| "Great- and please offer a bigger brother!" |
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| Posted By: Matt Tarlach |
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Date Posted: 2010-10-24 16:44:33
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I've been using the Pocket Sky Atlas for close to two years. For background, other atlases I've owned and used include Norton's, Cambridge, Tirion's Bright Star Atlas, Sky Atlas 2000, Uranometria, and Herald-Bobroff. I guess I'm an atlas junkie.
The PSA is a fine atlas. It's replaced the 6th magnitude atlases listed above as my main "naked eye" atlas, for use with binoculars, and for pointing my telrad in the right direction. Often I switch to Uranometria to zero in on difficult objects, but PSA gets much more use overall.
PSA is far superior to the earlier magnitude 6 atlases in many ways. The symbols are highly legible even under dim red light, the design and quality of the printing and binding are excellent, and the selection of objects is excellent - deep enough to cover most observing with a 12" scope, without being too cluttered. And of course, it goes to magnitude 7.6, making it more useful than the older mag6-6.5 atlases for starhopping with my 6x30 finder. To top it all, even at full price it's a fantastic value.
All that said: I wish the atlas were available in a larger format. To make the atlas "pocket" sized, the charts have been made a little too small to give a good sense of many constellations, especially in regions poor in bright stars.
I would really like to see Skypub offer an alternative to the PSA, in the 8x11" or 9x12" format. The same scale and depth, same object selection, same excellent symbology and design, same paper and binding. Just re-plot the sky on fewer, larger charts. Such an atlas would not replace PSA, the size of which is sometimes handy for use with binoculars. But it would set a new standard for basic atlases and fill a niche for people like me who find Sky Atlas 2000 just a little too bulky to deal with.
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| "A Good Pocket Atlas" |
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| Posted By: Rakesh Kumar |
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Date Posted: 2011-02-01 12:57:31
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Format is useful. By turning the pages you can go thru a slice of sky at that time.
Definitly practical and for outdoor use.
Highly recommendable. Rating goes 4.8 . Lamination may get it the rest.
Useful atlas even if you have the bigger skyatlas '2000.0' .
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| "adrian@bisbos.com" |
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| Posted By: Adrian Mann |
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Date Posted: 2011-05-02 18:00:27
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Just received my copy today, and it's superb! You can tell it's designed and produced by people who actually observe, and know how to make a practical atlas. Clear, logically laid out, comfortable size, and with a comprehensive index for easy reference - just what you need to find what you're looking for quickly and easily. The best star atlas is the one you have in your hand - this one will be in mine whenever I'm observing from now on. Time to retire my vintage Norton's Star Atlas at last!
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| "I love this thing!" |
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| Posted By: Bernie |
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Date Posted: 2011-05-07 19:01:21
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This is the perfect atlas for me. Not too big or bulky, superb print quality, wire-bound, great detail, logically layed out. I wish I had bought one sooner!
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| "A Useful Observing Tool Because You Will Use It!" |
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| Posted By: John Kulczycki |
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Date Posted: 2011-11-01 09:28:13
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I can't get over how useful this atlas really is. Even though I use a GOTO telescope I still use it for my observing sessions. Our club members bought a pile of them a few years back, which led me to develop a monthly "Pocket Sky Atlas Challenge" for users. You can find the Pocket Sky Atlas Challenges, starting with September, here:
http://john-kulczycki.suite101.com/pocket-sky-atlas-challenges-for-september-a386634
http://john-kulczycki.suite101.com/pocket-sky-atlas-challenges-for-october-a387789
http://john-kulczycki.suite101.com/pocket-sky-atlas-challenges-for-november-a394772
I now have two, one for the observatory and one next to my computer.
Well done Sky and Telescope!
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| "Excellent small size sky atlas!" |
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| Posted By: James Grose |
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Date Posted: 2011-11-21 00:06:51
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I have bought me a copy of the Sky&Tel Pocket Sky Atlas a couple years ago and I have been using it during my observing sessions, and for general reference. I like the handy size of the atlas and the fact that it is spiral bound, allowing me to open the atlas to a particular chart and folding it completely back to hold in one hand while at the telescope for quick and easy reference. Also I do like that the labels on the charts are legible and easy to read even in dim light. I have numerous other sky atlases and none of them are as easy to read as the Pocket Sky Atlas. I for one would highly reccomend this sky atlas for any observer who is interested in owning such a fine piece of work, and for $20 it is a deal that should not be missed out on. I own a Meade ETX90 schmidt-cass telescope that stores away in a padded bag, and the Sky&Tel Pocket Sky Atlas fits in the bag with the telescope when not in use.
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| "Wonderful companion" |
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| Posted By: Julio Vannini |
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Date Posted: 2012-02-24 15:01:22
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In this era of digital planetarium, GPS and mobile astronomy, nothing beats the learning, use and help that comes from printed atlas.
And S&T's Pocket Sky Atlas is not the exception. Its clear format helps you to locate objects in the sky pretty fast using your telescope or binoculars. Its size is good enough to provide a good reading of the text and to keep at minimum the space required in your tray or table.
Am really happy to have this book with me when I go outside.
Clear skies!
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| "A great compaion to Sky Atlas 2000 Deluxe" |
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| Posted By: John |
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Date Posted: 2012-03-21 20:47:09
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The title pretty much says it all. I purchased this product from another retailed to take advantage of rewards points but am reviewing it here because I also purchased the Sky Atlas 2000.0 Deluxe Laminated from this site.
This atlas is smaller, pages about 1/4 the size, but it still contains lots of info. It is a very good size for use in the field but "pocket" in the title is a bit misleading...you would need a pretty big pocket as the pages are 6x9 (only a little smaller than a piece of notebook paper). Each page is large enough to show the detail for the patch of sky you are observing and there is a good amount of overlap between the maps. Be aware that the map numbering is slightly different than the larger Sky Atlas 2000 cousin.
The non laminated pages to make it more prone to becoming damp in high humidity and dew conditions. A laminated version would be awesome but I have not seen one. It would be possible for the user to remove the spiral binding and have each page laminated. Also, this atlas does not have the clear reference overlays that are included with the larger version, but again, it should be possible for the user to create their own using transparency foils.
If cost is a concern and/or you only want one sky atlas then the Pocket Sky Atlas is worth your consideration.
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