Book review: 2018 Sky Guide Africa South
An illustrated practical guide to South Africa’s night skies and features month-by-month and season-by-season star charts, planetary movements and meteor showers.
Book: 2018 Sky Guide Africa South
Compiled by: Astronomical Society of Southern Africa
Reviewed by: Samantha Keogh
Review made possible by Penguin Random House South Africa
The good news is that the 2018 edition of Sky Guide Africa South is on the shelves.
Good news because aficionados have been looking forward to its release.
Good news because, if a family member or friends are into the stars, it is just in time for Christmas.
Even if they are not, it’s a good way to get them started.
In its 72nd year of publication, this gem by Penguin Random House South Africa, in collaboration with a team of specialists in their field, is the “go to” almanac for stargazers amateur and professional alike.
It is an illustrated practical guide to South Africa’s night skies and features month-by-month and season-by-season star charts, planetary movements and meteor showers.
The planets, what they are, when and where best to see them are explained in some detail; as are asteroids, comets, meteors and stars and constellations.
On a more mundane note, the book will also tell you when the sun and the moon will rise and set every month and when they are expected to be eclipsed (three solar and two lunar are expected in 2018).
For Muslim readers there is a discussion on when the start of Ramadan and Shawwal can be anticipated and how these dates are determined.
The guide starts with an explanation of how to use itself, which steers it away from appearing as a dry handbook for enthusiasts and offers an invitation to the newcomer to get involved.
And this coaching theme is reinforced by sections on basic observing skills, astronomical observatories (professional, private and planetaria) in Southern Africa, astronomical societies and clubs and a glossary to take the mystery out of what whizzes are talking about in places like the two radio programmes which are also listed.
For those wanting a career in astronomy there is a short discussion on what is required, where and what to study and available scholarships for those who need a financial boost.
Adding to this must-have guidebook to next year’s astronomy is a gallery of breathtaking astrophotography … and then, of course, there’s the competition.
