Star-Hopping Your Visa to Viewing the Universe [Paperback]

Learn all about the starry skies and ancient myths through the star-hopping technique.This book presents the technique of star-hopping, or using the brighter stars and asterisms as guideposts on celestial paths to fainter stars or celestial objects. Twelve monthly star-hops form the heart of the book. One chapter is devoted to the popular Messier Marathon. The book covers such techniques as reading star charts, finding celestial directions, telescope types, and selecting and using light pollution reduction filters, as well as information on what we know about the universe and the people who have made the discoveries, and the ancient mythology of the sky.This book presents the technique of star-hopping, or using the brighter stars and asterisms as guideposts on celestial paths to fainter stars or celestial objects. Twelve monthly star-hops form the heart of the book. One chapter is devoted to the popular Messier Marathon. The book covers such techniques as reading star charts, finding celestial directions, telescope types, and selecting and using light pollution reduction filters, as well as information on what we know about the universe and the people who have made the discoveries, and the ancient mythology of the sky.Star-hopping--using easily seen bright stars to locate fainter celestial objects in the night sky--is a basic and essential technique for all star gazers, novice and veteran alike. Robert Garfinkle shows you how to locate the many stellar objects usually overlooked by the untrained eye. Two or more detailed star hops for each month of the year, which can be read in any order, take you on a trip through the night sky, opening new doors of discovery and reinforcing star-hopping methods and techniques. With Garfinkle's able guidance, learn to take the Messier Marathon--a night-long hop across the skies. Additional basic astronomy skills are carefully outlined, including reading star charts, finding celestial directions, understanding telescope types, anl#»