The 50 Best Sights in Astronomy and How to See Them Observing Eclipses, Bright Comets, Meteor Showers, and Other Celestial Wonders

by Schaaf, Fred

• ISBN13: 9780471696575
• ISBN10: 0471696579
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-07-27
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

"Fred Schaaf is one of the most experienced astronomical observers of our time. For more than two decades, his view of the sky-what will be visible, when it will be visible, and what it will look like-has encouraged tens of thousands of people to turn their eyes skyward." -David H. Levy, Science Editor, Parade magazine, discoverer of twenty-one comets, and author of Starry Night and Cosmic Discoveries"Fred Schaaf is a poet of the stars. He brings the sky into people's lives in a way that is compelling and his descriptions have all the impact of witnessing the stars on a crystal-clear dark night." -William Sheehan, coauthor of Mars: The Lure of the Red Planet and The Transits of VenusIn this book, you'll meet the twenty-one brightest stars visible from Earth. You'll learn how to find these stars and discover the best ways to see them. Each star is profiled in a separate chapter, with detailed guidance on what to look for while observing it. Suitable for beginners as well as experienced amateur astronomers, the book shares fascinating information about the lore and legends connected with each star through history, as well as what the science of astronomy has to teach us about the star's physical nature.

Author Biography

FRED SCHAAF, the writer of two popular long-running features in Sky & Telescope magazine, is the author of eleven books on popular astronomy, including Seeing the Deep Sky and Seeing the Solar System, both from Wiley.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Basic Information for Astronomical Observers	p. 5
Field of View: 180[degree] (the Whole Sky) to 100[degree] (Naked-Eye Scan)
The Starry Sky	p. 13
Total Eclipse of the Sun	p. 18
Meteor Shower or Storm	p. 22
Fireball Meteor	p. 28
The Northern Lights, or Aurora	p. 32
Bright Satellite or Spacecraft	p. 36
The Milky Way	p. 40
Field of View: 100[degree] to 50[degree] (the Widest Fixed Naked-Eye Field)
The Big Dipper and the North Star	p. 47
The Orion Group of Constellations	p. 51
The Summer Triangle Region	p. 54
Field of View: 50[degree] to 15[degree] (Moderately Wide Naked-Eye Field)
Venus and Mercury at Greatest Elongation	p. 61
Venus, Jupiter, and Mars at Brightest	p. 65
Bright Comet with Long Tail	p. 69
Sirius, the Brightest Star	p. 77
Other Bright Stars	p. 81
Orion	p. 86
Other Prominent Constellations	p. 92
Field of View: 15[degree] to 1[degree] (Narrow Naked-Eye Field, Binoculars Field, and Wide-Telescopic Field)
Total Eclipse of the Moon	p. 101
Total Eclipse of the Sun Close-Up	p. 108
The Moon at Full and Other Phases	p. 111
Very Thin Crescent Moon	p. 114
Lunar Conjunctions and Occultations	p. 120
Planetary Conjunctions	p. 127
Bright Comet Close-Up	p. 134
The Hyades Star Cluster and Aldebaran	p. 136
The Pleiades	p. 139
Other Very Bright Large Open-Star Clusters	p. 143
Orion's Belt and Sword	p. 146
Algol, Mira, and Other Dramatic Variable Stars	p. 151
Novae, Supernovae, and Supernova Remnants	p. 156
Starriest Fields	p. 162
The Sagittarius Milky Way Region	p. 165
The Great Andromeda Galaxy	p. 170
The Realm of the Galaxies	p. 175
Field of View: 1[degree] to 0.1[degree] or Less (Medium to Narrow Telescopic Field)
Overall Telescopic Views of the Moon	p. 181
Close-Up Views of Lunar Craters and Other Features of the Moon	p. 185
Sunspots and Other Solar Features	p. 190
Partial Eclipses of the Sun	p. 195
Transits of Mercury and Venus	p. 199
Venus Near Inferior Conjunction	p. 202
Jupiter and Its Moons	p. 207
Saturn and Its Rings and Moons	p. 213
Mars at Closest in a Telescope	p. 219
Uranus, Neptune, and Other Dim but Important Worlds	p. 226
A Colorful or Otherwise Striking Double Star	p. 230
The Great Orion Nebula	p. 237
A Rich Open Cluster	p. 243
A Bright Globular Cluster	p. 249
A Bright Planetary Nebula	p. 254
A Bright and Structured Galaxy	p. 258
Total Solar Eclipses, 2008-2024	p. 262
Major Meteor Showers	p. 263
Total and Partial Lunar Eclipses, 2007-2017	p. 264
The Brightest Stars	p. 265
Transits of Venus and Mercury	p. 266
Glossary	p. 267
Sources	p. 271
Photo Credits	p. 273
Index	p. 274
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