Customer Reviews

Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders: From Novice to Master Observer (DIY Science)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The real trick in backyard astronomy is simply finding what's out there. Galaxies and nebulae are notoriously faint, and there are a lot of stars scattered around in the view to confuse things. Just getting there (that is, locating an object and knowing with certainty what you're looking at) may not be half the fun, but it's well over half the challenge.

This book will help a lot. It's a deep-sky observer's guide, written for an era when 12" and 14" instruments are in the hands of ordinary people, and deep-sky objects that used to be the sole province of large observatories can be spotted on a good dark night outside major cities. An alphabetical listing of 50 constellations (the remaining 38 are too far south to be seen well in north temperate latitudes) provides overall maps of each individual constellation, as well as finder charts for about 450 of the best objects in the night sky. Many objects are accompanied by 60' field photographs, which are less to show you how they look (all are long-exposure shots and thus deceptively bright) than to give you a sense for their relative size in the sky: Most deep-sky objects are fairly small, but a few (like M31, M33 and the Veil Nebula) are larger than the full Moon, if orders of magnitude fainter. The photographs put those size differences into perspective.

Those (like myself) without computer-controlled scopes have to locate faint objects by spotting brighter nearby objects (generally bright stars) and then "star-hopping" to the object of interest. For me, the meat of the book lies in the 10 degree finder charts, one for each object, each chart including one or more overlapping 5 degree finder scope field circles for hopping to a 1 degree eyepiece field circle centered on the prize.

The first 65 pages ahead of the constellation listings present introductory material, explaining how the charts in the book work, how to choose and use modern observing equipment, and what all the jargon means. Newbies won't necessarily come in understanding what a "clean split" or a "dirty split" are, nor how the Trumpler Classification system works for open clusters, but it's all laid out here in beautifully clear writing. I was particularly impressed by the coverage of eyepieces and nebula filters, most of which didn't exist even twenty years ago, and certainly not in the late 60s when I learned much of what I know.

The book is full of wonderful small touches, like a note on why there is no such thing as a truly green star, and how some amateur astronomers observe with binoculars by lying in a partially inflated (but empty!) kiddie pool, with the sides of the pool supporting their arms!

I don't have a lot of quibbles. The print seems awfully small to me, but that's about it. (Larger type would have made the book a great deal longer and probably more expensive.)

Highly recommended.

It's always a pleasure to come across something really done well.

The team of Robert and Barbara Thompson, who produced the excellent "Astronomy Hacks" in 2005, have come up with a superlative book for beginning to intermediate deep sky observers entitled, "Illustrated
Guide to Astronomical Wonders".

Taking the objects from six well-known observing lists:

= the Messier objects,
= the RASC (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada) Finest NGC objects
= the AL (Astronomical League) Binocular Messier List
= the AL Deep-Sky Binocular List
= the AL Urban Observing List
= the AL Doubles Star List

the authors present 400 outstanding objects, all well within the range of moderate apertures (the largest scope referenced in their book is a 10" reflector). So, while challenging, the number isn't overwhelming and the objects aren't too difficult.


The objects are sorted into fifty constellations available to northern
observers, each given a chapter and presented alphabetically. Each chapter contains:

= A discussion of the constellation

= A full constellation chart showing object locations.

= Tables giving:
- type, size, magnitude, coordinates, etc for each
object
- the originating observing list (Messier, RASC, AL) from
which the object was taken

= Finder charts for each object with uniform 5 degree or 1 degree
circles superimposed, making them adequate for field use

= Individual discussions of each object. Each discussion also
contains a description on how to find the object, as an example,

"...The easiest way we found to locate NGC 7129
was to place mag 4.4 xi on the SE edge of our
finder field and look for mag 5.4 7-Cep which
appears near the NW edge. NGC 7129 lies on a
line between those two stars, about two-thirds
of the way from xi to 7-Cep..."

= Uniform 1 square degree black and white photographs of almost all
of the deep sky objects. These small images better approximate
what a visual observer might actually see at the eyepiece.


= Each object also bears a four level visual rating, ranging from
unimpressive to showpiece and a four level finding difficulty
rating, going from very difficult to easy to find.


To those acquainted with the larger, more expensive two-volume Night Sky Observer's Guide, this chapter format will look familiar,the significant difference being that the NSOG chapters list a selection of variables in each constellation.

Of course the 400 objects of the Thompson book is dwarfed by the 5,541 of the NSOG, but that smaller number in the Illustrated Guide allows it to include more practical finder charts and to better address amateurs equipped with moderate apertures under less than ideal skies. For example, some of the NSOG descriptions only list what you'll see in fairly large scopes, 16 to 18 inches. That's not helpful to many amateur observers.

The first sixty or so pages of the Illustrated Guide contain an intro to DSO observing and a discussion of observing equipment. Both sections are very informative and actually enjoyable because, surprise, they address the concerns of a real practicing amateur observer.

For example, you'll find pointers on how to plan observing sessions but you'll also find things that'll move you off the level of a beginner right away, for example, a description of the Trumpler scale for open clusters and a discussion of perceiving color in blue-green O-III light.

Equipment wise, the Thompsons aren't shy about noting their preferences, for example, their favored planetarium software is Megastar. But they also objectively discuss the pros and cons of telescope types, individual eyepiece lines and the performance of different nebular filters.

The book aims to supply some of the practical wisdom that observers usually have to pick up the hard way - spending time under the night sky and patiently distinguishing the useful from the irrelevant and the hype.

Physically, the Illustrated Guide is an attractive paperback that opens flat and has generous margins on each page for jotting notes.

So general strengths of the book? The Illustrated Guide is a reasonably priced, one-volume guide to deep sky observing written by a knowledgeable observing team that can become a mainstay of any amateur library. Using just this observing guide, a beginning observer could become a relatively advanced amateur in a reasonably short period - yes, I think it's that well designed. For some observers, it might actually make up their entire observing "career".

Urban astronomers may find the black and white images invaluable in helping to identify objects like open clusters that might normally go unrecognized in light polluted skies.

Also, with some qualifications, viewing all the objects in this book will fulfill the requirements for a number of observing certificates, if that's one of your aims.

OK, weaknesses? Well, none really. But something said by the authors in their introduction bears repeating. Amateur astronomy has become almost synonymous with deep sky observing. And that's unfortunate.

Planetary and variable star observing each require different types of observing skill and often different types of equipment. Until excellent guides like the Thompsons' new book are devoted to these branches of amateur astronomy, many people will continue to ignore them.

In their usual clear and engaging way, the authors have opened up the sky to the newly interested in astronomy. But there's a great deal more in this book that will engage those more familiar with the night sky.

It begins with a primer on observing means and methods, then proceeds to introduce the night sky with a tour through the constellations. The constellations are described, their historical context and mythologies given, and the interesting objects are presented in two main sections Clusters, Nebulae and Galaxies, and Multiple Stars. There are also two subcategories, urban objects and binocular objects that are listed for each constellation. There are other books that use a similar approach, though not usually at the depth presented in this book. The National Audubon Socieity Field Guide to the Night Sky comes to mind.

The book is moderate sized, about 10x8 inches. It lies down flat when open. There is space on many pages to scribble notes, further adding to its value. Some might criticize its black and white format. There are no color pictures, no maps with multiple colored symbols. Rather than a deficiency, the views of the objects in black and white are similar to what you'll see through your scope, and the lack of color makes the images and maps easier to view under red flashlight used by astronomers under night skies to maintain their dark adaptation. There are no Hubble images here. Instead of the images like those printed on the boxes of cheap telescopes sold in big box stores, the images seen through the binoculars and small to medium telescopes used by most amateurs are very similar to what Robert and Barbara have put in the book.

While viewing astronomical objects is a unique and fascinating hobby, collecting books about astronomy is also a great hobby. There is always something new that comes along to pique our interest. This book will be an important part of my astronomy library for years to come.

I have only seen the O'Reilly books for all things computer, but when I heard the Thompsons were writing about their second passion,astronomy, I had to check it out! I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. I like the book so much, I had to pull my old telescope out of the basement. I thought the book was written well, easy to understand and read, with both pictures and charts that work well. Well done once again!

"Illustrated Guide To Astronomical Wonders" is a wonderful one volume resource for the budding to seasoned amateur astronomer.

Paired with the Thompson's previous book, "Astronomy Hacks", one would have all the essential information necessary to fully experience the wonders of amateur astronomy while being able to sidestep many of its daunting questions and mysteries which plague many a beginner.

The present book provides a couple of useful chapters on the nuts and bolts of getting set up to begin one's adventure into the night skies.

The meat of the book, however, is focused on observing and it is in that arena that the book truly excels.

The Thompson's draw from some great astronomical observing lists and offer not only realistic expectations of what you might see through your telescope (or binoculars), but also provide excellent finder charts to help you acquire your intended target with minimal frustration.

This book is an excellent companion to the many books and atlases making up my astronomy library and I can't think of any other "single" volume that will be more helpful to one setting out on the journey to explore the stars, clusters and galaxies that keep us looking up at the sky each night.

I've read the reviews, and can't argue too much. It has much to recommend it, and I'm happy to have it. Nevertheless, it's not my favorite.

My main criticism is that the observation notes don't reflect reality. Perhaps an example: Regarding the Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, they say (excerpts):
* "This object is extremely difficult to see, probably more difficult than ... NGC 7645, the Bubble Nebula in Cassiopeia."
* "We finally viewed and logged the Crescent ... by begging some time on a 17.5" Dob ..."
* "Even (so) ... we were unable to make out NGC 6888 without filtration ... (and) ... finally saw this object as a very faint but distinct crescent by using a narrowband filter ..." (with averted vision, they add later).
* "Having viewed it, we can honestly say that it's not worth the time to find it ..."

Oh, how wrong can they be? From my dark site, the Crescent is an easy catch in an 8" SCT. I've done it. Not only is it easy, it is highly detailed, especially if you do use a narrowband filter. With my 12.5" Dob, it is easily the equal of segments of the Veil Nebula. It is fantastically detailed, riddled with filaments and brighter knots. Nearly the whole irregular ellipse clearly visible with direct vision.

This tells me that although they may be experienced, they have never been to a truly dark site. I'll grant that the Crescent suffers under modest light pollution. However, to state categorically that NGC 6888 is not worth the time, well, that's hard to excuse. NGC 6888 is a positively wonderful object, and I've observed it under far poorer conditions than I just recounted.

Further, they state that "NGC 6888 is nearly as hard to find as it is to see." Nothing could be further from the truth. Its an easy catch, 1/3 of the way along a direct line between Sadr and Eta Cyg in the body of Cygnus.

I've found similar inconsistency with my experience. They seem to be peculiarly pessimistic about the views of DSOs. Maybe that's a good thing; many will be pleasantly surprised when they put their own telescope on these targets from a dark site. But I think it's unnecessarily discouraging; I nearly gave up on the Crescent without even trying it!

I have other, lesser issues. The book is in no way suitable for use in dewing, and its strong point--its many entries--make it so thick that it absolutely will not lie open on your table without a heavy weight spanning the binding.

Also, to echo another reviewer, white space in the book is poorly managed. Sometimes all the information about an object falls on a single page, or on a two-page spread. But all too often, the finder charts fall on the overleaf. Better white-space management would have allowed the content for almost every object to be visible without flipping pages.

Finally, the "by constellation" organization is best for advanced amateurs, not beginners. Beginners are better served with a "by season" organization. But since the content is not very strong for advanced readers (above), its true audience, the beginner, is left to figure out which constellations are overhead on the night they'll be out.

So while it has its strong points, I wouldn't recommend it as a "first book" for budding astronomers. YMMV.

The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders is a wonderful book regardless of the skill level of the observer/reader.

The first 60 or so pages gives a good overview of the tools you will need to observes the objects in the book. It gives a lot of basic information in a small section, but it does not feel rushed or incomplete. This section includes some information on the various charts that observers use including the pluses and minuses of all of the tools.

The meat of the book covers the objects in each constellation. The constellations are arranged in alphabetical order, rather than seasonal order (a mode I prefer). The authors do a good job of giving the background of the constellation and various objects contained within. The charts are good enough to use for starhopping, and the pictures of the objects are fairly good approximations of the view you will get through the eyepiece.

The text is a bit small and the book may not stand up well to a dewy night out under the stars, but I would advise people to buy this book. It will be a great boon for your observing sessions,

I have used this book for the last month. While my opportunities to use it in the field have been limited due to poor observing conditions, I have been able to put it to the test a couple of nights. This book is a gem! I recommend it for both the beginner and the more experienced user. I have a copy of the author's previous book, "Astronomy Hacks", which is also a gem. The two books complement each quite nicely.

The first part of the book is introductory material. It explains many things that a budding astronomer needs to know. It covers things like basic vocabulary, what to look for when purchasing equipment, and how to use the star charts. While much of this is geared towards the beginner, there is also some practical and useful advice for the more seasoned observer, like the discussion of equipment, which has improved immensely over the last couple of decades.

The bulk of the book is aimed at observing and this is where the book really shines. The star charts and directions for locating objects are unparalleled. There is nothing else available for the amateur astronomer like this book. The vast amount of information is incredible. This is not your usual self-help book with a few pictures and a couple of constellation drawing. This is a book for serious use but it is easy to use. If you want to observe the night sky and find celestial objects, this book is the tool for you. Everything you need to know is there. The black and white sky charts and field photographs are just what you need to help find deep space objects. The accompanying texts are clear and concise.

I wish this book was available when I was kid, those many years ago when I lay in the backyard at night. What a treasure it is and now that I have found it I'm using the book to help our Boy Scout troop move beyond their merit badge requirements to delve into astronomy. The boys have found the book easy to use and a few have gained a new appreciated for looking at the night sky. It was hard to get them to go to bed.

What a great book, now if the weather would just cooperate.

This is a follow up to my December 10, 2007 review.
Over the last four months I been able to use this book a number of occasions. I am happy to report that the book is everything it promised to be. It is well written, easy to use and quite helpful. I take a copy with me whenever I expect to have a clear night.

The emphasis of this book is indisputably "Guide".
Why did'n't some one do a book like this years ago? It would have saved me a lot of time and money and I would have learned a lot more sooner.
The first part of the book is a superb,practical,concise guuide to getting started and it is worth a beginner getting the book for this part alone.
The bulk of the book is exactly like the title, being as close as you can get to having some-one at your shoulder.Tabular information takes a couple of goes to get into the groove with as this is pure data.Guide charts are superbly uncluttered, taking you comfortably to the target and the illustrations are pretty close to what you will find ( regrettably better than we can usually expect to see in the UK)
It is difficult to find any adverse comment as the authors do achieve what they set out to do.The only real complaint I can make is that the book should be more robustly bound as it wil be, or should be, getting a pounding in the field.

In the preface, the authors of Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders sell it as primarily a field observing guide. Unfortunately, that label seriously understates the outstanding utility of this book! This is an incredible resource for the beginning and intermediate amateur astronomer.

The authors start with two extremely well written chapters to aid the beginner: one on Deep Space Object (DSO) observing and on on astronomical equipment. The remainder of the book consists mostly of short tours through 50 constellations visible to most astronomers in the northern hemisphere.

The chapter on DSO observing is a must read, regardless of experience level. This chapter not only covers the basics of DSO objects (what a PN, OC and GX are and their associated classification codes), but it also gives a detailed orientation of how the individual chapters and observations are listed. This part is necessary as some of the nomenclature used in the book is brand new (unless, of course, you already know what MBUdr is and how it differs from mbuDR).

The chapter on equipment covers almost everything the beginner needs to know about these instruments. There is a detailed discussion on binoculars, telescopes, eyepieces, atlases (both paper and computer), filters, finders, plansipheres and lists of "other things" that the observer may want nearby. The discussions pull no punches on the pros and cons of these items, which makes it one of the best short discussions I've ever read on these topics. It is very even-handed in its approach and isn't afraid of including dissenting opinions when warranted.

While the first two chapters are an incredible resource, the meat of this book is in the chapters on the individual constellations. This is where the book absolutely shines! Each chapter starts with a short discussion on the constellation. The discussion starts with a section on the story behind the name of the constellation, often delving into the mythology behind it. While not necessary to the observer, it's still very interesting. Then the basic characteristics of the constellation are listed (size, location, relationship to the galactic plane, etc). Once the discussion is completed, two lists of observing targets are given: the Deep Space Objects and multiple stars that are discussed in depth later in the chapter. Finally, a star chart showing the constellation is presented. This star chart has each of the items listed in the previous tables included on it.

What makes this book indispensable is the individual observations. The observation starts with a listing of the name, DSO type, magnitude, location, size and a rating listed in a table. It also uses a shorthand notation detailing what astronomical lists include the object (this MBUDR shorthand notation is completely bewildering if you don't read the first chapter). Once these housekeeping chores are out of the way, the authors wrote a short essay on the object. The first paragraph of this essay details some basics about the object (for example, the number of stars in the cluster and its classification) and includes any historical information on when the DSO was discovered. The next paragraph discusses what the object "looks like" through any number of instruments (naked eye, binoculars, small and/or medium-sized telescopes). It also identifies what filters improve the view. This really gives a good idea of what can be expected when viewing the object. Finally, there is a discussion on how to best find the DSO. Two figures are included for most DSOs, a star chart to help find it and a photo of the object. The star chart includes circles on it for a 5° finder and a 1° eyepiece view and it's very easy to use the chart in conjunction with the star-hopping instructions.

But in all honesty, what really thrilled me with this book were the photographs, and not because they are great astrophotographs taken by the Hubble Telescope. Instead, the authors shunned the Hubble-telescope views for something infinitely more useful. Namely, a black and white photo centered on the object and with a fixed, 1° view. For those of us who like to sketch our observations, this view is very easy to reconcile with our sketches, even if those sketches are of other field widths. This one feature alone is worth the price of the book! Beginners will love being able to come in from a night of observing and see that the sketch they made actually looks like the object! I have spent several hours going back over my past observations and comparing them to the book! In that way, this book is not just a field guide, it's also a very useful desk reference!

The authors have managed to do what is often impossible. They've married an incredible amount of information with an easy-to-read style that keeps your interest from page to page and makes you want to get back out underneath the stars. I heartily recommend this book to any amateur astronomer! With its engaging prose and over 500 individual objects described in detail, this book will easily keep you busy both at the telescope and in your favorite recliner!

Dean Petters
Euclid, OH