Introduction

The World Wide Web (the Web or WWW) provides important resources for astronomers, and it is rapidly growing. However, since Web sites are not always easy to find or designed to a specific format or content, the "power" of the resource can be offset by difficulties in finding what you are searching (or "surfing") for.

Since many information searches can lead you to intermediate Web sites via other hyperlinks, the chances of distraction (ie. surfing the wrong wave) or ending up at a deadend (ie. wiping out) are high. An important fact to keep in mind is that there is no guarantee that the information you find on the Web is correct. Also, in some cases you will be able to connect to a site, but could be blocked from further access unless you are a subscriber. For example, some astronomy journals impose this constraint on their sites. In the vast majority of cases however astronomical information and data products are free and accessible.

In this article I will focus on providing specific starting information for users who wish to access the Web to obtain astronomical information. I will describe existing directories or lists of astronomy related Uniform Resource Locators (URLs, Web addresses), which will provide the required information or starting points for further Web surfing. If the information you are looking for is not in these lists, you will need to use Search Engines to determine if the information is accessible somewhere else. Some sites in which information is updated regularly are also listed. Sites of interest to New Zealand astronomers are described, and finally a selection of on-line articles on network resources is given.

It is worth keeping in mind that the Web is a dynamic resource and so a URL that you have used, could on a return visit have changed or even disappeared entirely. Each URL listed in this article (shown in bold face) starts with the characters ``http://'', although for conciseness I omit these. (The Netscape Web browser assumes this URL prefix by default). This article does not attempt to cover all aspects of astronomy resources on the Web, but presents information to allow efficient use of the Web. The article assumes that the reader is connected to the Internet and is experienced in using browsers.

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