Customer Reviews

Seeing in the Dark : How Amateur Astronomers Are Discovering the Wonders of the Universe

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As an amateur astronomer myself, I was very pleased to find this wonderful tribute to those whose diligent, patient efforts have expanded our knowledge of the night skies. Ferris, an amateur astronomer himself, provides a well-written and engaging account (with appropriate doses of historical context, anecdotes and humor) of the quirky, sometimes obsessive, but always dedicated individuals who do the "dirty work" that professionals often lack the time--and access to overbooked telescopes and equipment--to perform: monitoring Martian storms, tracking comets, observing the occasional nova, and much, much more. Their constant vigilence may be our first line of defense against a rogue comet or asteroid, and thanks to improved equipment, their range is greater than ever. (Unfortunately, light pollution sometimes cancels out any gains in technology). Amateur astronomers toil mostly in obscurity and are mostly unheralded outside the field (though the professionals largely appreciate them), which is unfortunate--but Ferris does a wonderful job of giving them their due, revealing the quality work that they perform. Very highly recommended to fans of astronomy, both amateur and professional. One last thought--William Herschel was a practicing amateur when he discovered Uranus.

For more Tim Ferris, see "The Sky's Mind," "Coming of Age in the Milky Way," "The Red Limit," and the excellent "The Whole Shebang."

Everybody has done it: looking up at the bright night sky produces mixed feelings of awe at the beauty, and impenetrable mysteries, and the insignificance of our local tiny problems, and other ineffable feelings besides. Serious stargazers just do it better than most. In _Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril_ (Simon & Schuster), Timothy Ferris tells about some of the ones that do it best. A lifelong stargazer, Ferris has his own observatory in the California wine country (he writes about how it was planned and built). He is not a professional astronomer. He is a journalist, one who has produced fine books about science before, but this one is close to his heart, and his enthusiasm is easily apparent and beautifully described.

As an amateur himself, Ferris is able to describe the importance of amateur astronomy, and the surprising ways in which the big telescopes on mountaintops used by the professionals, and the Hubble, have not put amateurs out of business. He shows many ways that amateurs are useful, doing explorations and finding objects that throw more light on explaining such serious theories as the Big Bang. One amateur explains, "In how many areas of science can you still make an important discovery without a ton of funding?" There's some prestige in making such discoveries, but one supernova hunter spoke for thousands when he said, "I can't really tell you why I do it." There is a good deal of basic astronomy here, and someone interested in starting in the field will get good advice on doing so. However, this is only partially an astronomy textbook. Even better is that Ferris has given interviews and small biographies of amateur astronomers to give us an idea about how their passion affects them. Take, for instance, John Dobson, who got thrown out of his Krishna monastery because he kept leaving it at night to go use his telescopes. His vow of poverty meant he had to make cheap ones, but he found ways to use scrap plywood and piping to make large telescopes that amateurs could afford. He would set up a scope on the sidewalks of San Francisco and call out, "Come see Saturn!" If a kid came by and showed real interest, Dobson might give away the telescope and build another one.

Ferris's book is an inspiration. Even if you have no intention of ruining your sleep with this sort of activity, it is impossible to withhold admiration from the ones who do love it. Ferris writes with clarity and fervor about the endeavors of his fellow stargazers, and puts their efforts into a broader perspective, as part of the human condition. "We observe, and try to understand, and formulate ideas that, if we're honest with ourselves, we will admit to be 'not quite right.' But we keep trying, knowing that we'll never figure it all out but trusting that if we persevere we shall keep doing better."

Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanretary Peril written by Timothy Ferris is a wonderfully well-written personal account about astronomy. Stargazing in this book is more of the backyard amateur variety, however no less serious than the professionals. Interest has been on the increase due mainly to the internet.

With internet communication amateurs can set their telescopes up and the computer can control the telescopes with computers making amateur astronomy more serious. The author has an easy going style of narrative and you can tell he loves telling a story about something he really loves.

This is an infectous narrative bringing the reader into the subject as a participant; making the glories of the stars a part of your lives. Anyone can get started in backyard astronomy by just going outside with a star chart on a dark night and looking up. I remember many a warm Summer night growing up spending hours at night looking up and wondering about the starlingt and the millions of years that it took to get here. This book has a rekindling power to it and brings back those evenings for me.

There are starcharts in the back of the book along with information about the closest stars and planetary information about the number of moons. What I found interesting about this book is a reading list which gives the reader something to further his/her knowledge, along with this there is a glossary of terms used throughout the book making for and interesting read.

If you like popular science with a mentor guiding you along as he relates his past and enthusiasm this is your book, you won't be disappointed.

Since the earliest days of humankind people have looked to the night sky in awe and struggled to unlock its secrets. In "Seeing in the Dark," author Timothy Ferris details the many contributions amateur astronomers have made to our understanding of the universe. He leads the reader on a tour of the sky, from the Moon, Sun, and nearby planets, through the outer reaches of our solar system to the Milky Way galaxy and beyond, indicating the many discoveries and ongoing investigations by amateurs. But the real strength of the book is its many interviews with amateur astronomers, in which the author paints portraits of diverse individuals all sharing a passion for observation and discovery. The author clearly knows his science (and provides detailed endnotes for those who want to learn more), and as an amateur astronomer himself he knows the community about which he writes. His lyrical descriptions of what it's like to gaze upon distant worlds convey the passion "backyard stargazers" feel toward their avocation. My one quibble is that I would have liked to see diagrams of the different kinds of telescopes he discusses.

Timothy Ferris has an unusual gift for explaining complex subjects in a highly readable, even felicitous, style. The first book I read of his, Coming of Age in the Milky Way, was a thoroughly entertaining history of how we gradually came to understand the impossibly vast scale of the universe. It evoked awe of our strange and wonderful cosmos while staying refreshingly free of the antireligious crankiness and oddly mystical naturalism of Carl Sagan. Seeing in the Dark focuses on areas of astronomy that any of us could plausibly make contributions in - planets, asteroids, comets, the sun, the moon, even SETI. It is fascinating to learn how amateurs continue to make important discoveries and, indeed, how the professionals still depend on them to help expand our understanding of the solar system and beyond.

But what I gained most from reading this book was the realization that I don't really have to own an expensive telescope and live in the open desert to enjoy stargazing. I especially appreciated such personal stories as Ferris viewing a lunar occultation of Saturn with a small telescope from his deck in San Francisco. He had to maneuver the tripod into a far corner, wait until the planet drifted into view between his house and a tree, then cope with a bright streetlight by pressing his eye tight against the eyepiece - but it was indisputably worth the effort. This book inspired me to pull my cheap little 2.4 inch refractor out of the garage where it had languished for fifteen years and look again at Saturn's rings and Jupiter's moons. It has re-awakened my youthful fascination with outer space and I am greatly appreciative.

This is a poignant and wonderful autobiographical book. As Timothy Ferris writes, for most of its long history, astronomy has been primarily an amateur pursuit. Like some of those lifelong "amateurs," quiet national treasure Ferris is an erudite Renaissance man and gifted writer with a wry and ironic sense of humor -- and one of the best popular science writers of his (boomer) generation (he is a master of analogy and metaphor). Meet these prominent amateur astronomers and follow their friend Professor Ferris through the solar system into deep space and, like me, you'll finally be out shopping for your own binoculars and telescope and finding the local amateur astronomy club closest to you (and then find yourself fighting light pollution). It might just be me, but, Ferris's delicate eloquence will bring you to tears, especially if -- even without your own observatory -- you too already live with the constant awareness that we're all living on a minuscule, fabulously beautiful rock spinning through an unfathomable solar system, galaxy, Local Group and expanding universe. Expect a good glossary, excellent index and helpful appendixes to start you in your own love affair with our universe. (The comic subtitle in part refers to the amateur astronomers watching for asteroids on collision courses with Earth.)

This is a very unique and enlightening book about how much amateurs can enjoy and contribute to the science of astronomy. Since there is so much to observe in the universe, amateurs often spot phenomena that are missed by the professionals, and are aided by their love of astronomy as a personal passion rather than a job. In fact, there are growing cases of the professionals teaming up with amateurs for large projects. Astronomy is also probably the only science in which amateurs can obtain equipment almost as powerful as that used by the pros.

Ferris includes many interesting character sketches of noteworthy amateurs who have made real contributions to the astronomy of science, indicating how many different types of people from all walks of life can share these passions. The structure of this book is very rewarding as Ferris covers in great detail the full realm of possibilities for the amateur, from unexpected surprises right here in the solar system to the extreme cosmology of quasars and galactic superclusters. Just watch out for a few cases of cloying sentimentality at the conclusion of some chapters. One sappy example of the children-are-the-future variety closes chapter 9; while Ferris mangles the history of the Aztecs and Mayans in Chapter 8. The absence of scientific illustrations is another difficulty.

However, the day is saved by Ferris' everyman writing style that can encourage the interest of all people, and his appendices are incredibly useful to amateurs from beginner to expert. This book has succeeded for me personally, as Ferris has encouraged me to reacquaint myself with a lost childhood passion. A telescope purchase lies in my near future.

The match being that of science and poetry. The author writes about the achievements of amateur astronomers, giving a wealth of information about astronomy, stargazing, and amateurs, all of which is written in a language so beautifully poetic. It is a masterpiece. The love of the author for his topic is evident on every page and it is contagious. This is a book that will fill you with wonder, and probably sweep you off your feet and onto the nearest dark ground with a starmap in hand!

Rich with information, written with passion, the book is fascinating, moving, and absolutely beautifully written.

The publication of a new book by an author of Timothy Ferris' stature should pique the interest of most amateur astronomers. Seeing in the Dark is exceptional in this regard, since the book is all about amateur astronomers.

Ferris, an avid amateur observer himself, has spent the last few years visiting some prominent amateur astronomers, following them as they engage in what amounts to sophisticated research (for free), going to their star parties, looking at their photos, and just generally learning their stories. Those stories are collected in his new book "Seeing in the Dark," along with Ferris' usual assemblage of science, storytelling, history, and culture.

As usual, Ferris has a knack for sounding quotable, as in his description of a total solar eclipse. I've read countless accounts of the powerful visual experience of viewing totality, and Ferris ranks among the best in terms of capturing the raw mix of terror and fascination: "Suddenly the sky collapsed into darkness and a dozen bright stars appeared. In their midst hung an awful, black ball, rimmed in ruby red and surrounded by the doomsday glow of the gray corona. No photograph can do justice to this appalling sight: The dynamic range from bright to dark is too great, and the colors are literally unearthly. I staggered back a few steps, like a drunken man..."

The amateur observers that Ferris highlights will be familiar to readers of popular astronomy publications: Jack Newton, Stephen James O'Meara, Don Parker, David Levy, and many more. But few have heard the anecdotes told here, of the personal motivations and triumphs of a handful of legendary sky gazers. There's even a conversation with Brian May, the lead guitarist for the rock band Queen. How many amateurs know that May has a college degree in mathematics and astronomy, or that Queen's little known but outstanding acoustic song '39' is about relativistic time dilation?

There's a lot of good science in this book as well. The chapter on the moon contains a wonderful explanation of the tides on Earth, as well as the best summary I've ever read of the various theories about the "moon size" illusion that makes the moon seem huge when seen close to the horizon.

Ferris' previous books have established him as a solid popularizer of science and he continues that tradition with Seeing in the Dark. It's an easy blend of history, science and personal experience that is a pleasure to read. I highly recommend this book.

This is an informative and at times whimsical work about outer space, specifically who is doing the observing and what is being observed. The material goes considerably beyond the title, as only one chapter actually treats of near earth objects [NEO's] at depth, and I am still confused over the author's distinction between "amateur" and "professional" astronomers. With those caveats in mind, "Seeing In The Dark" is a fine overview of astronomy for those of us who have been out of school awhile and think of Pluto as the edge of the meaningful universe.

As a boy I was intrigued by astronomy and at age 10 owned an off-the shelf hand telescope that, in my recollection, simply made the bright stars brighter. I once tried to observe the crescent of Venus through my mother's hand mirror and a magnifying glass. I did get to see the rings of Saturn, finally, through the 8" telescope at the Buffalo Museum of Science, and to this day I divide the world into those who have seen that spectacle firsthand and those who haven't. Popular astronomy in the 1950's was lunar and planetary: the supposed canal system of Mars, for example, was still an issue of debate.

I lost my interest in the 1960's when astronomy became less optical and more electronic. Real observations and photos of heavenly bodies are egalitarian. Spectroscopic charts, radio waves, radar exploration and the like required time, sophisticated education, and money. Every decade or so something would catch my fancy: Apollo 11, Viking, Pioneer, Hubble, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, Cassini. But why should an amateur like myself spend money and time at something already being done with more precision at Arecibo in Puerto Rico or Mt. Palomar in California, or from a satellite in space, for that matter?

Timothy Ferris argues in so many words that the modern astronomical-industrial complex, so to speak, is too big and too expensive to perform some of the most critical work of present day astronomy. The author provides a plethora of examples, such as planetary weather. Most planets have atmospheres with characteristics not entirely unlike the earth's own. The atmospheres of the large outer planets [and in at least one case, a planetary satellite] have predictable patterns of wind currents and even storms that produce lightning. Mars, we have come to realize, has significant dust storms and seasonal markers. To monitor these systems, however, requires daily observations over months and years. With the crush of competition for seat time for the monster telescopes and the costs involved, such meticulous and time consuming planetary observations are gradually falling into the hands of the dedicated [and exquisitely patient] amateur backyard astronomers. The older, smaller, and midrange telescopes have come into a new age of usefulness, where persistence is of equal value to optical power. And, as the author observes, the marriage of a modest telescope with digital photography, computer controls, and Internet access to professionals, has created a formidable network of information gatherers.

Nowhere is the amateur's value of more importance than in the discovery and tracking of NEO's, asteroids whose orbits regularly criss-cross the earth's. Observation of these dangerous bodies and forecast of collisions is extremely difficult for several reasons. NEO's are hard to see [in some instances, at the 29th magnitude], only small tracks of their orbits are currently known, and they are notoriously vulnerable to gravitational influences from the earth, the sun, and even Jupiter. Science has developed a public coding system for risk from each known object, and I would venture a guess that readers will find particular stimulation from Ferris's discussion of the "Torino Scale." [As I was reading this work, I checked the day's "Torino forecast" on NASA's web site, the very day that NASA used a "Torino 4" rating for the first time, for Asteroid 2004MN4. As this occurred the same day as the Asian tsunami, little or no press coverage was devoted to the event, though astronomers around the world focused on the potential risk of a 2029 collision. The odds for 2004MN4 were downgraded to Torino 1 a few days later.]

Suffice to say that NEO's are the "high needs child" of space observation, and every verifiable observation by an amateur astronomer enables NASA and international tracking systems to add another fraction of certainty to a body's orbit. Ferris intersperses observational details of heavenly bodies with interviews of the men and women who do the observing. His use of the word "amateur" is stretched like taffy. Some of these unsalaried observers have spent six-figures in outfitting their equipment or, in some cases, pursuing doctorates to expedite their work. Some have walked away from lucrative professions and made wholesale disruptions in personal and family life on behalf of serious stargazing. In some cases "amateur" does not do justice to what is more appropriately an "obsession."

Ferris summarizes what we have come to know about planets, stars and galaxies in the past few generations of advanced study. Again, if one has not addressed astronomy systematically since school days, this work is an excellent primer on our current state of understanding the heavens. There is a thorough 25-page appendix that treats of basic stargazing information, including issues of light pollution, choice of equipment, and basic star charts, as well as a summary of periodicals and web sites. I regretted that there are no photos of any kind in the book, so we never get to see with our own eyes the quality of work produced by the amateurs in our communities. Perhaps the author was deliberately setting out to pique our curiosity, for yesterday I found myself investigating the features and price tag of a small telescope at the Brookstone's in my local mall. It's been a long time since I've done that.