Synopses & Reviews
With this extraordinary handbook, you, too, can frame the stars and have them hanging on your livingroom walls. Astrophotography for the Amateur provides a complete guide to taking pictures of stars, galaxies, the Moon, the Sun, comets, meteors and eclipses, using equipment and materials readily available to the hobbyist. Based on suggestions from readers of the first edition, the new edition has been completely updated and expanded to include new chapters on computer image processing and CCD imaging; expanded advice on choosing cameras and telescopes; completely updated information about films; a much larger bibliography; and hundreds of new photographs (in color and black and white) demonstrating the latest equipment and techniques. Astrophotography for the Amateur has become the standard handbook for all amateur astronomers. This new edition provides an ideal introduction for beginners and a complete handbook for advanced amateurs. It will also appeal to photography enthusiasts who will discover how to take spectacular images with only modest equipment. Michael A. Covington received his Ph.D. at Yale University. He is the author of several books, including Syntactic Theory in the High Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1984). He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and is the Associate Director of the Artificial Intelligence Center at the University of Georgia.
Review
"...highly recommend[ed]... to novice astrophotographers, but it is also an excellent reference for more advanced individuals....This work would also serve well in the field, as a quick reference to many of the formulas and techniques contained within." Sky &Telescope"I enjoyed this book the first time I picked it up...I still find it a prime source for everything having to do with photographing the heavens." Paul R. Castle, Reflector"I enjoyed this book the first time I picked it up...I still find it a prime source for everything having to do with photographing the heavens." Paul R. Castle, Reflector"After reading this book, many will find it hard to resist the fascinating pursuit of astrophotography, which sometimes yields results that are of interest to professional photographers. This is the finest treatment of the subject at this level available in book form and is perfect for its intended audience." Science Books and Films
Synopsis
This much expanded and fully updated edition of the best-selling handbook Astrophotography for the Amateur provides a complete guide to taking pictures of stars, galaxies, the Moon, the Sun, comets, meteors and eclipses. It has been completely revised to include new chapters on computer image processing and CCD imaging, choosing cameras and telescopes, the latest films, and hundreds of new photographs (in colour, and black and white).
Synopsis
Basic Astrophotography tells you how to take pictures of stars, galaxies, planets, the Moon, the Sun, comets, meteors and eclipses using equipment readily available to the amateur astronomer. The first section, 'Getting Started', presupposes little knowledge of photography or astronomy and concentrates on what can be done with minimal equipment. For example, an ordinary 35 mm camera on a tripod, aimed at the sky on a starry night, will photograph more stars than the unaided eye can see and will bring out an awesome variety of colours. Add a telephoto lens, a pair of binoculars, or a small telescope, and you have all that is needed to photograph an eclipse or the main surface features of the moon. The two subsequent sections, 'Advanced Techniques' and 'Equipment and Materials' cover the use of cameras in conjunction with telescopes and constitute a thorough handbook, including technical imformation on optical systems, film characteristics, and processing techniques. Throughout, the emphasis is on current practice. This book will become the standard handbook for amateur astronomers who want to take pictures of the stars and will also appeal to photography enthusiasts who know relatively little about astronomy but are intrigued by spectacular pictures.
Table of Contents
Part I. Simple Techniques: 1. Welcome to astrophotography; 2. Photographing stars without a telescope; 3. Comets, meteors, aurorae, and space dust; 4. The moon; 5. Eclipses; Part II. Advanced Techniques: 6. Coupling cameras to telescopes; 7. The solar system; 8. Deep-sky photography; Part III. Photographic Technology: 9. Cameras, lenses, and telescopes; 10. Film; 11. Developing, printing, and photographic enhancement; Part IV. Digital Imaging: 12. Computer image enhancement; 13. CCD imaging; Appendices.