Star Charts / Atlas - which one?

[NigelCampbell]

Hi All,

I'm planning to ditch the GOTO and go fully manual for my next step in astronomy and wondered what star charts or atlases you would recommend.

I would like something that is clear to read in the field with a red torch - I want to be able to use constellations and asterisms to locate DSOs.

I have a reasonable grasp of what is there but would like to spend some time really learning the sky well. I have a Phillips star atlas and planisphere but would prefer something better. (also have stellarium but that takes all the manual out of the process)

So what would you suggest?

[Bizibilder]

Tri Atlas A, B or C from here: JR's website on Deep Sky Astronomy You can download and print as much or as little detail as you want to!

[Mark at Beaufort]

Nigel all my observing is undertaken by star hopping. I have a red dot finder to find the main star and then a 9x50 right angle correct image star finder to cross reference the star chart.

To answer your question - I have the following.

The sky and telescope pocket star atlas is excellent. It will take you to all the best DSOs. So I recommend buying this first - it is under £10 through Amazon.

When you progress into lists other than Messier you might wish to purchase a better star atlas. I used Uranometria which is very detailed. However, sometimes the galaxy is so faint I sometime print out a chart from starry night pro5 which reflects the scope and eyepiece I am using and gives a circle that is the same as the eyepiece FOV.

I know you can produce your own star charts from the Internet but I just prefer to use this method.

Mark

[todd8137]

every one is red torch mad did you no it takes longer for the eyes to recover from dim white light than it does from bright red light only one atlas worth have in is

"Cambridge star atlas" about 20 of amazon,but blows the rest out the water

[damnut]

Its very personal, again!, but i use a couple the pocket star atlas which is great value and an epoch 2000 Nortons star atlas.

[Nova]

another vote for the Tri-atlas (I have sets A and B/C intermediate) and the sky and telescope pocket sky atlas. I prefere the pocket one when im out with the scope but whne at home the tri-atlast normally gets used.

[onesmallstep]

Hi

I'm glad you've crossed over from the dark side and ditched the GOTO.

I use the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas (link below), an A5 (approx) all sky atlas shown in 80 charts. Red light friendly and fits into an eyepiece case ready for use.

Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas: Amazon.co.uk: Roger W. Sinnott: Books

HTH!

[Moonshane]

+1 for S&T Pocket Sky Atlas. simple and easy to use, spiral bound so lays flat, dew 'proof' pages and shows more objects than even my 16" dob could see in less than ideal conditions. plus it's only £8 from Amazon and you therefore don't worry about creases and dew wrinkles. it's the one I used at PSP if you saw me using it.

[tom714uk]

I have the Cambridge Atlas of Herschel Objects - it's by Wil Tirion and is just like the normal Cambridge Star Atlas but goes to greater magnitudes. It also labels all the objects discovered by the Herschels, of course, which is to me a nice aside rather than what I bought the book for. There is a spelling mistake on the page I've used most so far - "Cresent Nebula"! - but I can live with that :-) It doesn't have the moon maps or seasonal views of the sky which I believe the normal atlas has but I think the increased depth is worth it. There are also two areas of sky treated at greater magnification, the Virgo cluster and the Large Magellanic Cloud if memory serves. I'm pretty pleased with it.

Tom

[glowjet]

Sky Atlas 2000 laminated edition, or for even greater detail Uranometria, if you want to know what a really dark sky looks like from digital photographs, then look up the Cambridge photographic Atlas of the Stars, some 80 odd maps of the night sky, just published.

[swamp thing]

"Sky Atlas 200" laminated copy. Indestructible, accurate and lovely to look at away from the eyepiece.

I never observe without it.

Regards Steve

[rory]

+1 for S&T Pocket Sky Atlas. simple and easy to use, spiral bound so lays flat, dew 'proof' pages and shows more objects than even my 16" dob could see in less than ideal conditions. plus it's only £8 from Amazon and you therefore don't worry about creases and dew wrinkles. it's the one I used at PSP if you saw me using it.

agree, only had mine a week..love it.

[deebster]

Hi

I'm glad you've crossed over from the dark side and ditched the GOTO.

Thanks for the heads up. So GOTO is a bit frowned on around these parts? Is that because it doesn't teach you how to find objects the old fashioned way?

I was thinking of going the GOTO route when I graduate from bins to a scope, but I think I'll get a book first.

[NigelCampbell]

Thanks for all the replies - I'll start with the S&T since it's popular and cheap!

I'm moving away from the GOTO because mine seems to be broken so I spent the weekend just using manual - but I spent part of the weekend's observing time trying to get it aligned and it just wasted time I could have spent looking at things.

My thought process is to buy an EQ5 mount - then at a later date when I am fully up to speed with manual observing, replace my 130P with a 200P. (hence the heavier mount).

[Mark at Beaufort]

So GOTO is a bit frowned on around these parts? Is that because it doesn't teach you how to find objects the old fashioned way?

There is nothing wrong with GoTo and it should not be frowned upon. If you live in a light polluted town it might be the only way of finding some objects.

Although I solely use star hopping there are occasions when I sometimes wish I had a small GoTo mount.

Mark

[M4lcs67]

Having recently wanted to know the same question, the answer that rang loud and clear was the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas. Bought mine last week off Amazon after everyone on the Forum recommended it. Also if you are thinking of subscribing to The Sky At Night magazine, they are offering either Collins Night Sky or The Cambridge Star Atlas as a freebie.

I can certainly vouch for the Pocket Sky Atlas. Nice and compact and can cross-reference everything with S@N charts that are published in the magazine and also Stellarium.

Also I use a Goto scope. Still finding my way and want to spend more time observing and not as much time searching.

[Nova]

Thanks for the heads up. So GOTO is a bit frowned on around these parts?

Frowned on? No way. Goto is a fantastic invention. Everyone has there own opinions. Personally for me part of the enjoyment is learning the night sky and learning to star hop so goto wasn't essential for me. But you can still learn all that with a goto and have the added bonus of just going for an auto sky tour. If you want goto I'd say go for it!! But we digress

you wont be dissapointed with S&T pocket atlas Nigel!!

[Stu]

Just ordered the S&T pocket atlas. I have got a Cambridge Star Atlas but had been looking for something smaller, ring bound that I don't mind taking out in the dew etc so thanks for the recommendation.

The goto mount is great, particularly for finding and tracking objects at high magnifications but I must say that finding things manually is very enjoyable and, whilst I have a reasonable knowledge of the sky, I want to expand the number of objects I can find unaided by goto. One of my problems is that I have a dreadful memory for names! Better with numbers though so should focus on messier/ngc numbers rather than names.

Thanks to MjrTom for inspiring me to find ngc 457 (I think!) at psp, a lovely little open cluster in Cassiopeia which I had not seen before. Very nice, and rewarding to find.

Stu

[Moonshane]

the ET cluster! great object

[Stu]

It was great. Fun to observe :-)

[moflaher]

I suggest the pocket star atlas, plus Taki's 8 mag star atlas (Taki's Home Page) and Sky Charts to prepare your own finder charts for specific objects.

[dwc]

Another vote for the S&T atlas.

[onesmallstep]

Thanks for the heads up. So GOTO is a bit frowned on around these parts? Is that because it doesn't teach you how to find objects the old fashioned way?

I was thinking of going the GOTO route when I graduate from bins to a scope, but I think I'll get a book first.

Hi

I'm not anti-GOTO, I just don't get on with it. My first scope was a GOTO and I spent so much time learning how to use it that I didn't actually get to do any quality stargazing. Get the scope that suits you and take my comments as just one amongst many.

[Moonshane]

I have nothing against GOTO either but for the common objects I can usually find them faster than someone with GOTO could slew. I also feel that as I learn the common stuff, I can then find something 'close to M13' or just a degree or so from M57. it does help though when you can see e.g. M27 in the 50mm finder!

[iamjulian]

Tri Atlas is really nice if you want the map to help when you are looking through the scope. The pocket atlases that go to around mag 7 are excellent for learning the sky, but when you look through a telescope and see to mag 10 or 12 or more, there are suddenly lots and lots of stars that aren't on your map.

A while ago I was looking at printing some of the Tri Atlas, and getting it laminated. Local shops would have cost a fortune, but I came across this website: FilePrint - Online Document Printing - PDFs, JPGs, photos, posters, documents, calendars, canvas and documents They offer a spiral bound, heavy card, laminated and UV coated option, for what looks like a really good price. I haven't used them, nor heard anything more about them, but in case anyone else is looking to print and laminate a star map, they could be worth a look.