Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from ...

alternative to, 243–44
companies selling, 238–42
negative reaction to, 239–41
official, 237–38
Star of Bethlehem, 105, 106
stars, 87
binary, 75, 95, 100
catalogs of, 237–38
colors of (see star colors)
during daylight (see daylight star
sighting)
maps of, 236
in movies, 253
names of, 237–38
supergiant, 217
twinkling (see twinkling stars)
See also specific stars
Star Trek movies, 210, 228, 246, 248,
252–53, 254
Star Wars movies, 7, 30, 255
STS 48, 208–209
sulfuric acid, 181
Sun, 28, 29
appearing squashed, 44–45, 79
color of, 43–47, 100
looking at, during eclipses (see solar
blindness and eclipses)
magnetic field of, 198
seasons and, 48–56
stopping of, in the Bible, 176
tides and, 71–72
sundogs, 205
sunlight, 40
photon scattering of, 40–47
sunsets, red, 43–46
sunspots, 123, 124
supernova, 75, 193
creationism and, 198–200
Supernova 1987a, 235
superstitions, 126
“Survival Center” company, 131–32
Swayne, Dr. David, 15, 16
Swift Tuttle, comet, 135
INDEX 275
Taylor, Jane, 89
tectonic plates, 130
telescopes
adaptive optics and, 94–96
atmosphere and, 223–24
color of stars and, 97, 101–102
solar eclipses and, 123
twinkling stars and, 93–96
very large, 95, 227
See also Hubble Space Telescope
(HST)
temperature
of lunar surface, 165–67
seasonal, 49–56
of stars, 98–100
of Venus, 181
third quarter moon, 59, 60
three-dimensional space, 148–49
Thuban, 55
tidal bulge, 72–74
illustrated, 73
tidal evolution, 74
tidal force, 65
tides, 64–76
barycenter and, 67–68, 69
differential gravity and, 66–67
earth-moon rotation and, 72–74
elliptical orbits and, 71–72
galactic, 75–76
ground and, 70
humans and, 70–71
on Jupiter, 74–75
lakes and, 71
neap, 71
planetary alignment and, 129–30
spring, 71
sun and, 71–72
two high and two low, 64, 66–70
time and space, 149–50
Time/CNN poll, 156
Today show, 3–4
toilet flushing, direction of, 21–27
torque, 54