Patrick Moore 
The Amateur Astronomer 

any popular books upon astronomy have been written during the Mpast few years, but most of them cater either for the casual dabbler who is content to learn from the depths of his armchair or else for the serious amateur who already knows the main facts.What I have done, or tried to do, is to strike a happy mean. This book has been aimed at the needs of the beginner who knows nothing whatsoever, but who is nevertheless anxious to make a start with what equipment he can collect at limited cost. All astronomers, professional or amateur, were beginners once, and all have had to draw upon the experience of those who have learned before them.I feel some dif?dence about offering myself as a guide, but at least I have one quali?cation: in my early days as an observer I made almost every mistake that it is possible to make! This explains the frequent occurrence of such phrases as “I once saw.…”and “I rem- ber that when I.…” I hope therefore that what I have written may prevent others from falling into the same ridiculous traps.

Tabela de Conteúdo

Astronomy as a Hobby.- The Unfolding Universe.- Telescopes and Observatories.- The Solar System.- The Sun.- The Moon.- Occultations and Eclipses.- Aurorae and the Zodiacal Light.- The Nearer Planets.- The Outer Planets.- Comets and Meteors.- The Stellar Sky.- The Nature of a Star.- Double Stars.- Variable Stars.- Star Clusters and Nebulae.- Galaxies.- Beginnings and Endings.