               A S T R O N O M Y    T I L E S


The file ASTRONMY.TIL is a tile set for Mah Jongg 3.5
developed using the TILEMAKR utility bundled with the game
program package.  Kudos go to Nels Anderson for creating
such a great program suite.

The images on the tiles are objects, symbols and other
miscellany encountered by amateur astronomers in the pursuit
of their hobby.  I hope you enjoy using the tiles and who
knows...maybe you will get interested in amateur astronomy!


Description of the individual tiles

TILE IMAGE               REMARKS
------------------------------------------------------------
1    Ocular              More commonly known as an eyepiece
2    Binoculars          VERY useful to astronomers, despite
                         the proliferation of various
                         telescopes of all sizes
3    Flashlight          With a dull red lens, it doesn't
                         destroy the dark adaptation of the
                         eye
4    Diagonal            Also know as a "star diagonal",
                         this is useful in easing viewing
                         positions, especially on refractors
5    Solar eclipse       (Total) Just like last July...
6    Lunar eclipse       (Total) The moon does turn various
                         shades of red during this, due to
                         the Earth's atmospheric refraction
7    Spiral galaxy       Very impressive sight in a
                         telescope of any size
8    Comet               Relatively rare, but not too much
                         so!  Neat sight!
9    Focuser             Ocular goes in, the rest is self-
                         explanatory...
10   Equatorial mount    Allows the telescope on it to
                         accurately track the stars
11   Tripod              The whole shebang sits on this...
12   Finderscope         (Front view) Helps track down
                         fainter objects
13   Planetary nebula    Star atlas symbol for this type of
                         object
14   Globular cluster    Star atlas symbol for this type of
                         object
15   Open cluster        Star atlas symbol for this type of
                         object
16   Double star         Star atlas symbol for this type of
                         object
17   Big Dipper          Asterism in the constellation Ursa
                         Major
18   Teapot              Asterism in the constellation
                         Sagittarius
19   Orion               The bulk of this constellation
20   Lyra                The bulk of this constellation
21   Alpha               Greek letter, sometimes used in
                         star designations
22   Beta                Greek letter, sometimes used in
                         star designations
23   Lambda              Greek letter, sometimes used in
                         star designations
24   Phi                 Greek letter, sometimes used in
                         star designations
25   Variable star       Star atlas symbol for this type of
                         object
26   Bright nebula       Star atlas symbol for this type of
                         object
27   Black hole          Star atlas symbol for this type of
                         object
28   QSO (quasar)        Star atlas symbol for this type of
                         object
29   Barlow              A negative lens system used to
                         increase magnification
30   Telescope           (Front view) Looking right down the
                         business end of a reflector
31   Finderscope         (Side view)  Attaches to main
                         telescope
32   Off-axis guider     Sometimes used in astrophotography
33   Film                Often used in astrophotography (!)
34   Controller box      Used in astrophotography (controls
                         fine movements of telescope)
35   Green filter        Useful for planetary work, can
                         increase the contrast of Martian
                         surface features
36   Blue filter         Useful for planetary work, can
                         increase the visibility of features
                         on Jupiter, including the Great Red
                         Spot
37   Red filter          Useful for planetary work, can
                         increase the visibility of features
                         on Mercury by reducing the glare of
                         the sunset sky here on Earth
38   Violet filter       Useful for planetary work, can
                         increase the visibility of features
                         on Mars at certain times
39   1st quarter         The approximately 1 week old Moon
40   Full                The approximately 2 week old Moon
41   4th quarter         The approximately 3 week old Moon
42   New                 The approximately 4 week old Moon
                         (my favorite!!)

The tiles follow the "standard" suite structure with numbers 35-
38 (filters) in one wildcard suite and numbers 39-42 (moon
phases) in another.  Other than that, it's exact match only...

If you are into amateur astronomy, you will most likely
recognize all of these objects.  If you are not and are
still reading this, great!  Maybe there is hope the bug will
bite....  If you want to learn more about astronomy, check
out your local bookstores and libraries.  Look, in
particular for a couple of magazines, Astronomy and Sky &
Telescope.  They will be most educational.  Also, check out
any local astronomy clubs that may exist.  This is the BEST
way to get into this educational and FUN hobby.

Have fun!

Len Philpot
356 Gary K. Street
Pineville, Louisiana   71360