Astronomy books for beginners?

Rinky

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Rinky
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I tried to search for threads mentioning something like this, but failed miserably...

Anyway, I was just galaxy-zooing (www.galaxyzoo.org) to pass the time and I realized I want to know more about stars, galaxies, the universe and everything :D. What would be the best places to start and good books to read? I know some very, very basic stuff but that's about it. Many searches on the net just seem to list books on stargazing, but that's not what I'm looking for. How about any of these?

http://space.about.com/od/astronomybooks/tp/astronomybooks.htm

Thanks for any suggestions!
 
Rinky said:
I tried to search for threads mentioning something like this, but failed miserably...

Anyway, I was just galaxy-zooing (www.galaxyzoo.org) to pass the time and I realized I want to know more about stars, galaxies, the universe and everything :D. What would be the best places to start and good books to read? I know some very, very basic stuff but that's about it. Many searches on the net just seem to list books on stargazing, but that's not what I'm looking for. How about any of these?

http://space.about.com/od/astronomybooks/tp/astronomybooks.htm

Thanks for any suggestions!
Click to expand...

Go to your nearest student book store and buy a 101 level text book. I read them for fun, have quite a few, and they often do a great job at introducing concepts.

I learn stuff from them all the time and every now and then a fact sticks. Just recently I came to understand that a spiral galaxy's arms are not physically connected structures.
 

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If learning the constellations as they are in the night sky is what you want, and you are in the Northern Hemisphere, there is a very, very old book that as far as I am concerned has not been bettered; "A Primer For Stargazers" by Henry M. Neeley. You can find used copies at Amazon and Powell's quite often.
 
Turn Left at Orion by Br. Guy Consolmagno (he said, plugging a friend's book).

Fred
 
Even for a novice, I highly recommend the three volumes of Burnham's Celestial Handbook if you're interested in deep space objects.
You'll love it.
 
Did people read the OP?

He said he didn't want a book about stargazing!
 
Monketey Ghost said:
Go to your nearest student book store and buy a 101 level text book. I read them for fun, have quite a few, and they often do a great job at introducing concepts.

I learn stuff from them all the time and every now and then a fact sticks. Just recently I came to understand that a spiral galaxy's arms are not physically connected structures.
Click to expand...

If you take this approach, I might as well say that we do a fair amount of teaching from this textbook for an astronomy option to some of our students:
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/universe9e/default.asp#t_571828____

I only do a small amount of helping out on the course so I've not read through the whole book, but it is not too heavy going from what I've seen.
 
Puppycow said:
Evidently not!

This one might not be exactly what you're looking for either, but if you are interested in learning the basics of Cosmology it's worth a read:

Big Bang by Simon Singh
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Thanks, I'll take a look at this, too!

Yes, as wollery said, stargazing is not what I'm looking for (and I'm a she :)) at the moment - perhaps I'll get into it later! The text book approach sounds good, although my nearest bookstore probably has nothing like that... English is no problem, as long as the text doesn't get all super scientific and technical.
 
Since you were Galaxy Zoo-ing I could drop a pointer to Zoo founder Chris Lintott's books (with Brian May and Patrick Moore) - www.banguniverse.com.

I've not read them and must throw in further disclaimers about me not being entirely unbiased due to professional associations.
 
Rinky said:
Thanks, I'll take a look at this, too!

Yes, as wollery said, stargazing is not what I'm looking for (and I'm a she :)) at the moment - perhaps I'll get into it later! The text book approach sounds good, although my nearest bookstore probably has nothing like that... English is no problem, as long as the text doesn't get all super scientific and technical.
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A suggestion - tell us what language you are comfortable with, and, unless you are wanting to polish your reading English, there are lots of people here who can give suggestions there as well.
 
Well, coincidentally, I am looking for the books that the OP has said she's not looking for.

I have a visible sky for the first time in probably my adult life, or since late adolescence, actually. Since '65 I've lived in major cities and the occasional star visible through the smog, city light, and clouds didn't lend to stargazing other than the big city cry of "Oooh, look! You can see a star! Oh, wait, it's a plane... never mind."

I find myself looking at the sky at night and not knowing a damned thing about what I'm looking at. I'm abysmally ignorant about astronomy. But I'd like to know what I'm looking at? Too bright to be a star... is that Venus? But why do they call it the "morning star" if it's only 8:45 PM.... (Stuff like that.... I found the answer re Venus... it was probably Venus and the "morning star" nickname isn't exactly accurate at all times.)

So I'm looking for Stargazing For Dummies, or its equivalent. I'd just like to know what those things are and be able to give my son a correct answer if he asks.

Also.... since some of you are actual astronomers.... when I was a kid you could buy a serviceable telescope for about thirty bucks. I assume that's now about a hundred, but I have no idea if they're considered viable. I've got a very inquisitive first grader. Are there any good but relatively inexpensive beginner telescopes out there? (And it needs to be something I can have shipped half-way around the world. I'm in Thailand!)
 
shadron said:
A suggestion - tell us what language you are comfortable with, and, unless you are wanting to polish your reading English, there are lots of people here who can give suggestions there as well.
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Well, my native language is Finnish, but that usually limits reading choices a bit too much. I would say that if I can't understand a book in English, I won't understand it in Finnish either (too technical, for scientists on that field).
 
Foolmewunz, you can download google sky map for your phone. When you point your phone at the sky the display will display the names of stars, planets and other interesting objects. It is free. You will meed a smart phone or tablet. You can also download free planetarium programs like Stellarium for your PC.
 
Skwinty said:
Foolmewunz, you can download google sky map for your phone. When you point your phone at the sky the display will display the names of stars, planets and other interesting objects. It is free. You will meed a smart phone or tablet. You can also download free planetarium programs like Stellarium for your PC.
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Google Anykind of Maps have never worked on my phone. It'd be worth the investment in a new phone for this sort of app, though. I'm an old geezer, though. I like books and periodicals that I can hold in my hands and turn the pages using the old analog method. I use my phone for making and receiving phonecalls and the occasional SMS and photo.
 
Foolmewunz said:
Also.... since some of you are actual astronomers.... when I was a kid you could buy a serviceable telescope for about thirty bucks. I assume that's now about a hundred, but I have no idea if they're considered viable. I've got a very inquisitive first grader. Are there any good but relatively inexpensive beginner telescopes out there? (And it needs to be something I can have shipped half-way around the world. I'm in Thailand!)
Click to expand...

First - Never buy a telescope from a department store

Second - Never purchase a telescope that uses X magnification as a selling point

Third - Consider binoculars. A good start and if the astronomy stuff does not pan out they have other applications.

Fourth - Chinese telescopes actually have very good optics.
 
Foolmewunz said:
Google Anykind of Maps have never worked on my phone. It'd be worth the investment in a new phone for this sort of app, though. I'm an old geezer, though. I like books and periodicals that I can hold in my hands and turn the pages using the old analog method. I use my phone for making and receiving phonecalls and the occasional SMS and photo.
Click to expand...

Turn Left at Orion is considered the quintessential starter book for those interested in starting visual observations
 
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