Telescope Power: Fantastic Activities & Easy Projects for Young Astronomers [Paperback]

Gregory L. Matloff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 1993 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Learn to unleash the awesome power of your telescope and take a fascinating tour of the Universe Astronomer Gregory Matloff introduces you to all the fun and excitement of astronomy by helping you to discover the full potential of any telescope. Packed with dozens of fun and easy stargazing projects and activities. Telescope Power doesn't just tell you about all the beauty and mystery of the stars but lets you see it all for yourself! You begin your tour of the Universe by setting your sights on nearby neighbors in our Solar System. You'll hunt for blue lunar flashes, spot lunar landing sites, and use color filters to observe the changing seasons on Mars and the spectacular rings of Saturn. From there, it's off to more distant stars. You'll learn how to read a star atlas and identify the various constellations: locate binary stars Mizar and Alcor; use a finder chart to observe the beautiful Globular Cluster M-13 and the Ring Nebula Lyra: visit the Great Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda (twin sister to our own Milky Way Galaxy); and a lot more. You'll also learn about the different types of telescopes and how they work; how to set up your telescope; the "care and feeding" of telescopes; the best accessories to try, including different eyepieces, filters, clock drives, and star wheels; and how to share your experiences with other young astronomers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Designed to challenge and motivate young readers interested in telescopes and astronomy. Contains complete instructions on setting up equipment, progressing to the use of simple eyepieces and filters. Offers an abundance of simple yet intriguing subjects for observation with explicit guidelines on locating them. Exercises are intended to teach children about the universe and thus learn what science is all about. Packed with photos and illustrations. Includes moon and seasonal star maps.

From the Back Cover

Learn to unleash the awesome power of your telescope and take a fascinating tour of the Universe Astronomer Gregory Matloff introduces you to all the fun and excitement of astronomy by helping you to discover the full potential of any telescope. Packed with dozens of fun and easy stargazing projects and activities. Telescope Power doesn’t just tell you about all the beauty and mystery of the stars but lets you see it all for yourself! You begin your tour of the Universe by setting your sights on nearby neighbors in our Solar System. You’ll hunt for blue lunar flashes, spot lunar landing sites, and use color filters to observe the changing seasons on Mars and the spectacular rings of Saturn. From there, it’s off to more distant stars. You’ll learn how to read a star atlas and identify the various constellations: locate binary stars Mizar and Alcor; use a finder chart to observe the beautiful Globular Cluster M-13 and the Ring Nebula Lyra: visit the Great Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda (twin sister to our own Milky Way Galaxy); and a lot more. You’ll also learn about the different types of telescopes and how they work; how to set up your telescope; the "care and feeding" of telescopes; the best accessories to try, including different eyepieces, filters, clock drives, and star wheels; and how to share your experiences with other young astronomers.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (July 6, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471580392
• ISBN-13: 978-0471580393
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,277,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Greg Matloff, is a leading expert in possibilities for interstellar propulsion , especially near-Sun solar-sail trajectories that might ultimately enable interstellar travel. and is an astronomy professor with the physics department of New York City College of Technology, CUNY, a consultant with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, a Hayden Associate of the American Museum of Natural History and a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. He co-authored with Les Johnson of NASA and C Bangs Paradise Regained (2009), Living Off the Land in Space (2007) and has authored Deep-Space Probes (edition 1: 2000 and edition 2: 2005). With C Bangs, he authored "Biosphere Extension: Solar System Resources for the Earth," in 2011. As well as authoring More Telescope Power (2002), Telescope Power (1993), The Urban Astronomer (1991), he co-authored with Eugene Mallove The Starflight Handbook. (1989). His papers on interstellar travel, the search for extraterrestrial artifacts, and methods of protecting Earth from asteroid impacts have been published in JBIS, Acta Astronautica, Spaceflight, Space Technology, Journal of Astronautical Sciences, and Mercury. His popular articles have appeared in many publications, including Analog. In 1998, he won a $5000 prize in the international essay contest on ETI sponsored by the National Institute for Discovery Science. . He served on a November 2007 panel organized by Seed magazine to brief Congressional staff on the possibilities of a sustainable, meaningful space program.

Professor Matloff is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. He has chaired many technical sessions and is listed in numerous volumes of Who's Who. In 2008, he was honored as Scholar on Campus at New York City College of Technology. His most recent book, co-authored with Italian researcher Dr. Giovanni Vulpetti and Les Johnson, is Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel, Springer (2008). In addition to his interstellar-travel research, he has contributed to SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), modeling studies of human effects on Earth's atmosphere, interplanetary exploration concept analysis, alternative energy, in-space navigation, and the search for extrasolar planets. His website is www.gregmatloff.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lot of information, too confusing for kids!, January 11, 2009

By 

G. Jackson (Sunny SoCal) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Telescope Power: Fantastic Activities & Easy Projects for Young Astronomers (Paperback)

This is a great book full of pictures and a ton of information. However, there is so much info that it overwhelmed my son. It is layed out with several tidbits of info spread all over the pages. Although interesting, it was too complicated for children. Would recommend this book for kids over 13. Definately worth getting if you want an introduction to using telescopes and space but it should be for the older teens and adults. I do plan on keeping this book as I think it will provide a lot of good information when he is older. Until then it will be on the shelf waiting to be rediscovered!