Here’s a collection of astronomy-related links for you which I’ve enjoyed and found useful.  I am by no means implying that a site is NOT good if I haven’t listed it; good grief, there are thousands of them!  These are just a few of those I’ve used, and thought you might like to look them over if you haven’t done so already.

Of course, the preface “http://” is implied for each of these links, and you don’t have to use capital letters.  I did that for clarification, and to make it easier to find something if you’re just scanning down the list.

http://www.NASA.gov – This is NASA’s website, and is a great starting place for all things NASA.  It’ll give you directions to set up your very own NASA page, streamlined to your interests, called “MyNASA”.

http://www.ESA.int – Here’s the European Space Agency homepage.  News stories, images, videos, and additional links can be found here.  ESA, like NASA, has a section for kids with great games, competitions, downloads… well, you get the general idea.

http://www.JPL.nasa.gov – While many people think of NASA and the Jet Propulsion Lab (CA Institute of Technology) as one organization, they aren’t.  Their relationship is more like an extremely successful and productive marriage.  You’ll find a lot of duplication between NASA’s website and this one, but you’ll also find a lot of incredible new stuff.

SOHOwww.nascom.nasa.gov – I know, the “soho” before “www” looks weird, but that’s the correct address.  This is the home of SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric observatory.  This is one cool website, for a really cool project.

http://www.HUBBLEsite.org – “Out of the ordinary …out of this world.”  That certainly describes Hubble, and HubbleSite.  Here’s where to find all those beautiful Hubble images, extras for kids, help for educators, news about Hubble… many, many fascinating bits and pieces to keep you interested for hours.  There’s even a little section on the Webb Space Telescope (not due to launch until 2014).

http://www.SPITZER.caltech.edu – Here’s where you’ll find Spitzer Space Telescope images, along with all things Spitzer.  Of course, you get a lot of cross-over from NASA, JPL, and CalTech, but it’s still a great, stand-alone site.

CHANDRA.harvard.edu – Another weird address… there’s no “www” in front of “Chandra”.  Among other features, this site (like HubbleSite) has a “where is Chandra right now” section that’s updated every minute.  It’s great to have all of Chandra’s jaw-dropping images in one place, too.

saturn.jpl.nasa.gov – Bet you’re thinking I just lost my mind!  This is the address to the CASSINI MISSION homepage.  Again, no “www” in front of “saturn”.  This site, along with NASA’s home page, won a WEBBY in 2009 for excellence on the internet.  The Cassini Mission site won for “best science site”.  Nice.

VOYAGER.jpl.nasa.gov – If it’s jaw-dropping images you’re looking for, don’t neglect this site.  Welcome to the home of Voyager I and II.

MESSENGER.jhuapl.edu – Messenger’s web site.  There are some great images of Mercury here that Tom and I haven’t had a chance to use yet.

antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov – The address for ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY.  This is a fairly simple, straightforward web site, which disguises the fact that you’ll find some of the most beautiful images you’ve ever seen hiding behind all that simplicity.  One tip:  The search engine is not designed to handle “sounds-like” searches, so you’ll need the exact spelling.

SPACEWEATHER.com – I bet you’re beginning to wonder if anything is prefaced “www” anymore.  This site will give you cool images, interesting articles, and helpful links.  For instance, if you go to this link today, you’ll see that tomorrow is the biggest full moon of the year (with images).

STEREO.gsfc.nasa.gov – For the best information and 3-D images of the Sun, this is the site to visit.  Here is where you can see what the Sun looks like right now.  The whole thing… hair/hide/fur/feathers and all.

ngm.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.com – The home of National Geographic.  Good articles, stunning images… how could I leave out National Geographic?  A lot of its content is more “down to Earth”, but NatGeo is right there in space exploration and funding, too.

There, that should keep you busy for a little while if you weren’t already familiar with each of these sites.  There are tons more, and you’ll find handy links to some very interesting places.  If nothing else, pop over and look at how the moon will appear tomorrow.

And see?  I can yap for HOURS without any encouragement.