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The Sky is Your Laboratory: Advanced Astronomy Projects for Amateurs (Springer Praxis...
Product Review From the reviews: "Amateur astronomers have a proud tradition of contributing worthwhile scientific observations, stretching right back to Victorian times. If you have been in the hobby for a few years and now want to specialise, this book is for you. The author explains every chosen subject in reasonable depth and a lot of technical work has gone into the 297 pages. The coverage is accurate ." (Martin Mobberley, BBC Sky at Night, November, 2007) "Buchheim gives amateurs the essentials to do real science, not simply science projects. The book is amply illustrated with diagrams, and the texts tone is pleasantly conversational. Although Buchheim set out to write this book for amateurs, it should also be of interest to students and teachers who wish to pursue real-science with equipment that may already be available on campus." (Jennifer Birriel, Sky & Telescope, December, 2007) Product Description For the experienced amateur astronomer who is wondering if there is something useful, valuable, and permanent that can be done with his or her observational skills, the answer is, "Yes, you can!" This is the book for the experienced amateur astronomer who is ready to take a new step in his or her astronomical journey. Unfortunately, there is no modern text that points curious amateur astronomers to the research possibilities that are open to them. At the 2006 meeting of the Society for Astronomical Sciences, quite a few participants agreed that the lack of such a text was a serious gap in the astronomical book market, and that this gap is impeding their efforts to encourage more amateur astronomers to get involved in research collaborations. This book will fill that gap, and enable more amateur astronomers to add research-type studies to their pursuit of the hobby. Written by an astronomer who is well known amongst the amateur and professional community for the skill and quality of his work, this book describes a wide range of research areas where amateurs are gathering new scientific data that is utilized by professional astronomers. For each research area, the book provides a concise explanation of the purpose and value of the amateurs observations, a description of the equipment that is needed, specific observing procedures, complete data reduction instructions, and an explanation of how, and where, to submit results so that they will be available to the professional users. Reader Reviews For amateurs who have passed the beginner rites of the Messier and Caldwell lists, Buchheims's _Sky_ contains the measured voice of the elder mentor of your astronomy club. If that expert mentor is lacking in your local club, Buchheim's _Sky_ is a must buy that will save you in time many times its purchase. Each _Sky_ observing project is written like an after star-party club coffee meeting, with Buchheim patiently guiding you through practical field problems commonly encountered when starting photometry, double star astrometry or supernovae searching. He includes references to landmark manuals, amateur organizations and internet resources for each topic. Where appropriate, Buchheim fills in with basic observing skills that are often left unexplained as assumed knowlege in other texts, e.g. timing uncertainty reduction when timing asteriod occultations. For this Amazon review, the 18 observing projects are listed in the Table of Contents, listed above. _Sky_ now sits on my "ready reference" shelf - sandwiched between other amateur classics - like Berry's _HAIP_, Sidgwick's _Amateur Astronomer's Handbook_, North's _Advanced Amateur_ or Meeus's _Algorithms_. If you have been hooked in the hobby for two or three years and want a roadmap to the next ten years, Buchheim's _Sky_ is what you need. Comment | | (Report this)
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