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The
Night Sky : A New Kind of Planisphere
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Price:
$10.00
and
$6.00
Availability:
In stock |
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| The Night Sky Planispheres |
| LARGE Planisphere:
$10.00
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SMALL Planisphere: $6.00
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Large and Small Planispheres
Sizes: Large (10" x 8.5"), Small (6" x
5")
Latitude Ranges: 20°-30°,
30°-40°, 40°-50°, 50°-60°, Southern
Hemisphere (30°-40° South), Japanese
35° N
Description: The
Night Sky Planisphere is printed with dark stars on a
light background for easy nighttime readability. The constellations
are drawn simply, emphasizing the brighter stars. Coordinate
grid lines are shown without being intrusive. A selection of
deep sky objects for binocular viewing is included. The map scale
is larger than on similar-size planispheres because the whole
sky does not have to be shown on a single map. Even the 5" pocket
version is large enough to be quite readable.
The Night Sky is
Designed to
be Used!
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Unlike coffee-table
planispheres, The Night Sky is printed with
dark stars on a light background, for easy nighttime
readability.
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The constellations
are drawn simply, emphasizing the brighter stars. (The
constellation patterns were designed in collaboration
with the editors of Sky and Telescope magazine.)
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Coordinate grid
lines are shown without being intrusive. Coordinates
are shown because they can be useful for cross referencing
with star atlases.
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A selection of
deep sky objects for binocular viewing is included.
It is important to point out to beginners that the
best first telescope is a pair of binoculars.
You may already have what it takes to start observing
tonight!
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The Night Sky is
larger than it looks! The map scale is larger
than on similar-size planispheres because the whole
sky does not have to be shown on a single map. Even
the 5" pocket version is large enough to be
quite readable.
Sky and Telescope adopted The
Night Sky in 1976 and has promoted it ever
since. The Night Sky is widely recognized
by the amateur astronomy and educational communities
as the overall best planisphere on the market.
A
New Kind of Planisphere
 "Chandler's
planisphere (rotating star-finder wheel) is the finest
available"--Sky News
"The Night
Sky is not just another planisphere. I think The Night
Sky is the finest and easiest to use star finding aid
in existence."--Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer
(Seen on PBS
stations throughout North America and Internationally via
satellite, the Armed Services
Network,
NASA C.O.R.E. and USIA WORLDNET)
The Distortion
Solution!
Conventional planispheres severely
distort the sky near the southern horizon. The distortion
results from trying to stretch the whole dome of the sky
onto a single flat map.
This is
the constellation Sagittarius...
...as shown in a
photograph (courtesy of John Sanford)
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...as shown by Conventional Planispheres |
...as shown by The Night Sky |
The Night Sky is
NOT a conventional planisphere! No flat map can remove all distortion,
but The Night Sky eliminates over 90% of
the distortion inherent in conventional 1-sided planispheres.
| The Night
Sky minimizes distortion by using a second
map on the back optimized for the southern view.
Hold the front side upright in front of you while
facing north; simply turn the chart over when
facing south. |
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