Book Description

Sky to Space: Astronomy Beyond the Basics with Comparisons, Ratios and Proportions gets you started as a space explorer. This book shows you how to follow the clockwork motions of Earth's sky, then how to predict what you would see from our moon, other planets and moons in our solar system and other solar systems. It also gives you above-average insight into what's happening during the solar eclipses of 2017, 2020, 2023 and 2024. You'll get scientifically accurate results using pencil, paper and easier-than-you-think math. When you're done, you'll know: If you were on Jupiter, how large would Jupiter's moons appear compared to our moon in our sky? When asteroid Apophis comes near Earth in 2029, how close will it be compared to the distance to our moon? When space artist Chesley Bonestell painted his famous image of Saturn as seen from its moon Titan, how did he decide how big Saturn should appear in the frame of the picture? An extensive chapter on eclipses explains the movements of the moon and its shadow and shows you how to predict eclipses using the Saros cycle. Additional moon chapters include "Giant Moon," "Red Moon" and "Why Does the Moon Seem to Follow Your Car?" This book contains many project ideas. With a pencil, a ruler, and two coins, accurately draw the phase (crescent, quarter, or gibbous) of any moon or planet as seen from anywhere in a solar system. Figure out how far you must fly from Earth for our home planet to appear as a point of light. Use real data to predict how big one of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets would appear in the sky of one of its neighbors. The author is a planetarium director who brings you the benefit of many years' experience creating science activities for homeschoolers, out-of-school groups, adult enthusiasts, and public school enrichment programs. Science students looking for project topics, families looking for homeschool curriculum enrichment, amateur astronomers and model rocket flyers, adults learners and space cadets of all ages will find exciting new ideas in this book.