The Practical Astronomer

by Will Gater, Anton Vamplew, D.K. Publishing

Book Overview

Unlock the mysteries of the night sky with this comprehensive guide to astronomy. The Practical Astronomer explains and demystifies stargazing and teaches you how to observe and navigate the night... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0756662109
• ISBN13: 9780756662103
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.7" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Looking to the skies

The Practical Astronomer (Dk Astronomy) is a colorful, helpful guide to what can be found in the skies. Would-be astronomers get advice on what tools to use, maps of different parts of the sky, the history of various constellations and stars and a lot more. Illustrations show various parts of telescopes, how to read star charts, observing the sun safely and more. Also included are reference charts--brightest stars, and constellation size, for example--and a glossary of terms. Kids and adults, whatever their level of knowledge, will enjoy this delightful book, jampacked as it is with hundreds of bits of information.

Great beginner's guide

SUMMARY: Gater and Vamplew team up to produce the latest beginner's amateur astronomy book that is both beautiful and informative but the final product is hampered by falling short on one of their main objectives and a faulty book binding. PROs: Excellent paper stock, loaded with beautiful photographs and illustrations, very informative, good progression from introduction to more complex topics, nice starhopping maps, coverage of logging and sketching details. CONs: Faulty binding, falls short on one of its main objectives, no mention of further resources to explore. Visit my web site for a full review.

Great for Beginners

I haven't taken this book into the field yet, but I plan to brush up on the stars so I can take my grandchildren stargazing. So far it looks like a great resource for a beginner such as me.

When you see a star

Having a small collection of books on observing stars and the sky still leaves questions which this book does an excellent job answering. It begins by explaining the universe and the big bang. There are interesting illustrations of the universe at 500,00, 1.3 billion and 13.7 billion years ago, and a life cycle of the sun. There are plenty of colour illustrations. The star mapping is excellent with examples of observing the stars and constellations. Sky maps and one of the best explanations for them for both northern and southern hemispheres are integrated in the text. The tools used, measuring with your hand; all useful bits, including binoculars, telescopes and buying advice are identified. Of course not just the stars are in the sky, so observing the planets, moon, comets, atmospheric phenomena, noctilucent clouds, auroras, satellites and the ISS are included. Reference tables of meteor showers, the brightest stars, a glossary and index are in this very complete reference. Even after taking astronomy in college, this book did more to enhance my understanding than any other - it would be my first choice to help all but the most experienced and qualified astronomer.