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beginners books

Andy274

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Andy274

Andy274

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Hi guys,

ive read the advice sheet on the sticky thread & found it invaluable. Ive found a set of bino's & im now planning on looking at learning the constellations & how i can recognise the 'road map' that is the sky around me.

I know that this is no small undertaking, but im willing to put the time in.

Ive got an app on my iphone called sky view & it shows constellations & planets. I dont want to rely on this as stated on other posts. So, to that end, im looking to buy a book that will stand me in good stead.

Can any of you recommend a good book for me to use???

Cheers in advance

Andy

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crazyjedi

crazyjedi

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There are many really good guides for finding your way around the sky. The above mentioned book is very good and so is 'Star Gazing Secrets' By Anton Vamplew.

To be honest i've got lots of books which i find useful but what i usually do before i go out is, select some interesting targets that are visible at this time of year- usually picked from the sky at night mag - then familiarise myself with that area of sky using the pc program Stallarium (which is free to download). Then i go and see what i can actually find.

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DOBBY

DOBBY

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nothing wrong with bino's & a 'phone app...or bino's & stellarium(free download) both easy to use in back garden in the dark.

Philips...Night Sky Atlas by Robin Scargell is aimed at bino & small 'scope viewers

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jana

jana

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another vote for turn left, picked it up a week or two ago and as a noob is easy to understand and gives a realistic idea of what you will see not the nice clear hubble images alot of the mags will use.

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Telrad

Telrad

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A good start!

Yep, I agree. One of the best books around. It also includes a discussion of Dobsonian telescopes, with hints on using personal computers and the internet as aids for planning an observing session. :)

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brantuk

brantuk

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I have all but one of the books suggested above and they are all very popular and very good choices. A new one just reviewed in SAN this month sounds worth a look:

"1001 Celestial Objects to See Before You Die" by Michael E. Bakich.

I might give it a try myself because it's organised cronologically in month order with constellations listed and explained, and which objects to view and how to find them.

If it's well written and presented it sounds like a promising book for all stargazers :)

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glowjet

glowjet

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Go to the Bins section and have a look in the observing links, you will see a program called TUBA, printable star maps you can configure to your own requirements, to take outside to help learn the night sky, or a copy of Sky and Telescopes Pocket Sky Atlas is also extremely helpful :)

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Scosmico

Scosmico

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I have all but one of the books suggested above and they are all very popular and very good choices. A new one just reviewed in SAN this month sounds worth a look:

"1001 Celestial Objects to See Before You Die" by Michael E. Bakich.

I might give it a try myself because it's organised cronologically in month order with constellations listed and explained, and which objects to view and how to find them.

If it's well written and presented it sounds like a promising book for all stargazers :)

I checked in the Amazon look inside. It seems quite good.

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jrw422

jrw422

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Boy do I feel stupid right now. :iamwithstupid:I saw awhile back someone recommend "turn left at Orion" and Night Watch. Got on ebay did a search and got 2 books really cheap. Well, I started reading "Turn right at Orion" and I thought why would someone recommend a heavy astrophysics book to a beginner? It's pretty good as the fiction goes but way way over the top of my pea brain. Then I saw this thread a couple days ago and saw it was turn "LEFT" not "RIGHT" and thought to myself well that explains that. So I got back on ebay yesterday and am pleased to say I found the proper book.:)

Moral of this post is know when to left and know when to turn right at Orion!!

Jon

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JB80

JB80

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I got given 'Turn left at Orion' today, it's a book I've wanted for a while. I also got 'Astronomy with a home computer' which looks like a reasonable read too.

Thanks to wifey for those :)

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Depraved

Depraved

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A bit late now that you have ordered, but I believe that the 4th edition of Turn Left is now on sale with updated viewing dates etc... so make sure you get that and not the old 3rd edition

Link to the slightly more expensive 4th edition http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turn-Left-Orion-Telescope-Beginners/dp/0521153972/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1308005275&sr=1-2-fkmr1

As you can see it's not released yet, but the publishers say it will be very soon, infact just checked and they have next month as the official release so might be worth waiting.

Mel

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Bart

Bart

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As someone already suggested 'illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders' is a great book, but probably more aimed at telescope use. It goes through constellation by constellation and explains how to find them and black and white photographs (what you'll actually see at the eyepiece, which is not colour!) of what to expect. It also has a useful part at the start discussing equipment. Great book, for not a whole lot of money

Bart

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