TheSkySearchers

Share with us what astronomy books you received as gifts this holiday. :smile:

Myself I received two. First was the latest edition (volume 7) of the Annals of the Deep Sky series (Willmann-Bell), which covers the constellations Corona Borealis, Corvus, Crater and Crux. The authors dedicated this volume to the brother-sister team of William and Caroline Herschel and wrote a 61 page profile of them (beginning on page 293). Immediately following that article is another section about their greatest sweep, which occurred on April 11, 1785 and resulted in 74 new objects being discovered. This article is written by Mark Bratton, author of "The Complete Guide to the Herschel Objects." I look forward to reading this book during my upcoming business trip.

The second is the Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide (desk edition). The Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas has been my field atlas of choice for nearly five years now. When I read about the IDSG coming out and read reviews of it by others, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't something I would opt for as it didn't seem it would be of much use to me personally. But when asked about what I might like to have for Christmas, I decided to offer it up as an option and I found it under the tree. So whether or not it will be something I will get extensive use out of, I cannot say for certain. However, I plan to take it along on my upcoming trip and peruse it at my leisure to see exactly how it interfaces with the IDSA and what use I might make of it. Even if its not something I would take into the field routinely, I gladly accept the gift as an addition to my astronomy library.

I haven't even had a chance to go through it yet, but I'm sure it will be astounding. Cheers,
JT

None. But I did get a B&N gift card, so maybe I can find something. Actually, I was thinking about culling my bookshelves down some. Psychologically difficult for me to do though.

kt4hx wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 5:24 am Share with us what astronomy books you received as gifts this holiday. :smile:

Myself I received two. First was the latest edition (volume 7) of the Annals of the Deep Sky series (Willmann-Bell), which covers the constellations Corona Borealis, Corvus, Crater and Crux. The authors dedicated this volume to the brother-sister team of William and Caroline Herschel and wrote a 61 page profile of them (beginning on page 293). Immediately following that article is another section about their greatest sweep, which occurred on April 11, 1785 and resulted in 74 new objects being discovered. This article is written by Mark Bratton, author of "The Complete Guide to the Herschel Objects." I look forward to reading this book during my upcoming business trip.

The second is the Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide (desk edition). The Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas has been my field atlas of choice for nearly five years now. When I read about the IDSG coming out and read reviews of it by others, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't something I would opt for as it didn't seem it would be of much use to me personally. But when asked about what I might like to have for Christmas, I decided to offer it up as an option and I found it under the tree. So whether or not it will be something I will get extensive use out of, I cannot say for certain. However, I plan to take it along on my upcoming trip and peruse it at my leisure to see exactly how it interfaces with the IDSA and what use I might make of it. Even if its not something I would take into the field routinely, I gladly accept the gift as an addition to my astronomy library.

Yes, V7 showed up here too. Always happy when Will-Bell makes a delivery.
I couldn't resist the IDSG when it came out - I do enjoy comparing my notes/observations to it. Sessions are too few & far between & that makes them last a little longer.
I'd do it again, but I do hope you will do a review as I enjoy your thoughts about the objects of our "condition".

David S Stevenson's Extreme Explosions: Supernovae, Hypernovae, Magnetars, and Other Unusual Cosmic Blasts was supposed to arrive under the tree, but apparently decided
to take a long holiday en route. Now scheduled to arrive today I'm afraid of the condition it will be in when it arrives. Stevenson's book The Complex Lives of Star Clusters inspired
the 2nd acquisition of his work.

Now to attend to business. For outstanding reviews, posting about books the day after Christmas & actually putting them on his list to Santa:
For 2020 I again nominate KT4HX as Grand Imperial Poobah of the TSS (AF in exile) chapter of Altoholics Anonymous.

pakarinen wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 1:12 pm Actually, I was thinking about culling my bookshelves down some. Psychologically difficult for me to do though.

That is a horribly scary thought.
I'd buy more shelves.

JayTee wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 6:06 am I haven't even had a chance to go through it yet, but I'm sure it will be astounding.
NASA Book.jpg

Cheers,
JT

Me too! I was not yet aware of this hefty tome, but taking a few peeks yesterday, it looks like it will be amazing, for sure.

smp

SKEtrip wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 1:38 pm

kt4hx wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 5:24 am Share with us what astronomy books you received as gifts this holiday. :smile:

Myself I received two. First was the latest edition (volume 7) of the Annals of the Deep Sky series (Willmann-Bell), which covers the constellations Corona Borealis, Corvus, Crater and Crux. The authors dedicated this volume to the brother-sister team of William and Caroline Herschel and wrote a 61 page profile of them (beginning on page 293). Immediately following that article is another section about their greatest sweep, which occurred on April 11, 1785 and resulted in 74 new objects being discovered. This article is written by Mark Bratton, author of "The Complete Guide to the Herschel Objects." I look forward to reading this book during my upcoming business trip.

The second is the Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide (desk edition). The Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas has been my field atlas of choice for nearly five years now. When I read about the IDSG coming out and read reviews of it by others, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't something I would opt for as it didn't seem it would be of much use to me personally. But when asked about what I might like to have for Christmas, I decided to offer it up as an option and I found it under the tree. So whether or not it will be something I will get extensive use out of, I cannot say for certain. However, I plan to take it along on my upcoming trip and peruse it at my leisure to see exactly how it interfaces with the IDSA and what use I might make of it. Even if its not something I would take into the field routinely, I gladly accept the gift as an addition to my astronomy library.

Yes, V7 showed up here too. Always happy when Will-Bell makes a delivery.
I couldn't resist the IDSG when it came out - I do enjoy comparing my notes/observations to it. Sessions are too few & far between & that makes them last a little longer.
I'd do it again, but I do hope you will do a review as I enjoy your thoughts about the objects of our "condition".

David S Stevenson's Extreme Explosions: Supernovae, Hypernovae, Magnetars, and Other Unusual Cosmic Blasts was supposed to arrive under the tree, but apparently decided
to take a long holiday en route. Now scheduled to arrive today I'm afraid of the condition it will be in when it arrives. Stevenson's book The Complex Lives of Star Clusters inspired
the 2nd acquisition of his work.

Now to attend to business. For outstanding reviews, posting about books the day after Christmas & actually putting them on his list to Santa:
For 2020 I again nominate KT4HX as Grand Imperial Poobah of the TSS (AF in exile) chapter of Altoholics Anonymous.

Stevenson's book sounds interesting Steve. Obviously it did not travel anywhere near the speed of light to arrive at your house!

Since you mentioned his book about star clusters, I can't recall if you have a copy of Star Clusters by Archinal and Hynes? If so, bravo, if not, I highly recommend it.

As to attending to club business, I am not so sure I deserve the title of Grand Imperial Poobah. Perhaps floor sweeper, cook and chief bottle washer!

No books for me. I got the Interstellarum last year though...

No astronomy books on "the day", but Will Bell delivered Vol. 7 to me in November. I counted it as an early present to myself.

kt4hx wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 3:26 pm Stevenson's book sounds interesting Steve. Obviously it did not travel anywhere near the speed of light to arrive at your house!

It arrived & I'm shocked to say in good shape. Interesting package, two pieces of cardboard looked like they were vacuum packed around it. Very effective.
I agree with you about the speed of light, perhaps the speed of smell? 16 days from NJ, which in some ways is light years from Kansas.....

wrote:Since you mentioned his book about star clusters, I can't recall if you have a copy of Star Clusters by Archinal and Hynes? If so, bravo, if not, I highly recommend it.

Oh yes, a favorite of mine. It is constantly written in and has printed articles protruding from its pages.

wrote:As to attending to club business, I am not so sure I deserve the title of Grand Imperial Poobah. Perhaps floor sweeper, cook and chief bottle washer!

Anyone who sweeps the floor around here earns the title!

Don Quixote wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:40 pm No astronomy books on "the day", but Will Bell delivered Vol. 7 to me in November. I counted it as an early present to myself.

That works Mark. I should have said even if the gift is from yourself!

Hello Alan,

how do you find the Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide?
I have been tempted to get that book, but finally decided against it, and purchased from another hobby astronomer in Germany the Becvar's Atlas Coeli (1950.0), the Cambridge 1979 edition.

Best,
JG

SKEtrip wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 8:36 pm

kt4hx wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 3:26 pm Stevenson's book sounds interesting Steve. Obviously it did not travel anywhere near the speed of light to arrive at your house!

IMG_20191226_141245[1].jpg
It arrived & I'm shocked to say in good shape. Interesting package, two pieces of cardboard looked like they were vacuum packed around it. Very effective.
I agree with you about the speed of light, perhaps the speed of smell? 16 days from NJ, which in some ways is light years from Kansas.....

wrote:Since you mentioned his book about star clusters, I can't recall if you have a copy of Star Clusters by Archinal and Hynes? If so, bravo, if not, I highly recommend it.

Oh yes, a favorite of mine. It is constantly written in and has printed articles protruding from its pages.

wrote:As to attending to club business, I am not so sure I deserve the title of Grand Imperial Poobah. Perhaps floor sweeper, cook and chief bottle washer!

Anyone who sweeps the floor around here earns the title!

I like the cover! I've had books come that way. Agree that sandwiching it between two oversized pieces of cardboard with shrink wrap works quite well.

I was thinking you had Star Clusters, just could not recall for certain. Personally I feel it is a must have book for the serious astronomer.

Regarding something you said earlier about the IDSG, I do intend to write a review. I will be taking that book plus the IDSA with me on my upcoming trip and will look closely at how they interface. The main drawback I see with the IDSG is that it is not all encompassing for the objects plotted in the IDSA. But of course in the format they use for the IDSG, that would be impossible to do. It would require multiple volumes and a massive amount of images and data. That would not be a reasonable expectation. I have and will continue to observe many objects not covered by the IDSG or IDSA and thus have to look to other resources for comparison should I need to investigate any curiosity that I might encounter while obsering an object. But for those objects covered in the IDSG, it could prove useful for after session research.

However, during a cursory look one thing I found that disappointed me is the lack of data for the objects they do include in the IDSG. At a minimum, they should include the magnitude and angular size of each object, and having the surface brightness (when applicable) and its coordinates would be a very good thing. That data is very important to know. My main go-to supplement is the Uranometria Deep Sky Field Guide as it includes that data for every object plotted in the Uranometria atlas. Of course it is purely a catalogue of data and does not include images, thus can be done in one thick volume. It has a very important and useful purpose, even if its content is bone dry. In that regard the IDSG is a much more aesthetically pleasing publication with its images and sketches, though clearly void of any significant data. That serves to highlight what I've said before - not every atlas or in this case field guide, does everything correctly.

j.gardavsky wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 8:55 pm Hello Alan,

how do you find the Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide?
I have been tempted to get that book, but finally decided against it, and purchased from another hobby astronomer in Germany the Becvar's Atlas Coeli (1950.0), the Cambridge 1979 edition.

Best,
JG

Hello JG. Well, after taking a quick look inside, I admit that when I initially decided not to buy it, I made the right decision. In this case it was a gift from the wife, so in the long run I bought it anyway! It definitely has some deficiencies, but I do see some usefulness to its content. As I mentioned to Steve above, I will review it after I've had time to give it a thorough look in conjunction with the IDSA.

The Atlas Coeli is a a nice find and a very worthy addition to your library. I am sure you will enjoy it. I have a copy of the 1962 edition released by Sky and Telescope. It is amazing to consider that the atlas is based on hand drawn charts by the author.