Tal 1 Backyard M16 day moon16 day moonn 16 day moon

INDEX to all BACKYARD MOON pages


Links to other sites, Books, Software etc.

Books   Societies   Software   Courses    Atlases   Fun things to try

Books, software, societies, and other lunar-related links

all at your own risk  - always keep your anti-virus/firewall up to date

Astronomy societies and interest groups

The Society for Popular Astronomy has been around for over 50 years.  It has a LUNAR SECTION run by Peter Grego (see also Books)

and has a members forum.

www.popastro.com/

Yahoo Lunar-observers group - with Chuck Taylor

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lunar-observing/

Lunar Photograph of the Day - with Charles Wood

LPOD - Lunar Photo of the Day

Lunar 100 - devised by Charles Wood - can see more via LPOD site above

A carefully selected list of 100 interesting places to look for on the Moon - excellent idea!  Accompanied by monthly articles by Dr Wood in Sky and Telescope

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Books on the Moon

Moon Observer's Guide                by Peter Grego                    published by Philips

Excellent book, packed with information, going through the main features day-by-day at the terminator, and lots more ... and another book on the way! Not expensive but very useful for observers.   Author writes the Moonwatch column in 'Astronomy Now' and edits the Popular Astronomy magazine


Peter's latest Moon book is now out 'The Moon - and how to observe it'  274pp published by Springer

I like this book very much - it has all sorts of information on the various measurements of the Moon, its origins, the fascinating comparisons with other moons, and a huge section going over the areas of the Moon in detail - plus lots more. Of interest to binocular/naked eye viewers is the section on the Lunar Showcase, a list of places to visit. The book complements both his Observer's Guide (see above) and Charles Wood's Modern Moon (see below) - these books along with Rükl's Atlas are my main guides to the Moon at present.

Check out his website for book details and SPA Lunar section information : www.lunarobservers.com

Patrick Moore on the Moon     published by Cassell and co.

Britain's best known astronomer's observational  book on the Moon (2001)

Discover the Moon                     by Jean Lacroux and Christian Legrand    published by Cambridge University Press

Clear, day-by-day explanations of the main features to be seen each day at the terminator.  Easy to use. 

The Modern Moon - a personal View      by Charles Wood

Finally tracked it down in the UK from SCS Astro. Expensive - but excellent.  Written with authority by someone who has spent many years studying the Moon and  its geology.   Pleasurable reading.  Author writes Lunar column in 'Sky and Telescope' magazine

Atlas of the Moon   by Antonin Rükl

I've frequently use maps by Rukl that come in other books - this Atlas gives the beautifully drawn maps in a bigger format - sometimes too big for my small telescope.  Fairly expensive but a beautiful, useful atlas.


Free!! Photographic Moon Book     by Alan Chu

Free pdf files totaling over 90 pages, lots of photographs and information 

http://moonbook.hkas.org.hk

Free!! Geologic History of the Moon    by Don Wilhelms

Large book, serious geology, very interesting, very big - available in  pdf chunks

http://cps.earth.northwestern.edu/GHM/

Observing the Moon   by John Folkes - published by Collins

Slim (64 pages) beginner's book .  Gives  practical data on telescopes, eye relief etc.  Has libration charts (till 2007 in mine).  But most of the book concerns 31 'objects' for you to find through the moon's sequence - with detailed, delicate drawings for each. I've seen copies in the remainder shops - a bargain!!

Other Astronomy Books

The Amateur Astronomer   by Patrick Moore

 

Turn left at Orion     by Guy Consolmagno and Dan M. Davies

 

A Guide to the Stars, Constellations and Planets    by Antonin Rukl

 

Free downloads!!            If you are just starting out and the universe seems  rather large, you might like some suggestions on what to look for or where to start.  Check out the excellent Irish Astronomy Pages - they have downloadable projects on "110 Binocular Objects Challenge", "Novice Observers Challenges", and "Messier Objects Observing Challenge" and there is a list of Irish Astronomy Clubs to join if you live over there

Also see Lunar 100 further up this page

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Software

Free!!                 Moontool

http://www.fourmilab.ch/moontoolw/

Neat little program by John Walker which sits on your toolbar and shows the phase of the moon each day - this link is for the Windows version but look at the website for possible other platforms

Free!!                VMA - Virtual Moon Atlas           New version of this wonderful free package now online - October 2005

http://www.astrosurf.com/avl/UK_index.html

Excellent atlas of the moon, shows each day of the terminator, can choose dates, enlarge images ... and much more ... by Christian Legrand and Patrick Chevalley

Free!!                Lunar programs 

http://www.baalunarsection.org.uk/

from the British Astronomical Association Lunar Section - plus other photos, information ... includes DOS programs to work out a variety of  information on the Moon - eclipses, rise/set, features to be seen, librations etc.

Free Demo!!               LunarCalc by Alistair Ling

http://www3.telus.net/public/aling/lunarcal/lunarcal.htm

Great program with lots of ephemeris details, libration, terminator features and much more - even more stuff if you register

Free!! from NASA      World Wind Moon  (may be better if you have broadband)

http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/

Cruise over the surface of the moon at satellite height.  See the geographical features with the USGS maps - high places, low spots;  fly round the far side;  see the Clementine features.  Comes with the satellite viewing of the Earth.  Great fun!!

 
For software to enhance your viewing of the Planets see the Planets page

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Maps and Atlases

Virtual Moon Atlas      see above - excellent - download a copy NOW

 

Lunar Orbiter        The Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon by Bowker and Hughes (NASA SP-206)

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/research/lunar_orbiter

Consolidated Lunar Atlas          Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon This online version of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) atlas presents global photographic coverage of the Moon. The images are searchable by name, coordinate range, ...
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/cla/
U.S. Geological Survey - gazetteer with lots of searchable databases

http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/

The Apollo Image Atlas  -  a collection of photographic images of the moon taken during the Apollo Saturn missions.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/apollo/

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Courses on Astronomy

OU

The Open University does several astronomy short courses (as well as longer ones) for example:

  • Introduction to Astronomy
  • Understanding Mars
  • The Planets
  • How the Universe Works

http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/classifications/science_where_to_start_in_science_page.shtm

 

Charles Wood - former NASA scientist and author (see Books) - writes the lunar column in Sky and Telescope, runs Lunar Picture of the Day website Lunar Photo of the Day

This is the only course I've seen so far that is just for Lunar Observers.  It can be done online.

"The Geology of the Moon short course is designed for amateur astronomers, teachers, space engineers and media folks who want to understand more about the Moon and its history. I assume students have no background relating to the Moon, astronomy or geology - this is a non-mathematical treatment and there are no pre-requisites other than interest. And there are no tests, grades or academic credit. A certificate of completion will be offered to everyone who finishes the course."

http://cwm.lpod.org/LunarCourse/lunar-geology-course.htm

 

Jodrell Bank and Manchester University

Distance Learning Courses in Astronomy

"The Jodrell Bank Observatory of the University of Manchester offers a number of accredited part-time distance learning courses in astronomy. Courses consist of 12-24 weeks of part-time home study and lead to the award of Certificates of Credit which can count towards higher awards."

http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/distance/

 

University of Central Lancashire

Introduction to astronomy

"...provides an introduction to modern astronomy. You will study both observational and theoretical aspects. including the night sky, telescopes, stars, stellar lifetimes and energy sources, galaxies  and cosmology.  You do not need to have your own telescope or binoculars to complete this module. Students are invited to an optional weekend course at the University's Alston Observatory"

http://www.studyastronomy.com/publicity/portfolio1.htm

 

Liverpool John Moores

Exploring the Universe - an introduction to Astronomy

"This course is a multimedia astronomy course, using interactive CD-ROM material, videos and photographic film material, which you can do at home for University credit. The course is delivered in two modules, each lasting about four months. The first module covers the scientific, historical and cultural basis for modern astronomy and the second module covers the wider universe outside our solar system. In addition to a detailed knowledge of astronomy, the course will enable you to become familiar the use of the world-wide web and image processing."

http://www.livjm.ac.uk/learning/postgrad/science/astrocpd/default_17865.asp

 

This site shows the UK courses for several UK universities (as above)

http://www.astronomy.ac.uk/

 

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