Rough automatic draft, low quality: expect mistakes and awkward wording. It will be replaced by a better translation. Original →
58
There is no need to prove what role astronomy played in the development of human culture: The starry sky is a clock, a calendar, and a compass. Having learned the laws of planetary motion, people discovered the laws of mechanics, and by studying the stars, they understood the laws of the evolution of matter in the Universe and its structure. Forming a materialist worldview, astronomy has always been the arena of sweeping ideological battles between science and the church. Until now, astronomy brings us amazing discoveries. The space age has illuminated interest in the starry sky in a new way.
Any astronomy studies begin with familiarity with the starry sky, with the ability to recognize constellations and the brightest stars. The movement of the celestial sphere, the change in the appearance of the starry sky at different heights and at different times of the year - all this needs to be understood when taking the first steps in astronomy. This goal is perfectly served by the very good book by G. Ray, recently translated into Russian *). Like many other books, it is intended for the first star of the sveb, but differs in that this first star was very sharp.
*). G. Ray. “Stars”. Publishing house “Mir”, 1969.
tel. If usually authors limit themselves to indicating the brightest stars and the most noticeable constellations, then Ray describes the constellations in their entirety. He connects the stars of the constellations with lines in a new way so that the resulting figure more accurately matches the named constellations. We recognized two people in the constellation Gemini, and a visible whale fish in the constellation Cetus. At the same time, weak stars are also included in the constellation queue, which usually escape the blame. This has its own difficulty. Because of the great difference in the rage of the starry sky, to see in the sky those witty figures that appear so clearly in the book, Bright stars impose on the eye another figure. This especially applies to the bright city sky, where stars of the fourth magnitude are practically invisible.
After a detailed description of the constellations, the book provides a series of maps of the starry sky at different times of all twelve months of the year. All maps are given in two forms: with regular constellations and “blind”, which makes it easier to fill in the picture of the starry sky.
The second part of the book explains the principles and patterns of movement of the firmament, the change in the nature of the movement of stars at different points, the movement of the Sun along the zodiac belt, sidereal and solar time. Anyone who begins the exciting activity of studying the starry sky, guided by Ray’s book and his advice to leave the house as often as possible and look at the sky, will very soon feel like a competent amateur astronomer.
Ray does not recommend using binoculars, believing that they get in the way when getting to know other constellations. But we think that binoculars are useful during the first observations, especially in urban conditions, where it is almost impossible to do without binoculars. Just don’t close the binoculars on the tripod, but hold them in your hands, then the limited field of view will not be an obstacle to viewing large areas of the sky.
The book is intended to be observed with the naked eye. There is no description of double stars, star clusters, or nebulae. For the next step into astronomy, already with the help of a telescope, it is necessary to supplement with other books, but those for whom Ray’s book will become the first guide will undoubtedly end up with a good teacher.
G. I. Kosourov.
59
Hercules (man with a club)
Pegasus (winged horse)
Whale
Constellation images - old (left) and drawn by P. Peem (right). The stars are the same, only the line connecting them is different.