Learn more about the Universe, from the Sun and planets to galaxies and cosmology. Looking for what’s in the sky tonight? See Tonight’s sky & conditions on our main Resources page.
On this page: News · Explore the Universe · Space telescopes & image galleries · Interactive simulations · Videos
News & space agencies
- NASA Science news
- Universe Today – space and astronomy news
- Canadian Space Agency – including its astronomy section
- NASA
- European Space Agency
Explore the Universe
The Sun
- The Sun (NASA)
- Solar Dynamics Observatory – see the Sun now in near real time
- SOHO: Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
The Solar System
- Solar System Exploration (NASA) – overview of every planet, moon and more
- Mercury
- Venus
- Earth and Moon
- Earth’s Moon (NASA)
- Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
- Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth – photos of Earth taken from space
- Mars
- Mars (NASA)
- Perseverance rover
- Curiosity rover
- Mars Express (ESA) – including flybys of the moon Phobos
- HiRISE Mars images – high-resolution images from orbit
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Saturn (NASA)
- Cassini mission to Saturn – 1997–2017
- Uranus and Neptune
- Pluto and the dwarf planets
- Asteroids, comets and meteors
Humans in space
- International Space Station (NASA)
- Dextre, Canada’s robot on the Space Station – Astronomy Picture of the Day
Stars, galaxies and beyond
- Stars (NASA)
- AAVSO – American Association of Variable Star Observers – learn about variable stars and contribute your observations
- Exoplanets (NASA) – planets around other stars
- Galaxies (NASA)
- Black holes (NASA)
- The Universe and cosmology (NASA)
Space telescopes & image galleries
- Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) – a new image every day since 1995; browse the archive or search it
- Hubble Space Telescope (NASA) and ESA/Hubble
- James Webb Space Telescope (NASA) and ESA/Webb
- Chandra X-ray Observatory
- Spitzer Space Telescope – infrared images; mission ended 2020
- APOD favourites
Interactive simulations & animations
Free, browser-based tools that work on computers, tablets and phones. They’re great for students, teachers and anyone curious.
The sky and the seasons
- What causes the seasons? (NASA Space Place)
- Daylight Hours Explorer (University of Nebraska–Lincoln)
- Planetary Positions Explorer (UNL) – Sun-centred and Earth-centred views of the planets
Moon phases, eclipses and tides
- Moon Phases Simulator (UNL)
- Moon phases explained (NASA Space Place)
- Eclipse Explorer (UNL)
- Tides (NASA)
- Tides and Water Levels tutorial (NOAA)
Orbits and gravity
- Kepler’s Laws (PhET, University of Colorado)
- Gravity and Orbits (PhET)
- My Solar System (PhET)
- Newton’s Cannon (Weber State University) – how fast must you go to orbit?
- What is an orbit? (NASA Space Place)
- The phases of Venus – the observation that helped Galileo overturn the Earth-centred model
Light and spectra
- Explore the electromagnetic spectrum (NASA Space Place)
- Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum (NASA)
- Blackbody Spectrum (PhET) – why stars have different colours
- Doppler shift simulation (Boston University)
Stars
- Hertzsprung–Russell Diagram Explorer (UNL)
- Stellar Evolution simulator (UNL)
- Star size comparison (video)
- The Universe within 12.5 light-years (Atlas of the Universe) – our nearest stars
The scale of the Universe
- Powers of Ten (Eames Office) – the classic 1977 film
- The Scale of the Universe 2 – zoom from the quantum to the cosmic
More simulations: UNL Astronomy Education simulations · PhET Interactive Simulations
Videos
- Zoom in on a stellar black hole (ESO)
- Stars orbiting the black hole at the centre of our galaxy (ESO)
- Ask an Astronomer (Caltech IPAC)
- NASA eClips
- The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham) – a video for every element, the stuff stars make
Links last reviewed September 2026. Found a broken link or have a suggestion? Please contact us.