Opinions Sought: Double Stars for Small Telescopes

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Hello Everybody,

Does anybody own "Double Stars for Small Telescopes: More Than 2,100 Stellar Gems for Backyard Observers (Stargazing Series)"? I would appreciate comments, descriptions and/or criticisms before I commit to buying it over the internet. ($54 from Bintel, significantly cheaper from Amazon...)

Don't worry, I won't hold it against anyone if it turns out I disagree with their assessment.

Thanks in advance,

Brian.

PS Do they happen to use SAO numbers at all (which is what my Autostar uses)? And is the northern hemisphere bias too excessive?

[Dennis]

The book is nicely written. Here is an excerpt. Constellations are listed alphabetically and the southern ones often make reference to Hartung.

I enjoy browsing this book although I use SkyTools to create observing lists and then use the GoTo function to locate the multiple stars. The introduction also contains some general stuff on doubles, equipment, etc. I just love books so for me, it was money well spent and Sissy Haas is a respected astronomer/writer.

I also purchased it from Bintel to support our local suppliers.

Cheers

Dennis

[Stephen65]

I have this book, it's a useful purchase. There is a short introduction which is pretty basic and then constellation by constellation listings. The Southern Hemisphere is covered as well as the North - for example there are 45 doubles listed in Carina. They don't have SAO numbers, I use the RA and dec co-ords given to find the stars using my EQ-6 mount.

[goober (Doug)]

It's quite good. A few pages on double star basics and how to observe them, followed by around a dozen pages on "showpiece doubles". The rest of the book is arranged alphabetically by constellation, with each constellation sorted by R.A. Each object has a description, often quoted from a reference (e.g. Hartung appears a lot for deep southern hemisphere doubles).

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Thanks for your replies.
(Now for a philosophical question: at what price differential does one become absolved from buying from an overseas reseller?)