Burnham's Celestial Handbook

by Robert Burnham Jr.

Book Overview

Volume I of this comprehensive three-part guide to the thousands of celestial objects outside our solar system ranges from Andromeda through Cetus. Objects are grouped according to constellation, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486240630
• ISBN13: 9780486240633
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Weight: 2.31 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A rare book to be cherished.

Robert Burnham, Jr., spent twenty years at Lowell Observatory participating in a proper motion survey. During his tenure, he wrote this mammoth 3-volume work covering nearly every object visible in 2- to 12-inch telescopes. Each chapter, covering one constellation (both northern and southern hemispheres), begins with a detailed list of all stellar objects (double stars, variable stars, and deep sky objects). Then, he delves, sometimes rather deeply, into the more significant objects of that constellation, bringing together history, philosophy, and science to describe each one. His chapter on Sagittarius, for example, includes a 25-page section on the dense portion of the Milky Way blending current 1970s science with wonderful passages from Greek and Eastern philosophies, Native American legends, and the history of science. His prose for each chapter reflects the content he covers: lyrical prose when describing the "personal" aspects of observing objects, and readable, accessible language to delineate the science behind what we know about objects in the heavens. Moreover, each chapter has photographs of many of the stars and nebulae with telescopes and cameras ranging from a 5-inch astrograph to the 200-inch Hale telescope of Palomar Observatory.Yes, the book is thirty years old and a little out-of-date. And, the typewritten font looks homely. But that's part of its charm. Burnham initially self-published this very personal book from his kitchen table. Literally. (Astronomy magazine published a very interesting "self-interview" by Burnham in March, 1982 which provides some background on his struggles to get it published.) From a small-press run of looseleaf copies in binders, it became somewhat of a cult classic among amateurs because nothing as detailed like this had been published before. (True, T.W. Webb's "Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes" was available, but it was last published in 1917.)I know of no other book that combines personal, reflective commentary on "mundane" objects like the Big Dipper (officially, the Ursa Major Moving Cluster), and clear, concise descriptions of variable stars, Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams, and finder charts for objects like 3C273, the brightest quasar visible to amateur-sized scopes. (Trust me: spend the 30-minutes or so tracking this last one down at a star party and you'll have a line of folks waiting to look at a faint star-like object, the light of which left 3C273 long before the earth was even formed.)One side note: if you're interested in the rather tragic life of Burnham, search for "Sky Writer", an article by Tony Ortega, published in the Phoenix, AZ "New Times" newspaper for September 25-October 1, 1997. All readers of Celestial Handbook owe Ortega a nod for the herculean task of piecing together Burnham's life.

Absolutely "must have" book!

What can be said about this three-volume classic that hasn't been said thousands of times before? Burnham's combination of history, poetry, and science are captivating and enthralling. Though some of the science is no longer up to date, remember, you're not writing your dissertation, you're sharing the wonder of the night sky with a guy who's seen everything and done your homework for you. A timeless classic.

A peerless classic

Robert Burnham's classic work could rightfully be called the Bible of American amateur astronomers (in Europe, the Webb Society handbooks probably earn that title). Volume 1 begins with an overview of various aspects of observational astronomy, focusing on the various cataloging and classification systems used to describe stars, nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. The remainder of the three volumes consist of chapters for each constellation. Each chapter begins with a table that give a rundown of all objects of interest in that constellation. What follows are detailed descriptions of all notable objects in the constellation. Burnham did not confine himself to scientific facts - religion, archaeology, literature, and art all find their way into the text. Time has had a toll on the accuracy of the scientific facts that Burnham gives - many distances are wrong, and the discussions of some objects, particulaly remote or highly energetic ones, are seriously outdated. Still, these three books form the backbone of my astronomy library, and have grown battered with heavy use. They make for fascinating reading both beside the telescope and in the living room.

Wonderful Books......

Burnham is a "given" among amateur astronomers. Until quite recently there was no work other than this that contained so much useful information in one place. It's also much more than just a reference. Despite his twenty years at Lowell Observatory, Burnham seems to have remained an "amateur" in the highest sense. His love of the night sky is plainly communicated not only in his entertaining digressions into myth and poetry but also by the obvious effort he put in before the days of PC's and word processors. I began by using these books to get information on objects I already had in mind, but very quickly, the inconspicuous and the usually overlooked began to take on a "real identity" when Burnham spoke about them. The sky became immeasurably richer. Burnham died destitute in 1993. I'm in his debt. He's that wise and experienced friend standing at my side sharing what he knows.