Observing Variable Stars
A Guide for the Beginner

Aimed at the enthusiast, this book gives a thorough account of all aspects of variable star observation.

David H. Levy (Author), Janet A. Mattei (Foreword by)

9780521627559, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 April 1998

220 pages, 96 b/w illus. 2 tables
24.8 x 17.4 x 1.6 cm, 0.45 kg

"...This is a quality book throughout. I recommend it highly to amateurs everywhere who feel that they have passed the 'star gazing' stage and now wish to make their own personal contribution to human knowledge. The publishers are to be commended for giving David Levy the chance to make it available to a wide audience..." The Reflector

David Levy's entertaining, well-researched book is aimed at the amateur enthusiast who likes to learn enjoyably. Beginning with advice on binoculars and telescopes, and how to observe the night sky effectively, the author goes on to describe thoroughly the field of variable star observation, a field in which amateurs have made important contributions. He shows how to interpret variations in light output in terms of the life of a star, from birth through to sometimes violent death. All of the major variable stars are described and classified, as well as other variable objects such as active galaxies, asteroids, comets and the sun. The book also contains a guide to the seasonal night sky. Throughout, practical observations serve to complement the text, producing an exciting, very readable introduction to this fascinating subject.

Foreword
Opening thoughts
Acknowledgments
Part I. Getting To Know The Sky: 1. Beginning with the Big Dipper
2. Magnitude, color, and distance
3. A word on binoculars and telescopes
4. Learning to see
Part II. Getting To Know The Variables: 5. Meeting the family
6. Getting started with Cepheids
7. Algol, the demon of autumn
8. How to estimate a variable
9. Names and records
10. Observing hints
11. Stately and wonderful
12. Stars of challenge
13. Bright, easy, and interesting
14. Betelgeuse: easy and hard
15. Not too regular
16. Nova? What nova?
17. Supernovae
18. Three stars for all seasons
19. A nova in reverse
20. RU Lupi?
21. Orion, the star factory
22. Other variable things
23. The Sun
Part III. Suggested Variables For Observation Throughout The Year: Introduction: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, Southern sky notes
Part IV. A Miscellany: 24. Stars and people
25. The next generation
26. Going further
Glossary and abbreviations
Index.

Subject Areas: Popular astronomy & space [WNX]