Three Hundred and Sixty Five Starry Nights: An Introduction to Astronomy for Every Night of the Year (Paperback)

~ Chet Raymo (Author) "The map at the left shows all of the stars we will study during January-and more..." (more)
Key Phrases: old star maps, large proper motion, northern observers, Milky Way, Big Dipper, Alpha Centauri (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

THE AMATEUR STARGAZER'S ULTIMATE HOME COMPANION

365 Starry Nights is a unique and fascinating introduction to astronomy designed to give you a complete, clear picture of the sky every night of the year. Divided into 365 concise, illustrated essays, it focuses on the aesthetic as well as the scientific aspects of stargazing. It offers the most up-to-date information available, with hundreds of charts, drawings, and maps-that take you beyond the visible canopy of stars and constellations into the unseen realm of nebulae and galaxies.

This simple yet substantial text is full of critical information and helpful hints on how to observe the stars; describe their position; calculate their age, brightness, and distance; and much more. Whether you observe the sky with a telescope or the naked eye, 365 Starry Nights makes the infinite intimate and brings the heavens within your grasp. Keep this invaluable, informative guide close at hand, and you'll find that the sky is the limit 365 nights a year.

About the Author

Chet Raymo is the author of The Soul of the Night and Honey from the Rock. He is a professor of physics and astronomy at Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (January 30, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671766066
• ISBN-13: 978-0671766061
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,984 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

142 of 144 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Publisher of 'Astronomy Digest' E-Zine, August 14, 1999

By A Customer

Chet Raymo takes a Reader's Digest approach to Astronomy and presents the wonders of the universe in an enjoyable and easy to read manner. The book is divided into 365 segments to give a clear picture of the sky every night of the year. This is an Excellent book to learn the sky and constellations. The main focus of the book is naked eye astronomy, but would also be useful for binocular and small telescope observers. The book is full of hundreds of charts, drawings, and maps that help in explaining the night sky. Rather than sitting down and reading this book from cover to cover, I enjoy reading this book throughout the year. 365 Starry Nights would be a good book for a beginner astronomer, or anyone who enjoys the night skies.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A friend to help you find all the stars in your sky., August 12, 1998

By A Customer

This lovely book is for all of the folks who swear that one picture is worth a thousand words. The beautiful, romantic illustrations make it possible for novices to easily discern what stars are in their sky on whatever day of the year it happens to be. My husband and I have enjoyed our book for ten years. Whenever we look skyward on a clear and brilliant night, we open our book to the exact day and month that it happens to be. We find wonderful drawings and lots of information about stars that are in our sky. We can see explicit pictures that diagram the constellations of the night. This book shows us the stars that we will soon be able find on the horizon and the ones that will be over our heads when we turn off our porch light and step outside. The stories of the ancient myths are compelling. The science of astronomy is infused gently by the author and the readers absorb it as if it were by osmosis.

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book is a bit cloudy at times, January 8, 2000

By	T.J. (Texas) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

I purchased this book with the hopes of getting into binocular astronomy. I realize that binocular astronomy is great, but you need more than this book. It contains good information, however, it's a bit elementary in many places. For example, one entry talks about how it's the earth that spins and not the stars, and that was it. It seems like the book covers a topic that would normally take up 2 pages of text and breaks it up into 5 starry nights. What that means is that topics continue from one day to the next, forcing you to read onward (and depending on where you jump in....backwards too). It does give great illustrations of the constellations as far as giving you a picture of what Orion would look if he were a person. It also covers some mythology about the constellations, and that makes for interesting reading. There are no star charts in this book. At best it's hand drawn stars, so purchasing a star chart is a definite plus. You can pick one up for about 10 bucks. Since the book is broken up into 365 days, its organization is a bit frustrating. For example, if you want to look at nebulas, you open the contents of the book and see that all that's listed is January...page 1, February...page 19...etc... The glossary provides some help, but doesn't even list what a nebula is, so it's VERY limited (2 pages) (On some items it references you back to pages in the book). However, on the good parts of this book. It's written so that a child can understand it, so if you're older than 10, you'll get the concept. I would suggest purchasing an additional book as a companion to this book. It's contains good info, but you're a little at the mercy of the book due to the organization of it. If you have young children, this would be an excellent book to take out with you and learn together. It's good for adults too, but is just elementary. I guess depending on the person and your purpose, that can be good, or that can be bad.