1 Why a CAT?.- 2 What's a CAT?.- 3 Inside a CAT.- 4 Which CAT?.- 5 The SCT Out-of-Box Experience: Initial Telescope Assembly and Checkout.- 6 Accessories for your CAT.- 7 From That Very First Night: Field Set-up, Checkout and Observing.- 8 Care and Feeding of a CAT: Alignment, Testing, Maintenance and Troubleshooting.- 9 Keeping your CAT Happy: Hints, Tips and Projects.- 10 The Advanced CAT: Imaging and Computers.- 11 Afterword: 25 Years with a CAT - How to Keep Going.

Amateur astronomy is becoming increasingly popular, mostly because of the availability of relatively low-cost astronomical telescopes such as the Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutovs. The author describes what these instruments will do, how to use them, and which are the best - he draws on 25-years of experience with telescopes. There are sections on accessories, observing techniques, and hints and tips on: cleaning, collimating, maintaining the telescope, mounting, using the telescope in various conditions, computer control, and imaging (wet, digital and CCD). This is the perfect book for amateur astronomers who are about to invest in a new Schmidt-Cassegrain or Maksutov telescope, or for those who already have one and want to get the most out of it.