Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) - http://neat.jpl.nasa.gov An autonomous celestial observatory developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and funded by NASA to study asteroids and comets. The facility is a cooperative effort between the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the United States Air Force designed to complete a comprehensive search of the sky for near-Earth asteroids and comets.
ASTER: Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer - http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ A high resolution imaging instrument that is flying on the Terra satellite. Obtains detailed maps of land surface temperature, emissivity, reflectance and elevation of the Earth.
Asteroid Radar Research - http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/ This web site is primarily a data-organization and communications tool that supports ongoing research by JPL scientists and our colleagues.
Deep Space Network (DSN) - http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn/ NASA's worldwide antenna network to support the exploration of the solar system.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ Managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology, JPL is the leading U.S. center for robotic exploration of the solar system.
JPL DIAL - http://www-dial.jpl.nasa.gov/ NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab Digital Image Animation Laboratory is an advanced computer animation, and software engineering facility with broadcast quality video recording and editing capabilities. The DIAL was created and is continually developed by the Visualization and Earth Science Applications group.
JPL Solar System Dynamics - http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/ Provides detailed information related to known bodies in orbit around the sun. Ephemerides, physical parameters, Earth close-approaches, observer tools, etc.
JPL's HORIZONS System - http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.html Provides access to key solar system data and flexible production of highly accurate ephemerides for solar system objects (163000+ asteroids and comets, 128 natural satellites, 9 planets, the Sun, L1, L2, select spacecraft, and system barycenters).
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna -- LISA - http://lisa.jpl.nasa.gov/ The NASA mission studies the mergers of supermassive black holes, tests Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, probes the early Universe, and searches for gravitational waves——the primary objective.
Mars Exploration Rover Mission - http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html Latest news, press releases, and photos from Spirit and Opportunity.
MASTER - The MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator - http://masterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ The primary objective is to support the ASTER and MODIS instrument teams in the areas of algorithm development, calibration and validation.
NASA's Origins Program - http://origins.jpl.nasa.gov/ Seeks to answer the fundamental questions about the Universe: Are we alone in the Universe? How did we get here? What is the origin of the Universe? Is there another Earth-like planet in our celestial neighborhood?
Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) - http://neat.jpl.nasa.gov An autonomous celestial observatory developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and funded by NASA to study asteroids and comets. The facility is a cooperative effort between the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the United States Air Force designed to complete a comprehensive search of the sky for near-Earth asteroids and comets.
Near-Earth Object Program - http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ Established in mid-1998 to help coordinate, and provide a focal point for, the study of those comets and asteroids that can approach the Earth's orbit.
Ocean Surface Topography from Space - http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/ Seeks to study the sea surface height. Maintaining a database of ocean surface topography can help predict short-term changes in weather and longer-term patterns of climate.
Solar System Exploration - http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/ The definitive source for news and information about our little niche in the Milky Way galaxy.
Minor Planet Center - http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html International clearing house for observations of asteroids and comets.
Comets and Meteor Showers - http://comets.amsmeteors.org/ Includes news, information, professional and amateur observations as well as historical research. Compiled by Gary W. Kronk.
Asteroids and Comets - http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/asteroidpage.html Data from across NASA, compiled at the National Space Science Data Center.
Orbits - http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/orbits/ Interactive 3D orbit visualization for known asteroids and comets.
Welcome to the Planets: Small Bodies - http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/choices/smallbod1.htm Asteroids Ida and Dactyl, Comets Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Halley, representative meteorites.
Committee on Small Body Nomenclature - http://www.ss.astro.umd.edu/IAU/csbn/ Group responsible for the naming of asteroids and comets. Description of the naming process, guidelines for submitting name proposals.
NOVA Online: Doomsday Asteroid - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/spacewatch/ Transcript of the television broadcast, kitchen comet activity, general information on comets.
Planetary Data System: Small Bodies Node - http://pdssbn.astro.umd.edu/ Data concerning asteroids and comets, in a standard format for use primarily by astronomical observers and mission planners, as well as educators and students.
Keeping an Eye on Space Rocks - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/templates/flash/neo/neo.htm Overview of asteroids, comets, and meteors, with special attention to the impact hazard to Earth.
USGS Astrogeology: Other Objects - http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/SolarSystem/OtherObjects/ Official names of features on asteroids as approved by the International Astronomical Union. Data and images for selected asteroids and comets.
BBC NEWS: Astronomers Discover 'New Planet' - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3511678.stm A telescope has detected what could be the Solar System's 10th planet, Sedna.
Nine Planets: Sedna - http://www.nineplanets.org/sedna.html General information on the object officially known as 2003 VB12. This object is the most distant body known that orbits our Sun.
Startdate Online: Leftovers - http://stardate.org/resources/ssguide/leftovers.html Fact sheets on asteroids and comets, index to radio broadcasts on related topics. From the McDonald Observatory.
Asteroid/Comet Connection - http://www.hohmanntransfer.com/news.htm A digest of news related to asteroids, comets, and meteors. Monitors changes in impact risk calculations. Includes links to original sources of information.
Asteroids Comets Meteors (ACM) - http://www.astro.uu.se/planet/acm_eng.html A meeting bringing together scientists studying small solar system bodies. Dates and links of past meetings.
Peter G. Brown - http://phobos.astro.uwo.ca/~pbrown/ Research in fireballs, meteorite falls, and near Earth objects.
Meteors - http://www.meteors.com/ Information on meteors and their observation. Includes online purchasing of stone chondrite and iron meteorites.
The Physics of: Asteroids, Comets and Meteoroids - http://ca.geocities.com/spacephysicsisu/ Physics of asteroids, comets and meteoroids. Application with Newton's and Kepler's Laws, kinetic and potential energy.
Small Bodies - http://www.snark.org/sb.htm Link collection covering the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud, asteroids, comets, meteors and meteorites, near Earth objects, and impacts.
Asteroids - their history - http://www.cosmicelk.co.uk/asteroids.htm Introduction paper on asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects.
Meteorites and Asteroids - http://www.williams.edu/astronomy/jay/chapter20_etu6.html Companion resource to an astronomy textbook, contains links and current news about meteorites and asteroids.
Meteorica - http://www.meteorica.info/ Catalog of names associated with small body impacts. Meteors, meteorites, craters, impact structures, and tektites, both on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system.
Astrobiology Magazine: Meteors, Comets, and Asteroids - http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index&catid=&topic=8 Selected articles, usually with some connection to life on Earth or elsewhere in the solar system.
COMETS
Windows to the Universe: Comets - http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/comets/comets.html General information and data, pictures, details on the most interesting ones.
Wikipedia: Comet - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet Encyclopedia entry covers physical characteristics, history. List of well-known comets.
Comet Comet Comet - http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/faculty/jewitt/comet.html Overview of comets, as described by a professional comet researcher.
Small Comets - http://smallcomets.physics.uiowa.edu/ The original discovery and latest news about a new class of interplanetary bodies.
Lists and Plots: Comets - http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/CometLists.html Offers updated orbital data, lists and orbit diagrams. Includes near Earth objects and minor planets.
Views of the Solar System: Comets - http://www.solarviews.com/eng/comet.htm Basic features, data, discoveries, images and sections with specific information on selected comets.
The International Comet Quarterly - http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/icq.html Updated news letter on observation opportunities, designation of names and discoveries. Includes observation data and links.
SOHO Sungrazers - http://ares.nrl.navy.mil/sungrazer/ Images of sun grazing comets from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Also, background, archives, and how to interpret images and report new discoveries.
Comet Shoemaker-Levy Collision with Jupiter - http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/ Extensive coverage of the event July 1994. Includes observations, reports, 1444 images, news releases and links.
Catalogue of Comet Discoveries - http://www.comethunter.de/ Downloadable catalog. Also news, reading list, articles, links.
How Stuff Works: Comet - http://www.howstuffworks.com/comet.htm Informative illustrated explanation of what comets are, what they are made of, where they come from and how to observe them.
Comet's Long Tail Tickles Ulysses - http://sciencenews.org/20000408/fob1.asp The solar polar orbit satellite observed tail of comet Hyakutake by means of magnetic fields and particle count anomalies. Article from Science News.
Comet LINEAR - http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast31jul_1m.htm?list Offers report and observations of a breakup of a comet in July 2000.
Exploring The Planets: Comets - http://www.nasm.si.edu/ceps/etp/comets/ History, orbits, composition, ways comets are studied, relation to meteor showers. Comets Halley, Shoemaker-Levy 9. From the National Air and Space Museum.
Deep Impact: Small Telescope Science Program (STSP) - http://deepimpact.astro.umd.edu/STSP/ Resource for telescope observers involved in the Deep Impact space mission to comet Tempel 1. Provides observation campaign data and observer collaboration.
ASTEROIDS
Wikipedia: Asteroid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid Encyclopedia article covers history, groups of asteroids, spectral types. Tables of largest and notable asteroids.
Nine Planets: Asteroids - http://www.nineplanets.org/asteroids.html Overview of current scientific knowledge of asteroids.
Asteroid Radar Research - http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/ NASA JPL asteroid research using radar. Introduction, scientific activity, asteroid images.
Solar System Exploration: Asteroids - http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Asteroids Basic description, overview of asteroid science.
Asteroid Observing Services from Lowell Observatory - http://asteroid.lowell.edu/ Tools to help observers select targets and plan observations. Also, orbital elements, reference star catalog data and software, link to Lowell Observatory Near Earth Object Search (LONEOS).
Minor Planets - http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/MPNames.html Offers updated alphabetical list of minor planet names.
European Asteroid Research Node - http://earn.dlr.de/ Association of European research groups active in asteroid research. Links to member sites and resources useful for asteroid research.
Exploring The Planets: Asteroids - http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/ceps/etp/asteroids/index.htm Offers general scientific overview with history and images by the National Air and Space Museum.
Asteroids with Canadian Connections - http://www.rasc.ca/faq/asteroids/home.htm A list of asteroids whose names are known to have a Canadian connection, usually because they are named after a Canadian.
Asteroids with Satellites - http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/asteroidmoons.html Lists of known or suspected asteroids with satellites. Also history, graphs, links.
Bill Bottke's Asteroid Research - http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~bottke/ Collisions, tidal disruption, dynamics, planetary impacts, crater chains and doublet craters.
Dan Durda's Research Interests - http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/research.html Airborne observations, Vulcanoids, various asteroid collision effects.
Asteroids - http://whyfiles.org/074asteroid/ Common questions.
AstDys, Asteroids - Dynamic Site - http://hamilton.dm.unipi.it/cgi-bin/astdys/astibo Indexed, searchable database of asteroid data.
Orrery: Asteroids - http://www.harmsy.freeuk.com/asteroids.html Basic information about asteroids, history of asteroid discovery, Bode's Law.
Minor Planet Groups and Families - http://www.projectpluto.com/mp_group.htm Listing and description of dynamical groups and physical families of asteroids.
Asteroids and Remote Planets Section - http://yan.open.ac.uk/~ajh47/arps.htm Section of the British Astronomical Association. Asteroid finder charts, articles on observing techniques.
Asteroids - http://www.astro.uu.se/planet/asteroid From the Uppsala Planetary System Group. Overview, research projects, discoveries.
List of Double Minor Planets - http://hea.iki.rssi.ru/~denis/doublemp.html Known or suspected asteroids with satellites.
Asteroid Articles - http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Archive/Archive-Asteroids.html Archive of articles posted at the Planetary Science Research Discoveries site at the University of Hawaii.
Eric Weisstein's World of Astronomy: Asteroids - http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/topics/Asteroids.html Dynamical groups of asteroids, mathematical formulas, the Tunguska event.
Introduction to Asteroids - http://www.mira.org/fts0/planets/098/text/txt001z.htm Covers history, asteroid composition, Earth collisions.
News on Hilda Asteroids - http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~s24/hilda.htm A review of current knowledge of this dynamical group. Overview, low eccentricity Hildas, the Schubart family, numbered Hildas of the Palomar-Leiden survey.
Small World Atlas - http://www.ssc.uwo.ca/geography/spacemap/ Cartography of irregularly shaped asteroids and satellites. Maps, images, related papers.
Asteroid Groups - http://sajri.astronomy.cz/asteroidgroups/groups.htm Graphs and animations showing major asteroid groups and families.
Windows to the Universe: Asteroids - http://www.windows.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/tour_def/our_solar_system/asteroids.html Description, data on selected asteroids, images.
UAI Minor Planets Section - http://www.uai.it/sez_ast/english/ Italian organization of minor planet observers. Histograms and scatter plots of asteroid orbital elements. Ephemeridies, opposition dates, conjunctions with Messier objects, shareware applications.
Astronomy Related Rrograms - http://www-rcp.ijs.si/~jure/software/index.html By Jure Skvare. Downloads and web based services useful to asteroid observers. Fitsblink, asteroid server, fitsjd, fits2pg, fitsfrompg, asteroid identifier, residual calculator.
Suspected and known binary asteroids - http://www.imcce.fr/observateur/binast/binary_ast.php List of suspected binary asteroids with bibliographic references.
Asteroids - http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~marcsulf/asteroid/asteroid.html Chart showing relative sizes, distance from the sun, inclination/eccentricity, shape, and color. Other charts showing position in the solar system. Summary data.
The Asteroid World - http://www.astrosurf.com/aude-old/map_files/ASTFAMILIES%2002-04-28.HTM Categorization of asteroids by their orbits and physical properties.
Asteroid Models - http://www.astro.helsinki.fi/~kaselain/asteroids.html Research in determining asteroid shapes through photometric data and multiple data sources. Reference documents, introduction, links.
METEORS
Meteor Observing Calendar - http://comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors/calendar.html A concise listing of all meteor showers that can be seen throughout the year.
Views of the Solar System: Meteoroids and Meteorites - http://www.solarviews.com/eng/meteor.htm General information, data, pictures. Also features educator's guides to micrometeorites, impact craters and space debris.
MeteorObs - http://www.meteorobs.org/ A forum for meteor observers of all levels. Mailing list, mailing list archives, FAQ, how to view meteor showers.
Cloudbait Observatory - Fireballs - http://www.cloudbait.com/science/fireballs.html Fireball and meteor descriptions, reporting information, data on fireballs over Colorado.
Astronomy 161: Meteors and Meteor Showers - http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/meteors/showers.html Descriptions and explanations of what causes meteors, as well as the history of its study.
Andrei Ol'khovatov's Home Page - http://www.geocities.com/olkhov/ Research on the 1908 Tunguska event, electrophonic sounds, and meteor phenomena.
Yukon Meteorite Recovered - http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast16mar_1.htm News article on a meteorite found in Canada.
Jupiter Scientific: The Perseid Meteors - http://www.jupiterscientific.org/sciinfo/perseid.html Information, observation and history. Updated yearly in July.
Sandia National Laboratories - Extraordinary meteor flash captured - http://www.sandia.gov/LabNews/LN09-10-99/meteor_story.html Images and description of a bright meteor event on August 15, 1999, recorded by an all-sky camera at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Leonid Meteor Storm - http://www.aero.org/cords/leonids.html Information on the Leonid meteor storms which are associated with the appearance of the comet Tempel-Tuttle.
Great Lakes Great Fire Meteorite - http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/gfmeteor/ New evidence links the simultaneous fires in Chicago, Peshtigo, and the entire Central portion of Michigan (from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron) to a meteorite fall.
Observing Meteor Showers - http://www.geocities.com/~starwanderer/meteor.htm A month-by-month guide with basic tips.
Sonic Booms - http://www.ees.lanl.gov/news_stories/revelle.98424.html Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers are using a network of microphones to track meteors as they burst into Earth's atmosphere.
Meteor Shower Observing - http://www.upstateastro.org/stars/meteors.html Main showers dates.
