Reviews (39)

Turn Left at Orion - Beginners Astronomy
The book was just what I wanted, reasonably priced, and promptly delivered.So far, reading it has been very informative and I want to dig into it more soon.

Excellent
Make this the first book you buy for anyone with a telescope. It is user friendly, well written and illustrated, and will ignite a passion for chasing the beautiful objects scattered through the night sky. Also useful is the guide on interesting Southern Hemisphere objects, including those in the LMC and SMC.
Turn left at Orion and you'll be right with the stars
I purchased this book and the Backyard Astronomers book at the same time.I use them both.......a lot!!This book is great because it gives you sky views (drawings not pictures) that really give you an idea of what to expect when looking up at the sky with unaided eye or through a telescope.The description that accompanies the objects of interest are well written and thought provoking. As a newbie to backyard astronomy I couldn't be more satisfied by the information I've received from this book. As others have stated, this book is a great astronomy starter book, but will inevitably be a life time companion for all of your night sky viewing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Astronomy    3. Astronomy - General    4. Astronomy - Star Guides    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Astronomy--Amateurs' manuals    8. Cosmology & the universe    9. Popular astronomy    10. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (10)

Sky & Telescope's Pocket Atlas is now my FIRST reference
Having had it for two star parties now, it's become my favorite reference.
S&K and Sinnott Trump All Other's With New User Friendly Astral Guide!
S&K's new Pocket Sky Atlas is the triumphal culmination of years of research and thoughtful formatting work. Quite simply, it represents the easiest to use "at the scope" guide yet available. I highly recommend this work for the neophyte star gazer, as well as the most seasoned amateur astronomer.

Wouldn't want to go out with out it
There are two small atlases I consider to be absolutely indispensable.Sky and Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas is one of them.The charts in this atlas were well chosen.Each covers just the right amount of sky to give both a good perspective of the area you are looking at, and enough detail for star hopping with binoculars or finder scope, (stars are shown down to magnitude 7.6).Stick figures highlight the constellations to provide an easy and intuitive reference for what part of the sky the chart covers.An all sky view key of the charts is provided at the back of the book so that charts are easily located.The charts are well organized and very easy to navigate.
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Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Astronomy - Star Guides    3. Science    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Star Observation   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Astronomy - General    4. Astronomy - Star Guides    5. Atlases - General    6. General    7. Reference    8. Science    9. Star Observation    10. Astronomical charts & atlases   

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Astronomy - Star Guides    3. Astrophysics & Space Science    4. Multiple stars    5. Observations    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Science / Astronomy    9. Stars, interstellar matter   

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Science    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Science / Astronomy    5. Stars, interstellar matter   

Reviews (4)

telescope accessories
an excellent aid for viewing the sky and locating interesting bodies in the constellations.

Good planisphere
Actually I would give this planisphere a rating of 3.5 rather than 4. It is a good planisphere overall. The plastic it is made of is of good quality & it comes in a plastic cover for storage. Instructions are printed on one side for the beginner, and they are brief yet very explanatory. Blue ink against a white background make this planisphere very easy to read under filtered red light since the blue appears black under red light. However, I find it lacks detail. Although all constellations are on it, only a few Messier objects are plotted. I've seen other planispheres with much more detail. Another thing it lacks is a list of the planets & when they are best viewed. I've seen this list on many other planispheres, but not on this one. The bottom line, however, is that this is a very good planisphere for those beginners who want to learn well the constellations.

A useful tool- convenient; practical; durable.
A rotating starfinder like this one (often referred to as a "Planisphere") effectively shows how the night sky looks at any given time on any night of the year. For instance, if it's 10 p.m. on April 30th, just line up April 30th on the outer wheel with 10 p.m. on the inner wheel. The starfinder will thus display the position and orientation of the constellations that are visible to you at that time. As time passes, celestial objects "drift" from east to west due to the Earth's rotation. Occasional adjustment (rotating the planisphere's inner wheel to keep up with passing time) will sustain an accurate representation. As with any night-time observing aid, it should be viewed with red light.Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Constellations    3. Maps    4. Nature / Star Observation    5. Planispheres    6. Science    7. Science / Astronomy    8. Star Observation    9. Stars   

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Atlases    3. Atlases - General    4. Moon    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Astronomical charts & atlases    8. Moon - Atlases    9. Popular astronomy    10. Science / Astronomy    11. The Moon   

Reviews (9)

Good techincal stuff - but out dated information
The book is well written and good reference for
Buy this before you buy a telescope!
Excellent overview of current offerings, along with something rarely found - specific recommendations.A must have before making an initial investment in a telescope, eye pieces, or other accessories.

Brilliant trilogy
This has got to be the best and most comprehensive book on everything to do with astronomical equipment. Reading all three editions not only fully equips you with the knowledge on which scope (or binoculars) is best for your needs, but also serves as a "historical" overview of scopes from the past. What I especially liked about the book is that it has exhaustive reviews of scopes and they are split into different categories and brand names (yup brand names and makes are mentioned in the book). Also has a homemade astronomer section that is veryuseful. Plus, in the 1st and 2nd edition, there is a section on observing (with eyepiece impression sketches). I was disappointed that this section was left out in the third edition but then this spawned Phil's other book "Starwatch". Highly recommended!!!!!!!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Astronomical Instruments    3. Astronomy - General    4. Consumer Behavior - General    5. Consumer Buying Guides    6. Guidebooks    7. Handbooks, manuals, etc    8. Purchasing    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Star Observation    12. Telescopes    13. Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods    14. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (45)

Great Amateur Astronomy Manual
I find this book to be the best all-round manual for beginning and experienced amateur astronomers. It has great explanantions for the range of natural phenomena in the sky. The authors make them very accessible and easy for the general reader (ones who know little about astronomy). Their tips for observing the universe are great and useful. I hope they will update their book soon; the telescope advice is out of date. Go to telescopes and CCD astronomy are more common and inexpensive. Even so, the book is highly recommend as a manual for the amateur astronomer. If astronomy clubs are starting a library, this is the first book they should buy.

Outstanding for beginning to intermediate astronomers
This is one of the few books you can put in the hand of a novice and say "This is It!"It is comprehensive and informative in all areas of amateur astromomy from choosing the best telescope (one that you will use, not necessarily the most expensive) for your goals and objectives, to finding all manner of planets, stars, nebulas, and other objects in the night sky.It even covers astrophotography and the equipment necessary to take the pictures you desire.I found this book very informative and helpful and its price will definitely save you a bundle in mispurchased equipment if you follow the advice of the authors.An excellent, easy-to-read book for all amateur astronomers.

Overall a great guide, an asset to most astronomers.
A good guide for the hands on astronomer. Answers the questions on which eyepiece is best for which job, what filter accessories should be used. What accesories suite the beginner. How much do you gain in spending more on a more expensive setup vs a more moderate setup. Like any book written it has some blind spots and some opinion on equipment choice of Mounts and the necesity of GPS that I find questionable based on my experience, of the improvement in accuracy provided. Thats what netted it 4 stars instead of five. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Astronomie    3. Astronomy    4. Astronomy - General    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Manuels d'amateurs    7. Science    8. Science & Nature - Astronomy    9. Science/Mathematics    10. Star Observation    11. Subjects & Themes - Plants & Animals    12. Astronomical photography    13. Astronomy - Amateurs' manuals    14. Popular astronomy    15. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (1)

Clear and Concise presentation
This book is one of the set texts for the Third Level Open University course, "The Energetic Universe" and provides a good introduction to the subject of Astrophysics. Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - Star Guides    2. Astrophysics    3. Science    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Stars    6. Science / Astronomy    7. Stars, interstellar matter   

Reviews (1)

amazing engineering feats
You can think of this as a course in very specialised antenna design. Certainly, the broad concepts would be immediately recognisable to any engineer who has built antennas. But here the sources that are being detected are at far reaches indeed. Correspondingly, the sizes of each radio dish far exceeds your typical antenna in industrial or military use.
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Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Cosmology    3. Radio Astronomy    4. Radio interferometers    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Star Observation    8. Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods    9. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (2)

Beautiful images
That book is about the sun, but the sun is so much more than just the sun. The sun gives us amazing Northern Lights, sparkling solar coronas, mysterious green flashes, wonderful halos, pillars and so on, and so on.The book has inspiring pictures of all these phenomenas.One also will see the pictures of prominences and flares. I really recommend that awesome book.
Awesome Pictures
This little book has amazing pictures of the Sun.Great little conversation piece for the coffee table...especially if you've worked on some of the missions that took the pictures. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Astronomy - Solar System    3. General    4. Photography Of Specific Subjects    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Star Observation    8. Subjects & Themes - General    9. Sun    10. Photographs: collections    11. Photography / General    12. Popular astronomy    13. The Sun   

Editorial Review

The third edition of Read more

Reviews (58)

Novice?It's perfect.Expert?You'll enjoy it.Buying a telescope?You need it!
I can't say "thank you" enough to Terence Dickinson for this book.His writing is so engaging, and he makes things very easy to understand.The star maps are fantastic and the photos are stunning.Perhaps the most important thing to me, though, was the section on buying a telescope.As I was in the market for a new scope, and hadn't even looked through a scope in nearly 6 years, I really needed some advice.I'd never even heard of a Dobson telescope until I read this book.I was especially intrigued by Mr. Dickinson's comment on his not understanding why more people don't own Dobsons, as they provide large aperture for relatively low cost.I started doing more research after reading this, and today I am the proud owner of a 10" Dobson scope, an Orion Intelliscope XT10.That part aside, though, I've had many hours of enjoyment from "Nightwatch" and know it will be one of my constant companions for many years.

Begin the Journey
Whether you're just mildly interested in Astronomy or have decided to take up star gazing as a hobby this is the essential book to start you on a fascinating journey.
Great Book!
I got this book for my husband and it is one of the best basic astronomy books out there.He LOVES this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Astronomy - General    3. Astrophysics & Space Science    4. Atlases    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Observers' manuals    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Star Observation    10. Stars    11. Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods    12. Astronomy - popular works    13. Popular astronomy    14. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (8)

good introduction, but....
This book is a good introduction to astronomy, but, they put the answers for all the tests right next to (and often directly underneath) the questions. That makes it very hard to take the tests sincerely because it's so easy to accidentally glance at the answers.

a nice little book for intro to astronomy
Obviously there are no people who are completely clueless about astronomy since we all were taught as children (at least I was) about the planets in our solar system and about other galaxies.Beyond that most people would not know much about astronomy;which is where this nice little book comes in handy.It has enough information on astronomy subjects without mathematics and without being textbook-like. I think the value of this book is the combination of illustrations and text thatstimulate an interest to explore the topics(in another, more extensive book)if this is so desired. And if not, then it is still a good overview of astronomy.Good book for the price!

Yet another deceptive book...
Wanting to teach myself a little astronomy, I purchased this book, since it somehow had acquired a noble status among similar literature. Upon receiving the book and looking through it, I simply wondered "how?". It seems that most books of this type suffer from similar defects. The design seems to be based off a children's activity book. Wide margins, plentiful empty, white space, and text that is big and ugly. Is it possible to publish a book of this purpose with a crisp, small font, several paragraphs per page, and clean, sharp diagrams/illustrations? Apparently not. Perhaps I'm alone in desiring an efficient, textbook-like layout. It seems possible that the complete text of this book could have been printed on 50 pages. Anyway, there's more. The book has been reprinted several times due to its popularity. Again, I'm at a loss for why. Though the cover, perhaps, has changed, the photos that litter its pages, seem to have not. Imagine for a moment taking a photo of Jupiter through a sheet of black tracing paper. Now imagine the resultant sharpness and resolution. Breathtaking, no? The overall quality of diagrams, illustrations, and photos is woeful. Lastly, this book, in sharing the rudiments of astronomical science felt compelled to discuss the wonderful world of SETI!!! SETI is a money-sucking escapade in speculative failure.This book, as most others do, discussess the pseudo-scientific merits of the SETI program, complete with reproductions of the diagrams we've sent along into outer space of a generic ( though peaceful looking), naked man and woman.Hmmm...You will find some science in this book, but if you hope to master the basics of astronomy and take part in an honest discussion regarding the limited understanding we still have of many things universal, I recommend looking elsewhere. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Astronomy (General)    3. Astronomy - General    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Star Observation    7. Study & Teaching    8. Popular astronomy    9. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (17)

Turn the crank
Heavy on getting you the answer and light on the specifics of the theory behind getting you there, Practical Astronomy with your Calculator does exactly what the author purports -- gives you a simple set of equations that will tell you the wheres and whens of astronomical phenomena.

Awesome introduction to Astronomy
I read this book way back in 1989 in India at IIT library, Excellent Value
Amateur astronomers will be able to solve a multitude of practical problems with this book.If you are short on funds and have time to explore, this is the book for you.It is well organized and reasonably complete.Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Astronomy - General    3. Astronomy - Star Guides    4. Calculators    5. Problems, exercises, etc    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Star Observation    9. Astronomy--Problems, exercises, etc    10. Popular astronomy    11. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (1)

A great by-the-telescope companion to Southern observers
I love this book. It has been my sole companion during long nights of telescope observation. Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Astronomy    3. Astronomy (General)    4. Astronomy - General    5. Astronomy - Star Guides    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Southern sky (Astronomy)    9. Star Observation    10. Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods    11. Astronomy--Amateurs' manuals    12. Popular astronomy    13. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (12)

Amazing Introduction to a Very Esoteric Subject
Einstein's general theory of relativity is perhaps one of the most mathematically intense areas of research any physicist or astronomer could undertake.However this book takes the subject and turns it into a joyous romp through curved spacetime.
Excellent delivery!
This book was delivered in immaculate condition and is exactly how I was hoping it would be. Thank you for your product and i hope to do business with you again!
Gives an intuitive understanding of General Relativity
This book sidesteps the hard work needed to motivate and develop the Einstein field equations, and goes directly to one of the most important solutions of the equations, the Schwarzschild solution, which gives rise to the concept of a black hole. By exploring what observers in different parts of space-time would experience along their different trajectories (whether falling into a black hole or watching from a safe spot far away), Taylor and Wheeler manage to convey an intuitive understanding for such typical GR "paradoxes" such as the fact that the same "event" (the crossing over of an object through the event horizon) can be seen to take 15 minutes, or forever, depending on who's watching it.
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Subjects:  1. Aeronautics & Astronautics    2. Astrophysics & Space Science    3. Black Holes    4. Black holes (Astronomy)    5. General Relativity Theory    6. General relativity (Physics)    7. Physics    8. Relativity    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Mathematics for scientists & engineers    12. Relativity physics    13. Science / Astronomy    14. Stars, interstellar matter   

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Astronomy - Universe    3. Astrophysics & Space Science    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Science / Astrophysics & Space Science    7. Stars, interstellar matter   

Reviews (3)

Another excellent observing guide
What Stephen James O'Meara accomplished with his excellent book "The Messier Objects" (Deep Sky Companions), he has duplicated in this volume with the Caldwell Objects.
"Armchair Astronomers" will love this book!
When Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore had his list of interesting objects , 109 in all , published in the December , 1995 issue of Sky and Telescope magazine , it became an instant "hit" with the amateur astronomical community. The list "mirrors" the list of Messier objects in number , and offers a real challenge to neophyte "deep sky" observers. An Observers Delight
Stephan James O'Meara has done it again! In the fashion of his book on Mesier Objects, he has again produced a book that will guide and inform the lover of the night sky armed with a telescope. In chapter one he begins with a story involving an old man and Arcturus which deeply moved me, and later my wife when I read it to her, and which lead naturally into why we observe the nght sky so passionately. The bulk of the text, however, is in the second chapter where the author describes each of the 109 Caldwell objects in detail.Each object has a astrophotograph, his eyepeice impression drawing, a finder chart and visual description done in such elegance that everytime I read it I am awed all the more by what I am observing. In addition, Stephan has included interesting historical and astrophysical information about each of the objects. As I observe firsthand these objects with his book on my lap I am amazed at what I can see that I would not have seen without Stephan's guidance. This is a masterpeice for the avid observer! Thanks, Stephan. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Science    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Star Observation    5. Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods    6. Cosmology & the universe    7. Popular astronomy    8. Science / Astronomy    9. Stars, interstellar matter   

Reviews (13)

Fallen from grace
I've used this book for years with happy results. I've often impressed friends with my knowledge of planetary positions in the night sky by using the "planetary longitude" table in the appendices.
Excellent Guide
If you're interested in studying the night sky by eye, this is an awesome guide. The explanations are clear, the charts are great, and the background material is interesting. It will tell you what you can see up there, how to find it, and when you'll be able to see it, which was exactly what I was looking for. This book has everything you need to appreciate your backyard view more fully.

'Out on the lawn I lie in bed...'
For those who remain spellbound by the canopy of night with all the beauty and mythology and mystery gazing at the stars brings to mind, this book is a godsend.Without requiring previous courses in astronomy and without spending hours cross referencing words to match constellations to match positions to match meanings, this book comfortably and beautifully offers maps and photographs, essays and information that make looking heavenward all the more exciting.The writing is accurate, updated, understandable to the novice, and makes a terrific companion to seeking answers and directions to the stars and the planets.A valuable aide to your appreciation of the universe!Grady Harp, December 2004 ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Astronomy    3. Astronomy (General)    4. Handbooks, manuals, etc    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Observers' manuals    8. Star Observation    9. Nature / Star Observation