2024 has brought Pittsburgh more than a few reasons to look up. In April, many donned their protective glasses or homemade pinhole viewing devices to watch an eclipse. Earlier in October, Pittsburghers had the opportunity to see both the Northern Lights as well as a comet with the naked eye.
As winter approaches, there are even more reasons for Pittsburghers to explore the wonders of space. Stargazers often believe that winter is the best time to start stargazing. The longer nights and clearer skies mean that even if your view isn’t perfect, you can often see more stars and celestial objects than usual.
To welcome this stargazing season, the library is also hosting Diane Turnshek, a lecturer in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh, to speak on The Future of Astronomy.
In addition to lecturing at universities, Turnshek runs the Astronomy Public Lecture Series at Allegheny Observatory, a great spot to catch more lectures on astronomy, as well as gaze through the observatory’s telescope. Turnshek’s love of both astronomy and science fiction led her to crew the Mars Desert Research Station (featured in the documentary “Above and Below”), where she turned her attention to dark sky advocacy and earned an International Dark Sky Association’s Defender Award.
Her event in the library will include information on light pollution, what the future of astronomy holds for citizen science and understanding of our universe.
Have we got you in the mood to check out some astronomy-related titles yet? The short booklist below includes several guides to astronomy, the stars and stargazing, plus several non-fiction titles on famous astronomers, discoveries, and telescopes.
- 50 Things to See in the Sky by Sarah Barker
- Under Alien Skies – A Sightseer’s Guide to the Universe by Philip Plait
- The Practical Astronomer by Will Gater
- The Darkness Manifesto – On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms That Sustain Life by Johan Eklöf
- Dante and the Early Astronomer – Science, Adventure, and A Victorian Woman Who Opened the Heavens by Tracy Daugherty
- Ripples in Spacetime – Einstein, Gravitational Waves, and the Future of Astronomy by Govert Schilling
- Spirits Dancing – The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge, and Living Connections to the Cosmos by Travis Novitsky
- Voyager – Constellations of Memory by Nona Fernández
- The Telescope in the Ice – Inventing A New Astronomy at the South Pole by Mark Bowen
If you’d rather cozy up inside and explore the night sky through the eyes of a fictional character’s story, check out these titles:
- Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin
- The Stargazer’s Sister by Carrie Brown
- How to Tell Toledo From the Night Sky by Lydia Netzer
- The Movement of Stars by Amy Brill
- We Can Save Us All by Adam Nemett
- The Music of the Spheres by Elizabeth Redfern
- The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick