Rare Bird, Inc. | Articles : Good/Bad Astronomy

	Web Reviews From 1997 to the present, President/Creative Director, Jim Cota has been writing informative reviews of Web sites and other internet related issues for the Indianapolis Business Journal. If you've missed the articles in print you can catch up on past stories here. Articles are reprinted with permission of the Indianapolis Business Journal, copyright 1997 - 2005, IBJ Corp.

Good/Bad Astronomy

Maybe it's in the spirit of "Spirit", the Mars rover that is traipsing across the surface of the red planet. Or perhaps it's President Bush's stated goal of putting a colony of Americans on the Moon and sending a manned spaceship to Mars. Regardless of the reason, I find myself in a bit of a stargazing mood at the turn of the year. So today we'll take a look at some of the most interesting, informative, and astounding space sites.

First, Mars: The main NASA site (http://www.nasa.gov/) has links to the most popular sections of their site dealing with the two new Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity (scheduled to touch down later in January). The images being sent back are the highest resolution ever to be taken from the surface of the planet, and scientists hope these rovers — affectionately called "traveling geologists" — will help unravel the mysteries of our neighbor and help determine if Mars ever supported life forms. Another site that deals significantly with the topic of Mars is Mars Dead or Alive, presented by Nova. This site is a companion to a fascinating Nova special on PBS regarding the two rovers and the challenges facing these missions. Be sure you see both.

From it's launch in 1990 until it's mission end (expected in 2010), the Hubble Space Telescope has provided (and will continue to provide) some of the most stunning photos of space ever seen. This Flash site shows some of the most amazing photos of the thousands taken during its flight.

Of course, if you're hoping to pull together a collection of the best Hubble images for computer wallpaper, then you need look no further than the aptly-named Hubble Wallpaper. This site has pulled together stellar images from the Hubble flight and made them easily accessible.

If you have a broadband internet connection and an interest in great photos, be sure to see GRIN: Great Images In NASA. GRIN is a collection of over a thousand high-resolution images of significant historical interest. It's intended primarily for use by media and publishers, but this treasure trove of images can be a great resource for anyone interested in space exploration, including students writing reports. Using this collection, you can locate photos of significant space finds, famous astronauts, or even the spacecraft they took skyward.

If you're looking for a good primer our solar system and hope to actually understand what you read, then one of the best places on the Internet would be Bad Astronomy, a site that is well-maintained by real-life astronomer Philip Plait. Plait's aim is to teach basic astronomy by communicating difficult astronomical techniques to people unfamiliar with the jargon, a goal that he achieves time and again. Once there, be sure to read the "Misconceptions" section, which is a summation of the reason he started the site in the first place. Here you can read about standing an egg on end during the Spring equinox, the Apollo Moon landing "hoax", the infamous "smokestack" on the Moon, and more.