The Star Guide: Learn How To Read the Night Sky Star by Star [Hardcover]

Robin Kerrod (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 22, 2005

A thorough revision of the bestselling guide to the night sky - over 100,000 copies sold!

The first edition of The Star Guide introduced readers of all ages to the wonders of the night sky. Now comes the highly anticipated revised edition, expertly updated by one of the world's leading writers on astronomy and space. Illustrated throughout in full color, the guide features spectacular new photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope, more than 60 easy-to-use star charts, and an invaluable detachable planisphere. Special sections explain the nature of stars and galaxies and what makes the universe tick.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A bit oversize for field use, this introduction to stargazing nonetheless offers an informative beginning for learning navigation of the night sky before heading outside. (It comes with a removable hand-size sky map called a planisphere.) Kerrod's presentation is structured around monthly star maps (for midlatitude observers) in two-page spreads, with a follow-up feature on that month's outstanding constellation. So that rather than emphasizing rote memorization of all 88 recognized constellations, the book enables identification of just the most striking constellations, such as Orion or the Northern Cross, making the task of celestial familiarization much easier. The text then instructs viewers in using a constellation's brightest individual stars to orient themselves to neighboring asterisms, progressively cultivating a mental image of the entire celestial vault and its changing appearance over the course of a year. Photos featuring Hubble Space Telescope spectaculars, supplemented by tips for viewing the sun, moon, and planets, round out this attractive book on basic astronomy. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

An international bestseller for more than a decade, The Star Guide has been the bible for stargazers everywhere. Now, Robin Kerrod, one of the world’s leading writers on astronomy and space, has expertly updated this invaluable resource to include the most recent developments in astronomical research and technology.

The Star Guide, Second Edition, present the latest findings from the world’s astronomers, as well as by the Hubble Space Telescope and the Magellan probe to Venus. The Photographic coverage has been dramatically enhanced by the newest jaw-dropping views of the universe, which were captured by the latest generation of ground-based telescopes like the Very Large Telescope in Chile and space telescopes such as the Hubble at the Chandra Observatory.

This thoroughly revised edition has also been reorganized to make it even more user-friendly. It retains the moon maps, the detailed maps of the monthly night skies, and the featured constellations that so distinguished the first edition, as well as the immensely useful detachable planisphere. Each key constellation has become the focus feature that dissects the monthly sky where it is more prominent and best observed.

A specially engineered and unique visual cross-referencing system provides easy access to information and to Explanations of core terms and concepts. Discussion and analysis of the astronomer’s tools includes advice on the use of binoculars, telescopes, computers, and cameras. Feature boxes explain scientific theory and both recent and ancient astronomical history harking back to stargazing’s mythological foundations in ancient Greece. Recent planetary discoveries from the newest space probes and landers bring us closer to the cosmos than ever before.

Easy-to-follow star charts means that The Star Guide relies on the user’s observations made with binoculars and the naked eye—you don’t need to be an expert astronomer to interact with the heavens! Star sightings and an introduction to the galactic wonders of giant stars, comets, supermassive black holes, hurling asteroids, satellites, and other uncharted deep space territory are sure to inspire.

Plunge headfirst into the fascinating minutiae of the celestial sphere. From the explosive birth of a star to an eclipse to a cloudy nebula, The Star Guide demystifies astronomy and gets you up close and personal with the awesome wonders of the universe.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (February 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471706175
• ISBN-13: 978-0471706175
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #924,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I quickly put this on the shelf., February 21, 2001

By 

Steven R LaBrenz (Vienna, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Star Guide: Learn How To Read The Night Sky Star By Star (Hardcover)

This was my very first book on astronomy and it was quickly replaced by another book. There are better beginners guides to buy.

While the maps are of good quality, blue background and divided by the month, I quickly learned that the maps contain errors in placement of some celestial objects. Organization of the description of the constellations in the monthly section is poor because you have to jump around to different pages to locate a description of nearly half of the constellations for that month. While there are in-depth analysis of the most commonly known constellations, the infomation on the lesser known constellations would be better organized as a separate section with a small skymap for each.

The sections on the Moon, Planets and Sun are good, but most amature astronomers veiw this information as a side interest. These sections should be condensed and more space given to the constellations. Better treatment of our solar system would be on how to view these objects.

The planisphere that comes with the book is mediocre. A spiral bound form of the book with dew-resistant pages would be better.

My recommendation would be to get Nightwatch, the Audubon pocket guide, and David Levy's Guide to the Stars.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for beginners that's a reference for the experienced., October 20, 1998

By 

Kevin Cornwell ([e-mail]) (Yreka, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Star Guide: Learn How To Read The Night Sky Star By Star (Hardcover)

A large format book with full color throughout, this work takes beginning star-gazers by the hand and quickly shows them what, when, where, and how. Its detail is presented logically and intuitively such that it makes a very nice reference for the experienced amateur astronomer as well.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written with great photographs and charts., October 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Star Guide: Learn How To Read The Night Sky Star By Star (Hardcover)

This book is a great introductory book on astronomy. Not only is it replete with information on and pictures of the moon, planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies, it is a very practical, visually-oriented guide for the amateur astronomer.