This is the ideal resource for beginners and experienced stargazers in the United States and Canada, and has been updated to include new and practical information covering events occurring in North America's night sky throughout 2021.
This practical guide is both an easy introduction to astronomy and a useful reference for seasoned stargazers. Now includes a section on comets and a map of the moon.
Designed specifically for North America.
Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion, and approved by the astronomers of the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Content includes:
* Advice on where to start looking.
* Easy-to-use star maps for each month with descriptions of what to see.
* Positions of the moon and visible planets.
* Details of objects and events in 2021.
* Now in three editions: Britain and Ireland; North America; Southern Hemisphere.
Author Biography:
Storm Dunlop has written numerous books on astronomy and meteorology, and has acted as editor and consultant on many more. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a member of both the International Astronomical Union and the American Association of Variable Star Observers, and is a former President of the British Astronomical Association. Storm is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sussex. Wil Tirion never had any education in astronomy. He education was focused on graphic arts and design, although the starry sky and especially star maps have always fascinated him. In the field of astronomy and uranography (mapping the sky), he is what they call autodidact.
In 1977, just for his own enjoyment, he started making his first star atlas, with stars down to magnitude 6.5). It was published in the Encyclopedia of Astronomy, edited by Colin Ronan, (Hamlyn, London, 1979) and in 1981 as a separate set of maps by the British Astronomical Association (B.A.A. Star Charts 1950.0).
In 1978, still as a hobby, he started working on a larger atlas: Sky Atlas 2000.0., showing stars down to magnitude 8.0. Its publication, in 1981 (by Sky Publishing Corporation, USA, and co-published by Cambridge University Press), resulted in requests from several publishers for star maps for different purposes. In 1983 he decided to quit his job as a graphic artist and designer, and became a full time uranographer. Since then he has created several star atlases, like the Bright Star Atlas and the Cambridge Star Atlas and has cooperated with other people on larger atlases like Uranometria 2000.0. He has also created numerous star maps for astronomy books and magazines.
In 1987 he was honoured by receiving the 'Dr. J. van der Bilt-prize', a Dutch award for amateur astronomers.
In 1993 this was followed by a second, more international 'award', when a minor planet was named after him: (4648) Tirion = 1931 UE.
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich is the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian of the World, making it the official starting point for each new day and year. It is also home to London's only planetarium, the Harrison timekeepers and the UK's largest refracting telescope. It runs the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition.
