Customer Reviews

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Constellations of the Northern Skies (National Audubon Society Pocket Guides)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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This tiny book packs the only most useful information into the smallest usable size, small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. I keep mine in my binocular case. It has compact overview maps showing constellations and a few selected objects by season, then constellation by constellation maps with greater detail and many objects which can be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. On the page facing each map is short, well written text describing the most interesting stars and deep sky objects on the map.

Because of its small size, it is limited to only the brightest stars and objects, but there is plenty detail for star hopping to interesting objects with the aid of a pair of binoculars. It is not a substitute for a serious field guide and star atlas, but begginers will find plenty to look for with this and more experienced stargazers will appreciate its convenience.

This book is a good way to learn your way around the sky. Remember, it takes some practice to learn how to read a star map and mentally rotate and project it onto the curved night sky. You get better at this with practice. I also suggest you get a small flashlight with a red filter.

Beginners wishing to learn constellations may also wish to consult Levitt and Marshall's classic "Star Maps for Begginers", which has much less cartographic detail (perhaps an advantage for learning the constellations). This book is much more useful on an ongoing basis, however.

This is a very useful book if you are a beginner or even someone who is moderately knowledgeable about astronomy. I used my extensively recently with just a pair of binoculars and a comfy chair. The charts are easy to follow and nearly all the objects that are visible to the naked eye or with the aid of binoculars are in the book. Its compact size makes it portable. One drawback is that if you leave it outside the dew will warp it. A good book for someone interested in getting involved in astronomy but does not want to buy something more expensive. Handy also for more experienced amateur astronomers who want a reference that is portable, simple, and easy to use.

Excellent book, it was an addition to the entire pocket guide series I bought for my 9 year old nephew, he loves this series, its just enough information to keep his attention and has sparked an interest in so many areas.

This little guide has nice clear constellation charts. It doesn't take up much space so you can take it anywhere. It even fits in your pocket-- just like the other guides in this Audubon series. Interesting objects are listed for each constellation, and all of them are quite easy to find with binoculars or a small telescope. Constellations of the far southern hemisphere are not shown, but the book is useful in all of North America and other parts of the world which have those same latitudes. When you purchase this book you get a lot of information about the constellations and general astronomy in such a small format, and it is very inexpensive.

I found this guide to be very helpful in learning some of the constellations for the first time. It has charts of the sky for different seasons/times of the year, and section where it describes the history/nebula's/individual stars of each constellation. And it's pocket sized so you can stash it in your bag and take it around with you.

This is a good pocket guide for beginners. Each of the major constellations of the Northern Hemisphere gets one page depicting the stars within the constellation and the stars around it, plus one page of information. (Lots of information: maybe too much to cram into one small page.) The constellations are depicted together in the winer sky, spring sky, and so on, and then they're depicted individually in alphabetical order.

Nice little book to tuck into the back pack on a camping trip, or to refer to around the fire pit with a glass of wine. Lots of info. packed into a convenient little book.