Overview
- Enables observers to find popular and more unusual objects for a varied and interesting observing session
- Shows town dwellers how to make the most of their limited horizons and skies
- Includes original images and detailed charts to find objects that may not be easily visible without a telescope
- Provides a list that is complemented by detailed star hopping maps, sketches, and images created by the authors and fellow members of the society from their own suburban locations
Part of the book series: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series (PATRICKMOORE)
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This book is for those who live in or near towns and cities and own relatively modest equipment, although observers with larger instruments will still find many of the target objects of interest. The book encourages the use of star-hopping techniques to find objects in the night sky.
Included is a list of 100 popular deep sky objects, ranked according to how difficult they are to find. Each object is described and has companion star-hopping charts, images and sometimes sketches. As a result, readers can gain a sense of their own backyard view from Earth. There is also a top 30 list of lunar objects, a section on planetary observing, annotated lists of popular astronomy apps and software, and tips on how to make the most of your location.
Stargazing Under Suburban Skies: A Star-Hopper’s Guide is the essential companion to what can be seen and how, regardless of the obstacles.
Reviews
“Amateur astronomers living near London compiled a list of 100 astronomical objects that can be observed in their lessthan- ideal sky conditions with modest equipment (binoculars and small telescopes). … Handy appendixes and software recommendations and excellent images enhance the value for the general reader. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers.” (M.-K. Hemenway, Choice, Vol. 56 (7), March, 2019)
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Andrew Gannon became hooked on astronomy when he first peered at the Moon through his father’s home-made refractor around the age of five in 1959. He became fascinated with the Moon around the time of the Apollo program, observing with his 60mm (2.5 inch) refractor and built his own 150mm (6 inch) reflector as a teenager. He has been a continuous member of the British Astronomical Association since 1972 where he took an active part in the Lunar Section in the mid 1970s under the directorship of the late Patrick Moore. Andrew is one of Loughton Astronomical Society’s leading imagers, having won its imaging prize several years in a row. He observes from the relatively light polluted area of Waltham Abbey, near London’s orbital motorway the M25, using his trusty 132mm (5 inch) refractor yet still produces results that can compete with those taken in darker skies. A qualified teacher, Gannon taught Technology and Astronomy. Now retired, he remains a voluntary STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) ambassador and regularly gives illustrated talks to schools on astronomy. His other interests are natural history, walking and modelling the railways of the Isle of Wight during the last years of steam.
John McRoberts is an active member of Loughton Astronomical Society and a keen visual observer based in the relatively clearer skies of Dunmow in central Essex, England. McRoberts' knowledge has contributed to a number of the less well-known objects in the book and in particular to some of the attractive and challenging double stars available for amateurs to test their optics and seeing conditions. McRoberts is now retired but worked in the telecommunications industry initially as a production engineer, then as a computer systems administrator and finally, a systems integration test engineer.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Stargazing Under Suburban Skies
Book Subtitle: A Star-Hopper's Guide
Authors: Malcolm Zack, Andrew Gannon, John McRoberts
Series Title: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90116-9
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-90115-2Published: 31 August 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-90116-9Published: 20 August 2018
Series ISSN: 1431-9756
Series E-ISSN: 2197-6562
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 401
Number of Illustrations: 216 b/w illustrations, 240 illustrations in colour
Topics: Popular Science in Astronomy, Astronomy, Observations and Techniques, Image Processing and Computer Vision