Practical Amateur Spectroscopy (Paperback)

by Stephen F. Tonkin (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review
From the reviews:

"Although essential to professionals a" spectroscopy has largely been ignored by amateurs as a a ~black arta (TM). This book a" the first of its kind a" should help redress the balance. a ] Spectroscopy is a big subject for the dedicated amateur and this book just begins to scratch the surface. It contains plenty of useful references and websites and the minimum of maths. a ] this is the only current book on amateur spectroscopy and must be recommended." (Maurice Gavin, Astronomy Now, May, 2003)

"The latest serving from Springer is all about spectroscopy a" an important subject, as much of what we know about the Universe comes from the study of light. The book starts with a substantial and excellent roundup of the physics behind light and stellar spectra. a ] there are useful sections on building spectroscopes for mounting to telescopes a ] . The book did spark an interest in spectroscopy and a desire to learn more a ] ." (John Rowlands, Popular Astronomy, Vol. 50 (2), 2003)

"This book, part of Springera (TM)s Practical Astronomy series, is a sampler authored by six practitioners of the slowly growing interest in amateur spectroscopy. a ] Spectroscopy is a huge subject with innumerable specialist targets even for the amateur. The contents of this book reflect the authorsa (TM) interests. As the only current book on amateur spectroscopy it must be recommended." (Maurice Gavin, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Vol. 112 (6), 2002)

"The spectroscope is undoubtedly a powerful analytical tool providing a foundation stone for modern professional astronomy and a ~Practical amateur Spectroscopya (TM) is a concise book helping explain thebasics. a ] As it was back in 1982 that I studied A-level physics, this book was a much-needed refresher course for me. a ] if your academic background is in the sciences, particularly physics and mathematics, then I think this book is a really good read providing a fascinating insight into a very important facet of astronomy." (Philip Moran, Astronomy & Space, January, 2003)

Product Description
Spectroscopy - once the sole province of professionals - is becoming more and more popular with amateur astronomers. Various instruments, at prices to suit everyone, are already available "off the shelf".

"Practical Amateur Spectroscopy" contains everything you need to understand the basic principles, to begin observing, and to interpret what the spectra you have seen or recorded show and mean.

Contributions by leading practical amateurs from America and Europe cover a very wide range of amateur equipment and techniques. There are descriptions of all kinds of instruments, ranging form simple do-it-yourself projects like a direct-vision star spectroscope, to imaging with commercially made spectrographs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (June 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852334894
• ISBN-13: 978-1852334895
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #594,297 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does anyone check for errors anymore?, January 21, 2009

By	Francis J. Oreilly "Francis J. O'Reilly" (Mahopac, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I originally rated this book very highly, but as I got deeper into it, I was quite dissapointed. If I were able to retract the five star rating I gave it initially, I would replace the rating with one star.

This book is so fraught with arithmetic errors, factual errors and poor typechecking as to be useless. I strongly recommend that this edition be avoided. Hopefully, Mr. Tonkin will pay attention to editing the book before publishing a second edition and passing it off as a beginner's guide.

Francis J. O'Reilly