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The Guide to Amateur Astronomy

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Author: Jack Newton and Philip Teece

Information on how to choose your first telescope or build on from first principals. Basis astronomy, progressing to CCD imaging. The book answers to questions for the novice and experienced amateur astronomer in one easy-to-use and comprehensive account.

How do you choose your first telescope? Or build one from first principles? What can the deep sky offer you season-by-season? How do you get started in astrophotography? And progress to CCD imaging? The Guide to Amateur Astronomy answers the questions of the novice and the experienced amateur astronomer in one easy-to-use and comprehensive account. Throughout the emphasis is on practical methods to get you started and then develop your skills with lavish illustrations to show you just what is possible. This second edition of the highly successful Guide has been fully revised and updated. It now takes you from basic ‘piggyback’ astrophotography, through the use of a cold camera to state-of-the-art CCD imaging; from studies of the planets to the most distant objects in the Universe. From guidelines for the care and adjustment of your telescope through to lists of the spectral classification of stars, amateur astronomy societies and clubs, all the information you need for your voyage of discovery and revelation is provided in this self-contained, helpful guide.

Exploring the Night with Binoculars

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Author: Patrick Moore

Star-gazing with binoculars is rewarding and, for many, a lifelong passion Patrick Moore has painstakingly researched Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars to describe the optimal use of binoculars for astronomical observation. He explains basic astronomy and the selection of binoculars, then goes on to discuss the stars, clusters, nebulae and galaxies that await the observer. He charts the sky seen from the northern and southern hemispheres season by season, providing detailed maps of all the constellations. In addition, the reader can also observe the Sun, Moon, planets, comets and meteors. New to this Fourth Edition are: An improved presentation of all star maps, rendering a clear impression of what the night sky really looks like; planetary data through 2010; and advice on eclipse watching, including total eclipses of the sun. With many beautiful illustrations, this handbook will be helpful and encouraging to casual observers and those cultivating a more serious interest. The enjoyment of amateur astronomy is now available to everybody.

Eclipse

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Author: Duncan Steel

In this sweeping saga of science and civilization, astronomer Duncan Steel explains all you need to know about eclipses. 

Whether interpreted as an auspicious omen or a sentinel of doom, eclipses have had a profound effect upon our cultural development. Throughout recorded history, they have evoked consternation, fear, and dread — as well as awe and wonderment. Ancient peoples were clearly disconcerted by them. The Romans marked pivotal battles with the Greeks by references to an eclipse. The date of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ has been derived by using biblical mentions of an eclipse. Perhaps most famously, Christopher Columbus extorted much-needed foodstuffs from some increasingly unfriendly native hosts by purporting to demonstrate the wrath of his most powerful God when he accurately predicted a lunar eclipse. The pattern that eclipses follow — a cycle, called the saros — was actually calculated thousands of years ago. However, it is only with the help of modern computers that we have been able to analyze and appreciate the data. Eclipses provide unique opportunities for today’s scientists to study such contrasting phenomena as the upper layers of the sun, the slowdown of our planet’s spin rate, and the effects of celestial events on human psychology. In Eclipse, Duncan Steel expertly captures our continuing fascination with all manner of eclipses — including the familiar solar and lunar varieties and other kinds involving stars, planets, asteroids, and comets as well as distant galaxies and quasars. Steel helps us see that, in astronomical terms, eclipses are really rather straightforward affairs. Moving beyond the mysticism and the magic, the science of eclipses is revealed.

Cosmic Dispatches

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Author: John Wilford

The New York Times Reports on Astronomy and Cosmology.

The scientists seeking to unravel the mysteries of the universe are among the most imaginative and provocative explorers of our time. Like the geographic explorers of earlier centuries, they venture into uncharted spaces, come upon new worlds, expand the knowable, and challenge thinking about the place of humans in all things. Collected here are the most exciting moments of recent astronomical explorations, presented by the award-winning science reporters of The New York Times. Recent leaps in technology have allowed astronomers to peer deeply into the universe and to bring into focus fascinating and unsuspected phenomena. Cosmic Dispatches conveys in thrilling detail the meaning and significance of what scientists have been learning about our universe.

Colours of the Stars

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Author: David Malin

In this book it shows how colour is related to the objects in astronomy, how the colours of stars, nebulae and galaxies can be seen and photographed, and how colour and photography enhance our astronomical understanding.

In the past astrophotographers have constantly returned to one astronomical nebula for their experiments, repeatedly photographing the first object successfully recorded by Common in 1883. The Orion Nebula figures throughout this book. Each of the eleven photographs shown in this book (details shown on page viii) tells us something different about the Orion Nebula.

Cambridge Atlas of the Constellations

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Author: Michael Bakich

Details of what figures do the constellations of the sky represent, the properties of the stars and what that they comprise and where in the sky they can be found. Details in the book enable constellations to be readily compared.

Click on the cover image above to read some pages of this book!  Constellations are not new to astronomy. Even before the era of printing, patterns of stars have been recognized by humans and their histories have been passed on from generation to generation, culture to culture. This book is the ultimate constellation reference book. Finally, a book exists that brings together a variety of information about constellations, including: the size, visibility, and relative brightness of all eighty-eight constellations; former locations of extinct constellations; the number of visible stars in each constellation; and more. Using tables, this information is presented in the first part of the book so that constellations can be readily compared and a general view of them developed. In the second part of the book, each constellation is taken in turn, with a star chart and map illustrating the associated celestial figure, supported by a comprehensive list of essential properties. This highly illustrated volume provides the most complete reference to date covering all aspects of the constellations and will be helpful for astronomers, both amateur and professional, educators and science writers.                                                                                                                                         Industry Reviews:                                                                                                                                    A fascinating cornucopia of constellation facts and figures …’ Adrian Ashford, New Scientist ‘ … one of the best … a lot of goodies for every amateur astronomer, both for the observing one and for the armchair astronomer … All of us have something to learn from this excellent book.’ Jan Sandstrom, Astronomi and Raumfahrt ‘If you want to have a reference book about constellations, then you want to have this book on your shelves.’ Pam Spence, Astronomy Now ‘The book has some novel ideas for the presentation of a wealth of unusual material and I found no mistakes. It is not a bedside book for browsing. It is a work to reside on a shelf for reference, mostly for amateur astronomers’ use, but also for anyone with an interest in the stars.’ Paul Murdin,Times Higher Education Supplement.