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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 BigTelescope 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 SkyAnd 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 MountsAre Not All They’rePromoted To Be.
The Dobsonian Mounted ReflectorGreat Starter Scope For The Enthusiastic Novice
Lots of apertureFor the money
“Dobsonian” MountSuperb Steadiness
And Portable
Manual PointingThe 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 EinsteinForum and Century (1930)
