The.practical.astronomer

A complete introduction to observing and understanding the night sky, explaining and demystifying stargazing to recognize objects and explain how they move through the sky over the night and the year.

Discover the wonders of the Universe with this complete introduction to observing and understanding the night sky.

For anyone who's ever looked at the night sky and wanted to know more about the galaxy around them, The Practical Astronomer shows readers how to discover and understand the mysteries of the solar system and beyond.

As an amateur astronomer with years of experience, I marvel at the joy experienced by a beginner who successfully hunts down their first deep-space object in a telescope. No matter what age or skill level, "nailing" a previously unobserved object through the eye­ piece, both instantly defines their love of the hobby and gives a feeling of scientific accomplishment no matter how well known to others the object may be. With the advancement in computer-guided telescopes and automatic object center­ ing, the amateur astronomy hobby has experienced tremendous and unprecedented growth. First timers are attending public observing sessions or summer star parties with low-cost computer-controlled telescopes, and are instantly rewarded with views of celes­ tial objects with strange names and numbers. But: what to look at?