There are many atlases showing features on the surface of the earth, but this book is the only one (in late 1998, at least) to cover the whole universe. Patrick Moore, who has hosted BBC Radio's popular The Sky at Night program for more than 40 years, gives straightforward, though not simplistic, explanations of astronomical objects of every order of magnitude. He includes charts of every mapped body in the solar system (except Earth), as well as maps and guides to every constellation.
Throughout this encyclopedic work, Moore emphasizes information likely to be useful to amateur astronomers. He provides better coverage of comets and variable stars than do most general works, for instance, because these are areas where amateurs can make important observations. Although he includes a number of gorgeously colored pictures from the Hubble space telescope and other top-flight observatories, Moore retains a focus on what you yourself might be able to see. An excellent single-volume reference, Atlas of the Universe is also a good starting point for your own exploration of the heavens. --Mary Ellen Curtin
From Library Journal
British astronomy popularizer Moore has added yet another volume to his amazingly prolific output, this time a new edition of a reference work first published in 1970 and last completely revised in 1988. At that time, Moore wrote that a full revision would be necessary "before 2000," and the time has now arrived. With such developments as great new telescopes, Mars landings, the space shuttle, Voyager 2 flybys, and missions to Halley's Comet, so much has happened in astronomy in the last decade that this new edition (published last year in Britain as Philip's Atlas of the Universe) is as welcome as it is timely. Like its predecessors, the new edition follows the pattern of a general historical overview, followed by individual sections on the solar system, the sun, the stars, the structure of the universe and our galaxy's place in it, and over 20 useful star maps, all incorporating the newest scientific data. Recommended especially for public libraries and academic libraries collecting undergraduate-level astronomical materials, although those having any of the earlier editions will appreciate the usefulness of this new work.?Donald J. Marion, Univ. of Science & Engineering Lib., Minneapolis
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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