Phillips Planisphere

[stevetynant]

In my never ending quest to bankrupt myself I am thinking of buying this planasphere Philip's Glow-in-the-Dark Planisphere (Latitude 51.5 North): for Use in Britain and Ireland, Northern Europe, Northern USA and Canada: Amazon.co.uk: Philip's: 9781849071987: Books as a star map whilst I'm away from home and my laptop. Has anyone any practical experience with these and are they worth getting (I know you can print off maps fromm the net but I'd rather have a permanent resource to take with me if possible)

appreciate your thoughts (or alternatives)

Steve

[Catweazel]

I have a small planisphere, and it does the job well, a bigger one that glows in the dark would certainly make things easier too. I also have Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas, which is a lot more detailed, but doesn't glow in the dark! Although if you are determined to bankrupt yourself, you could also buy a red-light torch for about £15

[stevetynant]

Well I've got the red torch thing covered by having a small LED from B&Q £5 and painting it with some nail varnish (not mine as it clashes with my wardrobe but not my eyes as of late)

The Sky atlas looks better to be honest but I read this comment about it on Amazon

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great for a beginner., 12 Dec 2011

By

Mr. Colin S. Harris (London UK) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas (Spiral-bound)

Nice size and clear text but my only problem is the layout. The constellations are somtimes spread over several pages meaning you have to turn to the next, or previous, page to see the whole thing and if you are new to all of this it is gives no real sense of scale to the objects in the sky. It would have been nice if they could have at least afforded to have a couple of pages or even a small pullout showing the whole sky and where things are in relation to one another.

have you found ths to be a problem? If not I think this might be my last putchase of the week?

thanks Steve

[sticks]

I bought the Philips Planisphere as it was so strongly recommended for a newbie but I have never used it. Stellarium and other apps on my Ipod Touch have made it redundant.

[Parus major]

I've got the old big one which is good. Not so much cop at night since you can't see the blumming thing so glow in the dark could be good. It's handy during the day to swat up on what you'll be looking at later.

[sticks]

For planning observer sessions I use "The Practical Astronomer" which is the best reference I have found for describing the main objects to view, constellation by constellation, and includes maps and diagrams to help.