Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook, 20th Edition

Rating:
Summary: New Edition
Review: I purchased a copy of the 20th edition of Norton's (marked second printing on the copyright page) and I was pleased to find that the first printing errors I've read about have all been corrected. Having used Norton's since I was a youngster, all I can say is, "Wow!" This new edition bears no resemblance to the very old-fashioned (but extremely useful) book I've had for some time. The new maps are clear and easy to use, the tables are large and simple to follow, and the section on Practical Astronomy is particularly well composed and presented. I wish there were some color photos of the planets taken by amatuers- especially of Mercury's recent show-but there are many other books that do it. Perhaps in a 21st edition, the publisher will add color photos. I think many readers would welcome that.
I'll need to see if the claim on the jacket is true, that the maps will be easier to use in red light because of the green ink, but overall, I'd say this is a long overdue and fantastic revision. Extremely well done!

Rating:
Summary: 20th edition, second printing is spectacular!
Review: In a previous review I expressed disappointment that a printing error seriously marred the usefulness of the latest edition of this updated classic. Well, the publisher tracked me down and sent a copy of the second printing. I am delighted to report that all the errors have been fixed and this new edition is a wonderful addition to any amateur astronomer's bookshelf (or eyepiece case). The text begins with excellent discussions of time and celestial coordinate systems (often confusing to beginner and long-timer alike). The new higher contrast moon maps are a major improvement over the washed-out maps in some previous editions. The heart of the atlas are the 16 starcharts, presented in the two-disk/six gore format familiar to lovers of the previous editions of the Norton's. These maps are more readable than ever, giving visual precidence to the stars themselves rather than labels, grid lines, etc. A thoughtful touch was to print the charts with a generous gutter margin so that stars near the celestial equator don't get trapped out of sight down in the spine of the book. As a matter of style I differ (perhaps) with another reviewer who would have liked to have seen color photographs--I guess I am nostalgic for the familiar "Norton's Green" and appreciate that editor Ridpath and designer Nix have continued the tradition in what is otherwise a major update of the classic. They are to be commended for this beautiful, useful, and authoritative book.

Rating:
Summary: 20th edition, second printing is spectacular!
Review: In a previous review I expressed disappointment that a printing error seriously marred the usefulness of the latest edition of this updated classic. Well, the publisher tracked me down and sent a copy of the second printing. I am delighted to report that all the errors have been fixed and this new edition is a wonderful addition to any amateur astronomer's bookshelf (or eyepiece case). The text begins with excellent discussions of time and celestial coordinate systems (often confusing to beginner and long-timer alike). The new higher contrast moon maps are a major improvement over the washed-out maps in some previous editions. The heart of the atlas are the 16 starcharts, presented in the two-disk/six gore format familiar to lovers of the previous editions of the Norton's. These maps are more readable than ever, giving visual precidence to the stars themselves rather than labels, grid lines, etc. A thoughtful touch was to print the charts with a generous gutter margin so that stars near the celestial equator don't get trapped out of sight down in the spine of the book. As a matter of style I differ (perhaps) with another reviewer who would have liked to have seen color photographs--I guess I am nostalgic for the familiar "Norton's Green" and appreciate that editor Ridpath and designer Nix have continued the tradition in what is otherwise a major update of the classic. They are to be commended for this beautiful, useful, and authoritative book.

Rating:
Summary: It's actually more readable under red flashlight !
Review: My first impression of this new edition is, "What a beautiful book" ! And indeed, a lot of improvements have been introduced, with substantial new materials.
One thing most people forgot to mention about this "old classic" is that it does not shy away from hard technical definitions, tables, and quite a few key equations, which a serious observer will eventually need. Yes, it does not contain color astrophoto plates to make the readers feel warm and fuzzy, but it does contain more key information in one place.
I wish the other more detailed atlases could consider adding information like these in Norton's.
After browsing the atlas chart pages for a few minutes, I started to worry a little bit, especially after seeing the other reviewers' comments about the Green labels/fonts on top of green Milky Way background color. Under normal lighting it is certainly readable, but one tends to think the old black labels might have worked better...
Well, worry NOT ! When viewed in the darkness of the night under red flashlights, the green labels on green milky way background actually turn out to be clearer ! This design for better field usage justifies the choice of two-color printing in this new edition.
It's the same price as the previous edition, but in hardcover and heavy duty paper. What more can one ask for ?
Definitely a must for any astronomy lover !

Rating:
Summary: Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook
Review: The most elegant and handsome edition of this classic I've ever
seen.Don't leave home (at night) without it!!
(No stars missing in my copy!)

Rating:
Summary: MAJOR typo in early shipment of this edition (now corrected)
Review: The Norton's Star Atlas is one of the great traditions of amateur astronomy. Unfortunately, the early printings of the 20th edition are marred by a serious typographic error that makes them useless: in many of the star charts the Milky Way is shown as a green band that blots out all the stars in the plane of our galaxy. This new edition is a wonderful update of the classic, but before you buy make sure that this error in the charts has been corrected. (These errors have been corrected in the second printing. Please see my revised review. RS)

Rating:
Summary: Norton Weighed Down!
Review: What a shame that these classic, indispensable star charts have been weighed down with literally 4 times as many pages of verbiage that just make it extremely clumsy at the telescope. This easily should have been 2 books!
Still, 3 stars because it is Norton's with interesting objects adjacent to good charts.
There is also a mis-print in the charts adjoining the North Polar chart, making it hard to find your way around. TOO BAD!