Brian Cudnik The Art and Science of Visual Astronomical Observations, 1E © 2012 Brian Cudnik Table of Contents The Art and Science of Visual Astronomical Observations, 1E ..................................................... 2 Introduction: Book Overview and Purpose..................................................................................... 5 Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 6 My Own Journey through the Cosmos (June 18, 2012) ............................................... 6 Natural Beauty at all Levels—My Perspective (June 4, 2009) ..................................... 9 Chapter 1 –the Art and Science of Visual Astronomy .................................................................. 12 Waiting for Nightfall…(May 24, 2009).................................................................................... 12 Why do we do these things? ..................................................................................................... 13 Why it is an Art and how we can be Scientifically Useful ....................................................... 14 The Science ............................................................................................................................... 15 The Scope of this Book ............................................................................................................. 16 Ch. 2 - Visual versus Electronic ................................................................................................... 18 Visual versus Photographic (or Electronic) Appearance .......................................................... 18 Pros and cons of visual versus electronic ................................................................................. 18 Book Focus-the Visual Astronomer: Connecting Directly with Extraterrestrial Wonders ...... 20 In Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 21 Ch 3 – Some General Guidelines .................................................................................................. 23 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 23 Some (More) Reasons to go Visual .......................................................................................... 23 Some Help for the Frustrated Deep Sky Observer.................................................................... 24 Ch. 4 – Daytime and Nighttime Atmospheric Phenomena ........................................................... 27 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 27 The Day-Night Cycle ................................................................................................................ 28 Clouds and Optical Phenomena ................................................................................................ 30 On Other Worlds ....................................................................................................................... 33 Ch. 5 – The Moon ......................................................................................................................... 35 Appreciation .............................................................................................................................. 35 In General.................................................................................................................... 35 Through the Eyepiece ................................................................................................. 36 Celestial Alignments Involving the Moon--Eclipses .................................................. 39 Celestial Alignments Involving the Moon--Occultations ........................................... 40 Application ................................................................................................................................ 42 Special Lunar Features and LTP ................................................................................. 42 Lunar Occultations and Eclipses ................................................................................. 42 Ch. 6 - The Planets ........................................................................................................................ 45 Appreciation .............................................................................................................................. 45 The View from the Air ................................................................................................ 45 The Physical Nature of Each Planet (in Brief)............................................................ 48 2 How Close Can You Get? ........................................................................................... 52 Application ................................................................................................................................ 54 Venus .......................................................................................................................... 56 Mercury ....................................................................................................................... 57 Mars ............................................................................................................................ 57 Jupiter .......................................................................................................................... 59 Saturn .......................................................................................................................... 59 Remote Planets............................................................................................................ 60 Chapter 7 – the Sun ....................................................................................................................... 62 Appreciation .............................................................................................................................. 62 Application ................................................................................................................................ 64 Safety First! ................................................................................................................. 64 Resources to Get More Involved ................................................................................ 64 Chapter 8 – Minor Components of the Solar System ................................................................... 66 Introduction and Census ........................................................................................................... 66 Asteroids ................................................................................................................................... 67 Appreciation ................................................................................................................ 67 Application .................................................................................................................. 71 Comets ...................................................................................................................................... 72 Appreciation ................................................................................................................ 72 Application .................................................................................................................. 76 Interplanetary dust .................................................................................................................... 77 Meteors ..................................................................................................................................... 77 Applications .............................................................................................................................. 78 Asteroids ................................................................................................................................... 78 Meteors ....................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 10 – Beyond the Solar System to the Nearest Stars ........................................................ 81 Introduction—Leaving the Solar System.................................................................................. 81 Some Stellar Basics................................................................................................................... 81 Apparent vs. absolute magnitude; the magnitude system ........................................... 81 Stellar Taxonomy—the H-R Diagram ........................................................................ 83 The true nature of stars ............................................................................................... 84 Binary Stars and Variable Stars ................................................................................................ 84 Binaries ....................................................................................................................... 84 Variable Stars .............................................................................................................