sky atlas

[Daniel-K]

im after a good sky atlas, ive already got a copy of sky&telescopes pocket sky atlas but was wondering were to source one that had more objects and has a bit more detail. quite like reading them when im in work

[avtaram]

SkyAtlas 2000.0 by Wil Tirion and Roger W. Sinnott.

Avtar

[Nakedgun]

Here you go: http://www.willbell.com/u2k/index.htm

I prefer books over digital reference, whenever possible, and this one is tough to beat.

[Daniel-K]

Here ymou go: http://www.willbell.com/u2k/index.htm

I prefer books over digital reference, whenever possible, and this one is tough to beat.

That's perfect thanks!

[Mark at Beaufort]

I use the Sky and Telescope pocket atlas for quick grab and go. However, when I want to be more serious I use the Uranometria atlas as recommended above. What I also find useful is to place the Uranometria atlases on a music stand next to the scope and have a red light clipped to the stand which illuminates the atlas.

This is the clip on light which I have added red filters - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolson-61721-6-LED-Adjustable-Light/dp/B005GP8JZW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1384625376&sr=8-2&keywords=rolson+clip+on+light

[kirkster501]

Very basic question guys?  When you are at this level of detail how do you match the "scope view" i.e. upside down/left to right with the view of the stars in the atlas?  I have not got my head around this at all yet - it is highly confusing.  This is one aspect of a PC atlas that is very powerful since you can make it match the "scope view" (I have been told)....

[acey]

Very basic question guys?  When you are at this level of detail how do you match the "scope view" i.e. upside down/left to right with the view of the stars in the atlas?  I have not got my head around this at all yet - it is highly confusing.  This is one aspect of a PC atlas that is very powerful since you can make it match the "scope view" (I have been told)....

Watch how stars move across the FOV at high power - that line is the celestial East-West line. On a sky map this is the equivalent of the "latitude" lines (i.e. the horizontal ones - called Declination) and if North is at the top then West is on the right (not left). You turn the map so that West matches the direction in which stars are leaving the field of view (or just turn it mentally in your head if physically turning the map is inconvenient). You also need to have some sense of how large the FOV is in relation to the map - either measure and make a wire hoop, circle on transparency etc - or just get the feel of it from experience (which is what I do).

This is assuming that your scope inverts the image but doesn't mirror-reverse it. That depends on how many mirrors there are in the optical train - if it's an odd number then what you see through the eyepiece is the mirror image of what's on the map. A Newtonian has two mirrors so there's no mirror reversal - as long as you turn the map the right way you'll get a view that matches what you see on the map. A refractor with mirror diagonal has one mirror hence gives a mirror-reversed view.

Final thing to get used to is judging whether stars you see through the eyepiece will be plotted on the map, and vice versa - again that's a matter of practice.

My advice is to start simple (e.g. S&T Pocket Atlas) then move up from there - SkyAtlas 2000 is slightly more detailed than Pocket Atlas, Uranometria is a step up from that. Then you're into something like JR's TriAtlas C (free online), or the Millennium Star Atlas or Great Atlas Of The Sky (both now out of print). I use Great Atlas Of The Sky which is superb and very detailed - more than most people need, but right for what I want to do, once I found Uranometria insufficiently detailed to get me exactly to my targets.

I still use my S&T Pocket Atlas with the finder to get me into the right area of sky, then use a low power eyepiece on the main scope with my detailed chart. So the Pocket Atlas has been a very good investment. My Uranometria and SkyAtlas 2000 (field version) served me well but now sit on a shelf, along with my SkyAtlas 2000 desk version, which is beautiful but has never been used for anything except leafing through and admiring.

[Nakedgun]

Very basic question guys?  When you are at this level of detail how do you match the "scope view" i.e. upside down/left to right with the view of the stars in the atlas?  I have not got my head around this at all yet - it is highly confusing.  This is one aspect of a PC atlas that is very powerful since you can make it match the "scope view" (I have been told)....

As a starhopper (no goto) I've had to work through the issues you raise, particularly when the aperture used goes deeper than any printed atlas and/or the object(s) may not even be plotted. The learning curve seemed steep at the beginning, but it got easier with practice. 

[Cygnus_X1]

One of the best sky atlases I have is Atlas Coeli ( Atlas Of The Heavens ). It is almost a work of art, beautifully printed, with 18 or so large maps that cover the entire sky down to magnitude 10 or so . I got mine years ago and I'm not sure if they still make it.

These days I tend more to use computer software such as Stellarium, which is a very realistic sky simulator and is free. It also has a plugin that allows the import of all stars down to magnitude 18...which is fainter that I am ever going to see unless I buy quite a large telescope.

[L8-Nite]

My main atlas is the "Sky Atlas 2000.0" (2nd edition) with its guide, the "Sky Atlas Companion".

The Companion guide gives descriptions and data for all of the 2700 (+ or -) Nebulae, Galaxies and Star Clusters which are shown in the Sky Atlas 2000.0 charts.

Edit: Here are some photos, the first will give you a size comparison to the Pocket Sky Atlas.

[mjpfc]

I also am a starhopper with no go-to (not even a motor drive of any description).

I have an "Atlas of the night Sky" (Storm Dunlop with Tirion/Ruckl) for field/coarser finding

        and  "Uranometria 2000.0" (Tirion,Rappaport,Remaklus) For finer work and tens of thousands more deep sky objects.

        Ur 2000.0 is a three Parter, 1 Northern hem, 2 Southern Hem, and 3 a catalogue of all the articles with information such as Mag/size/ objects near etc.

                                                     It is excellent.

Using these guides is rather dependant on the Scope and finder you have (see acey above) once you have it for your

set-up it becames very intuative (until you get apperture fever then it all changes)

I have a basic Newtonian on an equatorial mount, so finding the object then swizzling the book 180 drgrees just about

does it for me. After looking at the sky I can turn the book a couple of degrees to match the viewing angle but not much.

(most of the time I leave the book where it is after turning 180 and turn my head for finer adjustment).

Mick.

[Les E]

 I upgraded to SkyAtlas 2000 several years ago,its great but a bit awkward to use  outside, so for much of my reference in the field  I use the great old friend Norton.I'd never be without my Nortons.I'm sure I'm not alone in having a gained great affection for this atlas over the years.My first copy of Norton's was Epoch 1950 I bought in the early 70's,and fell to bits a long time ago,currently I'm using the 1989 18th Edition.

Regards Les.

[Wyvern]

Try these for some on line downloadable tomes.

www.deepskywatch.com

www.uv.es/jrtorres/triatlas.html

Enjoy,

Les

[kirkster501]

 I upgraded to SkyAtlas 2000 several years ago,its great but a bit awkward to use  outside

I was looking into buying this tome but I anticipated likewise. Fiddling with the fold-out leaves in the dark?  I think that is asking for the atlas to be wrecked after a season.

I am still on the lookout for something to take me past the Cambridge Star atlas and S+T atlas (both superb).  I am still not versed with the mental gymnastics to swap over and invert what is in the atlas to what I see through the telescope!