The total skywatcher's manual : 275+ skills and tricks for exploring stars, planets & beyond

Shore, Linda (author.). Prosper, David, (author.). White, Vivian, (author.). Astronomical Society of the Pacific. (Added Author).

Summary: "For stargazers, comet-spotters and planet-seekers looking to enhance your deep sky knowledge and observations - this is your quintessential guide. The Total Skywatcher's Manual will help you choose the best telescope, identify constellations and objects in the night sky, search for extraterrestrial phenomena, plan star parties, capture beautiful space imagery and much more."--provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781616288716 :
ISBN: 161628871X
Physical Description: print
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 25 cm
Publisher: San Francisco, CA : Weldon Owen, [2015]
Copyright: ©2015

Content descriptions

General Note:

Includes index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Naked-eye astronomy tips. Meet the universe ; Dissect a star ; Learn stellar classification ; Discover star groups ; Spot the closest stars ; Top five: Recognize ideal skywatching conditions ; Go urban or rural ; Pack a beginner skywatching kit ; Optimize your vision ; Improvise a red flashlight ; Notice the brightness and color of stars ; Navigate the northern celestial sphere ; See the sights in the southern hemisphere ; Witness zodiacal light at dawn ; Spot morning and evening planets ; Rediscover sunrise ; Meet the sun ; Understand solstices and equinoxes ; Get the reasons for the seasons ; Explore ancient astronomical markers ; Track the sun with an analemma ; Create your own solargraphs ; Make your own planisphere ; Look south with your planisphere ; Measure the heavens ; Top five: Zone the sky ; Time the sunset with your fingers ; Measure degrees of separation in the sky ; Start at the Big Dipper ; Pinpoint Arcturus ; Locate Regulus ; Suss out Spica ; Test vision with the Big Dipper ; Track time with the Little Dipper ; Assemble a star clock ; Find your way by the wind, stars, and waves ; Use the Big Dipper to locate Polaris ; Orient yourself with a gnomon ; Find south in the southern hemisphere ; Find the southern cross ; Bag the coalsack ; Locate Centaurus ; Sail over to Vela ; Check out Capricornus ; Hunt down Hydrus ; Look for Libra ; Gaze upon Carina ; Top five: Track things that move above ; Locate the celestial equator ; Find 0hr right ascension ; Use Orion to measure spherical coordinates ; Trace Draco the Dragon ; Hunt down Ursa Major ; Follow Ursa Minor ; Get a glimpse of the giraffe ; Begin at Orion ; Get yourself to Gemini ; Track down Taurus the bull ; Find Canis Major and Canis Minor ; Gaze at the majestic Milky Way ; Glimpse spilled grain in the Cherokee Milky Way story ; See more Milky Way myths ; Spot a llama in the Incan Milky Way ; Learn how the aboriginals see the Milky Way ; Luck out with noctilucent clouds ; Feast your eyes on afterglow ; Glimpse the green flash ; Meet the moon ; Decode the phases of the moon ; Understand the moon illusion ; Watch the tides come and go ; Spot some strange moons ; Meet the man on the moon, all over the world ; See the crescent moon around the globe ; Watch the moon turn red in a lunar eclipse ; Read a lunar eclipse map ; Put together a lunar eclipse model ; Meet Mercury ; Begin with Pegasus the flying horse ; Pinpoint 51 Pegasi ; Find Andromeda the princess ; Scout Perseus the hero ; Acquaint yourself with faint Aries ; Chase the Charioteer ; Behold Corona Borealis ; Hail King Cepheus ; Explore the zodiacs of different cultures ; Tell a meteor from a meteroid ; Pick the best time to meteor-watch ; Top five: Go on a meteorite hunt ; Name that meteor shower ; Save the date for meteor showers ; Meet Venus ; Demystify the auroras' colors ; Pick a prime spot to aurora-gaze ; Journey for the auroras ; Time your aurora travel ; Probe Earth's atmosphere ; Catch a glimpse of glories ; Check out sun and moon dogs ; Demystify twinkling stars ; Spot a solar or lunar halo ; Meet Mars ; Catch a conjunction ; Witness planets in transit ; Watch an occulation ; Scope planets at maximum elongation ; Observe planets in retrograde ; Stay up all night for oppposition ; Model the solar system with paper ; Understand planets' relative sizes ; Start at the summer triangle ; Detect Delphinus ; Fly with Aquia the eagle ; Soar with Cygnus the swan ; Find Lyra ; Locate Hercules ; Set your sights on Hydra ; Track the serpent bearer ; Catch the southern fish ; See Sagittarius ; Say hello to the first great skywatchers ; Meet Jupiter --