Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas

Customer Reviews:

Great Star Atlas.......2007-09-21

This is a wonderful little star atlas. Very useful for doing the Astronomical league's Messier Club. In the back of the book (last page, very easy to find) is the messier list with the page number of the item.

In the front of the book are other lists.

It's very portable but at the cost of small pages and constellations often run off the page. The pages do have a decent amount of overlap which helps when star-hopping.

The one thing I wish it had and was why I gave it four stars instead of five, I wish the pages were somehow coated so that dew wouldn't make the pages soggy. The pages are tougher than standard paper, but not dew proof.

Great Little Atlas.......2007-09-01

This atlas fills a real need for a pocket atlas that is easily carried and consulted in the field. Highly recommended.

Great Pocket Atlas.......2007-06-27

Features I like:

+ Highly detailed & labeled however not over-detailed.
+ Spiral bound is very handy.
+ Made of good quality paper.
+ Small (like medium notebook) and light weight - great for backyard observations. You don't sprain your hand when you carry it.
+ Great bargain for small price!
+ Good Index including Messier objects.
+ Detailed maps of pleaids, Virgo clusters etc.

Features I like less:

- Its size is also a disadvantge: divided to many charts that sometimes makes you confused. Can be difficult to navigate if you don't have a basic knowledge of sky.
- The spiral bound might cause pages to deteriorate in time.
- Lack of monthly maps that show the sky and the constelations change.

In a nutshell: Great bargain for the price. Very handy for observations. Best for the average stargazer.

Pocket Sky Atlas "For Large Pockets!".......2007-03-14

This rating should probably be closer to a 4 however I just can't get over the misleading description "Pocket" Sky Atlas. Over all it is what you would expect from a sky atlas. Decent easy to read maps, affordable price. However if you want a true "pocket" sky atlas to take in the field that will fit in your pocket, I would suggest looking elsewhere.

A great little atlas.......2007-03-08

I am an active amateur astronomer with several star atlases. I bought this atlas almost a year ago, and I have ended up using it more than any of my other atlases. The format is compact and convenient, it points out the major sky features very well (even providing outlines of larger nebulae), and is a great complement to a medium- to small-sized telescope. I even find this atlas makes interesting bed-time reading, helping familiarize myself with the locations of objects that I haven't commonly observed in the past, like carbon stars (cool, deep-red stars that are particularly beautiful in a low-power star field). The atlas is quite sturdy and has held up well. My only quibble is that in the edition that I have, there are a few small areas (roughly a half-inch in diameter) on a few of the maps that are blanked out, as if a small piece of scrap paper were in the way during printing. I believe this error may affect many or most copies of the first edition, but I am not certain about that.

Project Constellation Pocket Space Guide (Pocket Space Guides)

Average customer rating:

A Little Giant
On the way to the stars!

Project Constellation Pocket Space Guide (Pocket Space Guides)
Tim McElyea
Manufacturer: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1894959493

Book Description

Project Constellation is NASA's initiative to develop a replacement for the aging Space Shuttle. It's main goal is to provide spacecraft for returning to the Moon by the year 2020. This Pocket Space Guide, #9 in the series, gives the background information on how the program was formed and what it is destined to accomplish.

Details are given for all of the elements of the Project Constellation, from the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program to the Orion spacecraft, Ares launch vehicles, and the Lunar Surface Access Module. Project Constellation is realizing President Bush's "Vision" for space and this book chronicles the progress and outlines the plans for tomorrow.

Customer Reviews:

A Little Giant.......2007-04-19

Project Constellation seems to be more than just a single "project", in fact it is developing into a manned/highlift Space Transportation System, reaching from Low Earth Orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, to the planet Mars. Of course such a politically concieved system may lose its backing in the next election, but, assuming that it succeends in gathering financial and politcal momentum, it may eventually become what NASA now is aiming for.
What, then, is it all about? Well, you get the answer in this booklet, most of an answer anyway, as conceived in the year 2006-07. Today it is a veritable Little Giant of information and explanation. A couple of years from now it will, of course, be dated. Still some more years in the future, it will be a historical reference of what was visualized after the first NASA perusal of the George W Bush clarion call for Manned Space Exploration in the 2000:ies. I hope I will live long enough to compare the vision of 2006 with the reality of 2020.
Why only four stars? Again the bane of conflicting systems of weights and measures: ancient foot-pounds in the US, metric in the civilized world. One could use either, or, or both in parallell, in this booklet there is no clear line of preference. Please note, that NASA has decided that the lunar part of the program will be planned and executed in metric. All honour to the NASA of old, which landed 12 men on the Moon using the old imperial measurements in conjunction with the computer technology of the 1960-ies.

On the way to the stars!.......2007-04-11

Tim McElyea has done a great job at revealing the opening shots of Project Constellation and the Orion program. This book is a must for people that are just coming aboard the project and for those that want to know where the governments money is going on the Space Shuttle's replacement. It highly utilizes computer illustrations to show the next step in America's long road to the Moon and Mars.
Let there be no mistake here- this is THE first book on the subject, and it will be changed and modified over the next few years as this program shapes up.

Writer McElyea even goes over the possible changes to the program like the use of Ares IV booster instead. His illustrations show the breakdowns of the launchers and spacecraft. He has done a wonderful job at showing how the Orion Spacecraft, lunar lander, Ares I and V rockets will work. Not too technical, not too simplistic.

I heartily recommend this book for all ages. It will be the book in the back pocket for those who are in school now but will someday be riding these mighty vehicles to the Moon and Mars.

Celestial Navigation Made Easy: Using a Pocket Calculator

Average customer rating:

Compact and dense

Celestial Navigation Made Easy: Using a Pocket Calculator
Francois Meyrier
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1592280269

Book Description

A modern, easy approach to the ancient science of navigating by the stars.

Customer Reviews:

Compact and dense.......2005-07-21

A small book full of very useful information. I don't think this is the ideal book for beginners since the information is presented in a very dense manner. It's an excellent and detailed summary to the celestial navigation with very good pictures. The templates provided are well made, but it's impossible to copy them without destroying the book.

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Constellations of the Northern Skies (National Audubon Society Pocket Guides)

Average customer rating:

Nat'l Audubon Pkt Guide to Constellations/Northern Skies
Wonderfully compact; good binocular or naked eye companion.

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Constellations of the Northern Skies (National Audubon Society Pocket Guides)
Mark Chartrand , Wil Tirion , and Gary Mechler
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679779981
Release Date: 1995-04-25

Customer Reviews:

Nat'l Audubon Pkt Guide to Constellations/Northern Skies.......2007-01-05

Excellent book, it was an addition to the entire pocket guide series I bought for my 9 year old nephew, he loves this series, its just enough information to keep his attention and has sparked an interest in so many areas.

Wonderfully compact; good binocular or naked eye companion........1998-11-13

This tiny book packs the only most useful information into the smallest usable size, small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. I keep mine in my binocular case. It has compact overview maps showing constellations and a few selected objects by season, then constellation by constellation maps with greater detail and many objects which can be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. On the page facing each map is short, well written text describing the most interesting stars and deep sky objects on the map.

Because of its small size, it is limited to only the brightest stars and objects, but there is plenty detail for star hopping to interesting objects with the aid of a pair of binoculars. It is not a substitute for a serious field guide and star atlas, but begginers will find plenty to look for with this and more experienced stargazers will appreciate its convenience.

This book is a good way to learn your way around the sky. Remember, it takes some practice to learn how to read a star map and mentally rotate and project it onto the curved night sky. You get better at this with practice. I also suggest you get a small flashlight with a red filter.

Beginners wishing to learn constellations may also wish to consult Levitt and Marshall's classic "Star Maps for Begginers", which has much less cartographic detail (perhaps an advantage for learning the constellations). This book is much more useful on an ongoing basis, however.

The Southern Night Sky: An Introduction to Prominent Stars and Constellations (Pocket Traveller - Waterford Press)
Average customer rating:
The Southern Night Sky: An Introduction to Prominent Stars and Constellations (Pocket Traveller - Waterford Press)
James Kavanagh
Manufacturer: Waterford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Walk through the Heavens: A Guide to Stars and Constellations and their Legends

ASIN: 1583551689

Book Description

The Pocket Naturalist card is a pocket-sized, folding card which provides simplified, easy-to-use reference highlighting the most prominent stars and constellations visible throughout the Southern Hemisphere in summer and winter. Every card is laminated so that it is waterproof and practical for use in the field. Card glows in the dark (flashlight illuminates the star charts).

Space Shuttle Pocket Space Guide (Pocket Space Guides)

Average customer rating:

Space Shuttle Pocket Space Guide (Pocket Space Guides)
Robert Godwin
Manufacturer: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 1894959523

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Galaxies and Other Deep Sky Objects (National Audubon Society Pocket Guides)

Average customer rating:

Pretty much useless as field/pocket guide
Stunning Images of Deep Space
A superb picture book of the cosmos.

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Galaxies and Other Deep Sky Objects (National Audubon Society Pocket Guides)
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Mammals (Audubon Society Pocket Guides)

ASIN: 0679779965
Release Date: 1995-04-25

Book Description

Filled with concise descriptions and out-of-this-world photography, the National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Galaxies & Other Deep-Sky Objects is designed to be compact enough to literally fit into any star-gazer's back pocket. This streamlined volume contains: an easy-to-use field guide covering more than 70 deep-sky objects; a complete overview of the evolution of galaxies, nebulae, quasars, star clusters and other objects in space that make up our universe.

This pocket guide is packed with information; abundant color photographs and images capturing the magnificence of the stars that compose various deep-space phenomena; text detailing the different types of objects in space, specific names and cataloging of each space phenomena, information on measuring each object's distance and location in the sky and the minimal optical aid needed to observe a particular deep-space matter.

From casual star-gazers, budding astronomers to the more experienced, the National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Galaxies & Other Deep-Sky Objects is an excellent and convenient reference guide to bring along when skywatching.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty much useless as field/pocket guide.......2005-05-04

I bough this pocket book and haven't found useful even once. In Internet age, this book renders itself pretty much useless. The book mainly has one pages with color photo of one of the deep sky objects and a very dry short description on the other page. That's pretty much about it. You can find all these photos on Internet in much better resolution or in the software like TheSky just by clicking on object. The accompanied description is just dry numerical tid-bits printed in font that discourages reading it. There are no constellation maps. You can find much better quality and interesting history, significance and field notes on Internet. May be this is not the authors fault. The description is supposed to be limited to that tiny page, what else they can do?

Stunning Images of Deep Space.......2005-03-14

If you have ever wanted to know the difference between a barred spiral galaxy and an irregular galaxy, this is the book for you.

Beautiful photographs of these galaxies, and so much more, await you in this wonderful little book. It has served as a reference for me for several years now. Even with oodles more Hubble shots available these days, this book is still not dated.

Each photo is given a description as to type of deep-sky object it is (a spirial galaxy or an emission nebula, for instance), light years distance away from us, where in space it is located and a little data about the nature of itself.

Andromeda, the Pleiades, the Ring Nebula and much more await you in this little pocket book by the National Audubon Society.

Much recommended for the "space nut"!

A superb picture book of the cosmos........1998-10-20

Easy to read and even easier to look at, this little book is a giant. The photos are beautiful and their full-bleed format makes them look like little windows to the universe. If it's photos of the deep-sky objects you want, this book is the perfect place to start.

Average customer rating:

Mars Exploration at it's finest!
What a GREAT Mars book!
Mars
Mars by Robert Godwin

Mars (Pocket Space Guides)

Manufacturer: Collector's Guide Publishing Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1894959264

Book Description

Space junkies and armchair astronauts are provided with comprehensive, handy references for a variety of space-related missions, vehicles, and concepts in this pocket-sized series. Compiled with the cooperation of NASA, each topic-specific reference features relevant statistics, photographs, and the stories behind each project. Books on manned missions include crew photographs, information on patches and equipment, and flight statistics such as time in space, distance traveled, and mission objectives. Photographs and statistics for launch vehicles, orbiters, probes, and experimental equipment are featured in each equipment-specific reference.

All of the Mars probes, including Global Surveyor, Mariner 4, 6, 7, and 9, the Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Odyssey, Mars Pathfinder, Sojourner, and Viking 1 and 2, are discussed in this reference to the vehicles used to explore Earth's volatile neighbor.

Customer Reviews:

Mars Exploration at it's finest!.......2007-04-26

I love this series.
You can put them in the back of your pants pocket and enter another world of exciting space explorations. This Mars book is the best yet. It outlines the history of mans' knowledge about the red planet from it's discovery til now. It details our fascination with Earth's nearest neighbor and the search for life. From Roman folklore to Schiaparelli's canals to H.G. Wells "War of the World's". Mars spawned the dreams of Wernher von Braun travelling there and the book tells how we went there and what we found starting with the 1965 Mariner probes.

The book goes into detail about our robot visits there and what we have found out about the forth world from the Sun. He concludes with our past and future plans for man to finally walk on that dusty world.

A great value and highly reccommended!!!

What a GREAT Mars book!.......2006-10-11

I love what Apogee has done with this Mars pocket guide. There are images in here I've never seen before -- and I thought I'd seen 'em all! I especially love the old 19th-century maps of Mars, which are beautifully printed. It's amazing how comprehensive this little book is -- a gem.
-- Andrew Chaikin, author of "A Man on the Moon"

Mars.......2006-06-13

As a family we have had to plough through numerous books to find the information that is required for school. I wish that we had found this book first - it was everything we needed. Good value too! Now I know about this series I will get all the others aswell.

Mars by Robert Godwin.......2006-06-08

And yet again, another fine book from Apogee. The "Pocket" Space Guide series is a great concept. And this particular book gives you just about everything you need to grasp the physical exploration of Mars. Well worth the admission.

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Planets and Their Moons (National Audubon Society Pocket Guides)

Average customer rating:

A beautiful picture book of the solar system.

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Planets and Their Moons (National Audubon Society Pocket Guides)
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679779973
Release Date: 1995-04-25

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful picture book of the solar system........1998-10-20

Easy to read and even easier to look at, this little book is a giant. The photos are beautiful and their full-bleed format makes them look like little windows to the universe. If it's photos of the solar system you want, this book is the perfect place to start.

My First Pocket Guide Stars & Planets (NG My First Pocket Guides)

Average customer rating:

My First Pocket Guide Stars & Planets (NG My First Pocket Guides)
John O'Byrne , and Rob Mancini
Manufacturer: National Geographic Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0792265807
Release Date: 2002-04-01

Book Description

Gazing into the night sky, children investigate our solar system, the universe, and major constellations. Star charts map the sky and help young astronomers navigate their way with the naked eye, binoculars, or telescopes. From Pluto to Pegasus, each entry examines a different heavenly body and answers the questions “how big and how far?” A special hand sky-measuring system that's easy for kids to learn and use helps them understand scale and distance.

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