With the advent of inexpensive, high-power telescopes priced at under $250, amateur astronomy is now within the reach of anyone, and this is the ideal book to get you started. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders offers you a guide to the equipment you need, and shows you how and where to find hundreds of spectacular objects in the deep sky -- double and multiple stars as well as spectacular star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. You get a solid grounding in the fundamental concepts and terminology of astronomy, and specific advice about choosing, buying, using, and maintaining the equipment required for observing. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders is designed to be used in the field under the special red-colored lighting used by astronomers, and includes recommended observing targets for beginners and intermediate observers alike. You get detailed start charts and specific information about the best celestial objects. The objects in this book were chosen to help you meet the requirements for several lists of objects compiled by The Astronomical League (http://www.astroleague.org) or the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (http://www.rasc.ca): Messier Club.

• Binocular Messier Club

• Urban Observing Club

• Deep Sky Binocular Club

• Double Star Club

• RASC Finest NGC List

Completing the list for a particular observing club entitles anyone who is a member of the Astronomical League or RASC to an award, which includes a certificate and, in some cases, a lapel pin. This book is perfect for amateur astronomers, students, teachers, or anyone who is ready to dive into this rewarding hobby. Who knows? You might even find a new object, like amateur astronomer Jay McNeil. On a clear cold night in January 2004, he spotted a previously undiscovered celestial object near Orion, now called McNeil's Nebula. Discover what awaits you in the night sky with the Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 41 Ratings

Good? Yes. The best? Not for everyone. - 2009-10-15
Reviewer Rating:
I've read the reviews, and can't argue too much. It has much to recommend it, and I'm happy to have it. Nevertheless, it's not my favorite.

My main criticism is that the observation notes don't reflect reality. Perhaps an example: Regarding the Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, they say (excerpts):
* "This object is extremely difficult to see, probably more difficult than ... NGC 7645, the Bubble Nebula in Cassiopeia."
* "We finally viewed and logged the Crescent ... by begging some time on a 17.5" Dob ..."
* "Even (so) ... we were unable to make out NGC 6888 without filtration ... (and) ... finally saw this object as a very faint but distinct crescent by using a narrowband filter ..." (with averted vision, they add later).
* "Having viewed it, we can honestly say that it's not worth the time to find it ..."

Oh, how wrong can they be? From my dark site, the Crescent is an easy catch in an 8" SCT. I've done it. Not only is it easy, it is highly detailed, especially if you do use a narrowband filter. With my 12.5" Dob, it is easily the equal of segments of the Veil Nebula. It is fantastically detailed, riddled with filaments and brighter knots. Nearly the whole irregular ellipse clearly visible with direct vision.

This tells me that although they may be experienced, they have never been to a truly dark site. I'll grant that the Crescent suffers under modest light pollution. However, to state categorically that NGC 6888 is not worth the time, well, that's hard to excuse. NGC 6888 is a positively wonderful object, and I've observed it under far poorer conditions than I just recounted.

Further, they state that "NGC 6888 is nearly as hard to find as it is to see." Nothing could be further from the truth. Its an easy catch, 1/3 of the way along a direct line between Sadr and Eta Cyg in the body of Cygnus.

I've found similar inconsistency with my experience. They seem to be peculiarly pessimistic about the views of DSOs. Maybe that's a good thing; many will be pleasantly surprised when they put their own telescope on these targets from a dark site. But I think it's unnecessarily discouraging; I nearly gave up on the Crescent without even trying it!

I have other, lesser issues. The book is in no way suitable for use in dewing, and its strong point--its many entries--make it so thick that it absolutely will not lie open on your table without a heavy weight spanning the binding.

Also, to echo another reviewer, white space in the book is poorly managed. Sometimes all the information about an object falls on a single page, or on a two-page spread. But all too often, the finder charts fall on the overleaf. Better white-space management would have allowed the content for almost every object to be visible without flipping pages.

Finally, the "by constellation" organization is best for advanced amateurs, not beginners. Beginners are better served with a "by season" organization. But since the content is not very strong for advanced readers (above), its true audience, the beginner, is left to figure out which constellations are overhead on the night they'll be out.

So while it has its strong points, I wouldn't recommend it as a "first book" for budding astronomers. YMMV.

A handy reference to deep-sky objects - 2010-01-20
Reviewer Rating:
While I disagree with some of Robert Bruce Thompson's opinions and practices in certain areas, in the astronomical realm, he and his wife Barbara have written a wonderful reference guide to the nighttime sky for amateur astronomers, the Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders. Corny title aside, this volume will keep me busy in my limited time under starry skies for years to come.

The Illustrated Guide is a contellation-by-constellation guide to observing double-stars, galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. The Illustrated Guide also provides introductory material on how to best to observe these night sky objects with amateur equipment and a guide to some of the gear that will make your life as a backyard astronomer more pleasant. Much of this introductory material is a repeat of what's in the authors earlier book, Astronomy Hacks.

The bulk of the book is a deep-sky object reference guide. For each of 50 of the northern hemisphere constellations, the authors provide several pages of information about that part of the sky, including a brief history of the name and story behind the constellation, a table of the prominent deep-sky objects that live there, and charts and helpful tips for finding each of these often elusive targets.

For each constellation covered, there is a chart of the constellation as a whole, and then for most of the prominent objects found therein there are charts covering smaller portions of the sky to help you star-hop your way to find the object. Each chart indicates the field width displayed and many of the charts of smaller field widths contain 5-degree finder circles, and 1-degree eyepiece circles, which are useful, but it would have been nice for the circles to match the 4, 2 and 1/2-degree circles of my Telrad.

Though the charts are nice, I find them a little harder to use than those I print out of the astronomy software on my computer. I think I tend to print out my own charts with a higher limiting magnitude, so I get more stars to use for reference.

The tables of deep-sky objects provided for each constellation indicate the type of object, how easy it is to find it, a visual rating (is it worth looking at after spending 20 minutes trying to find it?), its visual magnitude, its size, its right ascension and declination, its common catalog number, and other pieces of useful information. It does take some time to get acquainted with the abbreviations and symbols the authors use to indicate all these facts.

If you acquire a copy you may want to take it to a local print shop to get the book spiral bound. Keeping the book open when turned to Andromeda or to Taurus can be a challenge when you're trying to use your hands for other things. Holding the (somewhat heavy) book up to your eyepiece while trying to compare the charts to what's in your eyepiece is a pain (maybe that's another reason why I like my printouts better). Perhaps cutting off the spine and drilling holes for a 3-ring binder might be the best option so you can consult one page at a time next to the eyepiece (the book is just big enough to do so).

The book is fun to browse, and is helpful when planning your observation sessions, but the true test for such a work is to put it to use under a clear sky at night. So it has accompanied me on a few increasingly-difficult-to-find-time-for forays into the backyard. At the recommendation of the authors in Astronomy Hacks, a year ago I purchased an 8 inch dobsonian telescope (Zhumell brand). This new scope has given me a good opportunity to field-test the material in the Illustrated Guide--although my 'field' to-date has mainly been the light-polluted backyard of my home in Orem. The book has helped me find a number of interesting things in the sky, though some have eluded me. For many of the objects in the book, you'll need good (dark) skies and plenty of aperture. I found that adding a Telrad finder to my scope made finding these objects much easier--I now spend more time looking at these objects then for them. A good-quality, easy-to-use scope will make all the difference in whether your observation session is successful, enjoyable, and therapeutic, or a source of frustration and disappointment. A good scope will make using a book like this much more pleasant.

The Illustrated Guide is useful for beginners and experienced astronomers alike. For beginners, the book will be challenging to use, but will provide years of deep-sky targets to chase down. For those with more experience the book will be a great reference.

A New Classic - 2009-08-22
Reviewer Rating:
-Just wanted to add another five-star review for a deserving book. I'm an amateur visual observer with about 22 years of experience.

-This portable book has surpassed my respected star atlases as my handbook of choice. The charts and descriptions are highly useful, and the book provides Telrad-like diagrams for starhopping and identifying objects. I can generally find things better with this book, a wide-angle starter eyepiece, and a Telrad than I can with my digital setting circles, and I am impressed with the authors' descriptions, scaled photographs, and accuracy. What a nice find. Thanks to the Thompsons!

The Best Value Astronomy Guide Available - 2009-01-20
Reviewer Rating:
Ever look into the sky on a clear night and wonder about the stars, constellations, and other sky objects? Ever considered buying a telescope or using a pair of binoculars to get a closer look? The Thompson's /Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders/ is about to be your best friend. Good, high quality telescopes are affordable to almost anyone now, and with this guide, you'll have enough information to move you from interested newbie to experienced amateur in next to no time. The first sixty pages are a concise, helpful guide to everything you need to know to pick the right telescope, lenses, and eyepieces, how to use your equipment, what the different space objects are, how they were formed, and how to find them.

There are a number of helpful references to websites for more information, astronomy clubs, and other sky guides. The bulk of the book is chapter guides to the fifty constellations visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Objects within and around the constellations are listed, along with guides for finding them. The charts and pictures are in black and white, but still helpful as reference to users, who will be bouncing between the book and the eyepiece. This might be the best value astronomy guide currently on the market.

The One Book - 2008-10-12
Reviewer Rating:
I have been an amatuer astronomer for 20 years, and there are a lot of books on my bookshelf that I love. When I go to the field, however, this is the One Book that always comes with. It has much of the comprehensive nature of my multi-volume observers guides, but in a nice small package. It's got information that's useful to me whether I'm using my 22" Starmaster with GOTO drive, star hopping with my TeleVue 85 on it's simple Panoramic mount, or any scope in-between. This book is an incredible achivement.

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