Book
Review: Patterns in the Sky: An Introduction to Stargazing
by Geary Keilman
My wife, Laurie, won this book as a door prize at an LVAS meeting. I had seen the book in the Sky Publishing (Sky and Telescope) catalog and it piqued my interest. Basically, as described in the introduction to the book, it is a beginner’s guide to stargazing with the unaided eye and/or binoculars from suburban or dark skies. It begins with a brief discussion of astronomy basics with lucid and easy to follow pictures and diagrams. Also included are star and constellation names and pronunciations, plus the Greek alphabet to use as reference.
After the intro, it goes on to describe each of the constellations which are conveniently listed by season. Each season chapter begins with a great section on using certain bright asterisms as pointers to locate the constellations. Each constellation heading begins with a brief history of how it came to be named and the mythology associated with it. I always find this interesting and it helps me with those “sky tonight” programs we are often called upon as club members to do at public events. Each constellation is shown both as a photograph and as a non cluttered, easy to use star map.
The book is only $13.95 and is small and lightweight. Experienced astronomers can brush up on the basics with this book and newcomers will find it entertaining and illuminating. My only constructive criticism, and this goes for most of the astronomy guide books, is that they would be much easier and more convenient to use if they were spiral bound so that they would lie flat and be easier to hold.
The book is available from Sky Publishing but can probably be found locally at one of the larger book stores. (www.amazon.com)