I would like to know people's recommendations on the very best astronomy books.

My favourite two would have to be "the universe in a nutshell" and "black holes and baby universes" both by stephen hawking.

Kashi

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For younger readers, say, 7 to 12, I recommend "365 Starry Nights" by Chet Raymo - as the title suggests, it gives the reader something to do and learn in the night sky for every night in the year.

Patrick Moore has written a similarly excellent book for more adult astronomers (taking into account leap years as well ), The Observer's Year: 366 Nights of the Universe - it's a tad pricey but it's worth every penny

Dips

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My all time favorite astronomy book is "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan. Reading that got me re-interested in space and astronomy again after taking a hiatus during my high school years. (That just happened to be between Apollo and the shuttle.)

Another kind of off-the wall book that I really like is "The Overview Effect" by Frank White. It's about how seeing the Earth as a whole from space has profoundly affected humanity. It's pretty idealistic, but I like to think we really could all live together in harmony someday.

As a weekly columnist, I rely on many astronomy books for fact checking and inspiration. Oddly, many are very old. But Chet Raymo's book 365 Starry Nights is a good one no matter what your age. For simple charts of contellations with a detailed description of the celestial wonders, Ian Ridpath's Astronomy (American Nature Guides) is a good one. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy is excellent. I consult with my original 1958 editio of James Pickering's 1001 Questions Answered About Astronomy. Richard Hinckley Allen's 1963 Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning is an piece of work with star name derivitives. Michael Kitt's The Moon observing guide offered by Astronomy Magazine is a real treasure--the best moon Bible is Antonin Rukl's incredible Atlas of the Moon. But my favorite of all time..the one that started it all--Herbert Zim's (and Robert Baker) STARS, and I have a 1956 hardback verson!

For sheer physical beauty, nothing beats Ken Croswell's Magnificent Universe, a book that weighs some five pounds, measures over 10 by 14 inches, and includes stunning color reproductions of every famous celestial object in the heavens--combined with thorough, up-to-date, white-on-black text.

And yes, Magenta confesses to possessing a copy of Zim's book Stars, dating back to the 1950s. A nice book.

I didn't even have to stop and think on this one. As an amateur astronomer I have many books covering astronomy but the one I go back to again and again is Terence Dickinson's Night Watch. If you're new at astronomy or have a long time interest, as I do, this book is wonderful! Everything you'll ever need to know about telescopes and navigating your way around the sky after you acquire one. Find out what's up there to see. I've spent many evenings paging through this book as if it were a catalog, planning what I will seek out in my telescope when it gets dark. A wonderful book!

kjargirl, if you haven't already, you *must* read Sagan's Pale White Dot. If ever there was a sequel to Cosmos, that was it. A pity it was never made into a televisions series - it would have been quite stunning. I also recommend getting a copy of the Cosmos series on DVD if you can... you can buy it direct from Cosmos Studios at www.carlsagan.com

The DVD set is quite stunning... especially the intro sequence, which is breathtaking.

MarQ, I have a couple of Antonin Rukl's books too... his artwork is superb. I first had one of his books, The Amateur Astronomer, given to me for a Christmas present when I was about 8 or 9. I still have it now - 23 years later

Dips

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"The stars are my home"
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I've watched c-beams glitter in the dark, near the Tanhauser Gate... all those moments will be lost, in time... like tears in the rain..."

As for me , my favourite books are 'A Breif History of Time' by stephen hawking,
and 'The Origin of the Universe' by john d. barrow.

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Do you mean "Pale Blue Dot" DippyHippy?

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Obviously the answer to this question depends a lot on what exactly you are looking for. Observational astronomy or theoretical? Newbie or old salt? Naked eye, binoculars, or scope? Or all three? Picture book or field guide?

If you are looking for theoretical stuff, then anything by Hawking or Sagan has to be at the top of the list.

If you are looking for a picture book, a new release will be getting a lot of attention, I believe. That is the new one The Universe: 365 Days. It is simply a collection of 365 pictures from the Astronomy Photograph of the Day website. Another book that could fit that category, as well as a field guide, albeit a bit unweildy one, is The Great Atlas of the Stars. It has some wonderful pictures in it, although it seems to have dreams of being the ultimate field guide as well.

As far as observational goes, take your pick. There are thousands of guides out there, and most of them are at least decent. Plus, then you have to decide do you want something specialized. There are many books just on the moon alone. Probably the two that I would recommend out of that bunch is Night Watch, particularly for beginners, and for binocular observers, Touring the Universe Through Binoculars (and if you have a computer, its associated Sky Atlas, TUBA) by Phil Harrington.

After having said all that, if I had to narrow it down to only ONE book to tell someone that they should buy for astronomy, it would be The Backyard Astronomer's Guide by Terrence Dickinson and Alan Dyer. It has a little something for everyone. The first edition was an excellent resource and the newly released second edition brings it up to date with all the many recent changes. So, that is the book that would get my vote as the absolute, one and only, must absolutely have astronomy book.

And now no one is EVER gonna believe that I'm shy and not prone to long-winded speeches!

Ken B.

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You asked this question 20 years ago and one book that would certainly be mentioned is "Starlight Nights" by Leslie Peltier. It's a feel good tale of this comet-hunting amateur astronomer. I met him a couple times in Delphos, Ohio, near my hometown of Findlay. I was a teenager, and he was a crusty only man!

And nobody has mentioned Timothy Ferris' "Galaxy," that huge coffee table book almost made obsolete by Hubble's images. "Space Places" by Russmeyer is another good coffee table weight. Everyone know the cartoon Curious George. Well that monkeys artist is H.A. Rey, who's 1952 "The Stars" is another classic constellation learner.

And can you believe that nobody has mentioned Norton's Star Atlas? Anybody have a 1910 first edition? I'll give you $50 for it! I have a '59 edition, and first bought one in '66, but gave it away. It was The amateur astronomer's Bible for 6 decades, bar none. Now, I'll bet it's not well known to those joning the stargazing ranks in, say, the past 15 years.

Anyone else remember the starry nights with Norton's?

As a survey of the field, nothing beats Timmothy Farris' "Coming of Age in the Milky Way". This is not an observers book but a history of everything we know about the universe, and how we learned it.

As a backyard guide I recomend either "Turn Left at Orion" or "Nightwatch"

Bud

Ooops kashi - yes, you're absolutely right - don't know what the hell I was thinking when I typed Pale White Dot instead LOL!!! :huh:

*ooops*

I blame the fact that I'm at work at 4am LOL

Dips

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"The stars are my home"
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I've watched c-beams glitter in the dark, near the Tanhauser Gate... all those moments will be lost, in time... like tears in the rain..."

I only have a few but A Guide to Skywatching by David H. Levy is pretty good...In the constellation part of it there's a little blurb about each constellation and suggests some of the points of interest (bright stars, nebulae, variable stars, clusters, galaxies, etc.) that you can find in each one.
In the last few pages of the book it gives the titles of a bunch of other books that might be of some interest for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.
The only thing that really annoyed me about the book was that it mentiond arc seconds and arc minutes but nowhere in the book did it explain what "arc" meant!!

Fair enough dippyhippy. I haven't actually read that book, but I saw it reviewed and I'm planning to get myself a copy.

Does anybody have a suggestion for an astronomy book for a young person, say 13-14 years old, which will capture the imagination. Hawking's obviously a bit too heavy going!

Kashi

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I have one of those "Klutz" books called Bedroom Astronomy that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago...It came with a bunch of glow-in-the-dark stars and patterns of a few of the constellations that you could shine a flash light through and put the stars on the ceiling.
The book's kinda funny too, (but then again it's made by Klutz so what would you expect!?) One of my favorite parts was when it talks about gravity it gives a warning about why you shouldn't have to pick stuff up in your room!!! I think any kid would really get a kick out of it cuz I know I did!

Hi Kashi:
I'm very new to this world. It's very fascinating.
I was told a good book for children is,
H.A. Rey"The Stars" a new way to see them.
I'm sure you'll get feedback.I'd also like to know opinions on this book.
Summerwind#1

Kashi-
I did a presentation at a conference for teachers about space literature for students, and here is my list of books for middle school students, and I'll add a couple from my high school list. If anyone wants to see the full high school list or the elementary lists, let me know and I'll post them. Enjoy!
Kjargirl

Top Ten Books for Middle School


Get A Grip on Astronomy. By Robin Kerrod. 1999. 192 pages. A “cool” book full of astronomical facts and trivia. Each page is an adventure!

The Planet Hunters. By Dennis B. Fradin. 1997. 148 pages. An extremely readable and interesting book about humanity’s search of the heavens, from early astronomers to the Hubble Space Telescope.

How Do You Go To The Bathroom in Space? By Bill Pogue. Skylab astronaut Pogue answers questions on almost every aspect of spaceflight, including the most often asked question.

The Illustrated A Brief History of Time. By Stephen Hawking. 1996 (Original 1988). 248 pages. Pictures and illustrations make this version of Hawking’s classic more readable for students.

Flying To The Moon and Other Strange Places. By Michael Collins. A middle school version of “Carrying the Fire.” Collins’ sense of humor makes this an entertaining book.

Space Exploration Projects for Young Scientists. By Gregory Vogt. 1995. 144 pages.
Written by a science teacher, this book focuses on activities to explain such topics as rocketry, orbit, and microgravity. Thorough procedures and explanations of experiments.

The Adventures of Sojourner: The mission to Mars that thrilled the world. By Susi Trautmann Wunsch. 1998. 62 pages. A close-up look at the spacecraft and people that captured the world’s attention during the summer of 1997.

Moon Landing: Race For The Moon. DK Books. By Carole Stott. 1999. A typical DK book; lots of pictures and information on each page.

Opening The Space Frontier. Ray Spangenburg and Diane Moser. 1989. The history of spaceflight, from the dreams of Tsiolkovsky to the X-15 to the moon landings.

Spacefarers of the 80’s and 90’s: The Next 100 People in Space. By Alcestis R. Oberg. 1985. 238 pages. A look at the education and experiences that are required for astronauts, with interviews with some of the early shuttle astronauts.

Top Ten (Or So) Space Books For High School


A Man On the Moon. By Andrew Chaikin. 1994. 670 pages. The Apollo Bible.

Orbit: NASA Astronauts Photograph the Earth. By Jay Apt, Michael Helfert, and Justin Wilkinson. National Geographic Society. 1996. 224 pages. A fascinating look at our Earth from space. A unique geography aid. I never tire of looking at this book.

The Handy Space Answer Book. By Phillis Engelbert & Diane L. Dupius. 1998. 576 pages. Answers to 1,200 questions about almost any space topic you can imagine.

Apollo 13 (Lost Moon). By Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. 1994. 418 pages. Jim Lovell’s original story, a little different from the movie.

The Dream of Spaceflight: Essays on the Near Edge of Infinity. By Wyn Wachhorst. 2000. 225 pages. A philosophical and sometimes spiritual discussion of why we explore space mostly focuses on the Apollo program. A unique book.


To Rise From Earth: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to Spaceflight. By Wayne Lee. 1995 . 310 pages. An excellent book to explain things like thrust and orbital mechanics to non-rocket scientists.


Apollo: An Eyewitness Account. By Alan Bean with Andrew Chaikin. 1998. 176 pages. A collection of paintings and anecdotes by astronaut Bean of real and imagined events on the moon. Also looks at works in progress and various painting mediums and techniques.

I have to agree that Magnificent Universe is a treasure to have in any library but my favorite is Great Atlas of the Stars. The conversations that have been sparked in my living room are many.

When I meet anyone who is new to viewing the wonders of the night sky, I suggest they look at Turn Left at Orion. I have found, as I am sure many others have, that beginning viewers sometimes expect to see Hubble views from their scopes! Turn Left offers a realistic view of the sky of what someone can expect from that first scope.

Patty

kjargirl,

I'd love to see your whole list. I thought I had a pretty good astronomy library, but out of all the books you listed, the only one I have is the Handy Space Answer Book! If you'd rather e-mail the list than post it, you can e-mail me at fleetwizard@yahoo.com.

kashi,

The one that summerwind listed by H. A. Rey is a good one. He also has another book about constellations. But, I can't remember the title right now! It's pretty good for teaching any beginner about the shapes in the sky.

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I want to be somewhere where I can see the stars at night!
--Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Simple Life

Fleetwizard-
I'll email you the list so I don't clog up the forum. If there are more people out there interested in seeing it, I'll post it. Let me know. Thanks!