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A Field Guide to Stars and Planets (Peterson Field Guides (R)) | 
 enlarge | Author: Jay M. Pasachoff
Creators: Wil Tirion, Roger Tory Peterson
Brand: Houghton Mifflin Company
Category: Book
List Price: $19.00
Buy Used: $1.29
You Save: $17.71 (93%)
New (29) from $11.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 28198
Media: Paperback
Edition: 4th,Updated
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 592
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 7.2 x 4.6 x 1.2
MPN: 0395934311
ISBN: 0395934311
Dewey Decimal Number: 523
UPC: 046442934312
EAN: 9780395934319
ASIN: 0395934311
Publication Date: November 23, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Paperback with light creasing to cover. Text clean and binding tight.
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Product Description
Stars and Planets -- The Best Reference Field Guide Available -- 4th Edition -- Includes hundreds of photographs, with 96 pages in 4-color; maps of the moon?s surface (including the far side); 52 newly revised atlas charts of the entire sky; and 72 Monthly Sky Maps, for observers in both hemispheres. 504 pages. Softcover. --
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Superlative reference November 18, 2008
I had planned to list this book (1964 HB edition) but as I examined it to make sure there were no flaws, I realized it stands above most reference books on this subject so I'm saving it to give to an amateur astronomist. This is absolutely packed with photos, charts, tables, camera tips, and so much more. Anyone with any interest in astronomy would love this.
A must have book June 19, 2008
This book is the foundation of my astronomy books. Until now, I have been using an earlier (around 1980 I think) edition that I bought in college. The newer color sky maps are much easier to read in my opinion. Each sky map had a summary section that tells you all about the section of sky on the map. This is a great help to me for planning my observation schedule. I would say this is probably my most valuable and useful observational astronomy reference book.
 I am sorry I bought this book May 6, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
and I wish I'd paid more attention to three-star reviews. The good news is that A FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND PLANETS is a dynamo of facts, figures and photos and an amazing value at less than fifteen dollars. Just about everything you'd expect a beginning-to-established amateur astronomer to know, or have access to, is found here. But that's part of the problem.
This is a field guide in the Peterson's traditional trim size, 7.2 x 4.6 inches. I got the distinct impression, many times, that a really knockout book with great design and photography was dying to break free of the unfortunate standard field-guide format. In Peterson's more mainstream guides, photos of scarlet tanagers or coral snakes look quite good; in fact, they're a point of pride. In this book, with the same sized page, the crab nebula looks disappointingly dim and incomplete, as do many other inter-stellar objects.
Perhaps the disappointing quality of many photos kept the book's editors from including more of them, because you will also encounter in this book pages and pages devoted to such technical information as sidereal rotation time, or comprehensive sky charts for all latitudes, for all year. The tenor of STARS AND PLANETS is heroic but ultimately disenchanting, especially factoring in its unforgiving soft cover. Ironically, these hurdles are redoubled in practical use since "in the field" for the amateur astronomer generally means in the dark. Don't crack that spine! Very frustrating.
Don't get me wrong: Peterson's guides on the whole are top-notch and I don't mind a little line extention: twelve years ago they did a very credible job on a field guide of railroad locomotives using standardized line drawings and specs for each entry. Obviously there are lots of reviewers here who love the book as it is; but there are lots of other books in the $12 to $25 range that IMHO may serve better.
Everyone seems to love that perennial (and newly updated) favorite, NIGHTWATCH: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO VIEWING THE UNIVERSE by Terence Dickinson. Dedicated stargazers will probably find THE NIGHT SKY COMPANION: A YEARLY GUIDE TO SKY-WATCHING 2008-2009 easier to reference. For a little more money the whiz-bang factor is extraordinarily high in the stouter and much thicker 300 ASTRONOMICAL OBJECTS: A VISUAL REFERENCE TO THE UNIVERSE by Jamie Wilkins and Robert Dunn. Although a mini by coffee-table standards, those photos look great in the more squarish shape, and there's a lot of state-of-the-art talk about how astronomers know the galaxy and what they are looking for next. Even ASTRONOMY FOR DUMMIES, while sorely in need of more color plating, shows what it shows well and is a good and patient guide, especially for the rookie. Very reasonably priced at Amazon, too. Try one of these instead, based on your starting point and intended goal. It's no great trick these days to call up online such eventual and vital technicalities as times of sunrise and sunset, declination, and sideral rotation.
 Great Reference! March 30, 2008
This is a great, little reference book for stargazers. It contains nice images and lots of information. My only complaints about this product are 1) the font / text is very small, and 2) some elements appear crammed in the book, which makes it hard for some who have certain eye issues to read. Otherwise, this is a nice, approachable guide.
perfect January 8, 2008
This guide was used, but it looked brand spanking new to me. Arrived on time & worked great for my Astronomy class. Great color pics & good price. thanks!
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