From the dust jacket:
The eye is man's most important astronomical tool. The trained eye, together with a good measure of curiosity, is equipment aplenty for the interested sky watcher, and his discoveries will open up new worlds to him.
Finding direction and location is the first step. Everything in the sky can be located by giving its position with respect to the circle of the horizon. In order to locate an object, the observer must know not only its azimuth but also its altitude. With clarity and economy, this book gives directions for making an effective device for deter- mining both azimuth and altitude. The reader is also directed step by step so he can make sundials and other pieces of apparatus.
And now come the observations: about the sun, moon, planets, stars, constellations, comets, meteors and meteorites, and man-made satellites.
There are many basic charts to which the observer can add his own observations.
Dr. Branley's clear, readable text has an intoxicating quality. The experiments, all easy to follow and requiring only the simplest household equipment, lead the reader into a world of beauty and boundlessness. After doing them he will have a better understanding of the planet on which he lives and the solar system of which our planet is a part.
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