The Great Atlas of the Stars (Spiral-bound)

by Serge Brunier (Author), Akira Fujii (Photographer) "Hundreds of galaxies up to billion light-years away appear in this image of the distant universe, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope..." (more)
Key Phrases: right page photo, recreational telescope, very clear sky, Milky Way, The Great Atlas of The Stars, Canis Major (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Binocular-toting amateur stargazers have a new weapon in constellation recognition with The Great Atlas of the Stars by Serge Brunier (Majestic Universe: Views from Here to Infinity). Brunier features 30 of the 88 constellations visible from earth (focusing on those visible in the northern hemisphere) and offers details about the major stars in each: the luminosity of Cancer's "beehive cluster," for example, or the diameter of Perseus's supergiant star Mirfak. Many of Akira Fujii's gorgeous photographs of the night sky are overlaid with a clear Mylar sheet marked with the names of the constellation's stars and the celestial dot-to-dot of their shapes.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up-Replete with huge, eye-filling star fields, this oversized astronomical atlas will dazzle both beginning sky watchers and young experts. Selecting 30 of the 88 standard constellations, nearly all of which are visible from the Northern Hemisphere, Brunier provides profiles of the major stars, nebulae, and other phenomena. The profiled objects are located and labeled on Mylar overlays-a neat device for quick orientation to the actual sky. Fujii uses unspecified photographic techniques that fill each image with a carpet of colored stars, while making those that form the constellations stand out; the effect is as beautiful as it is useful. Enhanced by simplified diagrams, specific advice for watching and photographing the nighttime sky, and a concluding table of the 290 brightest stars, this volume makes an appealing companion for more comprehensive but less lavishly illustrated guides, such as Michael E. Bakich's Cambridge Guide to the Constellations (Cambridge, 1995). One caveat: floppy covers and a spiral binding make The Great Atlas an unwieldy guide for field use, but then, how many libraries allow their reference books out at night?-John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 112 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books (October 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552096106
• ISBN-13: 978-1552096109
• Product Dimensions: 14.2 x 10.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #158,563 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book..., April 26, 2002

By	John Rummel (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There must be quite a risk associated with using the adjective "great" in the title of a book when actually describing the book itself. Serge Brunier probably decided he was safe in doing so when Akira Fujii signed on as the photographer for this beautiful constellation atlas. In addition to the breathtaking wide-field shots of Fujii, the book contains numerous images by other amateur and professional astrophotographers. It is the images of Fujii that steal the show, however, along with the expert editorial judgment of Brunier, that make this an unquestionably great book.

I have a fair amateur knowledge of the night sky, but while browsing the Great Atlas, I feel as though I am seeing these constellations for the first time. The layout is so elegant and simple that it tends to hide how thoroughly well-thought-out it really is.

Each two-page spread is made up of three basic elements. 1) On the right is a beautiful 10.5 x 14 inch wide-field constellation shot by the legendary Japanese astrophotographer Fujii. 2) On the left facing page is the constellation name, season for best observing, some history, a schematic showing the major landmarks, and three close-up detail photos of interesting stars or other objects in the vicinity, with brief descriptions. 3) Finally, there is a clear overlay for the wide-field shot with circles and labels, as well as constellation lines. The book is spiral-bound so the whole affair lays perfectly flat on your table top for easy access.

The package creates an irresistible presentation that makes for easy inspection and close examination.

Many of the constellations (e.g., Virgo, Scorpius), have an additional page with an enlargement of the Fujii photo of the previous page, highlighting a particularly interesting region of the photo. The enlargements are primarily the photographs of David Malin (Anglo-Australian Observatory) with higher magnification, though many readers will recognize the work of others as well. Besides Fujii, the astrophotography of such well known amateurs as Jerry Lodriguss, John Gleason, and Bill and Sally Fletcher are also represented. Additionally, professional images from the European Southern Observatory, the National Optical Astronomical Observatories, and the Space Telescope Science Institute are used as well.

The selection of objects highlighted on the left page-panel is a mix of some standard deep sky objects (e.g, M13) and exotic variable, double, or otherwise interesting stars. Most of these objects are easy targets for amateur scopes, but there are a few exotic ones thrown in for good measure as well (e.g, the "pistol star" in Sagittarius).

This text component meshes very well with the photographs. The information included is a perfect compliment to the photography. Not too much but a balance that feels just right. The brief descriptions of these varied objects provides just enough information and visual stimulation that leaves me wanting more. I was prompted in several cases to pull additional references off the shelf and read about several interesting red giant stars, and also added several telescopic double stars to the "must see" list for my next observing session.

I have a few very small quibbles: the Big Dipper is treated as a constellation, some star names are spelled with unusual variants, and throughout, "zeta" is spelled "dzeta." These quibbles are relatively small though, given a book of this value and stature.

Perhaps the best way to explain my feelings about this book is to say it is the visual equivalent to the three-volume Celestial Handbook. What Robert Burnham did with poetry and mythology, Brunier and Fujii do with photography.

All the above verbiage notwithstanding, I simply cannot express to you how beautiful this book really is. It is not expensive. Buy it. Now.

Why are you still reading this? Go.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful - though mine had assembly problems, March 11, 2002

By	Starlancer (Lawrenceville, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. After seeing it praised on various online astronomy forums I bought it. When I first received mine I thought something was very wrong. Some of the overlays were not in the right place. I've been into astronomy off and on for 20+ years and know the constellations pretty well, and the photo for Virgo, for example, was completely missing Spica, though it was shown on the overlay. Humm... After some head scratching and wondering whether to send it back, I realized the page numbers were out of sequence in places toward the front of the book. Fortunately, the way the spiral binding is made, it was relatively easy to remove the pages and re-assemble them, though nearly half the book had to be taken apart. When re-assembled everything was right, except that I am missing the page that contains pp 10-11, each of which is half of a full page spread...P>Still, this is an absolutely beautiful book, if slightly misnamed. It isn't an "atlas" in the normal sense and doesn't cover the entire sky, though it is very helpful for locating many objects it shows. If you love beautiful astrophotography, or just want the most impressive coffee table book around to help illustrate why you love astronomy, take a look at this. Even at the [$$$] list price and with the minor problem my copy has, I'd consider it well worth it!

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice idea but badly executed, December 16, 2002

By	STEVEN OROURKE (Southern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I agree that the photos are wonderful. However, the editors/writers aren't very skilled in astronomy, or even checking accuracy. The concept of the book is to link the star photos to other photos of higher resolution and to append to that a useful paragraph of info. Unfortunately, the circled areas on the main photo (using the plastic overlay) often do not match the same field as the referenced close-up photo. Moreover, the text is often too little, unrelated, or just plain weak. It would have been very easy to get this right but that didn't happen in this edition; very frustrating. So, if you like awesome photos then the book is nice; as an astronomical tool it is fairly useless. Let's hope the next edition does better.