Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars On a clear starry night, the jewelled beauty and unimaginable immensity of our universe is awe-inspiring. Stargazing with binoculars is rewarding and may begin a lifelong hobby! Patrick Moore has painstakingly researched Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars to describe how to use binoculars for astronomical observation. He explains basic astronomy and the selection of binoculars, then discusses the stars, clusters, nebulae and galaxies that await the observer. The sky seen from the northern and southern hemispheres is charted season by season, with detailed white on black background star maps of all the constellations.

The maps are marked with interesting Messier objects, and the Greek alphabet designations of the stars for easy identifications  A very handy guide to accompany one on business trips. All you need is this book and a pair of small binoculars and even a busy corporate executive can still enjoy observational astronomy in the evening sky from the comfort of his or her hotel!

The reader can also observe the Sun, Moon, planets, comets and meteors as presented. With many beautiful illustrations, this handbook will be helpful and encouraging to casual observers and those cultivating a more serious interest. The enjoyment of amateur astronomy is now available to everybody.

PATRICK MOORE, host of the monthly television show The Sky at Night since 1957, is a distinguished and prolific author of more than 70 astronomy books. He has served as President of the British Astronomical Association. His contributions to the public understanding of astronomy have been marked by special awards from the Royal Astronomical Society, the British Astronomical Association, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the Italian Astronomical Society. Patrick Moore is a great enthusiast, always encouraging anyone with an interest in the night sky to get out and observe.

Author

Patrick Moore

Contents

Preface to the Fourth Edition

1 The Night Sky 1
2 Binoculars of Many Kinds 8
3 Among the Stars 15
4 Double Stars and Variable Stars 20
5 Clusters, Nebula and Galaxies 31
6 Stars of the Seasons 35
7 The Constellations 49
8 The Sun and its Eclipses 148
9 Lunar Landscapes 151
10 The Planets 175
11 Comets and Shooting-Stars 181
12 Summing-Up 187

Appendices
Bibliography 205
A Note on Metrication 206
Index 207