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Product Description
Tools for amateur astronomers who wish to go beyond CCD imaging and step into ‘serious’ science. The text offers techniques for gathering, analyzing, and publishing data, and describes joint projects in which amateurs and students can take part. Readers learn to recognize and avoid common errors in gathering photometry data, with detailed examples for analysis. Includes reviews of available software, with screen shots and useful tips.
From the Back Cover
A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis provides, for those with access to even a modest telescope and CCD camera, all the information needed to take part in the scientific study of asteroids and variable stars. Using commercially available equipment, amateur astronomers can determine the rotation rate, size, and shape of asteroids. Similarly, it is possible to discover the size, temperature, and orbits of stars in binary systems by using this powerful technique. A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis contains all the material needed for readers to understand the theory, and avoid the practical pitfalls of lightcurve photometry. Detailed examples are given for obtaining data, and of course for the exciting and rewarding task of analyzing the data to determine the physical properties of the object. Any college student or amateur astronomer who wants to go beyond mere imaging with a CCD camera and enter the challenging world of "real science" via the lightcurves of asteroids and binary stars will find everything necessary in this book.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis
20 Jun 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a useful book, but I find the number of typos in equations and the discussion of the text annoying. I say this after going through Henden and Kaitchuck, Hall and Genet, and Romanishin's textbooks on photometry and I can say I needed these references in addition to this book to get the most benefit from this book. The typos are being addressed by Brian Warner on his website (search minorplanetobserver to reach the site) and here is now an errata available in pdf format. This is to be applauded and will definitely make the book more useful. Kudos to Brian Warner for doing this. Springer should take more responsibility for this though since they publish these advanced amateur guides and charge textbook prices for them. Other books in the Springer series I have bought also suffer from more typos than average and this can only be attributed to lax editorial supervision. Springer should do better.
I like this book a lot, but it is short and the text needs supplementing with other sources. The author admits this and suggests Henden and Kaitchuck. There are references to sources in the text that are not in the index or the endnotes and an update to the index to fix this would help the book too. For example, the author cites the first edition of this book for a longer discussion of certain topics and then you find out that the first edition was privately published and is not easily found. I think you can request a copy from Brian Warner though.
There are few works aimed at this level though that discuss photometry with CCD's instead of older equipment so the book fills a valuable niche. There are worked examples in the appendices and the author shares his practical experience and workflow suggestions in the main text. These are worth the price of the book and make it one of the better guides out now for students and amateurs trying to start photometry.
I just wish the book referenced fundamental formulae more and depended less on references to commercial software products. It does assume the user will be using some commercial photometry package and Excel type spreadsheets for analysis and this is probably true for the intended audience.
I like this book a lot, but it is short and the text needs supplementing with other sources. The author admits this and suggests Henden and Kaitchuck. There are references to sources in the text that are not in the index or the endnotes and an update to the index to fix this would help the book too. For example, the author cites the first edition of this book for a longer discussion of certain topics and then you find out that the first edition was privately published and is not easily found. I think you can request a copy from Brian Warner though.
There are few works aimed at this level though that discuss photometry with CCD's instead of older equipment so the book fills a valuable niche. There are worked examples in the appendices and the author shares his practical experience and workflow suggestions in the main text. These are worth the price of the book and make it one of the better guides out now for students and amateurs trying to start photometry.
I just wish the book referenced fundamental formulae more and depended less on references to commercial software products. It does assume the user will be using some commercial photometry package and Excel type spreadsheets for analysis and this is probably true for the intended audience.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
quick intro to photometry
11 Aug 2006
Format:Paperback
The book is all about combining a little optical telescope and a CCD camera to good effect. Plus a personal computer. Warner teaches the basics of photometry, without you needing a university lab. These days, the materials required for the book should be readily affordable to many readers, especially if they are already amateur astronomers.
Key concepts like air mass, and the signal to noise ratio and colour indices are used in a straightforward manner. Which greatly helps you learning these ideas.
The book is a little short, however. The lessons are in the first two thirds. While the last third of the book is various appendices.
Key concepts like air mass, and the signal to noise ratio and colour indices are used in a straightforward manner. Which greatly helps you learning these ideas.
The book is a little short, however. The lessons are in the first two thirds. While the last third of the book is various appendices.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Great Introduction to Photometry
4 Dec 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a great book for the amateur astronomer who wishes to learn about photometry. It is well within the grasp of undergraduates and motivated high school astronomers. Warner's writing style is engaging and clear. The chapters are a step-by-step trip from an overview of how photometry is used in astronomy to the basics of photometry to publishing your results. Beginning variable star observers will find a wealth of excellent information. Those interested in asteroid lightcurves will find all the essentials. Warner shows how to analyze the data using standard tools such as spreadsheets. But, once you get serious, you should really consider obtaining Warner's Canopus program which is mentioned in the text.
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