The Night Sky Companion: A Yearly Guide to Sky-Watching 2009T. Plotner, The Night Sky Companion, DOI 10. 1007/978-0-387-79509-6_1, 1 Springer ScienceþBusiness Media, LLC 2009 2 TheNightSkyCompanion Welcome,fellowtravelertothestars!Forthenextyearwewilltakeajourneytogetheracrossthenight sky. In these pages you will find lunar features, planets, meteor showers, single and multiple stars, open and globular clusters, as well as distant galaxies. There will be astronomy history to explore, famous astronomers to meet, and science to learn. You’ll find things here for those who enjoy stargazing with just their eyes, binoculars, or even the largest of telescopes! Although these observing tips are designed with all readers in mind, not everyone lives in the same time zone—or the same hemisphere—and certainly no one has clear skies every night. But no matter where you live, or who you are, it is my hope that somewhere here you find something of interest to keep you looking up! LearningtheNightSky If you are new to astronomy, it might seem difficult to learn all those stars. Relax! It’s much easier than you think. Just like moving to a new city, everything will seem unfamiliar at first, but with a little help from some maps, you’ll soon be finding your way around like a pro. Once you become familiar with the constellations and how they appear to move across the night sky, the rest is easy. If you do not have maps of your own, try visiting your local library or one of many online sites thatcangeneratethem. Theygiveobjectpositionsingreatdetail,andmosthaveakeyofGreekletters to help you understand star hop instructions. |
Contents
9 | |
Chapter TwoFebruary 2009 | 41 |
Chapter ThreeMarch 2009 | 70 |
Chapter FourApril 2009 | 103 |
Chapter FiveMay 2009 | 135 |
Chapter SixJune 2009 | 167 |
Chapter SevenJuly 2009 | 198 |
Chapter EightAugust 2009 | 231 |
Other editions - View all
The Night Sky Companion: A Yearly Guide to Sky-Watching 2008-2009 Tammy Plotner Limited preview - 2007 |
The Night Sky Companion: A Yearly Guide to Sky-Watching 2008-2009 Tammy Plotner No preview available - 2007 |
The Night Sky Companion: A Yearly Guide to Sky-Watching 2009 Tammy Plotner No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
5th magnitude Alpha Antares aperture appear asteroid astronomer beautiful Beta binary binoculars birth bright brighter brightest star catalog celestial challenge Charles Messier color comet companion constellation core courtesy of Caltech crater credit-Alan Chu credit-Greg Konkel credit-NASA credit-Palomar Observatory credit-Wes Higgins Cygni dark dawn degrees Delta discovered distance double star dust E.E. Barnard Earth east eclipse faint fainter feature Figure finger-widths fist-width galactic galaxy Gamma globular cluster historical image impact Jupiter known larger telescopes lava light light-years located low power lunar lunar surface magnitude star Mare Mare Serenitatis Mars Messier meteor shower Milky Moon night sky northeast northwest object observing open cluster optics orbit Orion pair Palomar Observatory peak planet planetary nebula region Saturn scopes skies slightly small telescope Solar System southeast southern southwest space spiral spot Springer Science+Business Media stellar supernova Tonight variable star visible William Herschel