Test your knowledge with this ten-question quiz on stars. Focusing on stars in the Milky Way galaxy, questions range from the life cycle of a star to the number of stars in our galaxy.

A satellite photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy.

This astronomical survey by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey is poised to be one of the most ambitious ever undertaken. When completed, it will provide detailed images covering more than a quarter of the sky, and almost a million galaxies...

A list of answers to many questions related to quasars and active galaxies.

A NASA scientist, Dr. Sten Odenwald, answers many students' questions. Topics include planets, galaxies, black holes, the origin of the universe, and common misconceptions about space.

A gallery of astronomy images which depict galaxies, comets, the moon, planets, nebulae, supernovae as seen in various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Each image in the gallery is described. Fascinating!

Learn about the Two Micron All Sky Survey project, in which telescopes and observatories scan the sky for infrared radiation in order to learn more about the Milky Way galaxy. The infrared spectrum is described and its importance to...

Excellent resource for "paper-plate" activities that help simplify various astronomy topics. Learn how to build a "Moon Finder" and "Planet Pointer," and create a paper-plate model that explains the Transit of Venus.

Description of the three major components of the Milky Way galaxy as well as images and resources for further reading.

At this site from HubbleSite provides information on how Edwin Hubble (1889?1953 CE) made some of the most important discoveries in modern astronomy. Learn about them as well as the invention of the Hubble Space Telescope. Open 'Who was...

Brief, concise facts about Charles Messier and his catalog of comets, galaxies, and other astronomical bodies. Included are photographs of each of the 110 objects listed in his catalog.

Zoom in on everything from distant galaxies to the Earth's most interesting places! See the Pyramids, London, Hoover Dam, and more. Check for bald spots on the heads of the presidents at Mt. Rushmore. See how much the polar ice caps on...

The information, geared mainly for younger viewers, provides simple and basic information about the Milky Way, and includes several embedded links to related information.

On this site, you can learn about mysterious powerful forces that absorb light called black holes. Study the science of black holes in outer space.

Students act as astronomers, studying stars in a patch of sky in our own galaxy. Using simulated data from spectroscopy and other real-world instrumentation, students learn to determine star positions, radial velocity, proper motion, and...

Start with the questions all young scholars ask: How big is the universe, how far away are the planets and stars, how did they form and when, how do they move and why? Build on their natural curiosity. The Smithsonian, in cooperation...

This site examines the black hole as an object in astrophysics. Delve into this comprehensive resource that covers this concept from its history, to qualitative physics, the reality of black holes, mathematical physics and more.

This site from IPAC is a series of images of various celestial objects and regions as viewed in infrared light. Each photo is accompanied by a caption.

At this site, students can become a Steller Statistician, Cosmic Classifier, Galactic Guide or a Universal Graduate by attending the Hubble Deep Field Academy--and entering information in their Hubble Academy Log (HAL), which is assessed...

Learn why quasars are the brightest things in the universe. Vocabulary words linked to a glossary of terms and a printable version are available.

Younger students learn why comets race through the sky as well as related vocabulary words and meanings.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory site features a photograph and explanation of a "cool" black hole in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).

This is a definition and example of how distance is measured in astronomy, such as the distance between our earth and the stars.

Charles Messier (1730-1817 CE) is credited for discovering 13 comets. He also began the Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters. This catalog as well as a great deal of information on Messier is available here. The Messier objects are also...