The Backyard Astronomer's Guide

An absolutely essential book for astronomy beginners and anyone wanting to progress in observational and armchair astronomy, plus all of the essential techniques within the field of astrophotography. With masses of information on up to date equipment types, along with guides to the practices and procedures for using the many and varied telescopes, binoculars, mounts, cameras, lenses etc.

I was wary of the price and relied on the stella (forgive the pun) reviews. Strongly recommend you look at website which better showcases this labour love. No stone is left unturned. My only criticism is this book is VERY heavy...an accompanying ebook would be most welcome! Written in a conversation style with decades of obvious experience and sage advice. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Definitely a must have guide if you're new to, or returning to, astronomy. Guides you through naked eye, binocular and small telescope astronomy with plenty of tips on what you need to make the most of you hobby.

This one book contains just about everything you will need to know in getting started with stargazing and understanding your equipment choices. The book oozes quality from the choice of coated paper to lift the images to the extensive well written text within. Do not be put off by the price, it’s worth every penny. I am three years in to my adventure, l have binoculars and many apps on my iPad to locate the stars, but have yet to take the plunge of buying a telescope. I am sure when l do this book will have allowed me to make the correct purchases. In a word EXCELLENT.

This book is pricy, but well worth the money, in my view. It's lavishly illustrated, well written and there's a reason why it's so often recommended by amateur astronomers. Completely recommended.

An absolute must for any enthusiast.

Must have source of information for people wanting to get into astronomy, essential before investing in equipment.

Certainly not for experienced astronomers - one of its purported USPs and the one that make me make a huge mistake ordering it - it is more suited to kids studying the most basic levels of astronomy. Shameful marketing, sent straight back.

perfect book for beginners and more advanced

If you are considering taking up amateur astronomy, this should be the first book you get for your soon-to-be-established astronomy library. An astronomy hobby can be expensive. This book introduces you to the sky. It guides you through an observation process that starts with the naked eye, then uses binoculars, and ends with telescopes. Binocular and telescope purchase guidance is provided. There has been a market shake-up since this book was published. Some of the manufacturers went out of business. Their telescopes can be found on the used/secondary market. Many factors must be considered when purchasing a telescope. You will be introduced to the types of telescopes, advantages, disadvantages, and some (dated) pricing information. Telescopes require an appropriate tripod. A similar treatment is presented for tripods. Little can be seen without an eyepiece. Following the guidance in this book, you can make informed decisions regarding which eyepieces or filters match your observation goals. You will be exposed to must-have, nice-to-have, and not-needed accessories. The book provides basic setup and telescope adjustment for your telescopic kit, plus an introduction to using your telescope. The focus of the next half of the book is on visual and photographic telescopic observations of the universe. I treated this portion of the book as pick-and-choose. The first topic is about observing solar and lunar eclipses. The next topic, Moon Tours, is the first of a series of visual observation tours through the night sky. The book wraps up with an introduction to photographing and processing night sky images.

Libro bien impreso, contenidos interesantes y actualizados. Fotos espectaculares.

I have an interest in astronomy and have recently purchased this book and a telescope. This book contains lots of useful info, and it is well organized to find the info you want easily. I strongly recommend that people with an interest in astronomy get this book before purchasing expensive equipment because it explains well what to look for in quality equipment to observe celestial objects, from binoculars to telescopes to telescope accessories, etc. It also explains well how to observe various celestial objects... with the naked eyes, with binoculars, and with a telescope. It contains nice illustrations as well. I have already read several chapters and find it hard to put this book down when I start reading it.

Really good I mean if you want only one book for practical astronomy then this is best