1. Resources in Astronomy Or, where to find what you need!

2. Information, please “I don’t even know where to start” “There is just too much too learn” “I know what I want, but not where to get it”

3. “okay, I know what to do. I search the Internet, check out all the books from the library, buy what they do not have, attend all star parties within 1000 miles, buy a 16” dob, call Tom, Steve and George every clear night, get a CCD and two computers, move to AZ, and not go broke or crazy”

4. What’s out there? Information repositories abound: Library Bookstores Internet Clubs and/or Friends Software

5. Getting Started You are in the right place Talk to club members Attend star parties Talk to club members again Attend more star parties Determine what you really like to do Understand what you really can do

6. HVA Many knowledgeable members (even Steve) Wide variety of telescopes Even wider variety of interests Star Parties every month, weather permitting HVA website is chock full of articles www.hvaastronomy.com askhva@hvaastronomy.com

7. Other Clubs in the area Night Sky 45 in Salem http://nightsky45.com Eugene Astronomical Society http://www.eugeneastro.org Rose City Astronomers in Portland http://www.rca-omsi.org …and many others in Oregon

8. Okay, done that… Check out the local library Corvallis library has more than 200 titles in Astronomy and Astrophysics Star Charts and Atlas are in the reference section Real cool books in oversized books area! Numerous astronomy related magazines Perfect place to go on our many rainy days (and nights)

9. Learning more World Wide Web Just about everything you would ever want to know is out there somewhere Software Software exists to teach you and help you get the most out of your equipment Some free, some real $$$

10. Astronomy on the Web A Google search on astronomy returned 7,810,000 results. Astronomy Picture of the Day was first! Yahoo has 32 relevant categories More than 1000 sites listed in these categories AltaVista found over 12,000,000 results?

11. Phrase your question properly Know what you know and what you don’t know Stay focused, don’t let the Web tempt you Save good sites in your favorites (bookmarks) Remember to have fun

12. Sites for general astronomy www.space.com www.nineplanets.org www.astronomy.net edu-observatory.org See the handout for many, many more

13. Sites for children http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/ http://www.astronomywebguide.com/links_kids.html

14. Sites with lots of links to follow http://www.starastronomy.org/Links/ http://my.voyager.net/~stargazer/personal.html http://astronomylinks.com/ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html

15. Software Plot the sky Plan an observing session Control your telescope For your PC or your PDA Learn about astronomy Some is free, some not so free

16. Free Software Cartes du Ciel http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/ Celestia http://www.shatters.net/celestia/ Links to free (and pay) astro software http://freeware.intrastar.net/astronomyone.htm http://www.cox-internet.com/ast305/software.html http://www.cvc.org/astronomy/freeware.htm http://skyandtelescope.com/resources/software/article_329_1.asp

17. Not so free software TheSky www.bisque.com Guide http://www.projectpluto.com/ MegaStar http://www.willbell.com/software/megastar/index.htm Starry Night http://www.starrynight.com/ NGCView http://www.rainman-soft.com/

18. Learning the Craft Ask Questions Local clubs are the best Attend Star Parties Look through lots of telescopes Be Patient Astronomy will develop into a life long passion