Exploring the Solar System with Binoculars

Stephen James O'Meara has spent much of his career on the editorial staff of Sky & Telescope, and is a columnist and contributing editor for Astronomy magazine. He is an award-winning visual observer. His remarkable skills continually reset the standard of quality for other visual observers, and he was the first to sight Halley's Comet on its return in 1985. The International Astronomical Union named asteroid 3637 O'Meara in his honor. Steve is the recipient of the prestigious Lone Stargazer Award (2001) and the Omega Centauri Award (1994) for 'his efforts in advancing astronomy through observation, writing, and promotion, and for sharing his love of the sky'. He has also been awarded the Caroline Herschel Award for his pre-Voyager visual discovery of the spokes in Saturn's B-ring and for being the first to determine visually the rotation period of Uranus. Steve is also a contract videographer for National Geographic Digital Motion, and a contract photographer for National Geographic Image Collection.

Preface; 1. The Sun: the angel of light; 2. The Moon: the lovely dead; 3. Solar eclipses; 4. The planets: worlds of wonder; 5. Comets: divine elegance; 6. Meteors: when the heavens weep; Appendices; Index.