Overview

From the longest running column in Scientific American's history comes this collection of fascinating projects for amateur astronomers For over seventy years, The Amateur Scientist column in Scientific American has helped people explore their world and make original discoveries. This collection of both classic and recent articles presents projects for amateur astronomers at all levels. Hands-on astronomy fans will find how to build inexpensive astronomical instruments using ordinary shop-tools. From making a telescope to predicting satellite orbits to detecting the chemical composition of faraway stars, this book has something for everyone interested in practical astronomy.

Full Product Details

Author:   Scientific American ,  Shawn Carlson
Publisher:   Turner Publishing Company
Imprint:   John Wiley & Sons Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 19.00cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.504kg
ISBN:  

9780471382829

ISBN 10:   0471382825
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   01 December 2000
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Undergraduate ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

Foreword. Introduction. TELESCOPE MAKING. A Simple Telescope for Beginners. How to Grind, Polish and Test an Aluminum Telescope Mirror. The Behavior of the Telescope-maker's Pitch. The Dall-Kirkham Telescope. Principles of Erecting Telescopes. Powerful Pocket Telescopes. A Novel Refracting Telescope. Off-Axis Reflecting Telescopes. Steady Telescope Mountings. Two Amateur-Built Radio Telescopes. THE SUN. How to Observe and Record Sunspots Safely. Sun of a Gun. A Coronagraph to View Solar Prominences. Two Spectroheliographs for Observe the Solar Disk. THE EARTH, MOON, AND SATELLITES. A Pendulum That Detects the Earth's Rotation. Observing Changes on the Moon. Curious Amateur Observations of the Moon. A Pauper's Guide to Measuring Latitude. Precision Geolocation Using Lunar Occultation. Sundial Potpourri. How to Study Artificial Satellites. Predicting Satellite Orbits. THE PLANETS, COMETS, AND STARS. Amateur Observations of Jupiter. Predicting Planetary Alignments. Catch a Comet by Its Tail. A Picture-Perfect Comet. A Device to Simulate Planetary Orbits. An Astrophysical Laboratory in Your Backyard. An Ocular Spectroscope. Monitoring Variable Stars. Glossary. Further Reading. Contact List. Index.

Reviews

An anthology of interest to the backyard astronomer, from America's leading science magazine. The Amateur Scientist, as Carlson points out in his brief introduction, has run in Scientific American for over 70 years. From the Start, it has been written for the amateur interested in making observations of various celestial phenomena, often with homemade equipment. The collection of articles from those years is updated to reflect the changes both in technology and in society at large (many supply houses and research sources, for example are now most easily found online). Most of the pieces assume considerable dedication to the task at hand: grinding a telescope mirror (a frequent first project for young scientists), while comparatively inexpensive, involves a substantial investment of time to achieve a precision component. Technical and mathematical sophistication is a given here; readers uncomfortable with equations will soon find themselves at sea. But for those who want to do hands-o

Author Information

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine reaches more than three million readers globally by subscription, on newsstands, and online at www.sciam.com. The company also publishes Scientific American Explorations, a quarterly family magazine, and Scientific American Archive, an online archive of issues from 1993 to the present at www.sciamarchive.com. SHAWN CARLSON has authored Scientific American's The Amateur Scientist column since 1995. He is the Executive Director of the Society for Amateur Scientists and a 1999 winner of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation genius Fellowship.

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