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Discover The Stars Beginner's Astronomy Guidebook
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Discover The Stars Beginner's Astronomy Guidebook
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  • Helpful astronomy reference and resource book helps lead you on a tour of the constellations, pointing out fascinating deep-sky objects that can be seen with entry-level telescopes or binoculars
  • Features 12 big star maps that show the entire visible sky each month, accompanied by text that points out each month's sky attractions and constellation mythology
  • Also includes 23 star map charts of smaller regions of the sky, which highlight stars with unusual colors, star clusters, nebulas, and galaxies observable with small instruments
  • Separate chapters cover basics such as how the stars appear to move through the sky, points of interest on the Moon's face, and tips for choosing and using a telescope
  • Softbound, 119 pages


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Item #  51541
Mfg Model #  0-517-5652
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This gets our vote as the best guidebook for beginning stargazers. Richard Berry, former editor of Astronomy magazine, leads you on a tour of the constellations, pointing out fascinating deep-sky astronomical objects that can be seen with a simple telescope or binoculars. The heart of the book is two sections of big, two-color sky charts. The first section features 12 charts that show the entire visible sky each month, accompanied by text that points out each month's sky attractions and constellation mythology. The second section comprises 23 charts of smaller regions of the sky, which highlight stars with unusual colors, star clusters, nebulas, and galaxies observable with small instruments. Separate chapters cover basics, such as how the stars move through the sky, points of interest on the Moon's face, and choosing and using a telescope. Softbound, 119 pages.

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Discover The Stars Beginner's Astronomy Guidebook
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4 / 5
4 / 5
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4 / 5
4 / 5
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3.5 / 5
3.5 / 5
1 out of 2(50%)reviewers recommend this product.
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3 A wonderful tour of the constellations, Discover the Stars is a good companion for beginning stargazers. Includes 12 all sky charts showing the night sky each month, and 23 more detailed charts showing interesting objects within each constellation.
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4 / 5
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3.5 / 5
3.5 / 5
1 out of 2(50%)reviewers recommend this product.
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Rating??
4 / 5
4 / 5
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5 stars
1
4 stars
1
3 stars
1
2 stars
0
1 star
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Content Quality??
4 / 5
4 / 5
Value??
3.5 / 5
3.5 / 5
1 out of 2(50%)reviewers recommend this product.
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Rating??
5 / 5
5 / 5
Great Starting Book
PostedMarch 6, 2010
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John M
My wife and I took a class in beginning Astronomy class. The instructor suggested that we use this book. He assigned reading for each class. We also used it as a reference. I recommend it to anyone just starting to get interested in the stars and planets.
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4 / 5
4 / 5
Basic constellation guide has some nice aspects
PostedOctober 9, 2011
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Dumbbell Nebula
 
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from??Nevada
Owned this product for:Over 1 year
Content Quality??
5 / 5
5 / 5
Value??
4 / 5
4 / 5
I like constellation guides and think it's worthwhile to have several, especially if some are more detailed than "discover the stars". But this is a pretty good first guide that can help a beginner learn the sky without being overwhelmed. It has brief sections on sky coordinates and obserivng equipment, and a simple moon map that will be useful to binocular observers. The heart of the book is the charts: first, a set of Mag 5 sky maps, then a set of Mag 6 charts, The sky maps are planisphere like views that help in learning the constellations, and orienting to the sky charts later in the book. The sky charts are more detailed and each is accompanied by a page of text describing constellations, deep sky objects and selected double stars on the corresponding chart. The scale of the sky charts is almost the same as the DeepMap 600, but for example, Discover the Stars shows the 3 nice Messier open clusters in Auriga while the DeepMap shows about 10 deep sky objects within Auriga (and the Pocket Sky Atlas shows about 20 deep sky objects within the 5 brightest stars of Auriga. This book is not limited to Messier objects: I was able to find the southern galaxies NG 55 and NGC 300 and re-locate NGC 253 thanks to packing this book on a trip that inlcuded an 80mm telescope and camera tripod while visitng dark skies.
For a beginner this is a good compromise - not overwhelming detail, but a very servicable introduction to constellations and brighter deep sky objects.
The charts are pleasing in white light, but the black on blue writing can be hard to read under some red lights.
Pros: good beginner guide
Cons: not as detailed as deep map 600
Yes, I recommend this product!
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3 / 5
Better off elsewhere....
PostedOctober 4, 2011
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from??San Diego
Owned this product for:Over 1 year
Content Quality??
3 / 5
3 / 5
Value??
3 / 5
3 / 5
...because if someone has a scope and a planisphere, the person is much more aptly served with Orion's outstanding "Sky Atlas For Small Telescopes and Binoculars". Then one can get immediately hands-on with looking at a specific object of interest. The sooner one can indulge the urge to look at the night sky, the more likely that person will become a hobbyist, and graduate to more complex products.
Favorite viewing location:??Backyard or driveway of home
Favorite object to observe:??Open Star Clusters
No, I do not recommend this product.
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