Star & planet weblinks

The Astronomy Forum

Giant leaps

They might demand better conditions than robots, and be more awkward to send, but there are times when you really need the human touch - and that means manned missions.

Threat or blessing?

If an asteroid heads our way, should we take evasive action - or grab our mining equipment? Do we avoid or exploit?

Fear in the skies?

While many asteroids break up when they hit Earth's atmosphere, when larger bodies head towards earth, they can do real damage. Just ask the dinosaurs. But are the risks just Hollywood hype, or is there real fear in the skies?

Space for your views

Share your questions, your theories and your own observations with hundreds of other users in the forums - the perfect place to talk astronomy.

Find out more about space, astronomy and the stars with our suggested weblinks

Elsewhere on Open2.net

Stardate: Transit of Venus - relive the rare passage of Venus across the Sun
Measure The AU - explore how the Transit can be used to calculate the distance between Earth and the Sun, and use our footage to calculate your own Astronomical Unit
All Night Star Party - we stayed up late one night to capture a range of extraordinary images from across the night sky
Rough Science - in the closest thing to Mars on Earth, Death Valley, our scientists faced a series of space challenges
Schools Pack - recreate Rough Science's Space challenges in your classroom
Explore Mars - get to know the Red Planet with our interactive guide
Beagle2 - revisit the planning that went into the ultimately ill-fated attempt to land a rover on Mars
Virtual Planisphere - use our interactive to map the skies

From bbc.co.uk

Space - bbc.co.uk's Space portal
Play Space - games, quizzes and downloads
Deep Space - the universe beyond our solar system
Galaxies - there's more to a galaxy than just a bunch of stars
Science and Nature news - the latest from BBC News online
Virutal tour of the National Space Centre - BBC Leicester's virtual tour

From The Open University

Astronomy Research Group - members of this group have research interests in various areas of astronomy, astrophysics and space science
Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute - PSSRI has over 60 academics, research staff and research students boasting a wide range of strengths across planetary and space science.
Physics and Astronomy at the Open University - the homepage for the subjects at the OU
Physics and Astronomy events - find out what's on

From further afield...

The BBC and the Open University are not responsible for the content of external websites
Aspire Space - the home of one of Britain's leading amateur rocketry organisations
Astronomer - offers a wide range of members' obseravtions. Some features require subscription
Astronomy - Astronomy Magazine's online presence, including latest news and images. Some features require subscription.
Astronomy Now - News, sky charts and more from Astronomy Now magazine
British Astronomical Association - founded over 100 years ago, the Association aims are "the encouragement of all aspects of observational astronomy and the association of observers at all levels for mutual help"
British National Space Centre - a voluntary partnership between ten UK government departments and funding bodies to co-ordinate the UK's presence in space
ESA - The European Space Agency
Federation of Astronomical Socities - a union of astronomical societies throughout the UK, offering - amongst other services - a regular newsletter and a wealth of information about astronomy education
Google News - Space - the latest news stories on "space" from around the World
Guardian: Space - reports on Space exploration
International Meteor Organisation - collects data from observers of meteor showers around the globe
Jonathan's Space Review - bi-monthly round up of launches of manned and unmanned objects into space
NASA - Main entry-point for NASA on the web
NASA Today - the latest from NASA
Popular Astronomy - for over five decades the Society for Popular Astronomy has been offering help and advice to beginners and the experienced
Royal Astronomical Society - the RAS describe themselves as "the UK's leading professional body for astronomy & astrophysics, geophysics, solar and solar-terrestrial physics, and planetary sciences"
Salopian Web - full of advice and suggestions for the amateur astronomer
Sky and Telescope - known for its reviews of kit, the S&T website also features some nifty 'how to' guides as well as news and images
Solar System Live - Observe the Solar System in real time
Space Daily - "Your portal to space" has a free daily email bulletin service alongside its impressively comprehensive news ticker
UK Students for the Exploration and Development of Space - an international organisation dedicated to raising awareness of space education and space related issues in society