Product Description

The Night Sky is a rotating star finder - or planisphere that allows the user to recognize the constellations for any time of night, any day of the year. The sky appears to rotate (due to the rotation and orbital motion of the earth), so to be successful recognizing the constellations a beginner needs to know which stars are above the horizon at any time.

This is the full-sized version of The Night Sky suitable for the 20°-30° latitude zone (Florida, Caribbean, S.Texas, Hawaii). THere are versions for the following latitude zones: 50°-60°, 40°-50°, 30°-40°, 20°-30°, and the Southern Hemisphere. There are also pocket-sized versions available for the same latitude zones.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #178766 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-01
• Binding: Map
• 2 pages

Review
Chandler's planisphere is the finest available. -- Terence Dickinson, astronomy textbook author, in SkyNews Magazine --Terence Dickinson

I think The Night Sky is the finest and easiest to use star finding aid in existence. -- Jack Horkheimer, TV's Star Hustler --Jack Horkheimer

Most aficionados now prefer David Chandler's The Night Sky wheel. -- J.T. Westways Magazine --Westways Magazine

I think The Night Sky is the finest and easiest to use star finding aid in existence. -- Jack Horkheimer, TV's Star Hustler --Jack Horkheimer

Most aficionados now prefer David Chandler's The Night Sky wheel. -- J.T. Westways Magazine --Westways Magazine

From the Publisher
The Night Sky comes in two sizes: Large (8 inch diameter) and Small (5 inch diameter). The large size is best for learning the constellations. The small size is best as a pocket reference to tell you what constellations are up if you are already reasonably familiar with the constellations. In each size the charts are available for different latitude zones.

To find the correct size and latitude zone, use the following ISBN numbers in your Amazon.com search:

The Night Sky 50°-60° (Large), 1891938088 (Small), 1891938096

The Night Sky 40°-50° (Large), 0961320745 (Small), 1891938010

The Night Sky 30°-40° (Large), 0961320753 (Small), 1891938029

The Night Sky 20°-30° (Large), 0961320761 (Small), 1891938037

The Night Sky Southern Hemisphere (Large), 0961320737 (Small), 1891938002

From the Author
Most planispheres attempt to represent the whole dome of the sky on one flat map, creating severe distortion near the outer edges of the map (the southern part of the sky). The Night Sky was specially designed to overcome this problem: two maps divide the sky into north-facing and south-facing views, which are shown on the front and back sides of the chart. When you turn around, simply turn the chart over. This design feature eliminates over 90% of the distortion found in conventional one-sided planispheres.

Other features of The Night Sky were designed with observers in mind:

--Dark stars on a white background make the map easier to read at night with a dim (or preferably red filtered) flashlight. (Under red light the dark blue of the chart becomes a velvety black.)

--The maps are computer-plotted for accuracy and show stars down to a consistent brightness cut-off. What you see on the chart is what is really there.

--The constellation figures emphasize simple patterns connecting the brightest stars, making the constellations easy to recognize and remember.

--The pocket version has fewer stars and omits some of the less conspicuous constellations to minimize clutter and maintain readability.

--The Night Sky comes in a protective vinyl pouch and the chart has plastic outer surfaces for dew resistance.

Customer Reviews

I'm enjoying it a lot.
It is very detailed. As it says, it's very similar to the stars you actually see in the sky.

It works as follows: there is an outter dial with the days of the year, and an inner dial with the hours of day. By aligning them, it is easy to see the stars that are on the sky at any day (night) and hour.

One side faces North and the other side faces South. It has the star coordinate system (the one in hours and degrees), so you can find planets, if you have a table that tells you where to look.

I think you should complement this with a book, such as "40 Nights to Knowing the Sky", in order to know what you are seeing.

Used it for years.
Having used planispheres for over 40 years, I was very interested when I first saw David Chandler's "The Night Sky". I found it to be the easiest to use, easiest to see and most accurate "sky dial" I had ever used. I can recommend this excellent planisphere to beginner, amateur and professional astronomers alike.

Affordable, Convenient, Easy to use!
The first and best star chart for viewing the south sky with low distortion! I highly recommend it!