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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IF YOU BUY ONLY ONE STAR ATLAS, GET THIS ONE!, October 22, 2001
This review is from: The Observer's Sky Atlas: With 50 Star Charts Covering the Entire Sky (Paperback)
Looks small and unimpressive, but WOW! By far the most useful single sky guide I've found. What makes it special? First, the trick of showing additional detail and fainter stars for only selected areas of the sky, along with full-sky coverage of brighter stars...if you use binoculars or a telescope to hunt down faint objects, you will see lots of faint stars too, and showing them on the charts is a big help to orient you. Second, the scaling of the charts and of the plotted stars is unusually well matched to what you actually see through binoculars or a telescope at low power, making it easy to match your eyepiece view to what the chart shows. (Indeed, I find it superior to either the Sky Atlas 2000.0 or Uranometria--much larger and more expensive charts--in that regard.) Third, the format of listing interesting objects with associated data on pages facing each map is very useful and convenient. Fourth, the inclusion of hundreds of NGC objects besides the full Messier list makes this a reference that a beginner will not soon outgrow, and a veteran will continue to find it useful through the years. Fifth, the information regarding the types of instruments needed to view each object (small binoculars, large binos, small scope, medium scope) is the most accurate and practical I've seen. Sixth, it's so portable you can take it out on every viewing session--it even fits into a binocular case. Downside? Only that so few dealers carry it! ...and you've found one here. Good work, Amazon.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very handy field book for the non-novice, June 24, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Observer's Sky Atlas: With 50 Star Charts Covering the Entire Sky (Paperback)
I looked forward very much to getting this book. I had a copy of the first edition and lost it on a trip to Chile. Among the several atlases I own, I found this one to be the most convenient for general observing. When I received the new edition, I was at first, disappointed. The older edition was printed on glossy paper that resisted moisture very well while using it in the field and the new version is not. Nevertheless, it is still printed on good paper and may hold up well. Time will tell. One of the other things I liked so much about the older version was the pocket size, and the new edition is about an inch larger in both directions. Again, it is still more handy than a hardbound book like the "Cambridge" or "Norton" atlases. Neither is it so thick that it is difficult to hold open like the "Peterson's" guides. After examining the contents I saw that the added size was put to good advantage. The same basic charts are there from the first edition, but just a little larger in scale. And now there is quite a bit more information packed on the opposing pages that describe the objects to be viewed. Binary or multiple stars with significant relative motions are plotted so that you can see how the relationship will change over the next 20 years. A visual plot is given of the position angle of these stars rather than just a number. Little thermometers indicate the relative temperatures of each component to give an idea of the color difference to be expected. For regular variable stars a small waveform is often included that describes the period and change in brightness of the star. A set of symbols is now used to describe the ease of visibility of objects and objects with low surface brightness are noted using the same symbols. Several other columns have been added that are to assist in finding an object on the adjacent chart and to identify its magnitude. Although I did not find these particularly useful, others may. At the beginning of the book there is a chart that I do not remember from the first edition that describes how natural and man-made light pollution affects the view of objects and shows how many objects can be seen under what conditions. All together the books positive changes balance the negative ones nicely. It will still be my first choice at the telescope. One negative that might exist for users new to the sky is that now there may be too much information on each page. I do not think that will be a problem for most. Thanks for the new edition!
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The best of both worlds, March 4, 2003
This review is from: The Observer's Sky Atlas: With 50 Star Charts Covering the Entire Sky (Paperback)
I shopped & researched long and hard before I bought a new star atlas. I paged through every one I could find, but I had never seen this one in-person. All of the glowing online reviews sold me - and I ordered it. Initially I was disappointed. However, the more I looked through it - and evaluated its contents - my opinion change for the positive. It's handy & convenient (small sized & nice for use at the scope). It details stars to magnitude 6 (naked eye limit is 5.2 - 6.0). The book includes detailed insets on each chart detailing stars to magnitude 9 (a magnitude limit only found in the "big boy" atlases). And I found the data tables - opposite each page's chart - concise yet informative. Drawbacks: sometimes it's too small (one cannot get a "regional feel"). Sometimes it's annoying that a constellation or "region" of the sky is split over two different charts (because the charts are organized in "sidereal time", e.g. Andromeda is Chart "N0" but Pegasus is chart "E23"; Ursa Major is chart "N8" and "N10"). Is there a perfect star atlas? Unfortunately, "No". But this little guide has a little of everything for the amateur astronomer. If you're comet hunting, well ... buy an atlas like the Herald-Bobroff . But for the armchair astronomer up to the amateur with an 4"-8" telescope, this little atlas fills a niche that wasn't completely filled before it came along. And when used with other aids in the field - like a good planisphere for that "regional feel" - it's extremely valuable. Some of you very serious observers might need another, larger atlas for reference and/or desk use. However, you can't go wrong with this little book. Call it a professional atlas that's been on a strict diet. Lean & mean. Someday you might find this little book on one of those "sandwich commercials" - look out Jared :)) P.S.: This atlas deserves at least a 4-star rating; it could easily be a 5-star rating depending upon the user's need(s).
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