Re: Lost in Space!! How to align?
From: Charlie Hubbard (chubbard_at_owt.com)
Date: 01/13/05
- Next message: RichA: "Ebay getting greedier"
- Previous message: Larry G: "Re: New 10" Newtonian Telescope Being Created"
- In reply to: lfgarcia_at_hotmail.com: "Re: Lost in Space!! How to align?"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 09:40:59 GMT
On 12 Jan 2005 08:21:32 -0800, lfgarcia@hotmail.com wrote:
>I decide that my first step will be "get to know the space" since I
>guess I can only tell which one is the moon ( can I? =D ), and after
>that I will then go back to the telescope.
That seems like a sound idea to me!
I've seen other posts recommending a planishpere as a good way to
learn your way around the sky and I think that would be fine as well.
However, I wanted to recommend as an alternative a thin,
magazine-sized book called "Star Maps for Beginners" by Levitt and
Marshall. This book was originally published in 1942 but has been
rereleased many times. I first bought a copy around 1977 or 1978 and,
for reasons of nostalgia, bought another copy in 1994.
Anyway, the book has a lot of good information of interest to the new
observer but the focus of the book is 12 star charts that show the
constellations visible in the evening sky (exact times are given) from
horizon to horizon for every month of the year. Each star chart is
drawn in sort of a "Maltese cross" shape which eliminates the
distortion in the shapes of the constellations often seen in full sky
maps. The shapes of the constellations on the maps in this book are
as they really are in the sky.
When I was first starting out, it was this book that tought me my way
around the sky. It was very, very simple to use and highly recommend
it. It can be found at Amazon.com among other places. Here's the
link.
Also you might appreciate a subscription to "Astronomy" or "Sky and
Telescope" magazine (or both!). Both of these should be easy to find
at your local bookstore or even grocery store (our local Safeway
carries both). In my opinion, S&T is targetted at a more advanced
audience but both are interesting and informative to new or seasoned
enthusiasts alike. When I was a kid I read and re-read every issue of
S&T the local library had to offer until they ended up actually just
giving them to me (years 1973-1979 I think). What can I say? I was a
pretty big dork when I was young. At least that hasn't changed with
age. :-)
Best of luck
- Next message: RichA: "Ebay getting greedier"
- Previous message: Larry G: "Re: New 10" Newtonian Telescope Being Created"
- In reply to: lfgarcia_at_hotmail.com: "Re: Lost in Space!! How to align?"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Relevant Pages
|
