This site is huge and full of fabulously interesting things to check out. Under the category “Announcements”, the first entry “Tonight’s Sky” is my favorite of the whole site. Let’s visit it shall we?
Tonight’s Sky — To get them out of the way I’ll mention the resources, and archive links now. Take a brief look at them, then click “Play Movie” near the top of the screen. The movie loads and takes you through what is in the night’s sky for August. It shows you what to look for, where to find it, and even tells you what is visible to the naked eye. Did you know that planets don’t twinkle like stars and as such are easier to spot? I didn’t either. From the constellations Lyra and Sagittarius to Deep Space Nebulae, you will not regret watching this movie. I even watched it twice, and I can’t wait for a clear night to go stargazing.
Also, in the Announcements category you will find links to the Gallery and to the Astronomy Print Shop where you can print out museum quality pictures of space.
Now in the Explore Hubble Site category you will find even more to do. The sections you will find here are News Center, Gallery, Discoveries, Sci-Tech, Fun & Games, and the Reference Desk.
I want to talk to you about the Fun & Games section where you can learn how to build your own handheld Hubble. I though that was really marvelous seeing as how it would get kids interested in space with a hands on experience. I even built one here at home. It goes over everything from materials to safety rules, as well as detailed instructions.
Another noteworthy area is the “Beyond the Pictures” section. You can get there by going to the News Center, click on the FITS for Fun article, and then on the side of the page you will see the question: “Have You Seen This?” Below it is the link to the Beyond the Pictures section where you can learn how they colorize the pictures from the Hubble as well as why it’s in that funky staircase shape.
Absolutely worth a look or two!
Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com