The ultimate guide for stargazing, anywhere in the world The scope of The New Atlas of the Stars is remarkably comprehensive. Astronomy buffs and skywatchers will find this abundantly illustrated reference book useful anywhere in the world. Star charts depict the night sky, and this atlas is arranged so that one section of the sky is shown and described on each double-page spread. The two polar regions have their own individual pages. There are 30 charts covering the whole sky, and each chart has a plastic overlay depicting the names of the important stars. The first section of the book is a general overview of astronomy and includes: Stars and constellations - Historical star charts - The motion of the heavens - Star trails - The Milky Way The other three sections feature galaxies and constellations found in the Northern Hemisphere, Equatorial Region and Southern Hemisphere. The final section covers the basics of astrophotography and digital imaging as well as practical and useful viewing tips. The New Atlas of the Stars is the ultimate reference for the astronomer. Written for a general audience, The New Atlas of the Stars provides 30 stunning color photographic star charts of the northern and southern skies that are accompanied by explanatory text. The strength of this atlas is in the photographs, which were taken via telescope and reveal a complex array of magnificent stellar objects invisible to the naked eye. Arranged by sky section, key maps are available to locate the appropriate star chart. Each star chart is accompanied by a transparent overlay that marks the constellation lines and other objects of interest, such as stars and celestial objects. The text included with each star chart provides a brief summary of the legends and history associated with each constellation as well as concise descriptions of stars, nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. End matter includes appendixes, such as "Astrophotography" and "From the Starry Sky to the Computer"; a two-page glossary; and a brief listing of books and Internet sources for further information. A listing of "Constellations and Deep-Sky Objects" that includes Latin names, common names, and celestial objects with page references provides an index to the contents. There is no alphabetically arranged index from common English names of common objects (e.g., Big Dipper) to the "real" constellation (e.g., Ursa Major); this would be a handicap for some users. The format--large photographic images with transparencies to identify main stars, constellation lines, and other celestial objects--is similar to The Great Atlas of the Stars (Firefly, 2002). This atlas, however, also includes the Southern Hemisphere. Although there are other astronomical atlases available, such as the more academic Cambridge Atlas of Astronomy (1994), the digitally manipulated color images make it well worth the modest cost for a general reference collection. It is recommended for academic, public, and high-school libraries. Nancy Cannon Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved A colorful celestial atlas that will fascinate stargazers and amateur astronomers... Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. (R.C. Jackman Choice ) 30 stunning color photographic star charts... The strength of the atlas is in the photographs... [they] reveal a complex array of magnificent stellar objects. (Nancy Cannon Booklist 2006-02-15) Axel Mellinger is one of the world's foremost astrophotographers. Susanne M. Hoffman is a writer and lecturer specializing in astronomy. Foreword Attempts to document the starry sky may be traced back to antiquity. In ancient Babylon they took the form of tables of figures that recorded the motions of the planets. Eventually the Greeks and Romans began to make depictions of the sky. The arrival of the telescope in the 17th century led to the desire to plot the fainter stars and other celestial objects, causing dedicated astronomers to spend years observing the skies. Soon amateur astronomers began to do the same -- including William Herschel, later to become famous as the discoverer of Uranus. He systematically scrutinized the sky while his sister Caroline carefully recorded all the observations. The introduction of astrophotography had much the same effect as the invention of the telescope. It also led to expansion of astronomy's horizons, and again the star charts had to be fundamentally revised. Astrophotography soon became popular in amateur astronomy, and photographs of the sky became all the rage for amateurs. In recent years astrophotography has undergone a fundamental change. Traditional darkroom work has been replaced by digital manipulation of images on a computer. With the increasing power of computers, the information contained in the raw images may be shown to better advantage. E-mail and Web sites make it possible to make images available to a wide circle of interested like-minded people whose constructiv