I require a bit of assistance...

[Mike Kovich]

As some of you may or may not have noticed, I am only thirteen. I am profoundly intelligent and plan on being a scientist or engineer in the future. Some of you may have read my very few posts but in conclusion, I am asking for some help. I want to learn about space and things in that area but the things they teach us in school are not informative and are basically insignificant pieces of information. Where should I begin to learn about space/astronomy? I have no idea where to find information on this subject but it is of an immense importance to myself. Please extend any assistance you can.

Thank You,

Mike

[mezarashi]

Thirteen is such a young age. I remember wanting to become an astronaut at that age, although my plans of obviously changed dramatically since ;P. There is alot more to science and engineering than just astronomy, but I guess that is what you are interested in at the moment. Strictly in the field, this can lead to graduate work in cosmology and astrophysics.

 

For what you can do now is probably pick up as many books as you can in the library. Join clubs and activities that can enable you to learn. The astronomy club, electronics club, math club . I remember my astronomy club in high school had an optional astrophysics component organized by our club advisor that was reasonably challenging. Some high schools will also have an astrophysics 'introduction' in their courses. The problem with tackling these topics so early on is that you need mathematics before they can become enjoyable. The unforunate thing is that the mathematical difficulty increases exponentially once you enter college. But that doesn't stop you from becoming an expert at the simpler things like remembering every constellation for a particular day... atleast for now. There's quite a lot you can learn from just observing the night sky.

[Mike Kovich]

I am not only interested in astronomy but thats what I decided to work at first. I wanted to learn about space and such and then move to other subjects. Around my area we do not have things like math, science, and electronics clubs, because no one around here is interested in that stuff except me... I think I will take your advice though and start getting some books, ill do that tomorrow I have been interested in science, engineering, and technology for as long as I can remember. Well if anyone else has some ideas I would enjoy reading them.

[The Peon]

You can build a treasure trove of knowledge by simply reading. I cannot express it in any other way then to be envious of the opportunity todays youth have in gaining knowledge compared to when I was younger. Librarys combined with careful internet usage, one can achieve great feats of know how rapidly with enough determination.

 

Good Luck!

[Mobius]

I recommend Martin Rees' Before the beginning

 

Although the book (in my oppinion) lacks excitement, it is a very good read to introduce concepts (pretty much all of them) in astronomy and cosmology.

 

I did research in cosmology in college and I know how confusing it can be to get introduced to all the theories in cosmology. This book would have been a great help.

 

Martin Rees himself is Britian's Astronomer Royal so is well qualified to talk about space.

[[Tycho?]]

http://www.wikipedia.com type in whatever you want, read the articles, follow links, you'll learn a lot.

 

And be modest. Saying you are profoundly intelligent does little other than to make you sound like an arrogant jerk. You may indeed be quite intelligent, and probably are if you are asking these kind of questions at that age (I know I was). But be modest and you'll get much better reactions from people.

[Bettina]

Although [Tycho?] came on a little strong with the word "arrogant jerk" he has a point. Telling everyone how intellegent you are can, and will, turn some people off.... Not the way to get help.

 

And I see your using Muldermans avitar.... Although its accepted, you should post your own. I always associate the avitar with the person.

 

As far as help......you came to the right place. I like wikipedia...

 

Bettina

[[Tycho?]]

Although [Tycho?] came on a little strong with the word "arrogant jerk" he has a point. Telling everyone how intellegent you are can' date=' and will, turn some people off.... Not the way to get help.

 

And I see your using Muldermans avitar.... Although its accepted, you should post your own. I always associate the avitar with the person.

 

As far as help......you came to the right place. I like wikipedia...

 

Bettina[/quote']

 

 

Ha, I wasn't actually calling him an arrogant jerk, I was just saying that he came off as one from that one sentance.

 

And I approve of getting your own avatar, but thats if you plan on sticking around here. Which I would reccomend. A lot of the stuff discussed here has a pretty steep learning curve, but its a great place to ask specific questions that might be hard to find in books. Just dont expect to learn everything straight from the forum though.

[Mike Kovich]

Thank you everyone! I intend on purchasing that book and taking all of your adivce. This thread was very helpful!

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I would suggest reading The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene. You may get lost after the first few chapters, but keep trying and you'll learn a lot. It covers a lot of physics and even quantum physics, which you may find confusing. It is confusing, but you can understand it if you try hard enough.

 

The key to understanding this book is to keep re-reading and read carefully. That's what I had to do.

[arkain101]

You can search the internet and read and learn. Each thing you can learn can lead you to the next thing to the next thing.

here is a fairley strait forward informative site. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/html/home.html on space and that sort of thing.

[YT2095]

do a google search for "Patrick Moore" astronomy (he`s one of my Heros), I think you`ll find most of the sites that google pops up will be of some interest to you

 

this is a program he presented for years:http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/spaceguide/skyatnight/

 

he`s also writen quite a few books too!

[Mobius]

Hmmm, haven't read Brian Greene's Fabric of the cosmos, but Greene is a string theorist so I would recommend a more conventional introduction to cosmology before moving on to the more modern theories.

 

I did read the Elegent Universe. I have to say Brian Greene is a very good writer and makes his work in string theory accessable and exciting, but he tends to keep things vague perhaps to spare his readers from the very difficult maths behind the theories. His explanation of General relativity and quantum mechanics is very good.

 

If you want a history of ideas about the cosmos read Dennis Danielson's The book of the cosmos

 

If you are a bright spark, you may want to challenge yourself with a bit of maths behind the theories. This is a good book but it is fairly complex in maths and physics for people who have not been exposed to it before, but it is a good reference book all the same. Roger Penrose's Road to reality.

[cpwmatthews]

I am not only interested in astronomy but thats what I decided to work at first. .

 

At such a young age

You have all the hours to learn about life,

All it minutes to reflect on what you have learnt,

And all it's seconds to change your mind.

 

I think it is better not to set boundarys so young but to embrace every bit of knowledge that comes your way.

[LucidDreamer]

You could try reading some of Carl Sagan's books. Most of his books are interesting and easy to understand. His books are not really up to date though, but since he didn't present a lot of cutting edge material I think it should still be ok.

 

Also, you could ask for a telescope for Christmas or your birthday