| This is Volume 1 of a unique and truly invaluable three-volume 2100-page observer's guide to the universe beyond the solar system, by astronomer Robert Burnham, Jr. The Celestial Handbooks are arranged alphabetically by constellation. Each constellation includes three tabular lists – one covering double and multiple stars; one covering variable stars; and one covering star clusters, nebulas, and galaxies. Following the tables are very extensive descriptive notes - including the popular names of the objects listed, their complete physical descriptions and celestial coordinates, many charts and tables, mythological backgrounds and legends, historical and literary references, and more. (The descriptive section on Sirius and its dark companion alone is 31 pages long, not counting its separate 9-page listing of other white dwarf stars!) Together with a star atlas, such as the Tirion Sky Atlas 2000.0, these Dover books will help you find and identify virtually every celestial object of interest within the reach of telescopes from two to twelve inches in aperture. The set includes more than 600 black and white photographs, many of them taken by amateurs. Each volume is available separately. This is Burnham's Celestial Handbook, Vol. I – Andromeda through Cetus. It contains 652 softbound 9.25" x 6" pages. It introduces deep space with 102 pages of background material to explain the astronomical concepts used throughout the three-volume set. It explains the abbreviations and symbols used throughout the set and covers the constellations from Andromeda through Cetus. It's recommended as the first volume to buy if the complete set is not being purchased at one time, due to its extensive background material and the fact that it contains the explanations needed to understand the charts and tables in Volumes 2 and 3.
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