I mostly agree with the previous two reviews. This is by far the most useful pocket book I've come across for casual binocular and small telescope astronomical observing. In fact, I carry it around with me everywhere to quickly give me new things to look for when I haven't had time to develop a more formal observing plan.

My only problem with it is that it's a standard paperback book. If Collins would release a ringbound edition, the book would be significantly more practical to use outside on cold, damp nights in conjunction with binoculars and small telescopes. At least one person I know buys three copies of this book at a time, because it can get worn out so easily given a reasonable amount of active outdoor casual observing.

I would like to agree on the review I just read. This is a great little book that I can fit into my pocket ( only just ) and nip out for a quick revision whenever I am stuck somewhere with nothing to do. Excellent content all the way through. Great charts, up to magnitue 5.5 I believe.

For beginners to advanced amateurs, there is no other guide more comprehensive and better formatted than Ridpath & Tirion's Guide to Stars and Planets. For starters you can get a broad picture of the sky for any month at any location, thus avoiding the need for a planisphere. Once you've found your way from constellation to constellation, you're ready to harvest the best this book offers: There is a map of each constellation, showing the most interesting and accessible objects for viewing with naked eyes, binoculars or small telescopes. Accompanying each map are descriptions of these objects. I've tried many guides and plenty of astronomical software, but this is the guide that I always take with me and it's the first port of call for information during an observing session - there's none better. Collins, how about another print run of the superb book?

.
Stargazers residing in the Earth's northern hemisphere who are contemplating purchase of this (Northern) volume should be aware the title refers to the CELESTIAL hemisphere, not Earth's. What's the difference, you ask? Well let me tell you....

Basically, the sky atlas covers only the area from Polaris ('North Star') down to about Orion's Belt - everything south of there is contained in the 'Southern' book. Indeed, it doesn't even include the entire Orionus - cutting him off at the knees, in effect. So instead of obtaining sky maps that disclude everything south of Earth's equator (which 'uppers' normally would have little use for), this division discludes half the desired viewable sky!

The opposite is of course true for denizens of the lower-half of our dear blue vehicle.

The 'bottom line' is that to have an EFFECTIVE atlas, you're gonna have to spring for BOTH volumes - so be prepared for the extra expense.

One plus is the scale; larger even than the infamous Sky Atlas 2000.0 with its unwieldy poster-size maps of ~17×22" (add another 12" to the required footprint for an opened book; ergo 17 tall by 34" wide - a factor no one seems to consider) which pretty much relegates it (Sky Atlas) to an indoor reference, unless you have a sizeable reading table available at your viewing site!
But I digress....
The increased scale allows for finer detail, of course, and corresponds to the inclusion of stars down to magnitude 9.5 (Star Atlas limits to 8.5) with a better 'spread' for comparison to telescopic view. This greater scale with smaller pages does translate to more charts (about 260 in this one volume, ~vs~ Sky Chart's 26), but this is no complaint - the detail IS appreciated by the more studious ..of us astro-freaks. Another nicety is the generous overlap of the borders, which minimize somewhat the necessity of having to go to another page when referencing a particular area. Probably one of the 'handiest' features is inclusion in the margins of index-reference numbers to adjoining charts (sorely lacking in the Sky Atlas), which makes up somewhat for that maddening right-left reversal of borders on adjoining opened pages - the necessity of which absolutely escapes me, but for which I've seen hints of correction in the soon-forthcoming new issue.

Another plus is the textual introduction and Uranography sections preceeding the charts. Do yourself a favor and read them first - it might help you avoid the extra expense of the 'Field Guide' to better understand the valuable resource you already hold.

But as said - you need both Northern & Southern volumes to have an effective tool. So heads up!
.
*ôô*

This review refers to the 1988 edition, and to both volumes (north and south, both of which are needed to cover the whole sky. The publication of Uranometria marked a new era in sky atlases. Never before had an atlas had a large enough scale so that the view through a small telescope looked reasonbly close to what you saw on the page. Norton's and all others could not show enough stars to approximate the view through even a modest amateur telescope. Now, since Uranometria goes to stellar magnitude 9.5, and an 8-inch scope will see to magnitude 14, you can say the situation is still the same. But in fact U2000 is closer, and with a little experience matching views is a cinch, which was not always true with smaller scale atlases.

The two volumes include 473 charts, making finding the right one a bit of a chore - the flip side of a large scale. For some reason Tirion chose to arrange the charts in a weird way. Right ascension on a chart increases from right to left (naturally), but RA from one chart to the next increases left to right - so the left edge of the left hand page matches with the right edge of the right hand page. It took me a long time to get used to that.

My two volumes have been marked with comets and asteroids I've observed along the way, as well as observing notes on the deep-sky objects, so I don't know if I'll care to replace them with the new edition, even though (as I understand) the new charts, based of the Tycho and Hipparcos catalogs will be far more accurate. But for a new observer who plans to be halfway serious, and can't quite spring for the Millenium Sky Atlas, the new edition of Uranometria will be indispensible.

The Uranometria 2000 is a big step up from the old Norton's Star Atlas and a must have for any serious deep sky observing. As a comet hunter this book saves me a great deal of time working with unwieldy cd rom star atlases which, although they contain much more information on the night sky, are not as ready to hand. I reccomend this very informative and lucid atlas to anyone who has the desire to discover the mysteries of the night sky. Patrick Stonehouse

Those who consider this a really good beginners' book must not have seen Hans Rey's classic "Find the Constellations" or "The Stars: A New Way to See Them".
The latter book was "new" generations ago when my now grown children marveled at the heavens using our heavily worn hard copy of "The Stars" with Rey, and is now collecting grubby fingerprints from the frequent use by my grandchildren in our original and several paperback copies.
Part 2 of the Heifetz/Tirion book uses a labored method of originating and extending lines all over the sky from "Star n" of Asterism "m" through several other hard to define positions of far removed stars and further on to numbered or named stars in destination constellations for its "Walk Through the Heavens".
Too complicated for the purpose for beginners.
One could spend all night trying to imagine these lines in the sky while a few minutes with either of the Rey books would have the beginner naming and knowing half a dozen constellations and then star hopping to others.
Parts 1, 3 and 4 save the book. Part 3, the section on Legends of the Heavens, Milky Way, etc. is very good. Part 4, sort of a Misc. chapter has a small collection of good viewing information.
The book is a good buy, but the Rey books are a lot better for learning the constellations for any age group, and only slightly more expensive.
The Time-Life Skywatching/Advanced Skywatching volumes for a few more bucks are a little more advanced but orders of magnitude better for beginning teenagers, adults or advanced elementary schoolers and provide a lot more bang for your buck.

This book makes finding constellations in the Northern Hemisphere(the author has a similar book for the Southern Hemisphere)an interesting and successful endeavor. It is not just for youngsters, but for anyone with an interest in learning how to find constellations and the names of the major stars. The diagrams illustrate the relationships between stars and constellations in simple drawings that make it like an easy-to-read roadmap. It builds from the pointer stars of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) to all the constellations and how to find them. Instead of frustration and doubt you'll feel the exhilaration of discovery.

Besides the stars and their relationships to each other, there is also a "Legends of the Heavens" section that tells the myths and stories of the major constellations. They are fascinating and not limited to children. This book can open up the heavens for anyone who wonders about the stars. It can lay a foundation by simplifying the sky. Once these basics are learned, the universe and hobby of astronomy can be pursued to whatever depth you want. This book is a MUST for anyone wanting to be successful in satisfying their curiosity about the locations of constellations and their relationships to each other.

...Or at least, it will help you to identify them.

I have always been interested on space. However, I have never taken a single astronomy class, and there is a huge difference between knowing about astronomical objects and identifying them on the sky. I had seen some maps, but they were overwhelming.

This book changed it all. It starts with identifying one constellation, and from there it takes you to many stars. It is a very useful first step.

A great companion book for this one is "Secrets of the Night Sky". As I told in my review of that one, "A Walkthrough" will show you how to locate stuff. "Secrets" will let you know what you are watching.

This book doesn't have any information for the dummy in the astronomy. The book is more like a museum guide to the starts. The information on this book is nothing new and it doesn't teach you about telescopes or related topics.

Great little book for the beginner.Portable,so you can take it with you on your nighttime prowling of the universe.Written in a manner that newbies such as myself can understand.A good companion to all my other amateur astronomy books.Inexpensive,as well.Not as comprehensive as those other books,but this is a field guide,and it serves its purpose well.

The Peterson guide is small and compact, but packed with information. When you can't take a huge volume with you, this fits the bill perfectly. I take it on cycling tours and hiking trips, where it fits nicely in a pannier or pocket. It's easy to understand, too - I gave a copy to my young neice for Christmas last year.

Gary Mechler has written an easily readable description of the night skies and also gives a good account of the universe in general. Although a part of Audubon's First Field Guide series intended for readers 9-12, this well illustrated book could be a good starting point for a reader of any age. It starts with an overview of what astronomy is, and then progresses to lively descriptions of the universe and its contents starting with the big and far away, and coming progressively closer to our planet in our solar system. The second part of the book consists of star charts by the renowned stellar cartographer Wil Tirion. These beginner level charts of the most important constellations, feature enough binocular and telescope objects to keep a beginning telescope owner busy for many evenings. There are many color images of the constellations charted (some taken by the reviewer), so that you can compare the map with a photo of the real sky on a cloudy evening. The book ends with a useful reference section containing a glossary, tables of astronomical events such as eclipses, meteor showers, etc., a good further reading list, and usable index. The only criticism I can level at this handy and attractively priced book is that the signatures or parts of the sewn binding started to separate slightly almost immediately on opening the book a few times.

it is pretty good book for youngsters I think it's really good it has some things that you might have not ever heard before.But now it's outdated somewhat because it doesn't tell when the stars are in in 2002 or 2003. But really anything else on it's great. the other problem is that it doesn't show ou not much things on earth as jupiter or any other planet on in the glossary. It has customary measurement and metric if you want to know.

Wil Tirion's sky altas is a must for any astronomer. Every astronomer I know has some version. This atlas comes in many varieties, but they all contain the same information. Options are:

a)black stars on white or white stars on black,

b)unbound, spiral, soft cover, hard cover, and laminated.

If you plan to use your copy under dark skies, choose the black star on white version. Skip all versions of the white stars on black - they are just too difficult to see. A major shortcoming of this atlas is the lack of constellation lines. This makes locating the point of interest much more difficult in the dark. You can draw helpful lines and other notes rather easily on the unlaminated, white background charts, so that's the version I chose.

To protect your investment from the dew, you can put your copies in a laminated portfolio, available from office supply stores. You can slide out your chart to make notes, then replace it to keep it dry. This will also allow you to view 2 pages at a time - less chart flipping when what you want to see is near a chart's edge.

You need to get a version of this atlas, just make sure you get the one that best serves your needs.

With the new edition of the popular Sky Atlas 2000, Wil Tirion has increased the number of objects and stars (stars are now displayed down to mag 8.5), improved the "binning" of stars- that the sizes of the do not make quantum jumps from one magnitude to the next but are more continuously sized- and improved the overall clarity and sharpness of the objects and text. All of these things are positive changes.

However, this "Deluxe" laminated edition does not function well as a field edition because it is a black star on white background edition. Such editions are not favored by deep sky observers because the reflection of one's reading light off of the predominantly white page has adverse effect on one's dark adapation. Also, the galaxies are represented as red ovals and practially disappear under red light. (A similar problem occurs with Tirion's Cambridge Sky Atas which is similarly usless for field work). If this is the case, why offer a laminated editon of the "Deluxe" (white paper, black stars) in the first place?

I was unable to find a copy of the Lamiated "Field" edition on Amazon, and, asuming that the reason for this was that the company would not manufacture a lamiated edition that was not suitable for field work, I bought it.

It is a handsome desk reference, but if you're looking for something to use out under the stars, I'd search around for the "white stars on black paper" edition.