Awesome Observing Album and Music Offers

Why use the traditional approach to study the stars when you can turn computers, handheld devices, and telescopes into out-of-this-world stargazing tools? Whether you're a first timer or an advanced hobbyist, you'll find Astronomy Hacks both useful and fun. From upgrading your optical finder to photographing stars, this book is the perfect cosmic companion.

This handy field guide covers the basics of observing, and what you need to know about tweaking, tuning, adjusting, and tricking out a 'scope. Expect priceless tips and tools for using a Dobsonian Telescope, the large-aperture telescope you can inexpensively build in your garage. Get advice on protocols involved with using electronics including in dark places without ruining the party.

"Astronomy Hacks" begins the space exploration by getting you set up with the right equipment for observing and admiring the stars in an urban setting. Along for the trip are first rate tips for making most of observations. The hacks show you how to:

Dark-Adapt Your Notebook Computer

Choose the Best Binocular

Clean Your Eyepieces and Lenses Safely

Upgrade Your Optical Finder

Photograph the Stars with Basic Equipment

The O'Reilly Hacks series has reclaimed the term "hacking" to mean innovating, unearthing, and creating shortcuts, gizmos, and gears. With these hacks, you don't dream it-you do it--and "Astronomy Hacks" brings space dreams to life. The book is essential for anyone who wants to get the most out of an evening under the stars and have memorable celestial adventures..
Price: $13.90 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The gap between who designers and developers imagine their users are, and who those users really are can be the biggest problem with product development. Observing the User Experience will help you bridge that gap to understand what your users want and need from your product, and whether they'll be able to use what you've created.

Filled with real-world experience and a wealth of practical information, this book presents a complete toolbox of techniques to help designers and developers see through the eyes of their users. It provides in-depth coverage of 13 user experience research techniques that will provide a basis for developing better products, whether they're Web, software or mobile based. In addition, it's written with an understanding of how software is developed in the real world, taking tight budgets, short schedules, and existing processes into account.

·Explains how to create usable products that are still original, creative, and unique

·A valuable resource for designers, developers, project managers-anyone in a position where their work comes in direct contact with the end user.

·Provides a real-world perspective on research and provides advice about how user research can be done cheaply, quickly and how results can be presented persuasively

·Gives readers the tools and confidence to perform user research on their own designs and tune their software user experience to the unique needs of their product and its users.
Price: $37.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Nature is full of fascinating stories, stories that attract our attention at a young age and keep us amazed throughout our entire lives. The need to understand nature draws us back to its simple beauty again and again, yet underneath this simplicity lies a complex web of associations and patterns. The Nature Handbook does what no other field guide does: explores and explains nature through these connecting patterns, revealing them to the many different types of nature lovers.
All naturalists-- from birders to gardeners, hikers to environmentalists, wildflower enthusiasts to butterfliers-- will appreciate the different approach of the Handbook, even those whose interest in the natural world is just beginning to develop. Naturalists who are already well versed in one group of organisms--birders, for example--will find new explanations and patterns for their favorite group, as well as new patterns all around them that they had previously overlooked. Observations in the Handbook are arranged in the three main sections of plants, animals, and habitats. These sections are then connected through discussions of the relationship of size and shape, adaptations, distribution patterns, behavior, and diversity of life. Since the emphasis is on patterns rather than individual species, each chapter has cross-references to related topics. For example, tree-related topics such as leaf shape, treelines, and fall colors, are all discussed in different chapters even though they are related. Leaf shape is associated with trees as organisms, and therefore is in Chapter 2: Trees; treelines are most associated with mountains, so their description is in Chapter 8: Mountains; fall colors apply more broadly to forests than to individual trees, and they are discussed in Chapter 9,Forests.
Approximately 500 color photographs help make the more than 200 patterns apparent and recognizable for readers, and each pattern is accompanied by a detailed description and a brief list of sources. The book is designed to invite browsing, and readers will gain a rich ecological perspective and insight. Curiosity about the world around us is a basis for human learning; The Nature Handbook serves to aid all nature lovers in their quest for understanding the many stories that our living world provides..
Price: $13.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Fred Schaaf is one of the most experienced astronomical observers of our time. For more than two decades, his view of the sky--what will be visible, when it will be visible, and what it will look like--has encouraged tens of thousands of people to turn their eyes skyward "
--David H. Levy, Science Editor, Parade magazine, discoverer of twenty-one comets, and author of Starry Night and Cosmic Discoveries

"Fred Schaaf is a poet of the stars. He brings the sky into people's lives in a way that is compelling, and his descriptions have all the impact of witnessing the stars on a crystal clear dark night."
--William Sheehan, coauthor of Mars: The Lure of the Red Planet and The Transits of Venus

The night sky holds endless fascination for anyone who chooses simply to look up and observe, but with so much to see, it can be difficult to know where to start. This remarkable book introduces you to the fifty best sights in astronomy and tells you exactly how to see them. In no time at all, you will learn how to find and appreciate the Orion group of constellations; the Summer Triangle; Venus, Jupiter, and Mars; the best meteor showers; man-made satellites; star clusters; novae; variable stars; and more.

The sights are presented according to the field of view necessary to see them. Your eyes and a clear night sky are all you need to view the sights in the first part of the book, before moving on to those that can be observed through binoculars and, finally, a telescope. Concise descriptions and explanations of these spectacular visual wonders will deepen your appreciation of them and spur further exploration. You will also find the essential basic information on astronomical observation you need to get started, including observing conditions, techniques, telescopes, and astronomical measurements.

Once you start gazing, you'll see that the sky really is the limit--and discovering its amazing treasures will become your lifetime passion..
Price: $2.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

''Responds to new knowledge about how children think, learn, and develop language, and about the influences of families, culture, and other environmental influences.'' --Zero to Three

''By providing detailed descriptions of the important aspects of a child's life (routines, use of materials, language, interactions, and more), giving specific questions to guide thoughtful observations, and offering a wealth of real examples, the authors inspire and teach us to observe and record more carefully. This new edition contains powerful lessons about child development, cultural influences, and why we should focus on understanding rather than measuring children.'' --Diane Trister Dodge, Founder & President of Teaching Strategies, Inc.

With more than 120,000 copies in print, this classic text has been widely acclaimed as a highly effective tool to help teachers better understand children's behavior. The thoroughly revised and updated Fifth Edition outlines methods for record-keeping that provide a realistic picture of each child's interactions and experiences in the classroom. Numerous examples of teachers' observations of children from birth to age 8 enrich this work and make it accessible, practical, and enjoyable to read. Based on the latest thinking in the field, the new Fifth Edition is an even more valuable resource for pre- and inservice educators of young children. New features include updated observations that reflect the diverse population in contemporary classrooms, recent research on language and children with special needs, and a total revision of the chapter that relates thinking to Piagetian theory, with more relevant descriptions of the processes of assimilation and accommodation..
Price: $19.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Night Sky Companion 2009  takes a look at astronomy every day over the course of the year offering  general history, soft science, trivia, observing guidance and motivation. This book is much more than an observing guide, it's a way of learning your way round the night sky. It is written in an easy-going style ideal for 'dipping in' on the relevant day, or even reading from cover to cover.

Buyers of the 2009 edition is not an updated copy of the previous volume, but rather a completely new book. All historical tie-ins, information and objects are completely fresh.

Unaided-eye observers are offered an opportunity to view many objects or events, learn about their history, science and how just "looking up" can be rewarding. Binocular and small telescope users will find a wealth of things to view using simple star hop instructions and finder charts. For large-aperture telescope users looking for a challenge, some of the finest deep-sky objects are detailed, with finder maps and photographs.

 

.
Price: $26.37 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Charles Wood’s Exploring the Moon column in Sky & Telescope magazine delights readers each month. Now Wood brings his insightful and clear prose about our closest celestial neighbor to you in this new book. Drawing on both traditional telescopic observations of the Moon and the modern explorations of the Apollo, Clementine, and Lunar Prospector missions, The Modern Moon: A Personal View is an authoritative guidebook that tells readers both what to look for and why to look. Set up your telescope and let Wood unravel the Moon’s complex past as you gaze at lunar vistas..
Price: $27.42 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Introducing a range of useful techniques and skills for those wishing to undertake observational work in astronomy and planetary science, this book covers the principles of telescopes and detectors, photometry and spectroscopy and microscopy techniques for analyzing samples. Fully self-contained, it will be a valuable guide for undergraduate students of astronomy and planetary science, as well as amateur astronomers..
Price: $29.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]