Visual Astronomy: A Guide to Understanding the Night Sky / Edition 1

by Panos Photinos

Overview

Visual Astronomy introduces the basics of observational astronomy, a fundamentally limitless opportunity to learn about the universe with your unaided eyes or with tools such as binoculars, telescopes, or cameras. The book explains the essentials of time and coordinate systems and their use in basic observations of the night sky. Readers will learn how to use widely accessible resources to determine what is visible (and when it is visible) from their particular location. Distinct attention is paid to the dependence of the appearance and motion on the observer's location, by extending the discussion to include various latitudes in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This approach provides a better understanding of the night sky and makes the material more interesting and relevant around the world, not just in North America. You don't need any mathematical skill or technical knowledge to quickly grasp the concepts of basic astronomy, nor do you need expensive equipment to look up at the night sky and understand what you see. If you do have or can access a telescope, Visual Astronomy will teach you the fundamentals of its use and how to get the best views possible. Links to major telescope facilities around the world; current and past space missions; links to free sky simulation applications; and ideas for observation projects make this an excellent learning tool for the new hobbyist or for teachers who wish to show their students why visual astronomy is a lifetime love for millions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627054805
Publisher:	Morgan and Claypool Publishers
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Series:	Iop Concise Physics
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	115
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Panos Photinos is a professor of physics at Southern Oregon University (SOU), where he teaches Introductory Astronomy, Observational Astronomy and Cosmology. Prior to joining SOU in 1989 he held faculty appointments at the Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent, Ohio; St. Francis Xavier, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada; and the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was visiting faculty at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; the University of Patras, Greece; Victoria University at Wellington, New Zealand; and the University of Melbourne, Australia. Panos completed his undergraduate degree in physics at the National University of Athens, Greece, and received his doctorate in physics from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. He started naked-eye observations as a child in the Red Sea, and later upgraded to a pair of Merchant brass binoculars in Alexandria, Egypt, and in his homeland, the island of Ikaria, Greece. Ever since he has visited and stargazed from all five continents, and shared his fascination with the night sky with students of all ages. He lives near Mt Ashland where he enjoys the beautiful skies of Southern Oregon from his backyard with his wife Shelley. This is Panos’ first book on Astronomy.

Table of Contents

Introduction / The Celestial Sphere and Apparent Motion of the Sun / Coordinate Systems / Motion and Phases of the Moon / The Planets / Comets, Meteoroids, and Meteor Showers / Constellations, Asterisms and Star Names / Star Properties / Telescopes / Appendix A: Measuring Angles / Appendix B: Measuring Distance in Astronomy / Appendix C: Time Keeping / Star Magnitude Systems and Distance Modulus