Sets out a simple month-by-month program to reveal all of the night sky's biggest and most
beautiful secrets in just one year - and with only a few hours of stargazing each month By
investing just an hour a week and $50 in binoculars it's possible to learn a few simple
techniques and quickly gain a real insight into the night sky's ever-changing patterns - and
what they tell us about Earth the seasons and ourselves. Searching more for a learned
appreciation of nature and our exact place within the cosmos than academic scientific knowledge
science and travel writer Jamie Carter takes the reader on a 12 month tour of the night sky's
incredible annual rhythms that say so much about Earth. During the journey he learns about the
celestial mechanics at work in the skies above that are - to the beginner - almost beyond
belief. As well as the vital constellations and clusters and the weird and wonderful nebulas
he searches out dark sky destinations across the globe that help increase knowledge and give a
new perspective on familiar night sky sights. On the journey he witnesses a solar eclipse and
grapples with star-charts binoculars smartphone apps telescopes spots satellites and
attempts basic astro-photography. By year's end the reader will be able to glance at the night
sky from anywhere on the planet and tell what direction he or she is facing what time it is
where all the planets are and even where the Galactic Center Point is.
