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The Rainbow Sky

An Exploration of Colors in the Solar System and Beyond

  • Book
  • © 2010

Overview

Authors:
  1. Tony Buick

    1. Orpington, Kent, United Kingdom

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  • Introduces amateur astronomers (and astro-photographers) to the joys - and ease - of color observing and imaging
  • Includes some basic theory and background, introducing fundamental concepts of light and color
  • Easy-to-read text explains how to photograph astronomical and meteorological colors without expensive equipment - just a camera and telescope are the minimum requirement
  • Beautiful and informative illustrations display the wealth of colored sights and events in the night and day skies
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series (PATRICKMOORE)

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xviii
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  2. Introduction

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 1-11

  3. The Origin of Light

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 13-30

  4. Properties of Stars

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 31-41

  5. Classification of the Stars

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 43-71

  6. Spectral Techniques

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 73-97

  7. Deep Sky Objects

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 99-140

  8. Solar System Colors

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 141-194

  9. Colors in Earth’s Atmosphere

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 195-265

  10. Man-made Colors in the Sky

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 267-301

  11. Star Colors for Fun

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 303-319

  12. A Few Last Thoughts

    • Tony Buick
    Pages 321-330

  13. Back Matter

    Pages 331-359
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Keywords

About this book

W here do you start to write about colors in the universe? Do you look to the deepest ocean trenches on Earth, with their awesome bioluminescent creatures roaming the blackness of the abyss? And where do you finish? With the most distant galaxies in the cosmos? A difficult question, p- haps, but in between the two extremes, there is so much to marvel at that it really doesn’t matter where you start or end, as long as you note the staggeringly beautiful and complex examples of color there are and that each should, if possible, be represented in some way. Whether staring up at the sky when surprised by the sudden appearance of a vividly colored band of light that is a rainbow or peering through a telescope to view colors further afield, the origin and complexity of the source of light is witness to the wonderful and majestic world and the universe in which we live. A n attempt has been made here not only to create a picture gallery of the universe, but also to provide brief explanations or interpretation of the colors and, where appropriate, to give hints on how to capture p- tures easily yourself, without spending lots of money. As illustrated in the introduction, paying attention to just a few basic camera settings, it is possible to turn a blurred snapshot into a detailed and pin sharp picture worthy of framing and hanging on the wall.

Reviews

From the reviews:

“Fireworks, flames, fiery pink sunsets, and rainbows: the world is a burst of color. We take it for granted, but as Tony Buick argues in The Rainbow Sky, that is how it should be. Gray roses wouldn't tempt us to inhale their sweetness, and gray flames wouldn't warn us they are hot and dangerous. Color, as the author discusses, is necessary to interpret our world and its place in the cosmos. Through stunning imagery, personal commentary and a conversational tone, Buick takes readers on a journey to explore color and discover its origins, it peculiarities and its ability to inspire awe. The Rainbow Sky, in its conversational tone, explains color on Earth, in the Solar System and beyond, and it reminds of the beauty and science of the rainbow.” —(Ashley Yeager, Public Information Officer, W. M. Keck Observatory)

“To interest an older child or a teenager in the beauty of astronomy and physics, this book, which is full of colored pictures, will work very nicely. … Many of the photographs are beautiful, indeed, stunning. … physics teacher may use it to illustrate some lectures on optics and gravitation. The faculty advisor of an astronomy club will definitively use the book to help the youngest members discover the beauty of the universe. … also be a great Christmas present for a young aspiring astronomer.” (Gary J. Long, Belgian Physical Society Magazine, Issue 1, 2011)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Orpington, Kent, United Kingdom

    Tony Buick

About the author

Tony Buick is a chemist by profession, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is the author of How to Photograph the Moon and Planets with your Digital Camera (Springer) and has had many astronomy and photography articles published, most recently in the Sky at Night magazine: How to Photograph the ISS. In addition, he has written for MENSA magazine, the Society of Popular Astronomy and various other magazines and journals.

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