Astronomy – All The Mystery You Can Imagine..

..And Then Some

It’s Considered One Of The Oldest Sciences Of The Human Race

And One Of The Most Current And Cutting Edge

Would You Like To Try It Out ? It’s Easy. And The Fun And Wonder Will Last A Lifetime. Just……..

Look Up

OK. How About Some Eye Candy?

Apollo 11 Apollo 12 Apollo 14 Apollo 15 Apollo 16 Apollo 17

You Are Here! ~ 100,000 LY Across

But – Where To Start ? Buy A Really Powerful Home Telescope. YES!!

NOPE. If You Are New To Astronomy, Buying A Big Telescope Is Probably Not The Best Initial Investment. Kinda Like Buying A 50 Ft. Sailboat, And Not Knowing What A Buoy Or Channel Marker Is.

Head For Your Local Library (Or Bookstore) Find A Book With Easy Star Charts Browse Through An Astronomy Magazine. Buy A Planisphere (a what ?) Choose One Or Two Seasonal Constellations Learn “Deep Sky” Objects In Your Constellation(s)

One Of These Is A Great Starting Point

And An Excellent New Resource From The Publishers Of Sky & Telescope

These (And Many Other) Books Will Help You: Learn To Recognize Star Patterns (Constellations). Become Comfortable With Important Terminology. Understand Our Solar System. Identify Specific Stars By Name And Type. Become Familiar With “Deep Sky” Objects. Describe How To Find Your Way Around The Sky.

One Of These Will Really Help You Get To Know The Night Sky.

Get To Know A Friend Or Two

Hello Pegasus!

A Negative Image View

“Star Hopping” In Andromeda

Cassiopeia – The “W” or “M” Asterism

Binoculars Are A Great First Choice (And You Get TWO Telescopes!) 7x50 or 10x50 are ideal for open clusters, many nebulae, Andromeda Galaxy, The Moon, brighter comets, Our Milky Way…

Once You Are Somewhat Familiar With The Sky And Want To Look A Little Deeper Into The Cosmos Maybe It’s Time For A Telescope..

Do-s and Don’t-s When Thinking About A Scope DO Consider what you want to look at. DO Consider your level of interest / technical ability. DO Consider who the primary user will be. DO Consider budget. DO Learn A Bit About The Sky Before You Buy ! DO Consider Portability.

Do-s and Don’t-s When Thinking About A Scope DON’T ! Warning Signs: Sold At Major Department Stores Promotes The “Power” (magnification) Of The Scope It (or it’s brethren) are hawked on TV shopping networks Uses.965 inch diameter eyepieces (frequently plastic)

Two Most Important Aspect Of Your New Scope Aperture is the key. Not “power” Look For The Beefiest Mount You Can Manage So Called GO-TO Mounts Are Not All They’re Promoted To Be.

The Dobsonian Mounted Reflector Great Starter Scope For The Enthusiastic Novice Lots of aperture For the money “Dobsonian” Mount Superb Steadiness And Portable Manual Pointing The Thrill Of The Hunt (and you’ll learn astronomy)

You May Just End Up Lovin This Hobby !!

Close Encounters With A Few Key Words: Constellation Celestial Sphere Celestial Equator Celestial Pole Zenith Meridian Declination (latitude) Right Ascension (longitude) Equatorial Mount Alt-Azimuth Mount Refractor Reflector Schmidt-Cassegrain Focal Length Objective ( Lens / Mirror) Magnitude Galaxy Nebula ( Open) Star Cluster (Globular) Star Cluster Asteroid Aurora Eclipse Orbit Rotation (about an axis) Revolution (orbit) Ecliptic ( zodiac) Ellipse Precession Planisphere Comet Meteor Red Giant (star) Pulsar Black Hole Active Galactic Nuclei Neutron Star Supernova Hertzsprung-Russell Messier Big Bang Doppler Shift Spectrometry Relativity Singularity

“The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who does not know it, and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead. A snuffed out candle.” ---- Albert Einstein Forum and Century (1930)