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Good book on binocular astronomy? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter tenex
- Start date
Many people like „Binocular Highlights“ by Gary Seronik.
I personally find Stephen Tonkin‘s „Binocular Astronomy“ even more useful.
I also use „Fern-Seher“ by Lambert Spix, but this one is in German.
Canip
JerryLogan
Well-known member
As per Catnip, plus:
Robin Scagell - Stargazing with Binoculars
Craig Crossen - Binocular Astronomy
Best,
Jerry
Robin Scagell - Stargazing with Binoculars
Craig Crossen - Binocular Astronomy
Best,
Jerry
Phil Harrington touring the universe with binoculars. I would also recommend a good chart, maybe the S&T pocket star atlas as many books have poor charts to help you find stuff. You could also check the Observers Sky Atlas by Karkoschka, which has its own little multi scale charts, kept me going for a while.
PEter
PEter
+1 for Phil Harrington, and the Interstellarum Atlas will last you for many years.
Crossen and Tirion is easily my favorite binocular astronomy book and I have many of them. I really enjoy Craig Crossen's excellent balance of history, astronomical physics, and especially observing tips. It is an interesting arm chair read, a great planning book, and it can be useful in the field as well, though it is an 8.5"x11" hardcover format. It has a version of a very good Mag 6 star atlas, the Tirion Bright Star 2000 Atlas as an appendix. The main body of the book has close up charts and star field pictures that are useful when you are trying to find something for the first time. I use the book more for planning than in the field.
I recommend a separate atlas for field use. If you like the Tirion atlas, there is a separate version to use in the field. I believe the best all around field atlas with either small/medium telescope or binoculars is the Sky and Telescope Pocket Atlas. It is inexpensive, has a very good selection of objects, and is a convenient form factor. However, there is essentially no catalog information.
My favorite atlas for use with binoculars is a very compact, slightly eccentric, combined catalog and atlas called The Observer's Sky Atlas by Karkoschka. When I am traveling with binoculars I bring this atlas, a good planisphere and my red flashlight as my compact kit. And of course there are always the planitarium apps on my phone.
Karkaschka's book is loaded with information and it is coded in a way that quickly tells you about the size and potential visibility of each object depending on sky conditions, magnification, and aperture. The organization is somewhat unique as well. 50 charts cover the sky at mag 6 but each chart has a facing page of catalog objects. For each object on the facing page, there is a detailed finder chart superimposed on the main chart. The finder charts are enlarged and shows much fainter stars, making the objects easier to find. It is kind of difficult to describe the layout, but if you do a search for "Karkoschka Atlas" in google image search, you will find pictures of facing pages and maps.
Good Observing,
Alan
I recommend a separate atlas for field use. If you like the Tirion atlas, there is a separate version to use in the field. I believe the best all around field atlas with either small/medium telescope or binoculars is the Sky and Telescope Pocket Atlas. It is inexpensive, has a very good selection of objects, and is a convenient form factor. However, there is essentially no catalog information.
My favorite atlas for use with binoculars is a very compact, slightly eccentric, combined catalog and atlas called The Observer's Sky Atlas by Karkoschka. When I am traveling with binoculars I bring this atlas, a good planisphere and my red flashlight as my compact kit. And of course there are always the planitarium apps on my phone.
Karkaschka's book is loaded with information and it is coded in a way that quickly tells you about the size and potential visibility of each object depending on sky conditions, magnification, and aperture. The organization is somewhat unique as well. 50 charts cover the sky at mag 6 but each chart has a facing page of catalog objects. For each object on the facing page, there is a detailed finder chart superimposed on the main chart. The finder charts are enlarged and shows much fainter stars, making the objects easier to find. It is kind of difficult to describe the layout, but if you do a search for "Karkoschka Atlas" in google image search, you will find pictures of facing pages and maps.
Good Observing,
Alan
