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davidpitre
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/10/05
Posts: 1385
Loc: Central Texas
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Does anyone have any opinions or reviews of :
"The Milky Way" by BART J. & PRISCILLA F. Bok ?
At what level is it presented?
What does it cover?
The 5th ed was in the early 80s. Is it relevant still?
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David
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David Knisely
Postmaster
Reged: 04/19/04
Posts: 6634
Loc: Beatrice, Nebraska
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Quote:
Does anyone have any opinions or reviews of :
"The Milky Way" by BART J. & PRISCILLA F. Bok ?
At what level is it presented?
What does it cover?
The 5th ed was in the early 80s. Is it relevant still?
It is a bit dated, but it is still a very good read. The level is about basic "Astronomy 101" (non-science majors), so it doesn't involve a lot of mathematics, although a few equations do pop up from time to time when they are needed to explain something. Clear skies to you.
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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info
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chexmix
sage
Reged: 12/01/04
Posts: 342
Loc: Arlington, MA, USA
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I wonder what the new "standard book" on the Milky Way is ... was just reading some fascinating articles on the relatively new discoveries (powered by Spitzer) that our home galaxy has two main arms and a central bar.
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8" Discovery DHQ
Celestron C102-HD
9x63 Orion mini-giants
(2) Frontally-placed visual organs, incl. lens, vitreous/aqueous humors, assorted rods, cones.
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davidpitre
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/10/05
Posts: 1385
Loc: Central Texas
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I was just reading about our central bar as well.
Cool stuff!
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David
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chexmix
sage
Reged: 12/01/04
Posts: 342
Loc: Arlington, MA, USA
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Quote:
I was just reading about our central bar as well.
Cool stuff!
... I think the coolest part is that the bar itself seems to be double. Wild! I wonder if this indicates the Milky Way "cannibalized" another system at some point in the past ...
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8" Discovery DHQ
Celestron C102-HD
9x63 Orion mini-giants
(2) Frontally-placed visual organs, incl. lens, vitreous/aqueous humors, assorted rods, cones.
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davidpitre
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/10/05
Posts: 1385
Loc: Central Texas
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Quote:
... I think the coolest part is that the bar itself seems to be double. Wild! I wonder if this indicates the Milky Way "cannibalized" another system at some point in the past ...
Double in terms the single bar having a leading edge on each side of the nucleus with intense star formation?
I haven't come across any reference of a second bar.
Any links?
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David
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Starman1
Postmaster
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 10840
Loc: Los Angeles
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The "long bar" appears to be slightly rotated relative to the "short bar".
the last story on this has not been written. Don't be surprised if details change a lot in the next few years.
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member, TeleVue junkie
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GlennLeDrew
sage
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 467
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Bok's book was one of the first reads which sent me on my way in Milky Way exploration. While a bit dated, I recommend it!
Another quite enjoyable book aimed at the typical amateur astronomer is Guide to the Galaxy, by Nigel Henbest and Heather Couper. It was read #2, after Bok's.
If you want to go (really) deeper, Galactic Astronomy, by Mihailas and Binney, and Galactic Dynamics by Binney and Tremaine will give you the tools to sound like an astrophysicist. Both titles as from the Princeton series in astrophysics, and were written to complement each other.
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Home-made 11X50 right angle bino, 8.1 deg. FOV
Modified 26X100 bino, 3.5 deg. FOV
Mediocre minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.
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helpwanted
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 1675
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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i read the book many years ago, and still remember a quote from Pracilla Bok; "put your seat in a chair and leave it there till your work is done".
i may be off a word or two, just going off of memory. she was refereing to getting the masive task of compairing photos done... just sit your butt down and don't leave the desk till all your work is done... i kind of like that expression!
david
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100mm f6 Achro
XT8 (8" f6)
EPs: Hyper, Pan, Axiom, TMB
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oldstrgzr
journeyman
Reged: 12/17/06
Posts: 8
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The final edition was done by Bart Bok alone, after his wife died. The earlier editions, however, have better image reproductions. The book is oldish, but for me a keeper. Bok granules are named for the author, as I recall.
Nicholas
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Starman1
Postmaster
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 10840
Loc: Los Angeles
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Quote:
The final edition was done by Bart Bok alone, after his wife died. The earlier editions, however, have better image reproductions. The book is oldish, but for me a keeper. Bok granules are named for the author, as I recall.
Nicholas
That's Bok "globules".
But I agree. I have the mid '90s edition in hardback and it is a good read. It is really a way of learning about the galaxy as a dynamic place. It was this book that first taught me about how star clusters evaporate, and how and why metals are distributed where they are in the galaxy.
It's a nice book to start with if you are interested in galactic structure and evolution.
And there are a lot of books to follow this up for more contemporary updates to the knowledge.
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member, TeleVue junkie
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