this is among the two or three most stimulating and encouraging books that one could give to an aspiring young astronomer or adult novice. the core of this volume is the star atlas of 30 double page color 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 (galaxies, clusters, nebulae, etc.) and the milky way isophotes, printed on durable semigloss paper and spiral bound to open easily and lie flat. it's a star atlas that can serve the general amateur observer, whatever his or her specific interest, for many years of detailed sky exploration.



following the atlas is a 55 page list of about 2400 double and multiple stars, tabulated in easy to read alternating green/white bands. for each multiple star is given its bayer/flamsteed name, common designation in a double star catalog (struve, burnham, aitken, herschel, etc.), its celestial coordinates, magnitudes, and angular separation(s). all the stars in the list are marked in the atlas by the catalog designation and a thin line drawn through the star symbol, which makes the stars easy to identify. (preceding the list is a list of constellations with the chart pages they appear on, and a key to greek letters.)



introducing the volume is an excellent overview of double star astronomy by the late james mullaney, including tips on observing, a summary of the star catalogs from which the main list was compiled, and his own pick of 80 "double and multiple star showpieces", which includes 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, and because they are also among the easiest to find and to study with a small telescope -- in contrast to those elusive emission nebulae, faint galaxies, ghostly planetary nebulae and straggly star clusters that crowd out double stars in the deep sky handbooks. 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 enthralling to contemplate these thousands 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 produce them.