Product Description

With the advent of inexpensive, high-power telescopes priced at under $250, amateur astronomy is now within the reach of anyone, and this is the ideal book to get you started. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders offers you a guide to the equipment you need, and shows you how and where to find hundreds of spectacular objects in the deep sky -- double and multiple stars as well as spectacular star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies.

You get a solid grounding in the fundamental concepts and terminology of astronomy, and specific advice about choosing, buying, using, and maintaining the equipment required for observing. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders is designed to be used in the field under the special red-colored lighting used by astronomers, and includes recommended observing targets for beginners and intermediate observers alike. You get detailed start charts and specific information about the best celestial objects.

The objects in this book were chosen to help you meet the requirements for several lists of objects compiled by The Astronomical League (http://www.astroleague.org) or the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (http://www.rasc.ca): Messier Club.

• Binocular Messier Club
• Urban Observing Club
• Deep Sky Binocular Club
• Double Star Club
• RASC Finest NGC List

Completing the list for a particular observing club entitles anyone who is a member of the Astronomical League or RASC to an award, which includes a certificate and, in some cases, a lapel pin.

This book is perfect for amateur astronomers, students, teachers, or anyone who is ready to dive into this rewarding hobby. Who knows? You might even find a new object, like amateur astronomer Jay McNeil. On a clear cold night in January 2004, he spotted a previously undiscovered celestial object near Orion, now called McNeil's Nebula. Discover what awaits you in the night sky with the Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #236132 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 519 pages

Astronomy Today, January 2008
..it will hold an easy to reach spot on my bookshelf.
(A) well thought out and well written reference book.

PHPfreakz.nl, January 2008
One thing is for sure: it is definitely a valuable addition to your book shelf and your backpack!

About the Author
Robert Bruce Thompson is a coauthor of Astronomy Hacks, Building the Perfect PC, and PC Hardware in a Nutshell. He spends most clear, moonless nights outdoors with his 10-inch Dobsonian reflector telescope, hunting down faint fuzzies, and is currently designing a larger truss-tube Dobsonian (computerized, of course) that he plans to build.

Barbara Fritchman Thompson is the coauthor of Astronomy Hacks, Building the Perfect PC, and PC Hardware in a Nutshell. Barbara worked for 20 years as a librarian before starting her own home-based consulting practice, Research Solutions, and is also a researcher for the law firm Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge, & Rice, PLLC.

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Customer Reviews

Essential purchase - should be given away with new telescopes
Most amateur astronomers have a comprehensive library of books - field guides, observing guides, star atlases and charts, and "how - to" books, not to mention the back copies of magazines saved for years because of a few useful, interesting or informative pages contained within. And with the wealth of information available online, there is no shortage of advice and inspiration for observers of all experience levels. But what do you do if you feel overwhelmed by all this, and how do you sort the "diamonds" from the "rubble", so to speak.
Until recently, you spent years experimenting and asking around for advice, making mistakes along the way, but learning all the time. Now all you need to do is buy this book!
Robert and Barbara Thompson have given the astronomical community the benefit of their years of experience, and compiled what will quite probably be the most significant astronomy book of the decade.
Written in an informal and engaging style, reading it is like having a seasoned veteran observer standing at your side to quietly offer intelligent and honest advice, and to show you how to find hundreds of the most impressive sights of the deep sky.
The book is arranged by constellations easily visible from the northern hemisphere, and lists all those objects contained in the most popular and globally accepted observing lists, such as the Messier catalogue, the RASC "Finest NGC's", and selected multiple stars.
Each object has a detailed finder chart and a black & white image, which at first glance is rather underwhelming, but is cleverly designed to be an accurate representation of what is visible in a small telescope. There is space on each page to make notes and small drawings, and a clear and concise description of how to find it and what to look for when you do.

I am rarely impressed enough to write book reviews, but in this case I have made an exception, because this is an exceptional book. It is the one I will unreservedly recommend to anyone with more than a passing interest in astronomy, who has just bought a telescope and is wondering what to do next. The Thompson's have achieved what many more eminent writers have tried but failed to do - to write a practical, informative, realistic and user-friendly guide to the night sky. Armed with a telescope, this book, and a set of star charts, you will be equipped for many productive and enjoyable years of observing, and when you have logged everything in the book, will have a valuable record of your progression from beginner to "Grand Master" of astronomy.

A comprehensive guide for anyone with a telescope
This is an excellent book. It's billed as a guide for the novice to intermediate observer, and I would say that this is quite a conservative decription. I've been observing for years with telescopes up to 10", and this book has proved immensely useful.

Essentially, it consists of an alphabetical list of the constellations. Each constellation is broken down into visible nebulae, galaxies, etc, as well as double and variable stars.

Many of the objects listed go beyond the limiting magnitude of my 10" from suburban skies, so the material could keep a hungry observer happy for quite a while.

Descriptions of objects are good, as are the instructions on finding them. However, the detailed finder charts are a little poor, with too many magnitudes of stars binned into the same dot size, which makes it hard to navigate using them. I still need to use Uranometria at the eyepiece. Having said that, this is the first field guide I've ever used that will allow me to sit at the telescope with no prior planning and just read and locate.

A good choice.