An abundantly illustrated guide to the year's best stargazing season. "Summer brings with it fine stargazing weather; it also happens to be the time of the year when our galaxy, the Milky Way, arches high across the sky." -- Terence Dickinson The cool, clear nights from May to October offer astronomers the best opportunities for stargazing. Few sights in nature can compare with the splendor of a dazzling star-filled sky. Summer Stargazing captures the grandeur of the universe with down-to-earth simplicity. All that is needed is a reasonably dark night sky, a pair of binoculars or a simple telescope, and this book. The book features everything else the amateur astronomer needs, including easy-to-use color star charts that cover the entire North American sky for one year and photographic-quality charts for this main stargazing season. With Summer Stargazing, astronomers can delve into the majesty of the starry night to explore: Planets of the Solar System Galaxies Remote star-forming nebulas Glittering star dusters and more. Helpful advice is given for safely viewing special phenomena such as eclipses and auroras. Summer Stargazing is both a stargazing guide and a pictorial celebration of the summer night sky.