Calendar

2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004

Monthly calendar of sunrise/set, twilight times, moonrise/set, and Moon phases...

Wristwatch (or Atomic Clock) & Time Conversion Table

• Digital wristwatch featuring 12- or 24-hour time display. Better option: use an ExactSet™ RM806 radio-controlled atomic clock from Oregon Scientific, Inc.
• Exact Time of Day
• Time Conversion Table (UTC/EST/EDT)

Cloud Chart

Skywatcher's Cloud Chart - online, interactive version of the popular cloud chart from The Weather Channel & For Spacious Skies, a national effort to increase sky awareness and concern.

Red Light (Flashlight)

Pilot's Nite Site Lite - Red ($22.95)
"The ingenious push-pull action converts the light from white to red with easy, one-hand operation. Use the Red Light to preserve night vision and the white light for ... other lighting needs." (Excerpt from online catalog.)

Astronomy Calculator

Enter the current date (or a date in the future, then click "Show") and the Astronomy Calculator provides the Phases of the Moon, Next Lunar Eclipse, Next Meteor Shower, and location of the Planets.

U.S. Naval Observatory

USNO Data Services provides information for a variety of astronomical applications, including:
• Sunrise, Sunset, Moonrise, Moonset, and Twilight
• Moon Illumination
• Positions of the Sun and Moon
• Data for Solar System Bodies and Bright Stars

Moon-watching & Moon Maps

Get to know some of the Moon's prominent surface features using the space.com Skywatcher's Guide to the Moon (including a free Printable Moon Map). Sky & Telescope/How To/Telescopes & Binoculars/Binoculars: Halfway to a Telescope (continued)/The Moon includes a hyperlink to a photographic Moon map. For a more detailed, inexpensive Moon Map, shop the Sky & Telescope "Shop At Sky" online store.

Star Charts

Skymaps.com - free monthly star maps, available in Adobe Acrobat PDF

Messier Objects Chart

• The Messier Catalog - Indexes
• Online, interactive poster version of Messier Objects

Satellite Tracking/Predictions

Track the International Space Station (ISS) in real-time. This NASA Web site makes it easy to locate some of the larger man-made objects in space, including the ISS, Space Shuttle (when in orbit), or Hubble Space Telescope. Or use J-Pass Version 2.5 beta to calculate the next visible pass of these man-made satellites (your Web browser must support Java applets).

A highly recommended non-NASA satellite tracking Web site, Heavens-Above provides daily predictions for all satellites brighter than a user-specified limiting magnitude (use 3.5 for light-polluted urban areas), as well as detailed star charts showing the satellite's track through the heavens. All Heavens-Above Web pages, including the graphics, are generated in real-time and customized for the user's location and time zone. "Anonymous users" will need to specify their location (once per session), otherwise it is unnecessary to become a registered user.

Binoculars

The experts agree, your first telescope should be a good pair of binoculars! A sturdy tripod with a binocular tripod adapter is helpful.

• Sky & Telescope/How To/Telescopes & Binoculars/Binoculars: Halfway to a Telescope
• Sky & Telescope/How To/Telescopes & Binoculars/Choosing Binoculars
• Celestron Binocular Basics
• Orion Learning Center Astronomy with Binoculars, including "Ten Favorite Binocular Targets"
• Amazon.com Binoculars Buying Guide, including a hyperlink to a short Glossary of Binocular Terms