Philip's Guide to the Night Sky: A Guided Tour of the Stars and Constellations / Philip's Companion Planisphere for Latitude 42 Degrees North

School Science and Mathematics, Nov 2001 by Buggy, Tom

Philip's Guide to the Night Sky: A Guided Tour

of the Stars and Constellations

and

Philip's Companion Planisphere for Latitude 42

Degrees North

Author

Patrick Moore

Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

387 Park Ave. South

New York, NY 10016-8810

2001; 48 pages

Paperback $7.95

Planisphere $9.95

Reviewer

Tom Buggy

The University of Memphis

400 Ball Hall

Memphis, TN 38152

Philip's Guide to the Night Sky: A Guided Tour of the Stars and Constellations

Patrick Moore is a well known English broadcaster and author of popular science material. In his book, Guide to the Night Sky, he provides an entry level astronomical guide targeted to elementary and middle school students. The book is divided into six chapters. In Chapter 1, Moore provides an overview of sky objects and the physics associated with them. He also offers some suggestions for how best to view the night sky including general guidelines for the selection of binoculars and telescopes. In Chapter 2, he summarizes and lists the major constellations. Chapters 3 through 6 are seasonal walkthroughs of the night skies.

The author does a commendable job of condensing large amounts of information into what would be essential for a beginning amateur astronomer. He also does a fine job of controlling vocabulary and jargon without seeming to talk down to his audience. The book is replete with diagrams, photographs, and tables that would serve to hold the interest of the elementary reader. That Moore is able to cover as much information as he does in 48 pages, given the amount of illustrations, is a feat in itself.

The walkthroughs of the seasonal skies are a straightforward orienteering project for the novice viewer. Moore provides the reader with key constellations and stars to serve as pointers and referents to all other sky objects. He also deftly includes interesting information about the objects the reader will be viewing in such a way that globular clusters, Messier objects, nebulae, and other deep space phenomena are introduced within the narrative.

The book is not without its quirks. The book was originally published in 1991 and was written specifically for an audience in Great Britain. The spelling and some of the terms used are British and may be somewhat confusing for the American reader. It seems that the only concession made for the American audience was the conversion of kilometers into miles, which appear in parentheses following the metric equivalent. Large numbers such as a trillion are written as a million million (e.g., 97 million million kilometers 160 million million miles]). Likewise, spellings are typically British such as "colour," "tyre," and "venture" (center). Even relative distances are given with English comparisons, such as the distance between Glasgow and London. Readers are encouraged to visit the planetariums in London and Dublin and to join the British Astronomical Association. One could argue that the nuances of English terminology could add to the flavor of the text and may actually provide interesting points for further investigation. However, the lack of American references for relevant organizations and resources is a drawback of the book.

Despite these limitations, Moore's Guide to the Night Sky is an enjoyable, easy to read book that will provide the reader with the directions needed to enter the world of astronomical viewing.

Philip's Companion Planisphere for Latitude 42 Degrees North

The Philip's Planisphere is an attractive, useful, and durable tool for those engaged in stargazing. The Planisphere consists of two 25 cm (about 10 inches) laminate wheels riveted together. The top wheel is transparent on the outer edges to allow viewing of months and days, as well as in the top center to allow viewing of the star field. Hours are listed on the rim of the top wheel. By lining up the hour with the day of the year on the wheels, the star field for that night appears in the center top window. On the reverse of the planisphere is a Planetary Table that allows the viewer to calculate the position of the four bright planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). Clear instructions on the use of the planisphere are also provided on the back.

The planisphere is advertised as a companion to the text, but is only referenced by Moore in the last sentence of the book's appendix. Nevertheless, it dovetails well with the text and the manipulative nature of the planisphere would make it very attractive for elementary students. The rotational aspect of the wheels gives a particularly true depiction of the movement of the constellations through the night sky. Unlike more common planispheres, such as the widely distributed Chandler's The Night Sky, the star fields on the Phillip's model are presented with white stars on a dark background. This makes for a more realistic presentation; however, outside viewing in the dark may present some problems. When I attempted to use the Philip's planisphere on a relatively dark night (as dark as one can get these days in the suburbs of a large city), I found that the stars were easily visible, but the names of the objects and the symbols of the deep sky objects were completely washed out. This was not attempted using a red flashlight, which would hopefully improve the visibility of the labels.