Jay Ryan has been steadfast in producing high-quality illustrations of the night sky that succinctly convey the appearance and the motion of celestial bodies.  Fifteen years ago he depicted the alignment of Earth, Venus, and the sun from the perspective of an observer outside Earth's orbit, clearly explaining the circumstances that yield two transits of Venus in eight years.  As the 2012 transit of Venus approaches, Ryan is again on the scene with his new illustrated guide Celestial Almanack.  While his target audience is Christian homeschoolers, Celestial Almanack will be a valuable reference for all observers of the night sky who want a timely guided tour of the heavens. 

The inaugural issue from January 2012 sets the stage for everyone who notices the bright object in the western sky after sunset.  For Ryan, a goal is to get people to watch the celestial dynamics unfold over time.  The 2012 transit of Venus experience begins well before June 5 or 6.

"I’m concerned that most people never even bother to notice Venus, even when it’s blazing bright as the evening star," Ryan said.  I’m trying to get people to notice Venus beforehand, and learn a bit about its synodic cycle.  This way, they can spot Venus in evening sky through the winter and spring and then watch it disappear into the sunset.  Then when they see the actual transit in June, they have some context and hopefully more appreciation for the big picture of Venus’ motions."

High quality illustrations are evident in the free preview of the Celestial Almanack, and when you download and see the complete version you will find much that satisfies for $3.00.  Stellar activities... such as constellation identification are rated with a non-threatening one-star (e.g., Orion) to four-star (e.g., Aquarius) degree of difficulty, which is more inviting as a challenge than intimidating as an unattainable target.  Best of all, the Almanack is laden with crisp illustrations reminiscent of the hand-drawn originals. 

By the time the May and June issues are available, the transit of Venus will be a dominant story in Celestial Almanack.  A review of the first issue suggests there is no reason to delay purchasing until then.

Ryan's target audience since 2002 has been Christian homeschoolers.  From personal experience as a talented space artist sharing his values, he notes that "some people in mainstream astronomy are intolerant of Bible verses and references to God, even though this was common in mainstream astronomy literature before the 20th century." 

Thankfully, Ryan is undeterred and shares his handiwork with the broader audience of observers. "I would hope that my work adds some value to the overall understanding of the sky."  Indeed it has, and continues to do so.