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Howard Schneider

National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Night Sky Paperback – July 7, 2009

by Howard Schneider (Author), Sandy Wood (Foreword)

194 ratings

Part of: National Geographic Backyard Guides (2 books)

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Stargazing’s too much fun to leave to astronomers. This National Geographic book brings the solar system, space, stars, science, and planets to life in your own backyard, inspiring us to look up and understand the heavens above.

Authors Howard Schneider and Patricia Daniels take an expert but easygoing approach that doesn’t overwhelm—it invites. Ten chapters cover everything a beginning stargazer will need to know, from understanding the phases of the moon to picking Mars out of a planetary lineup to identifying the kinds of stars twinkling in the constellations.

Throughout the book, star charts and tables present key facts in an easy-to-understand format, sidebars and fact boxes present illuminating anecdotes and fun facts to sweep us swiftly into the stardust, and by the time we realize we’ve been schooled in solid science we’re too engrossed to object.

Along with practical advice and hands-on tips to improve observation techniques, the guide includes an appendix full of resources—from books and web sites to lists of astronomy clubs and associations to local planetariums and museums. This indispensable book guides us on a new path into the night sky, truly one of the greatest shows on Earth.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

National Geographic
Publication date

July 7, 2009
Dimensions

5.4 x 0.69 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

9781426202810
ISBN-13

978-1426202810
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Howard Schneider is a veteran reporter who contributes regularly on science and health for the Washington Post.

Patricia Daniels has written extensively on history and science, including National Geographic Encyclopedia of Space.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1426202814
Publisher ‏ : ‎ National Geographic; Original edition (July 7, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781426202810
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1426202810
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.06 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.69 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #969,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #240 in Star-Gazing (Books)
- #1,027 in Outdoors & Nature Reference
- #1,746 in Astronomy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
194 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

194 global ratings

5 star		77%
4 star		14%
3 star		5%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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James C

Okay, but there are better options

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 15, 2014

Verified Purchase

3.5 stars. This isn't a bad book per se, but there are much better options out there; I read through most of this book before finding NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson. The Backyard Guide has some decent general information and is certainly compact, but NightWatch (now in its fourth edition, if that gives you an idea of its refinement and enduring legacy) has the edge on field usability because of its spiral binding. The Backyard Guide mentions, here and there, targets that are suitable for binocular or small telescope observation, but it really seems to be more of a general compendium of information on the basics of the night sky than a particularly helpful 'how-to' guide for someone to wants to learn the constellations and so forth. In this respect, its sections on the various constellations are pretty good. However, NightWatch does a much better job of stepping the beginning stargazer through the steps of finding common constellations and asterisms; for example, Backyard Guide mentions that your hand covers about 5 degrees of the sky, your thumb 1 degree and so forth, but NightWatch has much better illustrations of this and explanations for its use.

Overall, as someone fairly new to amateur astronomy who has read and used both, I would suggest skipping this book and getting NightWatch instead.

111 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jo H.

A book for family time

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

Hardbound edition we received seems to have the strength and endurance level to be a "lifetime" volume to hand down to the generations of stargazers. Given as a gift to our kids and grandson, we look forward to hearing about their adventures outdoors, admiring "the heavens declar(ing) the glory of God!!" Two year old regularly points out to Grandma where the moon's location is...he has an early interest! Did find that the book was more "heady" and info-filled than we'd expected. It may work in his favor, since he is brilliant ; ) as only a 2 year old grandson can be!!! We ALL LOVE the STAR MAPS!!

4 people found this helpful

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William Dobson

Handy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 11, 2020

Verified Purchase

Nice little book to have around, good for kids

Helpful

Turner Bryce

Essential Reference Material for Amateur Astronomers

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

Best astronomy book I've read this year. I have to start with the illustrations which are superb and some of which I wish could be framed. The content is well written and delves into a bit of history. The sections on the constellations are in ALPHABETICAL order! How easy it is to use it as a reference guide along with other books to maneuver your way around the subject.

3 people found this helpful

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Rick M

Great Book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

I got a telescope and wanted to share it with my grandkids. It's been a long time since I used a one and had forgotten where a lot of the things I used to look at are. This book has a lot of stuff in it to see and when to see it. I really enjoy it

4 people found this helpful

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Bob T.

Real nice book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 1, 2013

Verified Purchase

For a used book, I'm very pleased with the shape it's in. The cover looks like someone lugged it around, which it's meant to be brought outside to observe with, but the inside looks like the pages were never turned. The book itself is informative and well written with nice photos and illustrations. National Geo usually does a good job. A lot of thanks goes to the seller I got the book from for being so prompt and sending me such a nice product. (tkayrh was who I bought it from and yes that's how it's spelled)
Thanks tkayrh

Helpful

Malia Mason

Fascinating intermediate astronomy book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 21, 2013

Verified Purchase

I bought this book for my husband to use with his new 4 inch telescope and he loves it! This is a great intermediate book, maybe a little more advanced for beginners. If you buy this book with Turn Left at Orion, you'll be off to a great start finding all the messier objects in the night sky. The book also goes in depth in topics like light pollution and how to combat it, constellations, and other interesting astronomy tidbits. The pictures in the book are vivid and colorful. My husband couldn't put it down!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sandy Nicole

Happy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

Good charts and photos. Lots of info. Good index in the back. No info on planispheres but there are star charts in the book.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Mr. M. A. Spridgeon

Informative yet interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 25, 2012

Verified Purchase

A well writen and accurate account of what you will find in our night sky.
Plenty of good photo's, many illustrations that explain what you are looking for and where to look for them.
Helpful tips about telescopes, and even using your digital camera with them.

If you know someone interested in the stars, this is a perfect book for them. At 286 pages deep and only about A5 size it is a good size for reading on the go and having with you when you visit different parts of the world.

sc

Genial guide

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 17, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book is an ideal guide for everyone who wants to gain some knowledge of the sky and its phenomena.
The guide is structured into different chapters explaining how the universe works, using explination which are for all categories of readers understandable. It is escapially really good for all kind of audience from a stargazing beginner to a more experieced hobby astronomer.
I like most the star charters for spring, summer, autumn and winter which give one a good orientation for looking for different constellations and the explanations about the orign of these constellations.

3 people found this helpful

Eleasha A Thomas Fraser

Very happy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

Was a gift. The receiver was very happy.

Ranjan Mitra

Backyard Night Sky

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on February 12, 2014

Verified Purchase

This Book is book of great help for a budding star gazer. I would recommend this book for any star gazer.

One person found this helpful

Shipra

Buyer Beware!

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on July 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is a book with very superficial and general content, and meant for those who want to "show" others that they are into backyard astronomy. Although well-written and complete in its own way, it fails to address the spirit of a common stargazer who would enjoy the simple happiness of gazing into the night sky and appreciating its beauty. In one word this book is "professional". If you are really serious about taking up amateur astronomy as hobby, I suggest you go for "Nightwatch" by Terence Dickinson.

One person found this helpful

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National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Night Sky Paperback – July 7, 2009

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