Anyone who looks up at the starry sky at night and wonders how to find a way among all those stars will need some kind of sky-guide or atlas, but very different needs must be met. The casual stargazer will first want to learn what can be seen with the unaided eye; the names of the stars, the constellations and where or when to look for Orion, the Great Bear, or Andromeda. The more advanced observer, with access to a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope, wants to know more: where is the Whirlpool Galaxy, where the North-America Nebula, or the globular cluster M13?

The Cambridge Star Atlas offers help for both. It includes a series of twenty-four monthly sky maps, designed to be of use for almost anywhere on Earth and a series of twenty detailed star charts, covering the whole heavens, with all stars visible to the naked eye under good circumstances. These twenty star charts also show a wealth of star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Some of these can be seen without optical help, but for most a small or average-size telescope is needed. Accompanying the charts are tables, offering accurate positions and more details of these objects, as well as information about interesting double and variable stars. For this third edition of The Cambridge Star Atlas a complete new series of charts has been created and, consequently, the chart's tables have been revised as well.

At the end of the atlas you will find a series of six all-sky maps, showing the sky in a special projection, centered on the Galactic Equator.