Ebook: The Science and Art of Using Telescopes

You’re not a beginner anymore. Yet you’re not sure how to take the next steps.

Perhaps you are thinking of specializing in a certain kind of viewing. Perhaps you have some extra money to spend and are wondering what would be the best way to spend it. Or maybe you are looking for new challenges or how to make the most of the equipment you have.

There are lots of ways you can proceed. This book will help you move in whatever direction you want to move. It will take you to the next level, and show you all the possibilities. Lots of invaluable advice and tips from an experienced and knowledgeable sky gazer will set you on the right path and turn an interesting hobby into a lifelong passion.

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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.