DK Handbooks: Stars and Planets [Hardcover]

Ian Ridpath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998 | Series: DK Handbooks

A practical guide to the night sky that can be used by amateur astronomers anywhere in the world, this book features entries on all 88 constellations of the northern and southern hemisphere skies and a set of clear, easy-to-use star charts. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Stars and Planets is a sturdy, thorough field guide for amateur astronomers. The book's first section is a general introduction to astronomy. A solar system primer and constellation catalog are followed by a month-by-month night sky guide. Filled with clear, easy-to-read star charts, photos, and diagrams, this is the perfect starter for beginning astronomers, and a handy reference for those with a little more experience. You'll find information on stargazing equipment, a glossary of terminology, and the history of each cosmic feature's discovery. Like all the Eyewitness Handbooks, this one will be a terrific addition to your family science library. --Therese Littleton --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

The handy size, copious illustrations, maps and charts, as well as the latest in astrophotography throughout . . . practically beg[s] astronomers to take [Stars and Planets] along to star parties. (ronomy )

For those who gaze at the night sky, seeking the familiar patterns known to sailors and shepherds, this field guide will be an invaluable companion. (Bruce E. Fleury Science Books & Films ) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789435608
• ISBN-13: 978-0789435606
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,309,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent handbook; 224-pages astronomy encyclopedia!, December 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: DK Handbooks: Stars and Planets (Hardcover)

This small handbook is just plain amazing. Each section has a "How This Section Works" that takes the guessing out of charts and sky maps. It covers the solar system with scientific facts, it also has a chart with the location of the planets in the 88 constellations to the year 2009. Monthly sky guides, the constellations from A-Z with hand-measure symbols for width and depth, observation symbols, start magniture, area, size ranking, abbrev., genitive, highest at time/month, history, pictures, etc. I believe it to be better than Peterson's Stars and Planets; and it's smaller! $17 for the softcover.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice starter book..., May 30, 2001

By 

Neil R. Roberts (Ridley Park, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DK Handbooks: Stars and Planets (Paperback)

This is a nice, streamlined book. Logical layout, sharp photography, and a clean, crisp design. The first portion discusses the universe and stars (addressed below), and is followed by another section that provides a 2-4 page profile on each planet, including when and where in the sky it's visible until 2009. Following these sections, is a large section covering all the official constellations in alphabetical order with at least one interesting item to check out from each constellation. Obviously, some have more: Sagitarius, Scorpius, Orion, etc. A brief constellation history is provided, along with a small map depicting the constellation stars, surrounding stars, and objects of particular interest. These objects are coded with simple icons to denote "viewability": naked eye, bino, scope, etc. The last section of the book has monthly sky maps. I purchased the flex-cover edition, which is made of some quasi-vinyl material that's quite nice. The book itself seems well made and durable. Why only 4 stars? I have two issues. #1, I wish it were spiral bound. #2, it's not as forthright about its hypothetical aspects as it should be (planetary core composition, Big Bang mechanics, Oort Cloud (!), etc.) Other than that, the book is highly recommended and a pleasure to read/use.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding for novice or intermediate amateur astronomers, May 16, 2002

By 

"diversecity" (Oak Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stars and Planets (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback)

If you own only one astronomy field guide, this should be it. The charts are accurate & easy to read, the text is informative but not overpowering, and the design is very reader friendly. The monthly star charts can be used from most latitudes - both northern and southern.
This is the third edition of this book. I've been a fan of it since it was first published in the mid 1980s.