Volunteered computing projects have been around for several decades, and the MilkyWay project is certainly one of the more interesting projects in that arena. Using the BOINC platform, the MilkyWay project is designed to create a "highly accurate three dimensional model of the Milky Way galaxy using data gathered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey." The project is a joint effort between Rensselaer...

While obtaining astronomical data can be an expensive endeavor, locating this data online can be a time-consuming task. Fortunately, the US National Virtual Observatory's website makes that process much simpler. The Observatory and the website are funded the National Science Foundation's Information Technology Research Program, and seventeen astronomy and computer science organizations in the US...

WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is your ticket to the skies. From the comfort of a PC, WWT allows access to data from the world's best ground- and space- based telescopes, blending terabytes of images and stories into a "seamless, immersive, rich media experience." While much of the material is available on the site, the entire Windows application can also be downloaded for free. Teachers will...