Product Description

A brand-new edition of this bestselling Gem, featuring individual charts for all 88 constellations, a star atlas of the entire sky and details of the brightest stars and objects of interest which can be seen with the naked eye, binoculars and small telescopes. Collins Gem Stars provides details of all 88 constellations of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, complete with star charts and a star atlas of the entire sky, ideal for practical observation of the stars throughout the world all year round.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23605 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion are authors of the Collins Pocket Guide to Stars and Planets and The Monthly Sky Guide (CUP). Ian is editor of Norton's Star Atlas and the Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy, and author of Star Tales. Wil is author of Sky Atlas 2000.0.

Customer Reviews

A brilliant pocket guide for all astronomers
This is a brilliant little book which will delight experienced amateur astronomers as well as beginners because along with the clear and concise text, there are excellent maps of the constellations by one of the world's leading celestial cartographers. It is a book every amateur should carry in the pocket of his observing suit!

An essential reference book
This guide is of immense depth and a very good value. A beginner will benefit from the 22 pages long Introduction explaining all the main astronomy terms. 18 detailed maps of the sky for both Northern and Southern latitudes are very helpful, too.

Articles on every constellation give essential information for both beginners and advanced astronomers. The articles are accompanied by very detailed maps showing all the neighbours of a certain constellation (so that you can easily find it in the sky) and also mentioning the interesting features you can see in your binoculars or telescope.

Plus there are many more helpful sections (e.g. a table of annual meteor showers) and a few beautiful photographs of galaxies and nebulae. The pocket size of the book (just 8x12 cm) makes it very light and easy to carry - a perfect reference book!

Essential purchase for rookie stargazers
This little paperback may stand barely 5mm taller than your bog standard 330ml can of coke (and about as thick as a roll of polo mints), but it packs in a hell of alot of information.... with detailed charts of every constellation in the Northern & Southern hemisphere, and a bit of blurb about the hi-lights to accompany them.
If you're just starting out in Astronomy, I recommend this as one of the books to get you started on my Astronomy website... in addition to Astronomy (Kingfisher Pocket Guides) or Stargazing (Collins Need to Know?)