Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

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Don Quixote
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Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#1

Post by Don Quixote »


The book is authored by Craig Crossen, and Gerald Rhemann. 264 pages with source list organized by chapter followed by a general index and closed with an index of all objects discussed in the text.

This is a guide to objects visible in the Milky Way with binoculars and wide-field telescopes.

The first chapter of approximately 38 pages is a wonderful set of lessons about The Stars. The authors are dealing here with birghtness, distance, colors and spectra, and stellar evolution.

As I worked my way through this first chapter I was taking a huge step forward in my understanding of what I was actually observing...brightnes classifications, distance calculation, color, the evolution of the life cycle of a star as we understand it at this time. The classification of stars in their evolutionary cycle was fascinating to me.

Chapter Two deals in great detail with Open Clusters in the several categories of, Summer Constellations, Autumn Constillations, Winter Constellations, and Open Clusters of Spring.

Chapter Three is titled The Milky Way and its Bright Nebula.
This chapter is subdivided into Seven sections; one example is titled "The Cassiopeia Window".

The Fourth chapter is titled Galaxies and Galaxy Groups. The first sentence in this chapter is as follows. "PERHAPS THE GREATEST SURPRISE AWAITING THE WIDE-FIELD OBSERVER ARE THE GALAXIES VISIBLE IN LOW POWER INSTRUMENTS". The authors illustrate this statement very well, and not only for gslaxies but for many objects that I might not have attempted with binoculars.

Chapter Five deals with certain Variables and Doubles and to what extent the wide-field observer may observe these stars, In particular the observation of colors and contrasting color and magnitude.

Then select Globular Clusters are discussed in Sagittarius, Scorpius, Ophiuchus followed up with a section titled "Bright Globular Clusters around the Sky".

The third section in chapter 5 addresses "The Brightest Planetary Nebula")

Chapters 2-5 are the nut for me, and a great resource to familiarize myself with an overview of that section of the sky , or type of object. It is then a simple matter to bore in on specific objects and the many details the authors have provided.

Not least among these details are many discriptions of how the target object presents in the binoculars or telescope that are being used for the observation, as well as comments on the author's prefered instrument for that object.

I found this to be a book I could pick up and read even at times when the sky precluded any observations and I had no hope of applying immediately the knowledge I gained from the reading.

If you are just starting out in this hobby this book may be intimidating, but once you are hooked on observing the heavens I believe you will find this book a fine resource to which you will return over and over again.

And finally I have to acknowledge that I would not have acquired this book if not for the inspiration of my friend JG.
Thanks JG !
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helicon United States of America
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#2

Post by helicon »


Sounds like a great book Mark. I'll have to get a copy. One of my hobbies is collecting astro-books.
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
Don Quixote
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#3

Post by Don Quixote »


helicon wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 1:00 am Sounds like a great book Mark. I'll have to get a copy. One of my hobbies is collecting astro-books.
This is very well worth the investment Michael. I have used it many times to plan an observing session. Unfortunately many times I was thwarted by the clouds, but no matter. :-)
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#4

Post by Bigzmey »


Thanks for the reference Mark and JG! I will definitely look for it.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#5

Post by Bigzmey »


Look at that price! :lol:



Too bad Half.com went belly up.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
Don Quixote
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#6

Post by Don Quixote »


Bigzmey wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 1:13 am Look at that price! :lol:



Too bad Half.com went belly up.
Oh My Goodness!
I had no idea Andrey.
Gosh.
I did not pay anything like that much in 2017.
I am sorry...
I think I regret the post now.

But...it is a GREAT book.

Dang.
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#7

Post by Bigzmey »


Don Quixote wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 1:19 am
Bigzmey wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 1:13 am Look at that price! :lol:



Too bad Half.com went belly up.
Oh My Goodness!
I had no idea Andrey.
Gosh.
I did not pay anything like that much in 2017.
I am sorry...
I think I regret the post now.

But...it is a GREAT book.

Dang.
Ohh, don't worry! Bookstores have this idea that they can charge crazy prices for textbooks and astronomy books. I am sure it will surface for a reasonable price somewhere.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
Don Quixote
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#8

Post by Don Quixote »


Sky Vistas - Astronomy for Binoculars and Richest-Field Telescopes | Craig Crossen | Springer
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783211008515

It is still expensive. But not quite as much. The soft cover is the least expensive.
I am quit astonished at this. I paid less than $100 .
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#9

Post by bladekeeper »


Very nice review, Mark!
Bryan
Scopes: Apertura AD12 f/5; Celestron C6-R f/8; ES AR127 f/6.4; Stellarvue SV102T f/7; iOptron MC90 f/13.3; Orion ST80A f/5; ES ED80 f/6; Celestron Premium 80 f/11.4; Celestron C80 f/11.4; Unitron Model 142 f/16; Meade NG60 f/10
Mounts: Celestron AVX; Bresser EXOS-2; ES Twilight I; ES Twilight II; iOptron Cube-G; AZ3/wood tripod; Vixen Polaris
Binoculars: Pentax PCF WP II 10×50, Bresser Corvette 10×50, Bresser Hunter 16×50 and 8×40, Garrett Gemini 12×60 LW, Gordon 10×50, Apogee 20×100

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Don Quixote
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#10

Post by Don Quixote »


Here is a place you can view the book for free.

Sky vistas : astronomy for binoculars and richest-field telescopes : Crossen, Craig : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
https://archive.org/details/springer_10 ... 091-0626-6
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#11

Post by SpyderwerX »


Thank you, Mark! I'll definitely have to check into that one.
~Frankie~ My mind: Always on...Slightly off. :?
Celestron CPC1100 SCT....Celestron Evolution 8 SCT...TeleVue-85 apo...SkyWatcher ST150 achro..ST102 achro..ST80 achro.
Celestron AVX...Orion Atlas EQ-G...SkyTee-2...Twilight-1.
Baader BBHS prism and mirror diagonals + Vernonscope quartz 1.25"
EPs: TeleVue oldie (NJ) & modern Plossls, Widefields, and Naglers + 3-6 zoom & Brandons 6-32.
Astronomik, Lumicon & Baader filters..
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pakarinen United States of America
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#12

Post by pakarinen »


Just a note - Halfprice Books has it in stock. Price is still > $100 though.

I might have to bite the bullet and get a copy (paperback). I have a Kindle and all that, but I still prefer hardcopy.
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Re: Sky Vistas, astronomy for binoculars and Richest Field Telescopes

#13

Post by j.gardavsky »


Thank you Mark for the highest qualified review!

Yes, this book is worth of having, as it explains in understandable terms the astonishing astrophysics behind the faint fuzzies, most of the people just look at, count them, and check them out in their bserving logbook.

Best,
JG
6" F/5 Sky-Watcher achro, 2" BBHS Star Diagonal, 2" zenith prism, 1.25" Takahashi prism
Leica 82mm APO Televid
Eyepieces: Docter UWA; Leica B WW and WW Asph. Zoom; Leica HC Plan S and L, monocentric; Pentax SMC XW, O-, XO; Tak MC O, Carl Zeiss B WW, and Pl, E-Pl, S-Pl, W-Pl;
Swarovski SW; Baader Symmetric Diascope Edition; Nikon NAV SW, ; TMB supermonocentric; Rodenstock; Vixen HR; TV Delos
Filters: Astrodon, Astronomik, Baader, Balzers, Zeiss West and East, Lumicon
Binoculars (7x42 up to 15x85): Docter Nobilem, Leica Ultravid, Nikon Astroluxe, Swarovski EL Swarovision; BA8 (Kunming Optical)
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