Amateur astronomers of all skill levels are always contemplating their next telescope, and this book points the way to the most suitable instruments. Similarly, those who are buying their first telescopes and these days not necessarily a low-cost one will be able to compare and contrast different types and manufacturers. This exciting and revised new guide provides an extensive overview of binoculars and telescopes. It includes detailed up-to-date information on sources, selection and use of virtually every major type, brand, and model on today s market, a truly invaluable treasure-trove of information and helpful advice for all amateur astronomers.

Originally written in 2006, much of the first edition is inevitably now out of date, as equipment advances and manufacturers come and go. This second edition not only updates all the existing sections of A Buyer s and User s Guide to Astronomical Telescopes and Binoculars but adds two new ones: Astro-imaging and Professional-Amateur collaboration. Thanks to the rapid and amazing developments that have been made in digital cameras not those specialist cool-chip astronomical cameras, not even DSLRs, but regular general-purpose vacation cameras it is easily possible to image all sorts of astronomical objects and fields. Technical developments, including the Internet, have alsomade it possible for amateur astronomers to make a real contribution to science by working with professionals.

Selecting the right device for a variety of purposes can be an overwhelming task in a market crowded with observing options, but this comprehensive guide clarifies the process. Anyone planning to purchase binoculars or telescopes for astronomy whether as a first instrument or as an upgrade to the next level will find this book a treasure-trove of information and advice.It also suppliesthe reader with many usefulhints and tips on using astronomical telescopes or binoculars to get the best possible results from your purchase."

This modern presentation guides readers through the theory and practice of satellite orbit prediction and determination. Starting from the basic principles of orbital mechanics, it covers elaborate force models as well as precise methods of satellite tracking. The accompanying CD-ROM includes source code in C++ and relevant data files for applications. The result is a powerful and unique spaceflight dynamics library, which allows users to easily create software extensions. An extensive collection of frequently updated Internet resources is provided through WWW hyperlinks.

Astronomy and astrophotography are fascinating hobbies. It is possible to create and enhance astronomical equipment and accessories using techniques and materials accessible to the hobbyist metalworker or model engineer. Written by an amateur astronomer and experienced hobby engineer, this wide-ranging book presents tried and tested ideas from the simplest of gadgets to advanced projects. Includes how to design and make refracting telescopes and how to make a Newtonian reflector around a mirror set. Instructions are given on making different types of eyepiece using stock lenses and making gadgets for collimation, polar alignment, focusing, sky quality metering and much more. Information is given on improving the performance of mounts and tripods and how to cool cameras and improve their performance for long-exposure photography. Details are given on making an equatorial platform for Dobsonian telescopes and using Arduinos and other electronic modules as part of your projects.

Amateur astronomers of all expertise from beginner to experienced will find this a thorough star cluster atlas perfect for easy use at the telescope or through binoculars. It enables practical observers to locate the approximate positions of objects in the sky, organized by constellation. This book was specifically designed as an atlas and written for easy use in field conditions. The maps are in black-and-white so that they can be read by the light of a red LED observer's reading light. The clusters and their names/numbers are printed in bold black, against a "grayed-out" background of stars and constellation figures. To be used as a self-contained reference, the book provides the reader with detailed and up-to-date coverage of objects visible with small-, medium-, and large-aperture telescopes, and is equally useful for simple and computer-controlled telescopes. In practice, GO-TO telescopes can usually locate clusters accurately enough to be seen in a low-magnification eyepiece, but this of course first requires that the observer knows what is visible in the sky at a given time and from a given location, so as to input a locatable object. This is where "The Observer's Guide to Star Clusters" steps in as an essential aid to finding star clusters to observe and an essential piece of equipment for all amateur astronomers.

What happens at the end of the life of massive stars? At one time we thought all these stars followed similar evolutionary paths. However, new discoveries have shown that things are not quite that simple. This book focuses on the extreme -the most intense, brilliant and peculiar- of astronomical explosions. It features highly significant observational finds that push the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics, particularly as before these objects were only predicted in theory. This book is for those who want the latest information and ideas about the most dramatic and unusual explosions detected by current supernova searches. It examines and explains cataclysmic and unusual events in stellar astrophysics and presents them in a non-mathematical but highly detailed way that non-professionals can understand and enjoy.

With the advent of CCDs and webcams, the focus of amateur astronomy has to some extent shifted from science to art. Visual work in astronomy has a rich history. Today, imaging is now more prominent. However there is still much for the visual amateur astronomer to do, and visual work is still a valid component of amateur astronomy. Paul Abel has been addressing this issue by promoting visual astronomy wherever possible - at talks to astronomical societies, in articles for popular science magazines, and on BBC TV's The Sky at Night. Visual Lunar and Planetary Astronomy is a comprehensive modern treatment of visual lunar and planetary astronomy, showing that even in the age of space telescopes and interplanetary probes it is still possible to contribute scientifically with no more than a moderately-priced commercially made astronomical telescope. It is believed that imaging and photography is somehow more objective and more accurate than the eye, and this has led to a peculiar "crisis of faith" in the human visual system and its amazing processing power. But by analyzing observations from the past, we can see how accurate visual astronomy really is! Measuring the rotational period of Mars and making accurate lunar charts for American astronauts were all done by eye. The book includes sections on how the human visual system works, how to view an object through an eyepiece, and how to record observations and keep a scientific notebook. The book also looks at how to make an astronomical, rather than an artistic, drawing. Finally, everything here will also be of interest to those imagers who wish to make their images more scientifically applicable by combining the methods and practices of visual astronomy with imaging.

This book takes the reader on an exploration of the structure and evolution of our universe. The basis for our knowledge is the Big Bang theory of the expanding universe. This book then tells the story of our search for the first stars and galaxies using current and planned telescopes. These telescopes are marvels of technology far removed from Galileo's first telescope but continuing astronomy in his ground breaking spirit. We show the reader how these first stars and galaxies shaped the universe we see today. This story is one of the great scientific adventures of all time.

NASA's ambitious but essential Gemini Program was culminated in November 1966 with the launch of Gemini 12 from Kennedy Space enter's Launch Complex 19. This tenth manned Gemini mission was the final opportunity to develop and practice many new techniques that were integral to the upcoming Apollo program. With the successful conclusion of the Gemini 12 mission, veteran astronaut Command Pilot James Lovell had set another new record with a total of 18 days in space, and Pilot Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin held the EVA duration record with an umbilical EVA at the Agena work station of 2 hours and 9 minutes. In all, three EVA (extra-vehicular activity) sessions were performed during the mission. Going into the Gemini 12 mission, many questions of EVA procedure were still unresolved. In the past, astronauts had expended too much energy simply staying in position. In an effort to better develop techniques and train astronauts, for the first time, underwater simulation was incorporated into EVA training. Using a submerged mock-up of the Gemini-Agena spacecraft, EVA training proceeded almost to the eve of launch.;Training in the neutral-buoyancy underwater simulation allowed the astronauts to practice the entire EVA procedure in a single session - just as they would be required to do in space. This was a major advance over simulated weightlessness in aircraft parabolic flights, which provided only 30 seconds of weightlessness at a stretch. Gemini 12 successfully executed a fuelless station-keeping exercise for 4 hours and 20 minutes with the use of a dacron tether between the Gemini and Agena vehicles. Once the tether had been pulled taut, the reaction control systems for both vehicles were turned off, and the slight difference in the Earth's gravitational effect on the two space vehicles was sufficient to keep the tether taut, so the two spacecraft remained at a constant separation, without the use of any reaction control fuel. Despite mission changes brought on by a radar lock-on failure and by a malfunction of the Agena Primary Propulsion System (PPS), the Gemini 12 mission was considered to be a major success, continuing the success story of the entire Gemini program.;Apollo could take man to the Moon only after Gemini had introduced him to the space environment and taught him how to perform there. CD included.

"Twenty-Five Astronomical Observations That Changed the World" takes twenty-five journeys through space, back in time and into human history. We begin with the simplest sight of the Tycho Crater on the Moon, through a repeat of Galileo's observations of Jupiter's moons, and then move out towards the nebulae, stars, and galaxies. The astronomical observations repeat the original groundbreaking discoveries that have changed our understanding of science and ourselves. This title contains graded observing challenges from the straightforward to the more difficult (in chapter order). It offers clear observing tips and lots of practical help, presuming no prior in-depth knowledge of equipment. Binoculars and/or a small astronomical telescope are all that is required for most of the observations. Secondly, it explores for each observation the science of what is seen, adding to the knowledge and enjoyment of amateur astronomers and offering lots of reading for the cloudy nights when there is not a star in view. Thirdly, the book puts the amateur astronomers' observations into a wider perspective. "Twenty-Five Astronomical Observations That Changed the World" makes the observer part of that great story of discovery. Each chapter, each observing challenge, shows how to observe and then how to look with understanding. The projects begin with practicalities: where the object is, how best is it observed and with what appropriate equipment (usually a small-to-medium aperture amateur telescope, binoculars, even the naked eye). "Twenty-Five Astronomical Observations that Changed the World" guides even the inexperienced amateur astronomer - beginners can use the book - around a variety of night-sky objects, and reminds the more experienced how they can best be seen. These practical observations put us in contact with all the history and culture surrounding them: through scientific speculation and literature to those first fuzzy images made in 1959 by the Russian space probe Luna 3.

"Weird Worlds" is the third book in David Seargent's "Weird" series. This book assumes a basic level of astronomical understanding and concentrates on the "odd and interesting" aspects of planetary bodies, including asteroids and moons. From our viewpoint here on Earth, this work features the most unusual features of these worlds and the ways in which they appear "weird" to us. Within our own Solar System, odd facts such as the apparent reversal of the Sun in the skies of Mercury, CO2-driven fountains of dust on Mars, possible liquid water (and perhaps primitive life!) deep within the dwarf planet Ceres, and a variety of odd facts about the planetary moons are all discussed. A special chapter is devoted to Saturn's giant moon Titan, and its methane-based weather system and "hydrological" cycle. This chapter also includes recent speculation on the possibility of methane-based organisms and the form that these might take, if they really do exist. Beyond our Solar System, the book looks at the range of worlds discovered and hypothesized. In "Weird Worlds," the author discusses planets where temperatures are so high that it rains molten iron, and others so cold that liquid methane floods across plains of ice! Worlds are described where the lightest element acts like a metal and where winds blow at thousands of miles per hour - as well as possible planets whose orbits are essentially parabolic. In keeping with previous titles in David Seargent's "Weird" series, "Weird Worlds" contains several projects that astronomers of all levels can undertake.

The Space Shuttle has been the dominant machine in the U.S. space program for thirty years and has generated a great deal of interest among space enthusiasts and engineers. This book enables readers to understand its technical systems in greater depth than they have been able to do so before. The author describes the structures and systems of the Space Shuttle, and then follows a typical mission, explaining how the structures and systems were used in the launch, orbital operations and the return to Earth. Details of how anomalous events were dealt with on individual missions are also provided, as are the recollections of those who built and flew the Shuttle. Many photographs and technical drawings illustrate how the Space Shuttle functions, avoiding the use of complicated technical jargon. The book is divided into two sections: Part 1 describes each subsystem in a technical style, supported by diagrams, technical drawings, and photographs to enable a better understanding of the concepts. Part 2 examines different flight phases, from liftoff to landing. Technical material has been obtained from NASA as well as from other forums and specialists. Author Davide Sivolella is an aerospace engineer with a life-long interest in space and is ideally qualified to interpret technical manuals for a wider audience. This book provides comprehensive coverage of the topic including the evolution of given subsystems, reviewing the different configurations, and focusing on the solutions implemented.

That's one small step for man... The Moon has always fascinated humans, and thoughts on how to get there occupied minds for hundreds of years. During the space race, setting foot on the Moon was the ultimate goal and the Apollo missions to the Moon are amongst the most successful and well-remembered manned space flights that NASA ever accomplished. In Project Apollo Norman Ferguson reveals fascinating facts and figures, and recounts amazing stories about the astronauts and their spacecraft, and how they made the giant leap for mankind.

To British television viewers, the name 'Patrick Moore' has been synonymous with Astronomy and Space Travel since he first appeared on The Sky at Night in 1957. To amateur astronomers he has been a source of inspiration, joy, humour and even an eccentric role model since that time. Most people know that his 55 years of presenting The Sky at Night is a world record, but what was he really like in person? What did he do away from the TV cameras, in his observatory, and within the British Astronomical Association, the organisation that inspired him as a youngster? Also, precisely what did he do during the War Years, a subject that has always been shrouded in mystery? Martin Mobberley, a friend of Patrick Moore's for 30 years, and a former President of the British Astronomical Association, has spent ten years exhaustively researching Patrick's real life away from the TV cameras. His childhood, RAF service, tireless voluntary work for astronomy and charity and his endless book writing are all examined in detail. His astronomical observations are also examined in unprecedented detail, along with the battles he fought along the way and his hatred of bureaucracy and political correctness. No fan of Sir Patrick Moore can possibly live without this work on their bookshelf!

What if one of the most thrilling stories in the history of science turned out to be wrong? Can urban legends creep into the hallowed grounds of scientific history? As incredible as it may sound, the story of one of the most important elements in modern times helium - has been often misrepresented in books, encyclopedias, and online sources, despite the fact that archival materials tell a different story. Open the entry for Helium in any encyclopaedia and you will read a false story that has been repeated over the years. Encyclopaedia Britannica, for example, says that helium was discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Janssen while observing a total solar eclipse from India in 1868. Apparently he noticed something new in the spectrum of the sun, which he thought was the signature of an undiscovered element.
The truth is that Janssen never saw any sign of a new element during his observations in India. His reports and letters do not mention any such claim.
Other sources would have you believe that helium was jointly discovered by Janssen and Norman Lockyer, a British scientist, and that their discovery letters reached Paris the same day, one sent from India, and the other from England.
Again, the truth is completely different. Two letters from Lockyer and Janssen did reach Paris the same day in 1868, but their letters did not mention any new element. What they had discovered was a new way of observing the Sun without a solar eclipse. This would ultimately lead to the discovery of helium, in which Lockyer would play a prominent role, but not Janssen.
At the same time, Norman Robert Pogson, a disgruntled British astronomer stationed in India did notice something peculiar during the eclipse. He was the first one to notice something odd about the spectrum of the Sun that day, and his observations would prove crucial to Lockyer s own investigations of helium. But Pogson s report was never published in any peer reviewed journal and it languished on the desk of a local British officer in colonial India.
This book tells the real story behind the discovery of helium, along with biographical sketches of the scientists and descriptions of the milieu in which they worked. It will convey the excitement, confusion, and passion of nineteenth century scientists, using their own words, from their letters and reports.
The Story of Helium and the Birth of Astrophysics chronicles one of the most exciting discoveries ever made and explains why it also marked the birth of a new branch of science called astrophysics. "

The authors, leading representatives of Russian space research and industry, show the results and future prospects of astronautics at the start of the third millennium. The focus is on the development of astronautics in Russia in the new historical and economic conditions. The text spotlights the basic trends in space related issues before moving on to describe the possibilities of the wide use of space technologies and its numerous applications such as navigation and communication, space manufacturing, and space biotechnology. The book contains a large amount of facts described in a way understandable without specialist knowledge. The text is accompanied by many photographs, charts and diagrams, mostly in color.

There are at least 48 identified prehistoric stone circles in Scotland. In truth, very little is known about the people who erected them, and ultimately about what the stone circles were for. Most stone circles are astronomically aligned, which has led to the modern debate about why the alignment was significant. The megaliths certainly represented an enormous co-operative effort, would at the very least have demonstrated power and wealth, and being set away from any dwellings probably served a ceremonial, or perhaps religious, purpose.
Observations at the site of the stone circles, of solar, lunar, and stellar events, have already cast light on some of the questions about the construction and use of ancient megalithic observatories.
In his capacity as manager of the Parks Department Astronomy Project, author Duncan Lunan designed and built the first astronomically aligned stone circle in Britain in over 3,000 years. 'The Stones and the Stars' examines the case for astronomical alignments of stone circles, and charts the development of a fascinating project with a strong scientific and historical background. The work was documented in detail by the artist and photographer Gavin Roberts, and this archive has been added to since - so an appropriate selection of illustrations will bring the project vividly to life."

Light of the Stars tells a radically new story about what we are: one world in a universe awash in planets. Building on his widely discussed scientific papers and The New York Times op-eds, astrophysicist Adam Frank shows that not only is it likely that alien civilisations have existed many times before but that many of them have driven their own worlds into dangerous eras of change. He explains how dust storms on Mars, the greenhouse effect on Venus, Gaia Theory, the threat of nuclear winter, and efforts to prove or disprove the plurality of worlds from Aristotle to Copernicus to Carl Sagan have contributed to our understanding of our place in the universe and the growing challenge of climate change. And he explores what may be the largest question of all: if there has been life on other worlds, what its presence can tell us about our own fate.

From prehistoric times, mankind has looked up at the night sky, and puzzled at the changing positions of the stars. How far away they are is a question that has confounded scientists for centuries. Over the last few hundred years, many scientific careers and considerable resources have been devoted to measuring their positions and motions with ever increasing accuracy. And in the last two decades of the 20th century, the European Space Agency developed and launched the Hipparcos satellite, around which this account revolves, to carry out these exacting measurements from space.

What has prompted these remarkable developments? Why have governments been persuaded to fund them? What are scientists learning from astronomy's equivalent of the Human Genome Project? This book traces the subject's history, explains why such enormous efforts are considered worthwhile, and interweaves these with a first-hand insight into the Hipparcos project, and how big science is conducted at an international level. The involvement of amateur astronomers, and the Hipparcos contributions to climate research, death stars' passing close to the Sun, and the search for extra-solar planets and even intelligent life itself, are some of the surprising facets of this unusual space mission.

Emigrating Beyond Earth puts space colonization into the context of human evolution. Rather than focusing on the technologies and strategies needed to colonize space, the authors examine the human and societal reasons for space colonization. They make space colonization seems like a natural step by demonstrating that if will continue the human species' 4 million-year-old legacy of adaptation to difficult new environments. The authors present many examples from the history of human expansion into new environments, including two amazing tales of human colonization - the prehistoric settlement of the upper Arctic around 5,000 years ago and the colonization of the Pacific islands around 3,000 years ago - which show that space exploration is no more about rockets and robots that Arctic exploration was about boating!

"New Eyes on the Universe - Twelve Cosmic Mysteries and the Tools We Need to Solve Them" gives an up-to-date broad overview of some of the key issues in modern astronomy and cosmology. It describes the vast amount of observational data that the new generation of observatories and telescopes are currently producing, and how that data might solve some of the outstanding puzzles inherent in our emerging world view. Included are questions such as: What is causing the Universe to blow itself apart? What could be powering the luminous gamma-ray bursters? Where is all the matter in the Universe? Do other Earths exist? Is there intelligent life out there? The renowned author explains clearly, without recourse to mathematics, why each question is puzzling and worthy of research. Included in the study of the wide range of sensitive and powerful instruments used by scientists to try and solve these problems are ones which capture electromagnetic radiation and 'telescopes' for cosmic rays, neutrinos, gravitational waves, and dark matter. This book discusses twelve areas of active astronomical research, ranging from the nature of dark energy to the existence or otherwise of extraterrestrial civilizations, and devotes one chapter to each topic. Although astronomers tackle each of these questions using information gleaned from all possible wavelengths and sources (and this is emphasized throughout the book), in this work the author dedicates each chapter to a particular observational method. One chapter covers X-ray telescopes for investigating black holes, while another uses infrared telescopes to learn more about planetary information.

'Sarah Cruddas is a gifted writer and Look Up is an inspired book. I am hopeful that we will never stop looking up.' Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins Most of us have never been to space. To date, of the more than 100 billion humans that have ever existed, fewer than 600 humans have ever left Earth. But the exploration of space is the most significant thing we will ever do as a species. Sarah Cruddas has been looking to the skies her entire life. Her childhood was spent staring at the Moon and hearing stories of the space race, and she worked in a fruit factory to fund her love of the subject. Her subsequent career studying astrophysics, and becoming a television host and space journalist has seen her report on space exploration and chase launches across the world. In Look Up Sarah explains why she has always been a passionate advocate for why space should matter - to everyone. From our ancestors who first painted patterns of the stars in caves, to the US and Soviet pioneers who first forged a path beyond our planet, Sarah Cruddas explores the stories and sacrifices that humankind has made to understand more about our place in the universe. And even today, when Moon walking and people in space suits seem less relevant to us than climate change and conflicts here on Earth, she shows how everything from medicine to mobile phones is affected by space technology, and how a new generation of entrepreneurs have kick-started a new story with the stars. This is an inspirational and enlightening introduction to the importance of space to everyone, and why we should all learn to Look Up.

This book shows amateur astronomers how to use one-shot CCD cameras, and how to get the best out of equipment that exposes all three color images at once. Because this book is specifically devoted to one-shot imaging, "One-Shot Color Astronomical Imaging" begins by looking at all the basics - what equipment will be needed, how color imaging is done, and most importantly, what specific steps need to be followed after the one-shot color images are taken. What is one-shot color imaging? Typically, astronomical cooled-chip CCD cameras record only one color at a time - rather like old-fashioned black & white cameras fitted with color filters. Three images are taken in sequence - in red, blue, and green light - and these are then merged by software in a PC to form a color image. Each of the three images must be taken separately through a suitable color filter, which means that the total exposure time for every object is more than tripled. When exposure times can run into tens of minutes or even hours for each of the three colors, this can be a major drawback for the time-pressed amateur. "One-Shot Color Astronomical Imaging" describes the most cost-effective and time-efficient way for any amateur astronomer to begin to photograph the deep-sky.

This book is, ina sense, a sequel to David Seargent's first Springer book "Weird Astronomy" (2010). Whereas "Weird Astronomy" extended over a broad range of purely astronomical topics, the present work concentrates on phenomena closer to home; the atmospheric and "shallow space" events as opposed to deep space events. The line between astronomy and meteorology is blurred - a fact that is discussed in "Weird Weather." It is not primarily a book of "wonders" or of the unexplained, although some of the topics covered remain mysteries. It is primarily directed toward those who are fascinated by climate and weather, and who are open-minded when considering Earth's climate, what drives it, and what are the causes of climate change. The author, David A. J. Seargent, presents the facts with a balanced and scientific approach.

"Weird Weather: Tales of Astronomical and Atmospheric Anomalies" is about strange, unusual, and apparently inexplicable observations of the air and sky. Primarily these are in the Earth's atmosphere, but there are corresponding phenomena in the atmospheres of other planets of the Solar System - lightning on Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, whirlwinds and dust storms of Mars, and auroras on Jupiter. Topics include anomalous lights, anomalous sounds, spectacular effects of cloud illumination by the Sun or Moon, lightning phenomena, electrophonic sounds of lightning, aurora and meteors, tornado and whirlwind phenomena on Earth and Mars, usual atmospheric effects, mirages, and the possible astronomical influences on cloud and climate."

In physics, the idea of extra spatial dimensions originates from Nordstom s 5-dimensional vector theory in 1914, followed by Kaluza-Klein theory in 1921, in an effort to unify general relativity and electromagnetism in a 5 dimensional space-time (4 dimensions for space and 1 for time). Kaluza Klein theory didn t generate enough interest with physicist for the next five decades, due to its problems with inconsistencies. With the advent of supergravity theory (the theory that unifies general relativity and supersymmetry theories) in late 1970 s and eventually, string theories (1980s) and M-theory (1990s), the dimensions of space-time increased to 11 (10-space and 1-time dimension).

There are two main features in this book that differentiates it from other books written about extra dimensions: The first feature is the coverage of extra dimensions in time (Two Time physics), which has not been covered in earlier books about extra dimensions. All other books mainly cover extra spatial dimensions. The second feature deals with level of presentation. The material is presented in a non-technical language followed by additional sections (in the form of appendices or footnotes) that explain the basic equations and formulas in the theories. This feature is very attractive to readers who want to find out more about the theories involved beyond the basic description for a layperson. The text is designed for scientifically literate non-specialists who want to know the latest discoveries in theoretical physics in a non-technical language. Readers with basic undergraduate background in modern physics and quantum mechanics can easily understand the technical sections.

Part I starts with an overview of the Standard Model of particles and forces, notions of Einstein s special and general relativity, and the overall view of the universe from the Big Bang to the present epoch, and covers Two-Time physics. 2T-physics has worked correctly at all scales of physics, both macroscopic and microscopic, for which there is experimental data so far. In addition to revealing hidden information even in familiar "everyday" physics, it also makes testable predictions in lesser known physics regimes that could be analyzed at the energy scales of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN or in cosmological observations."

Part II of the book is focused on extra dimensions of space. It covers the following topics: The Popular View of Extra Dimensions, Einstein and the Fourth Dimension, Traditional Extra Dimensions, Einstein's Gravity, The Theory Formerly Known as String, Warped Extra Dimensions, and How Do We Look For Extra Dimensions?"

Classic telescopes are of interest to amateur astronomers for a variety of reasons. There are the dedicated collectors, but there are also many amateurs who love the nostalgia they inspire. These telescopes "feel" different from any contemporary telescope and perhaps have a unique ability to reconnect the owner to a bygone age of craftmanship. This book takes a look at traditional telescopes built by the great instrument makers of the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly the dynastic telescope makers, including Dollond, Alvan Clark, Thomas Cooke & Sons, and Carl Zeiss. Also included are lesser luminaries such as John Brashear, John Calver, William Wray, Henry Fitz, and William Henry Mogey. 'Classic Telescopes' covers the key features of the telescopes designed by these manufacturers, and shows how a heady combination of market trends, instrument condition, and pedigree will dictate their prices at auction. 'Classic Telescopes' also shows the reader how to find real bargains! Interviews with top classic telescope collectors (and users) provide the best tips of prospecting for a genuine acquisition.