Grating Spectroscopes and How to Use Them is written for amateur astronomers who are just getting into this field of astronomy. Transmission grating spectroscopes look like simple filters and are designed to screw into place on the eyepiece of a telescope for visual use, or into the camera adapter for digicam or CCD imaging. Using the most popular commercially made filter gratings - Rainbow Optics (US) and Star Analyzer (UK) - as examples, this book provides the reader with information on how to set up and use the grating one needs to obtain stellar spectrograms. It also discusses several methods on analyzing the results. This book is written in an easy to read style, perfect for getting started on the first night using the spectroscope, and specifically showing how the simple transmission filter is used on the camera or telescope. No heavy mathematics or formulas are involved, and there are many practical hints and tips - something that is almost essential to success when starting out. This book helps readers to achieve quick results, and by following the worked examples, they can successfully carry out basic analysis of the spectra.

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.

Apollo was known for its engineering triumphs, but its success also came from a disciplined management style. This excellent account of one of the most important personalities in early American human spaceflight history describes for the first time how George E. Mueller, the system manager of the human spaceflight program of the 1960s, applied the SPO methodology and other special considerations such as "all-up"testing, resulting in the success of the Apollo Program. Wernher von Braun and others did not readily accept such testing or Mueller's approach to system management, but later acknowledged that without them NASA would not have landed astronauts on the Moon by 1969. While Apollo remained Mueller's priority, from his earliest days at the agency, he promoted a robust post-Apollo Program which resulted in Skylab, the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. As a result of these efforts, Mueller earned the sobriquet: "the father of the space shuttle." Following his success at NASA, Mueller returned to industry. Although he did not play a leading role in human spaceflight again, in 2011 the National Air and Space Museum awarded him their lifetime achievement trophy for his contributions. Following the contributions of George E. Mueller, in this unique book Arthur L. Slotkin answers such questions as: exactly how did the methods developed for use in the Air Force ballistic missile programs get modified and used in the Apollo Program? How did George E. Mueller, with the help of others, manage the Apollo Program? How did NASA centers, coming from federal agencies with cultures of their own, adapt to the new structured approach imposed from Washington? George E. Mueller is the ideal central character for this book. He was instrumental in the creation of Apollo extension systems leading to Apollo, the Shuttle, and today's ISS and thus was a pivotal figure in early American human spaceflight history.

Information collected by satellites recently sent by the USA, the European Space Agency, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Russia to monitor the Sun has changed our knowledge and understanding of the Sun, particularly its effect on Earth. This book presents these findings in a way that will be welcomed by amateur astronomers, students, educators and anyone interested in the Sun. Enhanced by many colour photographs, the book combines newly acquired scientific understanding with detailed descriptions of features visible on the Sun s surface and in its atmosphere.

In the past, observing the Sun has been left to academics with specialised instruments, since solar observation has been unsafe because of the risk of eye damage. This book explains how amateur astronomers can safely observe the various solar phenomena using special hydrogen-alpha telescopes that are not too expensive. Amateurs can now make a positive contribution to science by monitoring the Sun as professionals do.

Amateurs can also access the solar images taken by satellites via the internet. This book helps readers interpret and understand what these images are showing about the Sun, including the latest 3D images. Solar observers will enjoy comparing their own solar telescope observations with those produced by space probes such as SDO, SOHO, Hinode and STEREO, and further enjoy learning about transits, eclipses, and space weather and how the Sun compares to other stars in the universe.

The main purpose of this book is to present some of the fascinating solar phenomena in their full splendor to readers through a variety of illustrations, photographs and easy to understand text.

This handbook is a guide to exploring the classical night sky and its wonderful telescopic sights. All 88 officially recognized constellations are presented in natural groups which are related by their origin and location in the sky. Each group is explained by a fascinating story which tells what each constellation represents, how it appears in the sky, and why the other constellations of the group are close by, or related in some other manner. Some of these stories are classical myths which show how and why ancient cultures saw the constellations as related groups. Others are about more modern astronomers who sought recognition by filling in the gaps between the ancient constellations with inventions of their own. Both types of stories are crafted to make the constellation groups memorable, so that amateur astronomers can not only locate and recognize the constellations more easily, but also be able to pinpoint the celestial objects they contain more quickly.

Specific instructions are given for finding each constellation, how to spell and pronounce the constellation and star names, plus the origins of the star names. Finder charts show each constellation group and a large area of sky around the group. These charts also indicate pointer stars which aid in finding the constellations.

More detailed charts show how each constellation figure is visualized through simple line drawings. For each constellation, there is a table of about 10 to 30 telescopic objects selected to include a wide range of difficulty. Some can be glimpsed with the unaided eye, others require a 12 or 14 inch telescope. All the most prominent telescopic objects are included, plus a varied selection of interesting, but much more difficult objects. The tables include each object s celestial coordinates, type, size, brightness, other information specific to each type of object, and a recommendation of the appropriate telescope size needed for good viewing.

There are also photographs of constellations and telescopic objects, detailed locator charts for the hard-to-find objects, and plots of binary star orbital motions. The same charts used to show the constellation figures are repeated, with the addition of symbols indicating the locations of all the selected telescopic objects.

An index and seven appendices help the user find specific objects or classes of objects.

This star guide enables amateur astronomers to focus on a class of object, and using an observation list that begins with the easiest object, find and move progressively over a period of months to more difficult targets. Includes detailed descriptive summaries of each class of object. Amateur astronomers of all levels will find this book invaluable for its broad-ranging background material, its lists of fascinating objects, and for its power to improve practical observing skills while viewing many different types of deep-sky objects. This new edition of A Field Guide to Deep-sky Objects brings in a correction of out-of-date science along with two new chapters; Transient objects, and Naked-Eye Deep Sky Objects. This edition adds up-to-date information and on the objects mentioned above. This new edition of A Field Guide to Deep-sky Objects brings in a correction of out-of-date science along with two new chapters; Transient objects, and Naked-Eye Deep Sky Objects. This edition adds up-to-date information and on the objects mentioned above.

During more than four decades of involvement in amateur astronomy, I have enjoyed the privilege of rubbing shoulders with numberless amateur and professional astr- omers. In so doing I have encountered at first, second, and third hand many of the joys and pitfalls that sky watchers can experience in pursuit of the universe's wonders. I have often howled at tall tales that would not disgrace a pirate's tavern. Many of these astounding stories have become the kernels of my Dear Steve column items. Learning how to operate the technology for observing and imaging the universe is work enough for any aspiring astronomer; however, many have problems of their own making. Not only do they share these troubles with other astronomers, they are on the receiving end of colleagues and friends doing the same. With all these agonized communications flying about, it is hard to understand how anyone gets any real work done! For the amusement of my peers I have long fondly parodied these imagined literary exchanges. These fantasy ''Agony Aunt'' questions began appearing in the pages of the Loughton Astronomical Society's monthly (and Christmas Special) journals about 30 years ago, in the guise of The astronomer's problem page. This was by the kind indulgence of the then editor, namely myself. Happily, even when the magazine of the LAS evolved into something much better, under the tender and loving care of those who came after me, these problem letters were still in demand and even now occasionally appear.

Grappling with Gravity explores the physiological changes that will occur in humans and the plants and animals that accompany humans as we move to new worlds, be it to colony in the emptiness of space or settlements on the Moon, Mars, or other moons or planets. This book focuses on the biomedical aspects, while not ignoring other life-changing influences of space living. For example, what happens to people physiologically in the microgravity of space, where weight and the direction "up" become meaningless? Adapting to microgravity represents the greatest environmental challenge that life will have encountered since our ancestors moved from the seas to solid Earth. Away from Earth the human body will begin almost immediately to adapt and change, to be able to function in these strange environments. As a person adapts in space he or she will become less fit to live on Earth.

Planetary Nebulae and How to Observe Them is for amateur astronomers who want to go beyond the Messier objects, concentrating on one of the most beautiful classes of astronomical objects in the sky. Planetary nebulae are not visible to the naked eye, but they are a fascinating group of telescope objects. This guide enables a user equipped with an average-sized amateur telescope to get the best out of observing them. Topics covered include their astrophysical make-up, history of their discovery, classification and description, telescopes to use, filters, and observing techniques - in short everything anyone would need to know to successfully observe planetary nebulae. The book describes the various forms these astronomical objects can take and explains why they are favorite targets for amateur observers. Descriptions of over 100 nebulae personally observed by the author using telescopes of various sizes are included in the book. Readers can create their own observing program or follow the list of these captivating objects, many of which are found within our own Milky Way Galaxy.

This book follows the evolutionary trail all the way from the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago to conscious life today. It is an accessible introductory book written for the interested layperson anyone interested in the big picture coming from modern science. It covers a wide range of topics including the origin and evolution of our universe, the nature and origin of life, the evolution of life including questions of birth and death, the evolution of cognition, the nature of consciousness, the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the future of the universe. The book is written in a narrative style, as these topics are all parts of a single story. It concludes with a discussion on the nature and future of science.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo missions to the moon, this collection features 50 key artifacts from the Smithsonian archives from the groundbreaking space exploration program of the 1960s. Bold photographs, fascinating graphics, and engaging stories celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 20th century's most important space endeavor: NASA's Apollo missions to the moon. From inflight exercise straps to an emergency oxygen mask and astronaut-selected mix tapes, this carefully curated array of objects--complete with intriguing backstories and profiles of key participants--animates the historic space exploration program that landed humans on the moon, advanced the world's understanding of space travel and our solar system, and revolutionized our sense of humanity's place in the universe.

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. The photographs show how the objects appear through a 127mm Maksutov (and other instruments, where applicable). The visual appearance of a Messier object is often very different from what can be imaged with the same telescope, and a special feature of this book is that it shows what you can see with a small telescope. It will also contain binocular descriptions of some objects. Messier published the final version of his catalog in 1781 (it contains 103 different objects), a catalog so good that it is still in common use today, well over two centuries later. In making a catalog of all the 'fixed' deep-sky objects that observers might confuse with comets, Messier had succeeded in listing all the major interesting deep-sky objects that today are targets for amateur astronomers. Messier's telescope (thought to be a 4-inch) was, by today's amateur standards, small. It also had rather poor optics by modern standards. Thus - and despite the fact that he was a master observer - all the things Messier saw can be found and observed by any observer using a commercial 127 mm (5-inch) telescope. Observing the Messier Objects with a Small Telescope lets the reader follow in Messier's footsteps by observing the Messier objects more or less as the great man saw them himself!

The world as it is viewed from modern physics and cosmology has many strange and unexpected features. Often these are in stark contrast with our everyday experience or our preconceptions, such as the concept of space and time as finite and changeable. Nevertheless it is this strange world which is the fundamental basis of our existence. Therefore modern science also has a few things to say about the age-old questions: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?

The author, an experienced scientist and teacher, presents the knowledge that we have about our worldfor non-experts. He takes us on a journey through cosmology and the quantum world of elementary particles. And he sketches the impact of the insights gained into philosophical assumptions and religious beliefs in these disciplines. In the end he asks the speculative question whether there is something beyond the limits of the natural sciences.

The names of the seven Mercury astronauts were announced in April 1959 amid a flurry of publicity and patriotism. This work provides biographical details of all thirty-two finalists for the seven coveted places as America's pioneering astronauts. All of the candidates were among the nation's elite pilots involved in testing new supersonic aircraft capabilities. Most had served as wartime fighter and bomber pilots; some were test pilots on top secret and sophisticated aviation projects, while others were fleet admirals, prisoners of war, and proposed pilots for spaceflight programs such as the Dyna-Soar (X-20). The names of all 32 finalists have been kept secret until very recently. "Selecting the Mercury Seven" also relates the history and difficulties behind the initial choice of candidates. The lives, motivations, military careers, and achievements of the unsuccessful twenty-five finalists are explored first in fully authorized biographies. Test pilots for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, each man has a fascinating and very different story to tell. All thirty-two men had to endure meticulous, demeaning, and brutal week-long medical examinations at the Lovelace Clinic in New Mexico. This was followed by another torturous week at the Wright Aeromedical Laboratory in Ohio, where they were subjected to extreme fitness and physiological testing, the sole purpose of which was to sort out the Supermen from the near-supermen. The final part of the book examines the accomplishments and spaceflights of the seven successful candidates, bringing their amazing stories right up to date.

Information collected by recent space probes sent to explore the Moon by the USA, the European Space Agency, Japan, China and India has changed our knowledge and understanding of the Moon, particularly its geology, since the Apollo missions. This book presents those findings in a way that will be welcomed by amateur astronomers, students, educators and anyone interested in the Moon. Enhanced by many colour photos, it combines newly acquired scientific understanding with detailed descriptions and labelled photographic maps of the lunar surface. Guided by observation methods explained in the book and 17 Study Areas presented and carefully explained in the last chapter, amateur astronomers can observe these features from Earth using telescopes and binoculars. Readers who consult the photographic maps will gain a better understanding about the Moon's topography and geology. The book is rounded out by a helpful glossary.

Ever since its infancy, humankind has been seeking answers to some very basic and profound questions. Did the Universe begin? If it did, how old is it, and where did it come from? What is its shape? What is it made of? Fascinating myths and brilliant in- itions attempting to solve such enigmas can be found all through the history of human thought. Every culture has its own legends, itsownworldcreationtales, itsphilosophicalspeculations, itsre- gious beliefs. Modern science, however, cannot content itself with fanciful explanations, no matter how suggestive they are. No- days, our theories about the Universe, built upon rational ded- tion, have to survive the hard test of experiment and observation. Cosmology, the science which studies the origin and evo- tion of the Universe, had to overcome enormous dif?culties before it could achieve the same level of dignity as other physical dis- plines. At ?rst, it had no serious physical model and mathematical tools that could be used to address the complexity of the problems it had to face. Then, it suffered from a chronic lack of experim- tal data, which made it almost impossible to test the theoretical speculations. Given this situation, answering rigorously the many questions on the nature of the Universe seemed nothing more than a delusion. Today, however, things have changed. We live in the golden age of cosmology: an exciting moment, when, for the ?rst time, we are able to scienti?cally understand our Univers

I have spent many wonderful nights observing at a variety of places around the world, but many of my fondest memories come from those made at the Custer Observatory in Southold on Long Island, where I grew up. I was only perhaps a dozen years old when I started out, and now more than three decades later I have logged millions of miles on the various telescopes there. Some of the best memories are of observing and discussing astronomical topics with the many really terrific people who make up Custer. It truly holds a special place in my heart. Star clusters were always among my favorite objects to observe and discuss there. This book is the result of the exposure to these objects, many of which I observed for the first time at Custer. The Custer Institute Observatory was founded in the 1920s by local resident Charles W. Elmer of Perkin-Elmer Corp. fame. The original crew met at his house in Cedar Beach a few miles down the road from the institute. In the 1930s the group built an observatory complete with Mr. Elmer's donated 5" Alvan Clark refractor. Later the observatory expanded to include a 6" Clark refractor and other even larger instruments.

**"Mars - A Cosmic Stepping Stone" connects ordinary people with the relevance of space exploration in a way not seen since Carl Sagan.

**The book encapsulates, completely and understandibly, the 'big picture' about humanity's path to uncovering its cosmic connections and how Mars is critical to that. Few, if any books in the area have attempted to do this and achieve it, since those of Sagan.

**The book presents the broadest, most complete, most up-to-date and most exciting account of humanity's fascination with, and future intentions regarding the Red Planet.

**The book is built on the authors 31 years experience of astronomy and 22 years of communicating science to the public, resulting in many unique ideas and unprecedented ways of conveying them. The author is establishing a reputation in his country for this. Such an emphasis is a priority for the book - more so than conveying facts. Few currently available books approach the subject from such a stand point.

**A new generation, the second generation since the start of space exploration, deserve literature that encapsulates the important issues of the subject and sets them on their own path of exploration.

**The book connects with issues pertanent to todays world. In a global community full of stresses, this book unfolds a positive human story that is of direct relevance to everyone. In a world full of frivolous intrepetations and portrayed fear regarding science, the book brings to the table a grounded yet enigmatic perspective that will bestow a sense of optimism and inclusion.

This book translates "thinking like a rocket scientist" into every day thinking so it can be used by anyone. It's short and snappy and written by a rocket scientist. The book illustrates the methods (the 7 secrets) with anecdotes, quotations and biographical sketches of famous scientists, personal stories and insights, and occasionally some space history. The author reveals that rocket science is just common sense applied to the extraordinarily uncommon environment of outer space and that rocket scientists are people, too. It is intended for "armchair" scientists, and for those interested in popular psychology, space history, and science fiction films.

Former NASA Astronaut Harrison Schmitt advocates a private, investor-based approach to returning humans to the Moon to extract Helium 3 for energy production, to use the Moon as a platform for science and manufacturing, and to establish permanent human colonies there in a kind of stepping stone community on the way to deeper space. With governments playing a supporting role just as they have in the development of modern commercial aeronautics and agricultural production Schmitt believes that a fundamentally private enterprise is the only type of organization capable of sustaining such an effort and, eventually, even making it pay off.

This book describes a wide variety of speculations by many authors about the consequences for humanity of coming into contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. The assumptions underlying those speculations are examined, and some conclusions are drawn. The book emphasizes the consequences of contact rather than the search, and takes account of popular views. As necessary background, the book also includes brief summaries of the history of thinking about extraterrestrial intelligence, searches for life and for signals, contrasting paradigms of how contact might take place, and the paradox that those paradigms allegedly create.

Over the last 15 years or so there has been a huge increase in the popularity of astrophotography with the advent of digital SLR cameras and CCD imagers. These have enabled astronomers to take many images and, indeed, check images as they scan the skies. Processing techniques using computer software have also made 'developing' these images more accessible to those of us who are 'chemically challenged!' And let's face it - some of the pictures you see these days in magazines, books, and on popular web forums are, frankly, amazing! So, why bother looking through the eyepiece you ask? Well, for one thing, setting up the equipment is quicker. You just take your 'scope out of the garage or, if you're lucky enough to own one, open the roof of your observatory, align the 'scope and off you go. If you have an equatorial mount, you'll still need to roughly polar align, but this really takes only a few moments. The 'imager' would most likely need to spend more time setting up. This would include very accurate polar alignment (for equatorial mounts), then finding a guide star using his or her finder, checking the software is functioning properly, and c- tinuous monitoring to make sure the alignment is absolutely precise throu- out the imaging run. That said, an imager with a snug 'obsy' at the end of the garden will have a quicker time setting up, but then again so will the 'visual' observer.

This 2000 Edition of Sir Patrick Moore 's classic book has been completely revised in the light of changes in technology. Not only do these changes include commercially available astronomical telescopes and software, but also what we know and understand about the universe.

There are many new photographs and illustrations.

Packs a great deal of valuable information into appendices which make up almost half the book. These are hugely comprehensive and provide hints and tips, as well as data (year 2000 onwards) for pretty well every aspect of amateur astronomy.

This is probably the only book in which all this information is collected in one place.

Comets have inspired wonder, excitement and even fear ever since they were first observed. But they are important members of the solar system, that contain material from early in the life of the system, held in deep-freeze. This makes them key in our understanding of the formation and evolution of many Solar System bodies.

Recent ground- and space-based observations have changed much in our understanding of comets. Comets, and How to Observe Them gives a summary of our current knowledge and describes how amateur astronomers can contribute to the body of scientific knowledge of comets. This book contains many practical examples of how to construct comet light-curves, measure how fast a comet s coma expands, and determine the rotation period of the nucleus. All these examples are illustrated with drawings and photographs.

Because of their unpredictable nature comets are always interesting and sometime spectacular objects to observe and image. The second part of the book therefore takes the reader through the key observing techniques that can be used with commercially available modern observing equipment, from basic observations to more scientific measurements."

Go-To Telescopes Under Suburban Skies is the first book specifically written for amateur astronomers who own, or who are about to purchase, a computer-controlled go-to telescope. Computer control and automatic location of objects in the night sky is now a feature of even inexpensive astronomical telescopes (under $200), no longer just of the more expensive models. The advantage of the go-to capability is enormous the telescope can be aimed at any object in the sky with great speed and accuracy and so is the popularity of these instruments.

GO-TO Telescopes Under Suburban Skies provides literally hundreds more targets beyond those offered by the built-in nightly tours that feature on the telescope s computer handset (a feature incorporated by most manufacturers). Although most go-to telescopes have enormous databases of objects they can find usually running into tens of thousands the tours (that s suggested objects to look at) are always very limited. Once you ve seen the planets and bright objects that the computer suggests, you re on your own

This new book answers the question, What shall I observe next? in a way that is unique to go-to telescopes. Unlike all existing books on deep sky observing, GO-TO Telescopes Under Suburban Skies doesn't waste space on RA/Dec co-ordinates or Star Maps and Finder Charts for suggested objects. It is designed expressly to be used alongside a go-to telescope, using the NGC and SAO menus on the computer handset to quickly slew the telescope to each new target. This is unique, and makes the book much more information-rich than other observing guides.

Targets are arranged by season to maximise the chances of a given object being visible at the time of observing, and then are divided into four categories: three deep sky categories of increasing difficulty, and then one category of stars that covers things like coloured stars, multiple stars, and loose clusters/streams. The reader can quickly turn to the relevant season, and then work through the list of objects.

All existing books about practical deep-sky observing are biased towards non- go-to telescope owners and usually assume large-aperture instruments and/or dark, rural or desert skies. This book makes the more realistic assumption that the amateur astronomer has a relatively small telescope and is observing from a backyard in a suburban area.

Instead of devoting page after page to maps and co-ordinates, GO-TO Telescopes Under Suburban Skies leaves the computer to locate targets by using NGC and SAO catalog numbers, and so has the space to suggest many more fascinating deep-sky targets and provide detailed observing lists and information about what's being viewed.