cover image Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook: And Reference Handbook, 20th Edition

Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook: And Reference Handbook, 20th Edition

Ian Ridpath. Dutton Books, $35 (208pp) ISBN 978-0-13-145164-3

Now in its 20th edition (the last was published in 1998 by Addison-Wesley), this guide to the stars has been helpfully updated and beautifully redesigned with new data tables and sections on the recently developed computer-controlled telescopes and CCD imaging. In his informative and engaging preface, Ridpath, editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy, narrates the history of the book and explains its charts. The book opens with a chapter entitled""Position and Time,"" which clearly explains such physical concepts such as""The Celestial Sphere"" and""Daily Rotation."" The chapter""Stars, Nebulae and Galaxies"" offers tables of constellations with the names, abbreviations, area and size of each. For moon lovers there is a four-page spread that clearly outlines the moon's craters; for stargazers, the highlight comes at the end of the book: 18 sky charts.