Customer Reviews

Stikky Night Skies

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is far and away the most outstanding book on amateur astronomy I've ever seen. If you've ever had a teacher who explained things in such a way that they stikk to your mind forever, this book will let you relive that experience. In fact, my seven year old son can already identify many constellations. After you read this book, leave the telescope behind, just walk out into the night sky and enjoy the thrill of knowing your way around it.

Impress your friends, your date, your children! There's something magical about reading the night sky, and, if you're not already an astronomer, this book will change the way you view the heavens.

Yes, my brain is full, and I don't have time to learn anything new. But the folks who created this book are on to something - it's catchy, it's sticky, uh, Stikky. Each page and each chapter builds and reinforces your knowledge. You really do have to read this book one page at a time, though - no skimming!

Definitely buy this book before your next plane trip. You'll have some fun and gain some knowledge to share at your next cocktail party. It would also make a nice gift - maybe when you're done with it?!

Reading "Stikky Night Skies" is like playing a game, and I'll bet that kids - perhaps as young as 10 or 12 - would have a great time with it, too.

A simple but effective approach, "Stikky Night Skies" teaches the reader how to recognize six constellations, 4 major stars, a planet, and how to always determine north in the night sky. Besides showing the constellation pattern and describing how to recognize it the book contains multiple pages of actually night skies to practice on. After completing the book it is fairly simple to locate each of the constellations mentioned.

I did have one problem with the book. The gluing method used to attach the cover on my copy was of such poor quality that the cover came off with just one reading. Of course it can just be glued back on with good quality hot glue, but you would expect it to be of better quality from the beginning.

Other than this one caveat, if you want to know how to recognize a handful of constellations that you can use as a base to learn other ones, you can't go wrong with "Stikky Night Skies".

This book at first seemed too simple. Then after buying and reading it, I realized that it was perfect. The book starts slowly, teaching you how to find one star and constellation and then builds on that information. By the end of the book the reader can find several constellations, stars, etc. This information is also presented in such a way that I feel I'll retain the knowledge for life. All-in-all a good book that effectively conveys the information.

After reading this book and learning at least one thing from it you'll become acquainted with the night sky enough to help you feel at home anywhere in the world as long as you've got the stars to keep you company at night. It definitely felt that way for me when I was traveling this past month through Morocco and looked up to observe the stars in a completely different world. There's nothing like "trivial" knowledge that can make you feel wonderfully small in such a big diverse world that shares the same sky!

It's written very simply and effectively with full page spreads of images of the night sky at different rotations and visibility of the stars. The book encourages readers to take a break and let each chapter be absorbed before continuing on and to learn more practically by taking a step outside to learn directly from the night sky. It's a light book that is a delightful and exciting read because of the ease of involvement and instant sense of achievement from when you first correctly identify a constellation or which way is north.

I recommend this to anyone and everyone! I've already purchased a few copies as gifts for people I've met along the way of my travels.

I was introduced to this book while on vacation in Tortolla. A friend had it and I started reading when I saw the abundance of stars each night. It starts out with basic star finding skills and builds to identify many different constillations. Good for all who are old enough to read.

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Before the light pollution of the late twentieth-century, the stars and constellations were a fairly common part of western knowledge, and the ability to navigate by the stars was a universal skill. Much of that skill and knowledge is all but lost to the larger section of western society.

This book helps to reconnect with the environment without the use of portable electronic devices.

I was able to learn the "6 Constellations, 4 Stars, A Planet, A Galaxy, And How To Navigate At Night" (Okay, I already knew the big and little dippers and Polaris...so I had a head start.)

If you are curious about the stars and constellations, there is no easier way to learn them.

If you want astronomy pictures from NASA, look here: [http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html]

They make a great screen saver.

What a wonderful book!!! My husband borrowed this book from a friend and after one night of use, we bought it. It is amazing how quickly you can learn the stars and constellations. They were not kidding when they said it only takes an hour...we are proof, at age 60, that it can be done!! Buy it, you won't be disappointed. Also great for kids

I just returned from a sailing holiday in the Florida Keys and took Stikky Night Skies with me - The book is fantastic. The first evening out under the stars I was able to lead a pretty comprehensive tour of the night sky from the cockpit.

I had read the reviews that mention a problem with the binding but had no problems. In correspondence with the publisher they explained that an earlier print run had been problematic which has now been fully resolved.

For anyone who has a copy with a binding issue they can be reached through their own web site Stikky Dot Com. They will happily replace any title with the a binding issue a per the guarantee on the back cover.

I highly commend this title to lovers of the outdoors, campers and sailors alike.

Take this book with you on your next trip. Devote an hour to reading it, accept the simple rules, and you will never again look at the night sky in the same way. For thousands of years people examined the night sky with nothing but their eyes, their minds, their hopes and fears. Over time, they learned a remarkable amount about the near heaven. Using this book, you can regain a profound skill that helped our ancestors onto the rocky of civilization. You can learn to see the skies, to understand how space is arrayed. This can be a pleasure in itself or it can be the foundation for a plunge into astronomy. This book offers you a grand chance. After you read the first part, take a blanket, go outside, lie comfortably on the ground, and join our ancestors in the first step into the universe. And there is a bonus: you can learn how to use the sky to orient yourself in your own backyard. This book offers a glimmer of what school should be like.