Post by Kalvis on Oct 10, 2005 11:18:16 GMT -6
I wanted to let others know of some seemingly useful and completely free information I recently found on other astronomy websites.
The Mag 7 Star Atlas Project
www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1052 This link contains a very nice compilation of 21 star charts down to mag 7.25. It is available to download and print for free. It maps the locations of over 550 DSO's as well as all double stars with separation of at least 0.5 arc-seconds and a secondary component of at least mag 11. Comes in either color or b/w.
DSO Viewing Guides
Because the Mag 7 Star Atlas does not contain any lists of Messier nor finest NGC objects I easily found some nice ones at the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's website:
www.rasc.ca/pdf/finestngc.pdf
I used just the first three pages of this pdf file.
www.rasc.ca/pdf/messier.pdf
I used just the second, third and fourth pages of this pdf file.
I have printed these out, put them into protective sheet sleeves and placed them into a binder (360 degree flip back 3-ring version) ready for my next starlight hunting expedition. I thought it was a nice cheap 10 buck alternative (for the sleeves and binder) to spending 40 to 75 bucks on Star Atlas 2000.0 and another 35 bucks on Star Atlas Companion. Once I get to use the free ones enough then I might be willing to invest a hundred bucks on a professionally printed, laminated and bound version. To its credit, Tirion and Sinnott's Sky Atlas 2000.0 is the standard to which all other star atlases are measured and does go down to mag 8.5. However, for now and for a beginner like me, I'll stick with the free stuff!
Kalvis
P.S. The Astronomical League (http://www.astroleague.org/) offers similar info, but I preferred the format of RASC's versions.
The Mag 7 Star Atlas Project
www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1052 This link contains a very nice compilation of 21 star charts down to mag 7.25. It is available to download and print for free. It maps the locations of over 550 DSO's as well as all double stars with separation of at least 0.5 arc-seconds and a secondary component of at least mag 11. Comes in either color or b/w.
DSO Viewing Guides
Because the Mag 7 Star Atlas does not contain any lists of Messier nor finest NGC objects I easily found some nice ones at the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's website:
www.rasc.ca/pdf/finestngc.pdf
I used just the first three pages of this pdf file.
www.rasc.ca/pdf/messier.pdf
I used just the second, third and fourth pages of this pdf file.
I have printed these out, put them into protective sheet sleeves and placed them into a binder (360 degree flip back 3-ring version) ready for my next starlight hunting expedition. I thought it was a nice cheap 10 buck alternative (for the sleeves and binder) to spending 40 to 75 bucks on Star Atlas 2000.0 and another 35 bucks on Star Atlas Companion. Once I get to use the free ones enough then I might be willing to invest a hundred bucks on a professionally printed, laminated and bound version. To its credit, Tirion and Sinnott's Sky Atlas 2000.0 is the standard to which all other star atlases are measured and does go down to mag 8.5. However, for now and for a beginner like me, I'll stick with the free stuff!
Kalvis
P.S. The Astronomical League (http://www.astroleague.org/) offers similar info, but I preferred the format of RASC's versions.
