Short description:

The Night Sky Companion is far more than just an observing guide. It is a year?s journey into the science and facts of astronomy and space travel, along with some of its history and the men and women who made it. If you?re a sky watcher equipped with any kind of astronomical telescope, binoculars, or even just your eyes, you are sure to find this book fascinating and useful.

Taking a day-by-day look at the sky over the course of the whole year, Tammy Plotner has assembled a digest to appeal to all amateur and practical astronomers, as well as "armchair" astronomers. In this book you?ll find a wealth of information touching upon every aspect of your observations, including hwo to locate the object you?re looking for, whether it?s a meteor shower, a comet, a variable star, a crater on the Moon, or the remnants of a supernova. By the time the year is over, you?ll be an expert on the skies?and ready to tackle yet another year of exciting projects!

Long description:

T. Plotner, The Night Sky Companion, DOI 10. 1007/978-0-387-79509-6_1, 1 Springer Science?Business 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.

Table of Contents:

January, 2009.- February, 2009.- March, 2009.- April, 2009.- May, 2009.- June, 2009.- July, 2009.- August, 2009.- September, 2009.- October, 2009.- November, 2009.- December, 2009.