COD Library: Astronomy: Websites & Data

Using Websites

Websites can be a powerful way to research current developments in your subject, from seeing the websites of current researchers (and their topics of research) to videos that explain how to solve problems (both ethical and mathematical). Check the box below for examples of different websites that might help you research.

Keep in mind that you'll want to evaluate all information you find carefully. Need help figuring out how to separate the good from the bad? Check out our guide to Source Evaluation.

Learning and Research

NASA Homepage: General information about space, images, streaming videos. Great information about recent explorations, too, such as New Horizon and others.
Hubblesite: Hubble Telescope-generated pictures (in Gallery), history and news related to the telescope, Hubble discoveries explained, education, and astronomy exploration covered in this website from the Space Telescope Science Institute.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory: From the JPL at the California Institute of Technology, news and research on earth-study from space, the solar system, stars and galaxies and more.
Meteor Showers: News and current information about meteor showers
Sky & Telescope Education Site: Includes guides to "how-to", weekly descriptions of the "This Week's Sky at a Glance," equipment test reports, and resources lists of including internet links, astronomy clubs, and special astronomy-related events.
arxiv: Arxiv is a massive pre-publication open database of scholarly articles in astronomy, physics, and related subjects.

General Data Sources

Astrophysics Data System
(ADS) contains citations to published articles, conference papers, and gray literature. Search by topic or object, and then click on an abstract that sounds promising. Once you've read through the abstract, look in the top right corner for "Full-Text Sources." Not finding the full-text article? Remember Journal Locator.

Searching ADS for Astronomy Data
Not sure at all about how to get started? Check out this presentation created by Liz Cooper, one of COD's adjunct librarians:

MAST
Find articles, data, and images from multiple collections.
NASA data portal
Data.Nasa.Gov is a directory of NASA databases, with descriptions of the types of data available. Search for the collection either by name ("Kepler," "Solar Data Analysis Center" or "National Space Science Data Center") or by topic (“solar data” or “exoplanet”) to discover what’s available.

Specialized Data Sources

Special Astronomy Databases/Data sets

NED
is a database of extragalactic objects with bibliographic references and basic data.
US Navy Astronomical Applications Department
has records of sun and moon data, eclipses, celestial objects, and solar system bodies.
UK Solar System Data Centre
supports data archives for the whole UK solar system community encompassing solar, inter-planetary, magnetospheric, ionospheric and geomagnetic science.
SIMBAD
astronomical database provides basic data, cross-identifications, bibliography and measurements for astronomical objects outside the solar system
Planetary Data System
archives and distributes scientific data from NASA planetary missions, astronomical observations, and laboratory measurements. Browse by planet, search by mission, or look by topic (such as "atmospheres").
Skyview Virtual Observatory
generates images of any part of the sky at wavelengths in all regimes from Radio to Gamma-Ray.
Hyperleda
has data related to the physics and evolution of galaxies
National Space Science Data Center
has solar system data, including numbers and images, (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/) as well as larger universe data (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/astro/)
Extrasolar Planet Encyclopedia
has data on exoplanets and the starts they are associated with. Click on "catalog."
NASA Exoplanet Archive (Kepler)
has exoplanet info.

Still not finding what you need? Try Princeton's Data Guide, or those of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. And, as for any other question, you can always contact me.

Citing Data Sets

Michigan State University Library has a great guide to citing data.

For general paper citation guidelines, check out our library's APA citation guide or the Purdue OWL sample APA paper.

Earth Science @ COD

Use these sites to learn about earth science classes, degrees, and faculty at C.O.D.: