Peterson First Guide to Astronomy

The second edition of the Peterson First Guide to Astronomy provides an up-to-date introduction to astronomy for beginners, featuring all-new photographs of recent events — such as one taken from the MESSENGER spacecraft, which launched in 2004 and entered its orbit around Mercury in 2011 — and predictions for future events through 2019, including meteor showers, comets, and eclipses. The book encourages readers to go out into the field, using the maps that show the positions of the stars throughout the year as a guide. This new edition maintains the easy-to-use condensed format of the original, and makes it easy to proceed to the full-fledged Peterson Field Guide to Stars and Planets for more in-depth information.