Star charts, step-by-step projects, photos, and more: “The Total Skywatcher’s Manual is a fun book, but more importantly, it’s a useful book.” —Sky & Telescope With fully illustrated star charts, gorgeous astrophotography, and step-by-step project instruction, this is the only guide you need to navigate the night (and day) sky. Learn about the phases of the moon, how to conduct your own deep-sky observations, how the universe is expanding, our search for life on other planets, meteors vs. meteorites, sunspots and solar flares, best eclipse-viewing techniques—everything you need to know to appreciate the wonder of our universe. The Total Skywatcher’s Manual will help stargazers, comet-spotters, and planet-seekers: Choose the best telescope Identify constellations and objects in the night sky Search for extraterrestrial phenomena Plan star parties Capture beautiful space imagery and much more For well over a century, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has provided resources, tools, and information to astronomy enthusiasts, including amateur astronomers, families, and science educators. Now they draw on their wide-ranging expertise to guide you through the skies.

For stargazers, comet-spotters and planet-seekers looking to enhance your deep sky knowledge and observations—this is your quintessential guide. The Total Skywatcher’s Manual will help you choose the best telescope, identify constellations and objects in the night sky, search for extraterrestrial phenomena, plan star parties, capture beautiful space imagery and much more. With high-quality design, intricate detail, and a durable flexicover—this manual is the perfect gift! With fully illustrated star charts, gorgeous astrophotography and step-by-step project instruction, this family friendly book is the only guide you’ll ever need to navigate the nightsky. Learn about the phases of the moon, how to conduct your own deep-sky observations, how the universe is expanding, our search for life on other planets, meteors vs. meteorites, sunspots and solar flares, best eclipse-viewing techniques—everything you need to know to appreciate the wonder of our universe. Based in San Francisco, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has a 125-year history of providing resources, tools, and information to astronomy enthusiasts, including amateur astronomers, families, and science educators (K-16). Join the ASP on this journey through the nightsky and beyond.

"The classic beginner's guide to the night sky."--Page 4 of cover.

Hirshfeld's Astronomy Activity and Laboratory Manual is a collection of twenty classroom-based exercises that provide an active-learning approach to mastering and comprehending key elements of astronomy. Used as a stand-alone activity book, or as a supplement to any mainstream astronomy text, this manual provides a broad, historical approach to the field through a narrative conveying how astronomers gradually assembled their comprehensive picture of the cosmos over time. Each activity has been carefully designed to be implemented in classrooms of any size, and require no specialized equipment beyond a pencil, straightedge, and calculator. The necessary mathematical background is introduced on an as-needed basis for every activity and is accessible for most undergraduate students. This learn-by-doing approach is sure to engage and excite your introductory astronomy students!

The Cambridge Star Atlas covers the entire sky, both northern and southern latitudes, in an attractive format that is suitable for beginners and experienced astronomical observers. There is a series of monthly sky charts, followed by an atlas of the whole sky, arranged in 20 overlapping full colour charts. Each chart shows stars down to magnitude 6.5, together with about 900 non-stellar objects, such as clusters and galaxies, which can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope. There is a comprehensive map of the Moon's surface, showing craters and other named features. Wil Tirion is the world's foremost designer of astronomical maps. For this new edition he has devised improved versions of all the charts, and the text and star data have been completely revised based on the latest information. Clear, authoritative and easy-to-use, The Cambridge Star Atlas is an ideal reference atlas for sky watchers everywhere.

Drawing on a vast array of scholarship, this pioneering text illustrates how profoundly astronomical phenomena shaped ancient Chinese civilization.

For centuries, our ancestors carefully observed the movements of the heavens and wove that astronomical knowledge into their city planning, architecture, mythology, paintings, sculpture, and poetry. This book uncovers the hidden messages and advanced science encoded within these sacred spaces, showing how the rhythmic motions of the night sky played a central role across many different cultures. Our astronomical tour transports readers through time and space, from prehistoric megaliths to Renaissance paintings, Greco-Roman temples to Inca architecture. Along the way, you will investigate unexpected findings at Lascaux, Delphi, Petra, Angkor Wat, Borobudur, and many more archaeological sites both famous and little known. Through these vivid examples, you will come to appreciate the masterful ways that astronomical knowledge was incorporated into each society’s religion and mythology, then translated into their physical surroundings. The latest archaeoastronomical studies and discoveries are recounted through a poetic and nontechnical narrative, revealing how many longstanding beliefs about our ancestors are being overturned. Through this celestial journey, readers of all backgrounds will learn the basics about this exciting field and share in the wonders of cultural astronomy.

Space weaponry, satellite surveillance and communications, and private space travel are all means in which outer space is being humanized: incorporated into society’s projects. But what are the political implications of society not only being globalized, but becoming ‘cosmic’? Our ideas about society have long affected, and been affected by, our understanding of the universe: large sections of our economy and society are now organized around humanity’s use of outer space. Our view of the universe, our increasingly ‘cosmic’ society, and even human consciousness are being transformed by new relations with the cosmos. As the first sociological book to tackle humanity’s relationship with the universe, this fascinating volume links social theory to classical and contemporary science, and proposes a new ‘cosmic’ social theory. Written in a punchy, student-friendly style, this timely book engages with a range of topical issues, including cyberspace, terrorism, tourism, surveillance and globalization.

Choosing and Using a Refracting Telescope has been written for the many amateur astronomers who already own, or are intending to purchase, a refracting telescope – perhaps to complement their existing arsenal of larger reflecting telescopes – or for the specialist who requires a particular refractor for serious astronomical applications or nature studies. Four hundred year ago, during the winter of 1609, a relatively unknown Italian scientist, Galileo Galilei designed a spyglass with two crude lenses and turned it skyward. Since then, refractors have retained their dominance over all types of reflector in studies of the Moon, planets and double stars because of the precision of their optics and lack of a central obstruction in the optical path, which causes diffraction effects in all commercially-made reflectors. Most mature amateur astronomers got started with a 60mm refractor, or something similar. Thirty years ago, there was little choice available to the hobbyist, but in the last decade long focus crown-flint achromats have moved aside for some exquisitely crafted apochromatic designs offered by leading commercial manufacturers. There has been a huge increase in the popularity of these telescopes in the last few years, led by a significant increase in the number of companies (particularly, William Optics, Orion USA, StellarVue, SkyWatcher and AstroTech) who are now heavily marketing refractors in the amateur astronomical magazines. In Choosing and Using a Refracting Telescope, well-known observer and astronomy writer Neil English celebrates the remarkable history and evolution of the refracting telescope and looks in detail at the instruments, their development and their use. A major feature of this book is the way it compares not only different classes of refractor, but also telescopes of each class that are sold by various commercial manufacturers. The author is perhaps uniquely placed to do this, having used and tested literally hundreds of different refracting telescopes over three decades. Because it includes many diverse subjects such as imaging with consumer-level digital cameras, imaging with webcams, and imaging with astronomical CCD cameras – that are not covered together in equal depth in any other single volume – Choosing and Using a Refracting Telescope could become the ‘refractor bible’ for amateur astronomers at all levels, especially those who are interested in imaging astronomical objects of every class.

Hacker extraordinaire Kevin Mitnick delivers the explosive encore to his bestselling The Art of Deception Kevin Mitnick, the world's most celebrated hacker, now devotes his life to helping businesses and governments combat data thieves, cybervandals, and other malicious computer intruders. In his bestselling The Art of Deception, Mitnick presented fictionalized case studies that illustrated how savvy computer crackers use "social engineering" to compromise even the most technically secure computer systems. Now, in his new book, Mitnick goes one step further, offering hair-raising stories of real-life computer break-ins-and showing how the victims could have prevented them. Mitnick's reputation within the hacker community gave him unique credibility with the perpetrators of these crimes, who freely shared their stories with him-and whose exploits Mitnick now reveals in detail for the first time, including: A group of friends who won nearly a million dollars in Las Vegas by reverse-engineering slot machines Two teenagers who were persuaded by terrorists to hack into the Lockheed Martin computer systems Two convicts who joined forces to become hackers inside a Texas prison A "Robin Hood" hacker who penetrated the computer systems of many prominent companies-andthen told them how he gained access With riveting "you are there" descriptions of real computer break-ins, indispensable tips on countermeasures security professionals need to implement now, and Mitnick's own acerbic commentary on the crimes he describes, this book is sure to reach a wide audience-and attract the attention of both law enforcement agencies and the media.