Planisphere

"This attractive, well-designed planisphere is among the best of dozens I have owned in its accuracy and ease of use.  It is the one I consult when I want to know what is up and how the sky will appear tonight.  It even went with me to the first ever White House Star Party" Stephen Pompea, Ph.D. Noted astronomy educator.

This is the second edition and has an innovative design with a Two Sided Disk!  Side 1 has a detailed view of the night sky whilst the reverse features just the brightest stars making it absolutely ideal for novice stargazers. 

Another innovation is that, instead of using a rivet to hold the apparatus together--covering up Polaris, the North Star--the map's outer frame holds the star wheel in place, permitting an uninterrupted view of the entire night sky. This also means that the star wheel can be removed and flipped over to reveal a simplified view of the sky with arrows pointing the way to brighter stars and constellations--handy for beginning stargazers. Additional instructions and information about stars, constellations and binocular objects can be found on the back side of the frame.

For newcomers and experienced users alike, the most useful and inexpensive tool for navigating the night sky is the Planisphere. Simply turn a dial to match time and date and see what the sky looks like at any particular moment. However, the problem with most planisphere's is that the shape of constellation patterns near the horizon is different on the map than in the sky. For example, the constellation Scorpius (the Scorpion) is elongated on a typical planisphere whereas on the Global Mapping Planisphere the distortion has been greatly reduced by gradually increasing the map's scale in the north-south direction.

Of course, a certain amount of distortion will always be present whenever large areas of the dome-shaped sky-as on a planisphere-are mapped to a flat sheet of paper. The same distortion that affects constellation shape also makes the circular horizon line to appear oval. On the other hand, the Global Mapping Planisphere's horizon is round-just as observed outdoors.

Other outstanding features of the Global Mapping Planisphere include:

• Usability at all mid-northern latitude locations
• Symbols and representations to help find and identify constellations, bright stars, the Milky Way, star clusters, nebulae (gas clouds), variable stars and galaxies
• A target marker indicating the overhead point
• Labels for both Standard and Daylight Savings Time
• Star-hopping diagrams that clearly point the way to several prominent stars and constellations
• Instructions for use and object descriptions in language that newcomers to astronomy will find easy to understand
• Constellation, Bright Star and Binocular Object tables that provide a wealth of additional data to make the Planisphere useful for years on end.

Here is a review from 'Astronomy Now' January 2012 Edtion

About the Planisphere's designer: Mark B. Peterson is former Curator of Gates Planetarium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He is a published author who is also passionate about astronomy and star maps. Mr. Peterson resides in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S.A.

For more information and pictures of the Planisphere or to order your copy go to our online map shop MapStop

Chart of the Heavens

"Mark Peterson and Wil Tirion's Chart of the Heavens is a masterpiece of map making.  Precise, easy to use, durable and a work of art, it is quite simply the best ever." Dr.Mark Littmann, PhD.

Author, Planets Beyond; The Heavens on Fire; Totality: Eclipses of the Sun; Minding of the Heavens.  Hill Chair of Excellence Professer, University of Tennessee

Launched at the London Book Fair April 2010..this Chart of the Heavens was well received.

The ideal introduction to stargazing, these charts are simple to use at any time of the year, anywhere in the world! Packed with information, help and advice, as well as detailed instructions to help you get a firm understanding of the Stars and Constellatons.

The Chart of the Heavens map set accurately depicts the night sky as it appears everywhere in the populated world.. With a little practice, stargazers of all ages can use these charts to locate and learn the names of stars, constellations and other fascinating objects in the heavens.

Laminated for durability and use in damp environments.

This Chart of the Heavens map set offers design features that are distinct from virtually all other star maps available today. Outstanding qualities include:

·         A table listing locations of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn through the year 2025.

Also Chart of the Heavens received a very nice feedback, posted on Amazon.com:   "This chart is very easy to use and provides excellent information. You'd think a chart that is easy to use would lack good content, but it's evident that Mark and Wil really know their stuff. Great chart of the heavens for beginners and advanced users alike. Teachers would find this to be a great resource."

About the author and artist: ·         Mark B. Peterson is the former Curator of Gates Planetarium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He is a published author who is also passionate about astronomy and star maps. Mr. Peterson resides in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S.A. ·         Wil Tirion of the Netherlands is the world's greatest living celestial cartographer, and a strong argument can be made that the quality and quantity of his astronomical maps surpass those of anyone who has ever lived.

For more information and pictures of the Chart of the Heavens or to order your copy go to our online map shop MapStop

This fascinating map is published by Global Mapping and will help you enjoy the Sky at Night. To order your copy visit our online shop.

Global Mapping wall maps are available to buy in all good map shops around the World.  If you wish to buy online there are two sites we recommend.  www.globalmappingwallmaps.com is a site we set up featuring just our wall maps, the site does only accept payment by Paypal though.

The second site is www.mapstop.co.uk which is our main map shop offering over 13,000 map based products including Globes, Atlases, Map Data, Software as well as more quirky items such as lampshades and tablecloths!