Books about Observers from Amazon.com

Thoroughly revised, updated and expanded

The first three editions of NightWatch sold more than 600,000 copies, making it the top-selling stargazing guide in the world for the last 20 years. The key feature of this classic title is the section of star charts that are cherished by backyard astronomers everywhere. Each new edition has outsold the previous one because of thorough revisions and additional new material.

NightWatch has been acclaimed as the best general interest introduction to astronomy. The fourth edition has improvements over the 3rd edition in every chapter, including:

• The famous charts, ideal for stargazers using a small telescope or binoculars
• A complete update of the equipment section, including computerized telescopes
• An enlarged photography section, including how-to instructions for using the new generation of digital cameras for astronomical photography, both with and without a telescope
• The tables of future solar and lunar eclipses, planetary conjunctions and planet locations, updated through 2018.

This edition includes for the first time star charts for use in the southern hemisphere. There are also dozens of new photographs throughout the book that show the latest thrilling discoveries made by current space observatories and probes.

(20070120).
Price: $18.85 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Stars: A New Way to See Them. By H.A. Rey. This remains our all-time favorite guide to learning the constellations Written for older kids and adults, its simple style has made it a top seller for more than 40 years. Classy cartoon illustrations and star charts round out this fine guidebook. 160 pages, softcover..
Price: $7.19 [Notify me when price goes down.]

An accessible guide to the wonders of the night sky, now updated From asteroids to black holes, from quasars to white dwarfs, this new edition ofAstronomy For Dummies takes backyard stargazers on a grand tour of the universe. Featuring star maps, charts, gorgeous full-color photographs, and easy-to-follow explanations, this fact-filled guide gives readers a leg up on the basic principles of astronomy. This book shows how to get the most out of binoculars, telescopes, planetarium visits, and other fun astronomical activities. This updated edition includes an updated color signature and covers the many discoveries made in recent years, as well as new astronomy Web sites. Stephen P. Maran, PhD, is a 36-year veteran of the space program who has worked on numerous NASA projects, including the Hubble Space Telescope. He is the pressofficer of the American Astronomical Society..
Price: $9.59 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Now that ActionScript is reengineered from top to bottom as a true object-oriented programming (OOP) language, reusable design patterns are an ideal way to solve common problems in Flash and Flex applications. If you're an experienced Flash or Flex developer ready to tackle sophisticated programming techniques with ActionScript 3.0, this hands-on introduction to design patterns is the book you need.

ActionScript 3.0 Design Patterns takes you step by step through the process, first by explaining how design patterns provide a clear road map for structuring code that actually makes OOP languages easier to learn and use. You then learn about various types of design patterns and construct small abstract examples before trying your hand at building full-fledged working applications outlined in the book. Topics in ActionScript 3.0 Design Patterns include:

• Key features of ActionScript 3.0 and why it became an OOP language
• OOP characteristics, such as classes, abstraction, inheritance, and polymorphism
• The benefits of using design patterns
• Creational patterns, including Factory and Singleton patterns
• Structural patterns, including Decorator, Adapter, and Composite patterns
• Behavioral patterns, including Command, Observer, Strategy, and State patterns
• Multiple design patterns, including Model-View-Controller and Symmetric Proxy designs

During the course of the book, you'll work with examples of increasing complexity, such as an e-business application with service options that users can select, an interface for selecting a class of products and individual products in each class, an action game application, a video record and playback application, and many more. Whether you're coming to Flash and Flex from Java or C++, or have experience with ActionScript 2.0, ActionScript 3.0 Design Patterns will have you constructing truly elegant solutions for your Flash and Flex applications in no time..
Price: $32.97 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Published by the world-famous National Audubon Society, this guide explores the fabulous mysteries above, from planets in our solar system to the constellations in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, stars, galaxies (including the Milky Way), nebulae, astronomical bodies, objects, phenomena, and comets. -- Night Sky provides a concise guided tour of the heavens with 410 illustrations including 48 monthly sky charts of the northern sky and 88 constellation charts, each offering a detailed map of individual constellations. -- Essays on the universe, the solar system, and constellations introduce the reader to the wonders of the sky. Softcover, 714 pages..
Price: $9.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Interest in our nation's weather patterns is rising -- as witnessed in the popularity of the Weather Channel -- and this guide is the most popular reference to every type of weather system, cloud formation, and atmospheric phenomenon common to North America. The 378 dramatic photographs capture cloud types, precipitation, storms, twisters, and optical phenomena such as the Northern Lights. Essays with accompanying maps and illustrations discuss the earth's atmosphere, weather systems, cloud formation, and development of tornadoes and many other weather events..
Price: $6.79 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Stars and Planets -- The Best Reference Field Guide Available -- 4th Edition -- Includes hundreds of photographs, with 96 pages in 4-color; maps of the moon?s surface (including the far side); 52 newly revised atlas charts of the entire sky; and 72 Monthly Sky Maps, for observers in both hemispheres. 504 pages. Softcover. --.
Price: $3.25 [Notify me when price goes down.]