HfxObserver
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/12/04
Posts: 578
Loc: Waterloo ON, Canada
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I was fortunate to talk with FireFly Books today at a book expo in Toronto. Terrence Dickinson will be our guest speaker at a star party I work on and I was happy to hold in my hands the first advanced copy of his books 3rd Edition of the Backyard Astronomers Guide. The cover image is a beautiful HorseHead Nebulae shot, and there is additional imaging information along with an expanded Southern Sky section. It is also updated with many nice features like new eyepieces and recent dobs like the Lightbridges etc. there is also a fantastic set of Milky-Way charts in the back.
I look forward to my copy in mid to late summer, price TBA.
-Chris
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Chris
7X50 Vixen,22X100 Antares
80mm William Optics Megrez II ED
Santel MK6
Borg 125SD f6 (Pentax/Oasis version)
Tak-Lapides
Pentax XW's 40,20,14,10,3.5 3.8XP, Speers 5-8, 30mm Widescan III
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csa/montana
Astro Ambassador
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 25818
Loc: montana
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Chris, thanks for letting us know about this book! I'm a great fan of Terrence Dickinson. I'll be looking forward to getting a copy.
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
AstroTech 66ED / Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Tak LE 5mm
7mm Pentax XL, 10mm Pentax XW
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
22mm Pan, 35mm Pan
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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o1d_dude
o1der than dirt
Reged: 10/03/07
Posts: 1200
Loc: The Big Tomato, California
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Thanks for the heads up on this one.
The Backyard Astronomers Guide has been sitting in my shopping cart at Amazon for a while and I would have been disappointed with a second edition when the third is just weeks away.
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Kit
"There's only two things that excite a man, expensive toys and real expensive toys." - Red Green
* A bunch of old ATM stuff that cost me next to nothing
* A bunch of new commercial stuff that cost me an arm and a leg
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GlennLeDrew
sage
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 310
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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The first edition had a rather limited atlas of selected regions, based on photographs. This was deleted in the second edition. The desire for some kind of atlas in the third edition resulted in the new and unique Milky Way atlas, created by yours truly.
There are 10 charts covering the entire band of the Milky Way, and all are oriented with the galactic equator running horizontally. Each chart covers 45 degrees wide by 56 degrees tall, with about 9 degrees of overlap at each edge. There are two charts for each region; a un-labeled colour positive, and facing it a B&W negative with labeling.
The base of the charts is an intricately detailed and realistic milky way, revealing billowing star clouds and hundreds of dark nebulae.
Stars are shown to mag. 9, and all are colored based on their B-V index. Open clusters are a bluish color and globulars are yellowish. Emission nebulae are red and reflection nebulae are bluish. Planetaries are colored a bright greenish cyan. In other words, the effect striven for was one reminiscent of photographs, which allows to discern immediately the kind and nature of all objects. But unlike any photo deep enough to show nebulae and milky way structure, and hence a dense profusion of stars, with these charts it's a snap to relate an object's location with readily-observable "guide" stars to point the way.
I hope you find this Milky Way atlas useful!
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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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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15635
Loc: Hoover, AL
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Awesome!
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
It’s not finishing something when your tank is empty that makes you a stronger person. It’s brushing yourself off and refacing the foe that defeated you with the same determination and willingness to fight that you had when you began your journey.
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orion9
member
Reged: 11/08/07
Posts: 84
Loc: North Carolina
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This is one of my favorite books. It rocks! I will definitely add it to my collection. I have the first edition and I go back to it constantly. It bridges the space between advanced beginner and intermediate. Well done.
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stevecoe
"The Astronomical Tourist"
Reged: 04/24/04
Posts: 2034
Loc: Arizona, USA
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I agree with Carol, Terence Dickenson is one of my favorites. I have been suggesting "Nightwatch" or this book to the Novice group members in my astronomy club for years. Lots of great "get started" info.
Clear skies;
Steve Coe
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150mm 6" f/8 Celestron Refractor on Sirius Mount
80mmED 3" f/7.5 Orion Refractor
Author "Deep Sky Observing" Springer-Verlag
Author "Nebulae and How to Observe Them" Springer
New Canon Xt astrocamera with Hutech modification
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csa/montana
Astro Ambassador
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 25818
Loc: montana
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Quote:
created by yours truly.
Glen, Congratulations! Many thanks from all of us for your great contributions to help us under the night skies!
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
AstroTech 66ED / Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Tak LE 5mm
7mm Pentax XL, 10mm Pentax XW
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
22mm Pan, 35mm Pan
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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maureenford
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/27/05
Posts: 704
Loc: New Paltz, NY
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After Bob Berman's Book, "Secrets of the Night Sky, which fed my interest in astronomy, it was the first edition of "The Backyard Astronomer's Guide" that I literally took to bed with me every night - reading and rereading sections. I had a great time sorting through all the telescope and eyepiece options and spent countless fun filled hours (OK so I'm a little odd) doing all types of calculations about the various configurations before I bought my first scope, eyepieces and accessories. I've read the second edition and look forward to reading the third edition.
Thanks for the info.
Maureen
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Discovery 12.5" TD on Scopebuggy
with Argo Navis and Feathertouch focuser
27mmPan, 13mm & 8mmEthos, 6mm Radian
Howie Glatter laser and Blug
Coronado PST
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edwincjones
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/10/04
Posts: 4119
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I had the first edition, replaced it with the second, now look forward to see the third.
edj
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n w arkansas
Binocular, Solar, General Amateur Astronomy
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VanJan
member
Reged: 07/09/08
Posts: 80
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To anyone who is interested, I was at my local bookstore this morning, and they had a copy of the third edition on the shelf for 50 dollars. So if it is in the brick and mortar stores, I'd guess it is available on-line as well.
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15635
Loc: Hoover, AL
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Good to hear!
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
It’s not finishing something when your tank is empty that makes you a stronger person. It’s brushing yourself off and refacing the foe that defeated you with the same determination and willingness to fight that you had when you began your journey.
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Todd
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/23/04
Posts: 1368
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Alan has the new website online now.
http://www.backyardastronomy.com/
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15635
Loc: Hoover, AL
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I got to look at the new edition at B&N. Looks like most of the time was spent on the imaging sections. I was kinda disappointed that there were not alot of new pictures in it in the other chapters. The Milky Way charts were pretty neat though.
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
It’s not finishing something when your tank is empty that makes you a stronger person. It’s brushing yourself off and refacing the foe that defeated you with the same determination and willingness to fight that you had when you began your journey.
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edwincjones
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/10/04
Posts: 4119
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Quote:
I got to look at the new edition at B&N. Looks like most of the time was spent on the imaging sections. I was kinda disappointed that there were not alot of new pictures in it in the other chapters. The Milky Way charts were pretty neat though.
but is it worth $50 over the old one
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n w arkansas
Binocular, Solar, General Amateur Astronomy
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o1d_dude
o1der than dirt
Reged: 10/03/07
Posts: 1200
Loc: The Big Tomato, California
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It currently selling for about $32-35 on Amazon.
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Kit
"There's only two things that excite a man, expensive toys and real expensive toys." - Red Green
* A bunch of old ATM stuff that cost me next to nothing
* A bunch of new commercial stuff that cost me an arm and a leg
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15635
Loc: Hoover, AL
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That sounds like a good price.
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
It’s not finishing something when your tank is empty that makes you a stronger person. It’s brushing yourself off and refacing the foe that defeated you with the same determination and willingness to fight that you had when you began your journey.
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desertstars
Say What?
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 28736
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Quote:
Quote:
I got to look at the new edition at B&N. Looks like most of the time was spent on the imaging sections. I was kinda disappointed that there were not alot of new pictures in it in the other chapters. The Milky Way charts were pretty neat though.
but is it worth $50 over the old one
That's the matter I need to consider. I picked up the previous edition a few years ago, after having it recommended to me by just about everyone on this forum. Great book, a good read, and it helped me get back up to speed (I'd been away from amateur astronomy for almost 30 years!) Since then, it's just been sitting on the shelf. I haven't looked anything up in it for a couple of years.
But that's just me. Anyone new to all of this would benefit from a copy, no doubt about it.
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Tom W.
SVP8 'She turned me into a 3-legged Newt' EQ
Ralph, the All-Purpose 102mm Refractor
Under the Desert Stars
amateur: [ama-cher, -ter, am-uh-tur]–noun 1. a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons.
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coulsonmd
journeyman
Reged: 01/17/06
Posts: 8
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Borders Books 40% off coupon
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Treehopper
sage
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 206
Loc: Upstate NY
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For some reason, this book sounded familiar, so I checked the web. Sure enough, I own the white cover version of this (not sure if that's the first edition or not.)
I actually bought it years ago at a wholesale bookseller's sale for ultra-cheap, but sadly it sat largely as a coffee table book for a few years, and when I moved it got stashed in a box with hundreds of my other books. I never bothered unpacking most of my books after I moved into my new apartment.
Now I'm going to have to tear apart my closet and go looking for it! 
EDIT: As it turns out, it wasn't that hard a find. I went into the spare bedroom, just happened to glance at the bottom shelf of one of my bookshelves, and grinning up at me was that familiar white book cover. I was happily thumbing through it last night and this morning. The print date on this one is 1991, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's probably a first edition. Ironically, I believe I picked this up off the bookseller's shelf years ago for significantly less than $10US. 
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Tim
Third oak on the right, and straight on 'til morning.
Meade ETX-125PE (NGC7000 Edition)
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Edited by Treehopper (08/05/08 10:16 AM)
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