MACHINE-READABLE DATA:

Two good Web sites to get machine-readable star data and other astronomical catalogs are:

• http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov (also available by anonymous FTP)
• http://cdsweb.u-strasg.fr/

If you already know the names of astronomical catalogs or celestial objects for which you seek more information, try the excellent VIZIER research service that is now available at three web sites:

• http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR
• http://adc.gsfc.nasa.gov/viz-bin/VizieR
• http://z13.mtk.nao.ac.jp/viz-bin/VizieR

Look for star data from:

• The Hipparcos and Tycho catalogues, produced by the Hipparcos Space Astrometry Mission of the European Space Agency, for which more information is available at: http://astro.estec.esa.nl/SA-general/Project/Hipparcos/hipparcos.html
• Gliese, W. and Jahreiss, H., "Preliminary Version of the Third Catalogue of Nearby Stars" (Heidelberg, Germany: Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, 1991). An update of this catalogue will soon be available from: http://www.ari.uni-heidelberg.de/aricns/index.htm
• Hoffleit, Dorrit, "Preliminary Version of the Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Edition," (New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1991). This catalogue can be accessed by either VIZIER or ADC Viewer from: http://adc.gsfc.nasa.gov/adc-cgi/cat.pl?/catalogs/5/5050
• Ochsenbein, F., Acker, A., Legrand, E., Poncelet, J.M., and Thuet-Fleck E., "Catalogue des etoiles les plus brillantes", edited by Acker, A. (Strasbourg, France: Observatoire de Strasbourg, Centre de Donnees Stellaires et Planetarium de Strasbourg, 1984). Revised and compiled by F. Ochsenbein and J.L. Halbwachs, Stellar Data Center, Strasbourg Observatory, France. [Also available from the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC), USA.]
• Woolley, R., Epps., E.A., Penston, M.J., and Pocock, S.B. 1970, "Catalogue of Stars within 25 Parsecs of the Sun", _Royal [Greenwich] Observatory Annual_ (No. 5). [From NSSDC, USA.]

Other good Web sites for information on specific nearby stars, extrasolar planets, and brown dwarfs include:

• SolStation.com's Notable Nearby Stars
• NASA's NStar Database
• Research Consortium on Nearby Stars
• Internet Stellar Database
• Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia
• Extrasolar Visions

PRINT

• Beatty, J. Kelly, O'Leary, Brian, and Chaikan, Andrew, eds., _The New Solar System_ (Cambridge, MA: Sky Publishing Corp., 1981).
• Burnham, Robert, Jr., _Burnham's Celestial Handbook_ (Mineola, NY: Dover, 1978).
• Consolmagno, Guy J., and Schaefer, Martha W., _Worlds Apart: A Textbook in Planetary Sciences_ (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1994).
• de la Cotardiere, Phillippe, _Larousse Astronomy_ (New York: Facts on File, 1987).
• Croswell, Ken, _The Alchemy of the Heavens: Searching for Meaning in the Milky Way_ (New York: Anchor Books/Doubleday, 1994).
• Dickinson, Terence, _The Universe ... and Beyond_ (Buffalo, NY: Camden House Publishing, 1992).
• Doherty, Arnold P., and Moore, Patrick, _The Photographic Atlas of the Stars_ (Bristol, UK, and Philadelphia: Institute of Physics Publishing, 1997).
• Flammarion, Camille, _The Flammarion Book of Astronomy_ (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1964).
• Hartmann, William K., and Impey, Chris, _Astronomy: The Cosmic Journey_ (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1994).
• Hartmann, William K., and Miller, Ron, _Cycles of Fire_ (New York: Workman Publishing, 1987).
• Henry, Todd J., Kirkpatrick, J. Davy, and Simons, Douglas A., "The Solar Neighborhood. I. Standard Spectral types (K5-M8) for Northern Dwarfs within Eight Parsecs," The Astronomical Journal_ (108:4), pp. 1437-1444.
• Henry, Todd J., Ianna, Philip A., Kirkpatrick, J. Davy, and Jahreiss, Hartmut, "The Solar Neighborhood. IV. Discovery of the Twentieth Nearest Star System," _The Astronomical Journal_ (114:1), pp. 388-395.
• Kaler, James B., _Stars_ (New York: Scientific American Library, 1992).
• Mallove, Eugene, and Matloff, Gregory, "Appendix 3: Nearby Star Systems", _The Starflight Handbook_ (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1989).
• Moore, Patrick, _The Guinness Book of Astronomy_ (Middlesex, UK: Guiness Publishing, Ltd., 1988).
• Moore, Patrick, _Patrick Moore's A-Z of Astronomy_ (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1987).
• Menzel, Donald, and Pasachoff, Jay, _Peterson's Guide to the Stars_, "Appendix 2: The Brightest Stars, to Magnitude 3.5" [Extracted from _Sky Catalogue 2000.0_, Vol. 1, by Alan Hirshfeld, Roger W. Sinnot, and Francois Ochsenbein (Cambridge, MA: Sky Publishing Corp., 1991).], and "Appendix 4: The Nearest Stars".
• Patterson Richard J., Ianna, Philip A., and Begam, Michael C., "The Solar Neighborhood. V. VRI Photometry of Southern Nearby Star Candidates," _The Astronomical Journal_ (115:4), pp. 1648-1652.
• van Altena, W.F., Lee, J.T., & Hoffleit, E.D., _The General Catalogue of Trigonometric Stellar Parallaxes, Fourth Edition_ (Schenectady, NY: Davis, 1995).