Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series – serie

If you have ever gazed through the eyepiece of a telescope at the magnificent rings and banded globe of Saturn, or found yourself breathless at the sight of long shadows jutting across crater floors on the terminator of the Moon, then you will understand the power of those direct visual experiences. You are present at a unique event, a connection between a part of the cosmos, your eye and brain. Sketching preserves this tie with direct observation because it allows the observer to spend time at the eyepiece surveying the object intimately while drawing. This personal experiential relationship to celestial objects differentiates astronomical sketching from photographic or CCD imaging. Sketching is an excellent way to record personal encounters with the celestial wonders, because as you are drawing, you are training your eye to perceive ever greater detail, taking the fullest advantage of your telescope's light grasp and resolution. Moreover, astronomical sketches can be artwork in themselves, for display and decoration in the home or observatory.Despite the fact that there are a wide variety of drawing media and techniques, there exists no comprehensive treatment of the subject of astronomical sketching.This book will present the amateur with fine examples of astronomical sketches and step-by-step tutorials in each medium, including pencil, pen and ink, chalks and pastels, painting and computer graphics programs. This unique book can teach almost anyone to create beautiful sketches of celestial objects by following simple, illustrated, step-by-step instructions. Readers can select a chapter related to their preferred class of object, and rapidly learn techniques in several media. Each chapter contains useful information regarding equipment, types of telescope and eyepiece combinations, techniques for preserving and archiving sketches, and suggestions for accurate record keeping.

Not all amateur astronomers who live in a suburban location realize just how very effective a ‘chilled-chip’ astronomical CCD-camera and software can be at cutting through seemingly impenetrable light-pollution.

For years, the images have blazed through your imagination. They are the magni?cent full-color photographs returned by the Hubble Space Telescope and 1 its sister Great Observatories of the grand depths of the cosmos.From the “pillars of creation,”considered to be Hubble’s signature image, to the incomprehensible depths of the Hubble Deep Fields to the intricate details imaged in the surface and cloud tops of Mars or Jupiter, the power of the Hubble Telescope to turn on the public to science is unparalled in the history of modern culture. They also have spurred new telescope sales to unimagined highs.And after years of watching the heavens through the eyes of NASA, you’ve decided it’s time to see it for yourself. You make the trip to the department store and pick up that shiny new “500×”te- scope,set it up and soon you’re in business. Unfortunately,the high initial expectations usually give way to disappointment. Instead of seeing the magni?cent swirling clouds of gas in the Orion Nebula,you see a pale green-gray cloud with a couple of nondescript stars lurking nearby.The swirling red, yellow and brown storms of Jupiter are nowhere to be seen; only varying shades of gray in the planet’s cloud bands,assuming you can see bands at all! And Mars? After waiting all night for the red planet to rise up over the morning horizon, you are greeted by nothing more than a featureless reddish-orange dot.

Two books in this series, Small Astronomical Observatories, have been widely read and used. The two books on observatories in this series already published, Small Astronomical Observatories, and More Small Ast- nomical Observatories are of this type.

For the majority of amateur astronomers, who live at the latitudes of North America, the British Isles and Australia, the aurora is a relatively infrequent visitor to the night sky. Major displays visible to the southern United States or the south of England occur perhaps 20 times in each 11-year sunspot cycle. When they occur, such auroral storms are a source of great interest and excitement.A number of books highlighting the impact of auroral/geomagnetic storms on communications and satellite technology have appeared in recent years . None, however, has addressed the observational angle. This new book addresses a gap in the literature, offering an explanation of the aurora's causes, how the occurrence of major events may now be predicted, and how amateur observers can go about recording displays.Observation of the more frequent displays seen at higher latitudes (the northern US, Canada, and Scotland, for example) are also covered in detail. Visual and photographic (chemical and digital) observations are most usual, but magnetic and radio recording of auroral effects is possible too.While the principal aim of the book is to describe the aurora from the amateur observational viewpoint, it discusses professional studies of auroral/geomagnetic phenomena, to put amateur work in context.A glossary gives concise explanations of necessary technical terms, and there is also a short bibliography.

I have owned telescopes for over 25 years since I was a young lad. Whilst attending Star parties in the UK, I found that many LXD owners would struggle to use them even at a basic level, especially if they have never owned or used an equatorially mounted Goto telescope before.

While most amateur astronomers know about the red shift, have a general idea of the way that the emission and absorption lines in stellar spectra provide an insight into the atomic processes of the star, it is unusual to find someone who has any kind of detailed knowledge. The reason isn’t lack on interest – far from it – but is because all the books currently available are pitched at professional astronomers and degree students, and are to say the least, difficult to read.This is the first non-technical book on this subject, written specifically for practical amateur astronomers. It includes all the science necessary for a qualitative understanding of stellar spectra, but avoids a mathematical treatment which would alienate many of its intended readers.Any amateur astronomer who carries out (or who is interested in) observational spectroscopy and who wants a non-technical account of the physical processes which determine the intensity and profile morphology of lines in stellar spectra will find this is the only book written specially for him. And of course, "armchair astronomers" who simply want to understand the physical processes which shape lines in stellar spectra will find this book equally fascinating.

This is without doubt the largest and most comprehensive atlas of the universe ever created for amateur astronomers. It is the first major observing guide for amateurs since Burnham’s Celestial Handbook. With finder charts of large-scale and unprecedented detail, in both normal and mirror-image views (for users of the ubiquitous Meade and Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope ranges), and an extensive list of 14,000 objects, it will provide a detailed observing guide for almost any practical amateur astronomer, up to the most advanced.Spanning some 3,000 pages, this is a project that is possible only with Springer Extra Materials, http://extras.springer.com.The atlas covers the whole range of objects viewable by amateur astronomers with 8- to 11-inch telescopes, from latitude approx +40 degrees. The projected total number of objects is (currently) 13,238, compared with Burnham’s approximately 5,000 double stars (in three volumes). This is much more than just a catalog of objects.As planned, the atlas will have about 270 double star images and sketches, and 590 or so deep-sky images and sketches. Comparisons with other atlases are invidious, but Tirion’s atlas and Uranometria, for example, don’t go as deep in magnitude and the scale is unsuitable for "star hopping" in the eyepiece—where the action REALLY takes place. The charts in the Complete CD Atlas of the Universe and the scale they are on, allow the user to get enough detail to easily find the objects described. In addition mirror-image charts are supplied for instruments with reverse fields (all SCTs).This is also much more than ‘planetarium’ software.Many planetarium programs do not have good object databases, and those that do have databases that are too large for practical field use. For example, TheSky, one of the most popular (and best) programs, can display the entire Washington Double Star Catalog (some 120,000 doubles!), but 90% of these are not resolvable (or evenviewable from certain horizons), and there is no way to determine that by looking at the screen. The result is that there are more objects plotted on the screen than you can actually see, and the clutter makes it very hard to find what you want.The pages on Springer Extra Materials are extensively indexed and referenced for quick location of objects, areas, classes of objects etc..The accompanying book gives an introduction to the Atlas, showcases the maps (thus buyers can see what they are getting without visiting Springer Extra Materials), describes the Springer Extra Materials content and organization, and includes various appendices.

The use of digital photography and computers has changed all astronomy, not just amateur solar astronomy, and it has certainly made a lot more techniques available for photographing the Sun. Secondly, the use of “white light” solar filters has improved the detail that can be seen on the solar surface.

While the spring holds the promise of bright planets and distant galaxies, there is somethingtobesaidaboutthoselong,coldwintereveningstoo!Youcanspend hoursobservingandstillgettobedbeforemidnight.Witheachchangingseason, with every constellation wheeling overhead, Tammy will show you the best of the night sky.

Guide to Observing Deep-Sky Objects is a reference book for amateur astronomers. It contains, for each constellation, a star chart showing the Bayer labels, a table for many of the stars in the constellation, along with their positions and magnitudes, and a table of the deep-sky objects in the constellation, with relevant observational data. Facing pages provide unique year-long graphs that show when the constellation is visible in the sky, allowing the user to quickly determine whether a given constellation can be seen, and when the best time to see it will be.

My Heavens! charts the progress of the author’s own substantial observatory (with additional material from amateur constructors of large observatories elsewhere) from conception, through design, planning and construction, to using an observatory of the kind that all amateur astronomers would aspire to own.This book tells the “warts and all” story of small beginnings in amateur astronomy, leading to the construction of a “top of the range” observatory at a house on the edge of a country village between Oxford and London. The author is a qualified building surveyor, and looks at building the observatory from his own professional perspective. There were of course many errors, problems, technical and organizational difficulties along the way, and the author never shies away from admitting his mistakes – and in doing so he reduces the chances of others falling into the same traps. Comparisons are made with similar large projects in the USA, taking a look at the differences and similarities in planning and building regulations, and in construction methods on both sides of the Atlantic.Eventually an observatory materialized, set up to facilitate the taking of very high quality images of the deep sky on those special days of best seeing.The story doesn’t end with the construction of the observatory, but goes on to describe the author’s choice of equipment, setting it up, and his own techniques for obtaining superb astronomical images like the ones he shows in his book.

Amateur astronomers have to start somewhere and this book explains how to get the best from entry-level equipment. It goes on to explain how to select equipment that is at the 'next level', and describes how to use more advanced telescopes and accessories.

In these pages you will find lunar features, planets, meteor showers, single and multiple stars, open and globular clusters, as well as distant galaxies. Just like moving to a new city, everything will seem unfamiliar at first, but with a little help from some maps, you’ll soon be finding your way around like a pro.

SketchingtheSkies Suddenly and without warning, a new star appeared in the night sky, and everyone in the community was alarmed. Nobody could remember having seen its like before. Dazzling to look at, this unexpected intruder in the heavenly vault gave off a light that almost rivaled that of the full Moon, drowning out the familiar patterns of stars with its glare. The new star’s steady white light penetrated deep into the sacred cave, illuminating an age-old patchwork of intricately drawn pictographs; some of these depicted terrestrial objects and events, from mundane sketches of bison to vast and sweeping panoramic images of wild galloping horses. Other scenes showed celestial phenomena, such as the phases of the Moon and prominent asterisms, or star patterns. The next morning, accompanied by solemn chanting in which the entire c- munity participated, an elderly shaman entered the sacred cave by the light of a fiery brand and selected a suitable area upon which to depict the new star. Once the artwork was finished, the shaman reappeared at the cave entrance; he held out his arms wide to the slowly brightening morning skies and announced that the pow- ful magic of the new star had been captured and could now be used to ensure the continuing prosperity of his tribe.

Viewing the Constellations with Binoculars is a complete guide to practical astronomy, written for beginners, intermediate-level astronomers, and even people who have not yet turned their gaze to the night sky.

Observing the Messier Objects with a Small Telescope contains descriptions and photographs of the 103 Messier objects, with instructions on how to find them without a computerized telescope or even setting circles.

Many amateur astronomers are short of time. A full-time career usually takes up most waking hours, and there very often simply isn't time for leisurely observing sessions, at least a few hours' sleep being something of an imperative during the week. Fortunately, modern technological advances such as computer-controlled telescopes equipped with GPS, north-seeking and level detection, have made setting up a telescope much quicker. Today's imaging systems enable time-pressed astronomers to take excellent astrophotographs of many objects without the hours-long exposures that used to be a feature of this aspect of astronomy. This book explains what to attempt in a short timescale (and what not to), and how to use today's top-value commercially-made equipment to get the most astronomy out of the least time. Make Time for the Stars showcases a wide array of quickly performed astronomical projects, including various novel or new approaches to observing. There are also useful tips for maximizing and enhancing the user's time at the telescope, extracting optimal performance, efficient set-up, and easily carried out optical maintenance.Significantly, the book features detailed information on alternative imaging techniques, which can provide exceptional levels of realism for far simpler and less time-consuming effort.There is also guidance on equipment, such as, what to look for and also what to avoid, so that the reader may acquire only what is appropriate, and not more, for the kind of results he/she may have in mind. A wide range of available budgets is taken into account. The book concludes with a guide for the efficient organization of deep-space observing (an area which is often frustrating and unproductive when time is limited), easy daytime observing projects, and an extensive Internet resource section.

Instead of taking somebody's word for it about the basic size and distance statistics for the solar system, this book shows amateur astronomers how to measure these things for themselves. This is an enriching experience for any amateur astronomer - to understand and personally measure some fundamental astronomical quantities and distances.A basic knowledge of geometry is required, but it is amazing how simple the geometry can be. Readers are led through the geometry as gently as possible - and in a light-hearted way - presuming that most non-academics will have half-forgotten most of their mathematics. The practical astronomical equipment recommended is no more than a typical commercially-made amateur telescope and a camera of some sort - these days a webcam works very well. Apart from that all the reader will need is access to a computer, the know-how to download free software, and an enthusiasm to expand his knowledge of the basis of scientific astronomy.

Galaxies present a unique challenge to town dwellers. Amateur astronomers can't use narrowband filters to shut out light pollution or use ordinary techniques as they would in dark, open fields. As one can imagine, this discrepancy with light means not everyone who looks up at the night sky is capable of seeing all it has to offer. What a shame! Author Jane Clark, however, has spent two years going down blind alleys trying to get a technique to work to combat the amateur astronomer's biggest enemy, light pollution. In this book, you will discover the fascinating variety of galaxies: spirals, ellipticals and irregular galaxies, often sculpted by gravity as they encounter one another in the vastness of space. You will also learn how to image them, as well!  While the most decent images pick up background galaxies 10-20x as far, each containing billions of stars, that's just the local universe! This book will help you observe for yourself right in your own backyard, allowing you to get a sense of the sheer vastness of the universe.

Galaxies present a unique challenge to town dwellers. Amateur astronomers can't use narrowband filters to shut out light pollution or use ordinary techniques as they would in dark, open fields. As one can imagine, this discrepancy with light means not everyone who looks up at the night sky is capable of seeing all it has to offer. What a shame! Author Jane Clark, however, has spent two years going down blind alleys trying to get a technique to work to combat the amateur astronomer's biggest enemy, light pollution. In this book, you will discover the fascinating variety of galaxies: spirals, ellipticals and irregular galaxies, often sculpted by gravity as they encounter one another in the vastness of space. You will also learn how to image them, as well!  While the most decent images pick up background galaxies 10-20x as far, each containing billions of stars, that's just the local universe! This book will help you observe for yourself right in your own backyard, allowing you to get a sense of the sheer vastness of the universe.

Any amateur astronomer who is interested in astrophotography, particularly if just getting started, needs to know what objects are best for imaging in each month of the year. These are not necessarily the same objects that are the most spectacular or intriguing visually. The camera reveals different things and has different requirements. What objects in the sky tonight are large enough, bright enough, and high enough to be photographed? This book reveals, for each month of the year, the choicest celestial treasures within the reach of a commercial CCD camera. Helpful hints and advice on framing, exposures, and filters are included. Each deep sky object is explained in beautiful detail, so that observers will gain a richer understanding of these astronomical objects.This is not a book that dwells on the technology of CCD, Webcam, wet, or other types of astrophotography. Neither is it a book about in-depth computer processing of the images (although this topic is included). Detailed discussions of these topics can be found in other publications. This book focuses on what northern latitude objects to image at any given time of the year to get the most spectacular results.

This is a book about the physics of stars and starlight. The story of starlight is truly fascinating. Astronomers analyze and interpret the light from stars using photometry and spectroscopy, then inspirational detective work combines with the laws of physics to reveal the temperatures, masses, luminosities and outer structure of these far away points of light. The laws of physics themselves enable us to journey to the very center of a star and to understand its inner structure and source of energy!Starlight provides an in-depth study of stellar astrophysics that requires only basic high school mathematics and physics, making it accessible to all amateur astronomers. Starlight teaches amateur astronomers about the physics of stars and starlight in a friendly, easy-to-read way. The reader will take away a profoundly deeper understanding of this truly fascinating subject – and find his practical observations more rewarding and fulfilling as a result.

Whether staring up at the sky when surprised by the sudden appearance of a vividly colored band of light that is a rainbow or peering through a telescope to view colors further afield, the origin and complexity of the source of light is witness to the wonderful and majestic world and the universe in which we live.

Computers and Astronomy Perhaps every generation of astronomers believes that their telescopes are the best that have ever been. Unless you are already familiar with astronomy and basic telescopes, it is not wise to start spending large amounts of money on a we- featured telescope.

1,001 Celestial Wonders is a guide to the night sky's brightest and most fascinating objects. This book is designed to be easy-to-use at the telescope, and observers will appreciate each object's standardized layout and the book's chronological organization.

Although astronomical CCD cameras can be very costly, digital cameras – the kind you use on holiday – on the other hand, are relatively inexpensive.

This is a comprehensive guide to buying, testing, and using a refracting telescope. It is written mainly for amateur astronomers who already own or are intending to purchase a refracting telescope, but will prove useful for non-astronomical observers.

Building an astronomical telescope offers the amateur astronomer an exciting challenge, with the possibility of ending up with a far bigger and better telescope than could have been afforded otherwise.