This is a hands-on guide for both the budding astronomer in need of a mentor and the seasoned observer who wants to learn how to effectively share their knowledge with newcomers. Through decades of teaching observational astronomy at the high school and college level, Dr. Daniel E. Barth has inspired thousands of beginners, and in this book he shares the many ways that you can learn and teach others, too. The chapters contain a plethora of practical projects in observational astronomy that can be done on your own or with others, delighting any hobbyist with the many wonders of the night sky. The activities are tailored for different skill levels, always starting from the basics and working their way up to more challenging tasks. They can be done outdoors with a telescope or indoors with a few simple materials, depending on the sky conditions and time of year. Make astronomy fun for all with these engaging DIY projects, which include step-by-step instructions for modeling, sketching, observing, recording, and many other interactive exercises. Appropriate for the amateur who wants to teach their passion, the beginner who has their very first telescope, the binocular owner, and even those who do not yet own equipment, Star Mentor is your guide to forming and sharing a lifelong love for astronomy.

Heavenly Intrigue is the fascinating, true account of the seventeenth-century collaboration between Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe that revolutionized our understanding of the universe–and ended in murder.One of history’s greatest geniuses, Kepler laid the foundations of modern physics with his revolutionary laws of planetary motion. But his beautiful mind was beset by demons. Born into poverty and abuse, half-blinded by smallpox, he festered with rage, resentment, and a longing for worldly fame. Brahe, his mentor, was a flamboyant aristocrat who had spent forty years mapping the heavens with unprecedented accuracy–but he refused to share his data with Kepler. With Brahe’s untimely death in Prague in 1601, rumors flew across Europe that he had been murdered. But it took twentieth-century forensics to uncover the poison in his remains, and the detective work of Joshua and Anne-Lee Gilder to identify the prime suspect–the ambitious, envy-ridden Kepler himself. A fast-paced, true-life account that reads like a thriller, Heavenly Intrigue is a remarkable feat of historical re-creation.

Spiral binding. A guide to amateur astronomy with advice on equipment and information on photographing the night sky.

Called "spellbinding" (Scientific American) and "thrilling...a future classic of popular science" (PW), the up close, inside story of the greatest space exploration project of our time, New Horizons’ mission to Pluto, as shared with David Grinspoon by mission leader Alan Stern and other key players. On July 14, 2015, something amazing happened. More than 3 billion miles from Earth, a small NASA spacecraft called New Horizons screamed past Pluto at more than 32,000 miles per hour, focusing its instruments on the long mysterious icy worlds of the Pluto system, and then, just as quickly, continued on its journey out into the beyond. Nothing like this has occurred in a generation—a raw exploration of new worlds unparalleled since NASA’s Voyager missions to Uranus and Neptune—and nothing quite like it is planned to happen ever again. The photos that New Horizons sent back to Earth graced the front pages of newspapers on all 7 continents, and NASA’s website for the mission received more than 2 billion hits in the days surrounding the flyby. At a time when so many think that our most historic achievements are in the past, the most distant planetary exploration ever attempted not only succeeded in 2015 but made history and captured the world’s imagination. How did this happen? Chasing New Horizons is the story of the men and women behind this amazing mission: of their decades-long commitment and persistence; of the political fights within and outside of NASA; of the sheer human ingenuity it took to design, build, and fly the mission; and of the plans for New Horizons’ next encounter, 1 billion miles past Pluto in 2019. Told from the insider’s perspective of mission leader Dr. Alan Stern and others on New Horizons, and including two stunning 16-page full-color inserts of images, Chasing New Horizons is a riveting account of scientific discovery, and of how much we humans can achieve when people focused on a dream work together toward their incredible goal.

The large-scale structure of the Universe is dominated by vast voids with galaxies clustered in knots, sheets, and filaments, forming a great 'cosmic web'. In this personal account of the major astronomical developments leading to this discovery, we learn from Laird A. Thompson, a key protagonist, how the first 3D maps of galaxies were created. Using non-mathematical language, he introduces the standard model of cosmology before explaining how and why ideas about cosmic voids evolved, referencing the original maps, reproduced here. His account tells of the competing teams of observers, racing to publish their results, the theorists trying to build or update their models to explain them, and the subsequent large-scale survey efforts that continue to the present day. This is a well-documented account of the birth of a major pillar of modern cosmology, and a useful case study of the trials surrounding how this scientific discovery became accepted.

A thought provoking study of the powerful impact of images in guiding astronomers' understanding of galaxies through time.

A report by the Joint Task Force on Undergraduate Physics Programs

Do you want to develop useful skills, gain admission to top colleges, win scholarship money, excel at science competitions, and explore career options--all while having fun?By reading this book and using the advice within it, you will learn how to formulate a research project idea, find people who can help you complete it, effectively present it to diverse audiences, and participate successfully in research competitions. Whether you are a freshman rookie with a vague interest in science or a senior veteran striving for first place at the Science Talent Search, this guide will help you make the most of your research experience.With its testimonials from high school students whose lives were positively changed by their research experiences, this guide also aims to motivate and empower students who otherwise would not pursue science and research opportunities. In doing so, this book also seeks to encourage more students to pursue science and technology."What Shiv Gaglani and his co-authors offer with this book is a well-crafted and practical guide for any high school student who wants to participate in (and win!) the Intel Science Talent Search, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, or any similar research endeavor. As sponsors of these programs, we regularly get requests for exactly this information from all around the globe. I am excited to be able to point students, educators and parents to this valuable resource." Wendy Hawkins, Executive Director of the Intel Foundation"The Winners' Guide offers terrific insight and information to encourage increased numbers of students and teachers to seek out lab-based experiences to enrich and strengthen their scientific acumen." Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center for Excellence in Education