It shows that they felt a vivid relationship between the macrocosm, the star world, and their microcosmic world on the plains. There was a constant mirroring of what is above by what is below. The very shape of the earth was perceived as resembling the constellations. The Lakota had a time-factored lifeway. The star knowledge helps us to understand this temporal spacial dimension more fully. We can see now that many Lakota activities were timed to mirror celestial movements. The stars were called, "The holy breath of the Great Spirit," the woniya of Wakarj tanka. Thus, when the Lakota observed the movement of the sun through their constellations, they were receiving spiritual instruction. Their observations when interpreted by Lakota Oral Tradition and their star and earth maps, told them what to do, where to do it and when. The Lakota correlated several of the constellations to specific sites in the Black Hills. For example, Harney Peak was associated with the Pleiades group which is called "The 7 little girls," wicirjcala sakowiq. Each spring when the sun moved into that constellation, the People understood this as sacred speech directing them to go to Harney Peak. Oral Tradition told them what ceremonies to do there. Traditional Lakota believed that ceremonies done by them on earth were also being performed simultaneously in the spirit world. When what is happening in the stellar world is also being done on earth in the same way at the corresponding place at the same time, a hierophany can occur; sacred power can be drawn down; attunement to the will of Wakan Tanka can be achieved.Our study of Lakota constellations and related matters has helped us to appreciate that the need which the Lakota felt to move freely on the plains was primarily religious. This is implicit in Red Cloud's last speech to the People...

    

    

    

    Literature GuidesCreated by Harvard students for students everywhere, SparkNotes is a new breed of study guide: smarter, better, faster.Geared to what today's students need to know, SparkNotes provides:chapter-by-chapter analysisexplanations of key themes, motifs, and symbolsa review quiz and essay topicsLively and accessible, these guides are perfect for late-night studying and writing papers.

    

    The book conveys a deep and coherent understanding of the stellar phenomena, and basic astrophysics of stars, galaxies, clusters of galaxies and other heavenly bodies of interest. Since the first appearance of the book in 1997, significant progress has been made in different branches of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The second edition takes into account the developments of the subject which have taken place in the last decade. It discusses the latest introduction of L and T dwarfs in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram (or H-R diagram). Other developments discussed pertain to standard solar model, solar neutrino puzzle, cosmic microwave background radiation, Drake equation, dwarf galaxies, ultra compact dwarf galaxies, compact groups and cluster of galaxies. Problems at the end of each chapter motivate the students to go deeper into the topics. Suggested readings at the end of each chapter have been complemented. Table Of Contents: Foreword ??? Preface ??? Preface to the First Edition 1.ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS 2.BASIC PHYSICS 3.MAGNITUDES, MOTIONS AND DISTANCES OF STARS 4.SPECTRAL CLASSIFICATION OF STARS 5.THE SUN 6.ATMOSPHERE OF STARS 7.BINARY AND MULTIPLE STARS 8.VARIABLE STARS 9.ERUPTING AND EXPLODING STARS 10.MORE STARS OF INTEREST 11.CLUSTERS AND ASSOCIATIONS OF STARS 12.GALACTIC NEBULAE 13.INTERSTELLAR MATTER 14.STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION OF STARS 15.NEUTRON STARS AND BLACK HOLES 16.OUR GALAXY 17.EXTERNAL GALAXIES 18.CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES 19.RADIO GALAXIES 20.QUASARS 21.COSMOLOGY 22.BIOASTRONOMY Index

    

    Through its long tradition and the expertise of more than 40 contributors, the Observer's Handbook has come to be regarded as the standard North American reference for data on the sky. The material in the Handbook is of interest to professional and amateur astronomers, scientists, teachers at all levels, students, science writers, campers, scout and guide leaders, as well as interested general readers. Sections dealing with astronomical events that occur during the current year. Information includes: * times of sunrise and sunset * moonrise and moonset (for latitudes 20 to 60 degrees N) * Moon phases and other lunar phenomenon * conjunctions, elongations, etc. of the planets * eclipses and transits * location of the planets and bright asteroids * returns of periodic comets * times of meteor showers * predictions of occultations by the Moon and by asteroids * the orbital positions of the brighter satellites of both Jupiter and Saturn * predictions of the cycles of many variable stars. There is a 24-page section called "The Sky Month By Month," which gives an extensive listing of events for each month of the year. The Observer's Handbook is an integral part of many astronomy courses at the secondary and university levels, and it should be on the reference shelf of every library. And, be sure to order the 2016 RASC Observer's Wall Calendar here on Amazon. A true astronomy calendar that belongs in every observatory.

    It begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein, before delving into the secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time, from the Big Bang to black holes, via spiral galaxies and strong theory. To this day, A Brief History of Time remains a staple of the scientific canon, and its succinct and clear language continues to introduce millions to the universe and its wonders.The Grand Design In The Grand Design, the most recent scientific thinking about the mysteries of the universe is presented in language marked by both brilliance and simplicity. Model dependent realism, the multiverse, the top-down theory of cosmology, and the unified M-theory - all are revealed hereBlack Holes: The Reith Lectures “It is said that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction, and nowhere is that more true than in the case of black holes. Black holes are stranger than anything dreamed up by science fiction writers.” In 2016 Professor Stephen Hawking delivered the BBC Reith Lectures on a subject that fascinated him for decades – black holes.

    A single volume that replaces the previous two-volume edition, Conics Books I-III and Conics Book IV, both by Apollonius of Perga.

    This is the first volume in a series that presents in-depth profiles of the notable stars and deep-sky objects already well known to amateur observers, as well as introductions to less familiar sights that are important to our current understanding of the Universe.

    

    

    Co-published by Grove's Dictionaries in association with the Nature Publishing Group, and the Institute of Physics Publishing, the Encyclopedia offers more than 2.5 million words, 2,750 original articles, commissioned specifically for this Encyclopedia. Presenting a wealth of scholarship, research, discovery, and theory, the Encyclopedia is essential for everyone who is fascinated by our universe.

    17 Page Booklet Big Problems with the Big Bang

    

    This is the second volume in a series that presents in-depth profiles of the notable stars and deep-sky objects by constellation. The individual features include deep dives into the story of objects already well known to amateur observers, as well as introductions to less familiar sights that are important to our current understanding of the Universe.

    

    It explains how digital cameras work and everything you need to know about how to take astrophotos with them. It also tells you how to process the images after you have shot them, with step-by-step directions that will produce beautiful results. With this book you will discover how easy it is to shoot the Sun, Moon, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and other celestial objects. Use your DSLR camera to shoot through your telescope. Determine the correct exposure and ISO to use for your astrophotos. Focus your camera for razor-sharp images. Take short exposures of deep-sky objects and combine them into a longer exposure. Shoot raw format images and improve them with support frames for calibration. Perform brightness, contrast and color correction. Correct uneven illumination and vignetting. More than 100 Minutes of video tutorials with step-by-step instructions for complete image procesing and enhancement of both JPEG and Raw images are included on the CD-ROM. The original image files used in the tutorials are also included for you to practice with. Low-noise DSLR cameras have opened up an exciting new world of digital astrophotography. These cameras are capable of taking remarkably beautiful images of celestial objects. With this book you can become a master at astrophotography with a DSLR camera!