Whats the best way for a beginner to learn about the universe?

Question

Whats the best way for a beginner to learn about the universe?

Answer 1

Read Stephen Hawking book A Brief History of Time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Brief_His...

Answer 2

find the doctor :P oh i kid, i kid..

read books, 'a brief history of time' by hawking is pretty good for a beginner. michio kaku's book is also good, dont remember what it's called though.. 'parallel worlds' i think.

Answer 3

Look up.

Answer 4

Read books and magazines about astronomy, which are geared to beginners.  There are many.

Answer 5

Join an astronomy club or Google, Google, Google.

Answer 6

I learn mine from this book

One Universe: At Home In The Cosmos

http://www.nap.edu/html/oneuniverse/toc....

I read it from my library here. I don't expect you to buy one since its very expensive for a beginner. But try looking for it at your local library, if you can find it, its a very good book.

Answer 7

There is a great website I have found called Astronomy.com. There are over 100 podcasts on various astronomy and astronomy related topics. You can listen to these podcasts on your computer or download them into an MP3 player or iPod (sorry, no video). The hosts of this show are professional astronomers and to a great job on explaining things in simple terms. They have done shows exclusively dedicated from questions from high school students and have an educational link exclusively for that purpose. Additionally, there are show notes with each podcast that can point you to various websites if you wish additional information or want to do your own follow up research.

There is a mountain of information out there and it can be over whelming. I hope you find this helpful. It's a great place to start for a beginner.

Answer 8

Each Sunday, instead of going to church, take from your library shelf a book relating to one of the following subjects, reading it for at least two hours, going slowly so that you will understand everything on every page.

* Mathematics.

* Philosophy of science.

* Celestial mechanics.

* Thermodynamics.

* Nuclear physics & quantum mechanics.

* Cosmology & history of the universe.

* General relativity.

* Geology & comparative planetology.

* Biology, Zoology & history of life on Earth.

* Physical anthropology & the history of the primate order.

* Cultural anthropology & the history of the hominid family.

* History of civilization.

* The political history of the period from 1700 to the present, including the usually suppressed information pertaining to the Jews. Try to get beyond the Jewish-crafted comic book version of the histories relating to the American Civil War, to "High Finance" and banking institutions, to World War 2 and to Israel, to "racial equality," and to "democracy" in actual practice, and see the truth behind the lies in each case.

* The first three chapters of THE LIGHTNING AND THE SUN, by Savitri Devi.

http://www.savitridevi.org/lightning-01....

http://www.savitridevi.org/lightning-02....

http://www.savitridevi.org/lightning-03....

* WHICH WAY WESTERN MAN? by William G. Simpson.

http://www.amazon.com/Which-Western-Will...

* Current events against the background of all previously mentioned histories, finding significant ties into modern history, the history of civilization, the history of the hominids, and that of the primates, the history of the evolution of life, the history of the solar system, and the cosmological history of the universe.

* Predictions concerning the consequences of the depletion of fossil fuels, often referred to as the Peak Oil theory, which consequences seem likely to serve duty as Savitri Devi's Kalki, to end this degenerate age of Kali Yuga.

Every time you see an equation, ask yourself why its terms and factors and constants appear in it as they do, and learn to recognize when an equation is reasonable, and when it is not. (One test is to check the equation's dimensionality, but that's not the only such test. Learn to judge an equation for reasonableness for proportionality or exponentiality - doing that well requires some experience, though.)

After a few years of appropriate study, you'll be ready to understand what you can observe in nature about as well as almost anyone else can.

Answer 9

make it fun for them  

Answer 10

look up and wonder

or

google it

Answer 11

Is there a local Astronomy club in your area? Nothing beats geeks with laser pointers for inspiration :)

If you're old enough to travel or could get an interested adult to help it would even be worth a trip. If you could provide your general area perhaps we could help you search one out?