Cruise Ship Astronomy and Astrophotography

Enrich your next sea vacation with this fun how-to guide to observing and doing astrophotography on water. Collecting together the author’s five decades of astrophotography and teaching experience, this book shares all the practical information you will need to start on your own astronomy adventure.

Part I is full of practical advice on what to pack, the best ways to enjoy the night sky from your cruise ship observatory, specific astronomical objects and events to look out for, and myriad other useful tips. Part II gives you a crash course on astrophotography at sea, teaching you the nitty-gritty details of taking pictures of the night sky. Proof that it can be done is provided by the many amazing color astrophotographs taken by the author while following the steps laid out in this book.

Dedication.- Acknowledgements.- - Author's Note.- Preface.- Part 1:Cruise Ship Astronomy.- Chapter 1: Cruise Considerations and What To Pack Astronomy-Wise.- Chapter 2: Big Bang to Homo Erectus to Multi-Messenger Astronomy.- Chapter 3: Using Your Ship-Observatory at Sea.- Chapter 4: The Sky - Location, Location, Location.- Chapter 5: The Sun, Sunsets, Sunrises and Other Sun Stuff.-  Chapter 6: The Stars.- Chapter 7: The Milky Way and Other Galaxies.- Chapter 8: The Planets.- Chapter 9: The Moon.- Chapter 10: Eclipses.- Chapter 11: Spotting the International Space Station and Satellites.- Chapter 12: Asteroids and Comets, Meteor Showers and Falling Stars, Fireballs and Bolides.- Chapter 13: Auroras and Other Glows in the Sea and Sky.- Part II: Astrophotography At Sea.- Chapter 14: Yes, It Can Be Done and What You Will Need to Do So.- Chapter 15: Redfern’s Rules of Astrophotography At Sea.- Chapter 16: About Your Photo Studio - Ship Tips.- Chapter 17: Taking What the Sea, Sky and Ship Will Give You.- Chapter 18: Process, Post and Print.- Chapter 19: Moving the Astrophotography Bug Ashore.- Appendix: Suggested Reading and Internet Sites.- About the Author.- Index.

Greg Redfern, known on twitter as “@SkyGuyinVA,” has been an adjunct professor/instructor of astronomy for five different colleges since 1984. As a NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador since 2003, he has shared NASA's missions to the solar system with many audiences in person as well as on air with Voice Of America (VOA) International, Fox 5 WTTG TV, NBC4 Washington, CBS News and WJLA7. Since 2006, he has been the space reporter for WTOP Radio and WTOP.com.

Greg's daily astronomy blog, "What’s Up?: The Space Place” has had over 2.9 million views from around the world. As a writer, he has authored numerous articles for Sky and Telescope, Meteorite Magazine, Skywatch and a number of newspapers, including Gannet and USA Today.

Greg has been observing and photographing the sky for over five decades and collecting meteorites for years. He has used telescopes of all kinds and visited observatories, NASA facilities, and geological sites all over the world. His astrophotographs have appeared online on NASA.gov, MSN.com, the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, Earth and Sky.org, The Planetary Society, Space.com, Universe Today, and other online publications. For years, cruise ship guests and visitors to Shenandoah National Park have enjoyed Greg’s presentations, where he mingles the folklore and science of the stars.