Stargazing Basics: Getting Started in Recreational Astronomy

Stargazing Basics: Getting Started in Recreational Astronomy

Language: English

Pages: 173

ISBN: 110743940X

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


How do I get started in astronomy? Should I buy binoculars or a telescope? What can I expect to see? This wonderful beginners' guide to astronomy covers all the information you need to get started. This second edition has been fully updated and now includes new illustrations, the latest astronomy equipment and celestial events through to the year 2025. It starts by explaining the basic techniques and equipment you need for exploring the skies before taking you on a tour of the night sky, covering the Moon, Sun, stars, planets and more. Any necessary technical terms are clearly explained. The author gives sound advice on using and purchasing affordable binoculars, telescopes and accessories, and the book is illustrated with photos taken by the author, showing how objects in the sky actually look through modest amateur equipment. It contains a comprehensive glossary and references to further astronomy resources and websites.

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First, perfectly adequate, telescope. It should be enough for just about anyone. Personally, I do not think it makes sense to spend more, initially, on a pastime you may not yet be sure of. If you do decide to spend more, you More info should plan to do research beyond the scope of this book. The $500 maximum leaves out many $500 may not seem like a “moderate choices of size and type of telescope and accesboundary” to some, but astronomy sories, but that is a good thing: there are so many.

Recommend a Dobsonian reflector: to get the “most bang for the buck,” because there is very little to set up, and because aiming is as simple as pushing and pulling the tube in the right directions. They may be right. But Dobs have their own problems (size, collimation, balancing, near-constant re-centering at higher magnifications), which I believe could be very frustrating for someone absolutely new to telescope use. Once someone gets over the initial learning curve of using a refractor on an.

Stars, double stars, multiple stars, and star clusters, both open and globular. Stars are one type of object often bright enough to show their color in telescopes: red, orange, yellow, white, and blue are the most common, but some people even report seeing green or turquoise. Nebulae (of several kinds) and galaxies (including our own) are the other targets of the deep sky. Some are actually visible to the unaided eye, but the apertures of binoculars and telescopes make it possible to view.

Average one, in the middle of life. sunspots Cooler areas on the surface of the Sun that only appear to be dark when contrasted against the neighboring brightness. Sunspots occur in places where magnetic fields burst through the surface. supernova remnant The highly charged shell of gaseous remains left after a large star collapses and then explodes at the end of its life. surface features The actual features visible on the Sun, Moon, or planets; sometimes actual details of the solid.

Star Draco 92, 114, 135 dual-axis drive 45, 49, 114 Dumbbell Nebula 104, 114, 132 144 Eagle Nebula 102, 114 Earthshine 83, 114 eccentric orbit 85, 114 eclipse 88, 98, 114 annular 80, 108 lunar 77, 78, 119 partial 80, 124 solar 73, 78, 80, 81, 105, 131 ecliptic 81, 82, 88, 111, 114, 124, 128, 132, 138 elliptical galaxy see galaxy emission nebula see nebula Europa 88, 115 exit pupil 19, 23, 115 eye lens 55, 115 eyepiece 19, 20, 32, 33, 37, 52–55, 79, 115 Huygens 53, 54, 118 Kellner 54, 118.

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