eBooks

Martin Mobberley, “The New Amateur Astronomer”
Springer | ISBN: 1852336633 | 1 edition (August 25, 2004) | PDF | 229 pages | 19,25 MB

“ Amateur astronomy has changed beyond recognition in less than two decades. The reason is, of course, technology. Affordable high-quality telescopes, computer-controlled ‘go to’ mountings, autoguiders, CCD cameras, video, and (as always) computers and the Internet, are just a few of the advances that have revolutionized astronomy for the twenty-first century. Martin Mobberley first looks at the basics before going into an in-depth study of whats available commercially. He then moves on to the revolutionary possibilities that are open to amateurs, from imaging, through spectroscopy and photometry, to patrolling for near-earth objects - the search for comets and asteroids that may come close to, or even hit, the earth. The New Amateur Astronomer is a road map of the new astronomy, equally suitable for newcomers who want an introduction, or old hands who need to keep abreast of innovations.

Ernest H. Cherrington, “Exploring the Moon Through Binoculars and Small Telescopes”
Dover Publications | ISBN: 0486244911 | New edition (April 1, 1984) | PDF | 240 pages | 40.9 MB

“ Informative, profusely illustrated guide to locating and identifying craters, rills, seas, mountains, other lunar features. Newly revised and updated with special section of new photos. Over 100 photos and diagrams. “Extraordinary delight awaits the amateur astronomer or teacher who opens this book.”

Gerry A. Good, “Observing Variable Stars”
Springer | ISBN: 1852334983 | 1 edition (January 31, 2003) | PDF | 274 pages | 31.777 MB

“ Observing variable stars is one of the major contributions amateur astronomers make to science. There are 36,000 variable stars listed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars, so it is clearly impossible for the limited number of professional observatories to target even the majority of them. That’s where amateur astronomers come in - thousands of them turning their telescopes to the sky every night. Variable star observing is the most popular of “real science” activities for amateurs, and Gerry Good’s book provides everything needed. The first part of the book provides a highly detailed account of the various classes of variable star, with examples, illustrations and physical descriptions. The second section covers practical aspects of observing, everything from preparation and planning, through observing techniques, to data management and reduction.

John Chiravalle, “Pattern Asterisms: A New Way to Chart the Stars”
Springer | ISBN: 1846283272 | 1 edition (March 20, 2006) | PDF | 182 pages | 15942 KB

Since the very beginning of astronomy, people have looked up sky and constructed patterns the constellations out of the almost random scattering of stars in the night sky. The fact that the constellations are still used to day reflects not their historical origins, but their usefulness in identifying bright stars in the rotating dome of the sky. Most people (and all astronomers) are familiar with, for example, the constellation of Orion and can thus easily point to Betelguese and Bellatrix as being Orions “shoulders”. It is the pattern made by the constellation that makes them easy to identify. What applies to big groups of stars can also be applied to smaller ones, and this book provides a set of memorable mini-constellations to help in identifying and remembering stars in the binocular or low magnification telescopic field. Suitable for observers using binoculars and medium size telescopes, this catalog includes star pictures, dot-to-dot outlines of the objects ( on a negative photograph for clarity ), and an artistic image next to the star patterns. Size, stellar magnitudes, and coordinates are provided, along with north direction, star-hopping instructions & Sky Atlas 2000 references. There are sixty-seven “pattern asterisms” in this catalog. Most are easy to see in sixty millimetre binoculars, and few are what observers describe as “challenging”. The imaginative observer will surely begin to develop a new insight into star patterns, and will start seeing patterns of his own, under this catalog’s influence!
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