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J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 109, 3, 1999, p.164
Springer-Verlag, 1999. ISBN 1-85233-0117-1. Pp x + 198, £19.00 (pbk).
reviewed by John Rogers
In this book, the BAA's Meteor Section Director gives a simple account of transient phenomena that amateurs can observe. He does not go deeply into the physics of them, but gives reliable basic advice for observers. Although he covers all such phenomena, his best accounts are of those insubstantial but spectacular light shows that emerge from nearby space: comets, meteors, and aurorae.
Narratives are given of the many impressive examples that have appeared in recent years, beginning with a preview of the Leonids. (By the end of this year we will know if they have produced the hoped-for storm.) As one whose global travels over the last seven years have been largely dictated by the movements of comets, I can well appreciate this synopsis of these fascinating visitors: Swift-Tuttle and Tempel-Tuttle shedding streams or torrents of meteors; Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp blazing across the night sky; and Shoemaker-Levy 9 splattering into Jupiter. The author's coverage is systematic and level-headed. For example it is refreshing that he gives consensus values for meteor rates, rather than the most extreme claims which often receive the most publicity elsewhere.
The book covers other matters briefly, from planetary atmospheres through solar eclipses to supernovae, and although it does not offer anything special on these topics, it does represent an accessible basic introduction to what an amateur can hope to see.
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