From Casual Stargazer to Amateur Astronomer / The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series (PDF)

Dave Eagle has been interested in astronomy for most of his life. As a boy, he followed with great excitement the landing of the Apollo missions, sparking his enthusiasm even more. This set him well on the way to learning much more about the night as he started to explore it for himself.

In his mid-20s Eagle established Bedford Astronomical Society, holding the position of Secretary for many years before becoming Chairman. He also held the post of Handbook Editor for the Federation of Astronomical Societies for three years and is a Fellow of The Royal Astronomical Society. In this capacity he is an enthusiastic ambassador for the subject, frequently giving talks to local astronomical societies, social clubs, schools, youth groups and other interested parties. He also encourages others to get out and observe, producing a monthly sky guide which is free to download from his Web site.

Eagle is a trained biological scientist, but after trying his hand at science teaching he eventually moved out of the labs and into the field of IT. He is fortunate enough to have his own small personal observatory in his back yard and considers himself a good all-rounder, enjoying all aspects of astronomy. Despite suffering from a reasonable amount of light pollution in his small town, he is still able to actively observe and image the sky.

“Dave Eagle’s ‘From Casual Stargazer to Amateur Astronomer’ is a truly wonderful book … to being inspired and motivated to observe anything and everything and to really observe it and not just look at it. … It functions exceedingly well at really showing the reader how to go from basics to paying close attention to what, when and how you observe and record. Highly recommended!” (Kadri Tinn, AstroMadness.com, September, 2015)