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Old 11-06-2017, 06:06 AM
chew84 (Elle)
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Astronomy Book

Hello everyone,
I am the wife of a very passionate and hobby loving star gazier. It's my husbands birthday soon and he would like a certain observing book as a gift. I personally have no idea where to start nor what it is, I was wondering if you could all help me. We live in Sydney, Australia.

Here are the guidelines for the book he gave me;
- An Observing Sample book
- Must contain Objects to observe
- Coloured
- Medial book not beginner not technical
- Not Messier
- Southern Hempishere

Any recommendations and where to buy it from?
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Old 11-06-2017, 07:39 AM
Saturnine (Jeff)
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Hi and Welcome
A good place to start looking is the Binocular & Telescope Shop and their website, they have a good range of astro books and will give good advice on your needs.
A great book for intermediate level is the Steve Massey , Steve Quirk , Atlas of the Southern Night Sky. Maps of the constellations and the bright objects in them, with lots of colour photos and brief descriptions of those objects.
Hope this gives you a starting point.

Jeff
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Old 11-06-2017, 08:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Saturnine View Post
Hi and Welcome
A good place to start looking is the Binocular & Telescope Shop and their website, they have a good range of astro books and will give good advice on your needs.
A great book for intermediate level is the Steve Massey , Steve Quirk , Atlas of the Southern Night Sky. Maps of the constellations and the bright objects in them, with lots of colour photos and brief descriptions of those objects.
Hope this gives you a starting point.

Jeff
Agreed, a very handy book of intermediate level
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Old 11-06-2017, 09:19 AM
chew84 (Elle)
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Hi everyone,
Thanks for the suggestions, I'd like to confirm, the book you quoted is it more than just an atlas and is it also an observing guide for selected objects?

My husband said the book doesn't strictly have to be Southern hempishere as long as it's not too northern hemisphere dominated.

So now I have to add to my list;
-Not predominately Atlas

Thankyou
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Old 11-06-2017, 11:13 AM
Saturnine (Jeff)
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Generally, astro atlas' will have the maps plus a list of objects in each constellation and a description of those objects. The book mentioned certainly does and there are many other atlas' and observing guides availble that have a similar format.
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Old 11-06-2017, 02:51 PM
Wavytone
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Oldie but a goodie, perfect for those starting out with a small scope:

https://www.ebay.com.au/p/?iid=32252...hn=ps&&&chn=ps

Also

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Philips-G...38.m2548.l4275
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Old 11-06-2017, 04:15 PM
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First "Atlas" I ever got was the Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion "Guide to Stars and Planets". I marked every observation I ever made between the age of 8 and 16 in that little book, including Halley's Comet. I still have a copy (I lost my original to water damage).

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Universe-Guid...IAAOSwNSxVXNIY

Yes, it's simplistic, but i still enjoy it. Read it cover to cover for years, planned my viewing with it. Still do on occasion. I have Tirions Cambridge Atlas too, but find I use it less.

these days, sadly, the internet has replaced my planning, as have a couple of brilliant phone apps.
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Old 11-06-2017, 04:38 PM
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astroron (Ron)
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Elle and
This would be an ideal book to get him,it is written by amateur astronomers and has lots of objects to observe
It will fit most of the quota you require.
It is also "free postage" from the UK.

The Backyard Astronomer's Guide
It is a great book

https://www.bookdepository.com/The-B...1_sims_b_p2p_1
Cheers

Last edited by astroron; 11-06-2017 at 04:56 PM.
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Old 11-06-2017, 04:58 PM
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Hi Elle ,

Two books dedicated to the southern hemisphere come to mind.

In my opinion, you can't go past Stephen O'Meara's " Deep-Sky Companions - Southern Gems".
It's expensive, but it's packed with 466 whopping pages!
This is an observing companion, so O'Meara gives you a comprehensive guide on what to observe and how to get there. Each object has a black/white pic (I much prefer to colour for reference when I'm observing) plus a sketch by him as to what can be seen through the eyepiece.
I consider this book medium level.
https://www.bintel.com.au/product/de...southern-gems/


Next is The Night Sky Observers Guide - Volume 3 - The Southern Skies.
I haven't got this volume, but going by the other volumes in this series, they're very in-depth, black & white pics, mostly sketches, maps, finder charts, oodles of objects, each listing what can be seen through different sized scopes. This is not a picture book, again, it's an observing companion and is certainly a great book to have. I would consider this book medium-advanced level I think .
https://www.bintel.com.au/product/ni...s-guide-vol-3/


Then of course, as mentioned above is the famous "Atlas of the Southern Night Sky".
Another thick and fantastic book. Beautiful colour photographs, descriptions of the objects, followed by a map on the facing page.
Paddy has done a great review of this book.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/bookreviews.html
I consider this as a pretty picture book aimed at a beginner's level, that's just my opnion. Why?
Whilst it's loaded with lots of pretty colourful pics for each constellation and a large map on the facing page, pointing to oodles of objects, the actual selection of targets listed with descriptions are few, giving what appears to be the brighter objects/showstoppers. For example... NGC 5102 in Centaurus which is one the *easiest* galaxies to find isn't on the list, even though it's on the map .
So many of us have this book, I do love it, but for me, on its own, it simply isn't enough. It's a book I take to bed to read at night because it's light reading with lots of pretty pics, true story .

So my pick, as a visual observer who loves and has got too many books , would go to Stephen O'Meara.

In summary...
I doubt that he'll find one book that will do it all. Like me, you'll probably find that he'll wind up with several books and maps. Some books cater for the brighter objects and are quite easy to read and navigate thru, others are intense, some books cater more for "observing", i.e. more a teaching guide on techniques and what to look for in objects (such as Stephen O'Meara's Deep Sky Companions series, some books list the astrop hhysics and objects of interest better than others, etc. I have lots of books/maps- each used for different observations. If I want quick objects to find, I had for the easier guides, if I want challenges I head to a higher level book.


All the best in your pursuit of a book, Elle. It's not an easy hunt hey . How lucky is he that you're doing all this work for him.
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Old 11-06-2017, 05:00 PM
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Where's Barx (Malcolm).... he'll have some good input here.
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Old 11-06-2017, 06:48 PM
chew84 (Elle)
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Thankyou everyone I've got to do some research and I'll raid my husbands book collection to see what he has and what he hasn't.
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Old 11-06-2017, 06:53 PM
chew84 (Elle)
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P.s my husband isn't a newbie to astronomy his been doing it for 2 decades.
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Old 11-06-2017, 08:08 PM
Jone5y (Steve)
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I have this one "The Night Sky Observers Guide - Volume 3 - The Southern Skies." It's as comprehensive as I've ever seen but it's also black and white and purely factual. It's not a colorful book nor one for casual perusal but as a guide to almost anything and everything worth seeing it's certainly one to have in the collection.
Unfortunately i have no experience with any titles between it and the entry level ones . O'meara's book looks a good one, might put that on the wishlist myself.
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Old 11-06-2017, 09:47 PM
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Apparently Stephen O'Meara's book is also available on Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com.au/s/ref=nb_s...+Southern+Gems

I've totally run out of space for any more physical books (they breed you know, until every room in the house is over-run...) so the Kindle version is tempting. It could come out at night observing with me too. Hmm... ... eyes bank balance speculatively...
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Old 11-06-2017, 11:53 PM
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Quote:
they breed you know,

I know, right! Especially when one goes to a Lifeline Bookfest, oh my gosh look out then.
Has the Kindle version got a red light? Otherwise it'll ruin your eyes dark adaptation for observing. And just watch out for the dew, Chris. Having a plastic storage container on its side on a table, acting like a hutch, I found is so handy to protect books and laptop etc from dew. I was doing that for a couple of years and went... why the heck have I been going to all this trouble and discomfort when there's a perfectly good garage a few feet away from me to protect said items . Honestly...I have to wonder about myself sometimes. Power leads, everything in there .

EDIT: P.S. Chris, O'Meara's Deep Sky Companions - The Messier Objects book is a fantastic book. I use it much more than the Southern Gems book as it's more general, lots of sky candy. The Southern Gems book is more intense with a number of pages on each object. The Messier book gets more to the point. Just my 2c... as you're just starting out, I think you will get more enjoyment out of the Messier book. Or just get both .

Here's a glimpse of the Messier book.
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Last edited by Suzy; 12-06-2017 at 12:08 AM.
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Old 12-06-2017, 06:45 AM
Saturnine (Jeff)
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Hi Again
Actually, we should take a step back and ask an obvious question. How experienced an observer is he and does he have a telescope or binoculars that he uses and if so what size. The type and size of what he uses will give a better guide to how detailed an atlas would be the more useful for an addition to any books and / or software that he may be using already.
If an experienced observer with a telescope of 150mm+ in aperture , the Night Sky Observer Guide Vol. 3, The Southern Skies is as comprehensive as most people may ever need, with thousands of objects listed.
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Old 12-06-2017, 08:46 AM
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Perhaps we should also ask what books he already has and why he doesn't just ask for a particular one that he would like but doesn't have yet?

If one gets too picky about the features that a book must or must not have it might rule out pretty much all of the currently available titles. For instance The Southern Sky Guide by David Ellyard and Will Tirion does pretty much what the title suggests and is packed with charts and information. But no coloured pictures, alas. Whether the information and charts are interesting and useful, or just old hat, would depend entirely on the previous research and experience of the reader. And that's always a personal thing. And so on...

It seems that the perfect book, like the perfect telescope, is largely imaginary and most enthusiasts end up with a selection of both, for different purposes.

Last edited by Nebulous; 12-06-2017 at 02:50 PM.
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Old 12-06-2017, 09:14 AM
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Originally Posted by Suzy View Post
Has the Kindle version got a red light? Otherwise it'll ruin your eyes dark adaptation for observing. And just watch out for the dew, Chris. Having a plastic storage container on its side on a table, acting like a hutch, I found is so handy to protect books and laptop etc from dew. I was doing that for a couple of years and went... why the heck have I been going to all this trouble and discomfort when there's a perfectly good garage a few feet away from me to protect said items . Honestly...I have to wonder about myself sometimes. Power leads, everything in there .
Ah yes, the red light issue... I find the red light functions on astro programs a mixed blessing because, as you suggest if you want to check anything else (or a screen saver unexpectedly cuts in) then the light booms back to full power.

Fortunately, a quick swipe from the bottom of an iPad brings up a range of dimming options that work pretty well, so I can set them before I start. And there's always the solution of having a sheet of red cellophane to lie over the screen (you can stick your hand underneath to use the controls. (I'm still working on the patent red cellophane night glasses and the full face red cellophane astro-helmet... but I do have a red cellophane covered LED light which I leave on in my shed over the bench with attachments, eyepieces etc on it.

The other solution is what I call The Pirate. You only use one eye at a telescope so you can preserve the night vision in that eye by closing it when you look away (using a pirate eye patch and saying "Aaaaar Jim lad.. each time is optional). You can then turn round to the iPad/book/glass of warming fluid/ that's behind you and use better lighting with your other eye. Trust me (hehehehe) it does work...

I deal with dew in a couple of ways:

1. Setting the scope up in the doorway of the shed. Unless I need to go almost vertical I can observe my current targets of interest with most of the scope, and all of me and the various accessories, under cover.

2. If I do need to be fully outside and things starts getting wet I just put the scope back in the shed and go inside for a coffee and a chat. Or a whisky and a chat... The life of a Wimpy Old Astronomer is is too short to be dark, cold and wet all at the same time..

Thanks for the book tips.

Cheers,

Chris
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Old 12-06-2017, 11:05 AM
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Hi Jeff, just recently in post #12, Elle mentioned he's been at it for "2 decades"! So I'm going with you on the NSO Guide for sure .
I've no experience with Sky Atlas book so I can't comment on those, I think someone mentioned that earlier. But wow that NSO Guide is super comprehensive. I really must get the Southern Skies volume. Our fellow IceInspace member & a great astro mentor to me, Ian Cooper collaborated on that book.

Chris, it sounds like you've got it all worked out well .
As long as the red cellophane isn't showing as pink, so lots of layers.
Your eye patch trick is a good one, and popular, though I've never used it.
I've never gone on past the point when my scope dews up, instead I through a little tanty and pack up in a huff. Not wanting to wake neighbours up with a hairdryer. Once I take time away from the scope I lose motivation *sigh*.
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Old 14-06-2017, 07:55 PM
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Ah yes, the red light issue...
One of the nice things in iOS10 is there's a setting to turn the screen red globally - the lock screen and all apps included - so no more blinding yourself.

Only trick to note is to set Sky Safari to monochrome - otherwise any blue text won't show (filtered to black).

No more cellophane )
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