Book Description
The New CCD Astronomy is the #1 source of information about CCD astrophotography. It contains everything you need to know to become proficient at CCD imaging. Hundreds of detailed illustrations show you how to select equipment, take pictures, and process your images with a variety of software.

This book cover everything you need to know: How a CCD camera works; How to achieve critical focus; How to choose the right equipment (mount, telescope, and CCD camera); How to autoguide, and more.

You'll also learn the secrets of color imaging, the art of noise reduction, many image processing techniques, and specialized techniques for planets, nebulae, galaxies, etc.

Free with purchase: a one-year subscription to the New CCD Astronomy web site, including: a complete online version of the book; additional fully-illustrated tutorials; discussion groups moderated by the author; searchable database of CCD imaging targets; and a number of free software tools to improve your CCD imaging results. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

The New CCD Astronomy by Ron Wodaski
A fantastic book. If you ever wanted to get into CCD astrophotography this is the One Book you should have. Ron goes into all aspects of the subject. Scopes, mounts, cameras. All the how to does. A great refence book to0. Many hands on photos.I must have read and re read my copy a hundred times on different subjects relating to CCD astrophotography. i give this book the highest possible rating. Tom

A superb book!!!!!!!!!
I bought this book because people said to me "this is the best book to learnastrophotography with CCD", I'd read about 100 pages and I'm completely agree with that affirmation.

Thank you Mr. Wodaski for your book.

Sorry for my bad English.

Juan Ignacio Solis Blazquez.
Getafe (Madrid).
Spain.

Pretty basic stuff
I got the book and was pretty disappointed in two respects:
1) no meat to the book from a technical perspective: really a superficial "what" instead of an in depth "why"

2) hard to find things after the read. It reads OK and has decent flow, but it isn't easy to find things after the fact.

If you are completely non-technical and want to get into ccd astronomy, don't; it will drive you crazy with frustration and bankrupt you. But if you insist then you may like this book: again if you are a completely non-technical type.

If you are a tekkie type, then you may find it to be a waste of time and not much more than a bunch of common sense hardware suggstions and a collection of photoshop tricks that anyone could mine off the internet.

Making matters worse is that the menus in photoshop change from time to time, so use it to try to extract the concepts and not look at it as a recipe for following to the letter.

I felt like the book was a waste of my time and money but I bought mine cheap, so the time was really the only loss.

Great book, but get out your checkbook
This book has been a fabulous learning tool for me.My only complaints are two 1) No color photos, which others have mentioned; 2) The equipment and software the author recommends are high end.Not all of us can afford to spend $7000 to $10,000 to get started in CCD imaging.

Much of the instructions are given for Maxim DL ($500) and CCDSoft (which primarily supports SBIG cameras).The most popular CCD cameras on the market now are the Meade DSI line for introductory users, and no attention is given to them at all, or the Autostar and Envisage software.

As well, many of us are LX200 owners who bought our scopes and went into imaging later and can't afford to upgrade to Astro-Physics mounts and Takahashi OTAs.Or purchase SBIG cameras.I would recommend some section devoted to entry-level equipment, as many of us will eventually upgrade later and use the information in the text, just not right away.

Other than that, I learned a ton from this book and still recommend it highly.It will last me for years, and the web site support is fabulous.Just wish I had the author's budget for equipment.

What color is that?
If you're expecting to see color images in what is considered to be the "bible" of astrophotography, you'll be disappointed.Don't even look for them in the 40+ page chapter on (get this) Color Imaging.Not sure what the reasoning is behind that choice, but Mr. Wodaski could have served the readers better by provided some color images so we could better understand the color processing techniques described. ... Read more

Book Description
Jay Pasachoff and Alex Filippenko combine extensive research experience, teaching experience, and textbook-writing experience to offer a book that is unparalleled in its ability to present the latest science in a way that students can understand.This brief, beautifully illustrated text – one of the briefest available for the course – offers concise coverage of a wide range of astronomical topics. The authors have struck a balance between the fundamental concepts and the exciting topics at the forefront of astronomy, conveying the spirit of contemporary astronomy within a big picture context.The authors emphasize the central theme of origins in this text, first by singling out specifics in the headings of each chapter and then by dealing with a variety of relevant material in the text itself. An early discussion of the scientific method stresses an importance on the verification of observations, and sets the stage for the text's consistent focus on astronomy as a science. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great - Simply Great
As I look at a beautiful new astronomy book like this one, I am reminded of Galileo who was sentenced to be shown the implements of torture and then confined under house arrest for the remainder of his life for publishing that the sun went around the earth rather than the other way around. Galileo's first telescope was probably about eight power, about standard these days for binoculars.

Today with the advanced state of even inexpensive commercial telescopes, CCDs and advanced software which can be processed quite easily on the very powerful home computers fo today, the home astronomer is up to about where the pros were a dozen or so years ago.

If you are a student using this book as a text, you are lucky.

If you are just interested in astronomy, this is a highly recommended book. It's writing quality, and the quality of its printed pictures is supurb. It's up to date with as good a discussion on recent findings such as the accelerating expansion of the Universe (one of the authors AF, was on one of the teams that discovered this), dark energy, dark matter, and of course the eleven dimensions that make up superstring theory as you will find in any book. They even make these subjects clear without having to go into deep mathematics. (Then again, going into deep mathematics may well not make these subjects more understandable at all.)

Now updated in its third edition this book accurately reflects the current state of astronomy. It would make a great present to an amateur astronomer.

Great Astronomy Text
This is a great introductory Astronomy text.It is easy to understand and learn the material presented.There are magnificent photos and easy to understand illustrations for those who are visual learners.I recommend it to anyone wanting to just have an understanding of the subject, whether in an educatinal setting or just wanting to learn it on their own.

The Cosmos: Astronomyin the New Millennium
This is a five-star book! Designed as a textbook for basic astronomy courses, it also serves as a stand-alone book for the average person who wants seriously to find out more about the universe. The content is clear and easy to follow, moving from the earth through the solar system, stars, galaxies, black holes, quasars, and finally issues of cosmology. Pages are well laid-out for easy reading, and enhanced with beautiful four-color photos and diagrams. Each chapter concludes with a concept review and questions for reflection. Help in learning terminology is provided by boldfaced vocabulary throughout the book and a glossary at the end.
Special features that are set apart in the text, either on separate pages or in boxes, include interviews with people in astronomy (excellent diversity of persons), exercises in calculation, expanded "closer looks" at topics, biographies of scientific figures, and exercises in finding things in the sky.
Web-enhanced features for students that go with the book include www sites for more information using the Internet, web-links, chapter maps, quizzes, and even a source on popular misconceptions. Instructors' ancillary materials include photo resource catalog, overhead transparencies/slides, and a computerized test bank.
You don't have to be a scientist to read this book! Anyone can learn a great deal about the universe from these 395 pages. Pasachoff and Filippenko have produced a winner. Enjoy! ... Read more

Book Description

Johannes Kepler contributed importantly to every field he addressed. He changed the face of astronomy by abandoning principles that had been in place for two millennia, made important discoveries in optics and mathematics, and was an uncommonly good philosopher. Generally, however, Kepler's philosophical ideas have been dismissed as irrelevant and even detrimental to his legacy of scientific accomplishment. Here, Rhonda Martens offers the first extended study of Kepler's philosophical views and shows how those views helped him construct and justify the new astronomy.

Martens notes that since Kepler became a Copernican before any empirical evidence supported Copernicus over the entrenched Ptolemaic system, his initial reasons for preferring Copernicanism were not telescope observations but rather methodological and metaphysical commitments. Further, she shows that Kepler's metaphysics supported the strikingly modern view of astronomical method that led him to discover the three laws of planetary motion and to wed physics and astronomy--a key development in the scientific revolution.

By tracing the evolution of Kepler's thought in his astronomical, metaphysical, and epistemological works, Martens explores the complex interplay between changes in his philosophical views and the status of his astronomical discoveries. She shows how Kepler's philosophy paved the way for the discovery of elliptical orbits and provided a defense of physical astronomy's methodological soundness. In doing so, Martens demonstrates how an empirical discipline was inspired and profoundly shaped by philosophical assumptions.

Book Description
Astronomy, astrophysics and space research have witnessed an explosive development over the last few decades. The new observational potential offered by space stations and the availability of powerful and highly specialized computers have revealed novel aspects of the fascinating realm of galaxies, quasars, stars and planets. The present completely revised 5th edition of The New Cosmos provides ample evidence of these dramatic developments. In a concise presentation, which assumes only a modest prior knowledge of mathematics and physics, the book gives a coherent introduction to the entire field of astronomy and astrophysics. At the same time it takes into account the art of observation and the fundamental ideas behind their interpretation. Like its predecessors, this edition of The New Cosmos will provide new insight and enjoyment not only to students and researchers in the fields of astronomy, physics and earth sciences, but also to a wide range of interested amateurs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The New Cosmos, Intro Astronomy & Astrophysics
This book meets my expectations in that it covers a wide variety of topics, in some detail.I wanted to take a "step up" regarding technical detail, and this book is what I was looking for.The only drawback is the occasional heavy mathematics, but this is something I can grow into, and is not essential to enjoying the book.

applies physics to astronomy
As a physics undergrad, an earlier edition of this book was one of our texts in 1982. The latest edition continues the tradition of providing a lucid description of the basic physical principles underlying astronomic phenomena.

Hence, you are shown how the temperature in a star can rise, because as its atoms fall towards each other under mutual gravity, the conservation of energy leads to an increase in kinetic energy and hence temperature. Enough to eventually trigger ignition of nuclear reactions. Well, provided the initial mass is large enough. Otherwise one gets brown dwarfs or gas giants like Jupiter.

Other subjects like spectroscopy are also derived from basic principles. It's nice to see how we can get the surface temperature of a star by looking at its spectrum and seeing which lines exist. And the strength of the magnetic field on its surface by the amount of splitting in certain lines. And even the rate of rotation by the minute Doppler shifts.

The evolution of the elements, from nuclear fusion, is well done. The text refers to the classic papers, including B2FH (Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler and Hoyle). Other key contributors like Chandrasekhar get their fair mention.

A very good introduction to astronomy and astrophysics
It's not the flashiest text, I agree.But I think it can be used for a first course on astronomy and astrophysics (for students with some basic calculus and physics).

It covers everything:Celestial mechanics, the Sun and its planetary system, electromagnetic radiation, telescopes and detectors, astrophysics of individual stars, star clusters, interstellar matter, the Milky Way, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, cosmology, and cosmogony.But the style is concise, and there isn't enough space to cover it all in detail.It requires careful reading, and if used for a class, some topics probably need to be skipped or amplified by an instructor.

What would I add to it?Not much.Maybe a little more on planetary dynamics and magnetospheres, since I happen to find them interesting.Perhaps more material on relativity.

Solid astronomical textbook
This book may not be the most flashy in illustrations and will require that you actually read whole sections instead of just browsing the highlights in sidebars. But it does contain a lot of solid information going into more detail on several topics than other introductory textbooks. It is targeted rather at the graduating physics student than at an interested lay person.

German Science
Being a German-American, I thought this book would get to the rudiments of astrophysics - and it does. Unfortunately, I seem to fall asleep before reading a page or two. The book is full of information ... in TEXT form. The illustrations offered are dry and somewhat difficult to extract information from. The methods of problem solving assume that you have a good handle on the topics discussed already (not for introductory Astrophysicists). If you are in need of a book to give straight to the point explanations, and fundamental equations - you've found it! Try reading at a coffee shop, though - and no decaf! ... Read more

Book Description
Jay Pasachoff and Alex Filippenko combine extensive research experience (including years of research in such areas as radio astronomy, solar eclipses, supernovae, active galaxies, black holes, and cosmology), teaching experience, and textbook-writing experience to offer a book that is unparalleled in its ability to present the latest science in a way that students can understand.This brief and beautifully illustrated text ? one of the briefest available for the course ? offers concise coverage of a wide range of astronomical topics. An early discussion of the scientific method stresses its importance in the verification of observations. The authors emphasize the study of origins in this text, first by singling out specifics in the headings of each chapter and then by dealing with a variety of relevant material in the text itself. This new edition includes a new chapter on the dozens of exoplanets that are being discovered around other stars. Automatically packaged with TheSky? CD-ROM and four months' free access to InfoTrac College Edition, the new edition extends student learning opportunities beyond the walls of the classroom. ... Read more

Book Description
Written in a clear, concise style for the non-science major, this edition uses analogies and everyday examples to present the most current information about astronomy in a way that students can easily understand. It comes packaged with a free interactive CD-ROM and has a new, expanded web site. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent
This is the best Astronomy text that I have ever seen. It is filled with colorful photos and diagrams, and delves into the more interesting aspects of astronomy. A must for any Astronomy teacher, student, or amateurastronomer. It's also included with a great CD that has planetariumsoftware on it. ... Read more

Book Description
The scientists seeking to unravel the mysteries of the universe are among the most imaginative and provocative explorers of our time. Like the geographic explorers of earlier centuries, they venture into uncharted spaces, come upon new worlds, expand the knowable, and challenge thinking about the place of humans in all things. Collected here are the most exciting moments of recent astronomical explorations, presented by the award-winning science reporters of the New York Times. Recent leaps in technology have allowed astronomers to peer deeply into the universe and to bring into focus fascinating and unsuspected phenomena. Cosmic Dispatches conveys in thrilling detail the meaning and significance of what scientists have been learning about our universe. B/W photographs, diagrams. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Embark on the ultimate voyage of cosmic discovery!
Cosmic Dispatches: Reports On Astronomy And Cosmology by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist John Noble Wilford is a guide to the very latest findings of astronomy and cosmology. The paperback edition contains six new essays on the discovery of new multiplanet systems and the question of time before the Big Bang. Among the vast compendium of other scientific issues covered in assorted essays are the future of exploration on Mars, the possibility of life on other planets, and the true age of the Universe. Cosmic Dispatches is a wondrous, informative, and mind-expanding book, highly recommended for students of astronomy and the non-specialist general reader ready to embark on the ultimate voyage of cosmic discovery!

Recent scientific discoveries as seen by the Times
This is something of a history of recent astronomy as related in the Times. The oldest story is Walter Sullivan's report on the discovery of the cosmic background radiation in 1965. Most of the others, though, are from the eighties and nineties. The coverage is divided into sections: new telescopes and new technology, planetary exploration, potential life on Mars, extrasolar planets, the life of stars, black holes, missing mass, the new cosmology, the age of the universe, the fate of the universe, looking for ET, and theories of everything. Each section has a half-dozen or so breaking stories on related topics, which gives the text a greater sense of immediacy than the usual explanatory text.

Not only are these good stories in their own right, but they're also excellent examples of good science writing. (One of the physicists involved with the discovery of the CMBR even told Sullivan that he didn't understand the significance of his finding until he read his article.) The only weaknesses are the diagrams, which sometimes verge on being too small to read, and the episodic nature of the text, with each article being relatively self-contained, rather than being one chapter in an explanatory book. But these are minor complaints about an overall excellent book. ... Read more

Book Description
Humanity has always looked at the heavens in fascination, but now we have the tools to make precise observations.

In this new book, a distinguished panel makes recommendations for the nation's programs in astronomy and astrophysics, including a number of new initiatives for observing the universe.With the goal of optimum value, the recommendations address the role of federal research agencies, allocation of funding, training for scientists, competition and collaboration among space facilities, and much more.

The book identifies the most pressing science questions and explains how specific efforts, from the Next Generation Space Telescope to theoretical studies, will help reveal the answers.

Astronomy has significant impact on science in general as well as on public imagination. The committee discusses how to integrate astronomical discoveries into our education system and our national life. ... Read more

Book Description
There's more to the Universe than meets the eye. In a marvelous review of multi-wavelength astronomy, The New Astronomy compares traditional optical images to infrared, ultraviolet, radio, and X-ray astronomical observations of a staggering variety of cosmic objects. With over 300 photographs and images obtained by telescopes and detectors operating at different wavelengths, the authors present startlingly different views of the solar system, stars, galaxies and, in this new edition, Halley's Comet and Supernova 1987A. Specially processed by astronomers worldwide, these images reveal in spectacular detail otherwise invisible events such as starbirth, stardeath, and distant quasar eruptions. Emphasizing the physical processes that produce astronomical radiation, they explain how the observations have expanded our existing knowledge and provided new discoveries. They also describe the new techniques in nontechnical language. By giving equal weight to observations at all wavelengths, this book corrects the bias toward optical astronomy and objectively presents all views of the Universe. It will appeal to everyone interested in the mysteries of astronomy. Nigel Henbest and Michael Marten previously collaborated (along withHeather Couper) on The Guide to the Galaxy (CUP, 1994). ... Read more

Book Description
Compiled in honor of Anthony F. Aveni, America's leading archaeoastronomer, Skywatching in the Ancient World offers state-of-the-art work in cultural astronomy by well-known experts in Mayan glyphic studies, cultural history, ethnohistory, and the history of science and of religions.

This collection's wide range of outstanding scholarship reveals that cultural astronomy has come into its own. The diverse topics addressed by the contributors include the correlation between Colonial Northern Zapotec and Gregorian calendars, the period of use of the Dresden Codex Venus table and the significance of the Lunar Almanacs that precede it, a new interpretation of an Inka tapestry mantle as a commemorative calendar, temple orientations in Hawai`i and church orientations in Medieval England, and the connection in cultural imagery between astronomers (science) and wizards (magic). ... Read more

Book Description
These proceedings are from the fifth workshop of a series that concentrated on optical CCDs for the first four installments. At this workshop, for the first time, our "bandpass" was broadened to include infrared detectors. Every leading manufacturer, all major astronomical observatories and the experts in the field gathered on the Big Island of Hawaii for a week long workshop dedicated to scientific detectors for astronomy. This book captures the spirit of a unique event that was both an intensive exchange of technical information and a very friendly gathering of a cooperative community. The state-of-the-art papers include the latest technologies from detector manufacturers, observatory plans, instrumentation applications, electronics, extremely large focal planes, testing techniques and space missions. ... Read more

Product Description

This unique work celebrates the 60th birthday of Professor Woodruff Sullivan III (University of Washington, Seattle). The ?Woodfest? conference attracted some of the world?s leading astrobiologists and historians of astronomy, so it is no surprise this book provides a collection of key papers and reviews on the history of astronomy, astrobiology and sundials.

Book Description
New Cosmic Horizons tells the extraordinary story of space-based astronomy since the Second World War. Starting with the launch of the V2 rocket in 1946, this book explores the triumphs of space experiments and spacecraft designs and the amazing astronomical results that they have produced. David Leverington examines the fascinating way in which the changing political imperatives of the United States, USSR/Russia and Western Europe have modified their space astronomy programs. He covers all major astronomy missions of the first fifty years of space research: the Soviet Sputnik and American Explorer projects, the subsequent race to the moon, solar and planetary missions, and the wonders of modern astrophysics culminating in the exciting results of the Hubble Space Telescope. Extensively illustrated, New Cosmic Horizons offers amateur and professional astronomers an unusual perspective on the history of astronomy in our time.David Leverington was Design Manager of the GEOS Spacecraft and Meteosat Program Manager for ESA in the 1970s. During his tenure as Engineering Director at British Aerospace in the 1980s, he was responsible for the Giotto spacecraft that intercepted Halley's comet, and the Photon Detector Assembly and solar arrays for the Hubble Space Telescope. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He lives in Essex, England. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The fascinating history of space-based astronomy
In New Cosmic Horizons: Space Astronomy From The V2 To The Hubble Space Telescope, David Leverington reveals the fascinating history of space-based astronomy from the launching of the V! rocket in 1946 down to the present day. Here are all the triumphs of the space experiments and spacecraft designs that have produced the spectacular astronomical results in the last half of the twentieth century. Profusely illustrated and with a comprehensive, "reader friendly" text ideal for both astronomy students, astronomy professionals, and the interested non-specialist general reader, New Cosmic Horizons will prove to be an essential, core addition to any personal, academic or community library reference collection. ... Read more

Book Description

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.