2434 replies to this topic

[Herchel]

Screen Shot 2022-06-19 at 9.33.31 AM.png

The Astronomical League is here: https://www.astroleague.org
(If your membership in your local club does not include a membership in the AL, you can join as a Member-at-Large though it costs more.)

Their store is available to anyone. And anyone can download their tutorial programs - 80+ total - though only AL members get certificates and badges for completion.
https://store.astroleague.org
[NOTE that the store website will be down for maintenance until after 01 July 2022.]
From the menu at left, click OBSERVING MANUALS.
AL Observing Manuals Carbon Stars.jpg

Clear Skies,
Mike M.

Thank you 👍

[BrentKnight]

 

I just got these in the mail.

 

Flammarion's Astronomy/Popular Astronomy by Camille Flammarion and translated by J. Ellard Gore.  This is the second edition published in 1907.  At first glance it appears to be the Cosmos of the 19th century.  Lots of nice woodcuts and a couple color plates.

 

A History of Astronomy by W. W. Bryant and published in 1907.  I know very little about this one.  It looks like a popular level history of astronomy up to the end of the 19th century with many fine B/W photos of telescopes and observatories, planets and nebulae.  Mr. Bryant highly praises Agnes Clerke, the value of whose careful work to any one making researches in the same direction can hardly be over-estimated.

 

Our Sun by Donald H. Menzel and published in 1949.  I have been collecting The Harvard Books on Astronomy for a while now, and this one came up in very good condition.  Many of these originals have lost their dust jackets and this one has too.  I don't recall ever seeing the original dust jacket for this one either.

 

Observatories of the Southwest: A Guide for Curious Skywatchers by Douglas Isbell and Stephen E. Strom and published in 2009.  This one was recommended by Lucullus over on the topic about observatories.  It does have a good bit of history on many of the observatories in the southwest.

[Alex_V]

My recent acquirement.

"The Pluto System" is actually more scientific, than I expected. Comparing to "Chasing New Horizons" of the same A. Stern, the new book is more similar to "Encyclopedia of Solar System".

"History of Carnegie Institution" is 660 pages of PoD of very good quality, and as expected from A. Sandage is very good read.

 

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[Blueox4]

Just picked this up for very little. It’s only wear is the back cover. Really like the overlays and photos. 

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[BrentKnight]

I've wanted this one for quite some time, but it's always been too expensive for me.  I recently found this one in very good condition for around $20.  I feel it's one of the modern classic lunar books that covers observing and learning about the moon and it's history.  I'm not a big lunar observer, but books like this encourage me to go out and explore some more.

 

 

The Modern Moon: A Personal View by Charles A. Wood.  Published in 2003.

 

I might have to break down now and find a copy of Antonín Rükl's Atlas of the Moon - another book that get's expensive on the used market.

 

 

[Alex_V]

Good find! Both of them worth having.

[BFaucett]

  

The Hunt for Vulcan
And How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe
by Thomas Levenson

For more than fifty years, the world’s top scientists searched for the “missing” planet Vulcan, whose existence was mandated by Isaac Newton’s theories of gravity. Countless hours were spent on the hunt for the elusive orb, and some of the era’s most skilled astronomers even claimed to have found it.

 

There was just one problem: It was never there.
 

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House

Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 3, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
     

     
The link is to the Kindle edition on Amazon but other formats are available on the page.
https://www.amazon.c.../dp/B00TCI48B8/
    
I purchased the Kindle edition this morning so I haven't read the book yet but it looks interesting. I enjoy reading about the history of astronomy.
    
Cheers! Bob F. 

[Knasal]

I have that one, Bob, in hardcover - it’s good!

[desertstars]

I might have to break down now and find a copy of Antonín Rükl's Atlas of the Moon - another book that get's expensive on the used market.

That's for sure. Last time I checked, good condition copies of the revised edition were running $160.00 and up. (The previous edition can be found for a lot less.) Really glad I bought one when I had the chance.

[BrentKnight]

I ordered these books from the Webb Society a while back and they came in the mail today.  They are very nice - especially the open cluster atlas.  I'll post a review of these when I get some more time with them.

 

 

Atlas of Galactic Nebulae by Vehrenberg and Neckel (on DVD - I'll have to find my external drive)

 

Webb Deep Sky Society: Galaxy of the Month by Owen Brazell

Collected articles from the Webb Society web site from 2011 to 2019.  Each of the featured galaxies has a photo, a finder chart and notes, descriptions and references.

 

The Webb Deep Sky Society's Atlas of Open Star Clusters by Mike Swan

This makes a great companion to Archinal and Hynes Star Clusters from W-B.  This is the combined northern and southern atlas that has been available on the site for some time.  It contains descriptions, catalog data and an all sky atlas (finder charts) giving the locations to the clusters.  The main section of the book is the atlas itself.  These are actual charts at a generous scale with magnitudes down to 16.  Simply beautiful to look at if you like open clusters.

[seryddwr]

Just picked up a copy of "Astronomical Algorithms" and some other fun stuff.

[bphaneuf]

Another package came

Concur on Voyage to the Great Attractor.  A student borrowed mine - you know how THAT goes! - so I ordered another to reread.  I posted about it in another thread a few months ago.  That book is what started my interest in distant galaxies and large structures.  Obviously it’s a bit dated, but a great read nonetheless.  It’s a good recounting of how this gravity well was first suspected, and why, as well as a first-hand account of how science works and self-corrects.  Unlike many hard scientists, Dressler is an engaging writer.  You’ll see one of his lines in my signature line, as I think, despite his advanced statistical and theoretical work, he’s never lost sight of why we humans do this.  We’re meant to be explorers.  Highly recommended with no reservations.

-b

Edited by bphaneuf, 24 June 2022 - 03:25 PM.

[desertstars]

I ordered these books from the Webb Society a while back and they came in the mail today.  They are very nice - especially the open cluster atlas.  I'll post a review of these when I get some more time with them.

 

Books from Webb Society.jpg

 

Atlas of Galactic Nebulae by Vehrenberg and Neckel (on DVD - I'll have to find my external drive)

 

Webb Deep Sky Society: Galaxy of the Month by Owen Brazell

Collected articles from the Webb Society web site from 2011 to 2019.  Each of the featured galaxies has a photo, a finder chart and notes, descriptions and references.

 

The Webb Deep Sky Society's Atlas of Open Star Clusters by Mike Swan

This makes a great companion to Archinal and Hynes Star Clusters from W-B.  This is the combined northern and southern atlas that has been available on the site for some time.  It contains descriptions, catalog data and an all sky atlas (finder charts) giving the locations to the clusters.  The main section of the book is the atlas itself.  These are actual charts at a generous scale with magnitudes down to 16.  Simply beautiful to look at if you like open clusters.

I'm especially interested in hearing what you think of the open cluster atlas.

[bumm]

I just landed in this thread, and catching up I was at first a bit confused, and then intrigued, by the discussion of Agnes Clarke's double star book, and the confusion with Agnes Clerke.    One of my recent acquisitions was Agnes Clerke's 1890 "The System of the Stars."  A pretty monumental effort, and after checking a free online copy, I decided to buy it due to the fact that she has a nice writing style, and although it's a "science" type book as opposed to an "observing" type book, she often discusses specific observable objects.  I'll often search for contemporary reviews of the dusty old books I buy, and for this one I ran across a 15 page review of Clerke's book by none other than Geoge Ellery Hale.  He's interestingly critical of some of her writings about spectroscopy, but otherwise gives the book a decent review.  I printed that one off to keep with the book.

 

And speaking of reviews, I bought the first edition copy of John Herschel's 1833 "A Treatise On Astronomy" visible at the far left, after I bought a contemporary 34 page review of that book.  This review started out surprisingly critical, expecting more from a man of Herschel's stature, mainly on account of his neglecting to include the mathematics involved, but it goes on to finish as a reasonably complementary review.  That made it more interesting to me than otherwise.  It took me a while to find an affordable first edition copy of the work as printed in "Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia," and mine is a little rough but intact.  And of course I keep the dusty old review with the dusty old book.  Once I had it though, I immediately had to look up two things;

 

1.  I was curious to see if Herschel called Uranus "Herschel," as was often done in the day, and was pleased to see that he called it Uranus.  Good on him.  (BTW, there are 10 other planets besides Earth...  Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Juno.)

2.  The next apparition of Halley's Comet will be in 1835.

 

OH, and a couple of other fine ladies on the shelf...  Hannah Bouvier and Mary Proctor.

                                                                                                                     I do rattle on sometimes,

                                                                                                                                                      Marty

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Edited by bumm, 25 June 2022 - 07:43 PM.

[bumm]

In that pic above, "Lardner's Natural Philosophy - Astronomy & C." from 1854, sits between Hershel's and Clerk's books.  He has quite a few descriptions and woodcuts of deep sky objects, which is what attracted me to the book.  Those old woodcuts often draw me outside with my scope to check out details that obviously had to be visible to the eye before astronomical photography came along.  It's a bit off-putting though, that he often describes an object, often recognizable from his description, but his coordinates seem to be off considerably, MUCH more than could be ascribed to precession.  I guess he wasn't really figuring his readers would pay much attention to that detail...

                                                                                                                               Marty again

[BrentKnight]

Was he pulling those coordinates from other sources? I believe he was more formally an astronomer than his father, who pretty much figured things out (or invented ideas) along the way.

[bumm]

Was he pulling those coordinates from other sources? I believe he was more formally an astronomer than his father, who pretty much figured things out (or invented ideas) along the way.

I dunno...  I'm not really familiar with Lardner but I know he was prolific.   I spent some time on the living room floor with a few atlases and Lardner's book though, trying to make sense of it.  I'll have to check into it some more.

                                                                                                 Marty

[BrentKnight]

I misunderstood...thought you were saying John had poor coordinates. Lardner sounds like an interesting book!

[RobertED]

Recent Amazon purchase.....love it!!

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[seryddwr]

I've wanted this one for quite some time, but it's always been too expensive for me.  I recently found this one in very good condition for around $20.  I feel it's one of the modern classic lunar books that covers observing and learning about the moon and it's history.  I'm not a big lunar observer, but books like this encourage me to go out and explore some more.

 

The Modern Moon.jpg

 

The Modern Moon: A Personal View by Charles A. Wood.  Published in 2003.

 

I might have to break down now and find a copy of Antonín Rükl's Atlas of the Moon - another book that get's expensive on the used market.

What's the difference between the first and second edition of Antonín Rükl's Atlas of the Moon (besides the price)?

[BrentKnight]

Here is a link to a recent topic about that very same question.

 

"Atlas of the Moon" question

 

Pretty much just a different color ink for the charts and index marking in the later edition.

 

I have the copy mentioned here and it's just fine (and pocket sized).

[seryddwr]

Here is a link to a recent topic about that very same question.

 

"Atlas of the Moon" question

 

Pretty much just a different color ink for the charts and index marking in the later edition.

 

I have the copy mentioned here and it's just fine (and pocket sized).

Sweet, thanks! I don't care about the ink color. If one is observing the moon, dark adaptation is moot, in my opinion.

[Alex_V]

Somehow outdated (from 2006), but interesting anyway

 

 

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[George N]

I just received copies of Annals of the Deep Sky Vol 5 (replaced a lost copy) and Vol 8.

 

I'm only noting this because of earlier posts about problems concerning W-B books purchased from Sky&Tel. I had no order/ship/pack problems at all.

 

These two arrived well packed (certainly not the old "W-B way" - but still OK by me) - and very quickly - just a few days after my on-line order. Both were in perfect shape.

 

The only problem I have is -- it's been clear 5 of the last 7 nights, with some more to come - when am I going to have time to read books?  << OK - first snowstorm of 2022/3 is probably 4 months or less away..... so I'm ready! >>

[BrentKnight]

Recent talk about Lunar books prompted me to get the mirror-reversed version of Sky & Telescope's Field Map of the Moon (also by Antonín Rükl).  I have the normal view one, but it's really a pain to use with refractors - and those are my instrument of choice for Luna.  Shipping from S&T seems a little pricey, but they say it should be here in about a week.

 

 

A great companion for this atlas/chart is What's Hot on the Moon Tonight? by Andrew Planck. I have the Kindle version (great for using at the telescope), but there is also a spiral bound version.