North Star to Southern Cross

by Will Kyselka, Ray Lanterman

Concise field guide to stars and constellations presented in a month-by-month selection of stars charts. Explains celestial phenomena, workings. A gem.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 1984

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A humble little astronomy book that doesn’t take itself too seriously and offers the perfect introduction to most of the basics. Although this book was written within and emphasizes Northern Hemisphere astronomy, it doesn’t ignore the wealth of beauty below the equator and the charts stretch low enough to show many residents of the Antarctic sky. Lanterman and Kyselka do not shy away from the role that astrology played in antiquity, and in fact present their material within the rich tradition of the ancients, providing a sort of framework of tradition for a contemporary study of the sky. The approach is effective. Rather than fumble about with the technical details of the celestial coordinate system from page one, the zodiac mythos sets the stage for a holistic approach. The authors are careful not to endorse the tenets of astrology and maintain a neutral stance, but a study of the constellations would be lifeless without the historical context that built these stories into the sky. In this respect, I think the book continues to outperform the modern publications in this genre which would prefer to sweep astrology under the rug just as soon as they have introduced it. I maintain this should not be done. It has its place in the discussion and is vital to a comprehensive understanding of modern astronomy.

That is not to say that the book is exempt from the small technical wrinkles that come with age. This year it reaches a 50th anniversary milestone and the authors were kind enough to leave some question marks in their tables where we can scribble the latest estimate of Pluto’s mass and a more accurate universal timeline into the margins. These are quite forgivable, though a studious reader will also notice entire sub-disciplines that were just not quite exposed to the mainstream in 1976 that have since reached a level of maturity. The study of dark matter and dark energy had certainly begun by then, but the observations that would expand the theory and refine the estimated proportions were still gathering steam. The breakthroughs in black hole observation and the rise of multi-messenger physics are other examples of vital postscripts to be appended to a contemporary version of the material. That being said, I would prefer a supplementary approach rather than a total replacement, owing to the enduring charm of its style.

There is also a sort of distilled beauty in the artwork throughout. Not just the star charts, which are equal measures tenacious and intuitive, but also in the shaded line art depicting various cultural relationships with the night sky; these balance the text in a feat that must channel the influence of libra, the scales. The illustrations serve as a reminder that sometimes less is more when it comes to color, though I would not begrudge a minor update to the charts that reproduce real color tones across the tinted rainbow of star temperatures. Envision with me a host of dotty wonderbread specks sprinkled among a sea of india ink. Even without the reds and yellows, the book is slim enough to warrant keeping a copy stashed in a backpack or glovebox as a handy reference for these illuminated charts alone. Far from demanding the reader to keep their nose to the page, the book restrains itself to a sentence or two of brief orientation and encouragement such that all the more time may be spent looking up at the lights that will long outshine even our most ancient stories about them.

[Darisann Metzler stout · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want a Hawaii perspective of the night sky, then this is a book you'll enjoy.