Kev11
07-10-2012, 09:46 AM
Steve Massey and Steve Quirk Atlas of the Southern Night Sky Third Edition. New Holland 2012.
I returned to astronomy a couple of years ago after a fifty year break. The only star atlas I owned was the 1959 edition of Norton’s. Therefore I picked up this book with interest when it turned up on the new books rack of the local library. Having found on the Internet that it is reasonably priced ($40), I bought a copy for myself.
In many ways it is structured like the old Norton’s: star maps, lists of double and variable stars; clusters, galaxies and nebulae; notes on the solar system, telescopes and observing. However, as one would expect nowadays, there is a section on astrophotography and there are many excellent photographs, including of double stars, an unusual area of astrophotography.
I liked the way objects were listed under each constellation, which I believe would help the “star hopping” beginner, who possibly has a Dobsonian, to get to know the patterns of the constellations. I think, unless one is an experienced navigator, locating things by shapes and names, like on a street map, is easier than dealing with esoteric concepts like RA and Dec. at the start. At my age and with limited time I am wedded to my GoTo mount, but I still like to know broadly where things are in the sky. No small part of the attraction of this Atlas is that it is for Southern observers and the maps are drawn accordingly, i.e. one turns the book upside down only for Northern constellations.
Obviously, a book in this price range is not as comprehensive as Hartung (rare and unaffordable for most of us) or Burnham (I did acquire those volumes for a few dollars from the US, however the object coordinates are era 1950), but there is much more in this Atlas than in any of the slim “what to look for this year” books that seem to be the only things around for Southern observers, other than books which seem to think amateur astronomers are as much interested in space exploration as observing. Again, there is any amount of digital information around – I couldn’t survive without Stellarium, SIMBAD and the Washington Double Star Catalogue – but there is something to be said for having all the basic things in one hard copy book.
I don’t expect to use the two Steves’ Atlas a lot for my own observing, but it will be ideal to lend to beginners and those thinking about getting into the hobby. That said, it is a pity the authors have been let down somewhat by their publishers or the off-shore printers: page 289, which should have the September and October constellation and objects lists has been replaced by the photo of NGC 5128 from the end papers; there are typos sprinkled through the text (I haven’t checked all the NGC numbers and the like) and elementary spelling errors, e.g. “spacial” for “spatial”, have not been corrected.
In summary, a very useful book for beginners, written by and for amateur observers with telescopes of all sizes, while being also worthwhile for more advanced observers to have on their reference shelf.
I returned to astronomy a couple of years ago after a fifty year break. The only star atlas I owned was the 1959 edition of Norton’s. Therefore I picked up this book with interest when it turned up on the new books rack of the local library. Having found on the Internet that it is reasonably priced ($40), I bought a copy for myself.
In many ways it is structured like the old Norton’s: star maps, lists of double and variable stars; clusters, galaxies and nebulae; notes on the solar system, telescopes and observing. However, as one would expect nowadays, there is a section on astrophotography and there are many excellent photographs, including of double stars, an unusual area of astrophotography.
I liked the way objects were listed under each constellation, which I believe would help the “star hopping” beginner, who possibly has a Dobsonian, to get to know the patterns of the constellations. I think, unless one is an experienced navigator, locating things by shapes and names, like on a street map, is easier than dealing with esoteric concepts like RA and Dec. at the start. At my age and with limited time I am wedded to my GoTo mount, but I still like to know broadly where things are in the sky. No small part of the attraction of this Atlas is that it is for Southern observers and the maps are drawn accordingly, i.e. one turns the book upside down only for Northern constellations.
Obviously, a book in this price range is not as comprehensive as Hartung (rare and unaffordable for most of us) or Burnham (I did acquire those volumes for a few dollars from the US, however the object coordinates are era 1950), but there is much more in this Atlas than in any of the slim “what to look for this year” books that seem to be the only things around for Southern observers, other than books which seem to think amateur astronomers are as much interested in space exploration as observing. Again, there is any amount of digital information around – I couldn’t survive without Stellarium, SIMBAD and the Washington Double Star Catalogue – but there is something to be said for having all the basic things in one hard copy book.
I don’t expect to use the two Steves’ Atlas a lot for my own observing, but it will be ideal to lend to beginners and those thinking about getting into the hobby. That said, it is a pity the authors have been let down somewhat by their publishers or the off-shore printers: page 289, which should have the September and October constellation and objects lists has been replaced by the photo of NGC 5128 from the end papers; there are typos sprinkled through the text (I haven’t checked all the NGC numbers and the like) and elementary spelling errors, e.g. “spacial” for “spatial”, have not been corrected.
In summary, a very useful book for beginners, written by and for amateur observers with telescopes of all sizes, while being also worthwhile for more advanced observers to have on their reference shelf.