Explains what causes color variations in sunsets, tells how volcanic eruptions can change the sun's light, and discusses comets, meteors, city lights, and the aurora borealis.

The book describes — How to shoot and process still image “nightscapes” – images of landscapes taken at night by the light of the Moon or stars … and … How to shoot and assemble time-lapse movies of the stars and Milky Way turning above Earthly scenes, all using DSLR cameras. The 400-page multi-touch book includes — 50 embedded HD videos (no internet connection required) demonstrating time-lapse techniques. 60 multi-page tutorials with step-by-step instructions of how to use software: Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop, Lightroom, LRTimelapse, Advanced Stacker Actions, StarStaX, Panolapse, Sequence, GBTimelapse, and more. Numerous Photo 101 sections explaining the basic concepts of photography and video production (f-stops, ISOs, file types, aspect ratios, frame rates, compression, etc.). Numerous Astronomy 101 sections explaining the basics of how the sky works (how the sky moves, where the Moon can be found, when the Milky Way can be seen, when and where to see auroras). Reviews of gear – I don’t just mention that specialized gear exists, I illustrate in detail how to use popular units such as the Time-Lapse+, Michron, and TriggerTrap intervalometers, and the All-View mount, Radian, Mindarin Astro, eMotimo, and Dynamic Perception motion-control units, with comments on what’s good – and not so good – to use. You’ll learn — What are the best cameras and lenses to buy (cropped vs. full-frame, Canon vs. Nikon, manual vs. automatic lenses, zooms vs. primes). How to set your cameras and lenses for maximum detail and minimum noise (following the mantra of “exposing to the right” and using dark frames). How to shoot auroras, conjunctions, satellites, comets, and meteor showers. How to shoot nightscapes lit only by moonlit, and how to determine where the Moon will be to plan a shoot. How to shoot & stitch panoramas of the night sky and Milky Way, using Photoshop and PTGui software. How to shoot tracked long exposures of the Milky Way using camera trackers such as the iOptron Star Tracker and Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer. How to develop Raw files, the essential first step to great images and movies. How to process nightscape stills using techniques such as compositing multiple exposures, masking ground and sky, and using non-destructive adjustment layers and smart filters. How to shoot and stack star trail images made of hundreds of frames. How to assemble time-lapse movies from those same hundreds of frames. How to plan a time-lapse shoot and calculate the best balance of exposure time vs. frame count vs. length of shoot, and recommended apps to use. How to process hundreds of frames using Adobe Camera Raw, Bridge, Photoshop, and Lightroom. How to shoot and process advanced “Holy Grail” time-lapse transitions from day to night. How to shoot motion-control sequences using specialized dolly and pan/tilt devices. How to use time-lapse processing tools such as LRTimelapse, Panolapse, Sequence, and Advanced Stacker Actions. What can go wrong and how best to avoid problems in the field.

Advancements in science and engineering have occurred at a surprisingly rapid pace since the release of the seventh edition of this encyclopedia. Large portions of the reference have required comprehensive rewriting and new illustrations. Scores of new topics have been included to create this thoroughly updated eighth edition. The appearance of this new edition in 1994 marks the continuation of a tradition commenced well over a half-century ago in 1938 Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, First Edition, was published and welcomed by educators worldwide at a time when what we know today as modern science was just getting underway. The early encyclopedia was well received by students and educators alike during a critical time span when science became established as a major factor in shaping the progress and economy of individual nations and at the global level. A vital need existed for a permanent science reference that could be updated periodically and made conveniently available to audiences that numbered in the millions. The pioneering VNSE met these criteria and continues today as a reliable technical information source for making private and public decisions that present a backdrop of technical alternatives.

What's new in digital fabrication? So much! In Make: Vol. 84 we show you how adding dedicated SBCs, like a Raspberry Pi, make 3D printers vastly smarter and up to five times faster. New laser engravers can cut metal for under $2,000, and cheap workhorse diode lasers are everywhere. Pro-level 3D scanning is on your phone, and 3D design software has a flavor for every style of maker. Now's the time to level up! Plus, we dive into how makers can (ethically) use generative A.I. to create audio, images, text, code, and 3D models for your next project! Plus, 23 Projects & Skills, including: Build a $30 Vertical Wind Turbine Create Wearable Soft Speakers Wow your friends with a DIY Ambient TV Backlight Sew decorative Light-Up Zodiac Embroidery Get involved with Amateur Radio and Software Defined Radio (SDR) And much more!

Neither day nor night, twilight has long exerted a fascination for Western artists, thinkers, and writers, while haunting the Romantics and intriguing philosophers and scientists. In The Last of the Light, Peter Davidson takes readers through our culture’s long engagement with the concept of twilight—from the melancholy of smoky English autumn evenings to the midnight sun of northern European summers and beyond. Taking in poets and painters, Victorians and Romans, city and countryside, and deftly combining memoir, literature, philosophy, and art history, Davidson shows how the atmospheric shadows and the in-between nature of twilight has fired the imagination and generated works of incredible beauty, mystery, and romance. Ambitious and brilliantly executed, this is the perfect book for the bedside table, richly rewarding and endlessly thought-provoking.

Delightful and intriguing, 'Why the Sky is Blue' shows how the attempt to answer this age-old and deceptively simple question only enhances the magic of the blue sky we see above us.

James Elkins's How to Use Your Eyes invites us to look at--and maybe to see for the first time--the world around us, with breathtaking results. Here are the common artifacts of life, often misunderstood and largely ignored, brought into striking focus. With the discerning eye of a painter and the zeal of a detective, Elkins explores complicated things like mandalas, the periodic table, or a hieroglyph, remaking the world into a treasure box of observations--eccentric, ordinary, marvelous.

We live in a world of optical marvels - from the commonplace but beautiful rainbow, to the rare and eerie superior mirage. But how many of us really understand how a rainbow is formed, why the setting sun is red and flattened, or even why the sky at night is not absolutely black? This beautiful and informative guide provides clear explanations to all naturally occurring optical phenomena seen with the naked eye, including shadows, halos, water optics, mirages and a host of other spectacles. Separating myth from reality, it outlines the basic principles involved, and supports them with many figures and references. A wealth of rare and spectacular photographs, many in full color, illustrate the phenomena throughout. In this new edition of the highly-acclaimed guide to seeing, photographing and understanding nature's optical delights, the authors have added over 50 new images and provided new material on experiments you can try yourself.

Maverick Scientist is the memoir of Forrest Mims, who forged a distinguished scientific career despite having no academic training in science. Named one of the "50 Best Brains in Science" by Discover magazine, Forrest shares what sparked his childhood curiosity and relates a lifetime of improbable, dramatic, and occasionally outright dangerous experiences in the world of science. At thirteen he invented a new method of rocket control. At seventeen he designed and built an analog computer that could translate Russian into English and that the Smithsonian collected as an example of an early hobby computer. While majoring in government at Texas A&M University, Forrest created a hand-held, radar-like device to help guide the blind. And during his military service, he had to be given special clearance to do top secret laser research at the Air Force Weapons Lab. Why? Because while he lacked the required engineering degree, they wanted his outside-the-box thinking on the project. He went on to co-found MITS, Inc., producer of the first commercially successful personal computer, wrote a series of electronics books for Radio Shack that sold more than seven million copies, and designed the music synthesizer circuit that became known as the infamous Atari Punk Console. All this came before he started consulting for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and NOAA's famous Mauna Loa Observatory, and earning the prestigious Rolex Award. This intimate portrait of a self-made scientist shares a revelatory look inside the scientific community, and tells the story of a lifelong learner who stood by his convictions even when pressured by the establishment to get in line with conventional wisdom. With dozens of personal photos and illustrations, Maverick Scientist serves as proof that to be a scientist, you simply need to do science.

This work is a new look at the age-old philosophical question of the “mind-body” duality. The author adeptly demonstrates that there is not really any conflict in the two seemingly opposing views. When it is realized that the universe is governed purely by physical laws, the supposed dichotomy dissolves. Inspired by his long-running exploration of the panorama of pop music, the author blends in references to song lyrics as he explains the ways in which the lives of human beings are inextricably tied to the larger, precedent world of planets, stars, and galaxies. His personal reflections on reality include topics ranging from the “epistemology” of satellite remote sensing, to fundamental discussions of anthropology, astronomy, and atmospheric science. He also offers thoughtful commentary on our quest to continue present and future space exploration as he forecasts what will become of the universe and us in the very distant future. Inside Out: Looking for Ourselves in Time and Space will appeal to both the general reader and research scientists alike.