Product Description
I have written and organized this book with the intention of speaking directly to the reader who is not only interested in astronomy, but has been directly involved with this fantastic hobby for quite awhile.

As I wrote this book I felt a need to not only express my desire to share my observations with you, but also to try and make you understand why the science of astronomy has been so important to mankind since its first conception in the minds of early man. By doing this, I felt that you could understand why the history of not only the objects that will be discussed in the following chapters of this book, but the history of those observers who came before you, and why it was so important in the understanding of exactly what it is that you will be observing.

Take for instance the first chapter titled “Ancient Sky Watchers.” This chapter deals with the way ancient people viewed the night sky, and why these discussed objects were so important to them. For you see to these people the objects that we so avidly take for granted, and view as only magnificent marvels placed in the sky for our enjoyment, meant life or death to these people. The critical rising or setting of certain stars or constellations told the ancients when the crops in the field should be planted or harvested. The accurate placement of certain stars dictated where the animal herds would be from one season to the next, and also was crucial to the actual placement of buildings that were the foundations of great empires, and to some such as the Greeks, this celestial understanding outlined their very existence. So you can see that these mere points of light in the sky were?and still are?the building blocks of humanity itself.