Expert: Tom Whiting - 9/22/2008

Question
Hi

Do you know which is the best book on detailed but clear star charts, I have one but its kind of confusing and the maps are very small. I am looking for a book that shows every portion of the sky (north, east ,west, south and zenith) seperate and the sky chart should be in either blue or black background , not like the ones that have white backgrounds with black stars on it.

thanks

Answer
Hi Quest,
The two we recommend to our beginners are either:
1. Cambridge Star Atlas 2000.0 for about $25-30 or
2. Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook for about $35-40.
The latter is more expensive because it also includes a
reference handbook.
Neither of these atlases puts in the lines connecting the star dots, so once you have your atlas, invite a knowledgeable astronomer over
to your home, put the coffee or beer on, and he'll have you sit
there for about 1.5 - 2 hours drawing in the constellation outlines with pencil. (It's far better to have an experienced observer watch
and help you do it, so it's done the correct way, without guessing!)
You only have to do this once in your life, because you'll know them
by the time you upgrade again to a Uranometria Atlas (or equivalent) which you'll need when you go greater than a 10-12 inch scope.
(Because with those larger scopes, you'll be seeing way more fainter galaxies, nebulae, and clusters....then what's plotted in the first two I mentioned above). Cambridge and Norton's only list the very
brighter ones, say for an 8 inch scope or smaller.

All these charts are good until 2050, at which time we'll all have
to buy new atlases, as they update them every 50 years; 1950, 2000,
2050, 2100, etc. So any of those atlases costs you about one dollar
per year. Not a bad buy at all.  Even the 2 volume set of Uranometria
is about $100 so that's about $2.50 per year for 40 years use, but you don't need that one until you're a way more advanced amateur.
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA