Universal Workshop

books etc. by
Guy Ottewell

 

Universal Workshop home page
contact; how to order

Other websites:

Red Lion Gallery
Xenophilia - in praise of minorities
The Lyme Maze Game

 

 

Site design and images
© Guy Ottewell 2007

Astronomical Calendar 2008Astronomical Calendar 2008

This famous atlas-sized annual book is the most widely used and most attractive guide to what will happen in the night sky throughout the year.

Each page is the size of three or four of an ordinary book, allowing large spreads of mixed diagrams and text.

The Astronomical Calendar has been published continuously since 1974, and is now used by about 20,000 (amateurs, telescope-owners, clubs, teachers, planetariums, libraries, enjoyers of the sky) in over 100 countries.

An introduction explains how to use the various components of the book and, if you are a beginner, what to select at first (since there are so many levels of information). For each month there is a large map of the evening sky; facing it, a diary of 40 or so events, many with paragraph-long descriptions.

Other features on the monthly pages are diagrams of where the planets are in their orbits, "Constellation Clues," "Telescopic Tour" (coordinates of selected objects findable in the month), "Observer's Highlights," and sketches of the most striking sky scenes.

Supplementary sections include Highlights of the Year, The Sun, The Moon, Special Moons, Young Moon and Old Moon, Eclipses, Occultations, Conjunctions, each of the planets, Meteors, Asteroids, Comets, Spaceflight, Deep-Sky Profiles, Light Pollution, Glossary, Magnitude and Elongation, Rising and Setting, Quick Reference, and a colored centerfold all-sky map. Some features are contributed by experts Fred Schaaf, Clifford Cunningham, Alastair McBeath, Alan Hale, Joe Rao, and Richard Nugent.

Special events in 2008 include a total eclipse of the Moon visible from the Americas and Europe, a total eclipse of the Sun across the Arctic, Russia, and China, interesting groupings of planets, and comets that may reach naked-eye brightness.

The cover painting for this year is of the oldest astronomical clock still working, set high among the arches of a cathedral.

11 x 15 in., 82 pages, color painting on cover, 2-color illustrations. ISBN 0-934546-52-5.
$24.95

Back issues are reduced to $10 each.
Those available are 1983 and 1986-2006 (2007 unfortunately sold out early).
To order these, please write or phone etc. (see "contact and ordering" at left).

Don't throw away your old copies of the Astronomical Calendar!
Some readers still hope to find missing ones to complete their collections.
Tell us if you (1) are seeking any of those not listed above, or (2) have copies of them that you are willing to part with. We will put you in touch with each other.
(Some have found back issues on www.ebay.com, at prices varying from $5 to over $70.)

For prints of the cover paintings of some past Astronomical Calendars, see "paintings" at left.

"Every inch of its king-sized pages is packed with artistry, information, lucid diagrams, and clever explanations" —J. U. Gunter in Tonight's Asteroids

"So valuable that many users keep their copies for permanent reference" —George Lovi in Sky & Telescope

"Each year's book becomes more superb—just when you think it can't get any better!" —A reader in Florida

"Thank goodness for Guy Ottewell. If he didn't exist, I would have to invent him... [The book is] of surpassing originality [and is] more than a calendar; it is a compendium of all things astronomical that will happen during the year, described with a graphic flair that is the author's particular genius. The calendar is useful for neophytes, but it also evokes the appreciation of experienced astronomers. It arrives every year in December and, during early winter evenings, I curl up with it and plan my coming year of stargazing." —Chet Raymo in The Boston Globe

Contents:
For the Beginner
Explanation of the Main Features
MONTH BY MONTH
Highlights of the Year
Sun and Seasons
The Moon
Special Moons
Young Moon, Old Moon
Dark of the Moon
Strip-Chart of the Moon
Eclipses (by Joe Rao)
CENTERFOLD MAPS
Mercury and Venus
Mars
Outer Planets
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus and Neptune
Pluto
Asteroids
Comets (by Alan Hale)
Meteors (by Alastair McBeath)
Sizes (bonus feature)
Conjunctions
Occultations (by Richard Nugent)
Spaceflight (by Clifford Cunningham)
Light Pollution (by Fred Schaaf)
Deep-Sky Profiles (by Fred Schaaf)
Glossary
Magnitude, Elongation
Quick Reference
Rising and Setting

Part of the "strip-diagram" of the Moon through the year
Moon's changing shape, size, position, nutation for every day

Saturn's rings closing—they will be edge-on in 2009
Saturn's rings

Our planet at 6 hours Universal Time on January 1
—midnight on the Mississippi, dawn twilight for Europe
The sun is rising over Russia, Greece, Libya . . . Human population centers broadcast light into space.