This is a guide to the use of the most popular type of telescope in the world, the 20-cm (8-in) Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. This compact instrument revolutionized amateur astronomy and astro-photography, and more than ten thousand are purchased each year. Peter Manly, a devotee and keen user of the Schmidt-Cassegrain, takes the telescope owner through all aspects of using the telescope in easy stages.

It starts with techniques for viewing the Moon, then takes the observer through our planetary system, and on to the deep sky, where nebulae and galaxies are treated extensively. There are interesting projects to try, such as observing the nearest star and chasing eclipses. A full range of telescope accessories and detectors is described together with advice on their use. The 40-page appendix is packed with hard-to-find practical information, arranged in ten separate sections.

1. Peter Manly has written this book to help owners of this telescope design get the maximum enjoyment from observing. But this is not a dry instruction manual. 'It lists all the blunders and mistakes I've made with my telescope in the hope that others can avoid those pitfalls,' he says.