More Telescope Power: All New Activities and Projects for Young Astronomers

More Telescope Power......Page 3
Contents......Page 9
Introduction: Tools of the Astronomer......Page 13
An Astronomical Revolution......Page 14
Telescope Evolution and Accessories......Page 16
1 * The Many Satellites of Earth......Page 19
ACTIVITY 1-1. Observing Satellites in Low Earth Orbit......Page 20
Orbits and Conic Sections......Page 21
Acceleration, Mass, and Force......Page 22
Gravity and Orbits......Page 23
ACTIVITY 1-2. Estimating the Velocity of a Satellite in LEO......Page 24
ACTIVITY 1-3. Can You See Any Detail on a Large Satellite in LEO?......Page 25
Other Satellite Observations......Page 26
2 * Dust Grains from Heaven......Page 29
The Origin of Meteors......Page 31
ACTIVITY 2-1. Preparing Finder Charts for a Meteor Shower......Page 32
ACTIVITY 2-2. Meteor-Observing Party......Page 34
ACTIVITY 2-3. Estimating Meteor Track Length......Page 35
Meteors, Meteorites, and Life......Page 36
3 * The Moon......Page 37
ACTIVITY 3-1. Observing the Eccentricity of the Moon’s Orbit......Page 39
The Moon’s Phases......Page 40
Moon Features......Page 41
ACTIVITY 3-4. The Rays of Copernicus......Page 44
ACTIVITY 3-7. Masking Your Telescope’s Aperture......Page 46
Eclipses of the Moon and the Sun......Page 47
Lunar Occultations......Page 48
The Moon and Earth’s Tides......Page 49
The Astronaut’s Moon......Page 50
4 * Comets......Page 53
Comets in Myth and History......Page 54
ACTIVITY 4-1. Sketching a Comet As Viewed through Your Telescope......Page 55
ACTIVITY 4-2. Estimating the Size of a Comet’s Coma......Page 57
ACTIVITY 4-3. Keeping Track of a Comet’s Progress......Page 58
Where Do Comets Come From?......Page 59
ACTIVITY 4-5. Observing Stellar Occultations by Comets......Page 60
Comet Exploration......Page 61
ACTIVITY 4-6. Comet Viewing with Color Filters......Page 62
5 * The Sun......Page 63
The Visible Sun......Page 64
Observing the Sun......Page 66
The Solar Interior......Page 67
ACTIVITY 5-2. Using Sunspot Observations to Determine Solar Rotation......Page 69
ACTIVITY 5-3. Monitoring Solar Activity......Page 70
Solar Energy......Page 71
The Sun’s Future......Page 72
6 * The Planets......Page 73
The Planets in History......Page 74
ACTIVITY 6-1. A Scale Model of Solar-System Distances and Planet Sizes......Page 76
Viewing the Planets......Page 77
Venus......Page 79
ACTIVITY 6-4. Observing Venus’s Phases and Changes in Size......Page 81
Mars......Page 82
ACTIVITY 6-5. Coordinated Mars Observations......Page 83
ACTIVITY 6-6. Atmospheric Variation and Mars’s Canals......Page 84
Jupiter......Page 85
ACTIVITY 6-7. Observing the Jovian Moons with a Reticle Eyepiece......Page 86
ACTIVITY 6-8. Identifying the Large Moons of Jupiter by Brightness......Page 87
Saturn......Page 88
ACTIVITY 6-10. Observing and Estimating the Size of Saturn’s Rings......Page 89
Uranus......Page 90
Pluto......Page 91
7 * The Stars......Page 93
The Variety of Stars......Page 94
The Significance of Star Colors......Page 95
Binary and Multiple Stars......Page 97
Mizar and Alcor......Page 98
Rigel......Page 99
Castor......Page 100
ACTIVITY 7-3. Color-Filter Observations of Binary Stars......Page 101
ACTIVITY 7-4. Observing M42 through Color Filters......Page 102
ACTIVITY 7-5. Counting the Pleiades......Page 103
ACTIVITY 7-6. The Milky Way Galaxy and M31, the Great Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda......Page 104
Appendix A A Note about Measurement......Page 107
Appendix B How to Use a Reticle Eyepiece......Page 109
Appendix C Lunar and Solar Eclipse Table......Page 111
Appendix D Planet Data Table......Page 113
Appendix E Seasonal Finder Charts......Page 115
Reading List: To Dig Deeper......Page 119
Glossary......Page 121
Index......Page 127