THE stars and planets have fascinated people for thousands of years and the web now offers a window onto space that has never existed before.

And one of your very first stops should be the home of the Hubble Space Telescope (http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/) which showcases images, interactive maps and even film of what has been discovered.

To prove just how far back interest in the stars goes the British Astronomical Association (www.britastro.org/) has been casting an eye to the skies since 1890.

The site is home to news and detailed observations of comets, meteors and planets and is sure to rocket your astronomical longings sky-high.

One of the most interesting sites on the web is Your Sky (www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/) which plays host to an interactive planetarium.

The sky map shows the entire sky as viewed from a given location at a specified time and date and even if you are not sure of your longitude and latitude, you can enter a city location.

And if while you are casting an eye skyward you think you may have spotted a UFO, send an e-mail to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence site (http://www.seti-inst.edu/).

The aim of the SETI Institute is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and distribution of life in the universe.

The site features up to date news on the search for extraterrestrial life, with the latest experiments, sightings and even studies into recent crop circles.

It's time to wake up to the wonderful world of amateur astronomy on the internet.