As a result, Turn Left at Orion remains after all these years, one of the six essential works, which we regard as required reading by the beginning amateur astronomer. Though not part of my personal collection until recently, it has been at my disposal for many years. I keep meaning to review it, but something always comes up, not the least of which was the recent printing of a 3rd edition.

The work is co-authored by Guy Consolmagno, a Jesuit Brother at the Vatican Observatory; and Dan M. Davis, professor of geophysics at the State University of New York. Between them they conspired to create a work that reflects a singular passion for viewing celestial objects with small telescopes (emphasis on small). In fact, the combined aperture of both authors’ instruments is somewhat less than the singular average among beginning-amateur telescopes. One is a 3.5-inch Cassegrain, and the other is a 2.5-inch refractor. Nevertheless, with these small instruments they were able to create a first-rate work of impressive magnitude. Simplistic means to extraordinary ends.

I was introduced to the order of Jesuits as a youngster growing up in New England. Even at that young age I was profoundly inspired by the notion that science could be passionately embraced (and accurately promoted) in concert with unwavering religious faith. Almost any science buff knows full well that astronomy and religion run like oil and water through the veins of history. And because this work represents such a remarkable beacon of parallel encounter, I am somewhat disappointed in myself for not doing this earlier. But now, so much has been said about this book that there seems a trite redundancy in plugging it. Oh well.

Pioneers and discoverers like Galileo and Messier were themselves saddled with equipment that can easily be considered pathetic by today’s standards (both optically and mechanically). However, countless thousands of celestial objects were acquired, catalogued, and studied using archaic equipment of the sort. The point being, that you don’t have to bribe the evening sky with money or fat-free technology to see what it’s hiding. You merely need to coax it slightly to reveal some of its treasures. The knowledge of what places to do your coaxing is where Turn Left at Orion excels so remarkably.

On page 202, authors Consolmagno and Davis re-endorse one of life’s most poorly understood allegations – “There is no such thing as a bad telescope”. If you find yourself in conflict with that statement then you’re missing out on a golden tenet of amateur astronomy, and most likely some of the fun that goes along with it. Because it really doesn’t matter what caliber of instrument you use to enhance your view of the night sky. For even some of the most tenuous tidbits in the Messier catalog are revealed in binoculars of moderate size – still considered far superior to anything Messier could have ever laid his hands on. Get the picture?

Turn Left at Orion begins with a basic introduction of the evening sky, and a brief overview of “how to use this book”, which from experience I can honestly testify that few authors can resist. From there, we go through some discussion of the moon, and a few major planets. Then it’s on to the main course, which begins with the Winter constellations Taurus and Auriga and some of their celestial wonders – including the Pleiades open cluster and the famous Crab Nebula. A hundred and eighty pages later we’re looking at a double cluster in Perseus. In between, we’re shown where to look for a globular cluster in Lyra and the famous double star Albireo in Cygnus. A hundred or so interesting objects are presented and illustrated. Very little is missed or left out for the beginner, or for users of small telescopes.

We are first shown where each object is located within a broad view of the sky. Minimal sky-conditions, best times of year to observe, recommended eyepieces and telescope types are graphically illustrated at each heading. We see what the object looks like in a finder-scope, plus what it looks like in the telescope’s eyepiece (and at different powers). This book shows you exactly how to get each object in the eyepiece! Really good stuff.

Beyond this, the 3rd edition includes some fare from the Southern Hemisphere (Eta Carinae, 47 Tucanae, and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds to name a few). A complete index is provided, along with a fairly good glossary for the beginner.

This is a wonderful book; a lot of fun; and extremely useful for nearly all age groups. Great for binocular users too. Recommended not just for the beginning amateur, but also as a teaching tool for some advanced observers who occasionally look for ways to entertain or educate others at the eyepiece. Then too, we’ve been known to pick it up and browse it just for fun. Secretaries and officers: – put a few copies in your club’s library.

Too many amateur astronomy books are haughty, if not insulting, about the mass of small telescopes that people buy or receive as gifts. Sidebars like “Trash Scope Blues” are an example.

This book, written by two professional astronomers, points out that the small telescope of today is the magnificent instrument beyond the dreams of Galileo or Messier*. With that foundation in place they proceed to lead you through the night sky to view the most interesting objects for small telescopes.

They begin with the deepest coverage of the moon that I have encountered yet. There are separate sections for each phase of the moon detailing highlights of what is unique at that time of the month.

Then they tour the night sky, season by season. Their directions to find items of interest don’t presume that you know the constellations. Instead, in “Where to Look” they start with the bright, easy to find stars, and from there walk you over to the item. They assist your search by describing what you’ll see in the finder scope and the telescope and have illustrations of what you will actually see in the telescope. (Not some picture taken by an observatory or the Hubble telescope.) In “Comments” they describe what you’ll see, suggest the eyepiece to use to get the most of the view, and give details about just what that thing is.

All objects are given a 1 to 4 telescope rating to help you choose the fun ones first. The Orion Nebula is an exception that receives a 5 telescope rating: easy to find, viewable in city light haze, with different interesting views at low and high power.

Of the half dozen astronomy books I’ve looked over this is the hands down best book for the new owner of a telescope to have. More than any other book, it will help you get the most from your telescope. *Never heard of Messier? Most non-astronomers haven’t Charles Messier hunted the skys for comets and kept coming across things that, at first glance, might be a comet. After figuring out that they weren’t comets, he kept a record of them so he wouldn’t waste time on them again. As it turns out this list contains some of the neatest things to see in the night sky.