Binocular Astronomy, 2nd Edition

By Craig Crossen and Wil Tirion.

Product Information: 8.5" by 11.00", 224 pages, hardbound, published 2008.

Binocular Astronomy and a pair of binoculars are all you need to begin observing the night sky — stars, open and globular clusters, bright and dark nebulae, galaxies, and much more. The binoculars need not be expensive! The majority of the objects described in this book were viewed by the author using a pair of $40 binoculars he purchased from Sears & Roebuck in 1978. The chances are good that you now have or can borrow a pair of binoculars that will do very nicely.

For this edition, Craig Crossen has added descriptions and discussions of a large number of objects visible only in “ giant ” and “ supergiant ” binoculars (glasses of the 11 x 80, 20 x 70, or 15 x 110 range). Thus this book should be useful even to owners of small richest-field telescopes.

You don ' t have to buy an atlas. Binocular Astronomy includes Wil Tirion ' s 10-map The Bright Star Atlas 2000.0. This atlas plots practically every star visible with the naked eye plus hundreds of deep-sky objects. Tirion has also created 31 detailed finder charts, two of which are double-page spreads, plus a set of seasonal finder charts. Also included are 25 photographs (most are wide field) and 40 Tables.

Not only does Binocular Astronomy help you locate objects but it explains what they are and how they fit into our understanding of the universe. While there is great aesthetic beauty in the night sky, there is also the Science of Astronomy. You can easily skip over the technical jargon, but you will probably soon find yourself recognizing a star ' s age by its color, understanding its place in our Galaxy by its distance and much else.

Binocular Astronomy will show you why most experienced amateur astronomers think that binoculars should be the first optical instrument for the beginner and why they are of value to even seasoned observers.