Exploring the Night Sky The Equinox Astronomy Guide for Beginners

Winner Childrens Science Book award New York Academy of Science 1978.

Completely revised with all-new photographs and covering astronomical events through 2019

The second edition of the Peterson First Guide to Astronomy provides an up-to-date introduction to astronomy for beginners, featuring all-new photographs of recent events and#8212; such as one taken from the MESSENGER spacecraft, which launched in 2004 and entered its orbit around Mercury in 2011 and#8212; and predictions for future events through 2019, including meteor showers, comets, and eclipses. The book encourages readers to go out into the field, using the maps that show the positions of the stars throughout the year as a guide. This new edition maintains the easy-to-use condensed format of the original, and makes it easy to proceed to the full-fledged Peterson Field Guide to Stars and Planets for more in-depth information.

"Dozens of color paintings and some photographs accompany the text, and there is a page of advice on choosing and using binoculars and telescopes." School Library Journal

Exploring the Night Sky is aimed at novice star gazers anxious to expand their astronomical repertoire beyond the Big and Little Dippers. Dickinson has designed a superb introduction to astronomy that is clear, concise, beautifully illustrated, and very user friendly no matter what the child's age.

An updated concise field guide to the stars, planets, and the universe.

Jay M. Pasachoff is the Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy and the Chair of the Astronomy Department at Williams College. He is the author of the Peterson Field Guide to Stars and Planets, as well as numerous textbooks and trade books on astronomy, weather, and more.