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Description: This book and a telescope are all you need to find, view, and record your observations of the most popular stargazing targets. But what makes this list so famous? Over 200 years ago, the French comet hunter Charles Messier published a list of fuzzy, comet-like objects he saw through his telescope. To him, they were a nuisance. We now know them as star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies! Modern astronomers later expanded his list from 103 to 110 objects -- and they're some of the finest celestial sights to explore with your backyard telescope, especially after you're ready to move beyond the Moon and planets. This book is your guide to seeing each deep sky object in Messier's list -- plus a complete how-to for budding astronomers.

Finding the 110 Messier objects has never been easier! We provide a star map for each target plus written directions for how to find it by star-hopping, an "eyepiece view" image to confirm you're seeing it, observing tips from two veteran stargazers, and interesting facts. We also highlight additional nearby objects.

These objects are presented in their recommended viewing order -- either by season, or during an all-night marathon! Each page contains an observation log so you can track your progress, and later apply for a Messier Observing Certificate from the Astronomical League and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Certificate Application instructions are provided in the appendix of the book.

About the Authors:
John Read is a telescope operator at the Burke-Gaffney Observatory and a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). In 2020, he graduated with an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Saint Mary's University and was presented with an RASC award for Excellence in Science Communication.

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Description: Discover the amazing wonders of the night sky with this expanded edition to 100 Things to See in the Night Sky, perfect for every amateur stargazer and armchair astronomer!

Keep your feet on the ground and experience the night sky to the fullest by exploring planets, satellites, and constellations with this all-inclusive reference guide to space. 100 Things to See in the Night Sky, Expanded Edition is full of information on the many amazing things you can see with a telescope, or just your naked eye!

From shooting stars to constellations and planets to satellites, this book gives you a clear picture of what you can see on any given night. Learn about the celestial bodies that have captured people's imaginations for centuries, with specific facts alongside traditional myths and beautifully illustrated photographs and star charts that will help you know where to look for the best view.

With this illuminating guide, you'll enjoy hours of stargazing, whether you're travelling, camping, sitting in your back yard, or simply flipping through the beautiful images in this book.

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Book Description: The Moon is a perfect urban backyard target for your telescope, visible most of the month and unaffected by light pollution. Through dozens of issues of Amateur Astronomy Magazine, Robert Reeves showed us that a look at the Moon through a telescope is much an exercise in cosmic art as it is science.

In his new book Exploring the Moon with Robert Reeves, Robert helps the reader appreciate the Moon's beauty as well as the science of the Moon. Robert helps us see the Moon as both a mysterious world puzzled over in the past and a world full of promise for future exploration. Robert explains the nuances of the Moon and its varied geology to bring context to its face and give the Moon a personality, and making the Moon a valued nighttime friend. Features:

• 300 pages
• 422 illustrations
• 22 full page illustrations
• 8.5 x 11 inches

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Description: In this newly updated and expanded edition of their classic work, Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion illuminate the night sky as never before, providing novice stargazers and professional astronomers alike with the most informative, user-friendly, comprehensive, and authoritative celestial field guide available. The product of a thirty-year collaboration between one of the world's leading astronomy writers and the world's foremost celestial mapmaker, Stars and Planets features superb color sky charts, diagrams, or photographs on almost every page; clear and engaging writing; a spacious and attractive design; and a compact size.

This updated edition features the latest information on stars, a revised section on planets that incorporates recent research on exoplanets, and some revised charts and new photographs. Simply put, Stars and Planets is indispensable. Don't leave home -- at night -- without it.

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Description: Explore the star-studded cosmos with this fully updated, user-friendly skywatcher's guide, filled with charts, graphics, photographs, and expert tips for viewing -- and understanding -- the wonders of space.

Stargazing's too much fun to leave to astronomers. In these inviting pages, "Night Sky Guy" Andrew Fazekas takes an expert but easygoing approach that will delight would-be astronomers of all levels. Essential information, organized logically, brings the solar system, stars, and planets to life in your own backyard. Start with the easiest constellations and then "star-hop" across the night sky to find others nearby. Learn about the dark side of the moon, how to pick Mars out of a planetary lineup, and which kinds of stars twinkle in your favorite constellations. Hands-on tips and techniques for observing with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope help make the most out of sightings and astronomical phenomena such as eclipses and meteor showers. Photographs and graphics present key facts in an easy-to-understand format, explaining heavenly phenomena such as black holes, solar flares, and supernovas. Revised to make skywatching even easier for the whole family, this indispensable guide shines light on the night sky--truly one of the greatest shows on Earth!

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Turn Left at Orion is widely regarded as the single best guide for the beginner with a new telescope. Using bright stars in the sky, Turn Left at Orion will guide the new telescope owner to dozens of interesting objects even if they don't know the constellations. Contains easy to use finder charts and illustrations that show what the objects actually look like through a telescope. A clear and very readable text.

Description: With over 150,000 copies sold since first publication, this is one of the most popular astronomy books of all time. It is a unique guidebook to the night sky, providing all the information you need to observe a whole host of celestial objects. With a new spiral binding, this edition is even easier to use outdoors at the telescope and is the ideal beginner's book. Keeping its distinct one-object-per-spread format, this edition is also designed for Dobsonian telescopes, as well as for smaller reflectors and refractors, and covers Southern hemisphere objects in more detail. Large-format eyepiece views, positioned side-by-side, show objects exactly as they are seen through a telescope, and with improved directions, updated tables of astronomical information and an expanded night-by-night Moon section, it has never been easier to explore the night sky on your own.

New in the 5th Edition:

• Links to a dedicated webpage with up-to-date tables and images.
• Updated star names and astronomical information.
• Chapter on planets has been rewritten to include pages for Uranus, Neptune, asteroids and comets.
• New section has been added on observing solar eclipses

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Description: Sue French's elegant, informative monthly columns in Sky and Telescope magazine have won this astronomy writer a passionate following among astronomy enthusiasts. In 2005, French published 60 of these columns in Celestial Sampler, a book that garnered rave reviews and earned bestseller sales.

Deep-Sky Wonders is a welcome expansion of that winning format. A new collection of the best of French's "Deep-Sky Wonders" columns, the book is organized by season and subdivided into months, offering readers a total of 100 in-depth tours of the deep sky with enduring relevance.

The book includes:

Suitable for beginning and intermediate small-scope astronomers as well as large-scope viewers and astrophotographers, this book will be greeted enthusiastically by all Sky and Telescope readers, especially French's many fans. It is also an outstanding introduction to deep-sky viewing for novice observers.

About the Author: Sue French has been an avid deep-sky observer for 32 years and has worked as a planetarium educator for 18 years. She sets up her telescope in her backyard near Schenectady, New York, but travels regularly to enjoy the deep sky from different vantage points.

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Description: Listing more than 500 sky targets, both near and far, in 187 challenges, this observing guide will test novice astronomers and advanced veterans alike. Its unique mix of Solar System and deep-sky targets will have observers hunting for the Apollo lunar landing sites, searching for satellites orbiting the outermost planets, and exploring hundreds of star clusters, nebulae, distant galaxies, and quasars.

Each target object is accompanied by a rating indicating how difficult the object is to find, an in-depth visual description, an illustration showing how the object realistically looks, and a detailed finder chart to help you find each challenge quickly and effectively. This guide introduces objects often overlooked in other observing guides and challenges are provided for the naked eye, through binoculars, to the largest backyard telescopes.

This latest edition has updated charts and data tables to challenge observers for many years to come.

About the Author: A lifelong amateur astronomer, Phil Harrington was bitten by the "astronomical bug" when he was assigned to watch the total lunar eclipse of April 1968 as a homework assignment. Since then, Phil has spent countless hours touring the universe through telescopes and binoculars. He is a former staff member of New York City's Hayden Planetarium and instructor at the Vanderbilt Planetarium in Centerport, New York. Phil is an adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College, Selden, New York, where he teaches courses in stellar and planetary astronomy. He is also a contributing editor for Astronomy magazine, where he frequently reviews telescopes, binoculars, and other astronomical equipment, as well as the magazine's monthly "Binocular Universe" column.

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Description: Modern telescopes of even modest aperture can show thousands of double stars. Many are faint and unremarkable but hundreds are worth searching out. Veteran double-star observer Bob Argyle and his co-authors take a close-up look at their selection of 175 of the night sky's most interesting double and multiple stars. The history of each system is laid out from the original discovery to what we know at the present time about the stars.

Wide-field finder charts are presented for each system along with plots of the apparent orbits and predicted future positions for the orbital systems. Recent measurements of each system are included which will help you to decide whether they can be seen in your telescope, as well as giving advice on the aperture needed. Double star observers of all levels of experience will treasure the level of detail in this guide to these jewels of the night sky.

• Gives detailed descriptions of double star systems, both northern and southern hemisphere, whereas most books provide only lists and tables
• Includes extensive maps and finding charts, plotted by Mike Swan, so no additional star atlases are needed
• Incorporates stellar distance measurements from the recently published Gaia Data Release 2 catalogue, where available

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Description: A user-friendly companion for stargazers of all ages, this classic beginner's guide describes all the main sights of the night sky. The newly updated book contains a chapter for each month, describing prominent stars, constellations, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. Readers will discover when to watch meteor showers, when eclipses will occur, and how to follow the movements of the four brightest planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn).

Most of the sights are visible to the naked eye, and all can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope. Sections on observing the moon and the planets include 50 easy-to-use maps that introduce the skies of the Northern Hemisphere and a comprehensive guide to observing the Moon.

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Description: A handy field guide for the best stargazing experience whether in your own backyard, camping, or travelling -- including information showing you which planets, constellations, stars, and manmade objects you can see with a telescope, or just your naked eye!

The night sky is full of amazing things to see -- from shooting stars and constellations to planets and satellites -- but it can be hard to tell what you're seeing, or where to look for the best view. 100 Things to See in the Night Sky gives you a clear picture of what you can see on any given night, either using a small telescope, or just your naked eye.

Each object is presented as a separate entry, with background information on the makeup, appearance, and history of the object, along with easy-to-follow instructions on how to find it. For astronomy and space fans of all ages, this guide helps you explore the galaxy and see the star -- while keeping your feet on the ground.

About the Author: Dean Regas has been the astronomer for the Cincinnati Observatory since 2000 and the cohost of the syndicated astronomy program Star Gazers since 2010. He is a contributing editor to Sky and Telescope magazine and a contributor to Astronomy magazine, where he won the 2008 "Out-of-this-World" Award for astronomy education. Dean has been a frequent guest on National Public Radio's Science Friday with Ira Flatow, and this year he began an astronomy podcast with Anna Hehman called "Looking Up!"

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Description: A handy field guide for the optimum stargazing experience, whether you're travelling, camping, or in your own backyard!

The night sky is full of amazing things to see, from shooting stars and constellations, to planets and satellites, but it can be hard to tell what you're seeing, or where to look for the best view. 100 Things to See in the Southern Night Sky lets you know what you can expect to see on any given night, whether you're using a small telescope, or just your naked eye.

100 Things to See in the Southern Night Sky -- especially for those south of the equator -- includes background information on the makeup, appearance, and history of each celestial object, along with easy-to-follow instructions on the best way to catch a glimpse of these cosmic glories. With this helpful guide you'll have the world on a string -- or more precisely, the sky in your hands.

About the Author: Dean Regas has been the astronomer for the Cincinnati Observatory since 2000 and the cohost of the syndicated astronomy program Star Gazers since 2010. He is a contributing editor to Sky and Telescope magazine and a contributor to Astronomy magazine, where he won the 2008 "Out-of-this-World" Award for astronomy education. Dean has been a frequent guest on National Public Radio's Science Friday with Ira Flatow, and this year he began an astronomy podcast with Anna Hehman called "Looking Up!"

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If you have been having difficulties enjoying your small telescope, this book is for you. There is something interesting about pretty much everything in outer space and it is exciting how many pop-culture references are derived from things in the night sky! Viewing the stars referenced in Star Trek, or talking about a character in Harry Potter named after a constellation, is just another way to make stargazing that much more fun!

I am very excited to share my knowledge of astronomy and I am sure you will enjoy this book for years to come. By working through the 50 items in this book you will achieve a well-rounded understanding of amateur astronomy.

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Description: Written as a follow up to 50 Things to See with a Small Telescope, containing virtually no overlap in content, 50 Targets for the Mid-Sized Telescope introduces the beginner stargazer to a new assortment of astronomical wonders. With easy to follow star maps, unique for each target, the budding astronomer will explore the universe like never before.

Each target has been carefully chosen to be observable in telescopes with apertures between four and eight inches. Most objects can be viewed from the suburbs in mildly light polluted conditions, with only a few noted exceptions requiring darker skies. On dark, moonless nights, most targets will be visible in small telescopes and binoculars too.