Observing the Solar System: The Modern Astronomer's Guide

516 Pages·2012·8.66 MB·English

by  Gerald North

ObservingtheSolarSystem
The Modern Astronomer’s Guide
Writtenbyawell-knownandexperiencedamateurastronomer,thisisa
practicalprimerforallaspiringobserversoftheplanetsandotherSolar
Systemobjects.Whetheryouareabeginnerormoreadvanced
astronomer,youwillfindallyouneedinthisbooktohelpdevelopyour
knowledgeandskills,andmoveontothenextlevelofobserving.
Thisup-to-date,self-containedguideprovidesadetailedandwide-
rangingbackgroundtoSolarSystemastronomy,alongwithextensive
practicaladviceandresources.
Topicscoveredinclude:traditionalvisualobservingtechniquesusing
telescopesandancillaryequipment;howtogoaboutimaging
astronomicalbodies;howtoconductmeasurementsandresearchof
scientificallyusefulquality;thelatestobservingandimaging
techniques.
Whetheryourinterestslieinobservingaurorae,meteors,theSun,the
Moon,asteroids,comets,oranyofthemajorplanets,youwillfindall
youneedheretohelpyougetstarted.
Gerald North graduatedinphysicsandastronomy.Hewasaformer
teacherandlecturerinbothsubjects,aformerGuestObserveratthe
RoyalGreenwichObservatory,andisnowafreelanceastronomerand
writer.Heisalong-termmemberoftheBritishAstronomicalAssociation
andhasservedinseveralseniorpostsintheirLunarSection.Hehas
publishedwidelyovertheyearsandistheauthorofthisbook’spopular
companionvolumeObservingtheMoon:TheModernAstronomer’sGuide
(CambridgeUniversityPress,SecondEdition2007).

Observing
the Solar System
The modern astronomer’s guide
GERALD NORTH B.Sc
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Firstpublished2012
PrintedandboundintheUnitedKingdombytheMPGBooksGroup
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguing-in-PublicationData
North,Gerald.
Observingthesolarsystem:themodernastronomer’sguide/GeraldNorth.
p. cm.
ISBN978-0-521-89751-8(Hardback)
1. Astronomy–Amateurs’manuals. 2. Astronomy–Observers’manuals.
3. Moon–Observations. 4. Solarsystem–Amateurs’manuals. 5. Solarsystem–
Observers’manuals. 6. Telescopes. I. Title.
QB44.3.N6782012
523.2–dc23
2011041126
ISBN978-0-521-89751-8Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityfor
thepersistenceoraccuracyofURLsforexternalor
third-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
To
MrsJoanE.North
my wonderful Mother
and to the memory of
MrGordonS.North
precision engineer,
horologist, man of many other skills,
and my much-missed Father.

CONTENTS
Preface xiii
Acknowledgements xvi
1 Earthandsky 1
1.1 PlanetEarth 1
1.2 TheEarth’smagnetosphere 6
1.3 Aurorae 8
1.4 Visuallyobservingaurorae 10
1.5 Othermethodsofobservingaurorae 16
1.6 Noctilucentclouds 17
1.7 Datesandtimesinyourobservationreport 17
1.8 Acelestialmenagerie 19
1.9 Meteors,meteoritesandmeteorshowers 21
1.10 Visuallyobservingmeteors 27
1.11 Othermethodsofobservingmeteors 30
1.12 Joinanastronomicalsociety 31
2 Moonandplanetobserver’shardware 33
2.1 OpticalrequirementsforMoonandplanetobserving 34
2.2 WhattypeoftelescopeisbestforMoonandplanetobserving? 37
2.3 WhatsizeoftelescopeisbestforMoonandplanetobserving? 48
2.4 So,whattelescopeshouldIobtainforMoonandplanetobserving? 50
2.5 Eyepiececharacteristics 51
2.6 Specificeyepiecetypes,Barlowlensesandmagnification 53
2.7 Makingthebestofwhatyoualreadyhave 57
2.8 Permanentlyhousingatelescope 63
3 TheSolarSystemframed 67
3.1 Choices 68
3.2 CCDastrocamerasanddigitalcameras 68
3.3 TheimagingareaofaCCDwhenusedwithacameralens
oratelescope 75
vii
viii CONTENTS
3.4 Practicalphotographythroughthetelescope–atthe
principalfocus 78
3.5 Limitsonthepotentialresolutionofdetailintheimage 80
3.6 Enlargingthetelescope’sprimaryimage 83
3.7 Isadrivenecessary? 91
3.8 Finishingthejob 93
4 StackinguptheSolarSystem 95
4.1 Thebenefitsofstackingselectedimages 95
4.2 Somegeneralprinciplesaboutstacking 97
4.3 Manuallystackingindividualframes 98
4.4 Thewebcamrevolution 101
4.5 Selectingyourkitforhigh-resolutionimaging 102
4.6 Amoonlitfirstnight 109
4.7 StackingtheimagesusingRegiStax 111
4.8 TargetinganenlargedplanetaryimageonasmallCCD 118
4.9 Strivingforthebestresults 119
5 OurMoon 121
5.1 Orbit,phasesandeclipses 122
5.2 Lunaroccultations 125
5.3 TheMoonthroughbinocularsandtelescopes 125
5.4 Libration 130
5.5 Lunarco-ordinatesandimageorientations 131
5.6 Printedlunaratlases 136
5.7 ConsolidatedLunarAtlasandspace-bornephotographs
online 137
5.8 Lunarephemerides 139
5.9 ThenatureandevolutionoftheMoon 140
5.10 Lunarchronology–andhowtointerpretwhatyousee
throughthetelescope 143
5.11 DrawingandphotographingtheMoon 145
5.12 Transientlunarphenomena 149
5.13 BogusTLP 153
5.14 TLPobservingprogramme 155
5.15 Lunarresearchutilisingonlinedata 156
6 MercuryandVenus 157
6.1 Stellarandplanetarybrightnesses 157
6.2 TheorbitandphasesofMercury 159