Astronomy Links and Resources
 
An avid Astronomer can find a wealth of helpful resources and tools on the internet ranging from software to choosing a telescope. Since people have such wide ranging interests in the field, using a search engine to find the answers to your specific questions is a valuable tool to help you learn about the hobby. What we love most of all is to get together in person to share and discover. Nothing can replace the joy of exploring the stars with friends. Still, for the first time in the hobby, we have a tremendous library and communications network at our fingertips, and used the right way, we can all benefit. Here are a collection of tools and resources that may be useful to our group.

Links and Groups

Our e-mail address: info@kvas.org

KVAS Bulletin Board and Discussion Group at Google Groups Home

Blackwater Falls Astronomy Weekend

Star Quest V 

Central Appalachian Astronomy Club  based at Good Hope Observatory near Clarksburg, West Virginia

Ohio Valley Astronomical Society in Huntington, West Virginia

Tristate Astronomers in Hagerstown Maryland

Morgan County Observatory Foundation in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, sponsors of the Almost Heaven Star Party in Spruce Knob West Virginia

Space.com

Astronomy Podcasts at www.astronomycast.com

Great Astronomy Vacation Destination

Chuck's Astronomy Page (images to drool over)

Astronomy Tools

Telescopes and Binoculars

A brief History of telescopes "before Hubble"

 

Astrophotography
 
Free guiding software that works beautifully PHD (push here Dummy), from Stark-Labs.
 
Image Processing Software called Nebulosity. Very inexpensive, powerful, and easy to use.
 
A nice lesson on using a Canon Digital Camera for Astrophotography
 
A good discussion of CCD cameras
 
A fabulous free astrophotography program that helps match telescope and camera for many objects.

General Astronomy

 A wonderful learning center about the current night sky can be found at Space.com/Nightsky center.