STAR GAZING TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Below is a list of some online resources for Star Gazing Activities. The suggestions come from other Star Gazers who found resources and information online and would like to share it. If you find a good site for other resources you can email it to me. Happy Star Gazing!

ASTRONOMY EQUIPMENT

Optics Planet: Binocular Accessories, Binoculars, Compasses, Digital Camera Binoculars, Projectors & Accessories, Solarscopes, Spotting Scope Accessories, Spotting Scopes, Telescope Accessories, Telescopes, Tripod Accessories, Tripods

ASTRONOMY SOFTWARE

Starry NIght: The Worlds most realistic Astronomy Software for Amateur Astronomers and Educators. 

SPECIAL EVENTS

The Venus Transit, June 5, 2012. The Venus transit is really the big sky event for the year that should not be missed, it's happening in the afternoon and some of it is visible everywhere in the country.

NASA's Sun Earth Day: will have the Venus Transit as a theme, so will be posting lots of materials soon.

YEARLY EVENTS WEBSITES

NASA's Sun Earth Day: will have the Venus Transit as a theme this year, so will be posting lots of materials soon.

International Observe the Moon Night: October 8, 2011 - International Observe the Moon Night has created the opportunity to for people to take notice of the Moon’s beauty and share that experience with one another. Through International Observe the Moon Night, we hope to instill in the public a sense of wonderment and curiosity about our Moon. Our partnerships enable us to stay up to date with the latest and greatest scientific discoveries about Earth’s nearest neighbor, and we strive to bring those discoveries to the public.

BOOKS

Astronomical Calendar: This famous atlas-sized and richly illustrated book is the most widely used and most attractive guide to what will happen in the night sky throughout the year.

"Beyond the Blue Horizon" by Dr. Ed Krupp:  star/constellation lore books. He gets into a lot of various cultures & how they saw the sky. Good resource for info & short versions of stories. Used copies are available on Amazon.com.

"Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning" by Richard Allen, though a bit dry, is also a good resource to have on hand. It's available on Amazon.

WEBSITES

The Constellations from Jim Kaler's Stars:  Names, meanings, remarks, maps, photos, location, etc.

Cosmobrain Astronomy: The Constellations:  The Constellation Table: A complete table with informations about all the 88 Constellations as defined by the I.A.U. (International Astro Union). Abbreviations, Genitive and Latin Names, English Names and more.

Vanderbilt Planetarium: Ken Spencer - "Sketching the Messier Objects"

On August 10th Ken Spencer did a program on "Sketching the Messier Objects"  at the Vanderbilt Planetarium in Centerport, NY. Ken says, "For years I had thought of doing some astronomical sketching and made a couple of fits and starts. But it was Tom Pennino's pursuit of the Messier Challenge from the Astronomical League that got me going.  I decided that I wanted to do more than observe and describe the objects - I am determined to sketch them all, which will take a fair amount of time.  Notice I say "sketching" and not "drawing." There is a difference, and I will talk about that, and the tools needed and the techniques, and show some of my finished scribblings".

Ken Spencer's image of a sketch of what was seen through the telescope.

Another artists rendering of a sun spot through a Solar Scope.

The Vanderbilt Museum Planetarium & The Astronomical Society of Long Island

Vanderbilt Museum Planetarium
180 Little Neck Road
Centerport, NY 11721
phone: 631-854-5555
www.vanderbiltmuseum.org

The Vanderbilt Planetarium opened in 1971 on the grounds of the Vanderbilt estate, and it is the largest facility of its kind on Long Island. The Planetarium's purpose is to provide visitors with information about the nighttime sky. The Planetarium's main feature is the domed, 60-foot Sky Theater. The theater's Goto star projector can display the sun, moon, stars and planets. It also recreates celestial events during our various Sky Shows.

The Astronomical Society of Long Island holds its monthly observing session at the Vanderbilt Planetarium. Their observing session is on the Wednesday evening closest to the New Moon. ASLI is one of the most active groups in the New York Metropolitan Area. We are a group of dedicated amateur astronomers and telescope makers with a passion for our hobby, and a willingness to share our knowledge and excitement of the hobby with others, both experienced, and those who may have just discovered the hobby.

MEETINGS:  EVERY Wednesday Night

MEETING TIME: 8:30 PM

LOCATION: The Vanderbilt Planetarium, Centerport, NY 

 

August 24 - The Science Museum of London - by Helen McEntire.  Our esteemed president went "across the pond" and while there visited the Science Museum of London.  She took lots of pictures which she will share with us in her talk.  She spent time in "The Exploring Space Gallery" which contains a host of rockets, satellites, space probes and landers.  She also visited the brand-new "Atmosphere" gallery - a fresh and exciting way to make sense of the climate - the science of how it works, what it's doing now, and what it might do next.

August 31 - Introduction to a Fantastic Discovery of the Radio Universe - Dr. Ron Milione, Senior Systems Engineer, DasNet Corporation, Bohemia, NY.  Radio waves were first detected from space in the 1930’s but few scientists took the discovery seriously.  After WWII scientists began to use Radar to investigate signals coming from space. Since that time Astronomical observations at radio wavelengths have played a key role in the discovery and study of certain classes of astronomical objects.  Dr. Milione will be giving us really interesting and thorough introduction to radio astronomy. 

 

Perseids Meteor Shower August 12th & 13th

The Perseid meteors were shed from the Comet Swift-Tuttle, at some point in the past, and appear to come from a point (called the radiant) in the constellation of Perseus. When they hit the atmosphere, they will be traveling at a fairly high rate of speed and often have long trails behind them.

Start watching for the Perseids in the first week of August. They will be building gradually to their peak. By the second week of August, the moon will begin interfering with the skies between midnight and dawn. On the mornings of August 12 and 13, you can still watch for some Perseid meteors to streak across the summer night from midnight until dawn.

Unfortunately, the full moon will spoil 2011′s Perseid display, obscuring all but the brighter meteors, during the shower’s actual peak. But you will see Perseids in the weeks leading up to the peak, too, if you have dark skies. These typically fast and bright meteors radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus the Hero. You don’t need to know Perseus to watch the shower because the meteors appear in all parts of the sky. 
 
The Perseids are considered by many people to be the year’s best shower, and often peak at 50 or more meteors per hour – in years when the moon is out of the sky. However, 2011 is not a great year for the Perseids, because the moon is full on the expected peak date. The Perseids tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight, and typically produce the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn. These meteors are often bright and frequently leave persistent trains.  

The Radiant of the Perseids Meteor Shower is from the Constellation Perseus in the Eastern Sky

Aditional Resources on the web

Star Date:  http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors

EarthSky: http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide 

SeaSky: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-current.html 

Space.com: http://www.space.com/12298-perseids-meteor-shower-2011-full-moon.html 

American Meteor Society: http://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/ 

International Year of Astronomy: http://iya2009.com/perseid-meteor-shower-peaks-on-tuesday.html 

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/index.html

An Original Science Music Video About Life In An Observatory!

Welcome to the Hotel Mauna Kea

Five planetary astronomers bring you an original science music video about life at the observatory at the 14,000-foot summit of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii. The astronomers, stationed at the Infra-Red Telescope Facility, wrote the song while they investigated aurora in Jupiter's atmosphere and the composition of Mars' atmosphere. One songwriter says: "The emission line and the dip that are mentioned in the video are real, and they are interesting. We have never abandoned an observing run to go to the beach."  

Juan Delgado (Flamenco guitar), Kelly Fast (vocal, videography, 12-string guitar), Ted Kostiuk (spoken vocal), Lyrics by John Annen, Juan Delgado, Kelly Fast, Ted Kostiuk and Tim Livengood.

Custer Observatory Hosts the Amateur Radio Club

Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club

Radio Waves and Physics
VLF Meteors, Lightning, Cosmic Rays

Helio Takai
Physics Department
Brookhaven National Laboratory
& Stony Brook University

Helio Takai