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Sites of the Week for September 1997

Week of September 1, 1997

Space Business: Space Business.com advertises a "wealth of business information" about the space industry, and they do a good job delivering. The site features a listing of some 1,750 space-related companies and organizations, organizes in a searchable and browsable database, as well as similar listings of conferences and financing information. There are also books and other resources that can be purchased and and a classified job listing where space-related positions are advertised.
http://www.spacebusiness.com/

Space Educators' Handbook: The Space Educator's Handbook offers an immense assortment of space-related educational resources. The Web site includes "Space Museum", which shows how to use space memorabilia to teach space to students; online versions of educational space comics; past issues of NASA's "Spinoff" magazine, and more. This information is also available in standalone files that can be run on MacOS and Windows machines using HyperCard and ToolBox. Teachers and students alike can use this site to start off the school year learning about space!
http://tommy.jsc.nasa.gov/~woodfill/SPACEED/SEHHTML/seh.html

The Cosmic Mirror: The Cosmic Mirror provides updates on events in astronomy and space exploration. Updates usually come once a week, but editor Daniel Fischer provides more frequent updates during conferences and other special events. The news articles include links to more detailed information on other Web sites.
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5599/mirror.html

Regulus! The Astronomy Newsletter: Amateur astronomers looking for information about their hobby online should check out "Regulus!", an online astronomy newsletter. The site features content updated monthly on the state of amateur astronomy, from what's visible in the night sky that month to feature articles and scientific papers. The site also features something not found on many other Web sites: staying power. Regulus is celebrating two years on the Web this month.
http://www.mv.com/ipusers/regulus/regulus.html

The Columbus Optical SETI Observatory: Most people associate SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) with radio observatories and seraches at microwave wavelengths. However, as Dr. Stuart Kingsley explains at this Web site, searches at optical wavelengths -- from the ultraviolet through the visible to the infrared -- can also be used to turn up evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. This largely overlooked techinique is discussed in detail at this Web site, along with other information about SETI.
http://www.coseti.org

Stanford SOLAR Center: The Stanford SOLAR (Solar On-Line Activity Resources) Center provides educational activities about the Sun based on data from the SOHO mission. There are activities, basic information, solar artwork (including images and illustrations of data), and an opportunity to ask questions of solar physicists, among other features. This site is an excellent resource for students wishing to learn more about the Sun.
http://solar-center.stanford.edu

Mars in the Mind of Earth: While Mars has captured our interest in the last year, from the discovery of possible evidence of past life on the planet to the successful Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor missions, the planet has been the subject of hundreds of books, articles, and other writings for centuries. Mars in the Mind of Earth is a bibliography of those works, from science fiction to serious scientific articles to movies and Web sites about the Red Planet. This site is a great starting point in your search for information about Mars.
http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~cerebus/mars

Mars Global Surveyor: It's been less than a couple weeks since Mars Global Surveyor entered orbit around the Red Planet, and already it is returning new information about Mars. Even though it will be several months before the spacecraft begins full science operations, now is a great time to check out the official spacecraft Web site at JPL. You can keep track of the current status of the spacecraft as it slowly circularizes its orbit, read more about the mission and the science it will perform, and check out some images an animations of the spacecraft. It's another great way to get involved with space exploration!
http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/

Sputnik: The Fortieth Anniversary: This Saturday, October 4, marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the satellite that opened the Space Age and started the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The NASA History Office has compiled an impressive online resource with information about Sputnik, placed in a historical background from the years leading up to Sputnik to the launch of Explorer 1, America's first satellite. This site includes a detailed chronology, pictures of Sputnik and American satellites, and much more.
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/

The Archimedes Institute: The Archimedes Institute is "devoted to the efficient and equitable development of the solar system" by studying the current legal structure which makes commercial use of space, including claims of other bodies in the solar system, difficult to impossible. The institute's Web site features a large collection of legal and other documents related to space, including federal legislation and international treaties. There's also a private registry which is designed to handle claims on extraterrestrial bodies.
http://www.permanent.com/archimedes/

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