National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky (National Audubon Society Field Guides) [Turtleback]

NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY (Author)

Book Description

Series: National Audubon Society Field Guides | Publication Date: October 15, 1991

The perfect companion volume for Hale-Bopp watchers, this guide explores the fabulous mysteries above, from planets in our solar system to the constellations in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, stars, galaxies (including the Milky Way), nebulae, astronomical bodies, objects, phenomena, and -- yes -- comets. Night Sky provides a concise guided tour of the heavens with 48 monthly sky charts of the northern sky and 88 constellation charts, each offering a detailed map of individual constellations. Essays on the universe, the solar system, and constellations introduce the reader to the wonders of the sky.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The perfect companion volume for Hale-Bopp watchers, this guide explores the fabulous mysteries above, from planets in our solar system to the constellations in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, stars, galaxies (including the Milky Way), nebulae, astronomical bodies, objects, phenomena, and -- yes -- comets. Night Sky provides a concise guided tour of the heavens with 48 monthly sky charts of the northern sky and 88 constellation charts, each offering a detailed map of individual constellations. Essays on the universe, the solar system, and constellations introduce the reader to the wonders of the sky.

Product Details

• Turtleback: 716 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (October 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679408525
• ISBN-13: 978-0679408529
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #40 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Astronomy & Space Science > Star-Gazing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First among the Best!, December 5, 2000

By 

Luis Gallo "Luis Eduardo Gallo" (Valencia, Estado Carabobo Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky (National Audubon Society Field Guides) (Turtleback)

The Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky has been for many years one of the best guides to the night sky. With hundreds of full color photographs of our solar system, the constellations as viewed with the unaided eyes, meteors, comets and other wonders of the sky this Field Guide is easy to use (it has a section on how to do it) and provides lots of information for the beginner astronomer, the casual observer, the more advanced amateurs or anyone interested in astronomy. As it is written on the Introduction, the aim of the book is to depict the objects of the night sky visible to binoculars, the unaided eye or small telescopes. Its small format and dew resistant cover make the Guide a perfect companion outdoors and the locating monthly charts are a real help in order to find the way through the stars. I own a 1992 Edition of this Field Guide and I still use it a lot. Later editions come with updated planetary posisitons and longitude tables along with the Messier Catalog list, periodic comet and major meteor shower tables and other useful data indicating past, present and future astronomical events. Definitively, this Guide is the first among the best of its kind!

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amateur Astronomery - This is THE one., February 25, 2000

By 

dave stewart (Leesville, Louisiana USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky (National Audubon Society Field Guides) (Turtleback)

I was looking for a different Astronomy Field Guide and didn't find it - BOY am I glad. Instead I found and purchased this gem, and am very pleased with it. I'm quite the amateur. I wanted to learn more, and to get a good guide to help me find all the Messier objects, NGCs, and others. I also wanted to learn about them. This book has it all - including 136 Sky Charts, Color photos of the Messier Objects (and bunches of others), In Depth Discussion and Descriptions of the Constellations and thier contents (including all the M. objects and many, many NGC objects), Solar System in depth guides, moon photos and guide, and more. Whether using your eyes, a binocular or an 8" telescope, this book will help you to go right to the object of your choice. A handy field guide, yet as readable as a good novel.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you want to know, and more, February 4, 2002

By 

Yu-jin Chia "Yu-Jin Chia" (Cupertino, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky (National Audubon Society Field Guides) (Turtleback)

I'm not astronomer, but I can tell that the volume of information in this guide would impress even a hardcore stargazer. The book includes exhaustively detailed descriptions of all notable phenomena visible with a telescope, lists the entire Messier Catalog with descriptions of each item, has comprehensive starcharts meticulously organized by date, and has a description of all the major star constellations. There is also an in-depth analysis of the solar system and a complete scientific background on all the terminology.

A layman reading this guide will come away with enough information to at least sound like an expert on the night sky. There are even some sections on speculative astronomy, such as the nature of black holes and the Big Bang theory. If you are at all interested in astronomy, this is THE guide to get. It will serve as an invaluable counterpart to your telescope, and makes fascinating reading any time. As far as I have seen, there isn't a published guide to compare with this one.