Book Description

This is the book to tell the intermediate-level amateur astronomer what he needs to know about observatories. It draws on the authors practical experience and that of many other experienced amateur astronomers.

Book Description

The aim of State of the Universe 2007 (and subsequent volumes issued annually) is to provide an annual astronomy review suitable for the popular science level reader to be published every year in September in a format that will be suitable for an appeal to the Christmas market. The book will cover all major astronomical news on topics beyond the Solar System and place them in the context of the longer term goals that astronomers and astrophysicists around the world are aiming for. The target is to capture the excitement and vibrancy of modern astronomical research. The book will present a complete list of the major announcements, discoveries and news items from each year, with the major ones being explained in detail through selected chapters being written by invited contributors who are at the forefront in those fields. The January meeting of the American Astronomical Society each year will be the major source of astronomical news for the following years volume, giving access to potential authors and contacts with public information officers of major observatories, space centers, etc.

Customer Reviews (2)

A must have!
When I read about the book I was quite excited and when I received the book, a few days ago, I was not disappointed. The book has a part dedicated to brief news and other with in-depth articles about very interesting topics (gravitational waves and LIGO, supernova 1987A remnants, gamma ray bursts...) and appendixes with data about current and future telescopes and extrasolar planets. I have still not finished it, but it won't take me long to.

Only slight cons is that I expected it to cover 2006 news and, because editorial schedule, it covers march 2005 - march 2006. Then maybe State of the Universe 2007 was not the most proper or accurate title. Other con was that I expected glossy paper, and it's not, Mate astronomical pictures are not so spectacular, but I guess this way it's cheaper (and more ecologic?).

I hope next year will bring a new State of The Universe, and I sure will buy it,

Excelent Information
I read the Martin Radcliffe's book "State of the Universe 2007" and I think it was a good idea to write a book like this. It is informative, well documented, comprehensive and provides you a good vision of what is going on in the different areas of the Universe whicha are under investigation. I think he should publish it every year, to keep un up-to-date with the latest discoveries. We could collect them and follow up different researches and their results and novelties. Superb. ... Read more

Book Description
The founding of the Dudley Observatory at Albany, N.Y., in 1852 was a milestone in humanity's age-old quest to understand the heavens. As the best equipped astronomical observatory in the U.S. led by the first American to hold a Ph.D. in astronomy, Benjamin Apthorp Gould Jr., the observatory helped pioneer world-class astronomy in America. It also proclaimed Albany's status as a major national center of culture, knowledge and affluence. This book explores the story of the Dudley Observatory as a 150 year long episode in civic astronomy. The story ranges from a bitter civic controversy to a venture into space, from the banks of the Hudson River to the highlands of Argentina. It is a unique glimpse at a path not taken, a way of doing science once promising, now vanished. As discoveries by the Dudley Observatory's astronomers, especially its second director Lewis Boss, made significant contributions to the modern vision of our Milky Way galaxy as a rotating spiral of more than a million stars, the advance of astronomy left that little observatory behind. ... Read more

Book Description
In Small Astronomical Observatories, Patrick Moore has collected descriptions of amateur and small professional observatories currently in use in Europe and America, showing how many astronomers have built their own observatory, often with effective and sometimes extraordinary improvisations to reduce the cost. There is a photograph of each, along with details of its construction and a foreword written by Patrick Moore. In addition to providing a fascinating study for its own sake, Small Astronomical Observatories offers a unique fund of ideas and practical details for anyone who wants to build an amateur or small professional observatory. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Lots of options to help you decide on an observatory for you
'Small Astronomical Observatories' is not your ordinary astro book.It shows you a number of different observatory designs, but assumes you already have knowledge of key construction concepts.Spherical andpolygonal domes, roll off roofs and some unusual designs are included inthis book (which were built by amateur astronomers).There are even blueprint type diagrams for a few of the designs to help you get started andmake your own design decisions. Well worth buying.

Cover very much in little depth
Has several different observatory design ideas, but lacks depth and details.Is good if you aren't sure exactly what you want to build, and want to get an idea of possibilities.Some chapters have good tips on avoiding problems and mistakes made by builders during construction, but I found the book lacking in material.I wish I could recommend a different/better book, but I never found one.Unfortunately, this is the top of a shallow pile... ... Read more

Book Description
In making the invisible universe visible, radio telescopes allow astronomers to see through our local universe of nearby stars to view a distant universe. Radio astronomy has provided tremendous insights into the composition, physical characteristics, and evolution of objects in the universe and revealed completely new, unanticipated phenomena. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has greatly contributed to this scientific revolution. The book traces the story of radio astronomy from its accidental beginnings in the 1930s to the present, describes the development of NRAO instrumentation, and focuses on the considerable contributions made by the scientists using the NRAO instruments. This unique insight into the evolution of a truly modern science is written in a style that anyone with an interest in astronomy can understand and enjoy, and also provides technical information that professionals in astronomy, computer science, and electrical engineering will find useful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent!
I have the book and have taken the class with Dr. Malphrus.Both were extremely "Ben"eficial to my physics eduacation.This book is interesting on both the historical and scientific level.An excellent view into an evolving science.

Go Doc Malphrus!
We haven't really read the book but we're students of his and we love him. He's an awesome guy. GO DOC!

A comprehensive guide to the beginnings of radio astronomy.
This book offers an excellent look into the history and making of the science we now know as radio astronomy.Dr. Malphrus' book is also easy to understand, you need not be a physics major to make sense of the science he discusses.A great book for a interesting look into the once invisibleworld of radio astronomy. ... Read more

Book Description
Almost every serious amateur astronomer knows the benefit of having a fixed observatory of some sort - it saves a vast amount of time and effort during every observing session - and this book provides the necessary help. More Small Astronomical Observatories details the methods and techniques employed by non-professional astronomers from all over the world, providing a wonderful resource for anyone wishing to build a small observatory of almost any kind. It's a fun read, too. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

more small astronnomical observatories
It a good book but it is outto date ,it is a good think who some one make a new book for this subject astronomical observatories amateur...

A Wealth of Ideas!
Sir Patrick Moore adds another wonderful book to his many!Anyone sincerely interested in configuring and erecting a custom observatory would find this invaluable.The initial offering is now out of print, but the editors and Sir Moore have kindly included a CD rendition of it.

Good for giving ideas
This book is not a step-by-step guide. Moore never says it would be. It allows you to see what others have built and get ideas for your own observatory - what is a better/different way to do what I want. An added bonus is that his first book (Small Astronomical Observatories) is included as a CD in the back (I had been looking for it for a while with no luck).
Most observatories are going to be of simple construction. If you can drive a nail and cut a piece of wood, you are well on your way. A bit of cement work and you are 99% there. I used information from 4 units to design my own. Yes, some of the designs are on the internet and he gives web addresses where they exists.
It meets my needs for information and I would not hesitate to suggest this book to anyone thinking about building a small observatory.

more small astronomical observatories
This book is as if you had a... tour through a garden of private observatories. There is very little technical content to be gleamed if you were wanting to make your own observatory and how to control it. Most of the material that is there, can be easily found in minutes on the internet. If I could give a lower rating I would. It was a waste of my money ... Read more

Book Description

My Heavens! charts the progress of the authors own substantial observatory (with additional material from amateur constructors of large observatories elsewhere) from conception, through design, planning and construction, to using an observatory of the kind that all amateur astronomers would aspire to own.

Book Description

Comprehensive profiles of the 57 most important observatories in the world, including 10 space-based telescopes.

Great Observatories of the World is a comprehensive tour of the 57 leading observatories located in the United States, Europe, Chile, Australia, India, Japan and the vast reaches of space.

The book begins with a brief and engaging history of the telescope and observatories. It covers 36 Earth-based observatories and their history, mission, type of telescope and other observatory equipment, and significant discoveries.

It then features 10 space-based observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Telescope, which have been mounted on space probes to monitor some of the universe's most mysterious events.

The final section covers 11 observatories of the future, including both Earth-based and space-based telescopes, and how partnerships between nations and private institutions fund ambitious projects of unprecedented size and responsiveness.

The book also provides fascinating information on:

• Spectroscopy and radio astronomy
• The effects of atmosphere on astronomy
• Coronagraphy and solar observation
• Astronomy careers and training
• Locations and websites of the world's 100 largest observatories.

Great Observatories of the World is profusely illustrated with photographs of the observatories as well as dramatic images of the universe they explore.

Customer Reviews (2)

Great pictures and overall descriptions; lots of numeric errors
This book is fun to read, and a lot can be learned from it, but beware of the numeric errors: do not trust dates, sizes, distances. Common errors include: billion sometimes means 10^9 and sometimes 10^12, distances to galaxies are completely wrong (e.g. 10 light years to M82), use of thousand instead of thousandths, and multiple others.

A "coffee table" book for lovers of big telescopes
This book is an indulgence for those of us fascinated by big telescopes. It includes short discussions of each of the world's most important observatories, with brief technical interludes on topics like spectroscopy and adaptive optics. But this is not a book to read, it is a book to browse through, look at the pictures, and sample the text. The text certainly has its errors, such as substituting "millions" for "billions" in comparing the cost of space telescopes, and placing the date of the 3m Shane telescope as 1979 (it was competed in 1959 and renamed after Shane in 1977.) But we can overlook errors like this in a book designed for voyeurs. If big telescopes turn you on and you have a few extra dollars available, you'll probably like this book! ... Read more

Book Description
The long-awaited second edition of this well-received textbook gives a thorough introduction to observational astronomy. Starting with the basics of positional astronomy and systems of time, it continues with charts and catalogs covering both historically important publications and modern electronic databases. The book builds on a fundamental discussion of the basics of light and the effects of the atmosphere on astronomical observations. Chapters include discussions of optical telescopes, detectors, photometry, variable stars, astrometry, spectroscopy, and solar observations. This edition contains new discussions of measurements with CCDs and appendices give basic statistical methods, useful astronomical software and websites, and sources of accurate time-calibration signals. Observational Astronomy is the perfect textbook for upper level undergraduate or beginning graduate courses on astronomy. Examples based on real astronomical data are placed throughout the text. Each of the well-illustrated chapters is supported by a set of graduated problems and suggestions for further reading. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is a personal account of the evolution of millimeter-wave astronomy at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. It begins with the construction of the hugely successful, but flawed, 36 ft radio telescope on Kitt Peak, Arizona, and continues through the funding of its ultimate successor, the Atacama Large Millimeter-wave Array (ALMA), being constructed on a 5.000 m (16.500 ft) site in northern Chile. The book describes the behind-the-scenes activities of the NRAO Tucson staff. These include the identification and solution of technical problems, the scheduling and support of visiting astronomers, and the preparations and the politics of the proposal to replace the 36 ft telescope with a 25 m telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The book also describes the installation of a new 12 m surface and the involvement of the Tucson staff in the ALMA project. Finally, it recounts events leading to the closing of the 36 ft telescope and, eventually, of the NRAO offices in Tucson.

Book Description
Quasars and active galaxies are the most powerful emitters of radiation in the universe. Modern radio telescope arrays have shown that the ultimate energy source resides in the central few parsecs of the galactic nucleus, and powers the emitting regions by way of two oppositely-directed relativistic jets of energy. This volume presents the latest observations and theories of these remarkable objects. Topics discussed include superluminal motions, the physics of jets and shock fronts in jets, related optical observations, and cosmic evolution. Particular attention is given to the "unified theories," which attempt to show that many of the phenomena in powerful extragalactic objects are different aspects of a single, basic mechanism; the main difference in their appearance is a result of their different orientation with respect to the observer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Very Informative Little Book
This book published by NASA (NASA Special Publication, NASA SP-451) in early 1984 describes the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO) Missions which were developed to examine and analyze the nature of the high energy universe, stellar radiation and galactic radiation.Some of the topics covered in this book include creative violence, stellar explosions, cosmic rays, superbubbles, stellar coronas, collapsed stars, neutron stars, degenerate dwarf stars, black holes, X-ray images of galaxies, galactic nuclei, spiral galaxies, galactic clusters, the mystery of the missing mass, and cosmic fire.The book also covers the design of the mission, the spacecraft and the spacecraft instruments.

It is important to note that while this book has been out of print for many years; many excellent quality used copies of this book in hardback are available cost between $10 - 25.
... Read more