Your Guide To the Sky

by SHAFFER RICK

• ISBN13: 9780737301045
• ISBN10: 073730104X
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-07-01
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Summary

With a comprehensive table outlining when to watch for meteor showers and a special mini-almanac pinpointing the solar and lunar eclipses of the planets, this updated book is the amateur astronomer's essential guide. Fully updated to include the latest information on forthcoming comets.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(3)
What It Takes to Learn the Sky	1	(1)
The Standard Warnings	1	(1)
How This Book Is Arranged	2	(1)
If You're in a BIG Hurry, What to Read First	3	(1)
How the Sky---and the Maps---Are Arranged	4	(14)
How the Earth Is Laid Out	4	(2)
Relating the Earth to the Celestial Sphere	6	(1)
How the Earth ``Makes the Sky Move''	7	(2)
Showing the ``Round'' Sky on a Flat Page	9	(2)
Using the Maps to Find the Stars	11	(5)
Your First Night Under the Stars	16	(2)
The Path of the Sun, Moon, and Planets Through the Sky---the Ecliptic	18	(14)
Why the Ecliptic Is ``Tilted''	18	(3)
Motion of the Sun Along the Ecliptic	21	(1)
Motion of the Moon Along the Ecliptic	21	(5)
Motion of the Planets Along the Ecliptic	26	(3)
Mini-Almanac (and Almanacs in General)	29	(1)
Using the Maps and Mini-Almanac to Find the Planets	29	(3)
Techniques for Viewing the Sky	32	(29)
A Very Short Primer on Light	32	(2)
About Your Eyes	34	(3)
How a Telescope Works	37	(14)
Mounting a Telescope So It Can Move About the Sky	51	(4)
How to Purchase a Good Telescope	55	(1)
A Telescope for Each Eye---Binoculars	56	(4)
Quick Notes on Photographing the Sky	60	(1)
Picking a Time and Place for Viewing	61	(6)
The Astronomer's Worst Enemy---Earth's Atmosphere	61	(3)
When and Where to View What	64	(3)
Looking at the Sky After Sunset	67	(6)
A Bit More About Scattering	67	(1)
Watching the sun as It Sets	67	(1)
There's Twilight, and Then There's Twilight	67	(1)
Seeing the Earth's Shadow	68	(1)
Finding the Stars and Planets (and a Daytime Surprise)	68	(1)
Seeing the Zodiacal Light	69	(1)
Seeing Artificial Satellites	69	(1)
Seeing a Very Young Moon	70	(1)
Seeing the Aurora	71	(2)
Inside the Solar System---the Sun, Moon, and Planets	73	(22)
General Description of the Solar System	73	(1)
The Scale of the Solar System	74	(1)
Old Reliable---the Sun	75	(5)
Our Nearest Neighbor---the Moon	80	(2)
Observing the Inner Planets	82	(3)
Observing the Outer Planets	85	(5)
The Leftovers---Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors	90	(5)
Outside Our Solar System---the Milky Way Galaxy	95	(7)
About the Milky Way in General	95	(1)
Stars	96	(3)
Some Catchall Notes on Deep-Sky Objects	99	(1)
Nebulae	99	(2)
Clusters of Stars	101	(1)
Far Outside Our Solar System---Other Galaxies	102	(3)
How Galaxies Formed	102	(1)
Types of Galaxies	103	(1)
Groups of Galaxies	103	(1)
Observing the Galaxies	104	(1)
The All-Sky and ZOOM Maps	105	(67)
Mini-Almanac	172	(5)
Index	177