The Observer's Year: 366 Nights in the Universe (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) [Paperback]

Patrick Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 1997 | ISBN-10: 3540761470 | ISBN-13: 978-3540761471 | Edition: 1

The Observer's Year is likely to become a classic for years to come. It will not "date" and will appeal to amateur astronomers almost regardless of their experience. There are 365 nights in every year (366 in a leap year!) and from the amateur astronomer's point of view, no two are alike. That is why Patrick Moore has written this unique book to highlight special objects of interest on every night of the year. He talks about the history of the constellations, double stars, nebulae, the moon, planets, even the asteroids. Beginning January 1st, he works through the year night by night.........

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is beautifully written and bubbles with enthusiasm." -- New Scientist

From the Back Cover

Patrick Moore’s Practical Astronomy Series   THE OBSERVER’S YEAR SECOND EDITION   There are 365 nights in every year (366 in a leap year!) and from an amateur astronomer’s point of view, no two are alike. And that is why Sir Patrick Moore – the world’s most widely known and respected TV broadcaster and writer on astronomy – has produced this unique book to highlight special objects of interest on each and every night of the year. Using easy-to-follow star maps, he talks about the science and history of stars, double stars, galaxies, nebulae, the Moon, planets, constellations and even asteroids. This second edition has been fully updated for astronomical events through until the year 2010. What they said about the first edition NEW SCIENTIST "...beautifully written and bubbles with enthusiasm." ASTRONOMY & SPACE "Well, Patrick Moore has done it again. What an excellent book this is."     --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (November 7, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3540761470
• ISBN-13: 978-3540761471
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,940,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great gift for the practical observer., September 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Observer's Year: 366 Nights in the Universe (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) (Paperback)

The Observer's Year is a fascinating potpourri of sky observing delights; a book destined to serve many an astronomy buff as tattered-ear reference for years. With succeeding nights of the year as context, Patrick Moore opens a treasure chest of astronomy. Specific stars, galaxies, the Moon, planets, meteor showers, nebulae and clusters are described and discussed with a casual randomness not often seen in books of science. The author often pays homage to famous, and not so famous, heroes of astronomy, to great accomplishments or to noteworthy events. He marks many dates by describing an "anniversary" or "future point of interest" in margin notes. Tables and charts accompany many of the stories, and simple star maps are included for each month. Most welcome, this book is designed for those viewing the sky with naked eye, binoculars or small telescope, but the armchair astronomer will read and reread this book as well. The index is weak and, considering the randomized placement of the stories, makes finding specific items difficult. Also, the lack of photographs is often disappointing. But, all in all, this book is a good companion to any introductory astronomy text, and a great gift for the practical observer.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Should be "The Naked-Eye and Binocular Observer's Year", January 22, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Observer's Year: 366 Nights in the Universe (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) (Paperback)

This is not the book to get if you have a telescope - the entries for each day of the year are oriented to naked-eye or binocular observing. The selections for each day of the year are a bit strange - e.g. lunar features are scattered throughout the book and tied to specific days but what you can see on the Moon will depend on the Moon's phase which will vary from year to year for each day of the year. This is likely to confuse beginners if they think they will see the lunar features he describes on any particular day. Better for Moore to have chosen from the long list of wonderful deep-sky objects whose visibility is certain for any day of the year.

Patrick Moore is the "grandfather" of British observing books and was knighted for his contribution (some 70 books) to amateur astronomy. But he was 75 years old when he wrote this book and he spends a lot of time conveying his opinions rather than simply presenting objects for beginners to view. Two of many examples are: he throws in irrelevant diatribes against astrology (a subject on which I strongly suspect he is ignorant), and he states that telescope users must only observe the Sun by projecting its image on a screen, which will certainly surprise the thousands of telescope owners who regularly and safely use solar filters on their scopes for direct solar viewing. To his credit he does discuss objects to view from the southern hemisphere but he only discusses this with respect to Australia and New Zealand, ignoring the possibility that there might be amateur astronomers in South America or Africa.

Moore does include interesting historical notes on many of his selections. But there are much better observing books around, and also much better books on the history of astronomy.

I was disappointed in this book.