Astronomy Research Guide

• Clubs, Departments and Societies
• General
• Image Collections
• Libraries
• News
• Observatories
• Planetaria
• Publications

The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' Astronomy Research Guide is a select list of resources for students, teachers, and researchers to learn about astronomy. This guide is complimented by our Aeronautics Research Guide and our Earth and Space Science Research Guide. 

Clubs, Departments, and Societies

• Astronomical League: The Astronomical League is composed of over two hundred and forty local amateur astronomical societies from all across the United States, whose basic goal is to encourage astronomy interest.
• Astronomy Clubs Directory: United States: Searchable directory of astronomy clubs located in the United States.
• Physics and Astronomy Departments Worldwide Directory: Directory of physics and astronomy departments worldwide - commercial site.

General

• Absolute Astronomy: General facts and information site on astronomy - commercial site.
• Astronomical Almanac Online: Online astronomical almanac jointly maintained by the U. S. Nautical Almanac Office in the United States (USNO) and Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO) in the United Kingdom.
• Astronomy Dictionary and Glossary
• Astronomy Thesaurus: Astronomical thesaurus maintained by the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Australian National University.
• Earth and Sky: Site of the award-winning science radio program Earth and Sky.
• SKY-MAP: Uses the wiki-eye on space. Use the draggable space model with highlighted constellations, submit your own star information and view a model of the stars that are above you in real time.
• Space.com: Site that provides information everything space.
• Sunrise/Sunset Calendars: Site provides sunrise and sunset times, as well as moonrise and moonset times - commercial site.

Image Collections

• Anglo-Australian Telescope: Astronomy image collection from the Anglo-Australian Observatory located in Eastwood, New South Wales.
• Astronomy Picture of the Day: NASA provides a daily astronomical photograph.
• Constellation Photographs: Deep photographs of the constellations - commercial site.
• Hubble Space Telescope Resource Gallery: Images from the Hubble Space Telescope.
• JPL Photojournal
• Lunar Photo of the Day: Daily photographs of the moon.
• NASA Multiwavelength Milky Way: NASA images of the Milky Way.
• NASA Skyview Virtual Observatory: SkyView is a Virtual Observatory on the Net generating images of any part of the sky at wavelengths in all regimes from Radio to Gamma-Ray.
• NASA Solar Data Archive Center: NASA images of the sun.
• Webb Space Telescope Image Gallery

Libraries

• Adler Planetarium Library: The library located at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum in Chicago, Illinois. The Adler Planetarium was the first planetarium built in the Western Hemisphere and is the oldest in existence today.
• Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) Library: The John J. Wolbach Library and Information Center combines the collections of the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) Library and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) Library, forming one of the world's preeminent astronomical collection.
• Institute for Astronomy (IfA) Library: University of Hawaii's (Honolulu) astronomy library.
• Lowell Observatories Library: Library of the Lowell Observatory located in Flagstaff, Arizona.
• Lunar and Planetary Institute Library: The Center for Research and Information Studies is located at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas.
• National Radio Astronomy Observatory Library: Library affiliated with the National Radio Astronomy Observatories.
• Physics-Optics-Astronomy Library (POA ): Library located at the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.
• Space Telescope Science Institute (StScI) Library: Library for the Space Telescope Science Institue located in Baltimore, Maryland. The Space Telescope Science Institute is the home of planning and public outreach programs for the Hubble Telescope, and is also the science and operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope.
• United States Naval Observatory Library: Library for the United States Naval Observatory.
• Woodman Astronomical Library: Library located at the University of Wisconsin, Madison campus.

News

• Alden Planetarium: Planetarium located in Worcester, Massachusetts.
• Astronomy: Online edition of Astronomy magazine - commercial site.
• Astronomy Headlines: Astronomy news.
• Space.com: Astronomy news and other information about space.
• Today at NASA: NASA news and features.
• Universe Today: Space exploration and astronomy news - commercial site.

Observatories

• Allegheny Observatory: Observatory affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The observatory is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Apache Point Observatory: Observatory located in the Sacramento Mountains in Sunspot, New Mexico.
• Appalachian State University's Dark Sky Observatory: Observatory located in Boone, North Carolina affiliated with Appalachian State University.
• Cloudbait Observatory: Robotic observatory located in the Colorado Rockies (Guffey, Colorado).
• College of Staten Island Astrophysical Observatory: NASA funded observatory located at the College of Staten Island, New York.
• Custer Institute and Observatory: Observatory located on Long Island, New York.
• Dudley Observatory: Observatory located in Albany, New York. It is the oldest independent astronomical research organization in the United States.
• Gemini Observatory: Observatory with two Gemini telescopes at two different sites, Mauna Kea, Hawaii and Cero Pachon, Chile.Cerro Pachón, Chile.
• Griffith Observatory: Observatory located in Los Angeles, California. The observatory sits on s south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest.
• Kitt Peak National Observatory: The observatory is United States astronomical observatory located on the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Nation, southwest of Tucson, Arizone. The observatory is considered to be part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), although some of the telescopes located here, belong to other groups such as the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory. With 23 telescopes, it is the largest, most diverse gathering of astronomical instruments in the world.
• Lick Observatory: Observatory located on the summit of Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose, California. It is owned and operated by the University of California, Santa Cruz.
• McDonald Observatory: Observatory located the town of Fort Davis, Texas. The observatory is under the auspices of the University of Texas, Austin.
• Mount Wilson Observatory: Observatory located on Mount Wilson in Southern California.
• National Solar Observatory: The National Solar Observatory has two observing facility locations: Kitt Peak, Arizona and Sacramento Peak, New Mexico.
• Palomar Observatory: Observatory is located in North San Diego County, San Diego, California. It is home to five telescopes, and is under the auspices of the California Institute of Technology.
• Steward Observatory: Observatory located at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
• U.S. Naval Observatory: One of the oldest scientific agencies in America. Official Source of Time for the Department of Defense (DoD),lobal Positioning System (GPS),and a Standard of Time for the United States. 
• University of Virginia Observatories: Observatories either located on the University of Virginia's campus in Charlottesville, Virgina or observatories that area affiliated with the University of Virginia.
• Van Vleck Observatory: Observatory located at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.
• Yerkes Observatory: Observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, affiliated with the University of Chicago.

Planetaria

• Abrams Planetarium: The Talbert and Leota Abrams Planetarium is located on the campus of Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
• Adler Planetarium: The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum in Chicago, Illinois was the first planetarium built in the Western Hemisphere and is the oldest in existence today.
• Albert Einstein Planetarium/National Air and Space Museum/Smithsonian Institution: Planetarium located in the National Air and Space Museum located in Washington, DC.
• Buhl Digital Dome: Henry J. Buhl Planetarium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• Charles Hayden Planetarium: The Charles Hayden Planetarium is located at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Christa McAuliffe Planetarium: The Christa McAuliffe Planetarium is located in Concord, New Hampshire.
• Clark Planetarium: Planetarium located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Fels Planetarium: The Franklin Fels Planetarium located at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Fiske Planetarium and Science Center: Fiske Planetarium and Science Center is located in Boulder, Colorado.
• Hayden Planetarium: Hayden Planetarium is located at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
• Minneapolis Planetarium: The Minneapolis Planetarium is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Ott Planetarium: The Ott Planetarium is located at Webster State University, Ogden, Utah.
• Strasenburgh Planetarium: The Strasenburgh Planetarium is located at the Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, New York.

Publications

• Sky and Telescope: Astronomy magazine is considered to be the premier astronomy magazine - commercial site.
• The Astronomer: Online edition of astronomy magazine for the advance amateur.