The Stargazer's Guide to the Night Sky

by Jason Lisle

The Stargazers Guide to the Night Sky offers everything you need to explore the remarkable beauty of the stars, moon, and planets. Dr. Jason Lisle, a research scientist with a masters and Ph.D. in astrophysics provides a very thorough, practical and easy to read resource to fuel the curiosity of amateur astronomers ages 10 to 100. These simple tips and tricks from Dr. Lisle will make your stargazing sessions go from mediocre to spectacular. The Stargazers Guide to the Night Sky is the size of a hardcover textbook, boasting 240 glossy pages of education for the hobby astronomer or science student. This resource is excellent for the family, couples, or individuals who like to learn and explore the beauty of God's creation. Now includes the free Stargazer's Planisphere. This chart helps you locate the positions of stars on any night of the year so you can better enjoy God's amazing night sky.

Genres: Science, Astronomy, Nonfiction, Education, Religion

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Dr. Jason Lisle is an astrophysicist who formerly worked for the creationist organization Answers in Genesis as both a speaker and researcher, but is now Director of Research at the Institute for Creation Research.

Dr. Lisle is a creationist who has a PhD in Astrophysics, which he obtained through the University of Colorado in Boulder. His postgraduate research concentrated on solar dynamics, utilizing NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) to monitor the surface of the sun. His PhD dissertation "Probing the Dynamics of Solar Supergranulation and its Interaction with Magnetism." is available from the University of Colorado and he has also published numerous papers in scientific literature concerning convection cells in the sun.

Although some creationists claim, as in the film Expelled, that holding to creationist beliefs while pursing a degree at an accredited University will get you kicked out, Dr. Jason Lisle recieved his undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University summa cum laude with a double-major in physics and astronomy and a minor in mathematics. For his thesis and dissertation, (Master's and Ph.D accordingly,) though members of his Peer-Review Panel might have been aware of his young Earth beliefs - their evaluation of his work was based on his actual research and not his personal beliefs.

Reviews

[Micaiah Keough · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FANTASTIC guide to astronomy. It was exactly what I was looking for. Everything is explained in a personal-yet-professional, easily understood way. I highly recommend this!

[Stasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely. Excellent. Definitely putting this on my buying list.

[Edie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apple & Speedy are so interested in the solar system and sky right now. We went to a planetarium at the very beginning of this school year, and they have been "researching" the sky since. This is one of the things I love about homeschool the most. We have the freedom to follow a trail of interest at our leisure. I don't know many other K and 3rd graders that get to delve so deeply into the solar system. We have a nice planet poster up in our school room for a visual and we've been seeking information at the library, online, and now in this new fabulous resource we received. The Stargazer's Guide To The Night Sky by Dr. Jason Lisle is a great place for young children to start learning about God's creations in space.

"This book is written for the person who has no experience in astronomy, but wants to learn how to best enjoy the night sky." (pg 4) Doesn't that say everything you need to know? Honestly I don't know much about astronomy. This is one of those areas where I will learn beside my children. This book is a terrific place to start. Many of the heavenly bodies Dr. Lisle introduces you to can be viewed by the human eye, no telescope needed. There is even a whole chapter on the human eye to help you better understand how and why you see what you do. In case you are ready to continue your study of the sky, Dr. Listle also includes a chapter on telescopes to assist you in making the best purchase.

Apple and Speedy have basically devoured every beautiful image in the book. Many come from the Hubble Space telescope. Apple is completely intrigued by the galaxies, especially the beautiful pictures of the Whirlpool Galaxy. Speedy loves them all! He has really been studying the planets. I must admit I have sat and thumbed through the pages several times already. I am so in awe of God's magnificent creation! If you have children that are interested in the sky, the planets, the constellations, check out this guide! It would make a wonderful gift for an adult or a child, any novice sky gazer!

I received this book from New Leaf Publishing for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always Master Books has another great resource for those who want to know or teach their children the beauty of God’s night sky using creation from the Bible and with beautiful imagery and text. You don’t have to be an astronomer or even know all the constellations to enjoy the beauty and majesty that is the heavens of the night sky – looking up into it and seeing all the stars and the moon and even the occasional planet makes one imagination come alive. If you’re studying astronomy, getting ready to or just have an interest in it then The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky is just the resource you’ll want to have on hand, great for the beginner or the advanced ‘stargazer’. There are twelve chapters everything from motion in the sky for basic and advanced people, celestial events to astrophotography, and more including an introduction, and afterword and an index will make this well worth the investment.



The pictures are beautiful and stunning through the whole book, I can only imagine what it would look like if I had a physical copy over the electronic format of the book. I really enjoyed the first chapter which is the “motions in the sky – basic” because it gave me a way to use a quick method for measurements while star gazing – you know those charts that use degrees to tell you how to find a star, constellation or planet? Using certain fingers and hand measurements will give you and idea of the degree measurements, which will not make it much easier to find those celestial events that we usually miss out on because we can’t find the correct degree.



The amount of information in this book could easily launch you or your child into an in depth study of astronomy. Written from a creation viewpoint and distinctly Christian there won’t be things you’ll have to omit or research more information because it’s all there for you – I wish I had had this book when we studied astronomy a few years back, but now that I do I will add it back in when we study the stars again.

**I was provided an e-copy of this book from Master Books in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky is an in-depth look into astronomy. It digs into not only celestial bodies and where they are located in the sky, but also into how the human eye works, what telescopes are best and why, how to track celestial bodies, and much, much more. I was seriously blown away by the depth of the information covered in this book. It will be a great resource for the casual observer to those serious about astronomy. It’s in-depth enough that you could create a homeschool curriculum around this book.

While there are many aspects of this book that are rather technical, it does give you a great deal of practical information. The charts and diagrams are numerous and helpful. The beautiful full-color images make you want to get out there and start gazing at the stars.

The book is broken down into 12 chapters:

Motions in the Sky – Basic
Motions in the Sky – Advanced
Understanding the Eye
Astronomy with the Unaided Eye
Celestial Events
Telescope Basics
Telescope Observing Sessions
The Moon and the Sun
The Planets
Star Classification and Telescope Viewing
Deep Sky Objects
Astrophotography

The book concludes with a brief message from Dr. Lisle where he explains that, unlike many of his other books, this is not an apologetics book. He is extremely passionate about astronomy, and this passion shines through in this book. It’s not always an easy read as there is a good bit of technical information included in each chapter, but it’s worth it to get a better understanding of the universe around us. As I previously stated, this really would make a wonderful core book for an astronomy class. If you want to add in some apologetics, you can add in Dr. Lisle’s other astronomy book, Taking Back Astronomy.

I admit that due to my photography hobby the chapter on astrophotography was one of my favorite chapters. It was fun to see a chapter like that included to round out the book. Overall, I enjoyed this book even when some of the information was more in-depth than I personally needed for my interest level.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to use Apologia's elementary astronomy text for my younger girls this year. So I was excited to have the opportunity to review The Stargazer's Guide to the Night Sky by Jason Lisle, the author of our older student Apologia curriculum.

The appearance of this resource was the first thing to catch my eye. This is a beautiful book. Text is liberally sprinkled with photos and illustrations making this a great book to just look through.

The other thing that impressed me was the versatility of this book for all ages. My younger kids will benefit from looking at all the great illustrations of some of the things we read about in our astronomy course. But upper level high school students could just as easily use this as a primary science text. The information is deep enough.

As with our upper level Apologia science books, I noticed that the text is very conversational but also very technical in places. The hobby astronomer could pick up this book and learn more about stargazing as a hobby. And the high school science student could pick it up and study astronomy in more depth.

I'm very impressed with this one and look forward to bringing it our to supplement our science this year.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently had the opportunity to read an amazing book, The Stargazers Guide to The Night Sky. This book is written by Dr. Jason Lisle, an astronomer that I have actually met a few times. I've read all of Dr. Lisle's books, and this is a beautiful addition to the collection! Over 200 pages of full color photos, helpful information, and charts of the night sky.
Dr. Lisle starts out with basic "Motions in the Sky"; that is, how objects in the sky move. From here, we move on to more advanced movements, astronomy with an unaided eye, celestial events, and information about various telescopes, star classification, and some more details about the sun, moon and planets. Basically, if you're a complete beginner, you'll walk away from this book with a good knowledge of the night sky, and how best to enjoy it's beauty. On the other hand, if you're an experienced astronomer, you will still enjoy the information, details, and gorgeous pictures!
I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book, but I did find the chapter on Deep Sky objects especially interesting. Learning about and seeing pictures of star clusters that are so far away is absolutely fascinating!
Stargazer's Guide To The Night Sky would make a perfect book for homeschoolers, budding or experienced astronomers, or anyone who just wants to learn more about the night sky.

[A.J. Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for a good introduction to stargazing and I'm glad I found this book.

I picked up a copy of the popular "NightWatch" book for only $10 at a local discount store and, although it's a good book and has some handy star charts, it doesn't have anywhere near the information "The Stargazer's Guide" has.

"The Stargazer's Guide" is written by an astronomer who is a creationist, and is published by Master Books, which is a creationist publishing house. This was one of the main reasons I purchased the book: I wanted something written from a Christian (and creationist) perspective.

Except for the biblical quote (Psalm 19:1) on the first page, and the brief Afterward at the end of the book, one would never suspect "The Stargazer's Guide" was written from a Christian (and creationist) perspective.

This is what I was looking for: a good, basic stargazing guide that replaces the typical and negative anti-theistic "We're insignificant to an uncaring universe" perspective with the more positive Christian perspective:

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." (Psalm 19:1)

I found the first two chapters of the book, on celestial motion, to be especially helpful.

This really is a good book, and not just for Christians and creationists.

Anyone who is interested in stargazing should buy this book.

[David Leonard · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never written a review before, but this book irritated me so much, I felt the need to warn people.

I enjoyed parts of this book. It did contain some good information. It definitely seems geared towards advanced kids, but therein lies the problem. I would never in good conscience give this book to an interested young person. This is a book about Astronomy and the night sky. It should not be an opportunity for the author to proselytize to kids. I lived in a Muslim country for years. What if I had sent this book to some of the children I knew there to get them into Astronomy? The author calls the Muslim god "impersonal" (I think I'm remembering that correctly), he also puts quotes around "god" when he talks about gods other then the "sovereign God of Christianity". Don't think he stops with Islam. When, in the description, it says "God's Creation", he means it capital G, capital C. I have no problem with people being open about their religion, but every single thing you do shouldn't be seen as an opportunity to tell others who do not share your beliefs that they are wrong.

And that's to say nothing of the fact that this man is a scientist saying the only way the universe could be as ordered and beautiful as it is, is because a god made it so. Science is great and works because it tries to minimize personal beliefs, not be infused with them.

[WriterR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book had wonderful pictures and information. My son and I had fun looking at the book together. We learned about the analema, Haley’s Comet, eclipses, sun dogs, and moon dogs. I know that we will use this book for many years to come.

My favorite chapter is the one about astronomy with the unaided eye. One of the best parts was all the diagrams of the night skies. I’m glad I live in the Northern Hemisphere, because the diagrams were geared towards those living at mid-northern latitudes.

There was a lot of great information in this entire book for an amateur astronomer. The chapter on astrophotography was one that I need to share with my sister, because she enjoys taking pictures of the night sky.

This book would be useful for homeschoolers and amateur astronomers. I highly recommend this book.

Disclosure- I received The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky by Dr. Jason Lisle for free from Master Books. All links were current when posted. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I’m disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

[Taylor Rollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent and technical introduction to astronomy. In fact, you would get two semesters worth of astronomy education if you read and really retained this whole book. It is technical but not too much for most people, I do not think. It is a great introduction to astronomy.

The author is a Christian and does not hide that. But one thing I appreciate is that he does not make his view of the age of the universe or controversial topics an issue. He just teaches astronomy. Only in the very last two pages do you get an idea of his views. Even then he simply says that he believes the Christian worldview makes the best sense of science, and I would agree. He does mention a ministry he is a part of, which tells me his views on creation and the age of the universe. I would disagree with him there, but I respect and appreciate how he does not make that an issue at all or condemn those who disagree with him (at least not in this book and I cannot speak to any others).

[Summer Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astronomy

The book itself is one of the best potential homeschooling books on astronomy, the kindle version is a little tougher but still great