Practical Astronomy

Now in its fourth edition, this highly regarded book is ideal for those who wish to solve a variety of practical and recreational problems in astronomy using a scientific calculator or spreadsheet. Updated and extended, this new edition shows you how to use spreadsheets to predict, with greater accuracy, solar and lunar eclipses, the positions of the planets, and the times of sunrise and sunset. Suitable for worldwide use, this handbook covers orbits, transformations and general celestial phenomena, and is essential for anyone wanting to make astronomical calculations for themselves. With clear, easy-to-follow instructions for use with a pocket calculator, shown alongside worked examples, it can be enjoyed by anyone interested in astronomy, and will be a useful tool for software writers and students studying introductory astronomy. High-precision spreadsheet methods for greater accuracy are available at www.cambridge.org/practicalastronomy.

Using clear and logical routines, this book shows how a variety of problems and exercises in modern astronomy can be readily solved with a scientific calculator. This edition includes new sections on mutations, aberration and selenographic co-ordinates and

Now in its fourth edition, this highly regarded book is ideal for those who wish to solve a variety of practical and recreational problems in astronomy using a scientific calculator or spreadsheet. Updated and extended, this new edition shows you how to use spreadsheets to predict, with greater accuracy, solar and lunar eclipses, the positions of the planets, and the times of sunrise and sunset. Suitable for worldwide use, this handbook covers orbits, transformations and general celestial phenomena, and is essential for anyone wanting to make astronomical calculations for themselves. With clear, easy-to-follow instructions for use with a pocket calculator, shown alongside worked examples, it can be enjoyed by anyone interested in astronomy, and will be a useful tool for software writers and students studying introductory astronomy. High-precision spreadsheet methods for greater accuracy are available at www.cambridge.org/practicalastronomy

The Compendium of Practical Astronomy is unique. The practical astronomer, whether student, novice or accomplished amateur, will find this handbook the most comprehensive, up-to-date and detailed single guide to the subject available. It is based on Roth’s celebrated German language handbook for amateur astronomers, which first appeared over 40 years ago.

Radio astronomy is a mystery to the majority of amateur astronomers, yet it is the best subject to turn to when desirous of an expanded knowledge of the sky. This guide intends to instruct complete newcomers to radio astronomy, and provides help for the first steps on the road towards the study of this fascinating subject. In addition to a history of the science behind the pursuit, directions are included for four easy-to-build projects, based around long-term NASA and Stanford Solar Center projects. The first three projects constitute self-contained units available as kits, so there is no need to hunt around for parts. The fourth – more advanced – project encourages readers to do their own research and track down items. Getting Started in Radio Astronomy provides an overall introduction to listening in on the radio spectrum. With details of equipment that really works, a list of suppliers, lists of online help forums, and written by someone who has actually built and operated the tools described, this book contains everything the newcomer to radio astronomy needs to get going.

A Practical Guide to Observational Astronomy provides a practical and accessible introduction to the ideas and concepts that are essential to making and analyzing astronomical observations. A key emphasis of the book is on how modern astronomy would be impossible without the extensive use of computers, both for the control of astronomical instruments and the subsequent data analysis. Astronomers now need to use software to access and assess the data they produce, so understanding how to use computers to control equipment and analyze data is as crucial to modern astronomers as a telescope. Therefore, this book contains an array of practical problems for readers to test their knowledge, in addition to a wealth of examples and tutorials using Python on the author’s website, where readers can download and create image processing scripts. This is an excellent study guide or textbook for an observational astronomy course for advanced undergraduate and graduate astronomy and physics students familiar with writing and running simple Python scripts. Key Features Contains the latest developments and technologies from astronomical observatories and telescope facilities on the ground and in space Accompanied by a companion website with examples, tutorials, Python scripts, and resources Authored by an observational astronomer with over thirty years of observing and teaching experience About the Author M. Shane Burns earned his BA in physics at UC San Diego in 1979. He began graduate work at UC Berkeley in 1979, where he worked on an automated search for nearby supernovae. After being awarded a PhD in 1985, Professor Burns became a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wyoming. He spent the summer of 1988 as a visiting scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, where he helped found the Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP). He continued to work as a member of the SCP group while a faculty member at Harvey Mudd College, the US Air Force Academy, and Colorado College. The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the leader of the SCP for the group’s "discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae." During his career, Professor Burns has observed using essentially all of the world’s great observatories, including the Keck Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope.

This practical manual provides essential material for the extensive world-wide community of non-professional astronomers. Every page of the book is alive with the infectious enthusiasm of the author whose expertise, knowledge and teaching experience provides easy access to the fascination and enjoyment of sky-watching. Provides essential material for the extensive world-wide community of non-professional astronomers The author’s enthusiasm is reflected in every page, and his expertise, knowledge and teaching experience provides easy access to the fascination and enjoyment of sky-watching Includes chapters on the celestial sphere, the sun and sundials, star positions, star maps, planispheres and nomograms, and light and basic optics