2007 Observer’s Handbook
Published on Nov 14, 2006 at 4:31 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under books.
My 2007 Observer’s Handbook arrived today! This is put out each year by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. I’ve gotten one every year since the mid 1980’s. Eventually, I joined the society just to get the thing sent automatically (along with some other benefits). And, though I am in Texas, I am not their most distant member!
So, what makes this book so great? Well, for one thing, it contains just about everything that you’d want. Besides having an almanac of celestial events, it has detailed information about some important events. For example, for eclipses and occultations, it gives charts so that you can see where you can see the event and data on local circumstances (timings and such) from many locations (including here in Texas). It has tables of occultations. It also has a section on the planets, with information on what can be seen when, maps of Mars, a map of the Moon, and graphical charts showing where the biggest moons of Jupiter and Saturn will be when you look through the telescope. It also has lists of some of the coolest things that you can see through backyard telescopes, coordinates of stars, etc. It has information on buying binoculars for astronomy, eyepieces, telescopes, etc for the amateur astronomer. It has physical data on all the planets (and Pluto), and the moons of these planets. It has lists of physical constants, lists of the brighter celestial radio sources, and a list of the nearest stars (and data about them). It has an explanation of the different ways of telling time, lists of some cool galaxies, nice double stars for backyard telescopes, and tables for determining moon rise and set times, as well as sunrise and sunset and twilight times. Heck, it has everything, all packed into under 300 pages.
Now, I know that all this information is also available on the internet, and there are lots of computer programs that will give you the same information (and more!). But, this is all in one neat little book that you can carry with you. For an amateur astronomer, it is a great asset. But, I use it all the time as a quick reference for what I do as well. I recommend it for any serious amateur astronomer.
And mine just came in the mail today. I am pleased.
-Astroprof Â
Seeking Solace on November 14, 2006 at 7:06 pm: 1
Way cool! Enjoy your “present”!!!!