The Moon and How to Observe It (Astronomers' Observing Guides) [Paperback]

Peter Grego (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1852337486 | ISBN-13: 978-1852337483 | Publication Date: February 6, 2010 | Edition: 1st Edition.

This revolutionary new book is written for practical amateur astronomers who not only want to observe, but want to know the details of exactly what they are looking at. The Moon is the most commonly observed of all astronomical objects. This is the first book to deal equally with the Moon itself - its formation, geology, and history - as well as the practical aspects of observation.

The concept of the book - and of the series - is to present an up-to-date detailed description of the Moon, including its origins, history, and geology (part one); and then (part two) to consider how best to observe and record it successfully using commercially-available equipment.

The Moon and How to Observe It is a mine of information for all levels of amateur observers, from the beginner to the experienced

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

"Books on the Moon tend to be either photographic or cartographic collections, observing guides or text books … . This book conveniently provides elements of all three … . Production quality is very good, with high quality semi-gloss paper, 134 figures, many in colour. … These are followed with a glossary, a list of resources including organisations, internet resources and bibliography … . If you are looking for a lunar guide with some nice clear maps … you would be hard pressed to find better." (Roger Feasey, Journal of Auckland Astronomical, July, 2005)

"Grego provides a refreshingly clear explanation of how the Moon’s surface and interior reached their present state … . The section comparing the Earth’s moon to the moons of the other planets in the Solar System is particularly interesting, leaving the reader with many easily remembered facts … . The book was obviously produced with great care. … this thoroughly up-to-date book may prove to be well suited for the intermediate amateur astronomer seeking more specialized knowledge of a timely subject." (Brian Chapel, The Observatory, Vol. 126 (1193), 2006)

"The Moon and How to Observe It is the latest of Springer-Verlag’s Astronomers’ Observing Guides. Described as ‘an advanced handbook for students of the Moon’, it is in fact suitable for amateur astronomers of all levels, beginner as well as advanced. … The book is illustrated by about 100 photographs and drawings, many of them by Grego himself. … a detailed and up-to-date guide, ideal for the amateur astronomer who wishes to observe the Moon or simply learn more about it." (Brendan K Ward, Astronomy and Space, June, 2006)

"Refreshingly, Peter Grego’s book explores every aspect of the Moon … . It also includes recent theories on the possibilities of the existence of lunar ice in deep polar craters. … Outline drawings, photographs and descriptions illustrate the lunar surface … . This publication would be a good addition to the library of anyone interested in the Moon." (Alan Wells, BBC SkyatNight, February, 2006)

"The current crop range from scholarly discourses on lunar geology to popular tours of lunar features. Grego has attempted to include all of this and more in his book … . Grego does an excellent job of describing the wide range of features that are visible in moderate telescopes and he includes several interesting projects that will encourage beginners. … this discussion of the visual treats available to naked eye, binocular and telescopic workers is very valuable. … I would recommend this book … ." (Nick James, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Vol. 116 (2), 2006)

From the Back Cover

ASTRONOMERS’ OBSERVING GUIDES provide up-to-date information for amateur astronomers who want to know all about what it is they are observing. This is the basis of the first part of the book. The second part details observing techniques for practical astronomers, working with a range of different instruments.

 

The Moon is the most commonly observed of all astronomical objects. Here, Peter Grego provides a concise, readable description of the latest ideas about its origin, history and geology.

This is followed by a detailed guide for amateur astronomers who want to observe the Moon. It deals with equipment and techniques for a wide range of instruments – including the unaided eye – and features many practical hints and tips for practical astronomers.

In one book, here is all you need to observe the Moon with an understanding of just what it is you are looking at.

 

Product Details

• Paperback: 285 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1st Edition. edition (February 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852337486
• ISBN-13: 978-1852337483
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,052,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for observing, missing some useful info, October 26, 2009

By 

Bruce E Bowman (Clayton, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Moon and How to Observe It (Astronomers' Observing Guides) (Paperback)

This book is a good, basic intro to observing the Moon. But it could have been so much better.

Part I gives an intro to the Moon's structure, origins and -- for lack of a better term -- geology. However, the writer is clearly out of his element here, particularly in the discussion of the Moon's origin. He uses technical terms that are inaccurate -- the one point where he talks about some particular lunar lavas being "ductile" sticks in my mind. A co-author -- or a good, knowledgeable editor -- would help here. The discussions of libration and eclipses are adequate.

Part II is where the book shines. A lot of time has obviously been spent at the eyepiece, viewing the Moon, and this section on observing really shows that. However, even here, we can get fairly pedantic; especially when the author credits himself for photographs, and continues to do so, over and over again.

The book is really lacking in two things:

1) There are no data tables of any kind. Any introduction to a lunar coordinate system in the text, accompanied by a listing of major features and their locations in an appendix, would be very helpful. Just a table of features and days past new when they are best viewed would be a big improvement.
2) As far as this book is concerned, the far side of the Moon does not exist. I do understand that this is supposed to be an observing guide, and we can't look at it from Earth. But the book includes discussions of the moons of other planets, comets and asteroids, and other topics far less relevant. The fact that the far side doesn't even appear in the Index will tell you something about how much this is glossed over.

As an amateur astronomer who is mainly a deep-sky observer, the Moon is mostly a target of my scorn. The Moon makes the sky too bright to see the faint objects that I normally look at. I bought this book because I thought it would give me a greater appreciation for something that is normally "just in the way." To some extent, it has helped; and for that I give it 4 stars. But if I had it to do over again, I would search for a better reference than this.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars lacks coordinates, July 28, 2008

By 

JBLP (Menlo Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moon and How to Observe It (Astronomers' Observing Guides) (Paperback)

I agree with previous reviewer. It is a nice book with a lot of nice photographs easy to read for a new comer. But the absence of coordinates for the described lunar features makes difficult the connection with a detailed lunar atlas such as found at lunar and Planetary Institute http://www.lpi.usra.edu/ or published by the National Geographic Society. Most photographs are oriented south up north down and other in the reverse direction. You have to find out.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm Romantic about the Moon; but as an Amateur Astronomer I Love Moonless Nights!! Well; until I got this book ..., August 18, 2009

By 

Busy Bee "Smiley" (Perth, Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Moon and How to Observe It (Astronomers' Observing Guides) (Paperback)

No matter who you talk to, its always roughly a similar story, the first object to look at when you get your Telescope out of the box is the moon, its easy to find and quiet fascinating. Within few weeks or even days it becomes a nuisance when viewing other deep sky objects and planets; besides other light pollution and limitations. You look at the moon, you see craters and dark lava, all looks the same; one crater is like the other. It became more interesting when I got the Moon Maps and Moon Phase Maps and the Lunar 100 List to spice things up and most recently the LCROSS space mission and Apollo 11 40th anniversary which I witnessed at the age of 4 in 1969 to get me revive my interest in the moon. Then I purchased this book and the moon started taking on a whole new dimension. The Moon is fascinating and is full of history from its creation to the most recent events those natural and man made. I'm no longer looking at Craters, Faults, and Edges and Rimae the same any more but rather I see what I did not see before. This book is your Moon Polarizer Filter; it brings things into Focus and makes you appreciate that Shinny Object that was once "Theoretically" a part of our planet Earth. The lunar features have a story to tell and this book helps you understand their language.

Happy Moon Lighting!!!

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