The Pocket Sky Atlas was produced by Roger Sinnott after previously publishing the well known Sky Atlas 2000.0. Not surprisingly it is very similar in style and format, but being more recent, the PSA has some subtle improvements (I own both atlases). Firstly, the names of the constellations are bigger. As astronomers usually know which constellation their looked-for object is in, this takes you to the right area of the map much quicker. Secondly, more objects in PSA are given their proper names. For example, the galaxy simply numbered 5128 in SA 2000 is also given its proper name Centaurus A in PSA. Thirdly, and most importantly of all, the constellations in PSA are drawn in faint green lines, which also aids fast recognition. After all, who sees Scorpius as a set of unrelated stars? We all see it as a shape, and a very recognisable one at that. Because both atlases show many more stars than we can see with the naked eye, the green lines really draw the constellation stars out of that rich star field and show us which stars are the prominently visible ones. For this reason I have laboriously gone through my Sky Atlas 2000 maps with a green pencil drawing in all the constellation lines (using PSA as my guide of course). The larger number of stars in Sky Atlas 2000 does equate better with what you see through a 9 x 50 finderscope, but the PSA is not far off, and I still find it easy enough to use.
I must say that the PSA is superbly put together. It is easy to navigate from one map to another, there is a page showing the best viewing times for each set of maps (invaluable), a guide to constellations, a telrad finder reticle to the scale of the maps, a chart key showing the whole sky, a good general index and lists for Messier and Caldwell objects. Obviously a great deal of thought went into its compilation.
Although my copy has been wet with dew on several occasions, it has not shown any deterioration.
My only quibbles are minor ones. Since it won't fit into a pocket anyway, I wish it was just a little bigger, say A4 size. When you're looking at a part of the sky without many bright stars (e.g. Cancer) the small area of sky represented by a map can leave you with few clues as to where to look (this is why I use Sky Atlas 2000 as well). The Messier objects are given their Messier designations (e.g. M66) but the Caldwell objects, although listed at the back, are not. This is a shame, as it would have made it easier for those of us compiling our Caldwell lists.
In conclusion, despite the obvious limitations of its small size, this little masterpiece shows us how Sky Atlas 2000.0 should be.
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Reviews with images
Super Cool! So happy for the bigger version which ...
Super Cool! So happy for the bigger version which I will use at home to plan my nightly observing in advance. I will still carry my Pocket size version in the field.
Top reviews from other countries
Bill Wagstaff
Water resistant, compact, a good reference for the casual observer.
Reviewed in Canada on March 11, 2022
Enrique Teodoro Boeneker Mendez
A must have for your star gazing nights!
Reviewed in Mexico on October 30, 2019