Resources for stargazing and learning astronomy

There are plenty of great sites on the web that can you help you with stargazing, whether you're a novice or an expert. You've probably come across many of them already, but here are some we recommend:

	> IceInSpace forum IceInSpace is a very large online Australian community of amateur and recreational astronomers. You can get lots of advice and help with your stargazing efforts, and take advantage of the many 'how to' articles and equipment reviews.
	> MyAstroSpace forum This is an online Australian astronomy forum frequented by recreational and amateur astronomers, both novice and expert. A great place to ask questions and get advice.
	> South Celestial Pole forum Another online Australian astronomy forum for recreational and amateur astronomers. A friendly and helpful community of stargazers.
	> Astronomy Australia The Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) is the national body of professional astronomers. The ASA is strongly committed to communicating to the public, the work that Australia's astronomers do. It is also committed to providing educational resources that are of benefit to the community. At this site you'll find a wealth of information on astronomy activities in Australia, all collected in the one easy-to-use reference. Highly recommended.
	> Stellarium This fantastic free software will turn your PC into a planetarium. Download the program, tell it where you live, and it'll give you a highly realistic view of the sky, day or night, on any day of the year. Select whether you want to see stars, planets, deep sky objects, constellations, star names and so on. Lots of controls let you customise the display, but it isn't too complicated. Highly recommended—we use it!
	> Google Sky A very popular online resource for navigating around the sky, zooming in to see lots of celestial objects. It's an add-on to the downloadable Google Earth, which lets you do the same thing, except this time by looking down on our planet instead of looking away from it.
	> Heavens-Above Ever wondered whether that light you saw in the sky was a satellite? Ever wanted to know when to see the space shuttle or International Space Station pass overhead? Then Heavens-Above is for you. Just log in (it's free), tell it where you live, and then select what you want to see. Great fun and very reliable. We've been using this fantastic online resource for years, and would probably be lost without it!
	> Virtual Moon Atlas A favourite amongst stargazers, this downloadable program helps you to identify craters and mountains etc on our nearest neighbour, the Moon. Easy to use and full of detail, this really is a fantastic way to explore the lunar surface.

We check these links from time to time, but if you find a broken link or an error, please email us.