The steep entry requirement for astronaut training means that few of us will play among the stars, but with the SETI at home program (setiathome.berkeley.edu) anyone with broadband can join the search for alien life. There is a dizzying variety of ways of exploring the Universe from your computer.

Space.com is the first stop for any web astronaut, catering to almost any level of interest with articles on launches, updates on the progress of SETI, and pictures from the far reaches of the solar system sent back by Nasa’s army of long-range probes.

Naturally Nasa has a substantial web presence, with different departments for curious junior explorers, harried teachers, or lazy journalists. New on www.nasa.gov is the option to download mobile phone wallpapers with some classic astronomical images.

Despite the European Space Agency’s lesser role, its website, www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html, offers many articles of interest, including a countdown to Paolo Nespoli’s ISS mission and regular updates on the foton microgravity experiments.

But It isn’t all serious science on the web. Bad Astronomy (www.badastronomy.com) takes an informed, but idiosyncratic look at the science headlines of the day and is worth a regular visit.

No discussion of space-related websites would be complete without the lunatic fringe who expend extraordinary effort attempting to prove that aliens regularly visit or that Man never went to the Moon. www.ufos-aliens.co.uk/cosmicapollo.html has the most completely argued discussion of the “Moon Landing Hoax” you are likely to see.

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