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[jglover]

What would everyone recommend as a good star atlas? I've got an old, old Skalnate Pleso, Epoch 1950 which, though still usable, has seen better days. I've been thinking of either Tirion's Sky Atlas 2000 or the Herald-Bobroff. I've not used either. Tirion's seems much closer to what I'm used to but the HB looks interesting as well, especially the more detailed charts for selelcted regions. I just wondered if anyone has experience using it.

[stargazer]

John,

The star atlas's that Iwould reccommend to anyone would be the Will Tiron's Sky atlas. They are very good simple to read. I also use the Uranometria charts. But those are alittle harder to read because they are in more detail. There is also the Cambridge Star Atlas. Also very good. I hope this helps you out.

Becky

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

John,

I have the Nortons chart, and it's ok, but I don't particularly enjoy it's layout. It's done in an hourglass shape for any given date. It contains about 20 pages of real star charting, but the rest is background info on astronomy. And planispheres are fine for orientation, but are not for serious navigation.

I have found that the on line star charts, or better yet, those from a planetarium program are the best, as you have control over many aspects of what you desire to show on your printout. I select what I need for a night of observation and print them on heavy bond paper. You can add or remove elements like DSO's, planets, comets etc...

I have picked up various charts at bookstores and found them quite expensive, and more to the point...filled with un-necessary data and images of general astronomy... which adds to the bulk and expense of the item.

I like to use, Cartes Du Ciel, Celestia, HNsky and Stellarium for my maps and close up details. And as you can download updates to these, your maps will never be obsolete and will contain the lastest info on current events.

My plan for the winter is to print out these charts and laminate them. To be kept in my skyfolder for reference.

[jglover]

stargazer said:

John,

The star atlas's that Iwould reccommend to anyone would be the Will Tiron's Sky atlas. They are very good simple to read. I also use the Uranometria charts. But

Hi Becky,

I'm leaning towards Tirion's Sky Atlas Deluxe, aminly because of the price. Amazon has them for about $40 with free shipping, which is half the price of the Herald-Bobroff. I considered the Cambridge Atlas, but I've got a copy of Tirion's Bright Star Atlas in the back of my Astronomy with Binoculars book, so this seemed like duplication to me. The one thing I like about the H-B atlas was the close up detailed charts of specific regions, but I can also get similiar detail from my software (Orion's version of TheSky) as well.

[jglover]

Chicago said:

John,

I have the Nortons chart, and it's ok, but I don't particularly enjoy it's layout. It's done in an hourglass shape for any given date. It contains about 20 pages

...


I have found that the on line star charts, or better yet, those from a planetarium program are the best, as you have control over many aspects of what you desire to

I used to use Norton's as well Joe, but to me, it seems to be light on the charts and I really do not like the format any more. I prefer something that opens flat for use in the field, it is just easier for me to use that way. Still, Norton's is a classic and is a pretty usefull atlas, but just does not suit my style.

I also use planetarium software. Right now I've got Orion's version of TheSky and am debating upgrading to either TheSky6 or to StarryNight Pro. I'm leaning more towards StarryNight as it is significantly cheaper the TheSky6 for the package that allows telescope control. But that purchase is reserved for next fiscal year's budget!!