Millennium Star Atlas

[acey]

I'm trying to get hold of the Millennium Star Atlas but it seems to be unavailable at all the online book sites and even at Sky Publishing. Has it gone out of print? Anyone know if a new edition is on the way?

Not that I'm unhappy with Uranometria - just thought it would be worth adding to the collection...

Andrew

[geoff_k]

Andrew

I could be wrong ( I usually am) but is it or was it published by the same folks that publish Sky and Telescope magazine? An approach to them might be a good course of action.

Good luck

Geoff

[acey]

Yes, Geoff - that's Sky Publishing. They're still selling the acetate overlays but not the atlas. You're right, I should drop them a line.

As for the secondhand market, I don't think I'll be taking up this offer!

[spacemonkey]

Apparently, there's 2 available on amazon.com at the minute -

http://www.amazon.com/Millenium-Star-Atlas-Roger-Sinnott/dp/1931559279

I think it's gonna cost you more than $12.49 in postage though....

Dave

[acey]

Thanks for that, Dave.

Only response I got from Sky Pub was "we no longer carry it" so I guess it's out of print. Maybe better snap it up while I can. But do I get yet another atlas, or yet another eyepiece...?

Andrew

[spacemonkey]

I've got a set of the original MSA, but it was bought for me as a present by an ex-girlfriend (obviously trying to impress me, not that it made much difference... ), I don't think I'd have bought it for myself. I see it's value more as a collectors item - the last of the great printed star atlases. These days, desktop planetarium programs are much more useable and can go deeper than the MSA does anyway, so unless you've got a table with very uneven legs (its almost a foot thick), it's not a good buy. Better to spend the money on a decent eyepiece or something, particularly as you already have Uranometria.

Regards, Dave

[geoff_k]

Andrew

Although as I said earlier, I wish you well in your quest, I would agree with Dave.

Get a decent eyepiece instead if you already have a good star atlas. Now that you can use planetarium programs on a laptop or Palm type device or even drive your scope with them, whilst they are not exactly redundant, there are other options not available when the MSA was first published.

I would of course say that no computer program can truly replace a star atlas on aesthetic grounds if nothing else.

Geoff

[acey]

Many thanks for the tips, guys - much appreciated. To be honest I'm an old-fashioned type, and I like my atlases, so I've never yet been tempted by the software approach, not wanting to add a laptop to my field equipment (and being too disorganized to plan my viewing schedule ahead of time and print whatever I might need) - but Uranometria may indeed be as far as I need to go. For a few years I found Sky Atlas 2000 adequate, and for most purposes I still do, but Uranometria lets me go that little bit deeper. MSA is really a case of one for the collection to be honest. But since the Amazon.com dealer doesn't export to UK, it looks as if I might have to spend my pennies on something else.

Actually, I've found over the years that on the whole, books are the best astro investment I've made. The really nice thing is that you can use them on cloudy nights! So if I don't get an eyepiece, I might stock up on a few classics still missing from my shelf, like Webb and Smyth. Or maybe I'll do the typical astronomer's compromise and just get everything...

Andrew

[Johnny Jupiter]

Have you tried Sky & Telescopes 'Pocket Sky Atlas' also by Roger Sinnott. I bought it some months ago and find it really useful and it's spiral bound - handy to have near the scope! John

[Wedge]

Excuse my ignorance, but what actually is a Star Atlas? :?

Is it like pages an pages of thousands of stars at many different locations in the sky?

Good luck with the hunt!!

[acey]

Yes - a star atlas maps the "sphere" of the sky, same as a normal atlas maps the sphere of the Earth - really big atlases (like Uranometria or Millennium) do it in great detail, with each chart showing a small part of sky, and depicting stars much fainter than you can see with the naked eye. For those of us without GOTO scopes, star atlases are essential - though I get the feeling we're a dying breed.

As well as standard atlases I have a few speciality items, such as the Philips colour star atlas (not only shows the stars' positions but also their spectral class), and a 3-D atlas (you look at it through red-green specs and see the stars at a scaled distance - mind blowing!). Not hugely useful to me, I admit, but nice on the shelf.

Because I mostly look at deep-sky objects (galaxies etc) I'm mainly interested in atlases that plot those too - that way I know where to point my scope. And what I've found over the years is that a good atlas is easily worth as much as a good eyepiece, in terms of what it enables me to see.

I just found Millennium Star Atlas at AbeBooks and ordered it up. And ordered up an eyepiece too. So I went for the compromise after all...

Andrew

[Wedge]

Thanks!!

Glad you found it OK

[Talitha]

Glad you were able to find the MSA, Andrew.

I purchased the hard cover set a number of years ago and use it extensively during every deep sky session. The price at the time was a bit much ($250), but it was cheaper than buying a laptop to download my Sky Tools program into.

Besides, the MSA runs on brains instead of batteries... I like that.

Regarding the unavailability of the MSA from S&T..

S&T was purchased a while ago by a media conglomerate, and the availability of some printed material became touch and go almost immediately. However, I noticed (at least in my area) that the S&T publications are now available in bookstores. Prior to the new ownership, my bookstores couldn't even order anything from SkyPub, which is why I was so surprised to see the PSA (Pocket Sky Atlas) on the shelf (needless to say it went home with me... handy little atlas, I like the fact that they included the Struve doubles).

[acey]

That's interesting about S&T. The customer services person who responded to me was from the company that handles both S&T and also a quilting publication (curious combination), who said there were no plans for a new edition of MSA. It made me wonder, in this age of software star-mapping, if perhaps MSA represents the last great paper star atlas - all the more reason to have it in my collection. But I do anticipate using it - from what I understand, it has a larger grid size than Uranometria, and my eyes could do with that, as well as the deeper limiting mag. Though I may need to start taking a table with me on my observing sessions, to put it on...

I should check out Pocket Sky Atlas too - my current pocket one (the Peterson field guide) barely fits my pocket.

Andrew

[Talitha]

The PSA is 6 1/2" x 9" and isn't exactly what I'd call pocket-sized (except for a few of my coats), but it's definitely the smallest atlas I've ever used. Also, the spiral binding was an excellent choice for a book being promoted for its compact size.

Have you ever considered a music stand for your atlases? I've attached a few images showing the heavy-duty one I bought for about $50.. worth every cent. To me it's a lot better than the flat table I'd been using, because I can set the atlas right next to me at eye-level and a proper angle for optimum ease of use.

I've attached a few images. The first one shows the stand 1)empty, 2)holding a Sky Atlas 2000 chart, and 3)with one of the MSA volumes. The second pic shows the adjusting knobs on the back of the stand.

The legs adjust from narrow to wide for added stability, but as with any 3-leg stand, it's still tip-able and care should be taken not to bump it in the dark. (I haven't mastered this yet, but am trying. )

[acey]

What a brilliant idea! I think I shall invest in one of those. And with a red leading lamp clipped on, I'd be all set up. I suppose you use a clip to hold down Sky Atlas charts - I find they have a great propensity to blow away, and the music-stand pegs wouldn't be enough to keep them in place. But MSA ought to stay put under its own weight. I'd probably want to use it at the lowest possible height level to aid stability. Though I'm going to look even weirder now, whenever people pull up and ask what I'm doing in a field with a cannon aimed at the sky. Now it'll be, "OK, you're an astronomer - but what's with the music?"

[Talitha]

Just tell them the stand is for Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

To keep the charts from blowing away, I made a sleeve from thin but rigid plastic sheeting found in poster frames. The plastic was cut to size and then bound together on the sides and bottom with double-stick automotive tape, and the charts are slipped into the opening at the top.. works great.

Btw, the SA charts were originally bound together at the top with spiral binding but it made the set heavy (laminated) and clumsy to use, so I removed the spirals and use one chart at a time. The individual loose charts are kept in a large-ish art portfolio.

When it's windy enough to blow the sleeved chart from the stand (or to flip the pages of the MSA volume), a loop of thick corded elastic is used to secure things. It can be purchased either pre-packaged or bulk (by-the-yard) in the fabric section of most stores.

[acey]

Just tell them the stand is for Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

Or maybe Chopin Nocturnes? The Planet Suite? Clair de Lune? (OK, I'll stop!).

Great tips - I shall have a go. And when it's so windy that the stand falls over - I'll give up!

[lalande21185]

Hi all

Not posted much in years.

But just got hold of the Millenium Star Atlas published in 1997 from Ebay in the UK for £50 :-) plus £9 postage and packaging.

Was just by chance I saw it with 20 hours still to go till the end..........was in the star atlas section..........but I was the only bidder and starting bid was £50.

I reckon if the guy had put it in another section he would of sold for little more and other people would of seen it. But Amazon have one for £300 and one for over £1,000.

When I saw it first place I looked was on here.

Looked online and there are loads or corrections to be made but I am happy that I have this atlas now and wonder how long it will sit on a bookshelf!!!!!!

I just recently purchased the sky atlas 2000 2ed for £22 brand new.

Cheers

[AndyWB]

Just tell them the stand is for Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

Or the 1812 Overture. That'd explain the cannon!