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  • Book
  • © 2002

Practical Amateur Spectroscopy

  • Everything an amateur astronomer need to begin spectroscopic observing, in one book
  • Covers a very wide range of available equipment, from simple DIY spectroscopes to the most expensive commercially-made instruments
  • Describes basic principles to that the reader will understand how to analyse the spectra he sees or records
  • Contributions by leading amateurs astronomers from the USA and Europe!
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series (PATRICKMOORE)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
  2. Fundamentals of Spectroscopy

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Development of Stellar Spectroscopy

      • Stephen Tonkin
      Pages 3-7
    3. Gases and Spectra

      • Stephen Tonkin
      Pages 9-24
    4. Spectroscopes

      • Stephen Tonkin
      Pages 25-36
    5. The Spectral Classification of Stars

      • Stephen Tonkin
      Pages 37-53
  3. Practical Amateur Spectroscopy

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 55-55
    2. The CD Spectroscope

      • David A. Randell
      Pages 57-69
    3. Two Spectrographs for Small Telescopes

      • Nick Glumac
      Pages 91-123
  4. Back Matter

    Pages 199-213

About this book

Because today's amateur astronomical telescopes are both powerful and affordable, spectroscopy - once the province of professionals - is becoming more and more popular. Various spectroscopes, at prices to suit everyone, are now available "off the shelf". Practical Amateur Spectroscopy contains everything an amateur needs to grasp the basic principles, to begin observing, and to understand just what the spectra show. Contributions by leading practical amateurs from America and Europe cover a very wide range of amateur equipment and techniques. One even describes how an audio CD can be used to show solar emission and absorption lines!

Reviews

From the reviews:

"Although essential to professionals – spectroscopy has largely been ignored by amateurs as a ‘black art’. This book – the first of its kind – should help redress the balance. … Spectroscopy is a big subject for the dedicated amateur and this book just begins to scratch the surface. It contains plenty of useful references and websites and the minimum of maths. … this is the only current book on amateur spectroscopy and must be recommended." (Maurice Gavin, Astronomy Now, May, 2003)

"The latest serving from Springer is all about spectroscopy – an important subject, as much of what we know about the Universe comes from the study of light. The book starts with a substantial and excellent roundup of the physics behind light and stellar spectra. … there are useful sections on building spectroscopes for mounting to telescopes … . The book did spark an interest in spectroscopy and a desire to learn more … ." (John Rowlands, Popular Astronomy, Vol. 50 (2), 2003)

"This book, part of Springer’s Practical Astronomy series, is a sampler authored by six practitioners of the slowly growing interest in amateur spectroscopy. … Spectroscopy is a huge subject with innumerable specialist targets even for the amateur. The contents of this book reflect the authors’ interests. As the only current book on amateur spectroscopy it must be recommended." (Maurice Gavin, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Vol. 112 (6), 2002)

"The spectroscope is undoubtedly a powerful analytical tool providing a foundation stone for modern professional astronomy and ‘Practical amateur Spectroscopy’ is a concise book helping explain the basics. … As it was back in 1982 that I studied A-level physics, this book was a much-needed refresher course for me. … if your academic background is in the sciences, particularly physics and mathematics, then I think this book is a really good read providing afascinating insight into a very important facet of astronomy." (Philip Moran, Astronomy & Space, January, 2003)

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access