Product Description

Developed by one of the foremost designers of astonomical maps, The Cambridge Star Atlas offers an unusual degree of breadth and detail for amateur and experienced astronomers. Northern and southern latitudes are included in a series of monthly sky charts and an atlas of the whole sky. Each of the 20 overlapping full color charts shows stars down to magnitude 6.5, together with about 900 nonstellar objects, such as clusters and galaxies, which can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope. This new edition features 52 color maps, improved versions of all the charts, and a thorough revision of the text and star data based on the latest information. In addition, there is a comprehensive double page map of the Moon's surface, which shows craters and other named features. Clear, authoritative, and easy-to-use, The Cambridge Star Atlas is an ideal reference for sky watchers everywhere, throughout the year. Wil Tirion began his first star atlas as a hobby, mapping the whole sky on five maps. It was published in the Encyclopedia of Astronomy and soon after was released as a separate set of maps by the British Astronomical Association. In 1983, Tirion began working as a full-time uranographer, or sky cartographer. Since then, he has contributed to many books and magazines on astronomy. He lives in the Netherlands.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #218071 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

From Booklist
Squarely aimed at casual observers, this lovely atlas will also be a useful resource for teachers. Tirion, the author of the highly regarded Sky Atlas 2000.0 and Uranometria 2000.0, has revised the 1991 edition of the atlas, adding a basic lunar map and guidelines for lunar observation. Information for viewing the sun, planets, or asteroids is not provided. The rest of the material is divided into three sections: monthly sky maps for the northern and southern hemispheres, star charts, and all-sky maps. Each section includes a concise explanation of the astronomy necessary for understanding the maps. Simple instructions are provided for using the monthly maps. These maps, printed in white and yellow on blue, are designed for field use. Charts plot all stars visible to the naked eye in a dark sky. Other objects are selected based on interest and available space. These provide a reasonable survey of galaxies, nebulae, and clusters and include objects only visible with binoculars or small telescopes. There are no detailed descriptions of objects and no distances given, even for selected objects. The all-sky maps use galactic coordinates to show the correlations of various types of clusters, nebulae, and galaxies with the Milky Way's galactic plane. They are particularly delightful because they plainly show which of these objects are galactic in origin and which are extragalactic. All the maps, especially the star charts, are beautifully prepared. Physical quality is also high, and the book is a bargain at $19.95. Strongly recommended for public, high-school, and undergraduate academic libraries.

Review
"I recommend this new edition of The Cambridge Star Atlas for all general reference collections and to amateur astronomers everywhere." Astronomy

"...prepared by one of the most meticulous celestial cartographers of our time." Griffith Observer

"...perhaps his best for newcomers and practical astronomers...easy to understand and very helpful to both beginning and novice observers. The graphics are excellent. This useful and inexpensive star atlas should be a part of all academic library collections, community college and up." Choice

"Recommended for anyone who plans to observe with the naked eye, binocular, or small telescope...The printing is excellent, and the pages easily lie flat" CHOICE Nov 2001

Customer Reviews

Compromise between Peterson's F. G. and SkyAtlas 2000
Cambrigde Star Atlas fills a void for me. I have had Peterson's Field Guide for 15 years. Peterson's has lot's of interesting text info to go along with each chart, but charts are many and small. I recently got Sky Atlas Deluxe. It has great charts but no tables of info. Cambridge is a compromise. It does not show as many stars as either of the other two, but shows enough stars and a considerable number of deep sky objects, with tables accompanying each chart to show coordinates of the objects on that chart. It's not a pocket book like Peterson's, but is a good size to take outside while at the scope. Sky Atlas 2000 is to big to take outside, but is the charts I use at my desk. Cambridge will be the book that is on my little work table when I'm in a field with my scope late at night and just can't seem to find that deep sky object by star hopping. The tables provided with each chart don't list all the deep sky you want to see, but they list enough to keep you occupied.

Best wide field star atlas
Having looked at all the alternatives, this is my favorite small star atlas. With each chart covering 4 hours of right ascension, this atlas lets you get oriented to the major features of a part of the sky in order to start a star-hop. It includes plenty of deep-sky objects to keep you busy.

It is *not* sufficient to show all the stars or objects you can see in a small scope - for that, you need Uranometria 2000 (also by Trion) or the Millenium Sky Atlas. But then you're talking a major investmant. In the field, I tend to use Cambridge and Uranometria - Cambridge for star-hopping in close, then Uranometria for nailing down the exact field.

By now, my copy is somewhat warped from absorbing so much dew over so many nights - but it still lies flat when opened.

As others have mentioned, the monthly charts are somewhat superfluous if you have a planisphere. Anyhow, as you learn the sky, a planisphere quickly becomes unnecessary.

The perfect size
In addition to this atlas, I own Sky Atlas 2000, Uranometria, and the Millenium Star Atlas, and this is by far the one I use the most. It is a scaled down version of Sky Atlas 2000, and it's reduced size, the convienience of having more of the sky fit on each map, and the increased overlap between charts far outweigh the extra detail you get with Sky Atlas. Of course there are times when more detail is needed, but at these times it's usually best to go stright to Uranometria or MSA. There are a few annoying printing errors, but not enough to interfere with the practicality of the atlas. There are enough deep sky objects plotted to keep you busy for a long time.