Customer Reviews

Objects in the Heavens

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Peter Birren's _Objects in the Heavens_ is a compact little spiral-bound book and observer's log, jam-packed with information on deep-sky objects which can be seen with binoculars and small telescopes. Organized by constellation, the left-side page lists the objects, their NGC (or other) numbers, type (e.g. galaxy, open cluster, double star, etc.), location (RA and dec), brightness, distance, and a bit of description. The right-side page shows a sketch of where they are in the constellation and has plenty of room for observation notes. It is a very handy book to have at the telescope.

I have found that _O*I*T*H_ goes hand-in-hand with the Astronomical League's "Urban List" of celestial objects visible in modestly light-polluted areas. I keep the book with my standard stargazing tools; my log book, planisphere, and star chart.

In the front of the book are convenient notes and information. Several pages list the Messier objects, an index to the NGC objects, the schedule of recurring meteor showers, basic telescope types and uses, and other helpful info for the novice or even the experienced stargazer.

I have corresponded with the author, and found Peter Birren to be a personable, likeable guy with a desire to share his knowledge of the sky with others. I recommend this little observer's guide to any amateur astronomer or budding stargazer.

Added 10/23/2003:
After having used the Second Edition of O*I*T*H for five months or so, I find that I use it constantly, not only in search of the "Urban List" objects, but also to find some of the most pleasing and fascinating objects in the night sky. This 2nd edition is much more accurate in its charts and descriptions than the first edition. It is a very convenient, concentrated package of information and notes to use at the telescope at night.

I've been an amateur stargazer since childhood and always wanted something I could toss in my gear bag that would help me locate the bright galaxies and clusters without thumbing through some inappropriate textbook. This small, keenly focused, spiral bound guide works perfect under dark skies. All the important objects are listed with critical, if not extensive, descriptive information in easy to read format. It's a perfect companion to the full sky charts we find in the astro mags and the big sky atlas charts that permit us to narrow in on the obscure stuff. I've bought copies for friends and we all agree, it's as important as anything we carry with us when going out to look at the stars. A great binocular companion, it's filled with a good deal of additional star gazing information as well. The author did a lot of work here and produced a terrific product at a fair price.

Now in a newly updated and expanded third edition, Peter Birren's Objects In The Heavens is an ideal combination of field book, notebook, and reference work for student and amateur astronomers engaged in "real-world" viewing of the night sky. This new edition is enhanced with numerous objects not shown in the major atlases (including the Sky Atlas 2000) and offers a complete list of all known objects to a mag10 level of observation. Also new to this substantive addition is the inclusion of star group stories that help bring together larger portions of the night sky in truly memorable ways. 144 double stars are listed and mapped in order to provide useful targets for those nights when deep-sky observation is less than optimum. Spiral-bound to permit this exceptionally practical reference and guide to be laid out flat, special symbols are employed to aid in identifying particular objects, stars, double stars, and asterism. An ideal and enthusiastically recommended reference for novice astronomers, Objects In The Heaven's is sufficiently detailed to be of immense value for even the most experienced explorers of the night sky, and an ideal curriculum supplement reference and resource for introductory astronomy classes for highschool and college level students.

I have Millenium Star Atlas 2000.0 and Uranometria but this is the book that is constantly in my hand or pocket. It's small enough to keep close by but detailed enough to be useful. The binding also works well for keeping your place. If I'm looking at Cygnus I can turn to that page, orient and then pocket the book without losing my place. This book has an excellent magnitude, overview, and Messier/NGC object index at the front.

Trying to find something in the sky? This is an excellent resource.

I just bought my first telescope, and bought this book and a few others to help me learn the night skies. This book doesn't get a whole lot of use yet, as it's not geared towards helping a beginner learn how to find/identify things (I have, "Star-Hopping: Your Visa to Viewing the Universe" and "Celestial Sampler: 60 Small-Scope Tours for Starlit Nights" for that), but once I become more familiar with the skies and more skilled at using my telescope, this book will be an invaluable aid. Brighter stars are depicted on charts as bigger dots, making them easier to spot. Also, objects of magnitude 7 and brighter have their own map icon, as do other objects to magnitude 10 and Messier objects to magnitude 10. It's small enough to put in my gadget bag, spiral-bound so it lays flat when opened to whatever page you're needing, and densely packed with information. Highly recommended.

the book is easy to undertand with a minimun of astronomy. the best i try of the same type. the book also include some history of the constelations and an index of the book so you can easily find what your looking.

I have both the hardcopy and Kindle version. I'm pretty new at amateur astronomy but I intend to use this as a planning tool with ST3 to concentrate on targets per constellation. A book like this makes more sense to me as a newcomer than something like a true star atlas. It provides a list of must see objects while passing through.