Best beginner books

[poodles]

Hi all. I'm a complete novice, I have no experience and honestly, no clue where to start. I've looked at a few books to see which might be best for me. The Practical Astronomer and Turn Left at Orion both seen popular for different reasons but any advice and/or suggestions would be gratefully received.

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[knobby]

I guess it depends what you're getting into... Your best bet is to read this forum... And its free :-)

[rory]

 this is good for general advise on equipment and all things astro.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388324934&sr=1-1&keywords=dyer+Dickinson

as is this-  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nightwatch-Practical-Guide-Viewing-Universe/dp/1552093026/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388325079&sr=1-5&keywords=dyer+dickinson

turn left is a great book for helping to locate loads of brighter objects in the sky if your going down the manual route rather than go to.

[ronin]

If the level of knowledge is close to zero, then in 2 weeks get along early to one of the Star Gazing Live events and get hold of one of the small spiral bound guides to the basic constellations.

Then go find each of them yourself.

After that I suggest something that tells you what objects are in each constellatiion and where they are in them.

That way you know the basic ones and when happy can get out and look at things in each.

Easiest is to grab binoculars, if any to hand, and try to locate some of the brighter.bigger things.

Stand out tonight at 10:00 and look South to Orion, use the binoculars or eyes to identify Betelgeuese (red star at top), Rigel (bright white star at bottom), Belt Stars (the three running across the middle), Orion Nebula (below the belt in the middle). Easy enough but 1 constellation, the 2 main stars, the belt (astrisim) and the nebula. Should take all of 10 minutes. Not so difficult but a good start at this time of year.

If not frozen then find The Plough then Casseiopia.

If you want to stay with Orion follow the belt stars from Left to Right and keep going, you bump into an Orange star (Aldebaren) with a patch of stars around it (Hyades cluster), keep going more and there is a bright patch of stars (Pleiades).

By then you will want back in to warm up.

[NoSiriusly]

Hi there,

A Planisphere is great for learning the sky and is easily handled in the field.

[Steve C]

As I beginner myself I found the most frustrating thing was finding my way about the heavens. For me learning the sky or at least a few of the major constellations to use as as reference points was a good starting point.

2 years ago I didnt have a clue where to find the great square of Pegasus or the whereabouts of Cassiopeia.

It all comes with time spent outside actually looking at whats up there in relation to where you are. 

[avtaram]

"Patrick Moore's Astronomy: Teach Yourself" and "Collins Night Sky" by Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion are very good books for a beginner.

Avtar

[bomberbaz]

If you want to learn the heavens in the warmth with an interactive pc programme then download stellarium, its free.

This will allow you to gauge an idea of some of the things to view.

[N22]

Installing "stellarium" looks fantastic. Have my telescope about a week and a week of cloudy skies. This will be a great help

Thanks

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[poodles]

Thanks all for the responses. I have a lot of learning to do it seems

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[brantuk]

"The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders" is a great book for finding your way around the night sky. It's a bit similar in it's style to TLAO but with many more objects and organised in seasonal order by constellation. It's also great value for money - only £16.95 when I bought it a couple of years ago - and there's a spiral bound version for use at the telescope as well.

You get finding instructions, background info, and a sketch or image of each object so you know what you're looking for and how it appears in the eyepiece. Great for extending your knowledge of the night sky once you've been at it a few months and know how to look around but seeking new targets.

[Kirscovitch]

I'm a fan of  TLAO. Received it for Christmas and I've been going over it every night for a little bedtime reading.

+1 for Stellarium as well.

[baggywrinkle]

"Patrick Moore's Astronomy: Teach Yourself" and "Collins Night Sky" by Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion are very good books for a beginner.

Avtar

The above and TLAO.

Another free source of simple info is the Skywatcher and Celestron websites. Their manuals are online and they have a section on the back on basic orientation. Have a look at the links section on here too and never be afraid to post a question. We are all on a learning curve of somekind and this site is THE best for assistance and help.

Plus if you can a planisphere, simple to use, and never runs down on batteries...completely handraulic!