58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for all amateur astronomers!, September 28, 1999
By A Customer
As an intermediate/advanced amateur astronomer, I purchased Star Ware primarily as a reference tool for optical calculations and starting astrophotography. Well, I wound up reading the book from cover to cover in about two days, and I must say it is a wonderful book for all levels of viewers. It covers everything from selecting equipment and observing sites, to long exposure astrophotography and do-it-yourself projects. The author imparts his knowledge in a no-nonsense way that allows the reader to fully understand the concepts of all topics discussed.
If you are just beginning and have not yet purchased a telescope (or binoculars), or are fairly new to astronomy and looking for additional equipment or accessories, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK FIRST! It will help you to become a very informed consumer, teach you to evaluate your observing site(s), and help determine your overall situation with respect to astronomy. For the price of $19.95, the book could save you hundreds (or thousands) of dollars in the long-run. Moreover, you will have a great reference to use throughout your observing career.
Whether the reader is interested in planetary work or deep-sky viewing, Star Ware gives great techniques and tips for viewing everything from our own star to the extra-galactic domain. This book helps the beginner to select the proper equipment for starting out, and also guides the more advanced observer in choosing accessories for enhancing equipment performance for specific areas of astronomy. In addition, the book delves into the complex science and art of astrophotography, with helpful suggestions from the author about getting started and basic methods.
A very nice part of this book is the appendix section, detailing out equipment, accessories, manufacturers, etc. It also contains the entire Messier Catalog in table form, complete with R.A. and Dec. coordinates. In short, Star Ware is a superb text that belongs on the shelf of every amateur astronomer.
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
essential astro gear guide, May 18, 2000
This review is from: Star Ware: The Amateur Astronomer's Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Buying, and Using Telescopes and Accessories (Paperback)
There are a few books no amateur astronomer should be without. One is Peterson's Field Guide to the Stars and Planets, which packs more useful information into a smaller package than any other book I know of. A second is The Backyard Astronomer's Guide by Dickinson & Dyer, which covers the basics of the hobby in a more expansive, descriptive format.
A third member of this short list has recently been republished in a new edition: Star Ware, Second Edition (The Amateur Astronomer's Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Buying, and Using Telescopes and Accessories) by Philip S. Harrington, 1998 John Wiley & Sons. Star Ware is aimed mostly at beginners, teaching in a lively and informal style the basics of how telescopes work and how to use them, but there is a fair amount of information of interest to advanced amateurs as well.
The book begins with two chapters about telescope optics and different types of telescopes, with something of the history of telescopes along the way. Chapter 3 covers the pros and cons of each type in some detail, ending with a quiz where you add the point values of your answers to show what type you should buy - fun, as long as you don't take it too seriously. Chapter 4 is a still more detailed look at the offerings of different manufacturers, again sorted by type. Phil goes easy on the major manufacturers, judging from some of the tales of woe I've heard; but the treatment is fair and useful. Chapter 5 compares the myriad eyepieces available to go with these scopes. Both these chapters have appendices where the information is laid out in convenient tables.
Chapter 6 covers finders and filters, other books and software, cameras and CCD's. One thing I would have appreciated would be a similar appendix covering all the competing software packages, what they do well and which was the best for each purpose. As I wrote two months ago, I have purchased a number of these packages and started to evaluate them; maybe I need to write this comparison myself.
Chapter 7 was the most interesting to me - a description of projects you can make, from a collimation tool to a video camera bracket to a binocular chair - the latter I want to get started on Real Soon Now. `Till Death Do You Part' is on care of your scope, and repeats sage advice against unnecessary cleaning, as well as how to collimate your optics.
The last and longest chapter, `It's Time to Solo!', covers the targets to point your scope at (moon, planets, comets, sun, deep-sky), a description of a few dozen of the best deep-sky objects, and a brief introduction to astrophotography. This will be of less interest to advanced amateurs, who probably have more detailed sources of this type of information. One might question why to include this in a book about equipment, but it probably does make it more useful for the beginner who may buy only this book.
Parts of the book overlap with the Dickinson & Dyer book mentioned above, but the treatment of telescopes and eyepieces is much more detailed. Overall, a fine book, highly recommended for a beginning amateur, and recommended for an advanced amateur looking to buy a new scope or eyepiece.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best source of unbiased information about astro equipt, October 15, 1999
By A Customer
I've read 'em all and Star Ware is, without a doubt, the single best book about equipment for the amateur astonomer ever written. The author has clearly done a tremendous amount of research to cover just about every conceivable piece of equipment out there. And, best of all, he discusses pros and cons evenly, without bias, and with a sense of humor that holds the interest of even non-astronomer types.
If you are thinking about buying a telescope or other piece of astronomical equipment, the price of this book could save you hundreds. And, in the long run, you will end up knowing more about what to buy and how to use it, thanks all to this book.
Bravo!
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