Observing the Sun with Coronado(TM) Telescopes (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) [Paperback]

Philip Pugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0387681264 | ISBN-13: 978-0387681269 | Edition: 1

For this ground-breaking book, Philip Pugh has assembled a team of contributors who show just how much solar observation work can be accomplished with Coronado telescopes, and explain how to get the best from these marvelous instruments. The book shows that Solar prominences, filaments, flares, sunspots, plage and active regions are all visible and can be imaged to produce spectacular solar photographs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

"Observing the Sun is becoming more and more popular these days … . there’s a whole range of Coronado solar telescopes on offer. This book aims to clarify the differences between them and give you solid advice on what each one can do. … The chapters are well written and comprehensive. … this is actually a very useful resource if you’re interested in pursuing solar observing or imaging – not just if you have a scope made by Coronado in your garage. … it’s highly recommended." (Pete Lawrence, BBC Sky at Night, April, 2008)

"Philip Pugh’s new book, which includes contributions from several expert coauthors, covers more ground than its title suggests – including gear from other manufacturers. … I think it serves as a valuable reference and a worthwhile review of the current state of the art of daytime amateur astronomy." (Rick Fienberg, Sky and Telescope, July, 2008)

"This book does exactly what it says on the cover and more. It covers the whole gambit of solar observation in both red hydrogen light (hydrogen-alpha) and violet calcium light (CaK) and is profusely illustrated with telescopes, accessories and innumerable solar images. … The text is upbeat … . this is an excellent book and essential reading for all interested in this fascinating area of observation – no less in that it occurs at sociable daylight hours!" (Maurice Gavin, Astronomy Now, June, 2008)

"This book provides a wealth of useful information on choosing the right telescope, what accessories work best with those instruments, the use of cameras and CCD detectors, and the post-processing of their images. There are copious illustrations of both the instrumentation and the results … . I have no hesitation in recommending this book. For potential buyers of such telescopes this book is well worth … . Philip Pugh and his co-authors are to be congratulated on a very useful guide." (Steve Bell, The Observatory, Vol. 128 (1206), October, 2008)

"This book aims to review the options available as well as briefly covering equipment from other sources. … I would be very happy to recommend this book to anyone who is considering the purchase of equipment to image our Sun in narrow-band hydrogen-alpha light. It does a good job of reviewing the options available and the best photographs really do show the amazing images that can be seen visually and recorded for later enhancement using a variety of image processing techniques and software." (Peter R. Hobson, Contemporary Physics, Vol. 50 (5), September-October, 2009)

From the Back Cover

At around the turn of the millennium, the introduction of the Coronado range of solar telescopes and filters heralded the ‘coming of age’ of amateur solar astronomy.

Before then, solar astronomy was mostly white-light only. Hydrogen-alpha systems were expensive and difficult to use, but today even the budget-priced Coronado PST (Personal Solar Telescope) provides a band pass of one Angstrom and is thermally stable. That means that today’s amateur solar observers can see – and image – sunspots, flares, prominences, plage, filaments, and active regions of the Sun, all in amazing detail.

Getting the very best out of a Coronado solar telescope still requires knowledge of specialist techniques and an accumulation of experience, which are what this book provides. In Observing the Sun with Coronado Telescopes, Philip Pugh has assembled a team of contributors who show just how much solar work can be done with Coronado telescopes, and explain how to get the very best from these marvellous instruments.

The spectacular solar images reproduced in this book speak for themselves – listen to the voices of the experts!

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (November 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387681264
• ISBN-13: 978-0387681269
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Scientific Instruments

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Observing the sun, August 11, 2008

By 

Little Old Granny (Redding, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Observing the Sun with Coronado(TM) Telescopes (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) (Paperback)

If you are interested in observing the sun other than in white light, ie, hydrogen alpha or CaK, I would recommend this book as a reference. Hydrogen alpha observing allows you to see more of the sun than sunspots. Prominences, solar flares and much more. The hydrogen alpha telescopes and filters block out all the wavelengths of light except the one emitted by the alpha emission line from the hydrogen spectrum. In addition to the etalon (part that filters wavelength), there is also a blocking filter to block dangerous ultraviolet and infrared light.

This book deals mostly with the Coronado PST (Personal Solar Telescope). However it also discusses other larger aperture Coronado solar telescopes plus filters that can be used with a regular "nighttime" telescope. There is a wealth of information about solar viewing and many nice photos. A few other brands of solar telescope and filters are also discussed. There is a lot of information about ways of observing the sun, how the sun "works", what you are seeing. The book also has a chapter on imaging the sun.

The book was published before Lunt Solar Systems was founded so there is no information on their solar equipment.

Recommended as a good reference for solar observing and imaging.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent refence guide, July 9, 2009

By 

dkap (Washington, DC area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Observing the Sun with Coronado(TM) Telescopes (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) (Paperback)

I just purchased a "double-stacked" MaxScope 40 and was looking for tips on how to tune it and the interaction between the two filters, but I couldn't find that type of practical information in the book. The book does have a page on double-stacking, but says nothing about which filter to tune first and what to look for when tuning the filter. Also, since chapters are written by different people, it seems that the same information is repeated several times throughout the book, especially in the accessories section for each. Additionally, as was pointed out in another review, a new manufacturer named Lunt is directly competing with Coronado. Until this book may be revised to include that new line of scopes, it really isn't a complete guide to what you can get. So, I recommend this book as a reference, but was a bit disappointed by the lack of certain types practical information in using the scope.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When it comes from the best, expect no less!, May 14, 2008

By 

Stephen Ames "darkstar" (Hodgenville, KY, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Observing the Sun with Coronado(TM) Telescopes (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) (Paperback)

For those looking to get into, or already into, solar observing or imaging, this book is a must. The contributors are extremely knowledgeable and it's written in a way even a neophyte observer like myself was able to understand and gain valuable information. A great addition to any library! Stephen Ames