Product ReviewsThrough the Telescope: a Guide for the Amateur Astronomer, Revised Edition by Michael R. Porcellino and Patricia L. Barnes-Svarney (1999, Trade Paperback, Revised edition)

Nice Read

This is an excellent guide for the amateur astronomer, with copious information on both what to look at in the sky and what to buy to do so, including both binoculars and telescopes. It has copious information on every aspect of skywatching, down to the best filters to view the various planets through. It's very supportive of amateur astronomy, consistently pointing out the contributions that amateurs have made and continue to make to the science (one of the few sciences where this is still possible).
Quibbles: a few formatting problems, where the formatting notation shows up instead of italics or whatever was intended. And they repeat the urban legend about Galileo going blind from observing the sun (though admittedly I just recently found out that this is mistaken).

Other than that, it's an excellent book, though more of a reference than a "sit-down-and-read" book, which is what I did with it, at least for now.

Meanwhile, I wonder if some of the other reviews (below) apply to the earlier edition of the book, since I did not encounter the same problems.Read full review...

A gift for my favorite neice

A gift for my favorite 8 yo niece, I hope she likes it

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: silver-arch-books