Observing Variable Stars [Paperback]

Observing variable stars is one of the major contributions amateurastronomers make to science. There are 36,000 variable stars listed inthe General Catalogue of Variable Stars, so it is clearly impossible forthe limited number of professional observatories to target even themajority of them. That's where amateur astronomers come in - thousands ofthem turning their telescopes to the sky every night. Variable starobserving is the most popular of real science activities for amateurs,and Gerry Good's book provides everything needed. The first part of thebook provides a highly detailed account of the various classes of variablestar, with examples, illustrations and physical descriptions. The secondsection covers practical aspects of observing, everything from preparationand planning, through observing techniques, to data management andreduction.Observing variable stars is one of the major contributions amateurastronomers make to science. There are 36,000 variable stars listed inthe General Catalogue of Variable Stars, so it is clearly impossible forthe limited number of professional observatories to target even themajority of them. That's where amateur astronomers come in - thousands ofthem turning their telescopes to the sky every night. Variable starobserving is the most popular of real science activities for amateurs,and Gerry Good's book provides everything needed. The first part of thebook provides a highly detailed account of the various classes of variablestar, with examples, illustrations and physical descriptions. The secondsection covers practical aspects of observing, everything from preparationand planning, through observing techniques, to data management andreduction.1 Observing Variable Stars.- 2 The Variable Stars.- 3 Eruptive Variable Stars.- 4 Pulsating Variable Stars.- 5 Cataclysmic (Explosive and Novalike) Variables.- 6 Rotating Variable Stars.- 7 Close Binary Eclipsing Systems.- 8 Optically Variable Close Binary Sources of Strong, VariablÓï