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  • © 2015

A Stargazing Program for Beginners

A Pocket Field Guide

Authors:

  • Sets out a simple month-by-month program to reveal all of the night sky's biggest and most beautiful secrets in just one year – and with only a few hours of stargazing each month
  • Geared towards the total novice; includes no mathematics and does not presume any knowledge of physics
  • Includes details on places to stargaze and vacation ideas for dark sky destinations (the emphasis being on places where a dark sky is an added bonus rather than the sole reason to visit)

Part of the book series: Astronomer's Pocket Field Guide (ASTROPOC)

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  • Read on any device
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  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 49.99
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  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
  2. The Wide-Eyed View

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. January: Where Am I?

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 3-30
    3. February: Soaked in Stars

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 31-56
    4. March: The Plane Truth

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 57-85
  3. A Closer Look

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 87-87
    2. April: The Galaxy Revealed

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 89-115
    3. May: Binocular Tours

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 117-138
    4. June: The Night Shift

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 139-159
    5. July: Deep South

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 161-183
    6. August: The Moon, Meteors and the Milky Way

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 185-206
  4. Deep Sky

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 207-207
    2. September: The Third Layer

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 209-230
    3. October: The Andromeda Galaxy

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 231-254
    4. November: Return of the Kings

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 255-278
    5. December: Orbit Complete

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 279-301
  5. Dark Sky Destinations

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 303-303
    2. Upside-Down Stargazing

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 305-324
    3. Eclipses and Auroras

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 325-350
    4. Finding Dark Skies

      • Jamie Carter
      Pages 351-405

About this book

Sets out a simple month-by-month program to reveal all of the night sky's biggest and most beautiful secrets in just one year – and with only a few hours of stargazing each month
 By investing just an hour a week and $50 in binoculars, it’s possible to learn a few simple techniques and quickly gain a real insight into the night sky's ever-changing patterns – and what they tell us about Earth, the seasons and ourselves. Searching more for a learned appreciation of nature and our exact place within the cosmos than academic scientific knowledge, science and travel writer Jamie Carter takes the reader on a 12 month tour of the night sky's incredible annual rhythms that say so much about Earth. During the journey he learns about the celestial mechanics at work in the skies above that are – to the beginner – almost beyond belief. As well as the vital constellations and clusters, and the weird and wonderful nebulas, he searches out “dark sky destinations” across the globe that help increase knowledge and give a new perspective on familiar night sky sights. On the journey he witnesses a solar eclipse and grapples with star-charts, binoculars, smartphone apps, telescopes, spots satellites and attempts basic astro-photography.  By year's end, the reader will be able to glance at the night sky from anywhere on the planet and tell what direction he or she is facing, what time it is, where all the planets are and even where the Galactic Center Point is. 

Reviews

“Jamie Carter's Stargazing Program gives the basics you need to get started in Stargazing … . Carter's book is great fro someone who is already interested in astronomy but hasn't thought of the stargazing and observing aspect of it just yet, or for someone who enjoys spending time in the nature for hiking or camping purposes. And naturally if you're already a stargazer or amateur astronomer, then it's a great reminder of some basics.” (AstroMadness.com, December, 2016)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Cardiff, United Kingdom

    Jamie Carter

About the author

Jamie Carter is a journalist based in the United Kingdom with 17 years experience of communicating science and technology via articles in magazines, newspapers and online. In his work as a travel journalist he has written several eye-witness articles and reports on everything from the aurora borealis, total solar eclipses and stargazing to the dark sky destinations, astro-tourism and astro-photography. His work has been published by the BBC Sky At Night magazine and website, MSN, LifeHacker, Real Travel and Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper, for which Jamie is a regular columnist. Jamie also owns and edits the TravGear.com website. While reporting from under some of the darkest skies the world has to offer, Jamie became convinced that stargazing should be an essential part of any trip or outdoor vacation. His efforts to learn as much as possible about the night sky in one calendar year led to some intensive research, incessant stargazing, and an unexpected obsession with the lunar calendar. It led to a series of articles for the BBC Sky At Night magazine, which inspired this book.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: A Stargazing Program for Beginners

  • Book Subtitle: A Pocket Field Guide

  • Authors: Jamie Carter

  • Series Title: Astronomer's Pocket Field Guide

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22072-7

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-22071-0Published: 01 December 2015

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-22072-7Published: 20 November 2015

  • Series ISSN: 2198-0756

  • Series E-ISSN: 2198-0764

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVI, 419

  • Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations, 150 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Astronomy, Observations and Techniques, Popular Science in Astronomy

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access