Near Earth Objects - NASA asteroid tracking
- North American All Sky Cameras - Spotted a fireball? Report it here.
- North American Meteor Network NAMN - Receive advance notice of upcoming meteor showers; contribute your observations if you wish; free membership
- Reporting Meteor/Fireball - You saw something bright and fast? Like a huge shooting star? Report it: it may be a fireball.
- San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers -
- StarDate - Short radio clips on astronomical topics, along with other useful resources - has been running since 1995!
- This Week's Sky – Skynews magazine - the week ahead for night sky observers
- TRIATLAS Project - Three deep sky atlases up to 9, 11 and 13 magnitude in PDF format. Completely free to download and use!
Other
- An Atlas of The Universe - Series of maps to show the scale of the universe
- Fourmilab - Solar System, Earth and Moon Viewers, Star Charts and more
- Space Environment Center -
- The Aberrator -
- The Greatest Women in Science History -
- The Moon Illusion – An Unsolved Mystery -
- Women In Astronomy - professional astronomers who happen to be women
Personal
- Astro Garage - Stefano Cancelli, RASC Toronto Centre
- ASTROTEL - Guy Walton's amateur telescope making
- Brian Whittaker - A personal collection of photos and info
- Gary Seronik - A place for stargazing enthusiasts. Gary writes for Sky & Telescope magazine and is Editor of Canada's Skynews magazine
- Joe Carr - Personal astronomical observations - observing log, equipment, and astrophotography
- John Mirtle's Astrophotography - Superb astrophotographs taken by this Calgary Centre member
- John's astronomy - personal website for John McDonald featuring his astronomical images
- Miloslav Druckmüller - Eclipse and other astrophotos
- Philip Perkins' Astrophotography - Superb personal astronomical photographs.
- Photographing Star Trails - Discusses composition, technique and tools for photographing the night sky - by Dan Heller
- Samir Kharusi's Photo Galleries - Astrophotography mixed with other photography, lens & sensor comparisons for astrophotography. Samir is active in the digital_astro Yahoo! group (focused on digital cameras used for astrophotography)
Software
- AutoStakkert! - AutoStakkert! (AS!3, AS!2) is lucky imaging software for Windows used to automatically analyze, align, and stack images of the Sun, Moon and Planets that were taken through a telescope.
- Bahtinov Focusing Mask Generator - Generates a template for a mask to help focus your scope - undoubtedly the best way to achieve perfect focus for astrophotography
- DeepSkyStacker - Free astrophotography processing software
- FITS Liberator - The "official" software supporting the FITS format from European Space Agency - free download for Windows or Mac
- Hartman mask template generator - Generates a template for a mask to help focus your scope
- Image Processing for Astrophotography - Warren Keller & Peter Proulx offer free online resources to learn to use PixInsight image processing software, and also offer subscriptions, blogs and workshops.
- ImagesPlus - Image processing and acquisition software for Windows platforms, created by Mike Unsold.
- JPL Solar System Simulator - Generates views of any of our planets or their moons from any perspective
- MaxIm DL - Observatory integration, astro image acquisition, and processing software for Windows - by Diffraction Limited
- Neat Image - Noise reduction for digital cameras and scanners. Standalone Windows software or plug-ins available for graphics software.
- Nebulosity - astronomical photography software that aligns and stacks a series of images, controls cameras, and is inexpensive and easy to use. Mac OS/X and Windows versions.
- Photopic Sky Survey - A new full colour, full sky survey done over a year by a dedicated photographer, and Sky Guide app for iOS
- PixInsight - an image processing platform specialized in astrophotography, available natively for FreeBSD, Linux, Mac OS X and Windows operating systems.
- Pure Blend Debian Astronomy - Debian based Unix operating system software that fits the requirements of both professional and hobby astronomers, integrating a large number of software packages covering telescope control, data reduction, presentation and other fields.
- Sequator - simple stacking software for Windows (not MacOS)
- Software Bisque - Astro image acquisition and processing software, and the SkyX planetarium software
- Starry Night - Planetarium software - various commercial versions available
- Startrails - Free software to create a star trails image from a series of images, also created time lapse video
- Stellarium - Free, open source planetarium software available on a wide variety of platforms.