Sky & Telescope - June 2019 - 57

BOOK REVIEW by S. N. Johnson-Roehr

Step by Step to Success
100 THINGS TO SEE IN THE NIGHT SKY
Dean Regas
Adams Media, 2017
224 pages, ISBN 9781507205051
$15.99, soft cover.

ADAMS MEDIA

Southern Edition
Adams Media, 2018
224 pages, ISBN 9781507207802
$15.99, soft cover.

I'M OFTEN ASKED ABOUT resources
for novice amateur astronomers. More
and more, my replies center on the
digital - stargazing apps, websites,
planetarium programs, and so on. But
nothing fosters interest in observing
more than a good book written speciﬁcally for the beginner. By good, I mean
a book that's not just well written
and free from errors, but
organized in a way that
systematically builds skills
and knowledge without
overwhelming the reader.
Ideally, observing should
leave us feeling content
much more often than it
leaves us feeling frustrated.
(Let's save the frustration
for those 12th-magnitude
faint fuzzies that just
won't be found.) A strong
introductory observing manual should also
include more advanced
material to challenge the
curious and expanding
mind. A well-considered
bit of history that places an
object or constellation in
its cultural context and/or
a lucid summary of a scientiﬁc study of a particular
target makes a book even
better.

Dean Regas, Astronomer at the
Cincinnati Observatory, co-host of the
television program Star Gazers, and S&T
Contributing Editor, has written a book
that ticks all the boxes. 100 Things to See
in the Night Sky is more than a lengthy
list of interesting celestial objects. It's
also a step-by-step guide to deciphering the constellations and a primer for
observing the Sun, Moon, and planets.
Many of these objects can be viewed
with the naked eye, but Regas also
includes suggestions for using small
telescopes and binoculars for lunar and
planetary observing. Safe solar observing habits are also emphasized.
In addition to the introduction, the
book has three parts. Part One covers
the Sun, Moon, and naked-eye planets.
Part Two is dedicated to the stars and
constellations, and is further subdivided by season.
Basic diagrams show and
connect the constellations'
brightest stars; if you're
giving this book as a gift,
consider pairing it with a
planisphere or an all-sky
chart to give more context
to the stick ﬁgures. Part
Three goes "beyond stargazing" to discuss artiﬁcial
satellites, meteor showers,
eclipses, northern lights,
and other celestial phenomena. Regas ranks each
sight in terms of difﬁculty
(easy, moderate, difﬁcult),
guiding the reader to
improvement from night
to night.
The design of 100
Things to See in the Night
Sky is clean and sharp. The
constellation diagrams are
easy to read, the table of

contents detailed, and the index comprehensive. The use of blue ink on white
paper adds a touch of jazziness to the
page, but perhaps higher-contrast black
ink would have been a better choice.
There's plenty of white space, so bring a
pencil to scribble notes in the margins

Dean Regas, Astronomer at
the Cincinnati Observatory
and co-host of the television
program Star Gazers, has
written a book that ticks all
the boxes.
while observing. The book is lightweight
but sturdy, meant to be taken outside
and perhaps thrown in the bin of camping equipment. The book's corners are
rounded to avoid unnecessary paper
stabs in the dark.
Regas has thoughtfully prepared two
editions of this book. 100 Things to See
in the Night Sky is intended for observers in most of North America, Europe,
northern Africa, and most of Asia
(roughly between latitudes 25° and 55°
north). 100 Things to See in the Southern
Night Sky is written for viewers in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and
South America (latitudes 15° to 45°
south). A few constellations and asterisms have been added to (or inverted in)
the southern edition, and the seasons
reversed between editions, but most of
the content is identical, so you won't
be missing out if you only purchase the
book for your local sky.

¢ Associate Editor S. N. JOHNSONROEHR suggests taking your book
outside.
sk yandtele scope.com * J U N E 2 019

57
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Sky & Telescope - June 2019

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