Go-To Telescopes Under Suburban Skies - (Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy) by Neale Monks (Paperback)

About the Book

This is the first book specifically written for amateur astronomers who own, or who are about to purchase, a computer-controlled 'go-to' telescope. The 'go-to' capability is huge, and this book offers fascinating deep-sky objects and detailed observing lists.

Book Synopsis

Go-To Telescopes Under Suburban Skies is the first book specifically written for amateur astronomers who own, or who are about to purchase, a computer-controlled 'go-to' telescope. The advantage of the 'go-to' capability is enormous - the telescope can be aimed at any object in the sky with great speed and accuracy - which is why these instruments are so popular. Making the realistic assumption that the observer is using a relatively small telescope and is observing from a backyard in a suburban area, this book provides literally hundreds more targets beyond those offered by the built-in 'nightly tours' that feature on the telescope's computer tours. And instead of wasting many pages on maps and coordinates, it leads the computer to locate the targets, and so has room to suggest many more fascinating deep-sky objects and provide detailed observing lists and information about what's being viewed.

From the Back Cover

For the last four centuries stargazers have turned their telescopes to the night skies to look at its wonders, but only in this age of computers has it become possible to let the telescope find for you the object you are looking for! So-called "go-to" telescopes are programmed with the locations of thousands of objects, including dazzling distant Suns, stunning neighboring galaxies, globular and open star clusters, the remnants of past supernovae, and many other breathtaking sights. This book does not tell you how to use your Go-to telescope. Your manual will help you do that. It tells you what to look for in the deep sky and why, and what equipment to best see it with. Organized broadly by what is best for viewing in the northern hemisphere in different seasons, Monks further divides the sights of each season into groupings such as "Showpiece Objects," "Interesting Deep Sky Objects," and "Obscure and Challenging Deep Sky Objects." He also tells what objects are visible even in light-polluted skies. So armed with your go-to telescope, find an ideal viewing site or set up your telescope in your own backyard. Either way, you're in for some fun!

Review Quotes

From the reviews:

"It is an excellent guide. ... gives useful and sometimes detailed information about the objects ... . As such it is an excellent, handy and easy-to-use guide, and I'm happy to recommend it." (Robin Scagell, The Observatory, Vol. 131 (1225), December, 2011)

About the Author

Neale Monks is a scientist, writer, and teacher, and the author of another book in the Practical Astronomy Series, Astronomy with a Home Computer. After completing his zoology degree at Aberdeen University he worked briefly as a marine zoologist before moving to London, where he earned his Ph.D. while working at the Natural History Museum. He then spent a few years as a post-doctoral researcher studying the effects of astronomical events on sea level and mass extinctions before leaving research to spend more time teaching and writing. Since 2002 he has taught a history of science class for Pepperdine University as well as various science classes for the WEA. At different times he's lived in England, Scotland, and the Midwestern United States.