Below is a list of websites and apps that may help you with your astronomical hobby!
1) stellarium.org This is a free download for laptops, desktops and Macs. It will show you what is happening in the sky viewed from your location, in real time. It has a lot of super features for you to experiment with – forward and back in time, magnificent zoom pictures of planets, galaxies, clusters etc. This is a safe site and is virus free. They also do a version for Android phones at a cost of £1-95.
2) Google’s ‘Sky Map’ is available for Android pods and tablets. When pointed at the sky it will identify what you are looking at, no set up required, works on GPS.
3) nasa.gov (then go to “Spot the Station”). Informs you of sighting dates, times, direction of the Space Station or as NASA knows it, the ISS (International Space Station) – all for free.
4) nerc.ac.uk Natural Environmental Research Council. This is a UK Government funded organisation. This site may be of interest to the scientifically minded. At Herstmonceux there is a Laser Ranger station that is constantly tracking and gathering trajectory and height information of satellites, plus a lot more besides. This is very important for global wellbeing.
5) ISS detector for android and iPhone.
6) The Weather Channel.
7) clearoutside.com is available for PCs and mobiles. Weather Forecast for Astronomers
8) Space Junk for Android is free. It’s another sky map with added bells and whistles.
9) Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) – Free. For solar enthusiasts.
Android Apps Free to Download from Google Play for Mobiles/tablets;
10) MoonPhase by Acteon Development
11) Messier Objects by Luis Ortiz
12) Klara Weather by Androworks
13) wetteronline by Weather & Radar
14) Sun Moon & Planets by Harnish Ges MBH
As an additional quest how about trying to identify the following:-
Ursa Major, The Great Bear – sometimes called the Plough.
The Pole Star and why this is important to navigators.
The Pleiades also known as the Seven Sisters.
Now is a good time of the year to see The Milky Way. As this is our own galaxy you really should find out a little bit about it.
Jupiter Is well worth trying to find, but you will have to use a pair of binoculars or a telescope to see some of its amazing detail and its moons.
Then look forward to Saturn later on in the year!
Orion’s belt.
Seven Sisters Astronomical Society 