Star charts

[Tiki]

I am looking for either a sky atlas, or preferably, a collection of star charts. 'Great Atlas of the Sky' would be ideal as i require a significant level of detail, sadly though it is out of print. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[Tinker1947]

Google "Telrad Maps" there free and cover all the Messiers, there will start you off....

[Tiki]

I just found this thread. http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/182928-best-sky-atlas-on-the-market/

[acey]

If you want something comparable to Great Atlas Of The Sky then the choice is Millennium Star Atlas (also out of print) or TriAtlas C, which is free.

[Stargazing Glaswegian Gaza]

HI a,

I finde the Astro Box useful as it has a Planisphere Sky chart, star finder book (good for star hopping) and a book on how to use telescopes Good info on what to look out for if you upgrade in future. Most of the books are done by . Had to get it my self as I had a book by him already on Stargazing with Binoculars. And I would also recommend that book too!

4 Items Under £20 in one package. A lot more otherwise. Ideal for beginners.

[acey]

Yes, Astro Box looks like great value for beginners. But the OP is looking for something that goes a lot deeper. Although Great Atlas is out of print there seem to be some places still offering it (at a suitably astronomical price):

http://agenaastro.com/great-atlas-of-the-sky-brych.html

I have two copies, one for field and one as a spare in case any charts from the first blow away in the night. I think I paid about £160 for the first and about half of that for the second (the author sold off the last copies at a discount). Worth every penny. But TriAtlas C is good if you don't mind printing it all off and can cope with smaller, more crowded charts.

Other alternative would be Uranometria, which isn't as deep but is pretty good.

[Tiki]

Thanks fpr the replies.

Does anyone know whether Uranometria shows the magnitude of galaxies, bright nebulaue etc ?

[acey]

Thanks fpr the replies.

Does anyone know whether Uranometria shows the magnitude of galaxies, bright nebulaue etc ?

No, it shows their approximate size and position angle. There's a 3rd volume Uranometria guide (which I don't have, and never felt the need for) which I think lists magnitude and other data. Great Atlas and TriAtlasC don't show magnitude either. Uranometria plots all "genuine" NGC objects (I think) and also a number of non-NGC (plotted as UGC, MCG etc) that should be within reach of a 12". Certainly I've observed a number of UGCs plotted in Uranometria. Great Atlas plots galaxies by NGC or PGC number, and shows them with equal sized labels, which can be a bit of a headache since most of the PGCs are too faint for anything but a very large scope.

For data such as magnitude I use these excellent sites (you can download everything as Excel spreadsheets and tailor it to your requirements):

http://www.klima-luf...cke/index_e.htm

http://astronomy-mal....In.Deep.Space/

Bear in mind that magnitude measurements are subject to the method and bandwidth used: one source might quote a B-magnitude and another V-magnitude. And in any case, magnitude is only a good guide for small targets; for large ones it's surface brightness that really counts.

I don't know what aperture you have, but I found Uranometria very useful with an 8" scope at a dark site, but since moving to a 12" and fainter targets I much prefer Great Atlas.

[Tiki]

No, it shows their approximate size and position angle. There's a 3rd volume Uranometria guide (which I don't have, and never felt the need for) which I think lists magnitude and other data. Great Atlas and TriAtlasC don't show magnitude either. Uranometria plots all "genuine" NGC objects (I think) and also a number of non-NGC (plotted as UGC, MCG etc) that should be within reach of a 12". Certainly I've observed a number of UGCs plotted in Uranometria. Great Atlas plots galaxies by NGC or PGC number, and shows them with equal sized labels, which can be a bit of a headache since most of the PGCs are too faint for anything but a very large scope.

For data such as magnitude I use these excellent sites (you can download everything as Excel spreadsheets and tailor it to your requirements):

http://www.klima-luf...cke/index_e.htm

http://astronomy-mal....In.Deep.Space/

Bear in mind that magnitude measurements are subject to the method and bandwidth used: one source might quote a B-magnitude and another V-magnitude. And in any case, magnitude is only a good guide for small targets; for large ones it's surface brightness that really counts.

I don't know what aperture you have, but I found Uranometria very useful with an 8" scope at a dark site, but since moving to a 12" and fainter targets I much prefer Great Atlas.

Thanks Acey. I now think that Uranometria will suffice for my current needs. I greatly appreciate the time you have taken in replying to my questions.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I printed out a couple of these sheets, and rather like what I see:

http://www.deepskywatch.com/deepsky-atlas.html

[planet15]

I have ordered a couple of Astronomy books from Amazon - one of them was "Turn left at Orion" and The Philips Astro-Box.

[acey]

I now think that Uranometria will suffice for my current needs.

The standard edition is in two volumes, northern and southern hemisphere, and you need both, There's also now a single volume edition. I have the two volume set, they're big books but still easy to use in the field and very dew proof with thick pages, strong binding etc. The single volume edition would be a much heavier book but presumably printed and bound to the same high standard. I find a heavy duty music stand very useful for holding heavy books like Uranometria, or large charts like Great Atlas Of the Sky, while I star hop.

[astronymonkey]

Hi ,

there are loads of downloadable finder charts here. worth downloading and saving as a pdf for later viewing,

cheers

[astronymonkey]

forgot to post the link !

http://astronomylogs.com/pages/finderchart.html