“A Simple A-Z Blueprint to Becoming an Expert Stargazer”
by Brian Ventrudo, Ph.D, Publisher, One-Minute Astronomer
Author and master wit Oscar Wilde once said, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
And it’s true… stargazing, like music or art or poetry, is a way to ennoble your life, to lift yourself above everyday concerns, and try to make sense of your place in the universe.
Over the past five years, readers of One-Minute Astronomer have witnessed some astonishing sights:
The transit of Venus. Glittering clusters of freshly-born blue-white stars. And pinwheeling spiral galaxies that sent forth ancient light tens of millions of years before our ancestors walked the Earth.
Like so many of your fellow stargazers, you may have been struck with a burning desire to see more of the heavens… much more… during your all-too-brief time on our little blue planet.
Truth is, mastering stargazing… backyard astronomy… isn’t that hard. But to see more than the Moon and a handful of bright stars, you do need to know what you’re doing. If you don’t, you’ll waste a great deal of valuable time and money.
(Or worse. Years ago, I once made the embarrassing mistake of nearly vaporizing my right eye when a bargain-basement solar filter cracked as I was inspecting sunspots.)
I admit it took me a long time to figure out the nuts and bolts of stargazing. That’s because I learned from scratch. I started out by myself in a small town… with no help from anyone… and at first couldn’t tell the Little Dipper from the Pleiades.
But I kept at it. And for more than 30 years, I took detailed notes of my journey from clueless rookie to astronomy teacher and accomplished professional scientist.
You can short-cut your own path to becoming an expert stargazer when you let me share these hard-won secrets with you.
Here’s what I have for you…
After fielding thousands of questions from readers over the years, I’ve assembled everything I know about backyard astronomy into a program that lays out what a hungry stargazer needs to know to see more… and further… into the universe than most people can imagine.
This richly-detailed new program — called The Art of Stargazing— is specifically designed to catapult you to a deep understanding of what to see in the night sky. And it will help you share your newfound expertise with others, whether your friends, your children or grandchildren, or your own local astronomy club.
“I wanted to send you all a quick note for this incredible information. I have learned so much and enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for enriching my experience of the night sky.” – P.W., Louisiana, U.S.A.
Master the Art of Stargazing
When you think about it, astronomy comes down to figuring out three things: what to look for in the night sky, how to look for it, and how to make sense of what you’re looking at.
The Art of Stargazing tackles all three….
It makes the heavens snap to life over the course of a year through personal guided tours of the stars, constellations, planets, and the finest deep-sky sights as seen from the northern hemisphere…
… It reveals how to gaze into the night sky with binoculars, telescopes, and key accessories so you can see more and farther than you ever thought possible…
… And it helps you decipher the science behind the planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies so you can grow your knowledge and strengthen your grasp of the inner workings of the universe.
In short, when you register for The Art of Stargazing you get a rock-solid understanding of what to see in the heavens and how to see it. Whether you live in the city or country, or whether you’re a brand-new observer or an experienced stargazer who just needs a refresher.
Detailed Monthly Tours of the Heavens
In each monthly installment of The Art of Stargazing, you set sail on a guided expedition to the most prominent stars and constellations visible from the northern hemisphere.
You’ll find ancient star groups known since the age of Gilgamesh… constellations used by the Egyptians and Romans to plan and reap harvests… monstrous red supergiant stars about to blow themselves to pieces as supernovae… and shimmering patches of newborn stars that only recently emerged from the churning star factories of our own galaxy…
… and hundreds more sights and stories of the night sky each month through the year.
Each guided sky tour includes five detailed maps to bring along with you. You also get:
- An audio version of each tour which you can load onto an iPod and take outside with you to follow along
- Detailed notes to help you see the most beautiful and easy-to-find star clusters, glowing nebulae, and incredibly distant galaxies with binoculars or a small scope
- Tips on how to best see and enjoy each object, and insight about its physical nature and importance
- A guide to the planets, Moon, and other solar system objects visible each month during the course, from 2013 through early 2014
- Email advisories on special celestial events including eclipses, meteor showers, asteroid encounters, and comets (and yes, there are two major comets on the way to our skies this year, including one which may be the comet of a lifetime!)
“Although a passionate amateur since 25 years, I enjoy the “cut-through-the-red-tape” style of this information, and there is always something more to learn” – B.W., United Kingdom
The Tools and Techniques of Observing the Night Sky
The Art of Stargazing takes the guesswork out of choosing and using the key tools of the backyard astronomer. You’ll discover dozens of expert-level tips to help you supercharge your view with your own telescope. And you’ll learn to select the best equipment to fit your budget and personal situation.
You’ll discover…
- How to extract the most detail from faint objects with your own eyes
- Tricks of the trade for choosing and using binoculars for astronomy, along with specific recommendations for binoculars that will give you the best value for stargazing without breaking your budget
- The pros and cons of each type of telescope for backyard astronomy
- How to avoid the biggest mistake most beginners make: buying the wrong telescope. Discover a step-by-step guide to choosing the best telescope for your personal interests, situation, and budget. This section alone could save you hundreds of dollars and months of frustration
- How to select wide-field eyepieces for big objects like emission nebulae, and high-power eyepieces for smaller sights like planetary nebulae, double stars, and planets
- Money-saving alternatives to the more expensive eyepieces on the market
- The truth about the four major types of light pollution filters, which ones are right for you, and which are a waste of money for a visual observer
- Critical (and inexpensive) accessories that will double or triple your enjoyment of stargazing with even the simplest telescope
You also get an introduction to basic astrophotography, and a crash course in the new and amazingly fascinating world of video astrophotography, a technology that effectively triples the size of your telescope!
Decipher the Science of the Stars
In the late 1930’s the great scientist Hans Bethe was out for an evening walk with his girlfriend when she mentioned how beautiful the stars were shining. It turns out Bethe had just that very day discovered the reason why the stars shine– through nuclear fusion– and replied, “Yes, and right now, I’m the only man in the world who knows WHY they shine.” The young lady was so impressed, she married him!
You see, many readers, even poets and artists who’ve never studied science in their lives, have told me over the years that knowing more about how the stars work (and nebulae and galaxies) makes them more beautiful, not less.
That’s why The Art of Stargazing gives you, in each monthly installment over the course of a year, concise explanations of the science behind the most common deep-sky sights. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ever taken a science course, because The Art of Stargazing walks you through:
- How most of the atoms in our everyday world… the atoms in cars, computers, trees, and humans… were created in the blast furnace of an exploding star hundreds of millions of years ago…
- The basic science behind why stars have different colors (and the answer to the question I’m frequently asked… why there are no green stars?)
- How astronomers measure brightness and distance of celestial objects
- How stars evolve through each stage of their life cycle, from protostar to white dwarf or supernova, and examples of stars at each stage you can easily see with your own eyes
- Types of commonly observed variable stars you as an amateur can observe, and how some variable stars are used to help measure the unimaginably-large distance in our galaxy and beyond
- The nature and composition of dark and diffuse nebula which harbor the building blocks of brand new stars, planets, and maybe even future life forms
- The origins and nature of the two main types of star clusters you can see with your telescope
- The three main galaxy shapes you’re likely to encounter, and what the shape of a galaxy tells us about its evolution, size, history, and eventual fate.
“I must say you offer a wonderful service to us mere mortals starting out on astronomy. I’ve been teaching basic astronomy for years but now I am actually learning new techniques and information, for my own benefit. Thanks for your help.” – B.F., New Zealand
And a Little Extra Each Month…
When you enroll in The Art of Stargazing, you’ll also receive fascinating “extras” each month, including mini-reviews of essential astronomy tools and apps… historical sketches of great discoveries and famous astronomers… and travel ideas for stargazers who wish to escape to pristine skies.
And unlike any other astronomy course (free or paid), you also get a private email address where you can ask questions about finding objects in the sky, equipment selection, or any other aspect of astronomy. Through this email address, I’ll be accessible to coach you through the program every step of the way.
Each month also includes a reminder of what you have learned so you can measure your progress from novice to seasoned stargazer. And you get full course notes each month in PDF and MP3 format to download to your computer.
You also receive short email reminders and suggestions of the finest sights in the heavens during the month. No long explanations… just a quick reminder to leave behind your earthly concerns for a few minutes and wander out to see some of the loveliest sights in nature… diamond-dust star clusters… ethereal stellar nurseries where new stars are being born… and a hundred other awe-inspiring sights visible from your own backyard.
As you advance through the program, you can invite your friends on a tour of the silver-white snowball of the Great Hercules cluster… guide your children or your grandchildren to the science and legends of the bright stars of Taurus and Orion on a crisp winter’s evening… and lie back and enjoy a meteor shower on a balmy summer night.
A Special Bonus…
I’ll show you how to get access to The Art of Stargazing in just a moment. But first let me share with you a special bonus you get when you enroll in the program: free access to the e-book Lunar Observing for Beginners.
This detailed work takes you on an astonishing journey through time and space that reveals the fascinating history of our Moon, from its cataclysmic beginnings more than 4 billion years ago, to its massive collisions with rogue asteroids, to the present day lunar surface with its austere “magnificent desolation” (in the words of astronaut Buzz Aldrin).
Along the way, you’ll learn to find nearly 200 distinct features on the Moon’s surface. All sights are visible with a small telescope during the Moon’s continuous month-long trip around the Earth.
The e-book comes in PDF format so you can download and review it at your leisure. It includes hundreds of close-up images, along with a full map of the Moon showing major features visible with binoculars, and a more extensive map showing more detail on the Moon’s surface, as well as the location of the landing spots of the manned Apollo missions.
Lunar Observing for Beginners sells for $39, but you get it free with The Art of Stargazing.
How the “The Art of Stargazing” Works…
When you enroll in The Art of Stargazing, you receive a password to access a special section of the One-Minute Astronomer website which hosts the program. Each month, I’ll send you an email with the link to web pages with the material for that month. The pages contain lessons, maps, videos, and all downloadable files you need to work through the material at your own pace, on your own terms.
You can access the material from anywhere in the world with an internet connection and download all material to your own computer or tablet if you wish. And you can ask questions during the program by email anytime.
One thing though… since everyone in this course has direct email access to me to ask questions, I need to strictly limit the number of students. Spots in this program are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and registration is available until March 15, 2013 or until the program is full. After that, access is closed.
How much will this cost? Well, a major British university charges more than $500 for a year-long introductory online astronomy course, and a well-known online Australian university charges more than $1,800 for a unit of study.
But I’m not charging anything near that. This year, enrollment in this comprehensive, professional-grade 12-month program costs just $19/month. That’s less than five bucks a week for twelve exhilarating and richly detailed installments that will help you build a lifelong skill and let you join a small group of your fellow humans who have, for a time, gazed into the true heart of nature on its grandest scale.
You can pay with a major credit card or with your PayPal account. Charges will be made automatically each month for the next 12 months. Once the program ends, charges automatically stop.
Of course, you have no obligation to finish the course and you can cancel payment anytime. And the bonus e-book Lunar Observing for Beginners is yours to keep just for trying this new program.
Available for a Limited Time Only
The great astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson said the most astounding fact about the universe is that we’re all made from stardust, from atoms cast off long ago by ancient stars. Which is why, I suppose, we’re compelled to look up and wonder about the universe and learn what we can about about the night sky and the amazing sights it holds.
The Art of Stargazing makes it easy for you to discover the night sky and see its wonders with your own eyes. This program breaks down the basics into bite-sized pieces each month… sky tours, observing techniques, and a little science to help you get started as an expert stargazer. And it will help you see unforgettable sights you will remember for the rest of your life.
But remember… The Art of Stargazing is only available until end-of-day on March 15, 2013, then it closes for good. So make sure you secure your spot right away, and prepare yourself to set sail on an extraordinary journey…
Clear Skies,
Brian Ventrudo, Ph.D.
Publisher, One-Minute Astronomer