Astronomy

Astonomy Tips for Star Gazing for the Amateur Astronomer

When there are billions of stars in the galaxy, there are a billion and one reasons for an amateur astronomer to stay up at night to watch the sky. If you've been bit by the stargazing bug, give in. It's a very enjoyable hobby. To help you get started, here are some things you might want to know:

Get a sky chart

A sky chart or a field guide can help you find where the stars are in the heavens. Since their positions change depending on the seasons, you can use the sky chart to help you find a particular star immediately. You can also map out the locations of different constellations and recognize any star in the night sky by simply referring to your sky chart.

What to look for

The star that shines brightest in the northern hemisphere is Sirius. You might also want to find Polaris, the North Star. If you're a little lost, you can look to the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) to show you the way. Find the 'bowl' or 'ladle' of the Dipper. The two stars located away from the handle are the Pointer Stars, called Dubhe and Merak. Follow where they point straight towards the North and you will find Polaris.

Don’t forget to enjoy the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor), Cassiopeia, Draco, Cepheus and other constellations – there are 88 of them, some of which are visible at different times of the year.

You can also watch for falling stars or meteor showers. Their appearance is usually announced on TV and newspapers. On special nights, you can enjoy hundreds of the most beautiful sight streaking across the night sky.

Star bright, star light

Stars are categorized by brightness, which is measured by magnitude. The magnitude scale has the brightest stars having 0 or even negative magnitudes. For example, Sirius has a magnitude of -1.46. Vega, a star that shines bright during summer, has a magnitude 0. Polaris has a magnitude 2 and Antares has a magnitude 1. Stars with a magnitude of 29 need the Hubble Space telescope to be seen and get this: they are 250,000,000,000 times less bright than Vega.

Telescope

As a newbie astronomer, you don’t really need a telescope to enjoy stargazing. It's best to familiarize yourself first with stars and constellations using just your naked eye at first. You can also use a good pair of binoculars since these will do the job nicely. Buy a telescope only if you're already familiar with the night sky and enjoy it to the fullest.

Article by stmadeveloper.com

Astronomy Definitions and Factiods

Astronomy Definitions 2

Ion Microprobe: A Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS), a precision instrument used to quantitatively analyze the elements and isotopes of materials at microscopic scales.

Iron: An element with atomic number 26; sumbol: Fe. Iron is one of the most abundant elements in the rocky planets. It is the most abundant element in the metallic cores of the inner planets.

Iron Meteorite: Iron meteorites are made, almost completely, of nickel-iron metal. They are chemically distinguished and grouped according to the abundances of the trace elements such as gallium and germanium, as well as nickel. Initially, irons were classified into four groups and were given Roman numerals I, II, III, and IV. Today twelve groups are recognized and designated further by letters A through F. Iron meteorites that do not fit into the groups are called ungrouped.

Isotopes: Two or more varieties of the same chemical element. Isotopes have different masses because they have different numbers of neutrons (for example 18O and 16O), thus they have different physical and chemical properties. Unstable isotopes undergo radioactive decay.