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Product Description
Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs is a complete guide for amateur astronomers who are looking for a new challenge. After a brief overview of the development of spectroscopes and an introduction to the theory of stellar spectra, the book goes on to examine the various types of spectroscopes available to amateurs. Next, practical sections address all aspects of setting-up and using various types of commercially-available and home-built spectroscopes. A final part gives detailed instructions for the design and construction of three different spectroscopes, along with the necessary design theory (minimal math). The home-made spectroscopes have performance capabilities near or equal to commercial units but are constructed using basic hand tools for a fraction of the cost! This up-to-date practical spectroscopy book will enable amateur astronomers to develop the skills and equipment needed to prepare scientifically acceptable spectra data, and to make a valuable contribution to ProAm projects.
From the Back Cover
Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs is a complete guide for amateur astronomers who are looking for a new challenge beyond astrophotography. The book provides a brief overview of the history and development of the spectroscope, then a short introduction to the theory of stellar spectra, including details on the necessary reference spectra required for instrument testing and spectral comparison. The various types of spectroscopes available to the amateur are then described. Later sections cover all aspects of setting up and using various types of commercially available and home-built spectroscopes, starting with basic transmission gratings and going through more complex models, all the way to the sophisticated Littrow design. The final part of the text is about practical spectroscope design and construction. This book uniquely brings together a collection of observing, analyzing, and processing hints and tips that will allow the amateur to build skills in preparing scientifically acceptable spectra data. It covers all aspects of designing, constructing, testing, calibrating, and using a spectroscope and enables the average amateur astronomer to successfully build and use a homemade spectroscope for a fraction of the current commercial cost. As Professor Chris Kitchin said, “If optical spectroscopy had not been invented then fully 75 percent of all astronomical knowledge would be unknown today, and yet the subject itself re-ceives scant attention in astronomical texts.” This book answers that need. It is the practical spectroscopy book that amateur astronomers have been waiting for!
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a welcome addition to the discipline's literature. It fills a real need for both theoretical and practical "how-to" information for amateur astronomers.
The writing, organization, editing, layout, color graphics and images are all excellent and reflect the high production values of Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series (Springer) publications.
The book is divided into three sections:
Part One: Introduction to Spectroscopy - Covers the history and theory of the field, including a good discussion of the different types of spectroscopes. Even if you have read this kind of background on the field many times before, you'll find that Ken's presentation and his inclusion of new details makes it fresh and interesting reading.
Part Two: Obtaining and Analyzing Spectra - Discusses how to setup and images with converging beam as well as reflection grating spectroscopes. It also discusses different cameras including DSLRs. There's a chapter that describes how to use VSpec for image processing. This section finishes up with a good discussion of different amateur spectroscope observing projects.
Part Three: Design and Construction - Frankly, my initial response when I thumbed through this section was that it wasn't for me, since I don't plan to ever build my own spectroscope. But, now, having read it through, I think that this section will be appreciated by almost everyone. Yes, there were places that it was a bit more technical than I was interested in. But, the majority of the material I found engaging and very helpful in filling in gaps in my knowledge. Even if you never plan to build your own spectroscope, I think you'll find this section interesting and informative.
One complaint I have about this book is that I frequently found parts that whet my appetite but then, instead of going into more detail, the author moved on to a different topic. This book could have been a lot longer! It's unfortunate that Ken was constrained by the publisher's page count and layout. However, that's one of the realities of book publishing these days. Clearly Ken has a lot more he can write about. Hopefully we'll see additional publications from him in the years to come.
You'll find spectra and images in the book from many of the "usual suspects" in the amateur astronomical community: Hansen, Leadbeater, Buil, Majden, Shelyak, Gavin, etc. Their images are a valuable addition to book, making it more accessible and informative. Thank you all of you for making your work available.
Ken is an active leader in the amateur astronomical spectroscopy community. He's the designer of the the increasingly popular Spectra-L200 spectroscope kit. And he is also an active participant in several on-line communities, including the RSpec real-time spectroscopy forum where he regularly coaches both newcomers and more experienced users. Over the years, his postings and his direct emails have helped many of us deepen our understanding and overcome obstacles we encountered. This book is a further expression of his passion for spectroscopy and his desire to see more involvement in it by amateur astronomers.
Whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned expert, I think you'll enjoy and find "Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs" has a lot of valuable information.
I expect that this book will become a well-respected and enduring classic that appears on many of our bookshelves.
Congratulations, Ken, and thank you for a great book and a real contribution to our community!
The writing, organization, editing, layout, color graphics and images are all excellent and reflect the high production values of Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series (Springer) publications.
The book is divided into three sections:
Part One: Introduction to Spectroscopy - Covers the history and theory of the field, including a good discussion of the different types of spectroscopes. Even if you have read this kind of background on the field many times before, you'll find that Ken's presentation and his inclusion of new details makes it fresh and interesting reading.
Part Two: Obtaining and Analyzing Spectra - Discusses how to setup and images with converging beam as well as reflection grating spectroscopes. It also discusses different cameras including DSLRs. There's a chapter that describes how to use VSpec for image processing. This section finishes up with a good discussion of different amateur spectroscope observing projects.
Part Three: Design and Construction - Frankly, my initial response when I thumbed through this section was that it wasn't for me, since I don't plan to ever build my own spectroscope. But, now, having read it through, I think that this section will be appreciated by almost everyone. Yes, there were places that it was a bit more technical than I was interested in. But, the majority of the material I found engaging and very helpful in filling in gaps in my knowledge. Even if you never plan to build your own spectroscope, I think you'll find this section interesting and informative.
One complaint I have about this book is that I frequently found parts that whet my appetite but then, instead of going into more detail, the author moved on to a different topic. This book could have been a lot longer! It's unfortunate that Ken was constrained by the publisher's page count and layout. However, that's one of the realities of book publishing these days. Clearly Ken has a lot more he can write about. Hopefully we'll see additional publications from him in the years to come.
You'll find spectra and images in the book from many of the "usual suspects" in the amateur astronomical community: Hansen, Leadbeater, Buil, Majden, Shelyak, Gavin, etc. Their images are a valuable addition to book, making it more accessible and informative. Thank you all of you for making your work available.
Ken is an active leader in the amateur astronomical spectroscopy community. He's the designer of the the increasingly popular Spectra-L200 spectroscope kit. And he is also an active participant in several on-line communities, including the RSpec real-time spectroscopy forum where he regularly coaches both newcomers and more experienced users. Over the years, his postings and his direct emails have helped many of us deepen our understanding and overcome obstacles we encountered. This book is a further expression of his passion for spectroscopy and his desire to see more involvement in it by amateur astronomers.
Whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned expert, I think you'll enjoy and find "Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs" has a lot of valuable information.
I expect that this book will become a well-respected and enduring classic that appears on many of our bookshelves.
Congratulations, Ken, and thank you for a great book and a real contribution to our community!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Well worth having waited for!
27 Feb 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a welcome addition to the discipline's literature. It fills a real need for both theoretical and practical "how-to" information for amateur astronomers.
The writing, organization, editing, layout, color graphics and images are all excellent and reflect the high production values of Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series (Springer) publications.
The book is divided into three sections:
Part One: Introduction to Spectroscopy - Covers the history and theory of the field, including a good discussion of the different types of spectroscopes. Even if you have read this kind of background on the field many times before, you'll find that Ken's presentation and his inclusion of new details makes it fresh and interesting reading.
Part Two: Obtaining and Analyzing Spectra - Discusses how to setup and images with converging beam as well as reflection grating spectroscopes. It also discusses different cameras including DSLRs. There's a chapter that describes how to use VSpec for image processing. This section finishes up with a good discussion of different amateur spectroscope observing projects.
Part Three: Design and Construction - Frankly, my initial response when I thumbed through this section was that it wasn't for me, since I don't plan to ever build my own spectroscope. But, now, having read it through, I think that this section will be appreciated by almost everyone. Yes, there were places that it was a bit more technical than I was interested in. But, the majority of the material I found engaging and very helpful in filling in gaps in my knowledge. Even if you never plan to build your own spectroscope, I think you'll find this section interesting and informative.
One complaint I have about this book is that I frequently found parts that whet my appetite but then, instead of going into more detail, the author moved on to a different topic. This book could have been a lot longer! It's unfortunate that Ken was constrained by the publisher's page count and layout. However, that's one of the realities of book publishing these days. Clearly Ken has a lot more he can write about. Hopefully we'll see additional publications from him in the years to come.
You'll find spectra and images in the book from many of the "usual suspects" in the amateur astronomical community: Hansen, Leadbeater, Buil, Majden, Shelyak, Gavin, etc. Their images are a valuable addition to book, making it more accessible and informative. Thank you all of you for making your work available.
Ken is an active leader in the amateur astronomical spectroscopy community. He's also the designer of the the increasingly popular Spectra-L200 spectroscope kit. And he is also an active participant in several on-line communities, including the RSpec real-time spectroscopy forum where he regularly coaches both newcomers and more experienced users. Over the years, his postings and his direct emails have helped many of us deepen our understanding and overcome obstacles we encountered. This book is a further expression of his passion for spectroscopy and his desire to see more involvement in it by amateur astronomers.
Whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned expert, I think you'll enjoy and find "Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs" has a lot of valuable information.
I expect that this book will become a well-respected and enduring classic that appears on many of our bookshelves.
Congratulations, Ken, and thank you for a great book and a real contribution to our community!
The writing, organization, editing, layout, color graphics and images are all excellent and reflect the high production values of Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series (Springer) publications.
The book is divided into three sections:
Part One: Introduction to Spectroscopy - Covers the history and theory of the field, including a good discussion of the different types of spectroscopes. Even if you have read this kind of background on the field many times before, you'll find that Ken's presentation and his inclusion of new details makes it fresh and interesting reading.
Part Two: Obtaining and Analyzing Spectra - Discusses how to setup and images with converging beam as well as reflection grating spectroscopes. It also discusses different cameras including DSLRs. There's a chapter that describes how to use VSpec for image processing. This section finishes up with a good discussion of different amateur spectroscope observing projects.
Part Three: Design and Construction - Frankly, my initial response when I thumbed through this section was that it wasn't for me, since I don't plan to ever build my own spectroscope. But, now, having read it through, I think that this section will be appreciated by almost everyone. Yes, there were places that it was a bit more technical than I was interested in. But, the majority of the material I found engaging and very helpful in filling in gaps in my knowledge. Even if you never plan to build your own spectroscope, I think you'll find this section interesting and informative.
One complaint I have about this book is that I frequently found parts that whet my appetite but then, instead of going into more detail, the author moved on to a different topic. This book could have been a lot longer! It's unfortunate that Ken was constrained by the publisher's page count and layout. However, that's one of the realities of book publishing these days. Clearly Ken has a lot more he can write about. Hopefully we'll see additional publications from him in the years to come.
You'll find spectra and images in the book from many of the "usual suspects" in the amateur astronomical community: Hansen, Leadbeater, Buil, Majden, Shelyak, Gavin, etc. Their images are a valuable addition to book, making it more accessible and informative. Thank you all of you for making your work available.
Ken is an active leader in the amateur astronomical spectroscopy community. He's also the designer of the the increasingly popular Spectra-L200 spectroscope kit. And he is also an active participant in several on-line communities, including the RSpec real-time spectroscopy forum where he regularly coaches both newcomers and more experienced users. Over the years, his postings and his direct emails have helped many of us deepen our understanding and overcome obstacles we encountered. This book is a further expression of his passion for spectroscopy and his desire to see more involvement in it by amateur astronomers.
Whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned expert, I think you'll enjoy and find "Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs" has a lot of valuable information.
I expect that this book will become a well-respected and enduring classic that appears on many of our bookshelves.
Congratulations, Ken, and thank you for a great book and a real contribution to our community!
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