Capturing the Stars: Astrophotography by the Masters [Hardcover]

Robert Gendler (Author), Neil deGrasse Tyson (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0760335001 | ISBN-13: 978-0760335000 | Publication Date: June 12, 2009 | Edition: First

To gaze at the stars is one thing; to capture that gaze in photographs is something else, a tantalizing scientific art that many attempt and few master.  That rare mastery is on full display in this beautiful volume of space photography from thirty of the most accomplished astrophotographers in the world, both professional and amateur.  Galaxies, star clusters, nebulae, and other deep-sky treasures fill the pages.  Along with the marvels of the night sky--the Andromeda and Whirlpool galaxies, the Pleiades and the Praesepe, the Orion and Crab nebulae, and many more--each section features a profile of the photographer’s work, techniques, philosophy, and experiences.  Compiled by the world's leading amateur astrophotographer, with an introduction to the history of space photography, this spectacular volume is an essential for every stargazer’s bookshelf.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Galaxies, star clusters, nebulae, and other deep-sky treasures fill the pages of this beautiful volume of space photography from ten of the most accomplished astrophotographers in the world.  Along with the marvels of the night sky--the Andromeda and Whirlpool galaxies, the Pleiades and the Praesepe, the Orion and Crab nebulae, and many more--each section features a profile of the photographer’s work, techniques, philosophy, and experiences.  Compiled by the world's leading amateur astrophotographer, with an introduction to the history of space photography, this spectacular volume is an essential for every stargazer’s bookshelf.

From the Back Cover

To gaze at the stars is to look at the infinite wonder of the universe. To capture the details and beauty of the night sky in photographs is a tantalizing scientific art that many attempt and few master. That rare mastery is on full display in this gallery of spectacular portraits taken by the most accomplished astrophotographers in the world. Turn the pages for a breathtaking showcase of aurora, constellations, comets, eclipses, the sun, the moon, planets, galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae. This stunning volume is essential for every stargazer’s bookshelf.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Voyageur Press; First edition (June 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760335001
• ISBN-13: 978-0760335000
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pictures to inspire, July 21, 2009

By 

G. Smith (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Capturing the Stars: Astrophotography by the Masters (Hardcover)

This is a great book for browsing and for getting inspiration. There is a wide variety of photographs covering the sun, planets, aurora, meteors, comets and deep sky objects of all types. There are some very nice fusions of landscape and sky. This is essentially a picture book and such books stand or fall on the quality and merits of their pictures. This book passes such a test with ease. The pictures themselves are of a quality that is achieved by only a select few and the quality of reproduction is excellent. Each picture is accompanied by a succinct description of the object.

However I do have some criticisms. Nowhere are there any details of the exposure or of the telescope used. It would have been nice to have an appendix with this information and perhaps also an indication of the scale. The page numbering system is a little odd. Pages 1-8 occur before the list of contents. Also, in many cases the pictures cover the whole page and in this case the page numbers are not printed. This means having to search for a numbered page and then counting from there to locate a particular page number.

I have noticed some glaring and quite inexplicable factual errors in the figure captions. On Page 41 there is a picture of a crescent moon, 3 or 4 days old. The caption says"Earth's shadow transforms the lunar surface into a stark and desolate landscape of mountains, valleys and craters". What is this supposed to mean? The Earth's shadow has got nothing to do with the visibility of features on a crescent moon.
On Page 42, there is a picture of a transit of Mercury. The caption is quite explicit that what is seen is the SHADOW of Mercury on the sun and not Mercury itself.


However these are relatively minor points and this is a book which I have no hesitation in recommending.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautful, but....., September 11, 2009

By 

Robert L. Shartrand - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Capturing the Stars: Astrophotography by the Masters (Hardcover)

This book is a compilation of the best of the best! I highly recommend it to everyone. The labor of love that went into making these images is astounding. I do astrophotograhy myself and I can understand the efforts invloved. However,
I do wish more technical details were given explaining how (exposures, imagers, processing, telescopes, and mounts) these fantastic images were aquired.
I look forward to a sequel!
Bob

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I might have bought it, but didn't because...., September 18, 2009

By 

Dick Marti (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Capturing the Stars: Astrophotography by the Masters (Hardcover)

....of the reasons already given by the other reviewers: no technical details of equipment used, exposures, or processing. This information would have been so easy to add and would have enhanced the book considerably. Omitting this information was a major error.