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Visual Astronomy of the Deep Sky
Clearly aimed at the advanced amateur astronomer (as the author states in the preface) it details all the variants that can contribute (or not) to maximizing the observation of the most popular "faint fuzzies" (galaxies, nebulas, supernova remnants,
etc.) that those amateurs can observe through their backyard telescopes.
It also presents an important visual atlas of said objects with drawings from real observing sessions being compared to photographs on the same scale.
etc.) that those amateurs can observe through their backyard telescopes.
It also presents an important visual atlas of said objects with drawings from real observing sessions being compared to photographs on the same scale.
- GenresAstronomy
368 pages, Hardcover
Published March 29, 1991
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August 28, 2018
Here's a title that clearly stands out from most run-of-the-mill backyard astronomy title.
To be plain honest, I'm still, 5 years after reading it, to put its claims (rather revolutionary, in some instances) through their paces with my "8-incher" SCT, but, given the apparent accuracy of the author's own observational data, it is obvious that the proposed techniques are indeed based on numerous hours (spanning for nearly a decade!) of practical, down-to-earth amateur astronomy - instead of complex paradigms sprinkled here and ther with scientific formulae and/or axioms. But then life's other engagements have been, as usual, been holding me back from taking my scope out in the yard as often as I wanted, in this last half a decade.
Anyway, the author's claims go as far as to challenge old, worn out formulae such as the maximum observable magnitude for a given aperture and so on. They're based almost exclusively on his empiricism rather than accepting commonplace conventions other authors take for granted throughout their books.
So, for this reason alone, as mentioned earlier, this methodical certainly makes it to stand out from other titles. And, most importantly, it really whets our appetite for observing DSOs we had so far deemed as unobservable and did not bother pointing our scopes at.
If anything, given its hefty price, I'd suggest trying to find it first at your local or uni library - the latter being my case - and check out whether this kind of fairly original approach does it for you or not.
To be plain honest, I'm still, 5 years after reading it, to put its claims (rather revolutionary, in some instances) through their paces with my "8-incher" SCT, but, given the apparent accuracy of the author's own observational data, it is obvious that the proposed techniques are indeed based on numerous hours (spanning for nearly a decade!) of practical, down-to-earth amateur astronomy - instead of complex paradigms sprinkled here and ther with scientific formulae and/or axioms. But then life's other engagements have been, as usual, been holding me back from taking my scope out in the yard as often as I wanted, in this last half a decade.
Anyway, the author's claims go as far as to challenge old, worn out formulae such as the maximum observable magnitude for a given aperture and so on. They're based almost exclusively on his empiricism rather than accepting commonplace conventions other authors take for granted throughout their books.
So, for this reason alone, as mentioned earlier, this methodical certainly makes it to stand out from other titles. And, most importantly, it really whets our appetite for observing DSOs we had so far deemed as unobservable and did not bother pointing our scopes at.
If anything, given its hefty price, I'd suggest trying to find it first at your local or uni library - the latter being my case - and check out whether this kind of fairly original approach does it for you or not.
Displaying 1 of 1 review