Book Reviews on telescopes. binoculars and deep sky objects....your gateway to knowledge Part 1

Star Ware 2nd, 3rd and 4th edition Author: Phil Harrington Publisher: John Wiley and Sons

 "StarWare 2nd and 3rd Editions"

If there was ever a bible on astronomical equipment, this would be it. While not a flashy book by any means (no color pics in this softbound book), there is so much information packed into one volume that it would take you a weeks to cull all the information offered in Phil's book from other sources. We are currently up to the 4th edition, and if you, like me like collecting books, you will probably end up getting all editions. What is cool about this is that you can follow the progression and evolution of the telescope scene, through the eyes of a well known astronomy writer (Phil writes for Astronomy Magazine and frequently does scope and accessory reviews). Times have changed quite a bit since the first book was published, and Phil takes note of this. For instance Phil discusses the proliferation of high quality telescopes from China and Taiwan (Mysteries of the Orient), formerly the source of poor quality beginner scopes. The entry of telescopes from Synta (China scope giant that took Celestron) and Guan Sheng (Taiwan) has greatly reduced the prices of scopes and truly brought scopes to the masses. This truly is the golden age for naturalist of the night sky.

The book begins by giving you a brief history of telescopes and binoculars, and then goes on to highlight binocular and the telescope types, and their pros and cons, after which he discusses mounting issues (alt-az versus equatorial). Then we dive deep into the different telescope types (split into the three main scope families: refractor, reflector and catadioptrics) and Phil spotlights the different brands and gives a mini review of sorts of the different telescopes. Phil use of his experience with telescopes over the years in his scope reviews for this book. While not as detailed as his writeups for Astronomy Magazine, the short reviews in Star Ware contains all the important information one needs to make an informed choice! Phil puts a cap on small scopes however and discusses scope larger than 70mm for refractors and 114mm for newtonian reflectors. His reasoning is that users will quickly lose interest using a scope smaller than that due to the lack of detail. In this day and age, it is also just better to start with a larger scope since prices are so competitive. Its not uncommon for people to start out with a 80mm refractor, like the ubiquitous Synta made Orion 80ST's (also sold by Celestron, just in a black tube as opposed to Orion's white) or a 4.5" EQ newtonian. It is also very evident that many of the major brands obtain their scopes from the same manufacturers and Phil highlights this fact (i.e. Celestron and Orion get their scopes from Synta in China). It is a very enjoyable read.

 "StarWare 4th Edition front and back"

Besides telescopes, Phil also covers binoculars, the same way he covers telescopes, by brand. Again his experience with a plethora of different equipment allows him to make very good comparisons between different brands. Here we see the same phenomenon, with different brands importing the same binoculars. Again the influx of higher quality product from the east has once again allowed end user to benefit. For instance, giant binoculars in the 70mm range, there were once out of the reach of most users due to price are now readily available. In the past, a beginner might start with a 7x50 or 10x50mm binoculars. These days its not uncommon to start with a 15x70mm binoculars. These are readily available from Oberwerks (they specialize in big binocs), Celestron and even Orion! Even BIG binocs such as the 25x100mm are easily affordable now. be warned though, for these monster 100mm binocs, you need a hefty mount to hold them up. They are not your average grab and go's! Buyers be warned though as some companies are more lax with their QC and have lower specs than other (i.e fully coated versus fully multi coated optics).

And if that is not enough, he also covers all manner of telescope accessories from filters for planetary and deep sky objects, CCD camera's down to observing vest and books! He even makes a recommendation list of eyepieces for beginner, intermediate and advanced observers. Yup nothing is left out. as I said before this is the definitive guide to accessories for the amateur astronomer. He caters to everyone, from the wet behind the ears newbies to amateurs who have been at it for years!!!!

Oh and yes there is more. There is the section for the homemade astronomer too. He highlights home projects such as observing chairs, binocular mounts, etc. An added plus with the older editions is an observing section at the end where Phil list several of his favourite objects and how to find them by star hopping. This section was so popular that it was later reformatted into a new book Star Watch. Overall this series is a MUST read and an awesome addition to your astronomy library.

Deep Sky Companion Series Stephen James O'Meara (Cambridge Press)
The Messier Objects
The Caldwell Objects
Hidden Treasures Treasures
The Secret Deep
Southern Gems 

The Deep Sky Companion book series by Stephen James O'Meara (published by Cambridge Press) remains as one of the best guidebooks on deep sky objects out there (besting perhaps Burnham's three volume Celestial Handbook, which I have used in the past, but do not own) . Each volume covers approximately 100 to 110 objects, most of them chosen by prolific observer Stephen O'Meara (with the exception of the Messier and Caldwell objects, which were selected by french comet hunter Charles Messier and veteran British astronomy popularizer Sir Patrick Caldwell Moore). It has come as no surprise that O'Meara would eventually author these books on visual deep sky observing, seeing that he has a keen eye for detail and has been called "the best planetary observer of modern times" (he was the first person to spot the spokes in Saturn's rings visually before they were confirmed by Voyager images). O'Meara also happens to live at one of the best places on earth for visual astronomy, high on the volcanic mountains at Volcano, Hawaii. Currently using a 5" TeleVue refractor on a rocksteady Gilbraltar mount, most of his observations for the earlier books were done through a 4" TV Genesis. All of his sketches are composites of many observing sessions under the stars with different magnifications. The features he see's through his scopes are only visible to patient observers using much larger scopes (in the 8" class as claimed). The secret here is good transparent skies, patience, liberal use of different magnification and good breathing technique (to suck in more faint photos, you need to supply heaps of oxygen to your brain). The introductory section of the book covers most of these, from the equipment he uses, to specific techniques to improve visual observation (hyperventilate, but not to the point of fainting!). he also makes note of how "vog" (volcanic smog) is acidic and eats away at lens coatings on his Genesis scope, and the legs on his Gibraltar mount. Poor Al Nagler had to deal with his beat up TV Genesis ;)

"Caldwell Objects front and back"

So how are the books themselves? I am a big fan on O'Meara's writing. He is a great author and draws you in as you read the text. You feel like an old friend is sitting beside you at the eyepiece, guiding you towards the object and telling you what there is to see. Each object is given individual attention (unless there is a pair of galaxies in the same area, etc) and covered in detail, from factual data (magnitude, apparent size, RA and Dec), to historical (quotes and notes from Charles Messier, William Herschel and James Dunlop) and astrophysical data (the latest information no less!). My favourite bit is the descriptive part of the prose where he guides you to the object via starhopping and then proceeds to wax lyrical about the shapes you see in the objects (some really whimsical...and he gives them nicknames too like the crackerjack cluster, M22, Hagrid's dragon, etc.) and what standout features you should look out for. His eyepiece impressions are also very impressive as he really takes time to drink in the faint starlight and put down his impressions on paper. He devotes an enormous amount of time to some of the more intricate objects, such as M42, Orion Nebula and the NGC 3372, Eta Carina Nebula in the southern hemisphere. This is what every visual observer should do, slowly but surely scrutinizing each and every single deep sky object they find, and then taking time to savor the views through different magnifications, before putting pencil to the paper. Too many observers these days go for sheer numbers. Its not about spotting objects and then moving on to the next, its about seeing as much detail as you can make out from that one dim grey fuzzy.

"Hidden Treasures front and back"

I am not sure which volume of his series is my favourite. There is a special place in my heart for the Messier Object volume, as it was his first book (and also the smallest volume I might add!). His writing style has evolved a bit over the course of his books. I prefer his first book over the others as it felt more personal and heartfelt. Maybe its because he added heaps more astrophysical data to the prose in his newer books! The rest of the book are all as voluminous as the Caldwell Objects. An added extra, O'Meara list an twenty extra objects that did not make the final cut for the book, that he felt were spectacular enough to warrant mention in his book. These come with a short prose, but do not have factual data, sketches or a small map.

"The Secret Deep front and back"

Any cons to these books? As mentioned these are not really books you want to carry into the field with you. They are hard cover books that are bound rather tightly and impossible to lay flat on a surface (to read you need to either press down on both sleeves of the book, or hold the pages open with two hands). The pages are also glossy and can be ruined by dew. You will also need a separate set of detailed maps for star hopping to locate these objects. The maps provided with the text are woefully inadequate. There are large scale maps on the inner flaps at the front and ends of the book show the rough location of the objects in relation to the constellations, and some smaller scale maps with each object. None of these go very deep in terms of magnitude. Also another "gripe" of mine is repeated objects in two of his books (that is why I got Southern Gems as a Kindle Book). I kinda guess that this would be the case since the Caldwell Object spotlights some of the best southern deep sky objects (and so does the Southern Gems book).

So for the budding deep sky observer, these series of books in a must read. Many experienced astronomers would also want this collection on their shelves.

Coming soon...more reviews......