Full Description
This book recounts the stories of the astronomical pioneers who forever changed our views of the cosmos. The chapters delve into their fascinating lives over the centuries, showing how these pivotal minds built upon the work of their predecessors and unlocked the unique properties of specific stars.
From ancient astronomy to modern imaging and spectroscopy, each tale at once showcases the pace of scientific discovery and the shared passions that drove these starwatchers. Accompanying the stories are a plethora of constellation and finder charts, stellar coordinates and directions, and suggestions for viewing specific stars, all of which are visible to the naked eye or through a small telescope.
In addition, the histories on specific star names and designations are given, along with an overview of the most popular catalogues and online databases that readers can use for reference.
Contents
Chapter 1. Observing the Night Sky and the Celestial Sphere.- Chapter 2. The Spring/Fall Sky.- Chapter 3. The Summer/Winter Sky.- Chapter 4. The Fall/Spring Sky.- Chapter 5. The Winter/Summer Sky.- Chapter 6. Anaxagoras and Hans Albrecht Bethe - The Sun.- Chapter 7. Tycho Brahe - SN 1572.- Chapter 8. Johannes Kepler - SN 1604.- Chapter 9. Thomas Henderson - Alpha Centauri.- Chapter 10. Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel - 61 Cygni.- Chapter 11. Benedetto Castelli and J. B. Liebknecht - Mizar, Alcor and Sidus Ludoviciana.- Chapter 12. John Goodricke - Algol.- Chapter 13. A Brief History of Astrophotography.- Chapter 14. The Pioneers of Spectroscopy.- Chapter 15. Stellar Spectral Types and the H-R Diagram.- Chapter 16. Edward Charles Pickering - Mizar.- Chapter 17. Charles Wolf and Georges Rayet - Wolf-Rayet Stars.- Chapter 18. Angelo Secchi - Carbon Stars .- Chapter 19. Blue Stragglers.- Chapter 20. Measuring Cosmic Distances.- Chapter 21. Edward Pigott, John Goodricke, and Henrietta Swan - Cepheid Variable Stars.- Chapter 22. Jacobus Kapteyn, E. C. Pickering, and Williamina Fleming - RR Lyrae Variable Stars.- Chapter 23. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Mark Phillips - Type Ia Supernovae.- Chapter 24. Other Standard Candles.- Chapter 25. Star Names, Designations and Catalogs.- Appendix.- Glossary.- Index.
