cwd@ihuxq.UUCP (Chris W. Donahue) (12/19/83)
I am looking for a novice book on astronomy for my girlfriend's mother. We bought her the telescope she has always wanted, but she could use some star charts and other information so she can understand what she is looking at/for. Does anyone know of any basic books that are not too detailed? I was considering my old college text book, but it has poor star charts. Maybe just some nice star charts would do? Thanks in advance and please send mail. Chris Donahue ihuxq!cwd
gam@proper.UUCP (Gordon Moffett) (12/22/83)
I highly recommend "The Stars" by H A Rey. It shows the constellations in meaningful configurations (rather than the usual mess), introduces them a few at a time, and points out what times of year they can be seen. It has lots of drawings and shows how to find your way around the constellations. The book is written for novices, but contains in later chapters more technical descriptions of the geocentric view of the stars. This book has been out for a long time now (at least 1952) but is periodically updated (containing geocentric planetary positions for the next few years). It is available in softcover, is large (8.5 x 11), and features Gemini on the cover.