It's a beautiful, clear night and you decide to look up, once again, at the thousands and thousands of stars you have seen all your life. Each is anonymous in the vast sweep of the heavens. It's impossible to distinguish one bright star from another, one constellation from the next, without help. Here it is. The product of 20 years face-to-face with the sky in all latitudes of this blue planet, The Great Atlas of the Stars was created to give the lay-person and amateur astronomer a map of the principal constellations and grand stars seen in the whole Northern Hemisphere. It covers the 30 most important constellations of the 88 visible from Earth. These 30 constellations are the most rich and beautiful. Here you will find the most brilliant (and pretty) stars and remarkable nebulas and galaxies, that are the most interesting to observe. Each receives a full-page "identity card" which features the known characteristics: distance, luminosity, dimensions. For each of the constellations, 3 to 6 principal stars are shown in detail and located in a map of their sector of the sky. Opposite the "identity card" page is a magnificent full color photograph of the constellation and its background of starry sky. Between the two is an overlay of clear mylar. Printed on the mylar overlay are the names of the elements of the constellation, and the connections between them. Lastly, numerous photographs of staggeringly beautiful nebulae and starscapes, retrieved with the latest telescopes and space technology, put the individual constellations in the larger perspective of the night sky. As authoritative as it is beautiful, The Great Atlas of the Stars will be consulted again and again by students, amateur astronomers, teachers and anyone who wants to know more about the stars. Read Less