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I chose the deluxe, laminated edition with white paper, black stars, yellow star clusters, red galaxies and green nebulae. To see dim galaxies or nebulae your eyes must be profoundly well adapted to the dark. They all have advantages and disadvantages. The large pages of the spiral bound editions are a pleasure to work with.
Here is why. There are several versions of the Sky Atlas 2000. This version is easiest to read in daylight, and the lamination does an excellent job of protecting the paper from both dew (usually a problem in the Great Lakes region) or even a spilled cup of coffee. Any version of the Sky Atlas 2000 has plenty of objects to keep you busy for years, if not the rest of your life. After your eyes are exposed to bright white light, like car headlights, it takes about thirty minutes for your eyes to fully recover their dark adaptation.
It includes a plastic overlay that lets you accurately measure distances on the charts to within 10 minutes - a helpful feature in crowded parts of the sky, such as the Virgo Galaxy Cluster, and the Sword of Orion. If you ever run out of things to see you can always move on to the Uranometria 2000.0. In hindsight, I feel the best version for visual astronomy under a dark sky is the unlaminated version with white stars on a black sky. The only disadvantages are size and weight, and it`s light reflectivity. Even a dim red light is bright enough to reduce your dark adaptation somewhat, especially when light shines off shiny, laminated white paper.
By contrast, the unlaminated version with white stars on black paper reflects almost no light into your eyes, and best preserves your dark adaptation. Because it does the best job of preserving dark adaptation, I am tempted to purchase the unlaminated version with white stars on black paper so I can make the most of the few nights a year when this city boy has the opportunity to observe under a truly dark sky. That`ll keep you busy.Clear Skies.
I'd hate to ruin a $60 set of maps, even though I only paid about 40 bucks for it. Great Service, product arrived as described, but I didn't realize how LARGE it is. It's about 12"x 16", which is far too big to take out with you in the field (in my opinion) unless there's not too much dew. I actually bought a $4 set of charts (at Borders.a Bargain item) that I use in the field. The skyAtlas is used for reference indoors.
I purchased both the Sky Atlas 2000.0, 2nd edition and the Cambridge Star Atlas, 3rd edition. Each fold out page is presented in crisp multi color, and measures 22 inches by 16 inches. The Sky Atlas 2000.0 is much larger and easier to read with its large fold out pages. The book is spiral bound so you can lay it flat on your astronomy table. Book comes with a plastic overlay you can use on each page to determine the number of degrees and minutes on the page between stars. If you have to purchase one sky Atlas make it this one.
Just got mine today and I LOVE IT. Would have liked a laminated pull-out chart key as well to speed in finding the correct map for my place in the sky - maybe next edition. I had the first edition in the 80-90s that wasn't spiral bound, and it was awkward to fumble with all of those large maps in the dark. Always been a fan of the Telrad, so the overlay is so funky-cool and a great addition. What I really like about this atlas though is its clarity - just enough explanation about how to use, then right to the stars. A real quality piece of work.
Previous copies of this atlas which I have purchased were printed with white stars on a black field. Unfortunately,this copy I bought from Amazon was the reverse, "black stars" on a white field, a whole different visual experience. Too bad.
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