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Astronomy

bilder

Active Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Messages
1,470
My oldest is really getting into the planets and fiding them in the night sky. I have been a stargazer off and on since I was her age and am having fun showing her the constellations and such that I know. We are thinking of taking a class together and checking to see if there is a local club to join.

Got a pair of binoculars and a very old guide to the stars to get us started. Been looking at one of the magazines- Astronomy or Sky and Telescope, not sure which is better.

Any of you guys into this? If so, which magazine would you say is better for the young and young at heart?
 
I think Astronomy would be the easier, less technical of the two for a younger reader. However, that said, there's plenty to be found in good books as well as online that would allow you to dispense with the magazines altogether imho.
 
Might I suggest Skywatching by David Levy. I've been doing the same with my mother (always interested but never learned). I loved astronomy when I was younger and competed in Astronomy competitions in middle/high school, so we've been doing some naked eye and binoc stuff lately. The book is simple enough for a yournger crowd in it's majority (breaks down each constelation with explanations and history) but does have some technicals that will make it good learning for years, as she grows she can continue to learn from the book for years ( ellipticals, star magnitudes, how time of year and latitude affects starviewing, etc).

Skywatching on Amazon

Also, get a good lanetary map - the kind that you set the time and day of year and the window shows what the viewable sky shows.... we just picked some up as gifts as Barnes and Nobles.



-K-
 
There are many excellent Astronomy resources out there including the ones already mentioned. Additional recommended books are:

- The Backyard Stargazer: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Skywatching With and Without a Telescope by Patricia Price
- Turn Left at Orion: A Hundred Night Sky Objects to See in a Small Telescope--and How to Find Them by Guy Consolmagno and Dan M. Davis

One other nice item is the Year in Space Desktop Calendar. This is a compact calendar that includes lots of daily celestial events, facts and great pictures. It's a very good calendar to plan and document your viewing events.

Your BEST resource will be the local astronomy clubs though.

Lastly, I'd suggest joining the the Alaska Astronomy Group on Yahoo. Seems fairly active and probably a good place to find observing groups close to you.
 
Thanks for the tips guys.

Given me lots of options to seek out. :thumbs:
 
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