Stargazing For Dummies

Steve Owens is a freelance science writer and presenter with a passion for astronomy. He has been the recipient of the 'Campaign for Dark Skies' Award for Dark Sky Preservation, and he was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for public science engagement.

• Introduction 1Part I: What’s Up? Getting Familiar with the Night Sky 7Chapter 1: The Changing Sky 9Chapter 2: Look Up! Your First Stargazing Trip 23Chapter 3: Binocular Astronomy 39Chapter 4: Your First Telescope 57Chapter 5: Taking It Further: Astrophotography 81Part II: Joining the Dots: Learning Your Way Around the Night Sky 91Chapter 6: The Fixed Stars 93Chapter 7: The Wanderers 105Chapter 8: The Constellations 131Chapter 9: Mapping the Skies 149Part III: Star Hopping 165Chapter 10: Northern Polar Constellations 167Chapter 11: Stars of December, January and February 183Chapter 12: Stars of March, April and May 211Chapter 13: Stars of June, July and August 241Chapter 14: Stars of September, October and November 271Chapter 15: Southern Polar Constellations 293Part IV: The Part of Tens 309Chapter 16: Ten Targets for New Stargazers 311Chapter 17: Ten Things to Look for under a Dark Sky 315Index 321

"Well done Steve Owens for a really fun book." (Astronomy Now, June 2013) "Stargazing For Dummies is a terrific book... one of the best introductions to practical astronomy on the market.... This is the perfect book to get you started. Enjoy!" (BBC Sky At Night Magazine, June 2013) "In my opinion Stargazing for Dummies should be treated as an essential handbook by anyone interested in the night sky and kept very close to your window, binoculars or telescope. You will find it to be very handy." (Meteorwatch.org, April 2013)