The emphasis in this dictionary is very much on the word “practical” contained in the title. It is concerned with observing techniques and instrumentation and aimed mainly at amateur astronomers, although professional astronomers could also find it a useful tool. There is very little coverage of cosmology or individual stars and galaxies. Nevertheless, many practical astronomers will find the book useful. It deals in some detail with techniques and instrumentation, offering many useful charts and diagrams. For example, a whole page, including diagrams and mathematical formulae, is devoted to such topics as the precession of the equinoxes. The book contains entries for many of the special observations and the instruments, which they use, although it excludes spacecraft (except the Hubble Space Telescope). There are also entries for commercial organizations and the particular products that they market. For many of the organizations listed Web page addresses are given so that further information can be obtained.
The book is well cross‐referenced and includes a number of useful appendices. These include complete listings of the Messier and Caldwell catalogues of nebulae, the names of the constellations, the Greek alphabet and SI prefixes and units. There is also a listing of other units frequently used in astronomy and their equivalents in SI units. The dictionary finishes with a listing of astronomical societies worldwide and a bibliography which covers major journals, yearbooks, star catalogues, reference books, introductory books on astronomy and practical guides.
