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Summary: Excellent but can by for less elsewhere
Review: This excellent resource for backyard astronomers can be purchased for $10 less from Sky and Telescope.
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Summary: Excellent star chart
Review: This is a very good chart set for the average amateur astronomer (in my opinion, that is). It shows stars to 8.5 mag which is a good balance of completeness and ease of use. I regularly use star charting software, but prefer the hard copy charts to printed charts. Definitely worth the price!
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Summary: Absolutely indispensible for the amateur astronomer.
Review: This is the finest and most complete atlas of the heavens I have ever seen, bound for years of serious use and calibrated to the year 2000!
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Summary: Which version?
Review: This item has different versions. I have the deluxe version,- spiral binding, laminated, white background, black stars & color features. Must have item.
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Summary: Great companion for the small to medium sized telescope
Review: Wil Tirion is one of the big names in celestial chart making, and this Atlas makes it easy to see why. With stars plotted down to 8th magnitude and just about every deep sky object withing the grasp of a typical amateur telescope, the Sky Atlas will get you through years of deep-sky observing. However, if you have a large telescope (greater than 12 inches or so) or are a more seasoned amateur, you might want to invest in the more detailed Uranometria 2000. Sky Atlas 2000 comes with a clear plastic grid overlay for getting exact coordinates (I wish it were made out of a more durable plastic - mine has grown heavily scotch taped with use). I would recommend coating the pages of the altas with a waterproof map sealant (sold in marine and backpacking stores). Otherwise, frequent soakings by dew will hasten wear and tear on the charts.
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Summary: A beautiful and useful Atlas, and a wonderful resource
Review: Will Tirion has certainly become our time's best-known and best-selling stellar cartographer. The SkyAtlas 2000 is a work of art, as well as a wonderfully useful tool. I have used it for over a year (the color version) with great enjoyment with both 8x56 binoculars and a 4 inch refractor. As the magnitude limits of my binoculars approach 8 to 8.5 (depending on "seeing" and darkness conditions,) this is a perfect binocular observing tool--it plots stars to magnitude 8.5. I have wished on several occasions that the atlas plotted stars to magnitude 9 or 9.5, so that finding a few of the deep sky objects through the telescope might be easier (especially on higher power and tighter field of view.) There are several computer planetarium programs that accomplish this, allowing custom printable field maps for use at the telescope. Nevertheless, I have found the beauty of the atlas second to none, and simply enjoy scanning its pages with awe--this book was as much a labor of love as a work of accuracy! Hat's off to Tirion and Sinnott for presenting amateur astronomers with a beautiful, accurate, and useful work.
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Summary: Useful, but why no lamiated edition?
Review: Wow, more stars, bigger maps, more objects, clearer text, more "accurate" representation of star magnitudes, what more could you ask from the best all around sky atlas for the owner of a 4-10" scope? Well... lamination. In the wee hours of the morning, particularly in the humid parts of the word, an outdoor atlas of this kind tends to get a bit dewey and wrinkled. Strangely the deluxe "Desk" edition has a laminated version.However, even given this failing, I would recommend this atlas for general viewing. The selection of objects is superb. The clarity of the atlas keeps it legible under observing conditions, and the binding keeps things nicely together.
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Summary: Useful, but why no lamiated edition?
Review: Wow, more stars, bigger maps, more objects, clearer text, more "accurate" representation of star magnitudes, what more could you ask from the best all around sky atlas for the owner of a 4-10" scope? Well... lamination. In the wee hours of the morning, particularly in the humid parts of the word, an outdoor atlas of this kind tends to get a bit dewey and wrinkled. Strangely the deluxe "Desk" edition has a laminated version. However, even given this failing, I would recommend this atlas for general viewing. The selection of objects is superb. The clarity of the atlas keeps it legible under observing conditions, and the binding keeps things nicely together.
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Summary: You learn almost nothing
Review: You learn almost nothing from this atlas unless you have forexample "Starry Night Backyard" or the"Pro-version" of the outstanding planetariumprogram forPC... or any other referensematerial. In "Starry Night"you can get information of the stars you gaze at either on the sky orin the sky atlas 2000.0. But without a refensseguide (with the NAMESof the stars and DSO's I dont see any good reason to buy Sky Atlas2000. Or is there something I did'nt get about how to use this (for afact) beautiful and by all other means well made book?
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