Books by Philip S. Harrington

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Astronomy For All Ages

The Deep Sky: An Introduction

Eclipse!

The Illustrated Timeline of the Universe

The Space Shuttle

Star Ware, 4th edition

Star Watch

Touring the Universe Through Binoculars

 

Star Watch

Chapter 3.  

 The Planets and Asteroids

 

 

Topics covered Chapter notes Recommended reading

Topics covered

 

The view of each planet in our solar system is discussed, including the following highlights:

  • Finding elusive Mercury

  • Viewing the phases of Venus

  • Observing Martian surface features

  • Viewing Jupiter's atmospheric belts and four major moons

  • Spotting Saturn's rings and moons

  • Finding Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

  • Tracking asteroids

  • Viewing comets

 

 

Chapter 3 notes

 

Recommended reading

    Books

    Web sites

  • Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO)

    • For observers who take their planet watching seriously.

  • Astronomical League's Asteroid Club

    • Observing award program for viewing 25 or more asteroids.

  • Astronomy Calculator

    • Clever website that lists the current month's Moon phases, the next lunar eclipse, the next meteor shower, and current celestial coordinates of the planets.  Time and date can be set by the user.

  • The Atmosphere and Observing

    • Insightful article by Damian Peach that discusses how the atmosphere affects seeing as well as ways to choose the best site to maximize atmospheric steadiness.

  • Comet information from the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams

    • News of discoveries, comet activity, and other information of interest to observers.

  • Comets and Meteor Showers

    • Author Gary Kronk's excellent resource for currently visible comets, meteor showers, as well as other related material.

  • Comet and Asteroid Ephemerides

    • From the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, a listing of positional data for  asteroids and comets.  Their annual "bright asteroid" data are especially suitable for binocular observers looking to create their own finder charts.  Data is also available for downloading into several popular planetarium programs, such as The Sky, Sky Map Pro, Megastar, and many others.

  • Juplet

    • Java applet that shows the current positions of Jupiter's four Galilean satellites.

  • Mars Observer's Toolkit

    • Excellent advice on how to get the most out of the 2003 opposition of Mars.

  • U.S. Naval Observatory Data Services

    • Customizable web site that will calculate times of moonrise and moonset, position and phase of the Moon, as well as positional data for other solar system members and bright stars.