h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Chances are that you've seen this, being a bit of a stargazer! There's a wealth of info here on the Solar System - much more than you could get through at one sitting.

http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/nineplanets.html#toc

SB

Wow - not bad! I had not seen it before. I recently downloaded Celestica which enables you to travel to all of these planetary bodies. The graphics are excellent.

Thanks for that Bomba!

I'm just starting to dip my toes into astronomy a bit. Well, even that's putting it too strong - it consists of looking upwards when I'm out for a smoke at night and watching 'The Sky at Night' when I catch it. Still though, I think a bug is taking hold. It's amazing to think how the body of knowledge about everything outside the Earth has grown so much, in such a short space of time!

My wife is beginning to catch the bug - that's what has me going back out at night again. I had been interested in the stars and planets from the age of 9 or thereabouts, but it was only when I was 18 or 19 or so that I bought a proper astronomy book and started to become familiar with the sky outside my back door. Knowing the brighter stars and constellations in the sky (and there's not too many really - knowing where theta lyrae is we can leave to the professionals ) gives me a sense of place every night.