A classic reference source for amateur astronomers before the era of mobile device apps and go-to telescopes. First published in 1910, this is the 15th edition from 1964. Very dated, but interesting to flip through and grasp some of the challenges faced by our astronomy predecessors as they searched the night sky for observing targets. |
Man’s landing on the moon was an enormous technological achievement, but it was only a small step into the vastness of space. This highly readable book invites enterprising amateurs of science to go along on an imaginary continuation of that journey, as successively larger and more venturesome steps are taken—beyond the moon to the sun and planets, to the stars and galaxies, to the outer limits of the known universe and of human knowledge.
The book examines along its route the structure and internal processes of the sun, the planets and their satellites, the comets and asteroids, Alpha Centauri, double and multiple stars, white dwarfs, red giants, neutron stars, novae and supernovae, the Magellanic clouds, the Andromeda nebula, globular clusters, the Seyfert galaxies, galactic explosions, quasars, the interpretation of the red shift as evidence that the universe is expanding, and the curvature of space-time, that finite but unlimited matrix of reality.
On July 20, 1969, near the end of a great decade of near-space exploration, a small craft called Eagle landed on the moon’s surface. As anyone who watched the televised broadcast of the landing might recall, the astronauts aboard Eagle were guided to their objective by a capable ground crew headed by Chris Kraft, whom his colleagues had long called “Flight.” Kraft was unflappable on the surface, but, as he writes in this memoir, the Eagle‘s landing had moments of drama that gave him pause, and that few outside NASA knew about–including baleful alarms from the ship’s on-board computer that warned of imminent disaster. For Kraft, frightening moments were part of his job as director of Mission Control. He encountered many of them in the early years of the space program, when failures were commonplace and all too often caused not by mechanics but by politics. We learn of many in Kraft’s pages. One such failure was the Soviet Union’s Sputnik launch, about which Kraft thunders, “We should have beaten them….” |
A classic book on all things comet by renowned Australian comet hunter, David Seargent.
Learn where comets come from and their chemistry and structure. Also learn about many of the most famous comets of recent centuries
Author: Paul DicksonLearn all the details about the origin of Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. Also learn how it triggered the space-race between the USSRS and the USA and how it shocked American scientists and politicians and wounded their pride. |
First published in 1971, this book provides a simple introduction to all the solar system planets, including Pluto. However published well before the discovery of exoplanets.
An interesting book that explores in detail how cultures dating back hundreds and thousands of years tried to explain the heavens and how it worked. Crystal spheres, epicycles, armillary spheres, meridian quadrants, parallactic rulers and countless other tools and concepts were developed and tested to explain how the planets cross the sky and how the stars light the night. |
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
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.
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.