Observing Variable Stars (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) [Paperback]

Gerry A. Good (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1852334983 | ISBN-13: 978-1852334987 | Publication Date: January 31, 2003 | Edition: 1st Edition.

Observing variable stars is one of the major contributions amateur astronomers make to science. There are 36,000 variable stars listed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars, so it is clearly impossible for the limited number of professional observatories to target even the majority of them. That's where amateur astronomers come in - thousands of them turning their telescopes to the sky every night. Variable star observing is the most popular of "real science" activities for amateurs, and Gerry Good's book provides everything needed. The first part of the book provides a highly detailed account of the various classes of variable star, with examples, illustrations and physical descriptions. The second section covers practical aspects of observing, everything from preparation and planning, through observing techniques, to data management and reduction.

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1st Edition. edition (January 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852334983
• ISBN-13: 978-1852334987
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #982,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for all amateur astronomers, May 19, 2003

By 

R.A. Ambrose (Colorado Springs, CO, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Observing Variable Stars (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) (Paperback)

This is a great book for all amateur astonomers but variable star observers will be most pleased. The book covers a great amount of information such as how to observe variable stars, record observational data and report observations regarding variable stars. Also, there is a great amount of information regarding the many types of variable stars such as pulsating Mira type stars, cataclysmic variables, eclipsing binaries as well as many of the less known type variable stars such as SX Phe stars, BY Dra stars, Be stars and many, many more. The book does a very good job of covering so much information, much better than any other book available to the amateur at this time.
I would recommend this book to any amateur astronomer but I would strongly encourage any variable star observer to add this book to their library as soon as they possible could do so. This is a great book for the beginning variable star observer; you'll have more information than you can use for years.