How to Use a Computerized Telescope: Practical Amateur Astronomy Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Welcome to amateur astronomy!..." (more)
Key Phrases: keypad cable, altazimuth mode, more eye relief, Elite Chrome, New York, Meade Autostar (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'[Covington] writes clearly and the text is presented in an orderly manner, so that the reader is unlikely to become confused.' Times Higher Education Supplement

Product Description

How to Use a Computerized Telescope describes how to get a computerized telescope up-and-running, and how to embark on a program of observation. Michael Covington explains in detail how the sky moves, how a telescope tracks it, and how to get the most out of any computerized telescope. Packed full of practical advice and tips for troubleshooting, his book gives detailed instructions for three popular telescopes: the Meade® LX200, Celestron^DCC NexStar 5 and 8, and Meade® Autostar^DTM (ETX and LX90). Michael A. Covington is an associate research scientist at the University of Georgia. He is a computational linguist trained in the computer processing of human language and the computer modeling of human logical reasoning, and a widely recognized expert on the Prolog programming language. He is the author of nine books including Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms, Seventh Edition (Barron's, 2000), Astrophotography for the Amateur (Cambridge, 1999), PROLOG Programming in Depth (Simon & Schuster, 1996), Cambridge Eclipse Photography Guide (1993), and Syntactic Theory in the High Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1985). A senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Covington is a Contributing Editor to, and former "Q&A" columnist of, Poptronics magazine.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521007909
• ISBN-13: 978-0521007900
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #368,560 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What you need to know to use a "Go To" telescope, January 9, 2003

By	Taras R. Hnatyshyn (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Covington's "Astrophotography for the Amateur" is one of the two must reads for beginning to intermiediate astrophotographers. "How to Use a Computerized Telescope" fits in the same category for beginner and intermediate amatuer astronomers who have or are thinking of aquiring a computerized telescope. The book is divided into two sections. The first covers basic topics on the use, care and feeding of telescopes in general. The second looks at three classic "Go To" telescope families. If you are looking to buy a computerized telescope, or already own one and want to get more out of it, then this is a good place to start.

Chapters:
PART I - Telescopes in general
1. Welcome to amatuer astronomy
2. How the sky moves
3. How telescopes track the stars
4. Using equatorial mounts and wedges
5. Telescope optics
6. Eyepieces and optical accessories
7. Astrophotography
8. Troubleshooting
PART II - Three classic telescopes
9. Three that led the revolution
10. Meade LX200
11. Celestron NexStar 5 and 8
12. Meade Autostar (ETX and LX90)

Though the models described in detail in the book are no longer the latest models, the foundations will allow one to get a better understanding of how computerized telescopes work, and how to get more out of their use.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful book, March 7, 2006

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

I recently purchased a Celestron StarSeeker telescope (basically a NexStar80) so wanted to read more about computerized telescopes. Michael Covington's book is very good. He starts by saying "Welcome to amateur astronomy". The first part of the book then goes on to discuss telescopes in general, such as the different types (ie, refractors, reflectors and catadioptric) and much very helpful general information about observational astronomy. Things like celestial coordinates, how a telescope works, etc. Too much to put in this review but I found the information extremely helpful. The second section is about astrophotography including simple ways to do astrophotography without a lot of expensive equipment. This author also has a book on Astrophotography which I haven't read. He refers to it several times in this section of this book. The last section describes in quite a bit of detail the operation of 3 computerized telescopes, the Meade LX200, Celestron NexStar 5 and 8 and two Meade telescopes with Autostar, the ETX 90 and the LX 90. All of these telescopes are now outdated as both Meade and Celestron have newer models. However, what is said in this section would apply to the newer models to a large extent. Overall I enjoyed reading this book and obtained a lot of useful information and recommendations to start my budding career in amateur photography. One further note; there is another book by Michael Swanson that deals with just the Celestron NexStar telescopes. I have this book also but haven't finished reading it. If you are just interested in computerized telescopes in general, I would recommend the one in this review. If you have or are interested in a Celestron, then I would suggest the Michael Swanson book; actually I would recommend both.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very useful, August 2, 2005

By	Dave - See all my reviews

I found this book to be very useful and informative. I am a beginner to astronomy and need something to orient me to what a electronic telescope was all about. A must reqad if you are considering a computerized telescope and are a beginner who has never used one.