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website features news, resources, and discussion boards about LISA (the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), a space-based gravitational-wave observatory that will allow us to detect gravitational waves from massive black-hole mergers in the centers of galaxies, from the ultra-compact binary systems in our own Galaxy, and from many other sources. A joint ESA and NASA mission, LISA will create revolutionary research opportunities in astrophysics and fundamental physics.

NASA will host a news conference for the next crew launching to the International Space Station, including NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, on Thursday, Sept. 24, at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA Television will broadcast the news conference live at 2 p.m. EDT, preceded by video of crew training at 1:30 p.m.

As an astronomer, teacher, lecturer and all-around science junkie, I am exposed to all sorts of people and their ideas about what goes on in the sky around them. I have been delighted to find that most people are very curious about the night (and day!) sky, but unfortunately a lot of misinformation is spread about astronomy. Sometimes this information is just plain silly, but many times it makes just enough sense that people believe it. Sometimes the news media help spread these ideas (like the one that you can spin or stand an egg on end during the Vernal E

The Very Large Telescope is in fact four telescopes, which are located on Cerro Paranal, a mountain in Chile. Each telescope is equipped with an 8.2m mirror; working together they are equivalent to a 16.4m instrument.

This unique resource covers the entire field of astronomy and astrophysics and this online version includes the full text of over 2,750 articles, plus sophisticated search and retrieval functionality, links to the primary literature, and is frequently updated with new material. An active editorial team, headed by the Encyclopedia's editor-in-chief, Paul Murdin, oversees the continual commissioning, reviewing and loading of new and revised content.

Located at New Mexico Skies and CTIO, Star Shadows Remote Observatory (SSRO) is a cooperative astro-imaging venture operated by Lewis Garrett, Jacob Gerritsen, Rick Gilbert,  Jack Harvey, Steve Mazlin, Michael Smith, Teri Smoot, and Daniel Verschatse.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is one of the most ambitious and influential surveys in the history of astronomy. Over eight years of operations (SDSS-I, 2000-2005; SDSS-II, 2005-2008), it obtained deep, multi-color images covering more than a quarter of the sky and created 3-dimensional maps containing more than 930,000 galaxies and more than 120,000 quasars. SDSS data have been released to the scientific community and the general public in annual increments, with the final public data release from SDSS-II scheduled for October 31, 2008. SDSS-III, a program of four new surveys using SDSS facilities, began observations in July 2008, and will continue through 2014.

"The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog (HEC) is an online database of potentially habitable worlds discoveries for scientists, educators, and the general public. The catalog identifies, classifies, and compares exoplanets of interest for the search for life in the universe. There is no guarantee that any of these worlds are habitable since we know very little of them now. The catalog is maintained by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory @ UPR Arecibo and is updated as new data is available."

"The Open Exoplanet Catalogue is a catalogue of all discovered extra-solar planets. It is a new kind of astronomical database. It is decentralized and completely open. We welcome contributions and corrections from both professional astronomers and the general public."

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is one of the most ambitious and influential surveys in the history of astronomy. Over eight years of operations (SDSS-I, 2000-2005; SDSS-II, 2005-2008), it obtained deep, multi-color images covering more than a quarter of the sky and created 3-dimensional maps containing more than 930,000 galaxies and more than 120,000 quasars. SDSS data have been released to the scientific community and the general public in annual increments, with the final public data release from SDSS-II scheduled for October 31, 2008. SDSS-III, a program of four new surveys using SDSS facilities, began observations in July 2008, and will continue through 2014.

"we are starting to get a handle on the number of roughly Earth-sized exoplanets that might be suitable for life."