New arrival on the bookshelf

[johnfosteruk]

7 hours ago, colin2007 said:

I know how you feel. I am snowed under with books. My wife reckons I got a book problem!

mine too.

[johnfosteruk]

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

Telescopic Work for Starlight Evenings by W F Denning is an absolute belter and would be a great place to start! Although over a hundred years old, its still available as a reprint. The science has moved on of course, but Dennings insight into instruments and those who use them is priceless! Giving weight to his writings, is the fact that Denning wasn't just an author of books, he was one of the finest and most accomplished observers of his day.

Mike

 

1 hour ago, FenlandPaul said:

That's a great looking book, John.  I have it on my list for when the second hand price drops a bit.  This arrived for me last week from the same series (and a bargain at £1.80 delivered!!):

Both of these are on my list

 

[mikeDnight]

Here's a more modern classic, The Messier Album by Mallas and Kreimer.

John Mallas sketched the Messier objects while observing through his then state of the art 4" Unitron refractor, while Evered Kreimer photographed them using his 12.5" reflector.

Mallas' sketches leave a lot to be desired in many ways, possibly due to the limitations of his eyepieces and the narrow field of his telescope. The book is of real interest to both the visual observer and the imager, as it shows how far our equipment has advanced in both camps. Any modern ED will be better suited to observing the M objects than Mallas' 4" Unitron, and a modern 80mm ED coupled with ccd will greatly outstrip Kreimers 12.5" reflector. Never the less, its a great book!

Mike 

[popeye85]

I'm afraid my collection of astro books is still pretty we at the mo- never mind, from tiny acorn grows a great tree that will get turned in to a fine collection of books!

 

[Jeff-Colorado]

Nice to see what others are reading. My small collection:

Stars and Their Spectra
Turn Left At Orion
Astronomy Self-Teaching Guide
The Practical Astronomer
Space Atlas
Patrick Moore's Guide To The Moon
Norton Star Atlas (I've had since I was 9 years old)

In a related note, I really enjoyed the reboot season of Cosmos. I even made my kids watch a couple of them.

[johnfosteruk]

On 11/02/2017 at 11:02, mikeDnight said:

Here's a more modern classic, The Messier Album by Mallas and Kreimer.

John Mallas sketched the Messier objects while observing through his then state of the art 4" Unitron refractor, while Evered Kreimer photographed them using his 12.5" reflector.

Mallas' sketches leave a lot to be desired in many ways, possibly due to the limitations of his eyepieces and the narrow field of his telescope. The book is of real interest to both the visual observer and the imager, as it shows how far our equipment has advanced in both camps. Any modern ED will be better suited to observing the M objects than Mallas' 4" Unitron, and a modern 80mm ED coupled with ccd will greatly outstrip Kreimers 12.5" reflector. Never the less, its a great book!

Mike 

It's great to see this stuff from a historical perspective as you say, but also to appreciate the effort involved to achieve the results with what is sub-par equipment for the task by todays standard

[johnfosteruk]

21 hours ago, popeye85 said:

I'm afraid my collection of astro books is still pretty we at the mo- never mind, from tiny acorn grows a great tree that will get turned in to a fine collection of books!

 

I love those Philip's guides, my favourite ATM is their Lunar observer's guide written by the late Peter Grego. But then I'm moon mad ATM.

[johnfosteruk]

18 hours ago, Jeff-Colorado said:

In a related note, I really enjoyed the reboot season of Cosmos. I even made my kids watch a couple of them.

I thought the new Cosmos was brilliant. Tyson was the perfect man for the job and I even didn't mind the cartoon parts

 

[mikeDnight]

45 minutes ago, johnfosteruk said:

It's great to see this stuff from a historical perspective as you say, but also to appreciate the effort involved to achieve the results with what is sub-par equipment for the task by todays standard

Absolutely John. Observers like Mallas really fuelled my enthusiasm in my early days observing, and looking back on his work now, still gives me great enjoyment. He made his observations between 1958 and 1962, the year I was born. There have been a lot of advancements in glass type and coatings, as well as in eyepiece design since then. Mallas' 4" Unitron was a frighteningly expensive piece of kit back in the 1950's and makes my little Tak look cheap and chearful by comparison. Yet Unitron only coated the outer surface of the first element, and the eyepieces he used would have very narrow fields compared to today's offerings.

Mike

 

[bish]

On ‎11‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 03:37, colin2007 said:

I know how you feel. I am snowed under with books. My wife reckons I got a book problem!

I'm starting to get stressed about the amount of unread books I have sitting around. I know I will still buy more though!

[colin2007]

 

11 minutes ago, bish said:

I'm starting to get stressed about the amount of unread books I have sitting around. I know I will still buy more though!

I`ve seen at least 3 books today I would like, but going to resist buying them for now. Still got a few not read yet.

[barkis]

On 11/02/2017 at 11:02, mikeDnight said:

Here's a more modern classic, The Messier Album by Mallas and Kreimer.

John Mallas sketched the Messier objects while observing through his then state of the art 4" Unitron refractor, while Evered Kreimer photographed them using his 12.5" reflector.

Mallas' sketches leave a lot to be desired in many ways, possibly due to the limitations of his eyepieces and the narrow field of his telescope. The book is of real interest to both the visual observer and the imager, as it shows how far our equipment has advanced in both camps. Any modern ED will be better suited to observing the M objects than Mallas' 4" Unitron, and a modern 80mm ED coupled with ccd will greatly outstrip Kreimers 12.5" reflector. Never the less, its a great book!

Mike 

Love this one. I've had mine since year dot. Looking a bit dog eared now, but I still 
favour it a great deal.

[laudropb]

My copy arrived today. It certainly meets the high expectations I had for it.

[johnfosteruk]

5 minutes ago, laudropb said:

My copy arrived today. It certainly meets the high expectations I had for it.

It's wonderful isn't it. Harold Hill was clearly a fastidious man with buckets of concern for accuracy. I'm about a third of the way through the first read and the high point for me so far has to be his notes, the sketches are tremendous but the notes really bring it home, especially on the features he's published multiple sketches/sequences for. It's really useful be able to compare the libration as well as the phase for example.

Enjoy it John, I am.

[laudropb]

Just started it but already amazed at the dedication of Mr Hill. Lovely illustrations but as you say the notes are really something else. Definitely a book I will go back to time and again.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Here is my book shelf.  It's a mix Bill Bryson, astronomy, and rugby. 

[johnfosteruk]

On 11/02/2017 at 11:02, mikeDnight said:

Here's a more modern classic, The Messier Album by Mallas and Kreimer.

John Mallas sketched the Messier objects while observing through his then state of the art 4" Unitron refractor, while Evered Kreimer photographed them using his 12.5" reflector.

Mallas' sketches leave a lot to be desired in many ways, possibly due to the limitations of his eyepieces and the narrow field of his telescope. The book is of real interest to both the visual observer and the imager, as it shows how far our equipment has advanced in both camps. Any modern ED will be better suited to observing the M objects than Mallas' 4" Unitron, and a modern 80mm ED coupled with ccd will greatly outstrip Kreimers 12.5" reflector. Never the less, its a great book!

Mike 

I've been pondering this since you posted it Mike but now I've confirmed it, this book is one of the things that cemented my interest in the heavens.

My grandad owned it and I used to spend hours thumbing through the pages gazing at the images in amazement, and wondering if there was anybody in one of those distant objects looking back at us at about age 7. It was my grab and go book when I was with my grandparents

I don't know where it went when he died and it was consigned to distant memory. But your post reminded me and I wondered if it was the very same work. So I ordered a copy and it's arrived, and sure enough it is, I know it, the layout, the images, it's all as I (now) clearly remember. Like catching up with an old friend. So thank you.

Excuse the word vomit, but it's one of those moments