The Great Atlas of the Sky by Piotr Brych
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Product Details
Features:
- 296 maps with over 2.4 million stars down to magnitude 12
- Over 70,000 deep sky objects plotted
- Each map unfolds to 24x17"
- Designations provided for over 130,000 stars
- Protective film allowing field use of individual maps included
See what Dave Eicher, Editor, Astronomy Magazine has to say:
"Few astronomy books ... have become instant classics, but this new star atlas will be one of them."
"Cornerstone of any serious sky observer’s library."
"I am absolutely amazed with this star atlas."
Read details at Dave's blog.
Product Details:
The Great Atlas of the Sky, Jubilee Edition, is the world’s largest printed atlas of the entire sky available on the market. It comprises of 296 maps, each covering the area of 15°x10° containing over 2.4 million stars. The size of the maps is 24x17 inches (61x43 cm), and their scale is 1.38 inch/° (35 mm/°).
A total of 2,430,768 stars, up to the stellar magnitude of 12, are plotted on the maps of the Atlas, in addition to over 70,000 galaxies, clusters and nebulae. All the non-stellar objects plotted on the maps are labeled with the Messier, NGC, IC, Sh2, RCW or PGC catalogue designations. The maps are also plotted with the symbols and numbers of all the stars included in the Bayer catalog of 1603 (Greek letters), Flamsteed catalogue of 1725, and in the Hipparcos catalog of 1997. Also, all the variable stars included in the GCVS and NSV catalogues have their symbols marked on the maps. All told, a total of 130 thousand stars have their designations provided on the maps.
The nebulae, whose diameter is greater than 5’, are shown on maps as outlines reflecting their shape. Galaxies are depicted in the form of an ellipse, provided that their diameter is larger than 2’. The size and location of the ellipse corresponds to the real size and the position of the galaxy in the sky. The maps also have the ecliptic plotted on, with an angular scale of every 0.1°. In the case of polar maps, the axial precession movement is indicated by the position of the poles in the years 2000-2100.
Maps are inserted in the special binding allowing for easy removal of the maps. Once placed in the dedicated protective film, the map can be used outdoors, without risking damage to the map. The Atlas is supplied with a grid film that facilitates the finding of precise coordinates of every point on the map and to plot objects of known coordinates, e.g. current position of comets taken from ephemerides.
Comparison With Other Atlases:
Compare this atlas with the other great star atlases published in the last two decades.
|
Great Atlas of the Sky |
Millennium Star Atlas |
Uranometria |
Herald-Bobroff AstroAtlas * |
Stars plotted |
2,430,768 |
1,058,332 |
280,035 |
< 553,436 |
Deep sky objects plotted |
70,000+ |
8,000+ |
30,550 |
< 22,812 |
Limiting magnitude |
12 |
11 |
9.75 |
Varies from 6 - 15 |
Map scale |
37mm/degree |
36mm/degree |
18mm/degree |
Varies |
Number of maps |
296 |
1,548 |
440 |
214 |
Map size |
17 x 24” |
7.6 x 10.4” |
9 x 12” |
11 x 16” |
Number of volumes |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
Availability |
In print |
Out of print |
In print |
Out of print |
* Maps in the Herald-Bobroff AstroAtlas are divided into four overlapping sections, with three of these sections showing only selected areas of the sky. A significant numbers of stars and deep sky objects are repeated in multiple sections so it is impossible to get an accurate count of the total number of objects plotted in this atlas. The numbers shown above for the Herald-Bobroff AstroAtlas are a theoretical upper bound (assuming no overlap, which we know isn’t true), so this is a significant overestimate.
There is no comparison really! The Great Atlas of the Sky handily beats its nearest competitor by plotting more than twice as many stars and deep sky objects at the largest scale. This edition is a must-have for astronomy clubs, libraries, observatories, and advanced amateur and professional astronomers alike. With only 1,000 copies printed in the first run for worldwide distribution, this may not be available for too long. Hurry!
Sample Maps:
Map #82, Crab Nebula and Sh2-240 (Simeis 147) supernova remnant
Notes:
• The atlas comes triple-boxed, ready for shipping. The innermost box contains the individual maps. The middle box contains the atlas cover/binder and wraps around the inner map box.
• You will need to insert the maps into the binder when you get them. The maps are packed separately to prevent damage to the punched holes during shipping.
Useful Resources
Cloudy Nights Discussion:
• Read customer reviews and see more photos of this atlas on Cloudy Nights here.
About The Author:
Piotr Brych is a graduate of the Computer Physics Faculty of the Warsaw University of Technology. In 1999, he published Wielki Atlas Nieba encompassing over 1 million stars, the greatest printed atlas of the sky, beside the Millennium Star Atlas, available at that time; software developer, and astronomy writer.