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Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook (20th Edition) |
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Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook (20th Edition)
List Price: $31.80
Our Price: $20.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Benjamin Cummings
Author: Ian Ridpath
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: 2003-10-17
Publisher: Benjamin Cummings
Label: Benjamin Cummings
Number Of Pages: 208
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Editorial Review:
The most famous guide to the stars is now the most accessible! Generations of amateur astronomers have called it simply Norton's: the most famous star atlas in the world. Now in a beautifully redesigned, two-color landmark 20th edition, this combination star atlas and reference guide has no match in the field. First published in 1910, coinciding with the first of two appearances by Halley's Comet last century, Norton's owes much of its legendary success to its unique maps, arranged in slices or gores, each covering approximately one-fifth of the sky. Apart from being presented more accessibly than ever before, the text and tables have been revised and updated to account for the new and exciting developments in our observation of the cosmos. The star maps themselves were plotted using advanced computer techniques yielding outstanding accuracy and legibility. Every heavenly object visible to the naked eye is included--stars to magnitude 6, star clusters, and galaxies, as well as other celestial objects.Presented with an authority that has stood for generations, observation hints, technical explanations, and pointers to specialized information sources make this the only essential guide to the night sky. The updated and revised hardcover 20th edition also has new moon maps, clearer tables, new diagrams and a section on the latest computer driven telescopes--today's perfect home reference for curious minds from beginners to dedicated star gazers! What are people saying? ..."The unique and time-honored projection used in the Norton's star charts is particularly handy and has always been my favorite." --Professor Owen Gingerich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics "Once in a blue moon a book appears to dramatically and forever change its subject; in short, the work becomes an indispensable resource for generations. Norton's Star Atlas is such a work." --Leif J. Robinson, Editor Emeritus, Sky and Telescope "Ian Ridpath is one of the most dedicated and prolific writers on astronomy. His works all have clarity and authority, and he is ideally suited to infuse new life into a classic." --Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, University of Cambridge, author of Our Final Hour
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Reverse title  2007-08-25
Don't buy this for the "STAR ATLAS", but only as a "REFERENCE HANDBOOK." As a good overall guide to astronomy this is very useful. But the star maps are deficient...Look @ the slip cover...white stars on dark blue sky, however the maps are black stars on white background...But the real problem for me is the charts themselves...For example Chart 14 find M7 & M6...Now never having learned my Constellations, I would just go out in the summer look south and find the "teapot" and there to the right is M7 & 6...However on Chart 14 ONLY the handle of the teapot is printed, three stars, the top and spout are missing! So how useful can this chart be? Much more helpful are charts by Tirion in such books as A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets, a bit small but wonderful detail and scale. I bot Norton's used and as such would again, but would't pay even discounted new price. Rate 5 for reference and 1 for as Star Atlas
Update to Norton is a winner 2006-09-03
This is close to the ideal beginner astronomer guide. No, it isn't "Sky Atlas 2000.0", but it's not meant to be. Most beginners would be totally confused by SA 2000.0's detail.
Norton's Atlas has large swaths of sky covered in each map. The most important objects are clearly marked and the reference material associated with the maps helps new observers get the most out of them.
However, Norton's Atlas is not just an atlas. It also contains much reference material to help the beginner understand the hows and whys. Norton may be the ideal beginning observer's guide and atlas.
Note: Make sure that you order the latest edition, which is the 20th edition.
Better options  2006-07-29
Most people who buy a star atlas are just getting to know the heavens, probably with a telescope and lots of enthusiasm. I would fit this description, so it is appropo that I review the two atlases I have used recently. I compared the "Collins Atlas of the Night Sky, 2005" to Nortons 20th ed, 2004.
After the first few weeks I found myself using the Collins choice more often. Norton's is the granddaddy, of course. But sometimes up-and-coming authors try to raise the bar, and this seems to have happened here. I like the color coding and the superior layout of Collins, And I especially like the section #2, where magnified maps alphabetically listed by constellation are presented. When you see something in the sky you want to identify, you usually think "it's in Orion", and want to flip to that page. Easy. You don't think, "it's at about RA 05h, dec +7 deg.
Norton's, on the other hand, has an introductory text of basic astronomy tagged on. If you don't already have an astronomy text it might add something, but most of us already have one. I liked the descriptions of stellar time, tropical vs siderial vs synodic months.
The biggest knock on Norton's, however, is the star charts aren't as easy to read, especially in the dark. I found a few errors as well. For example, the entire chart #13 has no dots to indicate where the stars are under the overlay of the Milky Way. Evidently the printer forgot to make the shading of the Milky Way transparent on that page, so all stars in that area are erased. The labels are present but there is nothing to show the star's exact location, it's visual magnitude, whethere it's a double or variable, etc. This is a huge gaffe! The binding of the Norton's text is also weak, starting to come apart after only a month. I find it hard to pick out nonstellar objects as easily.
I'll still keep my copy of Norton's, as a reference, but if I had to do it again I would buy only one.
Fairly good but not the first choice 2006-07-04
Updating a classic work is a balancing act between maintaining tradition and keeping up with the times. The editors of the venerable Norton's have succeeded in some areas and not others. On the good side, revisions have adopted contemporary symbols for non-stellar objects and incorporated new astronomical information while keeping the traditional format and feel.
The curvature in the charts is well planned to minimize the distortion that occurs over areas as wide as these. In an age when other atlas compilers condemned their users to fumbling back and forth between charts and the index page, Norton was a pioneer in placing the numbers of adjacent charts at the edge of each of their charts. In this respect, Norton's is still ahead of atlases like the Cambridge.
Worth a mixed response is clarity of charts: they are better than some in this price range and worse than others.
Norton's contains lists of interesting objects, information on various celestial objects, and advice on observing. However, on the minus side, the lists were not as well updated as some other parts of the book and emphasize targets--double and variable stars--more typical of observers decades ago. The greater number of galaxies and nebulae accessible to modern telescopes and filters is scantily covered.
Also, it extends to only 6th magnitude, which limits its usefulness for searching in the field. Finally, the book should be more rugged for field use.
In the market of combined sky guide and 6th magnitude atlas, Norton's is in the middle of the pack, better than the Bright Star Atlas but not as good as Levy's Skywatching. Rather than a book in this category, I would recommend the 7.6 magnitude Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas and a separate guidebook such as Skywatching or Celestial Sampler.
Outstanding hardcover nightsky referance  2006-02-27
Very well organized referance to the nightsky. Easy to use and follow charts and graphs. A must have for the amature astronomer.
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