Observing Books Archives

Collinder Catalog of Open Star Clusters

The Collinder Catalog

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Atlas of the Messier Objects: Highlights of the Deep Sky

My first thought when I picked the book up was that this was going to be some heavy reading. Literally. The book weighs over five pounds and measures 12 inches by 10 inches, weight and proportions combining to make the book somewhat awkward to holding while reading. This is not a book to

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New Atlas of the Moon

Initially I felt that the text reflected our present understanding of lunar geologic history. That was until I ran into an image of Alphonsus on page 79 that stated the "mysterious" dark halos around craters

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Cambridge Double Star Atlas

The book is well organized, has listings for over 2000 double stars, and includes all the Struve numbers. Every double star listed is highlighted in green on the specialized

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The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide - Book Review

I have had several false starts with the hobby, mostly due to a lack of knowledge on my part of what is proper gear and what are realistic expectations

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Cambridge Double Star Atlas

a review of the latest Double Star Atlas, and a comparison with the Pocket Sky Atlas

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In Starland with a 3" Telescope

Book review of "In Starland with a 3" Telescope"

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Celestial Sampler - A Sampling Book Review

A review of the book Celestial Sampler, a deep sky observing guide.

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The Year-round Messier Marathon Field Guide: Author: Harvard C. Pennington

n the forward to this book Perry W. Remaklus describes Harvard Pennington as a tireless promoter of the Messier Marathon. Pennington envisioned the marathon as a means of encouraging amateur astronomers, to promote their growth as observers. Unfortunately he died of heart disease prior to the publication of this book.

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SKY ATLAS 2000.0 Deluxe Version, 2nd Edition

Ever since 1981, when it supplanted Becvar's ATLAS OF THE HEAVENS 1950, SKY ATLAS 2000.0 has been truly one of the "standard" wide-field atlases for the amateur astronomer interested in locating and observing deep-sky objects. It was often the atlas most relied upon by amateurs working on the Messier or Herschel 400 observing projects. However, even with its expanded list of objects, better plotting, and fainter limiting magnitude, there was still some room for improvement in the work. I am pleased to say that most of those

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Observing Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-Sky Objects

I'm a hard-core observer and love nothing better than a good reference book with information that is relevant to my goals. Since my friend Roger and I started an Observer's Challenge with the

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Backyard Astronomer's Guide, Third Edition - Book Review

As many a new astronomer might aspire, astrophotograhy is one of the reasons for jumping into the field of astronomy. The sheer magnitude

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Sky and Telescope’s Pocket Sky Atlas - Book Review

It shows stars to magnitude 7.6 which includes all stars visible in a modest finderscope. There are 80 charts on facing pages each pair covering

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Double Stars for Small Telescopes: Sissy Haas (2006)

Pages 1-7 are an introduction to double stars, some history of observing and cataloging them, star magnitudes, the Greek alphabet, etc

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Herschel 400 Observing Guide - Book Review

Stephen O’Meara describes his observing site and the telescope he used to make all of his observations. One of the most helpful sections for someone who is new to the hobby or who has gone through the Messier list of objects is

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Turn Left at Orion: A hundred night sky objects to see in a small telescope–and how to find them...

The authors introduce beginners to the night sky; celestial motion, constellations, and the various objects one can expect to see with a modest telescope

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Astronomy Magazine Atlas of the Stars

Astronomy Magazine touts Atlas of the Stars as a must have for all stargazers

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The Urban Astronomer's Guide

Living in the South Florida Peninsula, you get used to light pollution.

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Deep Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures

Book review of Deep Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures

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Uranometria 2000.0 Second Edition (Three Volumes)

I received my copy of the brand-new and extensively revised star atlas Uranometria 2000.0 (Second Edition) this week, just published this month (November 2001) by Wilmann-Bell. It comes in three volumes (which can be purchased separately) : Volume 1 covers the northern hemisphere down to -6°, Volume 2 covers the southern hemisphere to +6°, while volume 3 is a field guide to the non-stellar objects contained in the charts - over 30,000 of them. This third volume is worthy of purchase on its own as the object detail it contains is extensive, with many positional corrections undertaken for this edition.

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Herschel 400 Observing Guide - Book Review

For many of the goals (lists) that you set, a good observing guide can be a great help. Observing guides for amateur astronomers have been popular since

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Objects in the Heavens - Book Review

Clouds move around, you sweep the sky, and suddenly you’re looking at a different area of the sky than you originally intended. But what do you look at? You just need that gentle nudge in the right direction without a lot of fuss

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"Nightwatch" by Terence Dickinson, 3rd Edition

"Nightwatch" by Terence Dickinson is one of those astronomy books that you know from the first minute you pick it up, will always be part of your library and part of your "core" observing session resources. If you are like me, keeping things simple when going out to observe is a must and "Nightwatch" certainly helps do just that.

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The Next Step, The Messier Objects, Atlas of the Messier Objects - Book Reviews

I know that in the Northern Hemisphere, Messier objects are wonderful sights to observe with the naked eye, binoculars, and telescopes. What is the ultimate book to help me get the most out of observing Messier objects?

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Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders

'Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders' is very a practical guidebook for deep sky observers

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