Skywatching (Nature Company Guides) [Hardcover]

David H. Levy (Author), John O'Byrne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995 | Series: Nature Company Guides

A comprehensive family reference guide to all the amazing phenomena of our night skies, with helpful charts and detailed photography This comprehensive introduction to our night skies has been written by a team of expert astronomers. Their collective experience, combined with a straightforward, no-nonsense approach creates the perfect guide to understanding galaxies, eclipses, the moon and constellations. Our solar system is brought to life through extraordinary images, and our night skies made easy to understand with colourful charts. Visually exciting and always informative, Skywatching covers both the historical and scientific aspects of astronomy. / Leads you through our immediate Solar System with the Sun, the Moon and the planets / Takes you into deep space, revealing the stars, galaxies and nebulae / Comprehensive bi-monthly star charts that can be used anywhere in the world, with constellation charts showing 85 star formations / Useful information on the equipment used for skywatching, from the huge optical telescopes used by professional astronomers to makeshift observatories

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Levy, a noted comet hunter and amateur astronomer, provides the text for this volume in a new guidebook series. Profusely illustrated, Skywatching has been well designed to advise and encourage the potential "backyard" astronomer. Brief background explanations speed the reader through relevant topics such as the history of astronomy, types of stars and other celestial objects of interest to skywatchers, and techniques and equipment for the amateur. The core of the book features a series of seasonal sky charts to be used in conjunction with a generous alphabetical arrangement of constellation maps. Viewpoints for both northern and southern hemispheres are represented, with the sky's offerings accessible through binoculars, small telescope, and the naked eye clearly set out for any approximate latitude and time of year. Although the ever-varying motions of the planets are necessarily omitted, the creators of this guidebook have supplied more than enough inspiration to send readers out in search of a sufficiently dark, unobstructed view of the night sky. For general readers. [Another volume in the "Nature Company Guide" series, Birding, is reviewed on p. 84.-Ed.]-Patrick Dunn, East Tennessee State Univ. Lib., Johnson Cit.
--Patrick Dunn, East Tennessee State Univ. Lib., Johnson City
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

DAVID LEVY has discovered 21 comets since 1984 -- eight from his own backyard and 13 others as part of the Shoemaker-Levy team at Palomar. He also writes a column for 'Sky and Telescope', is the author of eight books, and the winner of the 1993 Amateur Achievement Award, which recognized his contribution in the field of astronomy. DR JOHN O'BYRNE lectures in the School of Physics at Sydney University. He has a broad range of theoretical interests and is a Secretary of the Astronomical Society of Australia. WIL TIRION drew the sky maps and constellation charts for this publication. He started making star atlases as a hobby in1977 and in 1983 he became a full-time sky cartographer. ROBERT BURNHAM has been an amateur since the late 1950s. His main interests revolve around observing the Moon and planets by telescope but he also enjoys reading about cosmology. An active amateur geologist and birder, he is at present the Editor in Chief of 'Astronomy' magazine. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Time Life Education (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078354751X
• ISBN-13: 978-0783547510
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #991,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice intro to amateur astronomy, July 13, 2004

By 

Steve (Rockford, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skywatching (Nature Company Guides) (Paperback)

I picked this book up practically on a whim from the clearance table at a local bookseller, and was very pleasantly surprised at how good of a book it is after getting it home.

It starts with a brief history of skywatching, and then moves on to describing many of the types of objects that can be found in space - stars, galaxies, supernovas, black holes, pulsars, star clusters, variable stars, nebulae... along with explainations of what they are and why they look the way they do.

After that the book talks about basic skywatching techniques, from simply spotting things with the naked eye, and the basics of binoculars and telescopes.

After all this, you're then taught the basics of how to read a star chart, including the rather nice basic charts that are included in the book for both Northern and Southern hemispheres.

At the most basic level you can use the charts to see what constellations are in the sky above you that night, which will help in learning the different constellations, and then as you advance a little you can use the approximate location to help locate items with a telescope.

Further details are given about each constellation, first discussing how it got its name, and then going into details about interesting items that are in the area of that constellation, such as nearby nebulea, galaxies, or star clusters.

Also included are details about each of the planets in our solar system, and a resource directory for those interested in further reading.

Along with all this great info, the book is chock full of beautiful photography, art, and well-drawn charts.

Definately one of the best ways to start out for someone who's recently become interested in the skies above.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Skywatching is a good book, but there is a better one, May 4, 2004

By 

Glenn J. Saylor Jr. (OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skywatching (Nature Company Guides) (Hardcover)

Skywatching is a good book. But the book "Practical Skywatching" gives you two books for the price of one. It literally contains the best of the books "Skywatching" and "Advance Skywatching" in one reference.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of information, detailed illustrations, June 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Skywatching (Nature Company Guides) (Paperback)

I just bought this book and found it very easy to read, as well as helpful with using my brand new telescope.
It starts off by giving a very entertaing general history of astronomy, with plenty of illustrations.
It then covers astronomy concepts, such as star types, azimuth, etc. Also included is a section on telescopes.
Then it has 12 or so full scale maps of the sky, for every time of the year in both southern and northern hemispheres.
The best section is the constellation section. It has at least one page for each constellation, with a map showing a detalied view of it and surrounding stars/clusters/galaxies. It gives the history of the constellation, other interesting objects to look for nearby, and a photograph showing what the constellation really looks like (without the lines connecting the stars). Very helpful.