Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars [Hardcover]

Patrick Moore (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521554926 | ISBN-13: 978-0521554923 | Publication Date: February 23, 1996 | Edition: 3

On a clear, starry night, the jewelled beauty and unimaginable immensity of our Universe is awe-inspiring. Star-gazing with binoculars is rewarding and may begin a lifelong hobby! Patrick Moore has painstakingly researched Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars to describe how to use binoculars for astronomical observation. He explains basic astronomy and the selection of binoculars, then discusses the stars, clusters, nebulae and galaxies that await the observer. The sky seen from northern and southern hemispheres is charted season by season, with detailed maps of all the constellations. The reader can also observe the Sun, Moon, planets, comets and meteors. With many beautiful illustrations, this handbook will be helpful and encouraging to casual observers and those cultivating a more serious interest. The enjoyment of amateur astronomy is now available to everybody.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'... a useful beginner's guide to the binocular sky.' Sky and Telescope 'Binocular astronomy is currently enjoying something of a renaissance, so it is a pleasure to see this new edition of Patrick Moore's super book, which helped usher in the new era when it was originally published in 1987. Since then, this has been the introduction to the night sky that I've recommended more than any other ... If you know of someone whose enthusiasm for the night sky has been inspired, perhaps by recent views of Comet Hyakutake, I can think of no better gift than a pair of binoculars and a copy of this excellent book.' Brian Kelly, The Observatory

'This book would be a good buy for someone new to astronomy as it covers all aspects of observational work at a fairly basic level and would continue to be a useful information source for many years to come.' Linda Roberton, Astronomy Now

'This is the third edition of this useful book ... It is written in Patrick Moore's well-known, easy-to-read, personal style ... This book is a good general introduction to the night sky using binoculars and it should encourage the reader to go and look for themselves.' Alan Dowdell, Webb Society Reviews

Book Description

Patrick Moore's painstakingly researched Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars will help and encourage both casual and serious observers of our awe-inspiring universe. Sections on basic astronomy, selection of binoculars, detailed constellation maps and descriptions of stars, comets and galaxies are included in this beautifully illustrated manual.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 3 edition (February 23, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521554926
• ISBN-13: 978-0521554923
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,479,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unnecessary detail, June 10, 2006

By 

Dave Holland (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars (Paperback)

If you are looking for a beginner book with a goal of recognizing the constellations, there are better choices (consider "The Stars, a new way to see them" by HA Ray). Moore's comprehensive description of each star in a constellation tends to drag, and details go well beyond the beginner level. A lot of the data will repeat what should be contained in a good star atlas. On the other hand I liked his viewing perspective, mostly aimed from northern latitudes ca 50 deg. I liked his easy literary style, and he does have an enviable lifetime of experience. He uses D-shaped star maps, that work well for stars near the horizon, but these maps aren't so good for stars overhead. Some of the introductory chapters are simple overviews of astronomy facts that are better covered in my university textbooks. Ultimately the superficial details aren't useful once you are beyond that beginner stage. I could still see holding onto a copy of this, or it's cousin "Stargazing", if only as a supplementary reference to a star atlas. However, for it's stated description as a beginner's guide to the sky, it falls short.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ignore Binocular Advice, August 31, 2008

By 

Dutchman "medical85" (Puget Sound, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars (Paperback)

The author's advice on choice of binocular ignores the age-related change in size of the human pupil, so that a 7x50 binocular is probably more binocular than an over-fifty star-gazer can use. This issue is covered well in "Astronomy Hacks" by Robert Thompson.

5.0 out of 5 stars condensed material - not a book for dabblers, January 21, 2009

By 

R. Tripathi (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars (Paperback)

Its one of the well written books I've come across about scanning the night skies through binoculars. If you simply want to point your binoculars anywhere in the sky after consulting a map, this book will not likely appeal too much.

The first chapter takes us through the big dipper and sets a good foundation for understanding the movement of stars during night and during the year (every star sets 4 minutes earlier than the previous night; orientation of big dipper around the year; how to measure angular distances using anchor points; characteristics of stars and Hertzsprung-Russell sequence etc.) All in the first chapter, and really a good amount of information presented briefly to give any intelligent reader the tools necessary for finding his/her way across the sky.