Exploring the Night Sky: The Equinox Astronomy Guide for Beginners (Paperback)

by Terence Dickinson (Author), John Bianchi (Illustrator) "Nothing in our universe moves faster than light..." (more)
Key Phrases: Big Dipper, Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6 ``If starships are ever developed, there will be no shortage of destinations.'' With clarity and enthusiasm, Dickinson presents a look at the high frontier, combining a ``universe in 40 jumps'' sort of tourtaking readers from the Moon (1.3 light-seconds) to the galactic field in general (300 million light-years)with a quick spin about the solar system, adding season-by-season charts of the salient planets, stars, and constellations visible from North America. Dozens of color paintings and some photographs accompany the text, and there is a page of advice on choosing and using binoculars and telescopes. The information is readily available elsewhere, but not so engagingly presented. Thus this is a good additional purchase for heavily-used astronomy collections. John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Winner of the 1987 New York Academy of Sciences Children's Science Book Award, Exploring the Night Sky is aimed at novice star gazers anxious to expand their astronomical repertorie beyond the Big and Little Dippers. Dickinson has designed a superb introduction to astonomy that is clear, concise, and very "user friendly" no matter what the child's age. 50 color photographs and illustrations.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books (February 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0920656668
• ISBN-13: 978-0920656662
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #246,000 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget about children, this book is great for adults too!, January 13, 2000

By	Luciano Dalle Ore (Cupertino, CA) - See all my reviews

This book is great for anyone who (like me) has never been able to figure out stars beyond the big dipper or to understand what are the relationships of scale between stars, galaxies, clusters, etc.... Adults (including me and my father, age 73) will enjoy this book as much as (probably even more) than children.

Not only it contains celestial maps that make it easy to find the stars, but also it gives some extremely useful tricks for finding them (i.e. using your fist to estimate 10 degrees of arc). Finally, it gives some extremely well narrated and illustrated examples of relative astronomical dimensions, starting from the distance between the earth and the moon and ending with the distances between galaxies. Definitely the best first book to buy to get a clear idea what our universe is all about.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The bok that hooked me onto astronomy, February 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Exploring the Night Sky: The Equinox Astronomy Guide for Beginners (Equinox Children's Science Book Series) (Library Binding)

This wonderful book is the one that got me hooked onto astronomy when I was just an 8-year old boy. Now as I am in college and studying astronomy, this book even though old (written c. 1986), has not lost its charm and magic to me. The best part of this book is the beautifully rendered paintings of the night skies and other sights around the universe, which will leave you breathless and in awe of the majestic canvas of the skies. I give it a 2 thumbs up and many stars!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good way to introduce children to Astronomy, August 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Exploring the Night Sky: The Equinox Astronomy Guide for Beginners (Equinox Children's Science Book Series) (Library Binding)

This book won the New York Academy of Sciences award for children's science literature. And with good reason. The pictures are out of this world. The constellation maps are the easiest to use out of any I have seen. If you are thinking about buying a telescope for your child, you may want to get this book first. It will help you make a decision about how to buy your first telescope, and ensure that your child knows what he or she is looking at.