Guide to the Night Sky: A Guided Tour of the Stars & Constellations

Philip's Astronomy

by Patrick Moore

Work your way around the night sky with this illustrated guide to stargazing for the complete newcomer, written in clear, non-technical language. Sir Patrick Moore takes the reader on a guided tour of the stars and constellations seen from the northern hemisphere, using easily recognizable key star groups to 'jump' from one area of the sky to the next. All stars shown on the maps can be seen with the naked eye.

Genres: Nonfiction, Astronomy, Science, Reference

Paperback

First published December 31, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name.

Sir Alfred Patrick Caldwell-Moore, CBE, Hon FRS, FRAS, known as Patrick Moore, was an English amateur astronomer, who is the most well known English promoter of astronomy. Moore wrote numerous books on the subject, as well as make public, television and radio appearances, over the course of his long life. He is credited as having done more than any other to raise the profile of astronomy among the British general public.

Reviews

[أسرا · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected more honestly.. the book neglects so many aspects and constellations as it is for “ beginners” yeah I understand you won’t talk about every single star in a beginners book yet it talks about only some 11 constellations - or less, not sure! - they could do MUCH better.
And it talks mainly about the night sky in Britain so if you live in the south it wouldn’t do you any good, I live in the ME and I felt that it wasn’t for me, which is normal because there’s no way they would cover the entire Earth.

[Fanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Patrick Moore called astrology "rubbish" in this book. Now this isn't a huge thing, but it wasn't necessary at all.. oh well.
From time to time I read nonfiction and like to learn about physics and astronomy, and this is a short introduction into the latter. I'll try to pick this book up each season and try these methods to identify the different stars and constellations of the night sky.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful little book. Packed with information along with useful tips. A great introduction to this fascinating subject.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here is a short crisp guide book to the night sky, aimed at the complete beginner. Sir Patrick's guide is uncluttered, concise and clear, for skywatchers of the northern hemisphere. No telescopes or high powered optics needed either. All the sky maps show just the main stars well within naked eye limits, mostly around magnitude 2 or 3, so no requirements for dark sky sites. There are four chapters dealing with the winter, spring, summer and autumn constellations as well as showing locations of some of the naked eye Messier objects.
I've only given this two stars from my own perspective, however for the newcomer to the starry vistas, this is another excellent introduction.

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

A basic book about the stars. If you are a beginner like me, you could do a lot worse than start with this one!