Recomend me a good beginners.....

[Kai]

Star Atlas please

Something that i can use to Star hop and is easy to read as i am not that experianced at navigating visually (as opposed to Goto)

Cheers

[jgs001]

Steve, what about Turn Left at Orion ? as a starting point ?

[Ford Prefect]

Another vote for turn left at Orion, Its very clear and easy to use, ( even for me, who gets lost in our local tescos car park )

Jon

[Kai]

Sorry i should of made myself clearer John

I have TLAO but am looking for something like Nortons Star Atlas (or maybe even Nortons if people recomend it) that gives me more detail but isnt complicated.

I suppose a good Field Atlas is what im after

Cheers

[kniclander]

TLAO is good but it's not a star atlas. Tirion and Sinnott (?) is good without being over-detailed (stars down to about mag 9).

"A Guide to astronomical Wonders" is also good - a bit more advanced than TLAO - several hundred objects with small quite detailed maps for each one.

[jgs001]

... Sorry Steve, I'm going to go back to sleep now ...

There's a description of how to use Nortons in this months S@N mag (p78) if it's any help deciding ...

[Adelie]

Nortons is a decent choice with stars in both hemispheres down to about 6th magnitude, all Messier objects and some of the brighter NGCs and ICs. The only problem is I'm not sure if it's still in print.

[jgs001]

Apparently you can get it on offer from S@N... via the bookshop 01803 865913..

p80 of this months mag.

[Milamber]

Uranometria 2000.0? An excellent series of books with images through various eyepieces as well so you *know* what you should be seeing for any given target. I like the text too, clearly written by people that are enjoying themselves.

Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas

Damned pricey mind you, but worthy of heirloom status.

Arthur

[Merlin66]

Have a look at J Torres "CnebulaX" and the Tri Atlas.

The atlas can be printed off with limits of 6.5mag, 9.0mag and 11.0mag!!!!

JR's website on Deep Sky Astronomy

[Andrew*]

Bargain!

This is a great atlas. Shows almost every DSO you're likely to see and at a good scale, mapped very clearly. Not to mention it is really nice and small:D

[FLO]

I print off charts, on the actual night, using Starry Night for the area that interests me. Some say the freely available Carte du Ciel is better (for printing charts) but I have not made a comparison.

It is handy because you can print whatever field of view you like, i.e. you can print one chart showing the whole constellation Orion then another showing only the trapezium stars in M42. Also useful for identifying the Moons of Jupiter and Saturn and if asteroids are your thing you can include their location on the chart.

HTH

[barkis]

Nortons has long been termed the Astronomers Bible. Mine is a bit dog eared now, but the number of times I refer to it is incredible.

It is not too unweildy , and the maps are good, and well laid out.

You could do worse than get a copy Steve. IMO that is.

Ron.

[PeterW]

I second the Jose Torres Tri-Atlas, a really good set. You could also try the The Observer's Sky Atlas: With 50 Star Charts Covering the Entire Sky: Amazon.co.uk: Erich Karkoschka: Books which gives you really useful little finder charts for the objects in it, that give you enough stars to do the job properly, unlike the vast majority (I think) of other observing books. I want a chart I can go to the scope with and stand a chance of finding the object. For things like Comets I either print a chart with Skymap Pro or print out the sheet from the Tri-Atlas and mark the location on that.

Good luck, it's good to see someone wanting to avoid Goto. You learn the sky better if you have to do (a little) work!

PEterW

[hal2000]

Although it is an excellent atlas, the problem with Norton's is that is is quite big and heavy to handle in the field. It is really more of a reference book. The new Cambridge Double Star Atlas is superbly laid out and easy to use, and the maps are probably Wil Tirion's best yet.

[steve_bham]

Ive just got turn left at orion and can highly recommend it, also subscribed to the sky at night magazine where you get a free star atlas.

[Starflyer]

Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas - compact, spiral-bound, works under red light, has laminated pages and it's so under priced it's a steal

[arad85]

Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas - compact, spiral-bound, works under red light, has laminated pages and it's so under priced it's a steal

Err... you sure The one I ordered (and received) last week doesn't seem to (unless it is a very thin coating of some description on the page)... I agree though a steal - I paid £9.08 delivered for mine from aphrohead.com (takes 4-5 days but I also got Sinott/Tirons Sky Atlas 2000.0 from there too at £30)

[iamjulian]

Try this:

Siaris.net

Covers the whole sky to mag 7.5 including lots of DSOs.

PDF format.

I printed it out double sided and had the sheets laminated.

I now have a full sky map for less than a fiver.

[ashenlight]

Thanks for that link IAJ - it's going to come in really useful. I'll do what you did I think, print on both sides and laminate

[DAVPPK]

as amanda said, very good IAJ

[Psychobilly]

Nortons is being given away when you subscribe to Sky at Night... might finally get round to doing that...

The Sky and Telescope one is very handy .. not a star hopper but I keep a copy in the obs... and for the price is a real steal....

Great for selecting Goto targets....incoming .........

Peter....

[lunator]

Steve

I have several atlases

Norton's - 20th Edition - great atlas but the binding is poor as it won't stan up to the rigours of being used outside.

Webb Society Deep-Sky Observers Handbook - A Ring Bound laminated atlas that I have found useful. The only real drawback is the font they used I just don't like it.

The Cambridge Double Star Atlas - Excellent Atlas, ring bound but not laminated. I do use this whilst outside but I would be concerned about using it in very damp conditions.

Uranometrica Deep Sky Atlas- A great Atlas with satrs down to Mag 9 but not for use outside.

Cheers

Ian