The 20-cm Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope: A Practical Observing Guide

by Peter L. Manly

• ISBN13: 9780521644419
• ISBN10: 0521644410
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-11-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• More Book Details
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Summary

This is a guide to the use of the most popular telescope in the world, the 20-cm (8-in) Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope. This compact instrument revolutionized amateur astronomy and astrophotography, and more than ten thousand are purchased each year. Peter Manly, a devotee and keen user of the Schmidt-Cassegrain, takes the telescope owner through all aspects of using the telescope in easy stages. It starts with techniques for viewing the Moon, then takes the observer through our planetary system and on to the deep sky, where nebulae and galaxies are treated extensively. There are interesting projects to try, such as observing the nearest star and chasing eclipses. A full range of telescope accessories and detectors is described, together with advice on their use, and suggestions for projects. The 40-page appendix is packed with hard-to-find practical information, arranged in ten separate sections.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	x
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgements	xviii
History and development of the 20-cm Schmidt-Cassegrain	1	(7)
First observation - the Moon	8	(25)
After the observation	13	(2)
How to find your way around the sky by various techniques	15	(1)
Star charts	16	(9)
The cognitive map; best star chart of all	25	(1)
Star hopping	25	(3)
Setting circles	28	(1)
About time	29	(2)
A word on maintenance and cleaning	31	(2)
Planets, double stars and other bright things	33	(35)
Mercury and Venus, the inner planets	35	(2)
Mars	37	(3)
Jupiter	40	(5)
Saturn	45	(4)
Uranus	49	(1)
Neptune	50	(1)
Pluto	51	(2)
Double stars	53	(2)
Optimizing the view	55	(3)
The eye as a detector	58	(4)
The atmosphere	62	(2)
The observing site	64	(4)
Deep sky	68	(27)
Gas, dust and stars as nebulae	69	(5)
Nebular filters	74	(2)
Clusters of stars	76	(2)
Globular clusters	78	(2)
Supernova remnants	80	(2)
Find a galaxy	82	(3)
More galaxies	85	(3)
The Messier Marathon	88	(1)
The observer's log	89	(2)
Sketching images	91	(4)
A couple of interesting problems	95	(42)
Asteroids	95	(7)
Variable stars	102	(2)
Comets	104	(6)
The fastest star, Barnard's Star	110	(2)
The nearest star, Proxima Centauri	112	(1)
Solar observations	112	(8)
Eclipse chasing	120	(5)
Seeing very old/new Moons	125	(2)
Terrestrial observations	127	(3)
Artifical Earth satellites	130	(4)
How far can you see?	134	(3)
Some accessories for the telescope	137	(15)
Changing the effective focal length	138	(1)
Binocular eyepiece adapter	139	(1)
Making things handy	140	(3)
Finder telescopes	143	(1)
Flashlights	144	(1)
Drive correctors	145	(2)
Focus motors	147	(1)
Dew control	147	(3)
Electronic setting circles	150	(2)
Observing with friends	152	(7)
The astronomy club environment	152	(3)
Field observations	155	(2)
Regional, national and international networking	157	(2)
Projects	159	(10)
Planetary, Lunar and Solar patrols	160	(1)
Variable stars	161	(3)
Lunar occultations	164	(3)
Mutual Jovian eclipses	167	(2)
Photography	169	(18)
Deep-sky photography	178	(5)
Advanced exercises	183	(1)
Advanced mistakes	184	(3)
Photometers, computers, image intensifiers and television	187	(22)
Photometers	187	(10)
Spectroscopy	197	(2)
Television	199	(5)
Image intensifiers	204	(2)
Computers	206	(3)
Afterword	209	(5)
Appendix 1 Sources of further information	214	(9)
Books	214	(1)
Atlases and catalogues	215	(1)
Periodicals	215	(2)
Computer nets	217	(1)
Organizations	217	(3)
Manufacturers	220	(3)
Appendix 2 How to align the polar axis with the Earth's axis of rotation	223	(9)
Appendix 3 Collimation of an S-C telescope	232	(5)
Appendix 4 Cleaning the corrector plate	237	(2)
Appendix 5 Mount vibrations	239	(3)
Appendix 6 Field operations packing checklist	242	(2)
Appendix 7 Astronomical nomenclature	244	(3)
Appendix 8 Catalogue of bright stars & interesting things	247	(4)
Appendix 9 Catalogue of nearby stars	251	(2)
Appendix 10 Messier Catalogue	253	(5)
Index	258