this is among the two or three most stimulating and encouraging books that one could give to an aspiring young astronomer or adult novice -- and i do not mean that as any form of condescension, but as high praise. the core of this volume are the 30 double page star atlas plates, beautifully designed by wil tirion at the handsome scale of 4 degrees per inch. the atlas shows all stars down to magnitude 7.5 (and sometimes fainter), along with hundreds of deep sky objects and the milky way isophotes, spiral bound to open easily and lie flat and printed on durable semigloss paper. it's an atlas that can serve the general amateur for many years of detailed sky exploration.



accompanying the atlas is a 55 page list of about 2400 double and multiple stars, tabulated in easy to read alternating green/white bands, and providing for each its bayer/flamsteed name, designation in a double star catalog (struve, aitken, herschell, etc.), its celestial coordinates, magnitude, angular separation and occasional comments. all the stars in the list are marked in the atlas by a thin line drawn through the star symbol, which makes the stars easy to identify amid the welter. (there is also a list of constellations with the chart pages they appear on, and a key to greek letters.) finally, there is an excellent introduction by the late james mullaney, including tips on observing, a summary of the star catalogs consulted, and his own pick of 80 "double and multiple star showpieces", which contains some spectacular and splendid specimens that are sure to fire the enthusiasm of any amateur observer.



i said this is an excellent beginner's book because double stars are among the most breathtaking and exciting sights it is possible to see in the night skies with a telescope, and because they are also among the easiest to find and to study -- in contrast to those elusive bright nebulae, ambiguous galaxies, murky planetary nebulae and straggly star clusters that crowd out double stars in the deep sky handbooks. and unlike the planets or the moon, double stars reveal their beauties almost immediately and consistently, especially the wider spaced and more colorful pairs, which can be enjoyed even in poor seeing. it is stunning to see these hundreds of stars, almost all of them bigger and brighter than our sun, tangled in their timeless mutual orbits, and to reflect on the nature of a universe that can so profusely create and effortlessly contain them. this is a guide to some of the sky's richest treasures.