Chock-full of glorious photographs, charts, and maps--with images on virtually every spread--this ultimate celestial guidebook answers all beginners' questions. Locate every constellation and star grouping; use the meridian to establish when each constellation will appear in your area; and know visual cues for recognizing the planets. The dazzling pictorial section points out and defines all the deep-space objects: stars of various types; our own galaxy, the Milky Way; clusters and nebulae. Search through star, constellation, and orientation maps; distinguish visible radiation and see how our atmosphere limits and distorts our view.