OBSERVER'S HANDBOOK 2004

edited by Rajiv Gupta
2004 - annual
304 pages
from Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - order from: www.skyandtelescope.com

This is THE standard handbook for the serious observing amateur astronomer. It includes the obligatory month-by-month almanac of events and lots of basic tables of information on planetary, stellar, and deep sky observing targets. It is quite well organized and "user-friendly" and is "not for the beginner" only in the sense that it provides so much detailed information that the raw beginner may feel overwhelmed, as if drinking from a firehose. For the serious observer, it is invaluable.