Planetarium Program

Stellarium Stellarium

Stellarium is a free planetarium for your computer! It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope. It is beautiful to look at, and very easy to use. It works in Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.

Download a Stellarium landscape image taken from Hancock Field Station.


Images and Info

Hubble Heritage Hubble Heritage Gallery

The Hubble Heritage Project uses the Space Telescope to take "visually interesting" pictures without worrying about whether they are scientifically valuable. These are among the most beautiful and artistic images taken by the Hubble.

VLTVLT Image Index

This is the image index for the Very Large Telescope in Chile. The pictures are as good as anything taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, and sometimes even better, because the telescope is bigger.

APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day

This site makes a good home page. It features a wide variety of pictures, and an explanation full of web links follows each one. Select "Archive" to see many years worth of images.

Nasa Photojournal Nasa Photojournal

You can get pictures of the planets from many places, but this collects the best of NASA's pictures in one place. Choose a planet and start browsing! Hopefully you have a fast Internet connection.

Hubble Archive Hubble Space Telescope Public Pictures

This is the main Hubble site. Through the gallery, you can access all the Hubble pictures that have been released to the public. You can also get desktop wallpaper, science information, and more.


Portland/Vancouver Area Events

RCA Rose City Astronomers

Portland, Oregon has one of the largest astronomy clubs in the country. Come to a meeting to meet many helpful people who share your interest, or attend an RCA star party to meet amateur astronomers, look through a variety of telescopes, and have fun in the dark! Click on the Star Party Schedule in the middle of the page, then click on any event for directions.

SWS Southwest Washington Stargazers

The SWS is a smaller, more intimate club than the RCA. It also meets twice a week, and the meetings include an observing session if the weather is good! I helped start this club in 2004.

OSP Oregon Star Party

If you go to only one star party in the Northwest, make it this one! Around 600 people attend this event each year. There are speakers and activities all day, and observing all night. OSP is held in the Ochocho National Forest 40 miles east of Prineville.