Book recommendation for the newb.

[AdamJL]

Hi everyone

It's been a while since my last post here.
I recently took the plunge and bought an astrotrac. Not knowing a thing really about Astronomy, I was utterly astonished that with a set up time of about 60 seconds in total last Saturday night, I was able to get trail-free images at 100mm for over 2 minutes on my cameras.

The big problem though, is that I have no idea what to shoot. I know some of the things I can look at but is there a book people can recommend me that shows the Southern Skies during the year, and what we can see in them?

Thanks in advance!
Adam

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Head on down to the news agents and pick up the latest copy of Australian Sky and Telescope for starters. It has a good all sky map in the centre showing what is currently up in the sky.
Astronomy 2012 is available in most book stores. Iceman may still have some copies for sale here on the forum. It's an excellent publication and tells you what is up in the sky in a month by month format and it has some very good star maps as a centre fold.

[AdamJL]

Thanks very much
I've picked up a copy!

[stardust steve (Steve)]

Hi Adam, i just recently purchased an Ebook (PDFfile) for 24.95, but i did not see the $5 off voucher. It looks great for info on how to image the night sky. Here is the details.. i got this from his FB page
I'm very pleased and proud to say that my new ebook is now available.. Shooting Stars: How to Photograph the Moon and Stars with your DSLR. If you've ever wanted to photograph the night sky, I'm very confident this book will help you a lot! And you can get $5 off today with offer code FBSTARS. Check it out at http://philhart.com/shooting-stars and please share the news if you know others who might like it. Enjoy!
EDIT_ i forgot to put a *thumbup* in

[Liz]

Oh, didnt know Phil had a book out, as have recently bought Micahel Covingtons 'Digital SLR Astrophotography'. May check out Phils down the track. Thanks Steve.

[omegacrux (David)]

Astronomy 2012 is a very handy book I use it but if I want detailed search I use Will Triton's Sky atlas 2000 huge and detailed not cheap though $70 !

[stardust steve (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Liz

Oh, didnt know Phil had a book out, as have recently bought Micahel Covingtons 'Digital SLR Astrophotography'. May check out Phils down the track. Thanks Steve.

No probs Liz, the info is on his FB page. I will have a good read tonight if these clouds decide to hang around

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

. yep ! thats the one , I have the laminated version and it is the best sky atlas , being so esay to read , even under a red light . Money well spent as I got mine in Christchurch NZ in 1991 and its as good as the day I got it . Quality gear lasts . .
Brian.

Originally Posted by omegacrux

Astronomy 2012 is a very handy book I use it but if I want detailed search I use Will Triton's Sky atlas 2000 huge and detailed not cheap though $70 !

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

Originally Posted by omegacrux

Astronomy 2012 is a very handy book I use it but if I want detailed search I use Will Triton's Sky atlas 2000 huge and detailed not cheap though $70 !

+1 for these.
Also "Atlas of the Southern Skies" and "The Backyard Astronomer"
All you'll ever need!

[MattT]

Have just got The Backyard Astronomer and Treasures of the Southern Sky, both brilliant., and Sky Safari Pro on my ipod. All I need now is clear skies. Matt