We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." This T. S. Eliot quote greeted me when I clicked on a link titled The Nine Planets, a virtual tour of the Solar System.
I was at the stunning Web home page put up by the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space chapter at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Students for Exploration is an independent, international student organization (the public is welcome to join) that originated at MIT and Princeton in 1980 to promote the exploration and development of space.
The Tucson branch's Web page is a beautiful, well-organized, and professional compendium on every aspect of space exploration and study. A sleek, new, Sun-donated workstation keeps the page running smoothly, and the many designers use Netscape's background-color control and other features to full advantage.
The tour of the solar system takes an in-depth look at each planet, complete with history, pictures, animation, movies, and every link you can possibly think of to related information. This is a complete teaching tool that surpasses many CD-ROMs I've encountered.
The Shoemaker-Levy 9 link documents pictures and current data on the comet's collision with Jupiter, gathered from locations around the world. And a giant image map of the Milky Way greets you with a plethora of more cool links like Visions of the Future, where you can check out pages on star ships, space colony designs, and missions in the works from scientists around the world. A real-time link takes you to time-based information on Earth and solar weather as well as astronomy stats. Everything from launch manifests and weather maps to academic papers and Apollo movies is here. And, if you'd like to suggest a link that they've missed, there's a form for entering it.
The page is a jackpot Lotto prize for anyone interested in space. And hey, let's face it, we're festering here on our little planet and have a lot to learn before we stop peeing in our pool. Consciousness needs to be raised, different environments experienced, new resources found, and space is the place. Beam me up, I'm outta here!
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Web site at . Newsgroup at bit.listserv.seds-l, e-mail seds@seds.org.
STREET CRED
Tales of TinseltownBig Brother Calling
A Guide to the Outer Limits of Human Belief
A Day in the Life of Teen Chat
REAdME On the bookshelves of the digerati
Sign On, Space Out
