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Old 30-07-2017, 08:48 PM
jimmyh1555 (James)
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Uranometria all sky atlas and data book

I'm thinking of buying this one. Does anyone out there have any experience of this atlas. From the sales blurb. it seems to be the greatest thing since sliced bread!
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Old 31-07-2017, 12:54 AM
astro744
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Both books highly recommended as they complement each other. The atlas has a good image scale and plenty of stars and DSOs for a lifetime of navigating. The Deep Sky Field Guide is needed to know which objects are likely to be seen with any given telescope (provided you know it's limits).

I'm not sure which blurb you were referring to but full publisher detailed are here: http://www.willbell.com/u2k/index.htm. (Click on maps for sample pages and hyper links for PDF extracts).

I have the three volume set with two volume atlas and one volume field guide. Willmann-Bell now sell the atlas as a single volume for the entire sky but the field guide is still labelled volume 3. I would think the chart numbers are the same in either type of set hence the same field guide. (Less weight in the field with the all sky edition because the introductory pages and all sky finder maps are not duplicated over two volumes I would think but I do not have the all sky version to be certain).

Enjoy!
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Old 31-07-2017, 01:01 AM
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Better than sliced bread!!!
Highly recommended.
I've had MANY atlases over the years and the only two worthwhile keeping are Nortons Star Atlas and Uranometria.
(I found my "detailed" atlases were superceeded by the UCAC catalogues in CdC)
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Old 01-08-2017, 07:54 AM
jamespierce (James)
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Skip Uranometria and go for Interstellarum (Field edition if you can get it) - A much more practical astronomers (especially visual) atlas. That combined with something like Sky Safari Pro on an iPad or laptop gives you all the deep object data. Uranometria was amazing in it's day, but now it feel frankly quite clunky to use.
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Old 03-08-2017, 10:41 AM
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I'm with James. I used the Uranometria atlas until I bought Interstellarum to try. I can't remember now when I last opened my Uranometria. It is the 'galaxy atlas' with so many plotted, but on the other hand Sky Safari has infinitely more galaxies plotted anyway.

Interstellarum goes deeper on just about all other objects. It is more cleanly laid out and the ring binding makes it more practical for use at the scope. It's the best atlas I have ever used.
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Old 06-08-2017, 11:49 PM
jimmyh1555 (James)
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Uranometreia atlas all sxky ed

Excellent comments, folks! But being me - always in a hurry - I am now the proud owner of the Uranometria all sky and Deep sky field guide.
A bit difficult to decipher in places. One problem in particular I cant suss out. That is the Messier object Index in the back of the DSFG. First column is M number - OK
Second column is NGC no - OK
Third column is chart No followed by Roman digits from 1 to XX . ie Andromeda is M31, chart is 30, but what are those Roman numbers?? I thought it may be luminosity, but that only goes to V. Then I thought it may be smaller galaxies. I found an Andromeda 11 but no other names going up to XX. Any ideas?? I hate it when I cant find the info....AAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH HELP!
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Old 07-08-2017, 03:06 AM
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At the front of the atlas is the index showing a map with chart numbers for the different parts of the sky. Eg chat 1 is NCP And chart 220 is SCP. The index is a small scale chart. A few pages in before the main charts is the Uranometria Star Map numbered I to XXII. This has a larger scale than the index but still much smaller than the main charts. The USM is also indexed with main chart numbers.

I have the three volume set (two volumes of charts and one volume DSFG). My understanding is that the All Sky edition is simply the two volumes of charts combined into a single book. The DSFG is still labelled vol 3. All chart numbers are the same between the different editions except for the original release from 1987 which has different chart numbers and a different format with opposing pages not related. The original release also has a different DSFG to match its chart numbers.

I also have Interstellarium colour version but have not used it in the field. I tend to favour my original Sky Atlas Deluxe (colour version) for general observing and Uranometria for hunting down faint galaxies. Another good atlas is the Herald-Bobroff Astroatlas but it is out of print as is also the Millennium Star Atlas.

I don't use electronic atlases in the field.

Enjoy you Uranometria!
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:26 AM
jimmyh1555 (James)
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uranometria

Hi Astro44! I think that the one book All Sky edition must be different. I have searched and searched... The first 6 pages are index charts, then one page Constellation summary, then next page is title page saying All Sky Edition, then acknowledgements, then Introduction on page 1 going through to page 10, then the main charts start - 1 to 220, then the A series....No Roman numerals . I have read the introduction several times and cant see anything buried in there! Frustrating....
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:22 AM
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I was wondering how they got everything into one volume; must have decided the Uranometria Star Map wasn't worth including in the all sky edition and also publishing a new DSFG wasn't worth doing either. I thought perhaps thinner paper was used but I don't have the All Sky edition to compare. Pity though because it is nice to see a broader part of the sky before getting in on the detail and the Roman numeral charts provided just that. I do find though the layout of having RA across opposing pages in the main charts is nice and there are more than enough field stars to help identify where you are looking.

Just ignore the reference to Roman numeral charts in the DSFG.
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Old 07-08-2017, 08:33 PM
jimmyh1555 (James)
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Uranometria explained!

Well, well, well! Well done Astro for explaining that. So the 2 volume edition is NOT the same as the three volume one. So they just left out all those maps and didn't bother to remove the references! That is a great pity because that atlas is darned expensive and as it is, it is too heavy to lug out to the scope anyway, so a few more pages wouldn't have made any difference.
Lets hope that the next edition will fix things!
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:39 PM
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Willmann-Bell is a small publishing house specialising in astronomical publications. The All sky edition of the atlas was no doubt released to keep size, weight and cost down and perhaps to meet (astronomical) public demand. The Deep Sky Field Guide was originally intended to complement the two volume atlas hence titled volume 3 but can be used with the newer All Sky version of the atlas at least for the main charts it looks like.

Although I have a number of atlases, the All Sky edition is still one I would like to add to my set as my field atlas and keep my other set as my armchair atlas. If you think Uranometria is heavy you should see the Millennium Star Atlas! The only way of keeping weight down is to either have less stars and a smaller scale or to use an electronic device. I use both but never use an electronic device at the telescope as they are just too bright for me whether they be illuminated red or otherwise. A dim red torch and paper atlas is best for my eyes at the telescope.

I think once you start using it you will find it very useful especially in the field for where it was intended but also relaxed in an armchair as you flick through the pages and learn how the sky is pieced together. Enjoy!
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Old 08-08-2017, 08:30 PM
jimmyh1555 (James)
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Uranometria explained!

Yes, I am sure I will be using it a lot. The pages seem pretty thick. One thing I am going to do is to copy a couple of charts, join them together, and then laminate the sheet (A4) At least that way, when I am outside and the dew falls, that beautiful book will be safe inside! It is a bit of a pity that there is no colour in the atlas. The Cambridge star atlas has pale blue areas (Milky Way etc) and the clusters are yellow, which makes it a bit more interesting!
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Old 07-10-2017, 04:33 AM
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The small scale atlas (Roman numerals) is gone in the All-Sky Edition (I never used it anyway), but the guide to the chart locations in the sky is right inside the cover.
I only miss one thing from the 2-volume 2nd Edition: the Declination tabs at the edges of the pages that made it possible to easily find a declination circle of charts merely by looking at the edges of the pages in the closed book.
The transparent overlays from Edition 2 work equally well in the All-Sky edition.
I use it at the scope all the time. It's a lot more convenient to use that way than the Tirion Sky Atlas 2000.

James, color is left off because it is not visible at night.
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Old 07-10-2017, 08:58 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlin66 View Post
Better than sliced bread!!!
Highly recommended.
I've had MANY atlases over the years and the only two worthwhile keeping are Nortons Star Atlas and Uranometria.
(I found my "detailed" atlases were superceeded by the UCAC catalogues in CdC)
I'm with Ken. When I started looking around the night Sky in the 1970's, I used Norton's. It is a great scale for wide sky navigation, good to get you to the vicinity if you are star hopping then go to a better scale. A Japanese engineer, Toshimi Taki, produced a set of charts at a similar scale to Norton's which he called Taki's Star Atlas. The PDF's are available at A3 but I printed out and laminated an A4 set which I find convenient for field use. Sometimes I just don't want to kill my night vision looking at an ipad screen any more than I have to.

The specifications are :

(1) Projection: Modified Transverse Mercator Projection
(2) Number of Charts: 12
(3) Scale: 3mm/degree
(4) Map Size: A3
(5) Magnitude of Faintest Star: 6.50
(6) Multiple Stars: Minimum separation 0.5 arcsec
(7) Variable Stars: Maximum magnitude 6.5, Minimum amplitude 0.4
(8) More than 500 Deep Sky Objects

- Galaxies: Magnitude up to 10.0
- Open Clusters: Magnitude up to 7.0
- Globular Clusters: Magnitude up to 10.0
- Planetary Nebulae: Magnitude up to 11.0
- Bright Nebulae
- Dark Nebulae
- Supernova Remnant
- Objects in Caldwell catalog are labeled.

He also produced a second atlas, a more detailed larger scale set that goes down to mag 8.5 stars and fainter DSO's. However it has a lot of charts and printing and laminating would be a big job.

Charts for both atlases are downloadable as pdf's. You can edit these in Photoshop or any image editor if for example you want to plot the path of a faint transient object, asteroid, comet on the chart or if you want to invert the tone, white stars on a black background like the Tirion Field Atlas.

Both Atlases can be downloaded from :
http://www.geocities.jp/toshimi_taki/atlas/atlas.htm

Joe
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Old 07-10-2017, 10:26 AM
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You'd like this atlas: https://www.cloudynights.com/article...r-charts-r1021
--free
--uncluttered, small scale
Go to the bottom of the page for the link to the site:
https://archive.org/details/Mag_7_Star_Atlas
Johnson did a nice job.
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Old 07-10-2017, 10:46 AM
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OzEclipse (Joe Cali)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Pensack View Post
You'd like this atlas: https://www.cloudynights.com/article...r-charts-r1021
--free
--uncluttered, small scale
Go to the bottom of the page for the link to the site:
https://archive.org/details/Mag_7_Star_Atlas
Johnson did a nice job.
Hi Don,
Forgot to mention it in my post but yes I do have the Johnson Atlas as well and I agree it is very good.
Joe
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Old 07-10-2017, 02:09 PM
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The other one to mention is Jose Torres excellent TriAtlas project
https://www.uv.es/jrtorres/index.html
To quote:

The first one (A-Set) consists of 25 A4 charts showing stars up to 9 magnitude, with 70º maps in portrait format.

The second one (B-Set) includes 107 charts up to 11 magnitude, with 30º charts.

Finally, the third section (C-Set) includes 571 charts (12º each) up to 12.6 magnitude, more powerful than the Millennium Atlas, listing for instance all known planetary nebulae and open clusters, galaxies up to 15.5 magnitude, double stars up to 12.5 magnitude, etc.

Also an iPad version available.
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Old 07-10-2017, 02:56 PM
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Pretty Deep Maps

Martin Meredith has a set of detailed maps designed for the ipad.
Current version is v0.3.
accessible from:
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/sh...tries*=0&mgh=1

The place to start is the technical guide:
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/sh...tries*=0&mgh=1
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