General Astronomy Sites / Resources:

• The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a wonderful non-profit organization devoted to astronomical education. If you ever need teaching aids (slide sets, for example), this is the place to go. The ASP also sponsors Project Astro, a program in which volunteer amateur astronomers work with, and teach in Bay Area schools.

• Comet Observation Page This is one of many excellent NASA pages.

• Sky and Telescope and Astronomy are good magazines with very useful Webpages. Use these to find the latest astro-related publications, your nearest astronomy club, or reviews of selected equipment, not to mention extensive astro-links.
  
  
• Amateur Astronomy   is an even better magazine than the above two put together! Written by and for amateur astronomers, this black and white quarterly periodical is in its fourth year of publishing, and is subscription only. You will learn more from one issue of AA than reading a complete years worth of the monthly commercial-laden rags.
  
  
• The ATM Journal , edited by Bill Cook, is another excellent quarterly catering to the varied interests of the amateur telescope-maker.
  

Have questions? Need answers? Try these links out:

• If you are an AOL subscriber, drop by The Astronomy Club, specifically the Observers' Outpost, where many helpful amateurs hang out (including myself).
  
  
• Kevin Daly's Webpage is a refreshing look at this hobby from someone new to this passion: Full of valuable information and advice for the beginner.
  

• Astronomy Cafe

• NASA's frequently asked space questions

• The Royal Greenwich Observatory
  
  

How about taking an astronomy course online?

• A class for Middle/High school level students.
  

• For a one week live class, see "Deep Sky Observing" below.

For excellent information on our own solar system, check out:

• Views of the Solar System
  
  
• Bill Arnett's  The Nine Planets
  
  
• A Walk of the Solar System lets you input your own sized Earth or Sun to see how far the other planets and nearest star are.  A very fun site!
  

• Check out George Rosenberg's Lure of Lunar Domes page for an idea of what can be done with an eight-inch Dob.

Perhaps you are interested in images of our universe.

• For great images, and equally great finder maps that you can print, try The Messier Catalog

• The ultimate portfolio is the Digitized Palomar Sky Survey (where in the universe do you want to go today?)

• Don't forget to check out The Hubble Space Telescope News home page.
  

Telescope Making

• If you haven't discovered my page Complete Plans to Make a Dobsonian Telescope  yet, check it out: Over 100 line drawings, as well as plywood cut patterns for six, eight, and ten inch telescopes. Also featured: Dobsonian Sun Telescope construction. "No special skills" required.
  

• The ATM home page is a good place to link up with other "TN's" (telescope nuts) and their ideas.
  
  
• We are all indebted to The Springfield Telescope Makers (Stellafane), where amateur telescope making began, and still thrives--check out their excellent Homepage.
  

• For information on building larger Dobsonians, specifically those that are truss-designed, check my vanity page ...here you will also find links to what I call "the equatorial platform approach."
  

• Crazy Ed Optical is a wonderful source for Ebony Star plastic laminate, Teflon, tube rings, and other hard to find "stuff" that the average ATM is always hunting for.
  

• The ATM resource list is just what the name implies. You WILL find what you are looking for here.
  

• Mel Bartels has a number of very good ATM pages, including two very good ones on collimating your Newtonian.
  
  
  
• Bob Fies, a local hero, does aluminum coating, or recoating, on your precious primary mirror. SA's have been going to him for years.
  

Books

• Willmann-Bell publishes an extensive collection of astronomy titles. They also offer astro-software, including my favorite: MegaStar.

• Orion Telescope and Binocular Center  stock a good selection of books, including one of my favorites: an old early 60's book originally published by Edmund Scientific written by Sam Brown, All About Telescopes.
  
  
• If you are looking for a hard to find, possibly out of print book, like Paul Hickson's Atlas of Compact Galaxy Groups, give www.amazon.com a shot.

Shopping

• If shopping is your thing, you should know about Astromart, an online, free classified service for astro equipment of all shapes and colors.
  
  
• Stargazer Steve makes very affordable small telescopes kits.
  
  
• K. Barry Peckham makes the finest, most compact medium and large truss-Dobs on the market today: Litebox Telescopes.
  

• StarMaster Telescopes is an up and coming manufacturer of quality, affordable Dobsonians.
  

• Quality Equatorial Platforms custom built by Tom Osypowski for your Dobsonian.

Deep Sky Observing

• Visit my latest, and most personal Webpage; one devoted to my pursuits in Deep-Sky Observing.
  
  
• Adventures in Deep Space is a page maintained by observing buddy Jim Shields. Full of great articles, and still growing.
  
  
• While you are at Jim's page above check out The San Francisco State University Sierra Nevada Field Campus. Jim, Steve Gottlieb, and myself are teachers' aids at a one week Astronomy Lab class held here every Summer.  The setting is idyllic; the class is inexpensive and open to all.  Jim has a good summary to entice you, and the SNFC has a Webpage of their own, complete with wonderful photos. Plan your astronomy vacation now!
  
  

Finally, a few all inclusive astro links (I assume you already know about search engines like Yahoo!):

• Akkana Peck has a very thorough list of astronomy sites, many with short descriptions.

• Astronet

• Michiel B's Hotlist
  

Back to: The San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers

last update: 6/28/99
Web author: Ray Cash