Stars and Planets by Ian Ridpath and Will Tirion

Ian Ridpath must be the real "Go To" guy for Astronomy, as this is the second book by him about Astronomy that I have read where he is one of the major authors or the author.

This book, however, is much less about the universe and is instead about the title: stars and Planets, with some other sky objects as well. Or, as the cover claims "The Most Complete Guide to the Stars, Planets, Galaxies and the Solar System".

The book starts with stars. The sky is full of them, and to many or most people, the stars seem to create pictures in the sky. For thousands of years, people have named these pictures in the sky, and many of these names are still in use today. Orion, for one, commemorates the story of a Greek Hunter beloved by Artemis who was placed in the sky along with his two hunting dogs: Canis Major and Canis Minor. Those aren't the only objects in the sky associated with Orion. Scorpius, the Scorpion constellation, was the creature who killed Orion, and was, according to the Greeks placed in the sky so that Orion would not have to see it. When it is rising, Orion is setting, and vice versa.

Most of the Northern Constellations were named by the Greeks, from Ursa Major, the great Bear, to Ursa Minor, the Little Bear whose final star is closest to the north Pole. Polaris, the Pole Star. But that hasn't always been the case. Due to the wobble of the earth on its axis, the Pole Star Shifts over thousands of years. Once, it was near Thuban in the constellation Draconis. Someday it will be near Aldebaran.

This precession effect is not limited to the Pole Star. Not only is the Earth moving, but so are the stars in the sky. What we see as fixed constellations are actually many stars moving unrelated to each other. So, eventually, our familliar constellations will no longer be recognizable.

But stars aren't all that is there in the sky. Other objects abound, such as nebulae, galaxies, globular clusters of stars, nova and supernova remnants, and other strange and wonderful sights dot the night sky, if you only know where to look and what to look for. And this book aids in that, showing all the objects in the skies in and near constellations. All 88 constellations are covered, complete with the stars that make up the constellation and all interesting nearby objects. It also includes what sort of viewing device you can see them with, from naked-eye through binoculars to small and large telescopes.

After the listing of the constellations (which is full of amazing pictures and information), the book then leads us to an exploration of our own solar system, starting with our own moon. Each planet is covered in detail, along with its sattellites and this book even is up to date with the downgrading of the double small planet of Pluto and Charon to the class of TNO's or Trans-Neptunian Objects.

And that's just a tiny overview of some of the information you will find in this book. I have just one thing to say about Ian Ridpath: he gives good book. If you have a question about the stars, the constellations or the planets, this book will most likely provide you with the answers. There's even a section on telescopes and how they work, along with the different kind of mounts available for them and how the images look when viewed through the different kinds of telescopes.

Anyone who is interested in the stars or the planets will greatly enjoy this book, and I highly recommend it for anyone going out to do some star-watching or looking for planets in the night sky. It's an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to learn about the sky.