Autostar Glossary
Be sure to make use of Autostar’s Glossary feature. The Glossary menu provides an alphabetical list- ing of definitions and descriptions of common astronomical terms.
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Organizations:
Magazines
Unlike other sciences, astronomy welcomes contributions from ama- teurs. Much of the knowledge we have on subjects such as comets, meteor showers, variable stars, the Moon, and our solar system comes from observations made by amateur astronomers. So as you look through your Meade DS-114AT telescope, keep in mind Galileo. To him, a tele- scope was not merely a machine made of glass and metal, but some- thing far more— a window through which the beating heart of the uni- verse might be observed.
Galileo's discoveries laid the founda- tion for understanding the motion and nature of the planets, stars, and galaxies. Building on his foundation, Henrietta Leavitt determined how to measure the distance to stars, Edwin Hubble gave us a glimpse into the possible origin of the universe, Albert Einstein unraveled the crucial relationship of time and light, and 21st-century astronomers are cur- rently discovering planets around stars outside our solar system. Almost daily, using sophisticated successors to Galileo's telescope, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Telescope, more and more myster- ies of the universe are being probed and understood. We are living in the golden age of astronomy.
2. The Sky: A User’s Guide by David Levy
3. Turn Left at Orion by Guy Consolmagno & Dan Davis
1. How is a star born? How does a solar system form?
2. How is the distance to a star measured? What is a light year? What is red shift and blue shift?
3. How are the craters on our Moon formed? How old is the Moon and Earth? How old is the Sun?
4. What is a black hole? A neutron star?
5. What are stars made of? Why are stars different col- ors? What is a white dwarf? A red giant? Have we ever seen the surface of a star besides our own Sun?
6. What is a nova? A supernova?
7. What are comets? Minor planets? Meteors? Meteor showers? Where do they come from?
8. What is a planetary nebula? A globular cluster?
9. What is the Big Bang? Is the universe expanding or contracting, or does it always remain the same? What is dark matter?
10. What is an extrasolar planet? What is an accretion (or protoplanetary) disk?
11. What is the difference between an elliptical, a spiral, and an irregular galaxy?
Books
1. The Guide to Amateur Astronomy by Jack Newton and Philip Teece
Topics
Also below is a small sampling of books, magazines, and organizations that you might find helpful.
This manual gives only the briefest introduction to astron- omy. If you are interested in pursuing further studies, a few topics are suggested below that are worth reading up on. Try looking up some of these topics in the Autostar glossary.
In the early 17th century Italian Scientist Galileo, using a telescope smaller than your DS-114AT model, turned it skyward instead of looking at the distant trees and mountains. What he saw, and what he realized about what he saw, has forever changed the way mankind thinks about the universe. Imagine what it must
have been like being the first human to see moons revolve around the
planet Jupiter or to see the changing phases of Venus! Because of his
observations, Galileo correctly real- ized Earth's movement and position around the Sun, and in doing so, gave birth to modern astronomy. Yet Galileo's telescope was so crude, he could not clearly make out the rings of Saturn.
BASIC ASTRONOMY
4.Astrophotography for the Amateur by Michael Covington
1.Sky & Telescope
Box 9111, Belmont, MA 02178
2.Astronomy
Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187
1.Astronomical League Executive Secretary
5675 Real del Norte, Las Cruces, NM 88012
2.The Astronomical Society of the Pacific
390 Ashton Ave, San Francisco, CA 94112
3.The Planetary Society
65 North Catalina Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106
And watch Jack Horkheimer, Star Gazer, on your local PBS station.
