The Great Atlas of the Sky

[JasonMoore]

Hi,

I`ve found The Great Atlas of the Sky by P.Brych on ebay. According to The Independent one of the best atlases available. I`m tempted to get it.

Does anyone know if it is any good?

Thanks!

[swamp thing]

Hi

it does have a good reputation. Not that I would take notice of any independent review, after their top ten telescope farce.

Here is a CN review.

http://www.cloudynig...5/o/all/fpart/1

[rwilkey]

I prefer one that you can use out by the telescope, the Sky & Telescope Pocket Atlas is good or my preferred one is the Cambridge Double Star Atlas, good large pages and as much detail as an amatuer could manage reasonbly well, at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.co...41655404&sr=1-1

[Bizibilder]

There are several free to download atlases. Some go to mag 15 or more - which is more than you are ever likely to need or use. You can look at them on screen or print them off at will.

[Saleratus]

I have a copy of Byrch's Great Atlas. I respect it as a great achievement--it's a beautiful compilation of data. But it's more for indoor geek outs, and I would never dream of using it under the stars.

If you want a practical atlas, get Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas. That's my indispensable reference under the stars. Almost as useable, and more attractive, though quite ungainly, is Sky Atlas 2000 Deluxe Laminated Edition. This is also good under the stars, and nicer to look at indoors, though once you get used to it, the Pocket Star Atlas is probably more useful. I travel almost everywhere with mine.

[glowjet]

the Illustrated guide to Astronomical Wonders covers a number of star maps as a practical guide to telescope users in the field, the most popular is the Sky and Telescopes Pocket sky Atlas then SA2K ( Sky Atlas 2000 ) with the U2K ( Uranometria 2000 ) being regarded as their Bible. The MSA ( Millennium Star Atlas ) goes even deeper than the U2K and has now been reprinted in three volumes. There is no mention of The Great Atlas of the Sky, I don`t doubt because it is reference work for the desk top and not a practical thing you would take in the car to a dark site. I have also come across references to it as about as far as you can go with a detailed star map. I have a copy of U2k and would not like be without it, that together with recently published, The Cambridge Photographic star atlas, is very good for sorting out asterisms around the target you want to find, which you pick up in the finder scope

John.

[acey]

Just happened upon this old thread so excuse my resurrecting it. I have the Great Atlas Of The Sky and use it every time I go observing. In fact I like it so much I bought a second set as a spare (at the much reduced sale price), in case my first ever gets messed up. Unlike MSA or Uranometria (but like SkyAtlas 2000.0 Field Edition), GAotS is printed on separate sheets rather than as a single bound book, ideal for use in the field. It's not for beginners and it's not perfect. I wrote a review of it in another SGL thread somewhere, complete with some comparison images from the free TriAtlas.

Edit: here's my review -

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/82393-worlds-largest-printed-star-atlas/#entry895376