From award winning author, John A. Read
Books to Aid Your Journey
For kids, beginners, and stargazing enthusiasts alike. These are your guides to the night sky.
Featured
This easy-to-use stargazing guide for kids explores the popular night sky constellations, visits the brightest stars, and tours our solar system. As they learn step-by-step how to find the most fascinating sights in the night sky, readers will learn how the sky changes with each season, when to look for meteor showers, how to see the milky way, and much more!
A Kid's Guide to the Night Sky includes fact-packed sections like:
Astronomical Events
Tour the Solar System
Explore the Moon
Your Stargazing Toolkit
The Life of a Star
Learn the Constellations
This book and a telescope are all you need to find, view, and record your observations of the 110 most popular stargazing targets. But what makes this list of objects so famous? Over 200 years ago, the French comet hunter Charles Messier published a list of fuzzy, comet-like objects he saw through his telescope. To him, they were a nuisance. We now know them as star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies!
These objects are presented in their recommended viewing order - either by season, or during an all-night marathon! Each page contains an observation log so you can track your progress, and later apply for a Messier Observing Certificate from the Astronomical League and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Certificate Application instructions are provided in the appendix of the book.
Guides to the Night Sky
John A. Read covers everything needed to identify constellations, planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae and more. Inquisitive stargazers will find planet hunting and star hopping easy with clearly plotted routes and images of the sky both as seen by the naked eye and detailed views from a telescope. Many fascinating cosmic objects can be easily spotted with the help of this book including beautiful Cassiopeia, regal Leo, the plentiful Kemble's Cascade, the explosive Crab Nebula, the rings of Saturn — even the moon! This easy to read, fully illustrated reference book will enrich every young person's experience of the skies above.
*A Southern Hemisphere edition is also available.
The moon is our nearest neighbor in space, it's easy to find, it's bright, and you don't have to go anywhere special to view it. Astronomer John A. Read has selected fifty of the best things to see — organized by the phases of the Moon. As each day passes, an additional slice of the Moon becomes visible. With each slice comes new craters, lunar seas, and jagged mountain ranges. This is the perfect book for a first-time stargazer who is curious about what is up there.
50 Things to See with a Small Telescope explores the planets, stars, galaxies and nebulae visible from your own backyard! The book includes easy to follow star maps and eclipse charts updated through the year 2030. With the "Telescope View" feature, you will see how objects appear when viewed through a small telescope. This book will help you: - Choose the telescope that's right for your budget - Identify prominent stars and major constellations - See bright nebulae and globular clusters - Explore the Moon and planets - View comets and asteroids - Track the Space Station and spot satellite flairs - So much more!
This colorful edition explores the constellations with young readers, guiding them to dozens of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters. Every page features a helpful “telescope view”, showing exactly how objects appear through a small telescope or binoculars.While a member of the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society in California, John Read taught thousands of students how to use telescopes and explore the night sky. Now, he’s sharing this knowledge with you! Even without a telescope, this introduction to the night sky is essential for every child’s collection.
A hands-on approach to learning the night sky! This workbook provides over fifty unique stargazing challenges, allowing you to track your progress and record your observations. Stargazers are encouraged to sketch what they see, from lunar craters to globular star clusters. Learn how to set up and focus any type of telescope, and align a finderscope. Simple exercises will help you calculate your telescope’s magnification, focal ratio, and more. This workbook is designed for any experience level, from the extreme beginner, to the seasoned astronomer looking for a new outreach tool. Whatever your background in astronomy, you’ll find something to love within these pages.
50 Things Story Series
Since the early days of spaceflight, there have been many incredible missions that have changed the world. The 50 featured in this collection include Voyager’s Grand Tour, Apollo 8 (the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon), the first woman in space and the first communication satellite that brought live television to the world. In the early days of space exploration, the focus was on military dominance. Today, most missions are peaceful, and require the collaboration of several different countries. This is an exciting time we are living in. Space history is unfolding right before our eyes!
Did you know that the first animals in space were fruit flies, or that a cat was launched on a rocket from Africa? Did you know about the five mice that orbited the Moon with Apollo 17? This book explores 50 animal voyages into space, with details about the science and technology involved. It provides a detailed historical account of space missions featuring snails, scorpions, newts, quails and more. Learn how biological systems develop in micro-gravity and how this knowledge helps researchers solve problems on Earth. Suitable for inquisitive readers from age seven and beyond!
This book tells young readers everything they want to know about life in space. With a focus on international collaboration, it details how men and women in space celebrate the holidays, watch the latest movies, go to sleep, call home, eat and drink, use the toilet and so much more.