by Anna Sanclement

Created on: January 23, 2009

The Internet can be a great research tool. You can virtually find anything and everything, of course not all content is trustworthy. This is why it's important to know which sites are legitimate and offer true and factual information. This is specially important when it comes to subjects like astronomy. Fortunately there are plenty of great websites for anyone from an amateur or aspiring astronomer to avid professional astronomer buffs.

In this article I will list a few of the best on-line resources that you can find on the web. They are not posted in any particular order, they are just listed for the different information they offer. Some are official sites, others from private individuals and some are from educational institutions.

hubblesite.org This is a magnificent website, full of space information and incredible photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. And it doesn't stop there. The departments on the site include a Newscenter, where you can find the latest news on astronomy and space, it also includes in depth information on the upcoming Hubble Repair Mission. There is also a press resource for journalists to find upcoming events, etc...

Another department of note is the Explore Astronomy section, there you can get extensive information on all types of astronomy subjects such as black holes, universe mysteries and cosmic events. There is also a weekly podcast called SkyWatch with HubbleWatch which covers the latest astronomy discoveries. In this section you can also get a look at the sky as it appears each month, scan through Hubble images with Google Earth and make your computer a planetarium using the World Wide Telescope Software (you'll need a computer with a lot of power for this).

There is also an extensive Gallery of Hubble photos, a reference desk section, resources for teachers and students as well as an extensive look at how the Hubble Telescope actually operates. This site is a must for anyone interested in anything relating to astronomy and should definitely be a Bookmark on your browser.

www.nasa.gov The NASA website is another well of information. It is so extensive that it would take a whole article in itself to to cover it all! There is the main page where you can access news about NASA and also follow all their present and future missions. You can even watch NASATV from the Multimedia section of the site as well as videos, podcasts, photos, 3D sources and interactive features. You can also access sections for teachers and students where

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