Olivier Biot
Amused
Reged: 04/25/05
Loc: 51°N (Belgium)
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Book review: Cosmic Challenge
#4809517 - 09/15/11 03:42 PM
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Book review: Cosmic Challenge
By Thomas Watson.
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faackanders2
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/28/11
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: Olivier Biot]
#4811609 - 09/16/11 07:37 PM
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I like the book, but agree the next reprint should have lighter images, so you can see them both in daylight and with a red flashlight.
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: faackanders2]
#4812165 - 09/17/11 05:10 AM
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Thank you, Tom, for the very kind words about Cosmic Challenge. Of the books I have written, I found this one to be the most challenging to complete (all those sketches and detailed finder charts!!), but also the most fun. It gave me a great reason to look for objects that I probably would never have tried for, thinking them too difficult. And of course, that includes many targets that ended up on the cutting room floor for lack of room. Hmmm, volume 2? 
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desertstars
Reged: 11/05/03
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: PhilH]
#4812342 - 09/17/11 09:20 AM
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Quote:
And of course, that includes many targets that ended up on the cutting room floor for lack of room. Hmmm, volume 2?
You should be careful posting things like that. Your readers might hold you to it.
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Alvin Huey
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/18/05
Loc: NorCal
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: desertstars]
#4818466 - 09/20/11 03:40 PM
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One of the very few books I really enjoyed, especially at this hobby observing DEEP for close to 40 years.
Great job - Phil. Hey, didn't you say Vol. 2? Did I hear that right? 
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: Alvin Huey]
#4818601 - 09/20/11 04:39 PM
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Thanks, Alvin. That's very high praise. 
What I said was that there could be a volume 2 just on what I had to leave out due to page limitations. Whether or not that comes to fruition, well, I *can* that it won't be anytime soon. Nothing is in the works right now...
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Faith_J
Sketcher Extraordinaire
Reged: 11/17/04
Loc: South coast of England
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: PhilH]
#4818645 - 09/20/11 05:07 PM
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I've just ordered a copy from Amazon, which should arrive on Thursday. I am looking forward to reading it. 
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desertstars
Reged: 11/05/03
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: Faith_J]
#4822014 - 09/22/11 01:53 PM
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I believe you will find it a worthy investment.
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Faith_J
Sketcher Extraordinaire
Reged: 11/17/04
Loc: South coast of England
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: desertstars]
#4822030 - 09/22/11 02:02 PM
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It arrived today and, so far, looks really good.
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Pierre Schmid
newbie
Reged: 03/18/12
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: Olivier Biot]
#5131649 - 03/20/12 05:41 AM
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This is indeed an excellent observation guide.
However, many of the printed photos are much too dark.
As a result, the object cannot be recognized on those photos.
See for example on page 372 the Fig.7.2 Leo I,
or on page 421 the Fig. 7.19 Einstein's Cross,
or on page 442 the Fig.27 NGC 2363 and 2366.
Difficult to understand, how this obvious quality control error was not caught by Cambridge Universiry Press ?
Dr. Pierre E. Schmid
CH-8802 KILCHBERG
Switzerland
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: Pierre Schmid]
#5131672 - 03/20/12 06:22 AM
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As has been discussed in this and other threads more than a year ago, some of the sketches did come out a little too dark. Still, if the drawings showed bright, vibrant targets, they would not realistically depict what is being described. We are, after all, talking about challenging objects. These targets do not pop into view in the eyepiece, and so we should not them expect pop off the page either.
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gmacln
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/10/06
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Re: Book review: Cosmic Challenge
[Re: PhilH]
#5149916 - 03/31/12 10:13 AM
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Also ordered a copy. I purchased Star Watch years ago and found it to be a great reference. Can't wait to receive Cosmic Challenge!
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