Collins Atlas of the Night Sky - Tapa dura

A comprehensive atlas of the night sky covering all the constellations in the northern and southern hemispheres

This brand-new, large format atlas of the night sky, is aimed at readers who have developed an interest in astronomy from reading basic guides, and who have acquired some basic equipment. Their next step is to observe the fainter objects of the night sky and develop a knowledge of all 88 constellations in the northern and southern hemispheres.

Star charts will cover the whole sky showing objects down to a magnitude of 6.5 (approx. naked-eye limit under clear skies). The sky is covered in 20 large-scale charts to avoid the crowding in dense star field that is found in other atlases. The projection used matches as closely as possible the observer's visual perception of the sky and minimize distortions. Lists of objects to observe and tabular data is shown on the page facing each chart. There are also charts including:

· Zodiacal and neighbouring constellations, specifically designed to assist in the location of the planets, Moon and bright minor planets

· The locations of certain classes of object including novae, globular clusters and open clusters

· Large-scale maps of the moon prepared by lunar expert Antonín Rukl. These are accompanied by matching 'mirror image' maps for use by those who employ telescopes that introduce image reversal. Libration diagrams and drawings of lunar features are also included

· Diagrams showing the visibility and positions of the major planets and the brighter minor planets over the next 5 years

· 88 individual constellations with additional charts of particular areas of interest within some constellations

Storm Dunlop is author of How to Identify the Night Sky, Wild Guide Night Sky, Gem Weather, and How to ID Weather. Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Meteorological Society, he also teaches adult education classes, and gives lectures and talks.

Wil Tirion is the world's leading Uranographer and his charts have appeared in astronomy books all over the world.

Antonín Rukl has published numerous books with Hamlyn, Smithmark, Stirling and others, and is widely considered to be one of the world's best lunar artists.