Books
The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H.A. Rey (Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, 1997)
This book is an excellent introduction to learning to identify bright stars and all the constellations. It includes lots of star maps and tables on where to look for the planets for each month through the year 2006.
Turn Left At Orion by Guy Consolmagno (Published by Cambridge Univ. Press, Third Edition, Cambridge, MA, Nov. 2000)
This book contains viewing tips as well as clear instructions on how to find 100 interesting night-sky objects. It also offers realistic sketches of what you will see in the eyepiece.
Nightwatch by Terence Dickinson (Published by Firefly Books; 3rd edition; November, 1998)
Excerpt from review on Amazon.com:
Terence Dickinson covers all the problems beginners face, starting
with the fact that the night sky does not look the way a modern city-dweller
expects. He discusses light pollution, how to choose binoculars and telescopes,
how to pronounce the names of stars and constellations, telescope mounts,
averted vision, and why the harvest moon looks especially bright. Most
of the lovely photographs in the book were taken by amateurs, which gives
the section on astrophotography a particularly inspirational gleam.
The star charts are very handy, each covering a reasonable field
of view and mapping the most interesting amateur objects. He gives good
advice for planet watching, which he notes "is one of the few astronomical
activities that can be conducted almost as well from the city as from dark
rural locations."
A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets by Donald H. Menzel and Jay M. Pasachoff (Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, 1983)
This book is an observers guide to the sky. It provides lots of
information on the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars. There are many
star maps and pictures as well as a glossary and a bunch of tables of information
at the end of the book.
Internet Web Sites
Yahoo! Astronomy links - provides a list of Web sites to find more information
on lots of different astronomy and space topics.
http://dir.yahoo.com/science/astronomy/
Earth & Sky Skywatching Center - contains information on interesting
things to see in the night time sky for each day of the month.
http://www.earthsky.com/Features/Skywatching/
The Nine Planets – This site has at least a few words about each of the 70 planets and moons in the solar system plus the Sun. In addition to the usual pictures, there are also sounds, an occasional movie and links to many other related net resources. Each page has a few inline pictures and an extensive index of planetary pictures available elsewhere on the Net. The text is written for a general audience not necessarily knowledgeable in astronomy, but professional astronomers and planetary scientists may also find some interesting bits, too.
Heavens Above - enter in your location and this Web site will give you
information on when and where to look to see orbiting satellites as
they pass overhead (includes the Space Shuttle and the International Space
Station).
Location information for San Jose is:
Latitude = +37.256 North
Longitude = -121.889 West
Important !! When getting the listing of satellites, there are
two important columns to pay attention to. First, the "Mag." column
indicates the magnitude (brightness) of the satellite. The smaller
the number in the Mag. column, the brighter the satellite will be.
So, a magnitude 2.3 satellite will be brighter than a magnitude 3.4.
Second, the maximum altitude column is important. This column will
tell you how high up in the sky the satellite will pass. Unless you
have a clear view of the horizon, you should try to view satellites that
have maximum altitudes of 25 degrees or more. Views of satellites
lower than this may be blocked by houses or trees.
Sky & Telescope Magazine Online - this Web site gives lots of information about current astronomy news, buying & using telescopes, and monthly sky events.
Astronomy Magazine Online - includes most of the same type of information
as the Sky & Telescope Web site.
http://www2.astronomy.com/
Magazines
"Astronomy" - This magazine is a little less technical and is better for beginners.
"Sky & Telescope" - Includes more technical information, but still very useful for beginners.
These two magazines are very good resources. Each monthly issue
includes written articles on different astronomy topics; recent astronomy
news items; observing tips; a monthly sky map; information about watching
the Moon, planets, comets, and meteor showers; things to look for in the
sky during each month; astronomy book and software reviews; and news about
satellites and space missions. Subscriptions to these magazines is
expensive, but you can buy single issues at most book stores to try them
out. Also, check out the online versions of the magazines at the
Web site addresses provided above.