Description: At first glance, the challenge of astrophotography may appear daunting. But not only are spectacular results possible, they are easy to learn with the step-by-step instructions provided in Stephan Seip's Digital Astrophotography: A Guide to Capturing the Cosmos. Today, amateurs can produce images that only twenty years ago a large professional observatory would have been proud of; and this book shows you how.

Learn how to:

• Set up your camera for optimum results
• Focus your camera for razor-sharp images
• Take beautiful night shots with a simple compact digital camera, a tripod, and a telescope
• Use a DSLR camera to shoot the Sun, Moon, stars, star clusters, and nebulae through your telescope
• Get brilliant images of planets with a Webcam
• Capture remote galaxies with a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera just like a pro

• Shoot RAW format images and improve them with calibration frames
• Take short exposures of faint deep-sky objects and combine them into a longer exposure
• Perform brightness, contrast, and color correction
• Make corrections to correct for vignetting and uneven field illumination
• Process your images for stunning results

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: The Night Sky Companion takes a look at astronomy every day over the course of the year offering an overview of general history, soft science, astronomical trivia, and observing guides and motivation. Designed to appeal to readers at all skill levels and involvement, it provides a digest for sky watchers interested in all-in-one-place information that includes history, current events, and of course interesting objects to be observed on any given day. The Moon is followed through its phases with observing instructions, annotated pictorial maps, concise photos, and the science and history of what makes lunar observing a fascinating challenge.

Unaided eye observers are offered an opportunity to view many objects or events; learn about their history, science and how just "looking up" can be rewarding. Binocular and small telescope users will find a wealth of things to view using simple star hop instructions and finder charts. This book is more than just an observing guide, it's a way of learning your way round the night sky. Large-aperture telescope users looking for a challenge are not ignored either. Some of the finest deep-sky objects are detailed, with finder maps and photographs, most of them taken by talented amateurs.

Be it a meteor shower, double stars, variable stars, solar viewing, lunar features, a variety of catalog studies, history or the physics and science behind the stars -- you'll find it here, written in an easy-going style ideal for dipping in on the relevant day, or even reading from cover to cover.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: From 1600 to 1800 a number of beautiful star atlases depicting the constellations according to ancient myths and tales were printed. In Europe, where the quality of celestial atlases was unmatched, classical Greek traditions prevailed and the constellations were given allegorical visual representations of heroes and heroines, real and imaginary animals, scientific instruments and artistic tools. These images were placed in celestial latitude and longitude coordinate systems that allowed the positions of the stars to be mapped in the sky and formed the backdrop for predictions of the location of the planets and other heavenly bodies throughout the year. These celestial atlases also contained diagrams of the solar system that reflected both contemporary and ancient cosmological systems, thus tracing the development of mans view of his place in the universe.

This book traces the history of celestial cartography and relates this history to the changing ideas of Man's place in the Universe and to advances in map-making. Over 200 photographs from actual antiquarian celestial atlases and prints, 76 of which are in color, enrich the text, and a legend accompanies each illustration to explain its astronomical and cartographic features. Also included in the book are discussions of non-European celestial maps and chapters on early American influences and celestial map-collecting.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: With tea leaves and in the night sky, people have always tried to impose patterns on seemingly random groupings. This well-researched, thoughtful collection brings together star myths from such Native American tribes as the Navajo, Pawnee, Shasta and Micmac. Coyote is a bungler who causes trouble on every front: in one story he peeks into a jar and scatters the stars (and then is sent to wander, unwanted, across the earth); in another, he shoots arrows into the sky, which he and five Wolf Brothers ascend but he descends alone. One of the stories about Pleiades tells of six wives who eat wild onions but are scorned by their husbands for the smell of their breath. They leave and climb a rope to the sky. Given the oral tradition of these tribes and the need to preserve the tales, this poetically rendered compilation is especially valuable. Text decorations show symbols, patterns, constellations and some of the many tricksters.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: Stephen O'Meara's new and exciting observing guide spotlights an original selection of 109 deep-sky objects that will appeal to sky-watchers worldwide. His 'hidden treasures' include a wonderful assortment of galaxies, open clusters, planetary nebulae and more, all of which have been carefully chosen based on their popularity and ease of observing. None of these objects are included in either the Messier or the Caldwell catalogs, and all are visible in a 4-inch telescope under dark skies. Stunning photographs and beautiful drawings accompany detailed visual descriptions of the objects, which include their rich histories and astrophysical significance. The author's original finder charts are designed to help observers get to their targets fast and efficiently.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Thinking of buying a telescope? Don't be fooled by marketing hype. This book is the ultimate source of unbiased information about buying a telescope and other astronomical equipment.

This is the fourth edition of Phil Harrington's popular and comprehensive guide to astronomical equipment. Written for both new astronomers as well as experienced amateurs it includes numerous tips and tricks from other experienced astronomers.

Book Synopsis: Just as our knowledge of the cosmos has changed, so has astronomy technology. So how does the amateur astronomer make informed choices about buying telescopes. In this latest edition of Star Ware, award-winning astronomy writer Philip Harrington helps eliminate the guesswork and guides us through the process with fully updated and expanded chapters on telescopes and accessories.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: Sirius has many names. Astronomers recognize over fifty designations for the star, but the most commonly used is Alpha Canis Majoris, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major. This is Latin for the 'Great Dog', which has led to its popular nickname the Dog Star. Over the centuries many beliefs have come to be associated with Sirius. Some of these beliefs still echo in such phrases as the dog days of summer, which the ancient Romans understood well. Other old beliefs long ago fell from public consciousness only to be revived and to grow into modern popular and scientific controversies. Although these beliefs may seem quite recent, many have their origins in the ancient lore surrounding Sirius; humans seem naturally drawn to its brilliance, and a surprising number of modern cults have nucleated around beliefs in which Sirius plays a prominent role.

Average customer review at Amazon.com: NOT YET RATED

Description: The Observer's Sky Atlas contains star charts and information for all those who observe the night sky with unaided eyes, with binoculars, or with small telescopes, and also for those who just wish to look at constellations and interesting objects. Equally useful for the beginning observer and the old hand, this new edition features: 32 additional pages with images of all the 250 nebulae covered in the atlas, an updated calendar for the next 20 years, double star ephemerides from 2005-2020, including updated tables accompanying star charts, updated minima/maxima of variable stars according to recent observations, updated data where new measurements have proven more reliable than previous ones.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: Exploring the wonders of the cosmos doesn't require expensive and complicated equipment -- the moons of Jupiter, breathtaking nebulae, and distant galaxies are all visible through binoculars. Binocular Highlights is a tour of 96 different celestial sights from softly glowing clouds of gas and dust to unusual stars, clumps of stars, and vast star cities (galaxies) -- all visible in binoculars. Each object is plotted on a detailed, easy-to-use star map, and most of these sights can be found even in a light-polluted sky. Also included are four seasonal all-sky charts that help locate each highlight.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: Did you ever wonder exactly what constellation you're seeing when you look up at the night sky? The first book in our Night Sky: Astronomy for Everyone Series will guide even the absolute beginner through the constellations in no time! An extensive introduction guides the reader through the basics of constellation observing, and the convenient season-by-season organization of the text makes observing throughout the year a snap. Patterns in the Sky emphasizes what anyone can see from a typical suburban backyard and concentrates on just-for-fun, naked-eye stargazing -- no optical aid required! Perfect for ages 10 to adult.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: Carl Sagan is considered one of the greatest scientific minds of our time. His remarkable ability to explain science in terms easily understandable to the layman in bestselling books such as Cosmos, The Dragons of Eden, and The Demon-Haunted World won him a Pulitzer Prize and placed him firmly next to Isaac Asimov, Stephen Jay Gould, and Oliver Sachs as one of the most important and enduring communicators of science. In December 2006 it will be the tenth anniversary of Sagan's death, and Ann Druyan, his widow and longtime collaborator, will mark the occasion by releasing Sagan's famous "Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology," The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God.

The chance to give the Gifford Lectures is an honor reserved for the most distinguished scientists and philosophers of our civilization. In 1985, on the grand occasion of the centennial of the lectureship, Carl Sagan was invited to give them. He took the opportunity to set down in detail his thoughts on the relationship between religion and science as well as to describe his own personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the vastness of the cosmos.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: In full color throughout, the seventh edition of Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion's famous guide to the night sky is fully revised and updated for planet positions and forthcoming eclipses up to the end of the year 2011. The book contains a chapter on the main sights visible in each month of the year, and is an easy-to-use companion to the night sky. It will help you to identify prominent stars, constellations, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies, to watch out for meteor showers, and to follow the movement of the four brightest planets. Most of the sights described are visible to the naked eye and all can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope. The Monthly Sky Guide offers a clear and simple introduction to the skies of the northern hemisphere for beginners of all ages.

Ian Ridpath has been a full-time writer, broadcaster and lecturer on astronomy and space for more than twenty-five years. He has written and edited more than 40 books, including A Comet Called Halley (Cambridge, 1985). Wil Tirion made his first star map in 1977. Since then he has illustrated numerous books and magazines, including The Cambridge Star Atlas.

Average customer review at Amazon.com: NOT YET RATED

Description: Sirius, Algol, Castor and Pollux, Mizar and Alcor: these names are well known to stargazers. But others Rasalhague, Vindemiatrix, Zubenelgenubi are obscure tongue twisters. Have you ever wondered where all these exotic-sounding star names came from? In this revised edition of the venerable Short Guide to Modern Star Names and their Derivations, Paul Kunitzsch and Tim Smart track down the origin and meaning of 254 star names. This fascinating work, long out of print, is considered to be the most authoritative English-language treatment of star names in use today.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: The SkyScout makes star-gazing a whole lot easier, and a lot more fun! SkyScout works in one of two ways. You can point the SkyScout at what you are looking at in the sky, then via GPS, the SkyScout will tell you what exactly it is you're looking at. Or, you can select a celestial object you want to see via it's internal menu, and SkyScout will prompt you with directional arrows through the viewfinder. Follow it's directions and SkyScout will let you know when you're on target.

SkyScout also has the capability to educate you on the object your viewing. Via audio and text, the SkyScout will give you facts, trivia, history and mythology on the most popular space-faring bodies. Over 200 audio descriptions of the most popular celestial objects. Durable construction. Graphic 3 (w) x 1 (h) LCD Display with Red LED backlight. Powered by 2 AA batteries (not included). Built-in Help. 2-Year Manufacturer's Warranty.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Description: This collection of celestial atlases by Dutch-German mathematician and cosmographer Andreas Cellarius (c. 1596-1665) brings back to life a masterpiece from the Golden Age of celestial cartography. First published in 1660 in Harmonia Macrocosmica, the complete 29 double-folio maps and dozens of unusual details reproduced here depict the world systems of Claudius Ptolemy, Nicolas Copernicus, and Tycho Brahe, the motions of the sun, the moon, and the planets, and the delineation of the constellations in various views. Cellarius's atlas, superbly embellished with richly decorated borders depicting cherubs, astronomers, and astronomical instruments, features some of the most spectacular illustration in the history of astronomy.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...

Publisher's Web site:
A masterpiece from the Golden Age of celestial cartography

Description: The 4th edition of Terence Dickinson's highly-regarded guidebook for beginning sky watchers. Revised and expanded for use through 2018.

Do you want to learn about Astronomy but don't know where to start? Nightwatch may just be the right book for you. It is written as a complete first book on amateur Astronomy and it has helped thousands of stargazers worldwide through the early stages of celestial exploration.

Nightwatch contains chapters on The Universe, Backyard Astronomy, Stars for all Seasons, Stargazing Equipment (full of good practical advice including factors to consider before you buy your first telescope), Observing Deep Sky Objects, The Planets, Moon and Sun, Solar and Lunar Eclipses, Comets, Meteors and Auroras, Photographing the Night Sky, and Resources.

In addition to 4 seasonal all-sky maps, a set of 20 detailed star charts are included that provide instant information on hundreds of naked-eye, binocular and telescopic objects. Considered by many to be the best book of its kind.

Average customer review at Amazon.com:
Read Customer Reviews...