Overview
- A valuable learning tool, to facilitate identifying patterns and stars in the sky
- In most cases, the minimum equipment needed for observing these is just binoculars, or at most a low-power telescope
- Lots of guidance and assistance is packed into this catalog to help locate the asterisms
- This is a new aspect of astronomy that does not involve serious science – but makes it easy to learn about the night sky
- Can form the basis of a new group activity, guessing and imagining star patterns, ideal for meetings or star parties (which are becoming ever more popular in the USA)
Part of the book series: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series (PATRICKMOORE)
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Table of contents (2 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
Since the very beginning of astronomy, people have looked up sky and constructed patterns – the constellations – out of the almost random scattering of stars in the night sky. The fact that the constellations are still used to day reflects not their historical origins, but their usefulness in identifying bright stars in the rotating dome of the sky. Most people (and all astronomers) are familiar with, for example, the constellation of Orion and can thus easily point to Betelguese and Bellatrix as being Orion’s "shoulders". It is the pattern made by the constellation that makes them easy to identify.
Suitable for observers using binoculars and medium size telescopes, this catalog includes star pictures, dot-to-dot outlines of the objects ( on a negative photograph for clarity ), and an artistic image next to the star patterns. Size, stellar magnitudes, and coordinates are provided, along with north direction, star-hopping instructions and Sky Atlas 2000 references.
The imaginative observer will surely begin to develop a new insight into star patterns, and will start seeing patterns of his own, under this catalog's influence!
Reviews
"At the age of 14,"the author writes, "I became aware of the sky above me. The next day I announced, as a student in my seventh grade science class, that I had found constellation coffee pot. A brief burst of laughter ensued. I was politely told to take my seat." Nevertheless, "I still see the Orion asterism as a coffee pot."
This book is the result of Chiravalle's liftetime search for eye-catching asterisms, most of them visible in binoculars or a telescope. --Alan M. MacRobert, Sky & Telescope, November 2006, p. 80)
Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Pattern Asterisms
Book Subtitle: A New Way to Chart the Stars
Authors: John A. Chiravalle
Series Title: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-476-7
Publisher: Springer London
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag London 2006
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-84628-327-7Published: 08 May 2006
eBook ISBN: 978-1-84628-476-2Published: 22 April 2007
Series ISSN: 1431-9756
Series E-ISSN: 2197-6562
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 172
Number of Illustrations: 80 b/w illustrations, 40 illustrations in colour
Topics: Popular Science in Astronomy, Astronomy, Observations and Techniques