(Part 2) Top products from r/spaceporn

Great, glad you find it useful. I cannot recommend it highly enough - it's very soul-enriching, especially in the modern technology age where it's about cramming as many megapixels of saturated color into your retina as quickly as possible. If you are fortunate enough to live in an area with low light pollution, you should definitely consider taking it up!

There are many excellent books out there, and also a pair of good binoculars cannot be beat (like a solid pair of 10x50s from an astronomical manufacturer like Meade or Celestron). For alignment, you can get one of the fancy GPS-guided "go-to" telescopes, or you can get an old school Tel-rad. My favorite books for learning the hobby when growing up were the Peterson's Field Guide to Stars & Planets, the Backyard Astronomer's Guide by Terence Dickinson, and a couple of books on star-hopping. There may be better ones now, definitely check Amazon. I also find the various tablet "Virtual Sky" apps really fun, although you can't really take a tablet out with you because it'll ruin your night vision. Red marker + saran wrap + low power flashlight is the key.

And if you want a nice, easy-to-read and enlightening book to ground yourself in the rich history of several millennia of human astronomy, you should check out Timothy Ferris's Coming of Age in the Milky Way - it was accessible and engaging for me, even as a 13 year old.

I do have the 100mm 2.8L macro lens BUT if I could redo the purchase I wouldn't get the L series. It's a beautiful lens but it was just shy of a grand. I could have gotten the 100mm non L lens for half the price. I am a fan of the STM lenses and of course the USM lenses but I do shop with price considered now. The L isn't my first reason to look at a lens. Plus there are lots of lens rental websites so you can try before you buy or for using a lens once for vacation or something.

If you want to talk macro, PM me. I live macro photography. I'm no professional but I love seeing the details you miss all the time on small things. Super macro is also fun and quite challenging. http://digital-photography-school.com/super-macro-photography/

The prices have gone up a bit but still a decent price for what you get. I use my 100L fit family portraits too.

Non L is 600. Not cheap but not terribly expensive. It's an achievable goal if you really want it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004XOM3?cache=a0071f54bb81555881641ed403b15faf&pi=SX200_QL40&qid=1407817888&sr=8-2#ref=mp_s_a_1_2

Sure.

The gold standard in intro astronomy is the Big Orange Book by Carroll and Ostlie (orange standard?). Probably not the first book to read, but if you're serious about astronomy it's essential reading.

I really like the podcast Space Time with Stuart Gary. He basically goes over recent papers, but at a level that is very approachable for non-scientists.

You may get a lot out of a non-major intro textbook. I believe that John Fix's book is the one we use at my university. There are a number of intro texts out there, I'm not an expert on which is the best. But make sure it's not more than 5 or so years old, a lot has happened in the last few years.

Also, don't let the math scare you off. You need to learn calculus, and it was hard for me, too. But, you can definitely do it.

I hope that helps!

I had the opportunity to see the shuttle land in California when I was growing up there and to watch it launch when I was attending college in Florida. I recently read an outstanding book on the Shuttle program I would recommend to anyone who is interested.

Absolutely not, you can definitely see the milky way clearly in a lot of areas of the country. It's quite spectacular. Check out the light pollution map and find an area within a reasonable drive to head to to stargaze. Buy some nice binoculars ($50-$70) and a copy of Left Turn at Orion.

If you're ever able to visit west Texas, stay at a lodge or hotel near Fort Davis (we stayed at the Indian Lodge) and do all the tours and events at McDonald Observatory. There's enough for about two days' worth, and it's not very expensive. Do the private observing session ($50, 2-3 hours of amazing stuff to see through a 36" telescope with a dozen other people, book it early). Bring your binoculars and stargazing book and do your own stargazing at night. This is what got me into astronomy and drove me to build my own telescope!

Make sure you DO NOT go out there before or during a full moon. Optimal lunar cycle is somewhere between a few days after the full moon and no more than two or three days after a new moon. Anything else, and the moon washes out the whole damn sky.

This is also a cover of a pretty great book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Algebraist-Iain-M-Banks/dp/1841492299

Get the companion book! It's quite good and you'll probably enjoy it way more than I did.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Science-Interstellar-Kip-Thorne/dp/1494559390

If the Shuttle/Mir era interests you, Dragonfly is a must-read. It has a lot of inside stories of the people involved, and is a great technical and human drama.

http://www.amazon.com/Dragonfly-NASA-And-Crisis-Aboard/dp/0887307833

Any fluid conductor would do it. The sun's magnetic field is generated in hydrogen plasma, for instance.

15 Million Degrees: A Journey to the Centre of the Sun https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241963559/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rb2IDb78Z0DQJ
Really good, accessible book if you're interested.

My favorite fiction book about Europa, Galileo's Dream by KSR:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0553806599

Specs -

Celestron Advanced VX (available on Amazon).

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L (available on Amazon).

 

Credits -

Created by Mike Hollingshead for his website stormandsky.com

http://stormandsky.com/sky-tracker

Or Contact could happen. That would be sweet.

https://www.amazon.com/Skunk-Works-Personal-Memoir-Lockheed/dp/0316743003

It's mentioned in this. Well worth reading if interested in Lockheed's black project planes tested at area 51.

I'm new to amateur astronomy myself, and just ordered these binoculars after hearing good reviews.

Are there any ways to get long-exposure shots, or, pictures in general from using these?

Sorry if that's a stupid question, I've been interested in space all my life but am just now trying the optics out.

What actual research have you done, besides reading publications by The Creationists?

I actually just saw this image in Space: A Visual Encyclopedia

https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Explore-Uranus-Space-Launch/dp/0836881346

https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Landing-Hoax-Eagle-Landed/dp/1906512477
Read some books, you muppet
You’ve been brainwashed