FireFly

Terence Dickinson

Terence Dickinson is a prolific science writer specializing in astronomy. More than one million copies of his 14 books are in print in five languages. His best-known book, NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe, is widely regarded as the essential guidebook for beginning stargazers. NightWatch, first published in 1983, now has over 600,000 copies in print, making it the top-selling stargazing guide in the world during the past 20 years. Each new edition has outsold the previous one because of extensive revisions and the addition of new material.

The new, fourth edition, available September 2006, has revisions in every chapter. The key feature of this classic title is the star charts that are cherished by backyard astronomers everywhere. NightWatch: Fourth Edition retains the famous charts and includes for the first time star charts for use in the southern hemisphere. There are also dozens of new photographs throughout that show the latest techniques and equipment used by backyard astronomers. In addition, Dickinson has added recent images from observatories and space probes, as well as more of his own celestial portaits taken from such prime astronomical sites as the deserts of Australia, Chile and Arizona.

Terence Dickinson's ability to simplify astronomical concepts and explain the universe in easily understandable terms has earned him a vast readership not only in North America, but internationally. Through his books and magazine articles, and as an invited speaker at more than 100 professional societies, universities, colleges, and astronomy conventions throughout North America, hundreds of thousands of would-be stargazers and naturalists have found a new appreciation for the wonders of the universe.

Mr. Dickinson is also editor of magazineSkyNews, Canada's national astronomy magazine, and a regular astronomy commentator on radio and television. As an accomplished astrophotographer, his photographs (he has taken over 10,000 photographs) have appeared in publications as wide-ranging as Australian Geographic and Reader's Digest. In 1994, the International Astronomical Union officially designated asteroid 5272 Dickinson in honor of his contributions to astronomy. He is the recipient of more than 12 national and international science writing awards, including the New York Academy of Science Book of the Year Award. In 1995, in recognition of his achievements in popularizing science, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2000 the US Postal Service featured one of his photographs of the moon on a stamp (click to view).

Terence Dickinson and his wife Susan live under dark night skies in rural eastern Ontario. A fully-equipped observatory he designed himself is just steps outside the house.

Books by Terence Dickinson

• 1971 Exploring the Moon and the Solar System, Copp Clark, Toronto (out of print)

• 1977 Sky Guide, Edmund, Buffalo, NY

• 1982 Mag 6 Star Atlas, Edmund, Buffalo, NY

• 1983 NightWatch, Firefly Books, Richmond Hill, Ontario. (Second Edition, 1989; Third Edition, 1998; Fourth Edition, 2006)

• 1985 Halley's Comet: Mysterious Visitor From Outer Space, Edmund (out of print)

• 1986 The Universe and Beyond, Firefly (Second Edition, 1992; Third Edition, 1999; Fourth Edition, 2004)

• 1987 Exploring The Night Sky, Firefly

• 1988 Exploring the Sky by Day, Firefly

• 1991 Backyard Astronomer's Guide, Firefly (Second Edition, 2002)

• 1993 From the Big Bang to Planet X, Firefly (out of print)

• 1994 Extraterrestrials, Firefly Books

• 1995 Other Worlds, Firefly Books

• 996 Summer Stargazing, Firefly Books

• 1997 Splendors of the Universe, Firefly Books (out of print)

Awards and Citations

• 2004 Honorary Doctorate from Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario

• 1998 Industry Canada's Michael Smith Award for Public Promotion of Science

• 1996 Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Klumpke-Roberts Award for "excellence in communicating astronomy to the public."

• 1995 Appointed by the Governor General as a Member of the Order of Canada

• 1994 International Astronomical Union committee on Minor Planet Nomenclature names Asteroid 5272 "Dickinson"

• 1993 Canadian Science Writers' Association Award: first place for Science and Technology writing

• 1992 Royal Canadian Institute's Sandford Fleming Medal for "Outstanding Contributions to Public Understanding of Science"

• 1990 Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award for Exploring the Sky by Day

• 1989 Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Honour Book Award for Exploring The Night Sky

• 1988 New York Academy of Sciences' annual children's Science Book Award for Exploring The Night Sky

• 1986 Author's Award (Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters) first place for science writing

• 1985 Hughes Aerospace Astronomy Writing Award (international); first place

• 1984 Author's Award (Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters); first place for science writing

• 1983 National Magazine Awards (Canada); honourable mention for science/technology

• 1982 Author's Award (Foundation for the Advance of Canadian Letters); first place for science writing 1973 Hughes Aerospace Astronomy Writing Award (international); second place

Some useful sites:
(from Terence Dickinson's NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe):

Here are a few general websites that I have found are both well maintained and constantly useful. The list is short because a number of other websites have already been mentioned [in NightWatch]. Also, most astronomy buffs quickly develop specific interests that are catered to by more specialized sites.

cleardarksky.com ~ Will the sky be clear tonight? This outstanding site provides predictions for cloud cover over a location near you for the next 36 hours. This will likely become your most turned-to web page.

antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html ~ As the home of NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day, this site offers a new astronomical image everyday, along with a concise description. The pictures are often directly related to recent discoveries. The easily accessible archive contains thousands of images that can be searched by key words, making this an outstanding resource.

spaceweather.com ~ Up-to-date information on meteor showers, comets, auroras, solar flares—in short, any changing phenomena relatively near Earth.

jpl.nasa.gov/news ~ This NASA site is dedicated to stories and news items about robotic planetary missions.

hubblesite.org/newscenter ~ The latest Hubble Space Telescope photographs and news releases are posted here.

heavens-above.com ~ This excellent website provides the times and sky locations of all moderately bright Earth satellites passing over your area. Simply load your latitude and longitude, and the list appears.

universetoday.com ~ This fine website is loaded with news reports and images of recent astronomical discoveries.

As in all hobbies, there are Internet astronomy chat sites where like-minded people exchange views and ask or answer questions.

—excerpt from NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe