turn left at orion (new 4th edition).

[rory]

thought id give a review of the updated "turn left at orion" .as alot of us own a copy of an older version or have read an older version,and might wonder if its worth the money to update .

okay well its now spiral bound which is good. however the paper seems to me very thin. thinner than the norm. i can see outlines from the next page quite easily.

thats probably the only negative i can think of.

its a must for the novice and handy for the more experienced.

starts with all the contents of the original

how do you get to alberio, how to use this book,know your telescope and so on.

then the changes become apparent.

the moon chapter is great and contains around 18 pages of information and things to see at certain phases.

all the planets are covered and tables go up to 2024.again they go into a little more deatail than they did on older editions.

as you go through the seasonal objects ,its clear they have rewrote alot of the text and the drawings and diagrams have been refined.

to give one example of the extra info they provide ,theres a two page spread on doubles to view in orion. and another spread on andromeda doubles. also there are more pages dedicated to southern sights.

another difference this time is they have included on every object the view you should see in a 8"-10" newtonian as well as the usual 3-4" telescope. and give each object a 1 to 4 rating with each of the optical aids

binocular- small scope- large scope.

its all been kept to that straight foward formula of one object per page for the most part and the text is quite large,which no doubt help when outside in the dark under the red light.

over all then i would most certainly recomend this book , even if you own an older edition. i sold my old copy to help fund the new one ,so it only cost me £3.00 in real terms.

a book that experienced astromers might enjoy and use for occasional reference. BUT for a beginer/novice out there,its probably the best book you could put your hands on. i know mine will be by my side every time i venture out to view the stars,weather with bino's or telescope.

clear sky's

[SamAndrew]

Thanks for the review

look forward to getting my copy for christams (hopefully; i've dropped enough hints !)

[kirkster501]

Thanks for the review

look forward to getting my copy for christams (hopefully; i've dropped enough hints !)

+1 I have asked for this also But I bet I get socks....

[JoLo]

Yeah, the book was always out with me when I started out. It really helped me to learn what I would expect to see in the finder, and helped me hone my star hopping skills. I still use it, especially at outreach programs.

Sounds like the new version is a real improvement...thanks for the review Rory.

Joe

[ken rigg]

I look at my copy every time i go to my daughters,its been there about a month now and i can`t read it because its all wrapped up in crimbo paper .Roll on the 25th,can`t wait.

[paul schofield]

Great review Rory. Made up my mind, I am getting it.

[gooseholla]

Coming from a man who has many spiral bound books for music: I've never had one that lasted very long before the pages started ripping and the spirals going out of shape, making it hard to change pages, which leads to - yup, you've guessed it! - more ripped pages.

To me, hard back is always the way to go in books (although I acknowledge the fact that it is harder to lay open!).

[Barlivia]

This is a fantastic book which any novice should buy with their first telescope. It's helped me out no end and I take it with me every time I go out observing. Must have a look at the new edition when I'm in the bookstore next

[Rattler]

Nice review. I've ordered my cope and it should be here soon.

[rory]

its a great book, invaluable to us newbie's. nice and simple.

[inspectapart]

I find this book quite an enjoyable read, it certainly has it`s merits, however, it has for me, one major defect....

As an astronomical reference book, I expect to be able to trust what I am reading to be correct, otherwise the book has to be thought of, and read, as a rough guide only. When there are so many mistakes; miss named craters; wrongly drawn star positions etc. you lose confidence in the reliability of the work.,

I like my books to be accurate enough to be able to quote the info I have gained from reading that book if ever I am asked a question !!

Shame really, as these inconsistencies and errors somewhat ruin what could have been a great book.

Bob

[ismangil]

Hi Bob,

Are you aware of an errata list so we know which bits are in error?

Perry

[inspectapart]

Hi Perry, no I`m not aware of an errata list. Would be usefull. I did read somewhere on this site that the next print will put the errors right but that`s no good to existing owners of the book.

[ismangil]

Hi Perry, no I`m not aware of an errata list. Would be usefull. I did read somewhere on this site that the next print will put the errors right but that`s no good to existing owners of the book.

Ok thanks, just curious where have you found out about these errors as I would like to know as well.

Perry

[KeithB]

Used this book for the first time in anger last night.

Combined with a telrad finder I am finding it great for locating objects which I don't think I would ever have found otherwise.

Highly recommended.