Month: April 2021

Location Directions – Tingalpa Aero Modelling Club

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BAS will conduct periodic, hopefully monthly, telescope nights within metro Brisbane, at the Tingalpa Aero Modelling Club facility at Stanton Road, West, Tingalpa.

BAS members will be informed of these events, in advance, via email.  Specific date and time information will be provided in the emails.

The location provides extensive grassed areas with minimal directly-intrusive street lighting.  These nights will be an excellent opportunity for telescope beginners to hone their skills before heading out of the city to darker skies.

Telescope setup will be in the grassed carpark area just to the west of the main aero club facilities.  BAS will have the key to operate the Stanton Road security boom gate to the parkland area.

The address is Stanton Road, West, Tingalpa.

Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/WSyxivWjmXuBBhwH8

What3Words: https://w3w.co/thigh.saves.shout

Atlas of the Southern Sky

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Author: Steve Massey and Steve Quirk

If you ever needed a book to help you explore the wonderful night skies from down under, be it Australia, South America, South Africa or New Zealand, this is it!
With hundreds of full colour star charts and maps of the Moon and planets of our Solar System, this book will ensure you get the most out of a pair of binoculars or a small telescope from suburban and dark country sky locations.
Beautifully illustrated with many tips and advice on how to both understand, observe and even photograph the night sky, including the stars, galaxies, nebulae, Sun, Moon, asteroids, comets and planets from the back yard, this book is your essential guide and reference to the celestial wonders of the Southern Night Sky..
Information on common telescope designs and tips for observing the night sky.

Millennium Yearbook

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Author: Patrick Moore and Allan Chapman

In a year that will probably be remembered almost as much for books about the millennium as for the turn of 2000 A.D. itself, Patrick Moore’s Millennium Yearbook celebrates…..well, the wrong millennium! This thoroughly entertaining book – which is for everyone, not just astronomers – contains articles on King Alfred’s chronological work, reviews of the new Star Catalogue by the Arab Al-Sufi and the latest edition of Ptolemy’s  Almagast. And foreshadowing the change to metric units by 1000 years, the book uses Arabic numbers instead of Roman – but there is a conversion table if you have trouble with the idea of “zero” and prefer the older system.

Viewing and Imaging the Solar System

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Author: Jane Clark and Patrick Moore

A Guide for Amateur Astronomers

‘Viewing and Imaging the Solar System: A Complete Guide for Amateur Astronomers’ is for amateur astronomers who are beginners or who want to move beyond the beginner level and develop better observing skills. Newcomers to astronomy are almost always wowed by sights such as the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter, but have little idea how to find Solar System objects for themselves, or what equipment they will need to see or even photograph such objects. This book makes it easy for less advanced astronomers to achieve success quickly by observing and photographing the Solar System rather than trying to find deep sky objects. It is written by an expert on the Solar System, who gained experience by teaching others how to make the most of relatively simple and low-cost equipment. This book presents the material in a way that is both easy to digest and entertaining. Its goal is to help the reader get the most out of observing and photographing a variety of Solar System objects, from the Moon and easily observable major planets and moons to the harder to observe smaller planets, asteroids, and comets.                                                                                     

Industry Reviews                         

“If you happen to be a young amateur astronomer just starting out with astronomy and observing, then this book might be a good read … . gives a quick and short overview of what a beginner observer might need to know or think of before heading outside on a cold clear night. … if you want to start out a new hobby of astrophotography without any prior knowledge about the night sky, it’s the book to go to.” (Kadri Tinn, AstroMadness.com, November, 2014)

Universe

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Author: Martin Rees

The Definitive Visual Guide

From the fiery mass of the Sun’s core to the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.  Universe takes you on the ultimate guided tour of the cosmos. Full of stunning out-of-this world images reflecting recent advances in space imagery, you’ll go on a journey from our solar system all the way to the farthest limits of space. With information on the nature of the universe, the study of cosmology, Earth’s motion, modern telescopes, astrophotography, and even a comprehensive star atlas, this ground breaking encyclopaedia takes a dazzling and expansive look at the Universe and is a must-have for both students and astronomy enthusiasts. Includes a comprehensive star atlas that covers all the constellations and planetary charts showing their positions right up to 2019, with entries on each of the 88 constellations and notable celestial objects that lie within them, and a monthly sky guide showing the night sky as it appears throughout the year.

Universe Down to Earth

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Author: Neil de Grasse Tyson

This witty and amusing exploration of the physical universe explains fundamental concepts in language that is clear to anyone with little or no scientific background. Tyson transforms everyday experiences into venues of cosmic enlightenment as he probes the philosophy, methods, and discoveries of science, including stellar evolution, the conservation of energy, the electromagnetic spectrum, gravity and thermodynamics. Deftly demystifying astronomical terms and concepts such as the Big Bang, black holes, redshifts, syzygy, and Kirkwood Gaps, Universe Down to Earth traces the life of the stars from birth to death; presents the Periodic Table of Elements, highlighting noteworthy elements such as titanium, iron, and hydrogen; gives an unorthodox yet entertaining tour of famous constellations; and tackles modern-day astrology.

The Total Skywatcher’s Manual

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Author: Linda Shore

275 Skills and Tricks for Exploring Stars, Planets and Beyond. The ultimate, up-to-date guide for stagazers, comet-spotters, and planet-seekers.

This straightforward volume presents a broad view of astronomy spanning known facts, evolving ideas, and frontier discoveries. The authors combine qualitative reasoning and analogies with familiar objects and phenomena to awaken readers to the excitement of the universe around them. Incorporates new understanding and emphases in contemporary astronomy, including the latest data on topics ranging from adaptive optics and solar system formation to extrasolar planets and the recent missions to Mars. Top-notch illustration program exploits the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum, including images taken at radio, infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray, or gamma-ray wavelengths, in addition to visible-light photographs. For anyone interested in learning more about astronomy.

The Young Astronomer

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Author: Ian Ridpath

Here is a book that contains useful information for the amateur astronomer.

The book contains more than 200 full-colour photographs, diagrams and charts.

This fascinating guide explains exactly what stars, planets and other objects can be seen in the sky

The Unforgotten Sisters

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Author: Gabriella Bernardi

Female Astronomers and Scientists before Caroline Herschel

Taking inspiration from Siv Cedering’s poem in the form of a fictional letter from Caroline Herschel that refers to “my long, lost sisters, forgotten in the books that record our science”, this book tells the lives of twenty-five female scientists, with specific attention to astronomers and mathematicians. Each of the presented biographies is organized as a kind of “personal file” which sets the biographer’s life in its historical context, documents her main works, highlights some curious facts, and records citations about her. The selected figures are among the most representative of this neglected world, including such luminaries as Hypatia of Alexandra, Hildegard of Bingen, Elisabetha Hevelius, and Maria Gaetana Agnesi. They span a period of about 4000 years, from En HeduAnna, the Akkadian princess, who was one of the first recognized female astronomers, to the dawn of the era of modern astronomy with Caroline Herschel and Mary Somerville. The book will be of interest to all who wish to learn more about the women from antiquity to the nineteenth century who played such key roles in the history of astronomy and science despite living and working in largely male-dominated worlds.                                                                                                                             Industry Reviews

“The book gives short biographical accounts of over twenty women from ancient times to the beginning of 19th century. … It is also interesting to read some of the opinions of the lady astronomers about what they thought about such occupation for a female – who thinks it’s wholly suitable and nothing should come in the way of a woman in science as they are in possession of equal faculties to any man.

The Space Book

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Author: Jim Bell

We live in a truly golden age of astronomy and space exploration that may allow us to unravel some of the biggest mysteries of all: How did the Universe begin? Are there other Earth-like planets out there? Are we alone? “The Space Book” is a gateway into these kinds of questions – and more – for anyone interested in the worlds beyond our planet. Expanding the series that began with the highly successful volume “The Math Book” (9781402757969), astronomer and planetary scientist Astronomer Jim Bell presents 250 of the most ground breaking astronomical events, from the formation of galaxies to the recent discovery of water ice on Mars. Beautiful photographs or illustrations accompany each entry. Open the book to any page to discover some new wonder or mystery about the Universe around us.