The Backyard Astronomer's Guide

perfect book for beginners and more advanced

If you are considering taking up amateur astronomy, this should be the first book you get for your soon-to-be-established astronomy library. An astronomy hobby can be expensive. This book introduces you to the sky. It guides you through an observation process that starts with the naked eye, then uses binoculars, and ends with telescopes. Binocular and telescope purchase guidance is provided. There has been a market shake-up since this book was published. Some of the manufacturers went out of business. Their telescopes can be found on the used/secondary market. Many factors must be considered when purchasing a telescope. You will be introduced to the types of telescopes, advantages, disadvantages, and some (dated) pricing information. Telescopes require an appropriate tripod. A similar treatment is presented for tripods. Little can be seen without an eyepiece. Following the guidance in this book, you can make informed decisions regarding which eyepieces or filters match your observation goals. You will be exposed to must-have, nice-to-have, and not-needed accessories. The book provides basic setup and telescope adjustment for your telescopic kit, plus an introduction to using your telescope. The focus of the next half of the book is on visual and photographic telescopic observations of the universe. I treated this portion of the book as pick-and-choose. The first topic is about observing solar and lunar eclipses. The next topic, Moon Tours, is the first of a series of visual observation tours through the night sky. The book wraps up with an introduction to photographing and processing night sky images.

Libro bien impreso, contenidos interesantes y actualizados. Fotos espectaculares.

An absolutely essential book for astronomy beginners and anyone wanting to progress in observational and armchair astronomy, plus all of the essential techniques within the field of astrophotography. With masses of information on up to date equipment types, along with guides to the practices and procedures for using the many and varied telescopes, binoculars, mounts, cameras, lenses etc.

I have an interest in astronomy and have recently purchased this book and a telescope. This book contains lots of useful info, and it is well organized to find the info you want easily. I strongly recommend that people with an interest in astronomy get this book before purchasing expensive equipment because it explains well what to look for in quality equipment to observe celestial objects, from binoculars to telescopes to telescope accessories, etc. It also explains well how to observe various celestial objects... with the naked eyes, with binoculars, and with a telescope. It contains nice illustrations as well. I have already read several chapters and find it hard to put this book down when I start reading it.