Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations used in this book
- Introduction: Why observe the planets?
- 1 The Solar System
- 2 The celestial sphere
- 3 Telescopes and accessories
- 4 The atmosphere and seeing
- 5 Mercury
- 6 Venus
- 7 Mars
- 8 The minor planets (asteroids)
- 9 Jupiter
- 10 Saturn
- 11 Uranus
- 12 Neptune
- 13 Pluto
- 14 Constructing maps and planispheres
- 15 Planetary photography and videography
- 16 Photoelectric photometry of the minor planets, planets and their satellites
- Appendix: Milestones in Solar System exploration
- Name index
- Subject index
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations used in this book
- Introduction: Why observe the planets?
- 1 The Solar System
- 2 The celestial sphere
- 3 Telescopes and accessories
- 4 The atmosphere and seeing
- 5 Mercury
- 6 Venus
- 7 Mars
- 8 The minor planets (asteroids)
- 9 Jupiter
- 10 Saturn
- 11 Uranus
- 12 Neptune
- 13 Pluto
- 14 Constructing maps and planispheres
- 15 Planetary photography and videography
- 16 Photoelectric photometry of the minor planets, planets and their satellites
- Appendix: Milestones in Solar System exploration
- Name index
- Subject index
Summary
Many books have been written about practical amateur astronomy which cover the entire field of observational astronomy – the planets, sun and moon, stars, galaxies, comets and so on. The space allocated to planetary observation in such books is thus necessarily limited which is a pity because planetary observation has a special appeal and fascination unique to itself. The keen planetary observer deserves something more than a few brief notes about what to look for on each planet. I believe that there is a need for a book-length work on planetary observation that goes much further than this. In compiling this book, which is an attempt to meet this need, I have striven to remedy some of what I perceive to be deficiencies in the sections devoted to planetary observation in the usual books on general amateur astronomy.
First, I believe that an intelligent planetary observer should have a good background knowledge of the relevant observational aspects of each planet (as opposed to the planet's internal structure and composition, mass, presence of a magnetic field, for example). This can, of course, be obtained from the comprehensive treatises dealing with these matters but I consider that it is better to have the relevant information together with the practical observational aspects under one cover in the observer's handbook, for convenient study and reference.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Planet Observer's Handbook , pp. xiii - xivPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000