Telescopes

The Perfect Machine: Building the Palomar Telescope

Almost a half-century after is completion, the 200-inch Palomar telescope remains an unparalleled combination of vast scale and microscope detail. As huge as the Pantheon of Rome and as heavy as the Statue of Liberty, this magnificent instrument is so precisely built that its seventeen-foot mirror was hand-polished to a tolerance of 2/1,000,000 of an inch. The telescope's construction drove some to the brink of madness, made others fearful that mortals might glimpse heaven, and transfixed an entire nation. Ronald Florence weaves into his account of the creation of "the perfect machine" a stirring chronicle of the birth of Big Science and a poignant rendering of an America mired in the depression yet reaching for the stars.

Secrets of the Stones: New Revelations of Astro-Archaeology and the Mystical Sciences of Antiquity

From the temples of Egypt to the stone circles of Britain, Michell traces the development of the science of astro-archaeology.

Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy

Comprehensive, authoritative coverage of interferometric techniques for radio astronomy

In this Second Edition of Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy, three leading figures in the development of large imaging arrays, including very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI), describe and explain the technology that provides images of the universe with an angular resolution as fine as 1/20,000 of an arcsecond.

This comprehensive volume begins with a historical review followed by detailed coverage of the theory of interferometry and synthesis imaging, analysis of interferometer response, geometrical relationships, polarimetry, antennas, and arrays. Discussion of the receiving system continues with analysis of the response to signals and noise, analog design requirements, and digital signal processing.

The authors detail special requirements of VLBI including atomic frequency standards, broadband recording systems, and antennas in orbit. Further major topics include:
* Calibration of data and synthesis of images
* Image enhancement using nonlinear algorithms
* Techniques for astrometry and geodesy
* Propagation in the neutral atmosphere and ionized media
* Radio interference
* Related techniques: intensity interferometry, moon occultations, antenna holography, and optical interferometry

Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy, Second Edition is comprehensive in that it provides an excellent overview of most radio astronomical instrumentation and techniques.

The Observing Guide to the Messier Marathon: A Handbook and Atlas

The Messier Catalogue is a list of one hundred and ten galaxies, star clusters and nebulae, and includes many of the brightest and best-known objects in the sky. Amateur astronomers who find all the objects on the list in one night have successfully completed the Messier Marathon. The Observing Guide to the Messier Marathon contains over 90 easy-to-use star maps to guide the observer from one object to the next, and provides tips for a successful night of observing. Don Machholz also tells the story of the eighteenth-century astronomer, Charles Messier, and how he came to compile his extensive catalogue. His complete guide to the Messier Marathon will help the amateur astronomer to observe the Messier Objects throughout the year, using a small telescope or even a pair of binoculars. Don Machholz is an engineer in Auburn, California. Interested in astronomy since childhood, he is a renowned comet hunter, having discovered nine comets that bear his name. He writes articles for local California newspapers and radio stations for special astronomical events. Between 1988 and 2000, Don Machholz was the Comets Recorder for the Association of Lunar and Planetary Recorders.

The Messier Catalogue lists one hundred and ten galaxies, star clusters and nebulae, and includes many of the brightest and best-known objects in the sky. Amateur astronomers can challenge their abilities by attempting to find all the objects on the list in one night, thus completing the Messier Marathon. This book contains over 90 easy-to-use star maps, and provides tips for a successful night of observing. It can also be used to observe the Messier Objects throughout the year, using a small telescope or even a pair of binoculars.

Choosing and Using a Ccd Camera: A Practical Guide to Getting Maximum Performance from Your Ccd Camera/Book and Disk

How To Use An Astronomical Telescope

Astronomy has never been a more popular pastime than it is today. The increased availability of less expensive, more powerful, and more sophisticated telescopes has given rise to a new generation of stargazers. And for these beginning astronomers here is the comprehensive book covering everything from the difficult task of selecting an instrument to the equally daunting choices that arise when a telescope is turned to the heavens.

Renowned British astronomer and author James Muirden takes the fledgling astronomer by the hand in his new book, offering tips on:

* the purchase, assembly, and orientation of your new telescope

* how to observe and chart the Sun, Moon, planets, stars and comets

* how to investigate the deep-sky objects -- clusters, nebulae, and other galaxies beyond the Milky Way

The final chapter, "Windows into Space," explores ten carefully selected regions featuring noteworthy examples of double stars, galaxies, and nebulae, as well as more obscure objects seldom examined by astronomers.

How to Use an Astronomical Telescope offers completely revised and updated location charts with detailed coordinates, tables, appendixes, and numerous illustrations and photographs, making it the essential volume for one's first exploration of the cosmos.

Urban Astronomy

Denis Berthier has spent thirty years observing the night sky from within a city and his practical guide will enable amateur astronomers to observe and photograph stars, planets and other celestial objects from their own town. It is becoming more and more difficult to find an observing site with clear, dark skies away from light and industrial pollution. However, by choosing the right targets to observe, with patience and simple equipment, amateur astronomers can still find observing from towns and cities to be a rewarding hobby. Denis Berthier is the French journalist who has been passionate about astronomy for the last thirty years. He has been Laureate of the French Association for Astronomy and has published numerous papers on astronomical photography and instrument construction.

It is becoming more and more difficult to find an observing site with clear, dark skies away from light and industrial pollution. However, with patience, some simple equipment, and by choosing the right targets to observe, amateur astronomers can still find observing from towns and cities a rewarding hobby. The result of thirty years of observing the night sky from within a city, Denis Berthier's practical guide will enable amateur astronomers to observe and photograph stars, planets and other celestial objects from their own town.

Exercises in Practical Astronomy Using Photographs

Offering a series of well-defined problems supplemented by solutions, Exercises in Practical Astronomy: Using Photographs presents meaningful practical work in elementary astronomy and astrophysics. The book provides authentic astronomical photographs of very high quality on which different types of objects can be studied with equipment as simple as rulers and protractors. In addition to photographs and a set of exercises that cover 12 topics, the coverage includes ample hints and worked solutions that are designed to enable students to work independently. SI units are used for physical data and in conversions of astronomical quantities. This book is one of the few to use real rather than idealized or simplified data in the problems.

Telescope Optics : Complete Manual for Amateur Astronomers

How to Use a Computerized Telescope: Practical Amateur Astronomy Volume 1 (Practical Amateur Astronomy)

How to Use a Computerized Telescope describes how to get a computerized telescope up-and-running, and how to embark on a program of observation. Michael Covington explains in detail how the sky moves, how a telescope tracks it, and how to get the most out of any computerized telescope. Packed full of practical advice and tips for troubleshooting, his book gives detailed instructions for three popular telescopes: the Meade® LX200, Celestron^DCC NexStar 5 and 8, and Meade® Autostar^DTM (ETX and LX90). Michael A. Covington is an associate research scientist at the University of Georgia. He is a computational linguist trained in the computer processing of human language and the computer modeling of human logical reasoning, and a widely recognized expert on the Prolog programming language. He is the author of nine books including Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms, Seventh Edition (Barron's, 2000), Astrophotography for the Amateur (Cambridge, 1999), PROLOG Programming in Depth (Simon & Schuster, 1996), Cambridge Eclipse Photography Guide (1993), and Syntactic Theory in the High Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1985). A senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Covington is a Contributing Editor to, and former "Q&A" columnist of, Poptronics magazine.

How to Use a Computerized Telescope is the first handbook that describes how to get your computerized telescope up-and-running, and how to embark on a program of observation. It explains in detail how the sky moves, how your telescope tracks it, and how to get the most out of any computerized telescope. Packed full of practical advice and tips for troubleshooting, it translates the manufacturers' technical jargon into easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, and includes many of the author's tried and tested observing techniques.