cover image The Starry Room: Naked Eye Astronomy in the Intimate Universe

The Starry Room: Naked Eye Astronomy in the Intimate Universe

Fred Schaaf. John Wiley & Sons, $19.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-471-62088-4

With the unaided eye, it is possible to see moons of other planets, a touch of violet in the Great Orion Nebula or surface features of the moon. Beautifully written and illustrated, this primer on naked-eye astronomy reclaims the starry skies for the lay person. Schaaf, who writes on star-gazing for the Old Farmers Almanac and Mother Earth News , was formerly a columnist for Astronomy. With an amateur's enthusiasm and a professional's breadth of knowledge, he describes his firsthand experience watching meteor showers, fireballs, eclipses, comets, planets, rainbows and halo phenomena like mock suns. He dispenses practical advice on the best times and conditions to catch sight of these and other celestial sights. His easygoing essays are full of enchantment both for devoted watchers of the heavens and for those who don't yet gaze upward. (Dec.)