California Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics
Links & Tools

BackyardAstronomy.org is our 'partner' organization and the 'Educational Arm' of CalAstro. Please be sure to visit their web site by clicking on the banner below…

Your Portal to the Stars

Do you own a telescope? Are you looking to purchase a telescope? Perhaps you'd like to know when the next star party is in your area. BackyardAstronomy.org is the website for you. Make BackyardAstronomy.org your portal for star parties across the globe.

Don't own a telescope, and would still like to view the heavens? BackyardAstronomy is for you as well! We'll put you in touch with Amateur astronomer's in your area so that they may share with you the wonders of the heavens. As our affiliate program grows, we'll notify you of any new affiliate in your area so that you may track their public activities as well.




We also highly encourage all serious observational astronomers in the San Francisco Bay Area to subscribe to "The Astronomy Connection" (TAC). TAC is a free service open to all that provides a convenient place for the exchange of information.

(CalAstro has been a proud member of TAC since 1996)






Do you have a project that requires observations from a pristine, dark sky location?
Is your project short of funds and you don't want to pay the prices for time at a major observatory?

Maybe the RAS Observatory in New Mexico is just what you need!

RAS Observatory

Provides internet access to high-quality professional-grade robotic resources

for professional and amateur research projects and public use

The Remote Astronomical Society

an organization for the coordination and advancement of astronomy

 

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The RAS Observatory is located under the darkest Skies in New Mexico. The dark skies enhance viewing and photographing a wide variety of astronomical objects.

  NEW low priced telescope access options!

Click on the photos above to visit their web site!








(CONTEMPORARY LABORATORY EXPERIENCES IN ASTRONOMY)

-develops laboratory exercises that illustrate modern astronomical techniques using digital data and color images. They are suitable for high- school and college classes at all levels, but come with defaults set for use in introductory astronomy classes for non-science majors. Each CLEA laboratory exercise includes a dedicated computer program, a student manual, and a technical guide for the instructor. The technical guides describe file formats, user-settable options, and algorithms used in the programs. The most advanced CLEA labs run under Windows on PC's, or on color-capable Macintosh computers.
CalAstro is proud to be a affiliate of Project CLEA.  Please click on the banner below for more information, materials,  and educational software...



Project CLEA is Sponsored by Gettysburg College and the National Science Foundation.



If your interest is 'photometry' and 'Cataclysmic Variables', then the "Center for Backyard Astrophysics" (CBA), with headquarters at Columbia University, is the place for you.   They are  another of our 'Affiliate' organizations, and one of our  primary partners in research.  At their site you'll find everything you need to get started today!


A global network of small telescopes
dedicated to photometry of cataclysmic variables.


www.astro.columbia.edu


Another of our affiliates, "Starlink" is the home of probably some of the best data reduction and analysis tools available anywhere.  Be sure to check out their Java tools.  We highly recommend them!

http://star-www.rl.ac.uk/

NEWS!  Starlink Project Has Ended!
Funding for the StarLink Project was eliminated as of June 30th, 2005.  No new software will be developed.  Existing software is still currently available on the website.  At some later date the StarLink software will be archived.  CalAstro has obtained copies of all of the latest StarLink software.  Our copies will be available to associates when it is no longer available from StarLink support.

Starlink's main objectives are to:

Starlink is funded by PPARC, and based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory which is part of CLRC. 





Are you interested in Radio Astronomy?

Then Check out the Fringe Dwellers "Simple" Radio Astronomy site.
This site is mostly about constructing low frequency, cross-correlating, meridian transit radio interferometers and about doing radio astronomy with them. 
Such an instrument has two radio receivers, fed by individual antennas. The antennas are spaced some "baseline" distance apart. The two receivers run coherently, meaning that not only do they work at roughly the same frequency, they are precisely phase-locked together. This involves having the two receivers share a common local oscillator (LO). They use a normal stereo soundcard (and some purpose made software) to read the audio output of the two receivers. The baseline distance determines the resolution of an interferometer, so even simple equipment can be used to build high resolution radio telescopes.

Also, be sure to read the NASA article about "Simple"!  HERE



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