Tony Buick – författare

Although astronomical CCD cameras can be very costly, digital cameras – the kind you use on holiday – on the other hand, are relatively inexpensive. Moreover, their technology – especially thermal noise, sensitivity (ISO number) and resolution – has progressed to a point where such cameras are more than capable of photographing the brighter astronomical objects.

Now Tony Buick has teamed up with fellow author and astro imager Phil Pugh, to produce a completely revised, updated, and extended second edition to How to Photograph the Moon and Planets with your Digital Camera, first published in 2006. The revisions take into account changing (and improving) camera technology, and some items which are now available commercially but which previously had to be home-made. The section of solar observing has been expanded to include observing by H-alpha light, and among the many additional sections are photographing the constellations, aurorae, and basic post-imaging processing.

“Orrery” appeals to almost anyone interested in popular astronomy, astronomical mechanical devices, scientific instruments, the history of clocks - and even the history of aristocratic and prestigious families! Many people these days – not only astronomers – have a good idea of the main components of the Solar System. They might also know about the orrery, a mechanical model that shows the movements of the Moon and planets. But not too many know why it was so named and who it was named after. The Boyle family – the Earls of Orrery –include the famous Boyle of Boyle’s Law. But others were key in the history of the orrery, not the least being clockmakers. Aware of the lunar and planetary content of the sky, they strove to make scientific instruments to demonstrate their movements and introduced measuring devices to predict their positions. In antiquity, their lives on occasion depended on the accuracy; upsetting kings and lords was dangerous business!

Orreries are found everywhere. They can be made of wood or metal, and are even available today as home-assembly kits and children’s toys. They appear in paintings, on computers, on the side of royal clocks, in stately home hallways, and of course, in museums all over the world. This book contains illustrations of orreries to give a guide as to what is and was available and where to see the best examples. It also contains information and references to help readers who want to make (or buy) their own orrery.

The story of the Boyles is not just relevant to a tiny corner of Ireland, but spans the world. “Orrery” highlights the process of discovery and humankind’s universal fascination with the heavens. Provides a fascinating example of the relationship between innovative thinking (invention) and precision engineering (execution).

Since the advent of astronomical CCD imaging it has been possible for amateurs to produce images of a quality that was attainable only by universities and professional observatories just a decade ago. However, astronomical CCD cameras are still very expensive, and technology has now progressed so that digital cameras – the kind you use on holiday – are more than capable of photographing the brighter astronomical objects, notably the Moon and major planets.

Tony Buick has worked for two years on the techniques involved, and has written this illustrated step-by-step manual for anyone who has a telescope (of any size) and a digital camera. The color images he has produced – there are over 300 of them in the book – are of breathtaking quality.

His book is more than a manual of techniques (including details of how to make a low-cost DIY camera mount) and examples; it also provides a concise photographic atlas of the whole of the nearside of the Moon – with every image made using a standard digital camera – and describes the various lunar features, including the sites of manned and robotic landings.