| As explained by author Terence Dickinson, “Summer brings with it fine stargazing weather; it also happens to be the time of the year when our galaxy, the Milky Way, arches high across the sky." The cool, clear nights from May to October offer astronomers the best opportunities for stargazing. Few sights in nature can compare with the splendor of a dazzling star-filled sky, seen without the need to bundle up against the cold of winter. Summer Stargazing captures the grandeur of the universe with down-to-earth simplicity. All that is needed is a reasonably dark night sky, a pair of binoculars or a simple telescope, and this book. The 64 large (8.75" x 11.25") pages of this hardbound book contain all the other observing aids the amateur astronomer needs, including easy-to-use color star charts that cover the entire North American sky for one year and photographic-quality charts for this main stargazing season. There are a total of 150 color photographs and star charts in this handsome and attractively-priced book. Lists of planetary positions and solar eclipses are good through 2010, and the star charts are accurate for thousands of years to come (should you be around to use the book then). With Summer Stargazing, beginning astronomers can delve into the majesty of the starry night to explore the planets of the solar system, galaxies, remote star-forming nebulas, glittering star clusters, and more. The book also includes helpful advice for safely viewing special phenomena such as eclipses and auroras. Summer Stargazing is both a stargazing guide and a pictorial celebration of the summer night sky. Reviewers have been extremely favorable. Scientific American called it “an unusually attractive and straightforward introduction to the heavens." Booklist said it was “an informative, useful, and beautiful guide to observing the summer night sky above North America. Illustrated with charts, many full-color photographs, including excellent ones by the author, this large-format book features succinct, readable discussions of topics such as binoculars, telescopes, observation sites, moon watching, stargazing, comets, auroras, eclipses, meteor showers, and identifying constellations . . . This is precise, readable, and handsomely produced." The author, Terence Dickinson, is a best-selling writer of thirteen astronomy books including NightWatch, The Backyard Astronomer's Guide and The Universe and Beyond, and has more than one million copies of his books in print. He is the recipient of many national and international science awards, including the New York Academy of Science Book of the Year Award.
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