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Observing the Moon: The Modern Astronomer's Guide

Observing the Moon: The Modern Astronomer's Guide
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Price:  £39.99(Inc. 20% VAT)
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Model:  9780521874076
Brand:  Cambridge University Press

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Generally In Stock, Please Confirm Before Ordering



2 Year Warranty On All New Items
(Excluding Batteries & Globes)


2nd Edition

  • Date Published: July 2007
  • availability: Available
  • format: Hardback
  • isbn: 9780521874076

Written by an experienced and well-known lunar observer, this is a hands-on primer for the aspiring observer of the Moon. Whether you are a novice or are already experienced in practical astronomy, you will find plenty in this book to help you raise your game to the next level and beyond. In this thoroughly updated second edition, the author provides extensive practical advice and sophisticated background knowledge of the Moon and of lunar observation. It incorporates the latest developments in lunar imaging techniques, including digital photography, CCD imaging and webcam observing, and essential advice on collimating all common types of telescope. Learn what scientists have discovered about our Moon, and what mysteries remain still to be solved. Find out how you can take part in the efforts to solve these mysteries, as well as enjoying the Moon's spectacular magnificence for yourself!

  • Fully updated to take account of the latest imaging techniques, such as webcam observing
  • Written by one of the most experienced and well-regarded lunar observers in the world
  • 'Hands-on' approach - contains valuable practical advice on observing techniques and how to get the most from your telescope

 

Reviews & Endorsements:

'… the friendly and chatty style of Observing the Moon continues in this second edition … Chapters have had major modifications to reflect the changes in the past seven years and cover subjects such as camera attachments to the telescope, modern CCD cameras, camcorders and webcams, image processing techniques and online web resources. This book is a good friendly way to introduce amateurs to lunar observing and has some excellent examples of observations by well known observers to illustrate what can be done.' Tony Cook, Journal of the British Astronomical Association

'North has managed to convey his enthusiasm while making this book accessible to those with no prior knowledge of the topic … There are a great deal of modifications to those chapters dealing with technologies and techniques that have been updated since the first edition … North's friendly and informative writing style assists the reader in learning about the techniques of lunar observation. This is an excellent reference tool for first-time astronomers and experts alike … the perfect companion for a budding amateur astronomer.' Martin Vickers, EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union

'Gerald North, an accomplished lunar scholar is the author, or co-author, of a number of texts on advanced amateur astronomy and observing techniques … This book is well produced and is a very useful, practical reference guide for the lunar observer, whether beginner or advanced. This delightful volume should inspire a new generation to the study of the Moon, Earth's long term companion in space.' John McFarland, Contemporary Physics

'This book includes lots of pictures of the moon as well as some hand drawn diagrams and it provides details of the telescope and camera used to take each …' Journal of Science and Technology

Review of the first edition: 'North advises the novice observer based on his own extensive experience, and he includes a brief review of lunar science from Apollo to Lunar Prospector. He richly illustrates his 48 crater descriptions with drawings, amateur and professional photographs, and spacecraft images ... I recommend North's observing guide as visually pleasing, meaty, and easy to read.' Sky and Telescope

Review of the first edition: 'North is an experienced lunar astronomer, and it shows … Observing the Moon will certainly help you on your way to make the most of your time behind the telescope.' Sarah Dunkin, Physics World

Review of the first edition: 'Observing the Moon is a beautifully produced, well illustrated, and thorough guide to the techniques of lunar observations, as well as being a detailed A to Z (well Agarum and Albategnius to Wargentin and Wichmann actually) of the more interesting features of the lunar landscape. Huge enjoyment can be obtained from studying our nearest celestial neighbour, and this book will help to improve your technique.' David W. Hughes, The Observatory

Review of the first edition: 'Guided by this book amateurs can undertake observations of real scientific usefulness and thus can make their own contributions to the understanding of our Moon.' Orion (Société Astronomique de Suisse)

Review of the first edition: 'Observing the Moon is a pretty comprehensive guide to beginning lunar observation and recommended reading.' Astronomy and Space

Review of the first edition: 'North is full of useful information for backyard astronomers who would like to move to the next level in their observations of the earth's satellite … Key advantages of North's volume include its practical focus – e.g. lots of advice on the strengths and weaknesses of various types of equipment – and its mix of vivid photographs and clarifying maps and charts.' Booklist

Review of the first edition: 'The latest in a long and venerable collection of astronomy titles from Cambridge University [Press].' Bloomsbury Review

'Recommended reading for the lumar enthusiast or just the plain curious.' Astronomy Now

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Some items that are showing as in stock are in stock at our holding warehouses, not at the shop. To double check the stock levels at the shop, please contact us on 01909774369 or sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

The delivery times for most items is 1 - 2 days but again, please double check stock levels on important orders before placing an order via the website.

The delivery costs for courier next day are for mainland UK only. If you live in the Scottish Highlands/Islands, Channel Islands or Northern Ireland, then a shipping surchage will apply. please contact us for prices. Smaller items can still go 1st class via Royal Mail.

Please note that if you are wanting to take advantage of our Saturday and Sunday timed services or next day pre 12 or pre 10:30 services, you MUST check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. Also, orders using the Saturday and Sunday services must be placed before 1pm the previous working day. Also, please remember to check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. If the stock is not at the shop, we won't be able to ship on any of the timed services. 

Please note International customers will need to contact us for a shipping price prior to ordering via the website. We don't ship all items internationally. It is at our discretion what we ship outside of the UK. This all depends on the size and weight of the items. Please get in touch with us for any postage costs. Please note we do NOT ship telescopes or heavy items outside of the UK. This is due to massive postage costs and problems regarding returns.

If you have any questions regarding stock levels or delivery, please get in touch.

Zygo Interferometer Testing For ED Refractor Telescopes!

We are extremely pleased to announce our Zygo Interferometer is now installed and ready for use! Our experienced staff can test refractor lenses up to 120mm aperture and provide a comprehensive 2 page report showing the optical quality and Strehl ratio, plus much more information. We are using the very latest Zygo MX software to provide a more detailed report compared to other standard reports.

 

The interferometer is essentially a measuring instrument. Within the interferometer is a calibrated laser that is pointed through the optical test surface, then onto a high quality reference sphere, then back through the test subject then to an internal camera which gives us the measurement on the screen. From this, we can adjust the position of the test optic and the reference sphere to obtain a perfectly calibrated system. The more central the laser to the test optic and then on return, the better and more accurate reading and measurement we can take. This takes a lot of adjustment to get the best results from the optical surface. Once the measurement has been taken, we are provided with a series of results that show the optical quality of the surface plus other information. Continue reading for an explanation of the individual values and you can also see a test report that was done on one of our RVO Horizon 60 OTAs. 

We are offering certain telescopes with a Zygo test at an extra cost. Mainly ED doublets and triplets. All available telescopes with a Zygo test report are listed here. Just select Zygo Test Report from the drop down box at the top of the listing and we will test the optics in house and provide a full 2 page report with your scope. This will show you the optical quality of your telescope optics. We can also offer this service on your refractor telescope. Please get in touch for more details about this. 

At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope.  We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. 

Other measurements such as the PV and RMS are important too. With these measurements, the lower the number the better as it shows less curvature on the lens. The flatter an optical lens, the better it will perform. The PV rating (Peak To Valley) is a measurement from the highest point (Peak) to the lowest point (Valley). From this we get the RMS (Root, Mean, Square). This is a similar figure to the PV and measured exactly the same way. The RMS is basically an average height difference from the PV so again, the lower the better. As you can see form the example below, we measured an RMS of just 0.027 wave which is a very good value.

We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface. 

You will also see some more values such as Astigmatism and Coma. Again, these are measured by the interferometer when we take measurements of the optical surface after adjustment. These are values which ideally would be at 0 but as our test optics are all curved lenses, there will always be astigmatism and coma present. The lower the number, the less of these aberations you will effectively see but with most refractors, you can buy field flatteners which will compensate for the coma anyway. The astigmatisms value is explaining the error between the symmetrical curvature of the lens. Basically, no lens will be perfectly symmetrical, the lower the astigmatism, the more symmetrical the lens surface is. 

Once the Zygo test report has been completed, the optical alignment is thoroughly tested and tuned to ensure they are spot on before they leave us. 

All available telescopes are on the website at the link below and ones we've tested already that are available straight away are also listed.

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/zygo-tested-refractors.html

Here is an example of the test what we provide. This was a test on one of our Horizon 60 ED OTA's.

For any questions about this amazing new service, please either call 01909774369 or email sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

 


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