Atlas of the Night Sky (Smithsonian Institution) (Hardcover)

~ Storm Dunlop (Author), Wil Tirion (Illustrator), Antonin Rukl (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A comprehensive atlas of the night sky covering all the constellations in the northern and southern hemispheres This brand-new, large format atlas of the night sky, is aimed at readers who have developed an interest in astronomy from reading basic guides, and who have acquired some basic equipment. Their next step is to observe the fainter objects of the night sky and develop a knowledge of all 88 constellations in the northern and southern hemispheres. Star charts will cover the whole sky showing objects down to a magnitude of 6.5 (approx. naked-eye limit under clear skies). The sky is covered in 20 large-scale charts to avoid the crowding in dense star field that is found in other atlases. The projection used matches as closely as possible the observer's visual perception of the sky and minimize distortions. Lists of objects to observe and tabular data is shown on the page facing each chart. There are also charts including: / Zodiacal and neighbouring constellations, specifically designed to assist in the location of the planets, Moon and bright minor planets / The locations of certain classes of object including novae, globular clusters and open clusters / Large-scale maps of the moon prepared by lunar expert Antonin Rukl. These are accompanied by matching 'mirror image' maps for use by those who employ telescopes that introduce image reversal. Libration diagrams and drawings of lunar features are also included / Diagrams showing the visibility and positions of the major planets and the brighter minor planets over the next 5 years / 88 individual constellations with additional charts of particular areas of interest within some constellations --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Storm Dunlop is author of How to Identify the Night Sky, Wild Guide Night Sky, Gem Weather, and How to ID Weather. Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Meteorological Society, he also teaches adult education classes, and gives lectures and talks. Wil Tirion is the world's leading Uranographer and his charts have appeared in astronomy books all over the world. Antonin Rukl has published numerous books with Hamlyn, Smithmark, Stirling and others, and is widely considered to be one of the world's best lunar artists. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (November 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060818913
• ISBN-13: 978-0060818913
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #869,023 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-produced observing guide covers all the bases, December 4, 2005

By	Brian Tung (Marina del Rey, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Sometimes, it looks as though there are as many astronomy observing guides as there are astronomy authors, and all of them seem very much of a feather. That's why it's surprising why the pieces come together so well for the Collins Atlas of the Night Sky, by Storm Dunlop, Wil Tirion, and Antonin Rukl. With so much of this ground having been covered before, it's pleasantly surprising that they can present it so much better than others.

Dunlop and Tirion have collaborated before, on the Firefly Deluxe Planisphere, a thick and large planisphere with rich detail and lots of information that puts David Levy's large planisphere to shame, for only twice the price. Rukl is known for his spectacular lunar atlas, recently reintroduced by Sky Publishing after a decade-long slumber in the out-of-print stacks. Make no mistake about it, these are some heavyweights in the uranography department.

Much of this information can be obtained elsewhere. The book contains four main sections: an unaided-eye star atlas, a constellation guide, a lunar atlas, and a solar system observing guide. The star atlas is essentially drawn from the Cambridge Star Atlas, down to the same object list format. Twenty maps cover the entire night sky to a scale of about 3 degrees per centimeter, with stars to magnitude 6.5. Hundreds of deep sky objects are plotted and listed. To my initial puzzlement, I didn't find a map key, as there is in the Cambridge. I found it, after some searching, at the other end of the book, just before the index.

The constellation guide, in turn, is quite reminiscent of the same section in Ian Ridpath and Tirion's Stars and Planets. The difference is that the Ridpath and Tirion book measures just 5-by-7, and each of the constellations is constrained to fit on a single page of that book. Here, each page is 9-by-12, and the constellation maps are given a generous scale of about 2 degrees per centimeter. Stars are plotted down to magnitude 7.5, so that the stellar density remains about the same in both the star atlas and the constellation guide maps. As in the Ridpath and Tirion book, each constellation is accompanied by an annotated list of several objects of particular interest within.

Rukl's lunar atlas is drawn--hand-drawn, in fact--substantially from his well-known standalone Moon book, although the descriptions of each sector are given here in a more narrative style, rather than the spare, feature-by-feature description given in his own book. This makes it more suitable as an introduction to the Moon, though perhaps less so as a reference source for the experienced lunatic. Also, the scale is smaller than in his own atlas, with the Moon being divided into just 16 sectors, in a 4-by-4 square. A pair of map keys is given on each page of the atlas, with north up in both keys, but mirror-reversed from each other, to suit those observing with and without star diagonals.

The last and slightest section covers solar system observing. A few pages on celestial mechanics are followed desultorily by specific advice on observing Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and somewhat scantier tips for Uranus and Neptune. Mercury and Venus are mentioned only for the sake of locating and detecting them, and Pluto seems not to be indicated at all. In some sense, I understand this, because you really need a large telescope to find and identify Pluto, particularly if you're a beginner and therefore the target for this book. Still, I think it would have been neat to spend four pages doing a strip map of stars in the neighborhood of Pluto down to the fifteenth magnitude, and to indicate its path for the next five years. After all, the section concludes with strip maps for the other main planets, as well as hourglass diagrams for representative latitudes. Of the four parts of this book, this one was the least satisfying.

I don't want to give the impression that this book is just a Greatest Hits album for these folks. The presentation has been updated, and new features added. Detail maps are geared more for the observer, rather than the armchair astronomer. Instead of giving us the slow creep of the celestial pole around Polaris, for example, we get the much more useful map of comparison stars for Mira, the pulsating variable in Cetus the Whale, or a map of the area around the galactic center.

Beginners will still need books like Terence Dickinson's Nightwatch, to help guide them toward the right purchases and, perhaps, to inspire a love for the night sky. Once they have the bug and the tools, though, it's hard to beat this new text as a self-contained guide to the night sky for the novice. Definitely recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First class, July 29, 2006

By	Dave Holland (Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Collins Atlas of the Night Sky (Hardcover)

I did a detailed review of this text compared to "Norton's Star Atlas", 2004. This is here on Amazon, listed under Norton's text. In the interest of brevity I won't duplicate it here. Collins is far superior.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice general reference, July 11, 2006

By	TonyB "TonyB" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I had high hopes for this book and it is very nicely illustrated with Tirion's famous maps however they are a little difficult to view under red light in the field. Still, they are detailed as are the nicely air-brushed lunar maps of Antonin Rukl. It would have more appeal being illustrated with deep sky images to show what an amateur might expect to photograph or even see at the eyepiece. I think Collins pocket Guide to the Stars & Planets does an overall better job for most beginners.

Still, it is a worthy production.