http://rasc.ca/

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Observer’s Handbook for this year is out, and I heartily recommend it, even if you don’t live in Canada.

http://rasc.ca/handbook/

The Handbook contains an extraordinary amount of ephemeral information of value to the amateur astronomer, almanac stuff, planetary ephemerides, sunrise/sunset/eclipses, and also information on the year’s comets, asteroid positions, meteor showers, and all sorts of other time-sensitive phenomena.

In addition, there is page after page of catalog data on deep-sky objects, double and multiple stars, the brightest stars, nearest stars, observing hints, articles, notes, data and constants, lots of stuff that will be useful long after the almanac material is out of date. Even if you never buy another one, the Handbook will serve as a useful reference.

In addition, you will get a code that allows you to download the Earth-Centered Universe, a fine planetarium/artificial sky program for a year’s free use. This alone is worth the price.

I highly recommend it if you’re starting out in astronomy. If you’re a seasoned amateur you probably already are familiar with it.