Science Sites
Science News
- Astrobiology Magazine " This online magazine focuses on the search for life elsewhere in the universe." (LII)
- _Nature_: Science Update "Now updated daily, this current awareness resource from _Nature_ will appeal to professional and armchair scientists alike."
- Scitech Daily Review Articles, book reviews, opinion pieces, essays, and new book notices in the fields of science and technology.
- ScienceDaily "breaking science news updated every 15 minutes"(LII)
- Scientific American News (RB)
- Universe Today A news service for space exploration.
- Smithsonian Physical Tables "...901 tables of general interest to scientists and engineers, and of particular interest to those involved with physics in its larger sense.(SR)
Astronomy
- Astronomy 162: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology "this particular resource deals with the course Astronomy 162, which covers stars, galaxies, and cosmology." (SR)
- The Astronomy Center "Sponsored by the American Astronomical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the National Science Digital Library, the site is a clearinghouse of digital resources that can serve as teaching aids, or as just a way to learn more about the world of astronomy." (SR)
- Astronomy Daily "offers real time astronomical data tailored to the viewer's location and time zone."(SR)
- Astronomy Magazine
- Astronomy Online "basic and accessible information about the world of astronomy" (SR)
- Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan "Launched from Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 15, 1997, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft will reach the Saturnian region in July 2004." (LII)
- Down to Earth Astronomy "Created by the Space Telescope Science Institute, this website provides access to fun and engaging learning activities about astronomy, all of which live up to the website's name. The Institute also happens to oversee the grant administration, planning, scheduling, and public outreach activities for the Hubble Space Telescope, so it makes sense that they would have some rather nice materials. While the site has a number of useful areas, perhaps the strongest element of the site is the "Amazing Space" section. Here, visitors can learn about the inner workings of telescopes, read their in-house publication "The Star Witness", and take in sights of black holes, comets, galaxies, and gravity at work. Educators should not overlook the "Teaching Tools" area of the site, as they will want to look through their classroom activities, graphic organizers, and reading guides." (SR)
- Saturn Moons Explorer: Titan "This particular site provides an overview of Titan, courtesy of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory" (SR)
- Cosmic Evolution: From Big Bang to Humankind From Tufts University(LII)
- HR 4796-Birth of Star System JPL Release
- Countdown to Europa 14
- NASA Lunar and Planetary Science: Comets "Collection of documents about comets (celestial bodies that orbit the sun), specific comets (such as Hale-Bopp), and NASA missions related to comets, including Deep Impact, Rosetta, and Stardust (which returned samples for analysis from the comet P/Wild 2 in January 2006). Also includes links to material on meteors and meteorites. From the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) National Space Science Data Center." (LII)
- Deep Sky Database "This site is a tool for amateur astronomers who love to pursue deep sky objects. It employs a web-based version of the Saguaro Astronomy Club's database (ver 7.2), consisting of over 10,000 records. This online version of the SAC database allows amateur astronomers to compile detailed and customized observing lists"
- Deep Impact from the Jet Propulsion Lab. Learn how to view comets. (TB)
- Q And A: Dark Matter Questions and answers about this "term used to describe the mass in galaxies and clusters whose existence we infer from rotation curves and other techniques, but which has not been confirmed by observations on any electromagnetic wavelength." Topics include black holes, parallel universes, gravity, and more. Includes the related essay, "Dark Matter Mystery." From the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. (LII)
- NASA Eclipse Web Site "Describes forthcoming and past solar and lunar eclipses. Features charts, maps, and the "Five Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses," which provides historical information as well as eclipse predictions into the 30th century. Includes material such as a live webcast of the August 1, 2008, total eclipse of the sun. Also includes material about planetary transits across the sun and links to related sites. From the Planetary Systems Branch, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center." (LII)
- Encyclopedia Astronautica "Sponsored by Friends and Partners in Space".
- Touchdown on Eros
- Exoplanets.org "This project looks for and documents planets orbiting nearby stars. To date, over 200 of these exoplanets have been discovered. The site features a catalog of exoplanets, a description of how exoplanets are discovered, a virtual tour of the Automated Planet Finder Telescope, a bibliography of research publications, and related material. From the University of California, Berkeley, and Carnegie Institution." (LII)
- "Spacecraft Makes Historic First-Ever Asteroid Landing" [RealPlayer, QuickTime, Windows Media Player]
- Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) 'Information about this "orbiting space telescope that will observe galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history." Features quick facts, images, a glossary, educational materials, and updates about this mission, which is a partnership between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology (CalTech).' (LII)
- Hubble Information
- Hubble Heritage Project A "Celestial Photo Album" from The Space Telescope Science Institute. It is updated the first Thursday of each month.
- Infrared Astronomy "This delightful website (created by NASA and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology) provides a wide range of material on this fascinating area of scientific study. Visitors can lean about the discovery of infrared, learn about the technology that is used in such endeavors, and of course, look over dozens of infrared images and video clips." (SR)
- International Space Station: An Interactive Reference Guide "NASA can really put together a website, and the dramatic visual and audio introduction to their online interactive guide to the world of the International Space Station (ISS) is worth sitting back and watching in its entirety. After the introduction, visitors can listen to Commander Mike Fincke talk about the various scientific endeavors that are part of the Station's mission. The rest of the materials on the site are divided into three sections: "How the Crew Lives", "How it Works", and "ISS 360 Tour". While all of the sections are equally interesting, the "How the Crew Lives" is quite a treat, as visitors can watch videos demonstrating how the crew eats, sleeps, and exercises. Of course, visitors with a penchant for engineering technology should definitely not miss the "How it Works" area, which contains explanations of how the ISS is operated and supported. Finally, the site also contains a music video which blends together what sounds like early 1990s-techno music with in-flight scenes of space scientists at work and play. [KMG]" (SR)
- Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon
- Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) "This site provides background and updates on the construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which "will provide time-lapse digital imaging of faint astronomical objects across the entire sky." Features details about the telescope (to be located in northern Chile) and areas planned for study by the telescope (such as dark energy and near-Earth objects), photos, material for scientists, and more. LSST is "a collaboration of a number of national labs and organizations." " (LII)
- Mars
- Mars Exploration Rover Mission Home page for the "twin robot geologists," Spirit and Opportunity, and their mission to Mars to research the "history of water on the planet." (LII)
- Exploring Mars "a great place to start for school reports (try Mars at a Glance) or browsing for the fun of it." (SR)
- exploreMarsnow.org "This site presents an interactive, three-dimensional model of a possible base station and habitat for the first humans on Mars." (LII)
- University of New Mexico: Institute of Meteoritics "features the Institute's Electron Microbeam Facility, Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, and the High Pressure and High Temperature Experimental Petrology Laboratories." (SR)
- Windows to the Universe: Mars "Pages and pages of Mars delights await you at this educational site from the University of Michigan." (SR)
- Mars Global Surveyor: Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Image Gallery "Over 100,000 photographs of Mars, taken by three cameras." (LII)
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) "Information about NASA's summer 2005 mission to Mars that "will examine the red planet in unprecedented detail from low orbit" and "will examine Martian features ranging from the top of the atmosphere to underground layering." " (LII)
- Moon Watch "This site contains information about predicting and observing the new crescent moon." (LII)
- NASA's Mars Exploration Program All things Mars for students. (LII)
- Special Report: 2001 Odyssey Mission to Mars "Space.com offers this special look at the Odyssey Mission, the latest robotic probe circling Mars that delivered its first pictures back to Earth earlier this fall." (SR)
- NGC 4414 Collage Page
- New Horizons: NASA's Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission the "New Horizons project intends to begin a mission to explore Pluto and Charon sometime in the near future, and the hope is that the project would also explore a variety of objects in the Kuiper Belt Region beyond Neptune." (SR)
- Planet Quest "This informative and comprehensive site tracks the search for new planets." (LII)
- What Makes a Planet? "Brief introduction for the layperson about the definition of what is a planet and about the 2006 controversy about whether Pluto is a planet. This site notes "there are many things that make Pluto quite different from the [other eight] planets," so that it is "very hard to classify Pluto with the rest of the major planets." From a professor in the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University." (LII)
- ESA: Science and Technology: Rosetta "The purpose of the European Space Agency (ESA) Rosetta Orbiter is "to study the origin of comets, the relationship between cometary and interstellar material and its implications with regard to the origin of the Solar System." The site provides a description of the orbiter, an overview of its flight (including "its first Earth swing-by" on March 4, 2005), news, summaries of related publications (with some links to full text), images, and a glossary." (LII)
- Sedna (2003 VB12) background information about Sedna. (LII)
- SEMS, Sun, Earth, Moon Systems: Eclipses, Transits and Phases "This site features webcasts of solar and lunar eclipses and planetary transits, including for the August 1, 2008, total solar eclipse over China. Also includes information and a blog about an expedition to view and film the eclipse in China, background about solar and lunar eclipses and moon phases, and material about webcasting. From the University of South Dakota Department of Computer Science." (LII)
- Howstuffworks: How Space Shuttles Work "monumental technology behind America's shuttle program, the mission it was designed to carry out, and the extraordinary efforts that NASA has done to return the shuttle to flight." (STN)
- Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) From JPL, this site has news, links, and information about the mission.
- SIMBAD Astronomical Database [Java] "The SIMBAD astronomical database provides basic data, cross-identifications, and bibliography for astronomical objects outside the solar system." (SR)
- Skymaps.com "a free monthly map of the sky for the southern and northern hemispheres in print-friendly formats." (LII)
- Solar Flare Theory "general information about solar flares, soft and hard x-ray (high energy x-ray) images, a glossary, a FAQ, and links to related information." (LII)
- Solar Physics an overview of solar physics (LII)
- Solar Sail from the Planetary Society, information about the Cosmos I, "a spacecraft without an engine" (LII)
- Solar System Exploration: Neptune "Information about the eighth planet from the sun, including an overview, facts and figures, and images. Also includes information about Neptune's moons and rings, and a children's section. From the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)." (LII)
- Space Environment Center "current information on geomagnetic storms, solar winds, solar flares, and aurora activity." (LII)
- Space Shuttle: Shuttle Mission: STS-121 "Background and updates about this space shuttle mission that launched on July 4, 2006 with a primary purpose of testing shuttle safety improvements "to build on the findings from
Discovery's flight last year." Includes fact sheets, status reports, photos, video clips, and other material on the shuttle and the mission. From the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)." (LII)
- Spitzer Space Telescope News and background information about the NASA telescope, which is a "space-borne, cryogenically-cooled infrared observatory capable of studying objects ranging from our Solar System to the distant reaches of the Universe." (LII)
- STARDUST Project -- NASA. The spacecraft that is expected to bring back material from a comet.
- Subaru Telescope Homepage
- "10th Planet" Discovered Includes photos, an artist's concept of the planet, and audio of the story. From the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (RT)
- Views of the Solar System from the Hawaiian Astronomical Society.
- YourSky "a virtual planetarium" (SR)
- Satellites
General
- Antimatter: Mirror of the Universe "From the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world's largest particle physics centre, everything you wanted to know about Antimatter, from History to Everyday Use. For younger readers, discover antimatter in our kid's corner."
- Complete Works of Charles Darwin " This site contains Darwin's complete publications, many handwritten manuscripts and the largest Darwin bibliography and manuscript catalogue ever published. There are over 160 ancillary texts, from reference works to reviews, obituaries, recollections and more. Free mp3 downloads are available." (LIB)
- Einstein Light: A Brief Illumination of Relativity "...presents a brief overview of Einstein’s theory of relativity and its relationship to the work done by Galileo and Newton." (SR)
- Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress answers to questions that "deal with everyday phenomena that we often take for granted, but ... can be explained scientifically. ... All of the questions presented on this Web site were asked by researchers and answered by librarians from the Library's Science Reference Services." (LII)
- Geology.com Current Events, Maps, Articles, Careers, Satellite Images.
- Global Warming Facts and Our Future "An exhibit "to help us make informed decisions and to help answer some important questions" about global warming. Topics explored include the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle, causes of climate change (such as ocean circulation, volcanic eruptions, and human activity), historical climate change, and more. Includes activities, related links, and reading suggestions. From the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences." (LII)
- The Habitable Planet: A Systems Approach to Environmental Science "Phrases like "biodiversity climate" and "ecosystems" are becoming ubiquitous on evening television broadcasts, yet some may still be unfamiliar with these terms and concepts. Fortunately, there is "The Habitable Planet" website, which was designed by Annenberg Media for teachers and adult learners who wish to learn more about current events in environmental science. The content on the site is divided into thirteen areas, which include oceans, water resources, energy challenges, and agriculture. Within each section, visitors can make their way through separate sections within the online textbook, and also view content that includes interactive labs, graphics, video clips, and specialized glossaries. Returning to the site's homepage, visitors will also note that they can view the content by type, which makes it a bit easier if they are looking for a specific video clip or visual feature." (SR)
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) "This panel, established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), assesses "the scientific, technical and
socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation." The panel's websites features reports (including the 2007 report declaring "warming of the climate system is unequivocal"), details about working groups, press releases, and related material. Some documents available in multiple language." (LII)
- Gravity Probe B: Testing Einstein's Universe "detailed information about the project, lithographs, a timeline, a FAQ, scientific papers, an image library, a glossary, classroom materials, and related information." (LII)
- The Broad Benefits of Restoring the Great Lakes "With good reason, there is a great deal of concern about the future of the Great Lakes. Collectively, these bodies of water account for 90 percent of the United States' and 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water. Beyond that crucial fact, the Great Lakes represent an enormous economic and cultural resource to the region. Recently the Brookings Institution's own John C. Austin, Soren Anderson, Paul N. Courant, and Robert E. Litan crafted this 16-page paper which addresses the benefits of restoring the Great Lakes ecosystem. The report begins by outlining the major elements of the restoration strategy, and it also details the costs of cleaning and preserving the ecosystem. It's a thoughtful and well-laid out report, and policymakers and others will want to take a look at their findings." (SR)
- Nordlys Northern Lights "provides information about their cause, appearance, and the places where they occur plus historical, scientific and mythological details about them." (LII)
- The Science of Flight a very good introduction to flight. (LII)
- From Stargazers to Starships Explore Gravity with three tutorials at this site from NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Institute of Space and Astronomical Science of japan
- The Joshua Lederberg Papers [.pdf, Quicktime, RealPlayer, JPG] Part of the Profiles in Science Site.
- Los Alamos National Laboratory e-Print archive [.dvi, .gzip, .pdf, .ps, .tarz] "The newest results from science experiments in Physics, Mathematics, Nonlinear Sciences, and Computer Science are reported".
- NASA's Origins Program [pdf] "Since time immemorial, humans have asked such fundamental questions as "Are we alone" and "Where did we come from?". Taking on some of those fundamental questions through the use of scientific inquiry is the Origins program, operated under the auspices of NASA." (SR)
- Ocean Atlas from the United Nations RB)
- Ocean World "Information about many aspects of oceanography" (LII)
- Science Odyssey Tie in to the PBS special
- Plants National Database
- eNature.com "This new nature portal offers online searchable field guides to over 4,800 plant and animal species."
- Mysteries of the Nile -- NOVA Online [Quicktime 3.0]
- Office of Naval Research (ONR) Science and Technology Focus: Oceanography lots of information on the oceans. (LII)
- PlanetPhysics "PlanetPhysics is a virtual community which aims to help make physics knowledge more accessible. PlanetPhysics's content is created collaboratively: the main feature is the physics encyclopedia with entries written and reviewed by members. The entries are contributed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (FDL) in order to preserve the rights of both the authors and readers in a sensible way." (IRN)
- How Power Grids Work "Describes the distribution of electrical power from the power plant and distribution grids to the private home and fuses and circuit breakers. From How Stuff Works." (LII)
- North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC)"includes press releases, information about and links to the regional councils, and information about committees, meetings, legislation, standards, assessments, and more."
- U.S. Power Grids "A map showing the three "main interconnections of the U.S. electric power grid and the ten North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) regions" is accompanied by a brief explanation of the relationships between the grids. From the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)."
- Wind Powering America "consumer information about wind power in a question and answer format, with links to documents from the DOE and elsewhere."
- Southern California Earthquake Center [.pdf]. Find out all about earthquakes and where they are liking to hit next.
- Orbital Debris Frequently Asked Questions A FAQ on orbital debris, which is defined as "any man-made object in orbit about the Earth which no longer serves a useful purpose."
- IRIS Seismic Monitor " "Seismic Monitor allows you to monitor global earthquakes in near real-time, visit seismic stations around the world, and search the web for earthquake or region-related information." The maps on this site "show events retrieved from the IRIS Data Management Center's earthquake database in Seattle, Washington, which receives data from a number of sources." From the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), a university research consortium." (LII)
- Elegant Universe PBS special about String Theory. (LII)
- The Official String Theory Web Site "a great resource for everyone interested in physics and the string theory." (SR)
- Quantum Physics made relatively simple "In 1999, legendary theoretical physicist Hans Bethe delivered three lectures on quantum theory to his neighbors at the Kendal of Ithaca retirement community (near Cornell University). Given by Professor Bethe at age 93, the lectures are presented here as QuickTime videos synchronized with slides of his talking points and archival material." (LII)
- Advanced Quantum Information Science: Unlocking Secrets "This site explains the importance of the field of quantum information (QI), which "seeks to control and exploit [some of the smallest articles in nature] for scientific and societal benefits. This remarkable field combines physics, information science, and mathematics in an effort to design nanotechnologies" in computing and encryption. Provides illustrated essays on quantum computing, entanglement, quantum communications, and related concepts. From the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Quantum Information Program." (LII)
- Visible Earth - NASA [Quicktime, .mpg, .tiff, .tar] a "collection of images and animations of our planet"
- A Visual Interpretation of the Table of Elements -- chemsoc (Chemistry Societies Network) [.pdf] A different way of looking at the periodic table, with computer-generated images of all 109 elements.
- Web-Elements--Periodic Table The Periodic Table of Elements.
- Whale Watching
- Why Files facts behind the science (RB)
- World Wildlife Fund
Weather Information
To see the review sources used see our Review Source Page
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Created: 1/15/97