To anyone brought up in the UK in the last 60 years, Sir Patrick
Moore - the father of modern astronomy in Britain - needs no
introduction. I cannot think of an astronomer, professional or
amateur, who has not, in some private moment, confided that
Sir Patrick was a prime inspiration to them to enter a life-long
study of the universe. Patrick Moore’s timeless BBC TV
programme, The Sky At Night broke numerous records after 55
continuous years of broadcasting; it continues to communicate
all that is new and challenging in astronomy and astrophysics,
and stands as a monument to Patrick’s incredible devotion to
the subject.
In those 55 years, astronomy has changed and broadened
immeasurably, and these days it has become almost impossible
for any one scientist to be in touch with developments in all the
branches of current astronomical research. Yet Patrick managed
to do just this. You could try him with a question about any part of
the universe, and he would answer not with a reference to some
source in the internet ... but with an account which would make you
swear that he had been there, and seen it with his own eyes. It is
this intimacy with the universe that still sets Sir Patrick Moore apart
from those who follow him ... and it is this precious quality which
you will find embedded in The Astronomer Book.
Pete Lawrence, in a career in astronomy that has already
spanned 20 years at the top of his profession, has become a
regular presenter on The Sky At Night, and leading exponent of
astrophotography. His mastery of the technical side of astronomy
and photographing the Heavens is matched by an unerring instinct
for capturing the awesome beauty of universe around us. Pete's
dual expertise in computing has enabled him to bring out the best
in the new digital technology that has swept through astronomical
imaging, and he has developed a deep understanding of every
advance in digital imaging along the way.
These two experts are the perfect foil for each other; they have
been close friends and colleagues for many years, but here for
the very first time they have worked together to create a unique
portrait of modern astronomy through astronomical photography- its equipment, its methods, and some if the medium's most
spectacular results.
We humans have the gift of very fine eyesight, and from the
earliest times our ancestors - nomads, or shepherds on distant hills
under dark skies - have seen clues in the night sky as to what is
out there. But what our eyes cannot do is add up light signals over
a period of time. No matter how long we stare at a distant galaxy, it
will never get any brighter, and we will never be able to see it more
resolved than a fuzzy patch in our field of vision. In fact, as every
observational astronomer knows, we actually get a slightly better
view if, rather than staring, we avert our vision slightly. But part of
the inherent magic of photography, from its very birth in the hands of
Niépce, Daguerre and Fox-Talbot in the 19th Century, is its ability to
accumulate the effect of light. The longer a sensitive film is exposed
to light, the brighter the image gets. And modern digital arrays of
light sensitive elements have been designed to reproduce that ability - to integrate light over minutes, hours, and even weeks, building up
an image of ever-increasing depth and detail. And so the fact that
we all now know what the beautiful spiral of the Andromeda Galaxy
actually looks like is not due to anyone's vision, looking through a
telescope. Every one of those images we now have in our heads is
due to long-exposure photography. Of course, we Earthlings are
observing from a spinning ball, so nothing in the sky stays still, and
keeping an image in one place to achieve these long exposures
without blurring is one of the problems astrophotographers face;
but there are other obstacles in the way ... not least the turbulent
atmosphere above us - which makes the stars twinkle to the naked
eye, and jump about alarmingly in a telescope.
These and many other matters are discussed in this book, which
provides advice and information in abundance on every page. Along
the way, the reader will delight in Sir Patrick's in-depth information
on each astronomical subject, while enjoying it in its full glory
through the photography of Pete Lawrence and other leading
exponents of the art
Enjoy - and marvel, all ye who are fortunate enough to enter here!Brian May, 2012FOREWORD
This beautiful book is the result of a perfect
collaboration – bringing together two of Britain’s most
accomplished astronomers.Foreword