| Recommended Astronomy Links |
These are some recommended astronomy related websites. If you have, or know of, a good website which should be included in this list, then please send an email to
Please note that CPAC is not responsible for the content of any external web sites.
Say No to Light Pollution
Campaign for Dark Skies
Better lighting will keep the skies dark whilst lighting up the streets.
UK Parliament Science and Technology committee report into light pollution.
International Year of Astronomy 2009
The 100 Hours of Astronomy. An Event 400 Years in the Making - 2nd to 5th April 2009
CPAC Members' Personal Websites
Dave Smith's Website
Club Member, Dave Smith, hosts his own website. An interesting assortment of astronomy pictures and pictures of birds!
Jim's Astronomical Pages
Club Member, Jim Vincent, hosts his own website with astronomical pictures and information
Peter Carson's Website
Club Member, Peter Carson, hosts his own website displaying his own astro photos.
Tim's Astro Pics
Club Member, Tim Duke, hosts his own website with many Astronomy photos taken by himself.
Around Essex
Loughton Astronomical Society
Meets Every Thursday in the Scout Hall, Theydon Bois, Essex.
Southend Planetarium
Just next to Southend Victoria Railway Station, is the Southend Museum. In here, you
can visit the Southend Planetarium and receive a realistic tour of the skies.
North Essex Astronomical Society
Another Essex Astronomy Club, covering the North of Essex.
National and International Organisations
The Federation of Astronomical Societies
The Castle Point Astronomy Club and the other two Essex Clubs mentioned above are
members of the Federation of Astronomical Societies. If you do not live in Essex, you
will find a good Astronomy Club near you.
The Society of Popular Astronomy
A friendly national society which is open to anyone to join.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
NASA's Homepage
No Astronomical list will be complete without this entry.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Information on Cassini, Galileo, Voyager 1 & 2, Mars Global Surveyor and future
missions to the solar-system.
The world's largest space-interest group, is dedicated to inspiring the public with the adventure and mystery of space exploration.
Astronomical Utilities (Calculations and Predictions)
Heavens Above
When and Where to see the International Space Station (ISS). This website plots
the path and transit times of the ISS above your location.
Comets currently or soon to be visible in the night sky.
Earth, Moon and Sky Viewer
A very good website which displays the
Night-Skyabove your location. It can also show in graphic form the
Earth as it is illuminated by the Sun. This website can also show what the
Earth would look like right now if you were viewing it from the Moon
Good Astronomy related Screen-Savers too to download. Many other very good HTML and Java
applications for keen astronomers.
Weather
BBC Essex Cloud Forecast
As well as very accurate cloud cover predictions for the next 24 hours and a few days ahead,
it also has tabs to other maps such as rainfall, temperature, wind etc.
Weather Underground Forecast for Southend-on-Sea
Clear Sky Clock
This predicts cloud and other behaviour for your location for the next 72 hours. You can
enter your lat and long if you know it. If not, it has an impressive database of locations to
choose from.
Astro Imaging Links
APT - Advanced Photography Tool
Morgan Computers for Webcams and adapters
Bahtinov Focusing Mask Generator
There are lots of these available on the web. Some are audio Podcasts, some are video ones known as Vodcasts You can play them on your computer or your portable media player. The best ones I have found are:
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is a project that will publish one podcast per day, for all 365 days of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. The podcast episodes are written, recorded and produced by people around the world.
Astronomy Cast
This Podcast is ideal for beginners and is very accessible, if a bit American in its
presentation. The web site also has full transcripts of each show, show notes, pictures
and other supporting material and links.
The Jodcast
This is produced twice a month by Jodrell Bank. It is not just about radio
astronomy, but covers all aspects of the subject. The interviews are sometimes quite
long and in depth, but are usually very good. It also has some quirky humour and
quizzes as well as a guide to the night's sky for that month.
The Sky at Night Magazine Podcasts and Vodcasts
A bit of a trailer for the magazine this one, but interesting nevertheless.
I can supply all the back episodes of the above to CPAC Members only on request. Contact me at
If you are not a Member of CPAC, please do not ask. You could of course, always join!
Other Interesting Websites
So You Wanna Buy a Telescope... Advice for Beginners
Astronomy
Picture of the Day
A high-resolution astronomy picture from Nasa updated daily. Why not make it your
default start-up page?
Finding things in the night sky
Hermit Eclipse
Solar and Lunar Eclipse Information.
Hubble Space Telescope
Latest pictures and more information.
Moon Illusion
Why does the Moon look bigger when it is near the horizon?
NASA News
A very interesting site that you can subscribe to for e-mail updates or RSS feeds of astronomy news
Space Weather
Information on Aurora, meteors, solar activity and other solar system events and
news. You can also subscribe so that news of interesting events are e-mailed to you.
www.calsky.com
Similar to Spaceweather. You can also subscribe to this one.
Stargazers Lounge - On line astronomy forum
Lots of things to read on cloudy nights!