Comfort in the Stars

I love living in the Cities.... the culture and the people and the life that it breeds is really fantastic. But, on nights like tonight, in deep Florida, I miss the wide open sky and the smell of heat off of the earth. Emily Bronte said it best:

All through the night, your glorious eyes
Were gazing down in mine,
And, with a full heart's thankful sighs,
I blessed that watch divine.

I was at peace, and drank your beams
As they were life to me;
And revelled in my changeful dreams,
Like petrel on the sea. (Stars)

Unfortunately, I am not the stargazer of the family. And, doubly frustrating,without my glasses our Milky Way appears, well, milky. However, there are some great websites for exploring our universe:

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a great website listing their current projects. There are some fantastic photographs, virtual field trips, simulators, and more.

The STARS website offers some great resources for instructors (and students) including an online observatory.
Speaking of observatories, the Texas McDonald Observatory has a great StarDate website. The beginner's guide is especially useful for wannabe astronomers.

Finally, Starry Night Lights has a great page about light pollution, which is the reason that I've got to go to the middle of the swamp to see stars in Florida in the first place. I'm not an environment freak, but why keep the light on if you don't need it?

Enjoy the lights - the natural ones.