Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Brimming with dazzling celestial photographs and timely astronomical information, the newly revised Peterson Field Guide to the Stars and Planets is a must-have resource for any amateur stargazer." Country Living Gardener
"An excellent introduction to astronomy for beginners and a field guide for experts." St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Synopsis
The fourth edition of this best-selling field guide was revised and updated, and each printing brings further updates with the latest information. As of the 16th printing (December 2018), most of the time-sensitive material has been updated for the next decade. Twenty-four color Monthly Sky Maps show exactly what you'll see when facing north or south in the night sky. Fifty-two color Atlas Charts cover the entire sky, including close-ups of areas of special interest, such as the Pleiades and the Orion Nebula. Two dozen pages cover the August 21, 2017, total solar eclipse whose path crossed the continental United States, and other aspects of recent and future solar eclipses.
Synopsis
The fourth edition of this best-selling field guide has been completely revised and updated to include the latest information from leading astronomical sources. All the time-sensitive material is new and valid through 2017: solar eclipses, phases of the moon, positions of the planets, and more. Twenty-four Monthly Sky Maps, all newly revised and in color, show exactly what you'll see when facing north or south in the night sky. Fifty-two Atlas Charts, also revised and in color, cover the entire sky, including close-ups of areas of special interest such as the Pleiades and the Orion Nebula. The hundreds of thousands of devoted users of the previous editions of this guide have been eagerly awaiting this new volume so they can continue to enjoy their hobby in the coming decades.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 557-561) and index.
About the Author
Wil Tirion, is this generation's foremost celestial cartographer.Jay M. Pasachoff is the Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy and director of the Hopkins Observatory at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Professor Pasachoff has done extensive research on the solar corona at total eclipses and has been on 29 eclipse expeditions. He has also used a wide variety of telescopes around the world. He is the author of popular textbooks on astronomy and on other science subjects. He has twice been chair of the Astronomy Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is the chair of the Working Group on Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union and the U.S. national representative to the IAU's Commission on the Teaching of Astronomy.Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides®are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.
Table of Contents
Editorand#8217;s Note v Acknowledgments vi List of Tables and Appendixes x How to Use This Book 1
1. A First Look at the Sky 7 2. A Tour of the Sky 21 3. The Monthly Sky Maps 46 4. The Constellations 126 5. Stars, Nebulae, and Galaxies 144 6. Double and Variable Stars 194 7. Atlas of the Sky 209 8. The Moon 348 9. Finding the Planets 385 10. Observing the Planets 418 11. Comets 455 12. Asteroids 463 13. Meteors and Meteor Showers 467 14. Observing the Sun 474 15. Coordinates, Time, and Calendars 495 16. Telescopes and Binoculars 503
Appendixes 512 Glossary 548 Bibliography 557 Index 563