MetaFilter posts tagged with astronomy and maps

Milky Way Transit Authority

homunculus — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:29:23 -0800

3D Starmaps

jiawen — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 21:52:10 -0800

3D Starmaps by Winchell Chung. (I knew him for his game illustrations before I ever knew about his starmaps.) The site contains lots of information about how to make 2D/3D starmaps from standard star tables, a nice selection of pre-existing maps and one of the best listings of 3D starmap software around.

Antique Celestial Maps

Gator — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 18:40:30 -0800

The U.S. Naval Observatory Library features high-res scans of images from antique books dealing with astronomy and navigation. Wallpapers, ahoy!

World Sunlight Map. The darkness looks a little creepy.

Salmonberry — Sun, 28 Nov 2004 16:48:45 -0800

World Sunlight Map. A neat little map showing the encroaching blob of darkness as parts of the world slip in and out of nighttime.

3-D Maps of Nearby Space

kirkaracha — Fri, 30 May 2003 12:36:11 -0800

3-D Maps of Nearby Space "The first detailed map of space within about 1,000 light years of Earth places the solar system in the middle of a large hole that pierces the plane of the galaxy...The new map, produced by University of California, Berkeley, and French astronomers, alters the reigning view of the solar neighborhood." (one view|another view|links to bigger images)

iconomy — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 17:31:24 -0800

Celestial Atlases are perhaps some of the most beautiful scientific books ever published, capturing the mystery and the grandeur of the heavens, and rife with beautiful and often intimidating interpretations of the constellations. Out Of This World has been my favorite website since the dawning of time, and one I go back to over and over again even though it never changes. The period from 1603 to 1801 produced the most beautiful star maps, and you don't have to know a thing about astronomy to appreciate how heavenly these are.