The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) "operates powerful, advanced radio telescopes spanning the western hemisphere." The website is nicely divided into information for the general public, astronomers, and teachers and students. Users can learn all about NRAO's many telescopes located throughout the United States. Researchers can find out about meetings, conferences, software resources,...

The South African Astronomical Observatory, near Sutherland in Northern Cape, has developed an extensive internet site devoted to SALT; a $30-million project to develop the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere. Visitors with a general interest in the project can follow its progress, scheduled for completion in December of 2004. Astronomers and students will find descriptions of SALT's...

Created by Sky & Telescope, this website features a plethora of resources about observing space. Users can learn how and when to observe Jupiter, Saturn, comets, the Transit of Venus, and more. The website outlines what observers can expect to see each night at the link titled Week's Sky at a Glance. Visitors can find predictions of the rise and set of the moon and sun, and the visibility of the...

This website, maintained by the California Institute of Technology, describes the two-and-a half-year mission of the Spitzer Space Telescope to "obtain images and spectra by detecting infrared energy, or hear, radiated by objects in space between wavelengths of three and 180 microns." Scientists can find images and explanations of the instrumentation, data and analysis, and an overview of the...

Built and operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the Subaru Telescope sits atop Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island. With a 24-ton mirror, the largest single-piece glass mirror ever used in a telescope, Subaru has produced infrared images as clear and striking as astronomers have been receiving from the Hubble Space Telescope. On January 28, 1999, the director and staff at Subaru...

The first Web site on telescopes comes from Enchanted Learning.com, called Inventions: Telescopes (1). This site gives a brief description of the history of telescopes and their inventors, beginning with Hans Lippershey and his refracting telescope in 1608. The next site, offered by NASA, is the Telescope in Education site (2). This program provides students from around the world the opportunity...

Last week, collaborators from Harvard and University of Arizona astronomy labs announced their discovery of a new moon, S/1999, orbiting Jupiter. Details of the discovery and other interesting developments in astronomy can be found at the Spacewatch Project page, provided by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. The Hot News page houses black-and-white .gif images of the new...

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...