Depending on what you perceive to be the beginning of science, trying to understand the stars might be the oldest science that is known – since the beginning of mankind early scientists have been looking up to the sky and trying to figure out what is behind it. Since those beginnings great achievements have revolutionized the science and nowadays we know very much about space in general. The rising speed of technological progress in the last decades and the computing power in the hand of the average joe have made astronomy accesible for everyone.

Today we know a lot about the universe and space and it’s objects (for example Black holes).

But that is not all – it has become a lot easier to learn about astronomy for everyone. You don’t have to be a top expert scientest to see into the universe. There are a lot of very good software projects and relatively cheap beginners equipment that enable everyone to deepen the knowledge about our universe (e.g. Which telescope is best for beginners. Many of tose resources are very affordable and quite a lot software products are even available for free.

But even if you are not interested in the science behind it, there is so much beauty in some of those pictures. The structures and colors seen on those pictures fascinate almost anyone who has the chance to take a look at them. Some of the best photographs can be found here: Astronomy Calendar 2010

Discover the the versatility of astronomy, which is both – hobby and science. It can give you the joy of watching pictures almost like art or you can use it to train your brain with the math behind it.