Kategoria BISAC: Science >> Space Science - Astronomy

The Series

This new series is aimed at the same people as the Practical Astronomy Series - in general, active amateur astronomers. However, it is also appropriate to a wider audience of astronomically-informed readers. Because optical astronomy is a science that is rather at the mercy of the weather, all amateur astronomers inevitably have periods when observing is impossible. At such times they tend to read books about astronomy and related subjects. The Astronomers' Universe Series begins by assuming an appropriate level of knowledge. Basic information about the distance,...

Thesmallrefractingtelescopewithitssimpledirectdesignandconstructionand permanently aligned optics is the time tested standard for personal use. Easily portable, it can be taken out of the house and set up at a moment s notice. Or, it can be packed conveniently into a small car for traveling to a dark observing site. With moderate care and minimal maintenance, the telescope and mount canlastforgenerations. These instruments provide sharp, crisp high-contrast images of the Moon and planets. They are less susceptible to the effects of unstable air than larger ones, and because of their low...

Nebulae are the places where the stars are born. For amateur astronomers, the many different kinds of nebulae vary from "easy" targets that can be seen with modest equipment under mediocre skies, to more obscure "challenging" objects that require experienced observers, more powerful telescopes and excellent observation conditions.

The concept of this book - and of the series - is to present an up-to-date detailed description and categorisation of nebulae, and then to instruct the reader in the best ways to successfully observe and record the large range of astronomical...

Many lights and other objects in the sky go unrecognised, or at least are little understood by those observing them. Such things range from the commonplace like rainbows and meteors, to the distinctly unusual like the green flash and ball lightning. And there is still a residuum of objects that remain unidentified by the watcher classed generally as UFOs, a description which today has connotations of the mysterious, even of extraterrestrial visitors.

The first part of this book is an identification guide, very much like the "plant identifier" sections found in a good gardening or...

The book will, in jargon-free blow-by-blow terms, describe how to create the best astronomical images you can with the digital camera equipment at your disposal. It will explain the steps we go through to extract results from the raw-and-dirty original imagery, and then transform them into high quality pictures that you could hang on your wall.

The advent of CCDs, and more recently inexpensive webcams, has led to a much greater proportion of amateur astronomers becoming involved in digital imaging. The low price of the new Meade Deep Sky Imager - $299 (2005) suggests that...

Astronomers' Universe Series

The aim of this book is to provide an up-to-date account of active galaxies that is appropriate to the background knowledge of amateur astronomers, but might also be picked-up and read for interest by any reader with a scientific bent.

Active galaxies (including Quasars, QSOs, Radio galaxies, BL Lacs, Blazars, LINERS, ULIRGS, Seyfert galaxies, Starburst galaxies, N galaxies, etc.) are a major field of current astronomical research. Up to a fifth of all research astronomers are working on active galaxies. Huge amounts of time on major...

An authoritative introduction to the fascinating topic of archaeoastronomy-ancient peoples' understanding and use of the skies.

The sun is of importance not only to our existence, but also to our understanding of astronomy generally. Helioseismology gives us an unprecedented window into the sun's deep interior. This book unveils numerous solar secrets through the science of helioseismology and plots its development from its infancy in the 1960s.

In 2005, Palla & Baraffe proposed that brown dwarfs and very low mass stars (<0.1 solar masses) may be unstable to radial oscillations during the pre-main-sequence deuterium burning phase. With associated oscillation periods of 1-4 hours, this potentially new class of pulsation offers unprecedented opportunities to probe the interiors and evolution of low-mass objects in the 1-15 million year age range. Furthermore, several previous reports of short-period variability have suggested that deuterium-burning pulsation is in fact at work in young clusters.

For my dissertation, I developed a...

Many books cover permanent astronomical objects, but few consider transient, out-of-the-ordinary astronomical phenomena. This book covers a wide range of topics, from the partly-predictable to the totally unpredictable. At one end: of the scale, it gives advice on the best ways to observe meteors, and at the other end:, it describes the best methods for undertaking painstaking searches for new comets and supernovae. The book also includes material about phenomena that occur in the lower atmosphere, such as "ozone eaters," nacreous clouds, and solar and lunar halos

Telescopes - refractors and reflectors - are the main items of equipment used by almost every amateur astronomer. The purpose of astronomical telescopes is to collect and focus more light than the human eye can, forming an image that can be viewed, photographed, or analysed. Astronomical Equipment for Amateurs makes buying and using both telescopes and their ancillary instruments easy for astronomers of all abilities. It begins by looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the basic types of refractors, reflectors, mountings and accessories. Observation techniques are also included, along...

Almost all amateur astronomers want to take photographs of the night sky. For all but the simplest star-trail pictures, this involves machinery - a telescope drive - to track the stars, essential to compensate for the rotation of the earth. The task becomes even more complicated when photographing very small or very faint objects that require high magnification or very long exposure times.
Amateurs have many options according to their requirements, technical ability, and budget. Astrophotography for Amateurs looks at all the possibilities, including normal ("wet") photography, CCD...

The purpose of this book is to introduce the reader to the numerous safe methods of observing the Sun and solar eclipses, and to suggest objects and features to observe and observing programmes to follow. So much energy comes from the Sun that by failing to observe safe working practices it is possible to damage your eyes or equipment. The care that is needed is emphasised throughout the book. Always make sure that you have read the whole of a section or chapter before starting any observational work. However in warning when care is needed in observing, there is a danger of scaring people off...

The Internet contains so much information and data for astronomers that just finding what you want is a daunting task, and downloading can take hours of computer and telephone time.

From the reviews:

"Bulging with concise explanations and 142 clarifying diagrams and photos, the book probably represents some of the best pedagogy in the solar system on these topics. just the right level for most undergraduates. Open-minded scientists looking for an authoritative tour of astrobiology will enjoy the book . The author s summary of exoplanet detection techniques is excellent . Jones keeps us interested with simple explanations . His approach is quite an achievement . " (Charley Lineweaver, Physics Today, February, 2005).

"This is a textbook suitable for...

A unified treatment of the various techniques used for distance determination. The text begins by describing methods to measure distances on Earth, then gradually climbs the "distance ladder" to enable us to estimate the distance to the farthest objects, ending with a discussion of particle horizons within an expanding and inflationary universe. Aimed at first-year astronomy and astrophysics undergraduates, the book emphasises general physical principles rather than mathematical detail, and is enhanced and complemented by many worked examples, questions and problem-solving exercises at the...

10 The visible Universe is a little more than 10 years old - the best estimate is 15 billion 50 years. It contains approximately 10 tonnes of matter. Studying the ways in which this material is arranged, and the processes which shape it over time, provide the basis for the oldest science in the world: astronomy. Structures in space which have resulted from aeons of cosmic evolution combine immensity and delicacy in a way which gives astronomical photographs a rare aesthetic appeal. This book uses the artful astrophotography and electronic imaging of Michael Stecker to illustrate these...

This text presents numerous illustrations of the observed variability of cataclysmic variable stars. It provides a clear explanation and thorough up-to-date overview of this phenomena at a level accessible to the advanced amateur or undergraduate student.

This is the only book on Neptune written by individuals directly involved with the Voyager Mission and its scientific findings. It shows clearly the planning, excitement and major advances in our knowledge of Neptune and its system associated with the highly successful Voyager Mission. In doing so, it recreates some of the excitement and wonder felt by those on the science and engineering teams as they witnessed the spectacular data being returned by Voyager. Richly illustrated with unique images and other data returned by the Voyager Mission, this book disperses some of the myths created by...

An increasing number of people are taking advantage of the relatively low prices of astronomical equipment. Many of these people are doing so with little knowledge of practical astronomy and, as the volume of questions asked at astronomical society meetings and on internet newsgroups attest, there is a need for these questions to be answered in one place. Hence this book. The fundamental premise behind AstroFAQs is that the beginning amateur astronomer wishes to get "up and running" with the minimum delay. A secondary premise is that anyone will better appreciate why something is done as it...