 |
|
|
|
| |
|
List Price: £35.00
Our Price: £11.69
Author:
Thierry Legault, Serge Brunier
By Firefly Books Ltd
 Great photos, poor labelling, 2008-04-15
For the beginner lunar observer, comparing what you actually see in binoculars or a telescope with the contents of a standard lunar atlas can be very confusing. Is that shadow this crater or that one? Which would I expect to see given the current phase of the moon? An atlas that shows you the view you can expect to see through your eyepiece is a great bonus here. The photographs in this atlas are stunning, and give views as seen through binoculars, with the naked eye, and the two standard telescopic views. I have found it very easy to compare the view through my eyepiece with the objects in the photographs for a given phase of the lunar cycle. The large book format and ring-binder style make it relatively useable and robust, although it is not something I would consider spending extensive field time with: rather I peruse it prior to and after an observing session.
On the downside, what is the point of an atlas that doesn't provide detailed labelling? It is all very well having a great photo in front of you, but you are still stuck with the problem of having to put a name to the features you observe. The obvious way to have done this would have been with detailed line drawings on the pages facing each photograph, with names provided for every observable feature. Unfortunately, this atlas has extremely poor labelling. It is done with transparent overlays, and is very unsatisfactory: due to the ring binding, overlays often do not precisely match the pictures and some fiddling is required. More seriously, less than half of the large format photos actually have accompanying overlays, so one often has to flick through to the day before or after the day one is actually looking at, and do a mental comparison, often not easy when the shading of surrounding features on the moon's terminator chnages so much. Even then, only some of the largest features are actually labelled: many are completely ignored. Thus, anyone trying to use this atlas to identify a given object will still regularly need another more detailed atlas with better labelling.
In short, the book is useful but could, with a few changes, have been so much better. I am very tempted to make by own traced drawings of the photographs and label them properly myself using another atlas, as that will actually save me time in the long run. A pity the authors didn't do this for us!
List Price: £4.99
Our Price: £1.05
By Foulsham
List Price: £48.00
Our Price: £40.80
Author:
Ronald Greeley, Raymond Batson
By Cambridge University Press
 The solar system as you are yet to know it..., 2003-09-16
It says it's an atlas on the cover and indeed it is an atlas, it contains all the maps you could ever want for exploring the planets of our solar system. It is also a very good referance book of the encyclopedia kind and holds alot of good information about the creation of the planets, their weather systems, and geological makeup. I would have liked to have more information on the missions that discovered this books contents but nether-the-less it is well worth the purchase. All we currently need to know plus more.
Author:
Patrick Moore
By Philip's
Planisphere is good and maps are good, 1999-08-05
A nice little pack for the new astronomer, the planisphere being the most useful and the most used part of this pack. The maps also are good for reference, but the booklet itself is really aimed at those completely brand new to astronomy or children. Nice to locate the most obvious constellations but no more real detail than that.
Author:
Antonin Rukl, Thomas W. Rackham
By Kalmbach Publishing Co ,U.S.
 This is the authoritative source book for Moon observation., 1998-12-03
From full charts to detailed renderings, this book has the best information in the best form available for systematic observation of the Moon. This is the book to buy if an authoritative reference is needed or detailed observing of the Moon is undertaken with amateur telescopes, small or large. There is plenty of information on the Moon to read, along with the many sectional drawings and photographs of prominent and unique features.
Author:
E. Karkoschka
By Springer
1st choice for by-the-scope reference; 2nd ed. improved, 2001-02-06
I agree with R.A. Pollock's review (the first person to review this book and truly worth reading) but would add a few comments:1) As far as the increase in size over the 1st edition it is less than perceived. This new book is 3/4" taller and only 3/8" wider (I have both copies in hand). But I know what Pollack means...it is just a tad larger and that may mean it doesn't fit in the same old shirt pocket it used to! My first edition was an *incredible* constant companion; it was with me as I lived around the world for three years. It was SO nice to have an atlas that wasn't guilty of Northern Hemispherism. :o) 2) One of the improvements Pollock overlooked was that the new edition's reference map in the back has the constellations outlined in green rather than red. In the first edition all the constellations disappeared under a red light!! For the uninformed, astronomers or just star gazers often use red lights to preserve night vision. Anything printed in red is...gone! The ecliptic is still red in the new edition but I can live with that. 3) The reference chart is also larger and that is helpful for those of us who are getting older and have less flexible eyeballs. 4) One drawback (and I consider it a moderately significant one) is that there are not longer polar reference charts. These were extremely useful in the 1st edition. It is VERY intuitive to think of and view the sky as a dome with a center point. The 2nd edition reference maps are only "flat", i.e., linear so there is a great deal of distortion at the poles. Think of a map of the world and how Greenland and Antartica look huge...but they aren't. Anyway, it bugs me. I'm copying the old polar page from the old edition and pasting it in the new. 5) Final Tip (and this is a GOOD ONE): Go to Kinko's and have them trim a very little bit of the spine off the book so it becomes loose leaf - THEN have them spiral wire bind it. It is wonderful! You can open the book fully flat or even fold it back on itself with ease. I've done this with several of my smaller/thinner paperback reference books and it makes them so, SO much more easier to use. The original glued bindings make it difficult to open these books to get at the information near the crease. And in cold weather or with much use they crack and pages come loose. And the glued bindings don't open flat; they are constantly springing shut. The one caution is to trim the *least* amount possible from the spine - enough to get all the glued portion off but not so much as to loose information. Try it. It is really worth it. Buy this book! It takes a while to get accustom to it but once you do you'll love it. I would rate it the number one guide for star gazing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|