Amateur Telescope Making (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) (Paperback)

~ Stephen Tonkin (Editor) "A low-power, wide-field telescope provides spectacular views of the heavens - the Milky Way, a bright comet or an eclipse are perfect targets..." (more)
Key Phrases: main tripod leg, bios clock tick, control words output, Specialised Telescopes, Shoestring Telescopes, Buchroeder Quad-Schiefspiegler (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"You've had your fill of giant optical telescopes and orbiting space observatories. Now you want to do some real astronomy. For advice on how to get going, look no further than two excellent books- Amateur Telescope Making and Astronomical Equipment for Amateurs [ISBN 1852330198]. They cover everything from building a telescope on a shoestring, to astrophotography, CCD imaging, software for controlling a telescope, and useful sites on the Net. Highly recommended." -- New Scientist, 1999

From the reviews"... Stephen Tonkin (has) added a worthy contribution to the collective wisdom of amateur astronomy ...." SKY & TELESCOPE   SKY & TELESCOPE"…Tonkin has assembled a potpourri of excellent do-it-yourself projects, ranging from small refractors and simple rich-field telescopes to large instruments with tilted-component optics and a high-performance, home-built, computer-controlled telescope…will appeal strongly to mid-level amateur astronomers, whether they are equipment buyers or builders. Novices should find much to marvel at, and advanced amateurs will appreciate the useful and timely insights into the current technology of telescopes and sensors…[a] worthy addition to the ever-growing literature of telescopes and telescope making.” REVIEWS OF ASTRONOMICAL TOOLS"The book is a nice collection of interesting ideas on telescopes and accessories for the do-it-yourself astronomer.” NEW SCIENTIST"For advice on how to get going, look no further than two excellent books – AMATEUR TELESCOPE MAKING and ASTRONOMICAL EQUIPMENT FOR AMATEURS…Highly recommended.”

Product Description

Many amateur astronomers make their own instruments, either because of financial considerations or because they are just interested. Amateur Telescope Making offers a variety of designs for telescopes, mounts and drives which are suitable for the home-constructor. The designs range from simple to advanced, but all are within the range of a moderately well-equipped home workshop. Thus each chapter begins with reasons for undertaking the project, then looks at theoretical consideration before finishing with practical instructions and advice. An indication is given as to the skills required for the various projects. Appendices list reputable sources of (mail order) materials and components. The telescopes and mounts range from "shoestring" (very cheap) instruments to specialist devices that are unavailable commercially.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (December 11, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852330007
• ISBN-13: 978-1852330002
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #739,784 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #28 in	Books > Science > Astronomy > Telescopes
  #77 in	Books > Science > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Scientific Instruments

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As the S&T reviw says, "a worthy addition"., December 19, 1999

By A Customer

A marvellous little book which can be used as a manual and inspiring bed-time reading. Although some projects can be found on the web, the book version usually expands on these or is very different (and probably more permanent). The book's strength is that it has has selected projects which are easy to replicate and which complement each other. Its weakness is that there isn't more of it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great telescope making book for anyone......., June 15, 2002

By	MotherLodeBeth "MotherLodeBeth" (Sierras of California) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

We are an amateur astronomy loving family who got into making our own telescopes after getting involved in the Friday night telescope classes and lectures at the Chabot observatory in Oakland California back in the early 80's.

And being homeschoolers we were also big science fans and have always encouraged people to become as hands on science minded as possible. This books is a perfect example of hands on science at its best as well as a book that should put to rest the idea that only rich people own telescopes or that only people with science degrees use telescope.

The book is shy 300 pages and covers everything from Shoestring telescopes you can make, using items you have around the house as well as items you can find for free at carpet stores. Specialized telescopes is about building a high contrast planetary setup, as well as Rright camera. There is an excellent section on mounts. I would hope every library would own a copy of the book and believe that every homeschooling family should as well.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY, July 19, 2003

By A Customer

This is an edited book with different authors contributing an article each. Thus these is no coherency. It seems that the editor had asked each contributing author to just give an article about his or her telescope making experience. Thus all the chapters are separate entities without any cross-references (between chapters). Finally they do not go in any detail what so ever. It is more like a "1001 Project Book" which claims that (after reading the book) you can do every thing from repairing cars, TVs, VCR, DVDs to building an airplane, except that the book only devote half a page to all the 1001 projects. You just cannot make a telescope by reading this book (unless you already know how to make one).

BTW: you can find more information on the web than what this book delivers. I am just glad that I borrowed it from the library, and did not buy it.