Sciences > Astronomy > The Planets 

International Astronomical Union

NASA - Solar System Exploration
Sections Include: News & Events ; Planets ; Missions ; Science & Technology ; Multimedia ; People ; Kids ; Education ; History.

  • Pluto
    "On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally downgraded Pluto from an official planet to a dwarf planet."

NASA - Exploring the Universe
Sections include: Our Solar System ; Stars and Galaxies ; Watch the Skies ; New Worlds ; Robotic Explorers.

NASA - National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC)
"...archives and provides access to a wide variety of astrophysics, space physics, solar physics, lunar and planetary data from NASA space flight missions, in addition to selected other data and some models and software."

See our NASA Resources page for additional NASA links.

Lunar and Planetary Institute - (dead link)
"...a focus for academic participation in studies of the current state, evolution, and formation of the solar system."

National Academy Press (free online versions)

The Nine Planets
A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System
"...an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of each of the planets and moons in our solar system. Each page has text and images, some have sounds and movies, most provide references to additional related information."
By Bill Arnett

PDS Planetary Image Atlas Front Page - (dead link)"...uses existing PDS image products and software known as MapMaker - (dead link) to generate seamless, tailor-made image maps of a variety of planetary bodies. You will be able to specify the latitude and longitude limits of your map, plus scale and map projection. Your maps can be created in a variety of image formats."

Planetary Fact Sheets
By David R. Williams, National Space Science Data Center


__________

Planetary Data System  
"...archives and distributes digital data from past and present NASA planetary missions, astronomical observations, and laboratory measurements. The PDS is sponsored by NASA's Office of Space Science to ensure the long-term usability of data, to stimulate research, to facilitate data access, and to support correlative analysis."

  • Magellan Data Archives - (dead link)
    "Magellan's data will permit the first global geological understanding of Venus, the planet most like Earth in our solar system."

  • Welcome to the Planets
    "This is a collection of many of the best images from NASA's planetary exploration program. The collection has been extracted from the interactive program 'Welcome to the Planets' which was distributed on the Planetary Data System Educational CD-ROM Version 1.5 in December 1995. It has also been updated with the addition of more recent images."

Planetary Image Atlas - (dead link)
Includes "raw and derived data from the Galileo SSI and NIMS instruments and from the Mars Pathfinder IMP, Rover, APXS, and MET instruments."
NASA

Planetary Photojournal
"...a collaboration between NASA's Planetary Data System Imaging Node, the Solar System Visualization Project - (dead link),and JPL's Public Information Office, is designed to provide you with easy access to the publicly released images from various Solar System exploration programs. The system database is currently populated with approximately 1190 images; more are being added every day."

Planetary Picture List - (dead link)
These pages collect together references to many pictures of the solar system that can be found on the Net
Bill Arnett

Planetary Sciences at the National Space Science Data Center
"NASA's deep archive and general distribution center for lunar and planetary data and images."

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

  • Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
    "...is the scientific research unit within the Collections and Research Department of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution. CEPS performs original research and outreach activities on topics covering planetary science, terrestrial geophysics, and the remote sensing of environmental change."
    • Image Collections - (dead link)

The Solar System
Emphasis on the historical development for the beginning or non-science major.
Web syllabus and notes from Astronomy 161, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, University of Tennessee

A Space Library
Includes the solar system simulator, maps, images, artwork, models, and other useful resources
David Seal, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Voyager
"Voyager 1, now the most distant human-made object in the universe, and Voyager 2, close onits heels, continue their ground-breaking journey with their current mission to study the region in space where the Sun's influence ends and the dark recesses of interstellar space begin."

  • Gold Record
    Voyager's Greetings to the Universe
    "...containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth."

Jupiter
Cassini Jupiter Flyby Science Page - (dead link) "On 30 December 2000 the Cassini spacecraft, on its way to Saturn, made its closest approach to the planet Jupiter...An ambitious set of observations are underway -- ranging from observations of atmospheric dynamics and composition, Jupiter's magnetic environment, the interactions between Jupiter and its moons...the list goes on."

Galileo Project Home - Journey to Jupiter
"The Galileo spacecraft's 14-year odyssey came to an end on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2003 when the spacecraft passed into Jupiter's shadow then disintegrated in the planet's dense atmosphere at 11:57 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time...Launched in 1989 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis, Galileo has been exploring Jupiter and its moons since December 1995."
Sections include: Jupiter Impact ; Quick Facts about Galileo ; Current Moon Count ; Jupiter Flyby Website ; News.

International Jupiter Watch (IJW)
 "...an informal, voluntary organization of astronomers and planetary scientists devoted to coordinate and encourage observations of Jupiter, its satellites, and magnetosphere, from the Earth and from space, with an emphasis on time-variable phenomena."

Jupiter Events
Dan Bruton


Mars
Mission to Mars - Athena Mars Exploration Rovers
Sections include: Mission Update ; Mars For Kids ; Educators ; Mars Facts ; The Mission ; Gallery ; News.

NASA - Mars Exploration Rover Mission Home (English or Spanish)
"NASA's Spirit Rover is starting to examine its new surroundings, revealing a vast flatland well suited to the robot's unprecedented mobility and scientific toolkit."
Sections include: Mars for Kids ; Mars for Students ; Mars for Educators ; Mars for Press ; Multimedia ; Overview ; Science ; Technology ; The Mission ; Features ; Events.
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, CalTech.

PBS - NOVA - MARS Dead or Alive (January 2004)
"NASA Gambles on two rovers sent to determine if the red planet ever had conditions suitable for life."
View the entire program online.
Sections include: Inquiry, Interview & Overview ; Video & Interactives ; Resources [New Images from Mars] ; Teacher's Guide.

2001 Mars Odyssey - (dead link)
"The Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter is scheduled for launch on April 7, 2001."
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Mars Missions
NASA's gateway to Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Surveyor 98, and Mars Surveyor 2001.

Mars Global Surveyor
NASA's official site

Mars Meteorites
"Of the 22,000 or so meteorites that have been discovered on Earth, only 19 have been identified as originating from the planet Mars. These rare meteorites created a stir throughout the world when NASA announced in August 1996 that evidence of microfossils may be present in one of these Mars meteorites."
From NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Mars Pathfinder
NASA's official archival site

Mars Surveyor 98 Home Page
NASA

Mars Surveyor 2001 Home Page - (dead link)
NASA

MarsNews.com
"Focus Areas:" The Planet Mars ; Life on Mars? ; Technology ; Humans to Mars ; The "Face on Mars" ; Terraforming ; Mars Movies ; The Mars Society.
Missions: Global Surveyor ; 2001 Odyssey ; Nozomi ; Polar Lander ; Pathfinder ; Future.

Examining the Evidence for Life on Mars - (dead link)
Sections include: Handling With Care ; A Complex Facility ; Why Mars.
National Academy Press Web Extra

Geology of Mars
"Here you can learn about the six geological processes that are either currently operating on Mars or have operated during Martian history. These include the aeolian, cratering, hydro, landslides, tectonic, and volcanic processes."
By Albert T. Hsui, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

National Academy Press (free online versions)

PBS - NOVA - MARS Dead or Alive (January 2004)
"NASA Gambles on two rovers sent to determine if the red planet ever had conditions suitable for life."
View the entire program online.
Sections include: Inquiry, Interview & Overview ; Video & Interactives ; Resources [New Images from Mars] ; Teacher's Guide.

PDS [Planetary Data System] Mars Explorer for the Armchair Astronaut - (dead link)
"The Mars Explorer allows you to get an image map of any area on Mars at a variety of zoom factors, image sizes, and map projections. These images are created using data from NASA's Viking missions. - (dead link)"

Photo Gallery of Mars
National Space Science Data Center

Report of the Mars Program Independent Assessment Team - (dead link)

Sedimentary Mars
"New Mars Global Surveyor images reveal sedimentary rock layers on the Red Planet that may have formed underwater in the distant martian past."

Space Telescope Science Institute

Welcome to the Planets
"This is a collection of many of the best images from NASA's planetary exploration program. The collection has been extracted from the interactive program 'Welcome to the Planets' which was distributed on the Planetary Data System Educational CD-ROM Version 1.5 in December 1995. It has also been updated with the addition of more recent images."

Mercury - (dead link)
Includes program overview, image library, information on unmanned and manned missions.

Transit of Mercury 2006 (Video)
"On November 8, 2006, Mercury slowly slid across the face of the sun during an event known as a transit. A transit of Mercury is relatively rare-there are only about a dozen a century."

Neptune
Exploring the Trans-Neptunian Solar System - (dead link)
Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration, National Research Council, 1998.

Pluto
NASA - Solar System Exploration
Sections Include: News & Events ; Planets ; Missions ; Science & Technology ; Multimedia ; People ; Kids ; Education ; History.

  • Pluto
    "On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally downgraded Pluto from an official planet to a dwarf planet."

International Astronomical Union

Is Pluto a Giant Comet? - (dead link)
By Dan Green, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard-Smithsonian.

What Makes a Planet?
"There are many things that make Pluto quite different from the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The first difference is fundamental, and makes it very hard to classify Pluto with the rest of the major planets:..."
By Jean-Luc Margot, Dept. of Astronomy, Cornell University

Pluto Home Page - (dead link)
Maintained by Fran Bagenal, APS Dept., University of Colorado, Boulder

Saturn
Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan
June 30, 2004 - Saturn Orbit Insertion.
Sections include Nuclear Safety, Images/Video, Kid's Page, Why Go?, Virtual Tour, and a lot more
- NASA

Venus
Venus Transit 2004
Sections include: Latest News ; Background ; Safety ; Students & Teachers ; Media ; Amateurs ; Gallery ; Photos.
- European Southern Observatory

  • Central Display
    "You can find all the images of the transit and five videos (Parts I, II, III and IV, and also the Complete Event combining the four parts) showing Venus moving across the solar disc..."

Transit of Venus 2004 - (dead link)
Sections include: Observing the Transit ; Transit Basic Facts ; Timing the Transit ; Venus in the Night Sky ; Previous Transits ; Historical Accounts.

2004 June 8: Transit of Venus
"No living person has seen a transit of Venus because the most recent one occurred in 1882."
Published in Observer's Handbook 2004, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
By Fred Espenak

The Face of Venus
"Learn about the surface of the planet Venus through hypertext documents and the interactive databases of craters and coronae...The crater database queried in this document is the most complete version available; it contains 935 identified impact craters on Venus."

Magellan Mission to Venus - (dead link)
"This home page offers Venus images taken by Magellan and other highlights from the mission."
Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Magellan Data Archives - (dead link)
"Magellan's data will permit the first global geological understanding of Venus, the planet most like Earth in our solar system."
Distributed by the NASA Planetary Data System












 


Maintained by Mike Madin.
.
Academic Info 

Created by librarian Mike Madin