Sun Observer's Guide

Philip's Astronomy

by Pam Spence

A practical day-by-day guide to observing the sun safely. The Sun Observer's Guide is a practical guide that explains how to safely observe the what to look for and how to record and photograph solar images and eclipses. The book is written in non-technical language and is ideal for novice observers. Expensive equipment is not essential to observe the Sun, and the necessary safety procedures are easy to follow. The book describes the equipment required to observe the Sun using visible light technologies such as telescopes, binoculars, and simple pin-hole cameras, as well as non-white light devices such as spectroscopes and hydrogen-alpha filters. How to photograph the Sun is explained in detail and A chapter dedicated to solar eclipses explains why they occur, what can be seen and how to observe them safely. Dates of upcoming eclipses are provided. The interaction between the Sun and the Earth is explored in detail - from the obvious (climates and seasons) to the dramatic (magnetic storms and aurora). The Sun Observer's Guide concludes with a chapter on professional solar astronomy. Amateur astronomers will be fascinated to read about the research that is currently being undertaken and to discover the value placed by professional astronomers on observations made by amateurs. Beautiful images taken by solar spacecraft are displayed here. The Sun Observer's Guide is an informative and practical introduction to an engaging hobby.

Genres: Science

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2004

Reviews

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not recommended for the casual reader who is interested in solar dynamics. As the title of this book declares, this is a guide for observers of the sun. Published in 2004, this guide for the amateur astronomer is fairly comprehensive. A good time to peruse this guide is anytime soon, as 2013 promises to be a period of solar maximum activity. I had a good session of observing the sun early last summer, when large flares and enormous sun spots were visible. In the conversion of hydrogen to helium our sun loses some four million tonnes of mass every second, but no rush for the scope is required, as there is still another few billion years of nuclear reactions to look out for.
The science is covered quite well here as in all these Philip's publications, and safety first observation methods are explained for small refracting scopes and binocular viewing. There are increasingly sophisticated H-alpha scopes on the market now. The ranges and prices are not covered in this book. However, if I had a pound for every 'never look directly at the sun' warning in this guide, I would be well on my way to purchasing one of those Coronado 90mm jobs for a cool four grand.

[Manoressy Tobias · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're an amateur astronomer doing Sun observation, or considering becoming one, this might be a good, practical guide for you.

The observation and analysis techniques are described pretty well and easy to understand, along with some basic science so you know what you're observing.

Mind you that this is an old book from 2004, so new and better techniques or equipments might have come up.