A Peterson Field Guide to Stars and Planets

by Donald H. Menzel, Roger Tory Peterson, Jay M. Pasachoff

Book Overview

The fourth edition of this best-selling field guide was revised and updated, and each printing brings further updates with the latest information. As of the 16th printing (December 2018), most of the time-sensitive material has been updated for the next decade. Twenty-four color Monthly Sky Maps show exactly what you'll see when facing north or south in the night sky. Fifty-two color Atlas Charts cover the entire sky, including close-ups of areas...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395934311
• ISBN13: 9780395934319
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.5" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

Supreme writing and wonderful pictures

This was a great astronomy book that i used countless times with my telescope. without this book i would not be able to know where almost half the stars in the sky are. Wonderful writing that is easy for a amaueter astronomer like myself and many others. The pictures are the best part. The mind bending images of stars nebulaes and solar eclipses are enough. Wonderful book!!!

This is one of my "desert island" books.

If I had to choose a small number of books to take with me into exile on some deserted island somewhere, this would definitely be one of them (and offhand I'm not sure I can name any others).An entire astronomy library packed into a single portable field guide, Jay Pasachoff's entry in the Peterson Field Guide series is a delightful introduction to, and reference for, the universe revealed in the night sky.If you have any interest in astronomy at all, you can always find something in here to look at or just to sit and ponder about. Besides the obvious things like monthly star charts for both northern and southern hemispheres, the book contains a complete 52 chart atlas of the sky put together by Wil Tirion with notes on objects in each chart, clever finder charts and tables for the planets for a ten year period, history and lore of the naming of the constallations, many, many photographs of astronomical objects taken by Hubble and other telescopes, an atlas of the moon, and many enlightening charts and tables of things like details of the brightest/nearest stars, the planets and their moons, and so on.There's a section on each of the planets, and of course lots of coverage of the sun and eclipses of the sun and moon.It always surprises me that this book doesn't seem to get as much respect in astronomical circles as I think it deserves. While you can certainly fill a library with astronomical books and atlases that are better than this field guide in any one area, you will not do better than this book in stuffing all of that information together in one "to go" package.An excellent gift for a child starting to get interested in science and the world at large.I could go on, but you should just buy the book and see for yourself :-)G.

Not Essential, but a Keeper

This is not a large book with fantastic photographs from the great observatories. That isn't to say there isn't some great photography in this book though because there is. Many of the photos are ones that appear the way you would see them with a scope that has a 10 to 14 inch mirror, which many amateurs possess. Incredible photographs of incredible sights in the galaxy and universe are featured in this book plus stars thru the 7th magnitude and other various heavenly wonders on constellation maps. Stars to magnitude 3.5 are listed in the back that also includes a good glossary. Probably not a good book for someone who is starting out trying to locate the constellations but there is plenty of other information here that makes this book worth having even if you are starting out.

Great sky maps - and much more!

First, its great monthly sky charts - for both the southern and northern hemispheres, and its many detailed charts and diagrams (all in colors) will help you find almost any visible star, galaxy, nebula, consolation or planet. For the planets there are charts and diagrams about their trajectories and positions in the sky that are valid till 2010. But beyond that, there's plenty of valuable info about most of the "popular" objects and consolations, accompanied by excellent pictures. And there are some other astronomy related tips for newcomers, such as on purchasing a telescope or binocular, or photographing the stars. All in all, it's an enjoyable and valuable reading book in addition to it being a great field guide.

A great resource for stargazers!

Just reading this field guide makes me feel like Galileo! It's even better for use during stargazing sessions; I have identified and enjoyed several astronomical "points of interest" through the use of this book. As an "armchair astronomer", I've also learned a great deal about the stars and planets through the Petersen's Field Guide, probably more so than any of the other field guides in my collection.