Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenpiper
While the Gray & Corbally tome is an excellent reference ... in fact the ultimate one ... it is expensive and maybe overkill for most amateurs ...
|
G'day there, Bernard,
You are right that I haven't really accurately defined the 'readership level' for which this book is intended. I am working on a somewhat longer review for amazon.com, which will deal with the sort of person this book is suitable for.
But you would be surprised how 'heavy' some amateurs get.......there are amateur astronomers out there doing the most extraordinary things, activities that in fact do require Extremely Detailed Knowledge at a Very High readership-level similar to that of Gray and Corbally.
Indeed, this text is emphatically
not overkill for some amateurs.....
to give one example, in the Galactic and Extragalactic Research area, there are people like me, and Dennis Webb (in the united states), who have spent hours poring over galaxy data, every day for many years.....and we are 'humble amateurs', doing it just for fun.
(for instance, I can classify galaxies as well as any professional astronomer does)
There must be some who take Stellar and Star Cluster astronomy equally seriously.....
for instance our very own Dana (in IIS) (= Weltevreden SA) seems to spend all of his time reading scientific papers about stars and star clusters, yet he is not a professional astronomer....so he wouldn't find this book difficult or too detailed.
And you call this book expensive?
I guess 'expensive' is a relative term, when you consider that my own personal library of astronomy books is well better than that of many Australian University libraries, in terms of containing reference works suitable for supporting extragalactic research.....
(not to speak of my biology books collection, which is similarly extensive!)
Many amateurs spend a fortune on equipment, but resist spending a large amount on books. I would rather have the books.
cheers,
madbadgalaxyman,
alias Robert Lang