Sky Watcher's Handbook: The Expert Reference Source for the Amateur Astronomer by James Muirden
This book is aimed at the amateur astronomer who has passed through the first stage of getting acquainted with the sky, and decides to concentrate on a particular object or class of objects and make serious observations. The scope ranges from meteors in the upper atmosphere to exploding stars in distant galaxies, and the front-line observational techniques have become so specialized that no single author could write effectively about them all. "Sky Watcher's Handbook" has been written by a selection of amateur astronomers who are leaders in their particular field. The brief to each contributor was to concentrate on the areas of work where the dedicated amateur can make a useful contribution; the equipment and resources needed; and the observational techniques to be employed. The result is the most up-to-date and comprehensive distillation of collective wisdom available to the amateur astronomer.