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The Ultimate Guide to STARGAZING

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CONTENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR III Astronomical Interests III Business Projects Related to Astronomy IV The INFINITY Experiential Immersive Maze IV The SpaceWalker Edutainment Experience IV INFINITY Experiential Illusion Maze VII SpaceWalker Edutainment Attraction VIII AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STARGAZING VOLUMES XII STARGAZING’s Extraordinary Imagery XIII Who is STARGAZING Written for? XIII STARGAZING’S Magic Mix of Subjects XIII What You Should Know About The STARGAZING Text: XIV VOLUME 1: MAXIMIZING YOUR STARGAZING EXPERIENCES 1 CHAPTER 1: THE WONDER AND JOY OF STARGAZING 3 WHY IS STARGAZING SO EXCITING TO SO MANY PEOPLE? 4 STARGAZING’S ‘WOW!’ FACTOR 4 Ten-Thousand Star Accommodation 5 Spectacular Eclipse Experiences 6 WONDERS SEEN IN A TELESCOPE 7 The Appearance of Deep Sky Objects in Amateur Telescopes 9 GETTING STARTED 10 Planetariums 10 ASTRONOMY CLUBS 11 Getting Advice 11 Sharing Knowledge and Ideas 12 STARGAZING IS A MULTI-SENSORY EXPERIENCE 14 CHAPTER 2: THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE UNIVERSE 16 STARS 17 SOLAR SYSTEMS 17 NEBULAS – INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS OF GAS AND DUST 17 GALAXIES 18 CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES 18 i SUPERCLUSTERS OF GALAXIES 18 THE FILAMENTARY STRUCTURE OF GALAXY CLUSTERS 18 EVERYTHING ORBITS SOMETHING 19 EARTH’S LOCATION IN THE UNIVERSE 19 CHAPTER 3: UNFORGETTABLE STARGAZING EXPERIENCES 21 OBSERVING IN SURREAL LOCATIONS 22 Making the Most of Stargazing Experiences 22 Comfort 24 Two Unforgettable Comet Halley Events 25 Thrilled by Celestial Fireworks 27 Cruising Through the Galaxy 28 An Interstellar Canoe Ride 30 Dining Under a Heavenly Orb 31 The Appearance of the Full Moon Rising over a Perfect Horizon 31 Our Main Course with a Bronze Orb Suspended in the Milky Way 33 STARGAZERS GET TO SEE NATURE’S NEONS 34 Bioluminescence 34 Fireflies 37 Invasion from Space 38 Glow-Worms 39 Bioluminescent Plankton 39 Earth Lights 41 Auroras 42 Spectacular Lightning Displays 43 Coronal Glows 51 Fireballs 51 St Elmo’s Fire 51 UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES VISITING MAJOR OBSERVATORIES 52 CHAPTER 4: WHAT WONDERS CAN WE SEE IN THE SKY? 54 WHAT THE NAKED EYE CAN SEE 55 OBSERVING WITH BINOCULARS 57 WHAT TELESCOPES REVEAL 58 CHAPTER 5: ASTRONOMICAL NUMBERS, A LIGHT YEAR, STAR MAPS & ASTRONOMICAL TERMS 61 ii PART 1 ASTRONOMICAL NUMBERS 62 A Light Year 64 The Speed of Light 64 The Speed of Light in Different Mediums 64 PART 2 PRACTICAL TIPS FOR STARGAZING 65 Navigating Your Way Around the Sky 65 Star Atlases 66 Measuring the Sky in Degrees 68 PART 3 COMMONLY USED ASTRONOMICAL TERMS 69 Magnitude – a Scale for Measuring Brightness 69 Integrated Magnitude 69 Apparent Magnitude 70 Intrinsic Brightness 70 Apparent Diameter 70 The Electromagnetic Spectrum 70 A Binary Star System 71 An Astronomical Unit 72 An Astronomical Unit (AU) is the distance from the Sun to the Earth. 72 Constellations 72 The Celestial Poles 74 Locating the North Celestial Pole (NCP) 74 Locating the South Celestial Pole (SCP) 75 Right Ascension & Declination 76 Diurnal Rotation 76 Culmination 80 The Zenith 80 The Ecliptic 80 The Zodiac 80 The Equinoxes 80 Solstice 80 Conjunctions 80 Elongation and Conjunction 81 Perihelion - Aphelion 81 iii Deep Sky Objects 81 Common Names for Deep Sky Objects 81 Messier (M) Objects 82 NGC & IC Objects 83 The Dark of the Moon 83 Terminator 83 Albedo 83 Dwarf Planets 84 Meteors & Meteorites 84 Occultations 85 Transits 86 Phases 86 Refraction 87 Twilight 87 Scintillation 88 North, South, East & West 88 Airglow 88 CHAPTER 6: LET’S GET PRACTICAL 89 UNDERSTANDING THE ATMOSPHERE 91 The Structure of the Atmosphere 91 The Troposphere 91 The Stratosphere 91 The Mesosphere 91 The Thermosphere 91 The Ionosphere 91 The Exosphere 91 How Thick is the Atmosphere? 92 Cloud Types 93 What Is the Composition of the Air? 93 When Does Good and Poor Seeing Occur? 95 Do Mountains Have the Best Observing Conditions? 95 Why are Most Large Professional Observatories Located on High Mountains? 97 Is a Perfectly Dark Sky Pitch Black? 100 Airglow 100 Can More Faint Stars Be Seen from a High Mountain? 100 Sky Brightness 100 iv PREPARATION FOR DEEP SKY OBSERVING AT A DARK SKY SITE 102 Comfort 102 Food and Beverages 102 Wind Protection 102 Dressing for the Occasion 103 Managing Dew 104 Protection from Rain 104 An Eyepiece Case 105 The Effects of Body Heat 105 CHAPTER 7: MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR EYES 106 THE ADVANTAGES OF VISUAL OBSERVATIONS 107 How to Enhance Your Observing Sessions 107 PERSEVERANCE PAYS BIG DIVIDENDS 107 HOW OUR EYES WORK 107 How our Eyes Focus 108 Testing your Vision 108 Seeing Fine Detail 108 Visual Acuity Test 109 Observing Faint Objects 110 Dark Adaption 110 Substances That Reduce Dark Adaption 112 Test the Power of Full Dark Adaption 112 Night Blindness 112 Torchlight 112 Stray Light 113 Averted Vision 113 Threshold Vision Test 114 Astigmatism Test 114 Floaters 116 As Eyes Age 116 Cataracts 116 Macular Degeneration 117 The Iris 117 CHAPTER 8: TIPS ON OBSERVING WITH THE NAKED EYE & BINOCULARS 119 NAKED EYE OBSERVING 120 OBSERVING WITH BINOCULARS 121 v A Good Binocular Star Atlas 122 Binocular Parts 123 How Binoculars Work 123 Testing the Advantages of 3D Binocular Vision 123 The Finger-Touching Depth Perception Test 124 Focusing Binoculars For Perfect Vision 124 The Field of View 125 Binocular Sizes 125 Large Binoculars 127 Binocular Mounts for Comfortable Observing 127 A Rotating Binocular Chair 129 Test the Quality of Binoculars Before Buying 131 CHAPTER 9: USING AND BUYING TELESCOPES 132 THE WONDER OF THE UNIVERSE REVEALED 133 TYPES OF TELESCOPES 133 Refracting Telescopes 134 Newtonian Reflecting Telescopes 134 Schmidt-Cassegrain Reflecting Telescopes 134 BUYING A DREAM OR A NIGHTMARE? 136 THE BASICS OF A TELESCOPE 136 Aperture 137 Optical Quality 137 Good Collimation 137 Collimating a Newtonian Telescope 137 Focal Ratio & Focal Length 138 Magnification 139 High Magnification 140 Eyepieces 140 Using an Occulting Bar 141 Filters for Visual Observing 141 Telescope Mounts 142 WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A TELESCOPE 142 A VIBRATION FREE MOUNT 145 IS BIGGER BETTER? 145 A Motorized Observing Chair with a Power-Assisted Elevating Seat 146 Simple Observer’s Seats 146 vi Choosing a Good Site to Set Up 147 CHAPTER 10: ENHANCING ONE’S OBSERVATIONAL EXPERIENCE BY DRAWING ASTRONOMICAL OBJECTS 149 WHY MAKE DRAWINGS? 150 COMPARING VISUAL OBSERVING TO PHOTOGRAPHY 150 HOW TO SEE MAXIMUM DETAIL 151 HOW TO MAKE A DRAWING 151 To Make a Pencil Drawing 152 Sketching Sunspots 153 Sketching the Planets 153 Drawing Rotating Planets 153 Preparing an Outline for Drawing the Planets 153 Observing Mars 155 Observing Jupiter 155 Observing Saturn 156 How to Draw Deep Sky Objects 157 Achieving Good Proportionality 157 Drawing Nebulous Objects 157 How to Make Negative Versions of Sketches 164 How to Make Colored Sketches 164 How to Change a Negative Drawing to a Positive One 165 Night Sky Paintings 167 Recording Scientifically Valuable Observations 167 Recording Observing Conditions 168 Recording Observer Variables 168 CHAPTER 11: PHOTOGRAPHING THE HEAVENS 170 THE BASICS 171 PHOTOGRAPHING STAR TRAILS 172 CAPTURING THE MILKY WAY 174 PHOTOGRAPHING AURORAS 176 CAPTURING COMETS 176 PHOTOGRAPHING METEOR SHOWERS 176 CAPTURE THE MOON IN COLOR 178 PHOTOGRAPHING THE FULL MOON RISING OR SETTING 178 PHOTOGRAPHING LUNAR DETAIL 179 vii PRODUCING HIGHLY DETAILED IMAGES OF THE MOON AND PLANETS 182 RECORDING FEATURES ON THE SUN 182 DEEP SKY PHOTOGRAPHY 183 NIGHTSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY 187 THE NIGHT SKY AS SEEN WITH TIMELAPSE VIDEO PHOTOGRAPHY 188 PHOTOGRAPHING GALAXIES TO DISCOVER SUPERNOVAS 188 CHAPTER 12: OBSERVATORY DESIGNS FOR AMATEURS 189 WHY BUILD AN OBSERVATORY? 190 THE SIZE OF AN OBSERVATORY 190 DESIGN OPTIONS 190 Traditional Domes 191 The Skyshed Pod Observatory 192 ROLL-OFF ROOF OBSERVATORIES 193 The Telescope Mount 195 THE ROLL-AWAY SHED 196 THE ADVANTAGES OF A DUAL ROLL-OFF ROOF OBSERVATORY 196 Operating in Slit Mode 200 Seeing the Northern or Southern Horizon 200 Wall & Roof Construction 200 Wind Proofing the Interior 200 Interior Design Finishes and Lighting 200 Design Variations for Quality Constructions 204 Astronomy Club House Observatories 204 A Commercial Double Observatory for Public Viewing Nights 206 THE SPLIT SHED ROLL-APART OBSERVATORY 207 COMMERCIAL ATTRACTION CONCEPTS UTILIZING DUAL ROLL-OFF ROOFS 208 Commercial Astrophotography Observatories 213 CHAPTER 13: THE WORLD’S LARGEST OBSERVATORIES 216 THE WORLD’S LARGEST OPTICAL TELESCOPES 217 Australia 217 Siding Spring – the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) 217 The Canary Islands 219 The Observatorio Del Rogue De Los Muchachos 219 Chile 221 The European Southern Observatory (ESO) 221 viii Mauna Kea 226 The Observatories 228 Russia 231 South Africa 231 United States Of America 233 Mt Graham Observatory 233 Mt Hopkins Observatory 233 McDonald Observatory 234 Kitt Peak Observatory 234 Mt Palomar Observatory 236 Mt Wilson Observatory 236 FUTURE GIANT OPTICAL TELESCOPES 237 The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) 237 The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) 238 The 30 M Extremely Large Telescope 239 Comparison of Primary Mirror Diameters on Large Telescopes 240 Size Comparison of the World’s Largest Telescopes 241 THE LARGEST OPTICAL TELESCOPES IN SPACE 243 THE WORLD’S LARGEST RADIO TELESCOPES 245 CHAPTER 14: PRESERVING THE NIGHT’S NATURAL BEAUTY 247 THE OVERSELLING OF OUTDOOR LIGHTING 250 WASTED LIGHT AND ENERGY 250 Billboard and Signage Lighting 250 Street Lighting 251 Cut-Off Street Lighting Protects the Night Sky 251 Garden and Parkland Lighting 255 Shielded Light Fittings for Businesses, Community Centers, and Homes 257 So-Called
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