Product Description
Why use the traditional approach to study the stars when you can turn computers, handheld devices, and telescopes into out-of-this-world stargazing tools? Whether you're a first timer or an advanced hobbyist, you'll find Astronomy Hacks both useful and fun. From upgrading your optical finder to photographing stars, this book is the perfect cosmic companion.
This handy field guide covers the basics of observing, and what you need to know about tweaking, tuning, adjusting, and tricking out a 'scope. Expect priceless tips and tools for using a Dobsonian Telescope, the large-aperture telescope you can inexpensively build in your garage. Get advice on protocols involved with using electronics including in dark places without ruining the party.
Astronomy Hacks begins the space exploration by getting you set up with the right equipment for observing and admiring the stars in an urban setting. Along for the trip are first rate tips for making most of observations. The hacks show you how to:
- Dark-Adapt Your Notebook Computer
- Choose the Best Binocular
- Clean Your Eyepieces and Lenses Safely
- Upgrade Your Optical Finder
- Photograph the Stars with Basic Equipment
The O'Reilly Hacks series has reclaimed the term "hacking" to mean innovating, unearthing, and creating shortcuts, gizmos, and gears. With these hacks, you don't dream it-you do it--and Astronomy Hacks brings space dreams to life. The book is essential for anyone who wants to get the most out of an evening under the stars and have memorable celestial adventures.
Astronomy Hacks: Tips and Tools for Observing the Night Sky
Tags: Night, aperture telescope, Hacks, using a dobsonian telescope, Telescope, observing the night sky
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been doing Astronomy since I got my first scope (Edmund Scientific 3″ reflector) in 1954, and I teach Astronomy at the college here. I still found a lot of useful tips and tricks in this book. The reason for my rating is the author’s complete bias toward Dobsonian scopes (and Orion). Plus, they don’t like computerized scopes at all. In a field like Astronomy, where the technology is flying forward, it is all too easy for old-timers to get caught up in the “always been good enough for me” syndrome. Just because I learned to find that elusive object by star hopping doesn’t mean everyone should. I was particularly struck by their comparison of go-to scopes with auto transmissions in cars. It was obvious they prefer stick shifts as well as Dobsonian scopes. If the Schmidt and Mak scopes were so bad, why are so many experienced astronomers buying them? Same with goto. They are very popular for a reason. If you can ignore the glaring bias, you will get a lot of useful info from this book.
I really enjoyed this book. Where other Astronomy books focus exclusively on the hardware, or on the heavens, this book covers a wider range of topics. From telescope tricks, to how to meet up with astronomy buffs, to what to drink (or not drink) on your viewing nights. While the other books are helpful to teach the theory, this book is the glue that binds the night sky theory with the telescope in the back of the car on a mountain side reality.
I have been all over the Internet and have perused just about every bookstore in the Dallas area searching for books and information on amateur astronomy. I was very fortunate to make this book one of my first purchases. The authors are very experienced and passionate amateur astronomers and they provide a wealth of valuable information from purchasing telescopes and equipment all the way through observation techniques and astronomical concepts. This book is a very recent publication and is filled with ideas or “hacks” that center around the very latest technology and equipment that is available in the field of amateur astronomy. The main philosophy around the book is that one does not have to spend thousands of dollars on telescopes, mounts, lens’, etc in order to enjoy the hobby at a very high level. This was something that was very important to me since I do not have a very large budget for purchasing my first serious amateur telescope.
It is also worth mentioning that the authors are very biased torwards using Newtonian Reflector telescopes with Dobsonian style mounts, however they do cover all of the telescope types and thier respective advantages, disadvantages, etc.
Overall, this book is a must purchase for anyone who is interested in amateur astronomy and who is looking for that first step. There is information in this book that will also appeal to the more experienced telescope enthusiasts, especially where the telescope modifications are concerned. Amateur Astronomy can get quite expensive and this book will certainly save many beginners from needlessly wasting money on telescopes and equipment!
Review summary: You definitely want this book if you are a rank beginner at star gazing and are _not_ interested in purchasing or using a computerized “go-to” telescope. Get this book now! If you don’t fit this category, read on, as this book may still appeal to you.
“Astronomy Hacks” is an excellent introductory book for “hands-on” amateur star gazers, but there are some caveats of which the potential reader should be aware.
Oriented towards the neophyte (of the 65 hacks, 41 are classified as having a “beginner” level of complexity and only 4 as “expert”), this book provides a wealth of valuable tips and techniques that will get a beginning star gazer up to speed with a minimum of fuss. Add some at-the-eyepiece experience, and the new kid on the block will be expeditiously transformed into an intermediate observer.
The equipment-specific hacks in this book are heavily weighted towards the Dobsonian reflector type of telescope. Although the authors readily admit their bias towards this type of telescope, this bias limits the appeal of “Astronomy Hacks.” Thus, if your potential interest in star gazing includes hunting down the objects you wish to view by referring to star charts and moving your scope from one field of view to the next until the desired object is found, and then, as you observe the object, manually nudging the scope continuously in order to keep the object in the field of view, then “Astronomy Hacks” is for you.
However, if you think you’d rather use a computerized scope that can locate an object you wish to view and then automatically track that object as you observe through the eyepiece, then most of the telescope-specific hacks in this book will not be applicable to your observing equipment. Nevertheless, many of the observing and accessory tips included in “Astronomy Hacks” provide essential information for any beginning star gazer, no matter which type of scope one will ultimately use.
The intermediate user of a Dobsonian reflector will find this book to be an excellent collection of all those great tips that have been encountered elsewhere but are perhaps half-forgotten. Intermediate users of other telescope types will likely find “Astronomy Hacks” to be less worthwhile.
I found this book to be a fun read. The authors are clearly passionate about their hobby and write with a style that is engaging, unpretentious and clear. This book is targeted towards beginners who are new to the hobby. I especially enjoyed the front chapters dealing with topics such as observing site etiquette, what to wear and what to bring. The beginner will certainly benefit from reading this and learn not to commit the faux pas of driving up to a star party with headlights blazing. There is also useful and clear introductory information such as finding constellations, star hopping, reading star atlases and observing tips and skills. The authors are clearly very skewed towards Dobsonians and this book reflects this bent. A bulk of the book is devoted to these instruments such as cleaning the mirror, center spotting a mirror, collimation and improving the Dob. This is great if you have one but not too great if you have chosen to start out with an equatorially mounted telescope or a SCT. There is consequently no information on polar alignment and the more rigorous drift alignment. There is also scant/no information on attainable basic astrophotography techniques that are accessible to an amateur with a tracking mount, such as planetary webcaming and guided deep sky photography with a short focal length scope or a mounted 35mm camera. I would encourage those with these pursuits in mind to consider other options besides a Dob before making a choice. All in all, this is a useful book and a welcomed addition to bookstore shelves. There are so many over-colorful over-graphic introductory astronomy books that are of little value to the serious beginner, and thus this book is entirely relevant.
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