Backyard Astronomer''''s'' Guide, 3rd edition.

This new printing of The Backyard Astronomer's Guide has been updated.  It includes fresh reviews of the newest telescopes.  It includes fresh reviews of the newest telescopes, astrocameras and other astronomical equipment.  The book focuses on answering the questions most often asked by amateur astronomers.

Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer provide expert guidance on the equipment needed to view and photograph the stars for every level of amateur astronomer.  Special sections cover daytime and twilight observing, planetary and deep-sky observing, choosing the best observing site and much more.

The features include:

• A 20-page full-color atlas of the Milky Way that provides location and context for hundreds of celestial objects
• A chapter on astrophotography with digital cameras that specifies what equipment works best and how to use it
• A chapter on telescopes for recreational astronomy, which assesses a wide range of new telescopes, from beginner to expert models, with special emphasis on computerized telescopes and how they work
• The Accessory Catalog, which spotlights the best accessories and flags overhyped and frivolous gadgets
• Thorough revision to the practical appendixes

With more than 500 color photographs and illustrations, The Backyard Astronomer's Guide is the most valuable, beautiful and user-friendly astronomy book ever published.  Any serious amateur will want this update of a classic reference.

About the authors —

Terence Dickinson is the author of 14 astronomy titles, including NightWatch, The Universe and Beyond and Exploring the Night Sky.  He is also the editor of SkyNews magazine.

Alan Dyer is program producer at the Calgary Science Centre Planetarium and a contributing editor to Sky and Telescope magazine.  An authority on commercial telescopes, his reviews of astronomical equipment appear regularly in major astronomy magazines.