Complete CD Guide to the Universe

Richard Harshaw lives in Kansas, where he works as a consultant. During his 40 years of practical observing, (seventeen of them with large-aperture instruments) he has received eight Astronomical League observing awards, and has published measurements of approximately 1,600 double stars.His many published papers include Third Degree Views (The Webb Society’s Deep Sky Observer, No. 121, Summer 2000); Color in Double Stars (Deep Sky Observer, No. 116, April 1999); An Investigation Into Discrepancies In the Washington Double Star Catalog (Deep Sky Observer, No. 129); On Double Identities, Recovered Pairs, and Optical Imposters in the Washington Double Star Catalog (Webb Society Double Star Section Circular No. 12, 2004); New Measures for Some ‘Neglected’ Double Stars of the Washington Double Star Catalog (Double Star Section Circular No. 12, 2004); Possible Quadrant Reversals in the WDS Catalog 2001.0 (Double Star Section Circular No. 11, 2003).

• Book: Introduction.- How to observe different types of objects.- How to rate the sky.- How to keep a log.- How to observe double stars.- Detailed instructions on how to use the CD-R, with screen shots, examples, and a tutorial.- Appendix : summaries of the CD-R contents.CD-ROM: Approximately 3,000 pages (in PDF format) of maps and descriptive material, broken down as follows.- Double Stars.- Dark nebulae.- Bright nebulae.- Planetary nebulae.- Supernova remnants.- Open clusters.- Globular clusters.- Galaxies.- Quasi stellar objects.- Other.- Index.- Acrobat ® Reader.- Appendices.

From the reviews: "Amateur astronomer Harshaw (Stardeck Observatory, MO) compiled this recent entry in the 'Practical Astronomy' series. ...The CD-ROM is well organized; it includes bank observing forms and images of more than 10,000 double stars, more than 1,400 galaxies, and other objects reachable by an amateur-size telescope. ... Charts are of excellent quality. ... Summing Up: Recommended. General readers." (M. -K. Hemenway, CHOICE, Vol. v4 (3), November, 2007) "The printed part of the book contains clear and simple explanations of some of the basics of amateur astronomical observing ... . The heart of the work is the CD-ROM with finding charts and the listing of the 13,238 objects. ...Overall, for those amateurs in the northern hemisphere of a taxonomic bent this CD atlas would be of great assistance." (Nick Lomb, Australian Physics, Vol. 44 (4), 2007) "Patrick Moore in his book, 'Atlas of the Universe' brings many of the wonders of this space ... . The universe is big but this book makes it all very manageable. ... the book is a veritable treasure of information and pictures suitable for the young and uninitiated who want to learn more of the universe in which Earth travels. ... With copious pictures and well rounded phrases, anyone can use this book to help them travel off-planet to wherever their eyes lead them." (Mark Mortimer, Universe Today, September, 2006)