Anton Vamplew – författare

A first-time skywatcher’s guide from bright new talent, BBC Blue Peter astronomer, Anton VamplewMost books on stargazing claim to be for beginners, but by page 12 are talking about celestial equators and sidereal months. No wonder so many people have planispheres but no idea how to use them.Working at the planetarium in Greenwich, Anton has met hundreds of enthusiastic but utterly bemused beginners of all ages, and has made sense of the night sky for them. In this book he introduces the night sky just as if he were by your side, pointing everything out. And contrary to popular belief, you don't need any expensive equipment to start skygazing. Anton takes you through all the things you can discover with just the naked eye.The book is suitable for use in the northern and southern hemispheres – two sections give equal coverage to where to start and what you can see wherever you are in the world, whenever.

Discover the wonders of the Universe with this complete introduction to observing and understanding the night sky. This practical guide explains and demystifies stargazing, teaching you to recognize different kinds of objects and showing you how they move through the sky over the course of the night and the year. It shows you how to understand and enjoy the cosmos, building your practical astronomy skills from the basics to more advanced techniques. Beginning with an explanation of the Universe itself - how big is it, what shape is it, how old is it, and will it end? - it then takes you on a tour around the night sky, building up your knowledge in simple stages. Practical advice begins with naked-eye observations, then illustrated step-by-step instructions show you how to set up and use binoculars and telescopes, and how to take your own pictures of the night sky. It also lets you take a closer look at the different objects you can view in the night sky, telling you how to train your eye to recognize basic patterns of stars (constellations) and how to tell planets apart from other celestial bodies, showing you how to observe them in an innovative step-by-step way. An atlas of the night sky is also included, with charts that can be used in both the northern and southern hemispheres throughout the year.Accessible, inspirational, and authoritative, Stargazing for Beginners will enthuse and inform anyone who wants to expand their knowledge of the night sky.

Discover the wonders of the Universe with this complete introduction to observing and understanding the night sky. This practical guide explains and demystifies stargazing, teaching you to recognize different kinds of objects and showing you how they move through the sky over the course of the night and the year. It shows you how to understand and enjoy the cosmos, building your practical astronomy skills from the basics to more advanced techniques. Beginning with an explanation of the Universe itself - how big is it, what shape is it, how old is it, and will it end? - it then takes you on a tour around the night sky, building up your knowledge in simple stages. Practical advice begins with naked-eye observations, then illustrated step-by-step instructions show you how to set up and use binoculars and telescopes, and how to take your own pictures of the night sky. It also lets you take a closer look at the different objects you can view in the night sky, telling you how to train your eye to recognize basic patterns of stars (constellations) and how to tell planets apart from other celestial bodies, showing you how to observe them in an innovative step-by-step way. An atlas of the night sky is also included, with charts that can be used in both the northern and southern hemispheres throughout the year.Accessible, inspirational, and authoritative, Stargazing for Beginners will enthuse and inform anyone who wants to expand their knowledge of the night sky.