A layman reading this guide will come away with enough information to at least sound like an expert on the night sky. There are even some sections on speculative astronomy, such as the nature of black holes and the Big Bang theory. If you are at all interested in astronomy, this is THE guide to get. It will serve as an invaluable counterpart to your telescope, and makes fascinating reading any time. As far as I have seen, there isn't a published guide to compare with this one.


A Treasure of Knowledge   August 22, 2001
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is one of those books that is somehow packed with meaningful facts but a joy to read. There's also an edition of this that is narrow and has a plastic blue cover -- perfect for sky parties. The sci-fi in me drives me to add: If civilization ceased to exist, I'd want future generations to benefit from this book.


First among the Best!   December 5, 2000
 39 out of 39 found this review helpful

The Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky has been for many years one of the best guides to the night sky. With hundreds of full color photographs of our solar system, the constellations as viewed with the unaided eyes, meteors, comets and other wonders of the sky this Field Guide is easy to use (it has a section on how to do it) and provides lots of information for the beginner astronomer, the casual observer, the more advanced amateurs or anyone interested in astronomy. As it is written on the Introduction, the aim of the book is to depict the objects of the night sky visible to binoculars, the unaided eye or small telescopes. Its small format and dew resistant cover make the Guide a perfect companion outdoors and the locating monthly charts are a real help in order to find the way through the stars. I own a 1992 Edition of this Field Guide and I still use it a lot. Later editions come with updated planetary posisitons and longitude tables along with the Messier Catalog list, periodic comet and major meteor shower tables and other useful data indicating past, present and future astronomical events. Definitively, this Guide is the first among the best of its kind!


Amateur Astronomery - This is THE one.   February 26, 2000
 25 out of 29 found this review helpful

I was looking for a different Astronomy Field Guide and didn't find it - BOY am I glad. Instead I found and purchased this gem, and am very pleased with it. I'm quite the amateur. I wanted to learn more, and to get a good guide to help me find all the Messier objects, NGCs, and others. I also wanted to learn about them. This book has it all - including 136 Sky Charts, Color photos of the Messier Objects (and bunches of others), In Depth Discussion and Descriptions of the Constellations and thier contents (including all the M. objects and many, many NGC objects), Solar System in depth guides, moon photos and guide, and more. Whether using your eyes, a binocular or an 8" telescope, this book will help you to go right to the object of your choice. A handy field guide, yet as readable as a good novel.


excellent guide   January 5, 2000
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

I have the guide to Rocks and Minerals as well as the astronomy book, and as always the Audubon Society Field Guides provide detailed information that is easy to understand as well as many photos, drawings and charts to help explain the subject.