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!

On a clear night, the vastness and beauty of the star-filled sky is awe inspiring. In Stargazing: Astronomy without a Telescope Patrick Moore, Britain's best known astronomer, tells you all you need to know about the universe visible to the naked eye. With the aid of charts and illustrations, he explains how to "read" the stars, to know which constellations lie overhead, their trajectory throughout the seasons, and the legends ascribed to them. In a month-by-month guide he describes using detailed star maps of the night skies of both the northern and southern hemispheres. He also takes a look at the planets, the Sun and the Moon and their eclipses, comets, meteors, as well as aurorae and other celestial phenomena--all in accessible scientific detail. This captivating book shows how, even with just the naked eye, astronomy can be a fascinating and rewarding hobby--for life.

This is a centennial study of Yerkes Observatory, built a century ago by the University of Chicago as one of America's first big science centres. The text describes the changing fortunes of the Observatory under its first three directors, and is illustrated with many archival photographs. Under its founder and first director, George Ellery Hale, Yerkes pioneered the new science of astrophysics. E.B. Frost, Hale's successor, allowed Yerkes to decline from 1904 to 1932, although it still trained rising young astronomers such as Edward Hubble. Finally, with the support of Robert M. Hutchins, the University of Chicago's "boy president", the "boy director" Otto Struve presided over Yerkes' revitalization in the 1930s and 1940s.

Infrared astronomy is a dynamic area of current research. It has been revolutionized in the past few years by the advent of large, sensitive, infrared arrays, and the success of several infrared satellites. This handbook provides a clear, concise and accessible reference on all aspects of infrared astronomy. Throughout, the emphasis is on fundamental concepts, practical considerations and useful data. Starting with a review of the basic infrared emission mechanisms, we are shown how the earth's atmosphere affects and limits observations from ground-based telescopes. The important systematics of photometric accuracy are treated in detail. Spectroscopy--both stellar and otherwise--is explained, and illustrated with useful examples. An important chapter is devoted to dust, which plays such a central role. Finally, the technical background to infrared instrumentation is covered to help the reader develop a proper understanding of the capabilities and limitations of infrared observations. This volume provides both an essential introduction for graduate students making infrared observations or reducing infrared data for the first time, and a convenient reference for more experienced researchers.

With this extraordinary handbook, you, too, can frame the stars and have them hanging on your livingroom walls. Astrophotography for the Amateur provides a complete guide to taking pictures of stars, galaxies, the Moon, the Sun, comets, meteors and eclipses, using equipment and materials readily available to the hobbyist. Based on suggestions from readers of the first edition, the new edition has been completely updated and expanded to include new chapters on computer image processing and CCD imaging; expanded advice on choosing cameras and telescopes; completely updated information about films; a much larger bibliography; and hundreds of new photographs (in color and black and white) demonstrating the latest equipment and techniques. Astrophotography for the Amateur has become the standard handbook for all amateur astronomers. This new edition provides an ideal introduction for beginners and a complete handbook for advanced amateurs. It will also appeal to photography enthusiasts who will discover how to take spectacular images with only modest equipment. Michael A. Covington received his Ph.D. at Yale University. He is the author of several books, including Syntactic Theory in the High Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1984). He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and is the Associate Director of the Artificial Intelligence Center at the University of Georgia.

Written by an accomplished amateur astronomer and available for the first time in North America, this advanced guide is designed to take your evening explorations to new heights. Beginning with an explanation of the fundamental principles of practical astronomy, author North provides essential information on telescope optics, the atmosphere, astrophotography, electronic imaging, and telescope hardware (including how to select equipment and diagnose faulty telescopes). This knowledge is then applied to the full range of celestial bodies accessible by telescope: the solar system, stars and galaxies. For those amateur astronomers who are bored with making simple observations, chapters on photometry, spectroscopy and radio astronomy bring observational astronomy to a level where data of real scientific value can be acquired. This book is a must for any amateur astronomer wanting a new way to look at the sky.

1,001 Celestial Wonders is a guide to the night sky's brightest and most fascinating objects. Each target is accessible to amateur astronomers using medium-sized telescopes from a dark site. In fact, many are so bright they remain visible under moderate light pollution, as from the outskirts of a city or the suburbs of a town. The book provides a chronological target list, making it easy to use. No matter what night you choose, this book will show you many of the most memorable objects to observe, whether you are using a small telescope or even binoculars, or an instrument of larger aperture. This is far more than just a list of interesting objects. It is structured so that objects of various observing difficulty are included, which will help readers become better observers, both encouraging beginners and challenging long-time amateur astronomers. 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. Finally, many amateur astronomers function best when presented with a list! Even the Meade Autostar (R) controller features a 'best tonight' list (although the list is far less comprehensive and detailed than the catalog provided in this book), a feature that has proved extremely popular. 1,001 Celestial Wonders offers a life-list of objects any observer would be proud to complete.

Join expert author Tiffany Francis-Baker on a night-time journey around Britain and Ireland as she reveals the best places for star-gazing. She covers all of the International Dark-Sky Association's Certified Sites (the spots with the darkest skies), as well as the many Discovery Sites (areas where the skies are lighter but are still good for viewing). The first part of the guide introduces the idea of astronomy and why it is such an enticing hobby. It then explores the history behind astronomy, the myths and folklore we associate with the stars, the science behind our horoscopes and star signs, a guide to nocturnal wildlife, information on the issues surrounding light pollution, and practical information on how to stargaze safely and enjoyably. There's also a 'What to Spot' guide to the night sky - an illustrated list of objects visible from the earth's surface and where to find them: constellations, satellites, meteor showers... the Northern Lights. Packed with useful information, it covers everything from easy ways to reduce your light pollution levels to how to identify owls by their calls. The dedicated section of the book lists the best places to visit to observe the night sky clearly, with useful information for visitors included to help you get the most out of your night-sky experience. Geographical coverage ranges from the West Country and South Downs of England to the Scottish Highlands and Ireland. No matter where you are in the country you're never likely to be far from a good place for looking up and gazing at the stars.

Galactic dynamics is fundamental to understanding the formation of galaxies, their internal evolution and their current structure. While galactic dynamics has traditionally focused on the evolution of the stellar components of galaxies, studies over the past two decades have shown that all aspects of galaxy evolution are strongly influenced by the interplay between the dynamics of stars, gas, and dark matter. IAU Symposium 353, is the first major symposium in more than a decade focused on the dynamics of galaxies and stellar systems, covering the recent explosion in the availability of kinematical data both for individual stars in the Milky Way and wide field line-of-sight kinematics for large samples of external galaxies. These proceedings describe recent developments that aim to transform our understanding of the dynamics, structure, formation and evolution of our own host galaxy, the Milky Way, as well as galaxies in the universe at large.

The interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas set a new high standard for modern celestial cartography. The same team now presents the interstellarum Deep Sky Guide, its unique observing companion. Taking an intuitive visual approach, for each spread of the Atlas, the Guide focuses on carefully selected objects, either as colored composite POSS plates or through the authors' own eyepiece sketches. They allow you to estimate the visibility of features in the telescope while planning observations. Stars and other objects in the vicinity are highlighted, so they also serve as finder charts at night. An index map on each spread allows you to quickly find each object's location in the Atlas. The interstellarum Deep Sky Guide takes all the hassle out of preparing for observing sessions - there's no need to print star charts or photos. Simply grab your Atlas and your Guide, and go observe! This Field Edition is produced using waterproof materials.

'fascinating' Brian Cox This is the story of citizen science. Where once astronomers sat at the controls of giant telescopes in remote locations, praying for clear skies, now they have no need to budge from their desks, as data arrives in their inbox. And what they receive is overwhelming; projects now being built provide more data in a few nights than in the whole of humanity's history of observing the Universe. It's not just astronomy either-dealing with this deluge of data is the major challenge for scientists at CERN, and for biologists who use automated cameras to spy on animals in their natural habitats. Artificial intelligence is one part of the solution-but will it spell the end of human involvement in scientific discovery? No, argues Chris Lintott. We humans still have unique capabilities to bring to bear-our curiosity, our capacity for wonder, and, most importantly, our capacity for surprise. It seems that humans and computers working together do better than computers can on their own. But with so much scientific data, you need a lot of scientists-a crowd, in fact. Lintott found such a crowd in the Zooniverse, the web-based project that allows hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic volunteers to contribute to science. In this book, Lintott describes the exciting discoveries that people all over the world have made, from galaxies to pulsars, exoplanets to moons, and from penguin behaviour to old ship's logs. This approach builds on a long history of so-called 'citizen science', given new power by fast internet and distributed data. Discovery is no longer the remit only of scientists in specialist labs or academics in ivory towers. It's something we can all take part in. As Lintott shows, it's a wonderful way to engage with science, yielding new insights daily. You, too, can help explore the Universe in your lunch hour.

A Physics Today Best Book of the Year A Forbes "For the Physics and Astronomy Lover in Your Life" Selection "Succinct, accessible, and remarkably timely... This book is a rare find." -Physics Today "Belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in learning the scientific, historical, and personal stories behind some of the most incredible scientific advances of the 21st century." -Forbes The detection of gravitational waves has already been called the scientific breakthrough of the century. Einstein predicted these tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime over a hundred years ago, but they were only recently perceived directly for the first time. Ripples in Spacetime is an engaging account of the international effort to complete Einstein's project, capture his elusive ripples, and launch an era of gravitational-wave astronomy that promises to explain, more vividly than ever before, our universe's structure and origin. "Schilling's deliciously nerdy grand tour takes us through compelling backstory, current research, and future expectations." -Nature "A lively and readable account... Schilling underlines that this discovery is the opening of a new window on the universe, the beginning of a new branch of science." -Graham Farmelo, The Guardian

Learn how to observe and navigate the night sky with this guide to stargazing for beginners! The dazzling reference book shines bright with crystal-clear charts of the planets, stars, and constellations in both the northern and southern hemispheres for each month of the year! It's perfect for anyone interested in stargazing and astronomy. This unique astronomy book explains and demystifies the changing night sky. It includes: - Illustrated overviews that introduce each month with a guide to the main attractions, such as bright stars, prominent constellations, and meteor showers - An introduction explains what the universe is, our place within it, how it appears to us in the night sky, and how our view of it changes with time and place - Each illustrated overview features a planet locator, showing the position of the planets during the month introduced - Charts that show the positions of all stars visible to the naked eye in even the darkest skies Discover a complete year-round atlas of the night sky! Filled with easy-to-use star charts showing the constellations, alongside specially commissioned artworks and photography, this space book has everything the budding astronomer needs to understand the night sky. You'll learn how to recognise different kinds of objects and see how they move through the sky over the course of the night and the year. Whether you're new to astronomy or a seasoned stargazer, The Night Sky Month by Month enables everyone to be awed by stargazing. It covers sky-watching without any equipment at all, as well as with the use of binoculars and telescopes. Plus, the newly updated edition features an astronomy calendar detailing the annual and one-off celestial events for the decade ahead, ensuring you'll never miss a visible planet or solar eclipse again. It's the perfect astronomy gift for adults fascinated with space.

Several Epoch of Reionization (EoR) experiments, for example, LOFAR, MWA and PAPER, are currently under way and producing results. These very deep observations not only set constraints on when and where the first sources formed in the early Universe and began (re)ionizing the predominantly neutral all-pervasive intergalactic medium, but they also provide high-quality data for cutting edge auxiliary foreground science. Obviously studying the physical origin of the foreground emission, whether Galactic or extragalactic, is a very exciting field in its own right and is of fundamental importance for perfecting the foreground removal techniques in the cosmological experiments. These proceedings of IAU S333 address both topics through giving the clearest and widest possible view on the EoR; presenting the state-of-the-art foreground science; and discussing challenges of upcoming and planned radio facilities such as HERA and SKA.

Today we are all familiar with the iconic pictures of the nebulae produced by the Hubble Space Telescope's digital cameras. But there was a time, before the successful application of photography to the heavens, in which scientists had to rely on handmade drawings of these mysterious phenomena. Observing by Hand sheds entirely new light on the ways in which the production and reception of hand-drawn images of the nebulae in the nineteenth century contributed to astronomical observation. Omar W. Nasim investigates hundreds of unpublished observing books and paper records from six nineteenth-century observers of the nebulae: Sir John Herschel; William Parsons, the third Earl of Rosse; William Lassell; Ebenezer Porter Mason; Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel; and George Phillips Bond. Nasim focuses on the ways in which these observers created and employed their drawings in data-driven procedures, from their choices of artistic materials and techniques to their practices and scientific observation. He examines the ways in which the act of drawing complemented the acts of seeing and knowing, as well as the ways that making pictures was connected to the production of scientific knowledge. An impeccably researched, carefully crafted, and beautifully illustrated piece of historical work, Observing by Hand will delight historians of science, art, and the book, as well as astronomers and philosophers.

Radio astronomy is an active and rapidly expanding field due to advances in computing techniques, with several important new instruments on the horizon. This text provides a thorough introduction to radio astronomy and its contribution to our understanding of the universe, bridging the gap between basic introductions and research-level treatments. It begins by covering the fundamentals physics of radio techniques, before moving on to single-dish telescopes and aperture synthesis arrays. Fully updated and extensively rewritten, the fourth edition places greater emphasis on techniques, with detailed discussion of interferometry in particular, and comprehensive coverage of digital techniques in the appendices. The science sections are fully revised, with new author Peter N. Wilkinson bringing added expertise to the sections on pulsars, quasars and active galaxies. Spanning the entirety of radio astronomy, this is an engaging introduction for students and researchers approaching radio astronomy for the first time.

This book presents readers with the latest research in interferometry. Chapters include research done on an approach that can be used to identify the performance of coherence scanning interferometers in the presence of vibration; the permeability engineering of semiconductor photonic devices; several interferometric structures based on bulk optics to achieving optical interleaving; interference lithography; recent results on laser surface patterning using interferometers and femtosecond laser radiation; the realisation of the optical interferometers with the optical MEMS technology; a simple two-ray interferometer tuned by rotation; tuning of interference pattern period by rotation of an interferometer itself; the characteristics of a two-ray interferometer with fixed mirrors; the detection of acoustic fields from bounded ultrasonic beams by using laser interferometry techniques; and the use of lateral shearing interferometry as an important area of general interferometry.

This book provides a unified treatment of the characteristics of telescopes of all types, both those whose performance is set by geometrical aberrations and the effect of the atmosphere, and those diffraction-limited telescopes designed for observations from above the atmosphere. The emphasis throughout is on basic principles, such as Fermat's principle, and their application to optical systems specifically designed to image distant celestial sources.
The book also contains thorough discussions of the principles underlying all spectroscopic instrumentation, with special emphasis on grating instruments used with telescopes. An introduction to adaptive optics provides the needed background for further inquiry into this rapidly developing area.

* Geometrical aberration theory based on Fermat's principle
* Diffraction theory and transfer function approach to near-perfect telescopes
* Thorough discussion of 2-mirror telescopes, including misalignments
* Basic principles of spectrometry; grating and echelle instruments
* Schmidt and other catadioptric telescopes
* Principles of adaptive optics
* Over 220 figures and nearly 90 summary tables

Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs is a complete guide for amateur astronomers, both novice and experienced, who want to do something more than "run of the mill" astrophotography and are looking for a new challenge. The book is broadly divided into three parts.

First, there is a brief overview of the history and development of the spectroscope. This is followed by a short introduction to the theory of stellar spectra. The final parts of this section provide details of the necessary reference spectra required for instrument testing and spectral comparison. It concludes with a chapter covering the various types of spectroscopes available to the amateur.

Next, there is a series of "How to " sections. These cover all aspects of setting up and using various types of commercially available and home-built spectroscopes. Transmission gratings are covered first, and then more complex models, all the way to the sophisticated Littrow design.

The final part of Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs is about practical spectroscope design and construction. It contains a collection of detailed instructions covering the design and building of three different types of spectroscope, along with the necessary design theory (with minimal math). Developing an instrument in simple steps from the basic grating spectroscope, using standard "off the shelf" adaptors, the author describes how to build spectroscopes equal in performance to the better commercial units, constructed using basic hand tools for a fraction of the cost

This is the only up-to-date practical spectroscopy book available to amateurs. For the first time, it also brings together an invaluable user knowledge base a collection of observing, analyzing, and processing hints and tips that will allow the amateur to build up and develop important skills in preparing scientifically acceptable spectral data, which can make a valuable contribution to ProAm (professional/amateur) projects. It covers in detail all aspects of the design, construction techniques, testing, calibrating, and using a spectroscope enough detail to enable the average amateur astronomer to successfully build and use his own spectroscope for a fraction of the current commercial cost.

This book is an ideal complement to Robinson s Spectroscopy: the Key to the Stars (Springer 2007) and Martin s Spectroscopic Atlas of Bright Stars (Springer, due 2009). Together, the three books form a complete package for all amateur astronomers who are interested in practical spectroscopy.

As Professor Chris Kitchin said, "If optical spectroscopy had not been invented then fully 75 percent of all astronomical knowledge would be unknown today, and yet the subject itself receives scant attention in astronomical texts." Olivier Thizy (of Shelyak Instruments, the builder of the LiHiResIII commercial spectroscope) writes on an Internet forum; "What is missing is tutorial books and "how to" books with amateur equipment? I believe spectroscopy is in general moving from builders to users (as CCD cameras did in the 1990's) literature is following but slowly."

This is the practical spectroscopy book that amateur astronomers have been waiting for

PixInsight has taken the astro-imaging world by storm. As the first comprehensive postprocessing platform to be created by astro-imagers for astro-imagers, it has for many replaced other generic graphics editors as the software of choice. PixInsight has been embraced by professionals such as the James Webb (and Hubble) Space Telescope's science imager Joseph DePasquale and Calar Alto's Vicent Peris, as well as thousands of amateurs around the world. While PixInsight is extremely powerful, very little has been printed on the subject. The first edition of this book broke that mold, offering a comprehensive look into the software's capabilities. This second edition expands on the several new processes added to the PixInsight platform since that time, detailing and demonstrating each one with a now-expanded workflow. Addressing topics such as PhotometricColorCalibration, Large-Scale Pixel Rejection, LocalNormalization and a host of other functions, this text remains the authoritative guide to PixInsight.

"This book is one that I can heartily recommend."--Sir Harold Spencer Jones, F. R. S., Astronomer Royal

This remarkable history encompasses not only the achievements of the early inventors and astronomers but also the less frequently recounted stories of the instrument makers and of the actual instruments. A model of unsurpassed, comprehensive scholarship, this volume covers many fields, including professional and amateur astronomy, optics, glass and lens technology, and the craft of the precision instrument. Based primarily on first-hand sources--the letters, memoirs, papers, and treatises of the men who worked with telescopes--the text is magnificently illustrated with nearly 200 portraits, diagrams, and photographs.

Between 1650 and 1750, four Catholic churches were the best solar observatories in the world. Built to fix an unquestionable date for Easter, they also housed instruments that threw light on the disputed geometry of the solar system, and so, within sight of the altar, subverted Church doctrine about the order of the universe. A tale of politically canny astronomers and cardinals with a taste for mathematics, The Sun in the Church tells how these observatories came to be, how they worked, and what they accomplished. It describes Galileo's political overreaching, his subsequent trial for heresy, and his slow and steady rehabilitation in the eyes of the Catholic Church. And it offers an enlightening perspective on astronomy, Church history, and religious architecture, as well as an analysis of measurements testing the limits of attainable accuracy, undertaken with rudimentary means and extraordinary zeal. Above all, the book illuminates the niches protected and financed by the Catholic Church in which science and mathematics thrived. Superbly written, The Sun in the Church provides a magnificent corrective to long-standing oversimplified accounts of the hostility between science and religion.

IAU Symposium 285, New Horizons in Time-Domain Astronomy, gave a comprehensive overview of the status quo in 2011, exploring, astronomical variability at both Galactic and extragalactic distances. Several years later, IAU Symposium 339 witnessed a new level of activity and planning, with ambitious instruments that add a new dimension to some of those current in 2011 and ingenious methodology in the emerging field of astroinformatics. Major new instruments, whose output dwarfs those previously available, and analysis techniques that could not have been implemented until very recently, are being coupled with a broadening diversity in wavelengths. IAU S339 introduces the rich potential for new techniques for both analysis and communication, while covering the basic fundamentals such as data quality, standardization and archive access. Many early-career scientists are already central players in these projects: time-domain astronomy is the future and in their hands may it flourish and grow.

Proceedings of the workshop on title], held in Les Houches, France, June 1991, designed to help the astronomical community in the preparation of observations for the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) satellite. This mission, which will explore the infrared sky during 18 months (1994-1995) in Earth orbit, will be one of the major projects of space a

This is the story of Bernie Mills, Chris Christiansen, Paul Wild and Ron Bracewell, members of a team of radio astronomers that would lead Australia, and the world, into this new field of research. Each of the four is remembered for his remarkable work: Mills for the development the cross type instrument that now bears his name; Christiansen for the application of rotational synthesis techniques; Wild for the masterful joining of observations and theory to elicit the nature of the solar atmosphere; Bracewell for his contribution to imaging theory. As well, these Four Pillars are remembered for creating a remarkable environment for scientific discovery and for influencing the careers of future generations. Their pursuit of basic science helped pave the way for technological developments in areas ranging from Wi-Fi to sonar to medical imaging to air navigation, and for underpinning the foundations of modern cosmology and astrophysics.