The Science and Art of Using Telescopes (eBook)

Philip Pugh (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2009 | 2010
XII, 411 Seiten
Springer New York (Verlag)
978-0-387-76470-2 (ISBN)

Infos

Amateur astronomers have to start somewhere. Most begin by buying a modest astronomical telescope and getting to know the night sky. After a while, many want to move on to the next stage, but this can be problematic. The magazines advertise a mass of commercially-made equipment - some of it very expensive - which can represent a major financial outlay. The trick is to choose the right equipment, and then use it to its fullest extent.

Observing Skills: The Science and Art of using Astronomical Telescopes provides the required information. First, it explains how to get the best from entry-level equipment (that upgrade may not even be needed for a year or two!). Second, it explains how to select equipment that is at the 'next level', and describes how use more advanced telescopes and accessories.

The book is organized according to observational targets, and although it concentrates mainly on visual observing, it concludes with a section on imaging and the equipment currently available - from regular digital cameras, through webcams, to specialized chilled-chip CCD cameras.

Observing Skills: The Science and Art of using Astronomical Telescopes is the perfect follow-up to Moore and Watson: Astronomy with a Budget Telescope and Tonkin: AstroFAQs . It neatly fills the gap between these introductory books and the more advanced books in Springer's Practical Astronomy list.

Philip Pugh is a mathematician, a member of the Institute of Technical and Scientific Communicators, and travels the world as a freelance trainer in science and business. He has had his articles published in Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, and Astronomy Now, and is the author/editor of Springer's forthcoming book, Observing the Sun with Coronado^TM Telescopes.

Inhalt

Preface 6
Acknowledgements 8
Contents 9
Introduction 12
Getting Past the "Beginner" Stage 13
So Where Do You Go from Here? 14
Specializing in Subbranches 15
Choosing a Telescope 17
Choosing Binoculars 20
Beginner Telescopes 23
Wide Field Reflectors 25
Small Aperture Achromatic Refractors 26
Small Aperture Newtonian Reflectors 28
Short Tube Refractors 30
Larger Aperture Newtonian Reflectors 32
Larger Aperture Achromatic Refractors 34
Clear Aperture Reflectors 35
Compact Reflectors 36
Apochromatic Refractors 39
Specialist Telescopes 41
Accessories 42
Rules Are Meant to Be Broken 48
Too Cloudy to Go Out? 51
Daytime Viewing 53
Digital Photography 57
Lunar Viewing 62
Choice of Equipment 66
What to See 74
Maria 74
Craters 77
Mountains 83
Rilles 85
How to Get the Best from Lunar Viewing 86
For Further Reading 88
Solar Viewing 89
Choice of Equipment 97
What to See 107
Viewing 109
Getting the Best from Solar Viewing 109
For Further Reading 115
Books 115
The Internet 115
Planetary Viewing 116
The Inferior Planets 120
Superior Planets 122
Choice of Equipment 125
Mercury 128
Venus 128
What to See 130
Mercury 130
Venus 131
Mars 135
Jupiter 139
Saturn 142
The Outermost Planets 143
How to Get the Most from Planetary Viewing 146
For Further Reading 147
Viewing Other Solar System Objects 148
Meteors 149
Meteor Showers 151
Observing Recommendations 151
The Scientific Bit 153
For Further Reading 153
Comets 154
What Comets Are There? 155
Discovering New Comets 156
For Further Reading 160
Dwarf Planets 161
Main Belt Asteroids 163
Near Earth Asteroids 164
Kuiper Belt Objects 165
Other Objects 165
Simple Deep Sky Viewing 166
Catalogs 171
Choice of Equipment 173
What to See 174
Double Stars 174
Star Clusters 177
Globular Clusters 180
Nebulae 181
Galaxies 190
How to Get the Best from Simple Deep Sky Viewing 193
For Further Reading 194
Beyond the Local Group 195
Choice of Equipment 196
What to See 198
Tips and Tricks 203
For Further Reading 205
Simple Digital Photography 206
Choice of Equipment 209
Lunar Photography 211
Solar Photography 218
Planetary Photography 223
Constellation Photography 224
Double Star Photography 226
The Final Word (Or Is It?) 227
Deep Sky Astro-Imaging 229
Getting Started 231
The Telescope 232
Aperture 233
Focal Length 233
Focal Ratio 234
The Camera 238
Cooling 238
8 Bit or 16 Bit? 240
Quantum Efficiency 241
ABG or NABG 241
Binning 242
Color or Monochrome 244
The Mount 246
Auto-Guiding 257
Mount Calibration 262
Taking Your Image 263
Focusing 264
Focusing Mask 265
Diffraction Spikes 267
Software-Assisted Focusing 269
Filters 271
Color Imaging 273
Narrowband Filters 275
Image Acquisition and Processing 276
Image Acquisition 277
Image Processing 278
Image Reduction/Calibration 281
Dark Frame 282
Flat Frame 284
Flat Darks 286
Order 288
Image Processing 289
Other Basic Processing Functions 304
Color 305
Digital SLR Cameras 306
Webcam Imaging 308
Processing Your Planetary Images 311
Conclusion 321
Usual Suspects List 338
Glossary 362
Index 393

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 3.10.2009
• Reihe/Serie: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series
• Reihe/Serie: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series
• Zusatzinfo: XII, 411 p. 160 illus., 91 illus. in color.
• Verlagsort: New York
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Astronomie / Astrophysik
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: Astronomical • Astronomy • Astrophotography • deep sky observing • lunar observation • Observing • planetary viewing • solar observing • viewing the Local Group
• ISBN-10: 0-387-76470-4 / 0387764704
• ISBN-13: 978-0-387-76470-2 / 9780387764702