A Walk Through the Southern Sky: A Guide to Stars and Constellations and Their Legends (Paperback)

~ Milton D. Heifetz (Author), Wil Tirion (Author) "How do we measures the size of Scorpius or the distance between two stars?..." (more)
Key Phrases: Milky Way, Canis Major, Facing North (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This accessible book provides you with simple, straightforward maps of the southern sky constellations and the mythology of some of the more notable ones. It's a must if you're planning a trip to go observing Down Under." --BBC Sky at Night --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

"Its unique, simplified maps not only make constellations easy to find but also help locate the stars within them. Without having to use a telescope or other astronomical equipment, readers can gauge the sizes and separations between constellations, and easily move from one to the other, by simply following the book's clear instructions. In addition, the ancient myths and legends surrounding the constellations, are retold, providing a rich historical perspective." Astronomical Society of the Pacific

"Original." Forecast

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Product Details

• Paperback: 105 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1st edition (January 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521665140
• ISBN-13: 978-0521665148
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,219,125 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning the Southern Sky, April 9, 2001

By	Julio Colombo (Los Polvorines, Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews

After deciding to go into the Observational Astronomy hobby, I have been denying experts' advise for months. Although being almost a rookie, "start with a pair of binoculars", "plan your session ahead" and so on seemed trivial to me. This book helps the reader to solve which is probably the very first lesson to begin with: "learn the sky". In addition to that, it is dedicated to the Southern Hemisphere, trascendental for those who live "below" the equator. "A walk through the Southern Sky" easily and friendly explains how to reach minor constellations starting at the major ones. From Orion and Canis Major, precise highways are traced to reach Canis Minor, Cancer, Lepus and so on. From Crux and Centauri, to Vela and so on. I had started with a friend's computerized scope, and always thought that "starhopping" would be imposible for me under light-polluted skies. Probably one of the major goals of the authors is having proved me wrong. Again, if I could, anybody can!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take this one with you, September 28, 2005

By	A. G. Sanchez (Golden, Co. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I take a trip to the Southern Hemisphere on occasion and have been looking for a good compact guide to bring along with me. I find the simplified star charts really useful to get myself quickly oriented. I don't need a full blown super detailed star atlas with all kinds of unnecessary detail and clutter that I'm unable to use, and this one fits the bill in that respect.

It also covers basic mythology of the Southern Skies and makes an excellent companion to it's sister work on the Northern Skies.

If your more interested in deep sky objects of the Southern skies you'd be better off looking elsewhere as this book only lightly discusses DSO's.