General Interest Astronomy

365 Days of Astronomy Podcast

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is a project that will publish one podcast per day, for all 365 days of 2009 and 2010 -- and now 2011. The podcast episodes are written, recorded and produced by people around the world.

American Association of Variable Star Observers

The AAVSO is an international scientific and educational non-profit organization of amateur and professional astronomers who are interested in particular types of stars that change in brightness, known as variable stars. Founded in 1911 at Harvard College Observatory, today the AAVSO - by way of its contingent of dedicated volunteers - has contributed millions of observations of variable stars, much of which is useful for the support of valuable research.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is supported by NASA and Michigan Technological University, which since 1995 features a different image or photograph of the universe every day. Each image is accompanied by a brief explanation provided by a professional astronomer of what is depicted therein, and though the images are not necessarily taken from that particular day they often correspond with current astronomical events. APOD is an excellent window into the beauty and majesty of the universe and unlike a real sky is always accessible even in the day time or under cloudy skies!

Cosmic Diary

The Cosmic Diary is not just about astronomy. It's a blog about what it is like to be an astronomer with the aim of putting a human face on the field. Read about the lives of professional scientists as they write about their own lives including family, friends, hobbies and interests, as well as their work, their latest research findings and the challenges that face them. The bloggers represent a vibrant cross-section of female and male working astronomers from five different continents. Read about the lives of observers, graduate students, grant proposers, instrument builders and data analysts all of whom are really just musicians, mothers, photographers, athletes, and amateur astronomers too.

Epo's Chronicles

Read the engaging chronicles of Alkina and Epo - presented as an online comic! Follow Alkina's adventure together with her sentient spaceship companion, Epo, as they set off to explore the universe and discover the mysteries of it's origins. Readers are also encouraged to write in to the Epo's Chronicles team with their own questions which may then be featured in an upcoming comic! Epo's Chronicles is supported by the University of Sonoma's Department of Education and Public Outreach in conjunction with NASA.

Harvard-Smithsonian CfA MicroObservatory

MicroObservatory is a network of small robotic telescopes situated throughout the continental United States of America, invented and maintained by the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics. Each 1-metre tall telescope utilizes a 14-centimetre mirror to capture light from distant objects in space. The light is collected on a CCD that records the image as a picture file of 650-by-650 pixel resolution. MicroObservatory is freely available to the public and requests for images will be processed within 48 hours by one of the telescopes and forwarded to you via e-mail!

SETI@Home

SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is a project whose goal is the detection of intelligent life from beyond the sphere of our solar system. Such projects often use radio telescopes to search for narrow-bandwidth radio signals from space. Such signals are not known to occur naturally and so the detection of such a signal would be a strong indicator of the existance of extraterrestrial technology. Unfortunately the universe is awash in radio signals from both celestial and earthly sources so SETI projects require enormous computing power to sift through the volumes of data collected by their telescopes. With SETI@Home you too can become part of the solution, donating your own computer's resources to help scientists analyze data in the search for what could potentially be the greatest discovery in the history of humanity!

Star-Finder.ca

If you've already attended any of the International Year of Astronomy events happening throughout the year, then chances are that you may already have your very own star-finder (also known as a planisphere). Star-Finder.ca is a resource designed for everyone interested in astronomy, containing links to articles and other resources to help you learn to navigate the night sky - and all you need to get started is a clear night and you!