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	Observer's Handbook
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RAS Observer's Handbook 2008

A Purchase Plan for Local Astronomy Professionals, Amateurs and Students

[ More Info ]      [ Ordering Info ]     [ Delivery Info ]

Cover of 2008 Edition

THE OBSERVER'S HANDBOOK OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA is internationally recognized by observatories and popular magazines as the world's best astronomical reference. (See more information below.) This important, standard 2008 reference edition is available to local Gainesville area people (see note below) from the AAC at a substantial savings! AAC price is only $17.95 (incl. shipping) whereas the suggested single retail price is $31.95 (incl. shipping), a $14.00 or 44% savings. This is a onetime offer by the AAC. Order now before you forget and remember this is a onetime, special offer. Delivery: To eliminate extra costs and work by the AAC, you must pick up your copy. We cannot deliver or mail copies. ORDERING DEADLINE:   Friday, October 13, 2006 (An unlucky day if you have not ordered your Handbook by then!) ORDERING INFORMATION:   Given BELOW or go immediately to our ORDER FORM

NOTE: This service provides special pricing to local amateur and professional astronomers. Therefore, Observer's Handbooks cannot be mailed but must be picked up either from the AAC (at a monthly meeting) or from the UF Department of Astronomy. (See "Delivery Information" below.) Observer's Handbooks paid for but not picked up by 2008 March 20 (Eastern Time Zone Date of 2008 Vernal Equinox) will be sold at "auction" and the money donated to the AAC.

MORE INFORMATION

Each year the AAC submits a onetime bulk order to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada for the Observer's Handbook to reduce costs. The Handbook, now enlarged 320+-page guide, has been published annually since 1907 and has become a standard North American reference for data on the sky. The Observer's Handbook contains two basic sections:

1. Astronomical Events for the Year, e.g., sunrise/set, moonrise/set, moon phases, eclipses, location of planets, positions of bright Jovian/Saturnian satellites, meteor showers, etc., including a 24-page section for monthly sky events and
2. Basic Astronomical Data including a wealth of other information, e.g., telescope properties, tables of stars, clusters, etc.

The RAS of Canada describes these two sections more fully as follows:

1. Sections dealing with astronomical events which occur during the current year, e.g. times of sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset (for latitudes 20 to 62 degrees N), eclipses, location of the planets and bright asteroids, returns of periodic comets, times of meteor showers, predictions of occultations by the Moon and by asteroids, the orbital positions of the brighter satellites of both Jupiter and Saturn, and predictions of the cycles of many variable stars. There is a 24-page section called "The Sky Month By Month" which gives an extensive listing of events.
   
   
2. Sections dealing with astronomical data and other information which do not vary from year-to year (although revisions are made annually to ensure that the information is the best available), e.g. orbital and physical data on the planets and their satellites, astronomical and physical constants, some optical properties of telescopes and binoculars, information on filters for astronomical observing, light pollution and sky transparency, a description of the various systems of specifying time, information on the Sun including sunspots and aurorae, a list of meteorite craters in Canada and the United States, advice on using the Observer's Handbook for teaching astronomy, information on the Gegenschein and zodiacal light, 40 pages of authoritative tables dealing with stars, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies, maps of the Moon and the entire stellar sky.

The material in the Handbook is of interest to professional astronomers and other scientists, amateur astronomers, teachers at all levels, students, science writers, campers, scout and guide leaders, as well as interested general readers.

The Observer's Handbook should be on the reference shelf of every library.

The Handbook costs much less than the USNO's Astronomical Almanac but is still a rich source of useful information and tables not easily found elsewhere. AAC members and other interested people in the Gainesville area can order this book at a substantial discount. If you order now through the AAC, the current cost of the guide is $17.95 (postpaid), or $14.00 (44%) less than the suggested, single copy price retail price of $31.95!

ORDERING INFORMATION

TO PURCHASE ONE OR MORE COPIES, PLEASE USE OUR ORDERING FORM
(Orders without a proper order form cannot be processed)

Checks only please

1. Print Order Form: Print a copy of the Order Form
2. Required Information: Fill in all required information on form
3. Payment: Make out a check or money order to Howard L. Cohen for the total amount of the order ($17.95).
   Please send CHECKS or MONEY ORDER only (USA currency), NOT CASH.
   (Checks will not be deposited until after deadline date.)
4. Either Send Order Form and Check To:
   
   Observer's Handbook
   c/o Howard L. Cohen
   8952 S.W 92nd Lane
   Gainesville, FL 32608-7275
   
   or
   
   Put Order Form and Check in my Department of Astronomy Mailbox in the Bryant Space Science Center

REMEMBER: Your order must arrive by FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2006

DELIVERY INFORMATION

We cannot mail or personally deliver Observer's Handbooks.	We do not mail or deliver
(Necessary in order to eliminate added costs or burdens on the AAC)

Remember Observer's Handbooks paid for but not picked up by 2008 March 20 (Date of 2008 Vernal Equinox)
will be sold at "auction" and the money donated to the AAC.

Arrival Announcement We will send an e-mail anouncement to the AAC listserv and to astronomy department personnel when Observer's Handbooks have arrived.

Orders must be picked up either at the:

• AAC November Meeting (if orders have arrived) or at following meetings
  
• UF Department of Astronomy Office
  Bryant Space Science Center, Room 211
  University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
  [See detailed directions/maps or just building map]
  
  Indicate your preferred pickup point on the order form
  (Otherwise your copy will be left at the UF Astronomy Department Office)
  
  Please do not order an Observer's Handbook if you cannot pick up your copy at the above locations.

All Sales Final — No Returns

« DON'T BE WITHOUT A YEAR 2008 HANDBOOK —  ORDER NOW BEFORE YOU FORGET! »

(Questions? Contact Howard L. Cohen, at cohen@astro.ufl.edu)

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	For comments and suggestions send e-mail to cohen@floridastars.org © Copyright 2000-2006 Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc.