Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide

I received the Premium edition of the Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide as a gift for Christmas.  This guide is a very nice addition to the Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas, that I got in 2021. 

The guide is not the typical guide that most observers expect.  It is full of pictures (from the DSS) and drawings (made by the authors) of the most interesting Deep Sky objects that are visible.  There is no extra information, for I don't think that this information is needed.  If you need to know more about the objects, it is easy to find more information on the internet.  The information on the objects is anyway not known perfectly and is still changing.  So, adding this information would make this book out of date in a few years time. 

The drawings and the pictures will be relevant for ever!  The drawings are real masterpieces and of very high quality.  The book itself is in German, but there is hardly any written text in the book, so this is not a problem at all.  There is a bit of information on the needed magnification and the recommended filters, and this is very useful to have.  

The Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide

The page numbers in the Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas and the Guide are the same, so an object on page 22 of the Guide, can be found on chart 22 of the atlas.  This way, it is very easy find the object back in the atlas.  There is even a small overview chart on the bottom right of every page of the Guide to make it even easier to find back the object.

Just as the premium edition of the Deep Sky Atlas, the pages are printed on a special material that looks and feels like paper, but is a waterproof foil.  According to the website of the atlas, the pages can be even put in a bucket of water without being damaged.  This makes it possible to use the atlas and the guide outside in the wet climate we have in Belgium.

Example page of the Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide

In my opinion, the guide is very useful to prepare an observing night.  Just select a constellation you want to observe, look at which chart it is in the atlas, open the guide on the same page and look at the objects that are visible.  The objects are sorted, with the objects visible in a 4'' telescope at the top.  The images and especially the drawings give a good impression if the object is spectacular or not.  I put the objects I'm interested in an observing list in DeepskyLog or in SkyTools 4.  I then export the list to the skylist format so that I can import it in SkySafari, which I mostly use to control my telescope.  The skylist format can also be imported directly by the Nexus DSC Pro setting circles, so that is another option.

The combination of the Atlas and the Guide even makes it possible to go observing without having made an observing list.  I can just go outside, decide on which constellation to observe, open the Guide and the Atlas and have a direct overview of the most spectacular objects to see. 

Would I buy the guide without the atlas?  Probably not, as they are really made to use together.  The guide can of course still be used to enjoy the nice drawings and to decide on which objects to observe, but you will lose the option to go out under the stars with both the atlas and the guide, and start observing. 

If you already have the Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas, I would totally recommend the Deep Sky Guide!