Stikky night skies: learn 6 constellations, 4 stars, a planet, a galaxy, and how to navigate at night in one hour

242 Pages·2006·7.717 MB·English

by  Shannon, Cate

Stikky Night Skies
™
LEARN 6 CONSTELLATIONS, 4 STARS, A PLANET, A GALAXY, AND
HOW TO NAVIGATE AT NIGHT—IN ONE HOUR, GUARANTEED.
LAURENCE HOLT BOOKS
New York
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any
portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now
known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © 2003–2006 by Laurence Holt Books, Inc.
Cover design and illustrations by Cate Shannon
ISBN: 978-1-4976-8916-9
Laurence Holt Books, Inc.
303 Park Avenue South, #1030
New York, NY 10010
www.stikky.com
Distributed by Open Road Distribution
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
w ww.openroadmedia.com
What this book is about
Stikky Night Skies uses a unique learning method to introduce anyone who is interested to the
stars of the night sky, step-by-step.
Each step builds on what came before and r ein forces it. • Sequence Two builds on what you have learned in
That way, by the time you reach the end of the book, Sequence One, adding constellations Cygnus, Taurus
you will be confident in finding your way around much and the Pleiades, stars Sirius and Vega, and the Milky
of the sky. Way galaxy. Ideally, you should leave a few days, but
no more than a week, between completing Sequence
Still more exciting, what you learn will serve as
One and reading Sequence Two.
‘hooks’ that you can hang future learning on.
• The Epilogue, a special feature of Stikky books,
The book also teaches you how to find which direction
brings together everything you have learned and
is north by reading the stars, so you will be able to
reinforces it in some new and unfamiliar situations.
navigate at night without a compass.
Again, you should leave a few days between complet-
Stikky Night Skies has four parts: ing Sequence Two and reading the Epilogue.
• Sequence One introduces the constellation Orion • If, by the end of the book, you are hungry to find out
and its famous star Betelgeuse, constellations Cas- more, as we hope you will be, you will find dozens of
siopeia and the Big Dipper, and tells you where things to explore in the Next Steps section.
to look for planets in the sky. It also teaches you
You can skip to the Next Steps section at any time, of
how to find the star Polaris and use it to figure out
course, but the rest of the book only makes sense if read
which way is north. You should read this sequence
in order: Sequence One, Sequence Two, Epilogue.
in one sitting if possible.
How to read this book
Learning with Stikky Night Skies may be different from how you are used to learning.
Please read this page carefully.
First, read Sequence One which runs from the next page Most importantly, by turning this page you prom-
to the Pause point on page 121. That should take only ise yourself that, when asked a question in the
30 minutes (but don’t worry if it takes longer). text, you will not flip ahead until you have tried
to answer it.
We find people get more out of the book if they stop
there and practice what they have learned in the real (Flipping backwards to review pages you have
night sky. We’d like you to do the same. already covered is fine.)
Then, after a few days, read Sequence Two. If you Keep this promise and what you learn will stick.
are away from the book for more than a week, you
may find it helpful to review some of Sequence One
Sequence One
before starting Sequence Two.
To get the most from Stikky Night Skies:
• Relax and take your time
• Don’t worry about taking notes
• Don’t worry about memorizing anything
• Try to avoid being interrupted.
Sequence One
E
N
O
1
Take a look at the
night sky.
E
N
O
2
It has followed you
your whole life.
E
N
O
3
Brilliant minds
throughout history have
E contemplated it.
N
O
Ptolemy, Galileo,
Newton, Einstein.
4
For thousands of years, long
sea journeys were impossible
without it. E
N
O
One type of finch even
appears to navigate by it.
5