Patterns in the Sky: An Introduction to Stargazing

by Ken Hewitt-white

Patterns in the Sky (06) by Hewitt-White, Ken [Paperback (2007)]

Genres: Astronomy, Nonfiction, Science

98 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Becky Carlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations. Short summary of each myth pictured in the sky by season. Would be more helpful outside looking at the sky probably with my app, since I am terrible at identifying the specific stars, but this book gives those too, with their magnitudes.

[James Madsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was growing up, I loved the little book Neighbors in Space (originally published in 1942 as Seeing Stars). The closest things that I've found to Neighbors in Space are this book and A Walk through the Heavens (q.v.), both of which are actually much better than my old book as a great introduction to stargazing. Patterns in the Sky includes not only excellent star maps (along with useful guideposts in the sky) but also a pronunciation guide and brief stories of the mythological stories associated with the constellations. Good targets for binoculars and telescopes are also included, but for someone who wants a great introduction to the night sky, especially the constellations, I can't think of a better place to start than this book and A Walk through the Heavens. A Walk through the Heavens is the more elementary of the two but also has more naked-eye guides to finding one's way around the sky. However, if you had to buy only one of these two books, I'd recommend Patterns in the Sky.

[Sinisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short overview of the star constellations.
Beside constellations it explains how to find asterisms - easily recognized star patterns.