Firefly Complete Guide to Stargazing is a comprehensive introduction to an increasingly popular leisure pursuit. The book's flexi-paperback format makes it easy to use while telescope viewing, a welcome feature for the growing number of stargazers. The rapid growth in astronomy is due in large part to the opportunity amateurs have to contribute to scientific research.
For example, the amateur Skywatchers in the web-based Milky Way Project have classified more than 1.5 million objects in the Milky Way Galaxy. Zooniverse's 11,000 members have contributed to more than 70 scientific papers and the discovery of a class of compact galaxies. Planet Four's 122,000 participants have classified more than 4.5 million images from the surface of Mars.
Firefly Complete Guide to Stargazing starts with the basics. It explains how and why the sky changes during the night and through the seasons. It gives practical advice on what equipment to choose and describes what you can expect to see. There are also plenty of tips for observing just with the naked eye.
The book includes:
- The Moon, the Solar System, the stars and deep sky objects
- More than 300 full-color photographs, many taken by amateur astronomers, plus spectacular images returned by spacecraft or taken by large telescopes
- A complete series of sky maps that show stars down to magnitude 5.5
- An illustrated A-Z dictionary of astronomy, covering the planets, stars and galaxies, cosmology, amateur astronomy and professional observatories, space exploration, famous astronomers, scientific terms, theories and much more, illustrated with photographs, artworks and diagrams.
- Month-by-month guide maps showing the constellations on view from both northern and southern hemispheres, applicable to any year and any place on Earth.
- All maps show black stars on a white background so that viewers can pencil in their own observations. Opposite each map is a photorealistic image that shows how that portion of the sky typically appears to the naked eye.
Firefly Complete Guide to Stargazing is an invaluable reference source for astronomers of all levels.
Robin Scagell is a lifelong stargazer and a long-serving Vice President of Britain's Society for Popular Astronomy. He has worked as an observer and photographer. As a journalist, he has edited a wide range of popular-interest magazines. Robin is the author of several popular astronomy books, and has contributed to many other publications.
