The Night Sky 40°-50° (Large) Star Finder,   ISBN:9780961320744

Customer Rating: 

Product is good. In general I love these things. It's a useful tool for beginner to intermediate sky watchers.

MY PROBLEM WITH THIS IS THAT I bought it as a gift for my son and when I received it I immediately wrapped it up. After he opened it (and I believe after the return policy expired) we realized we were shipped the 40 degree SOUTH latitude version. Seeing as we don't live in AUSTRALIA this is of little use to us. So just double check what you get.

Customer Rating: 

I've been dabbling in astronomy for several months now, and I thought this would be an improvement over printouts I download from the internet, as they rapidly deteriorate under dew. (I don't like bringing my expensive atlases out into the unfriendly atmosphere.) It turned out that durability is virtually the only advantage this planisphere provides.

Cons:
1) Tiny;
2) Constellations are presented in a rather confusing way;
3) Barely a handful of deep sky objects are included!

Pros:
1) Sturdy plastic.

I conclude that this planesphere may come handy if you're an absolute beginner, and are still learning the very basics of what's where in the starry skies.

The worst offence (and I quote accurately): 'Only a few of the "deep sky" objects are shown on the chart. Sweep the sky with binoculars to find many more.'

If I wanted to 'sweep the sky with binoculars' haphazardly, I wouldn't need a bleeping planisphere, now would I?

Customer Rating: 

This planisphere is the most user-friendly I have used. It is well constructed of durable material, and, unlike some, is double-sided, this permitting more detail on each side.

The stars, displayed as black dots on a white background, are shown as larger or smaller according to their apparent magnitude, the usual astronomical convention. The names of the various objects shown are acceptably legible. Obviously, copious detail cannot be shown on discs of this size, but Chandler's planisphere provides a satisfactoy depiction of the night sky and is quick to use.

Customer Rating: 

This an excellent tool for amateur astronomers and has helped me greatly to identify sky objects. The two sided charts are unusual. The chart was real easy to align for the date.

Customer Rating: 

I got this product for a college course in astronomy and it's exactly what the professor asked for...works great for the class!