alecras2345 Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Hi my name's Ash and I live in North Wales. I haven't posted on this site for a while as I lost interest and I wasn't getting anywhere, but now my interest has come back. I have started to read a book called teach yourself Astronomy by Patrick Moore. I find it helpful as it has a list of things to remember at the end of each chapter, although the chapters do go on a little about the history of say the sun before it explains about coagulation which is interesting. Im also worked abut the information being out of date. Has anyone read the book, is it worth reading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Hi Ash, welcome to SGL Not a book reader myself but there should be plenty of folk here who do read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putaendo Patrick Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 My understanding is this book first came out in 2010, before Sir Patrick passed away in 2012, and was revised in 2015 by Percy Seymour. So the second edition should be reasonably "up-to-date" albeit in a field that seems to be changing rapidly almost day by day! The book certainly has a ton of information, but sometimes it seems to cram just too much in that it loses clarity. It tries to cover the historical development of astronomy, the results of recent scientific investigation, and practical information for the amateur astronomer. I personally would prefer to read three books each dedicated to one of these areas. Sir Patrick created a small industry of writing astronomy books, and encouraging others to do so, and frankly some are pot-boilers. So again personally, I feel many of his earlier books are better from a literary point of view, although of course in some areas well out-of-date. What you will get from Teach Yourself Astronomy rather depends on what you're looking for. If you are looking for a specific theme, the Sun for example, there are dedicated books which probably cover the material in a better and more organised manner. But for a general browse, it has its meat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laudropb Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
des anderson Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Hi Ash,years ago read Amateur Astronomer by Patrick,which was like a bible.But there`s so many good books now, the list is immense.A very warm welcome from Essex. Des Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putaendo Patrick Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 I agree with Des, The Amateur Astronomer was probably Sir Patrick's classic! I've just checked my own ninth revised edition copy of 1978, and it first came out in 1957. The twelfth revised edition came out in 2006, I don't know if that was the last. But that's a pretty good innings! I reckon at least half the forum members here owe a lot to that book It would be interesting to see how the revisions developed over the course of fifty years - I guess you'd get a good history of astronomy for the 20th century Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Lloyd Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Hi Ash, welcome back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swag72 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Hi Ash and welcome to SGL - this is a great place to be and I'm sure that you'd find many topics on here that would pique your interest! Look forward to seeing you around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippie Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Welcome to SGL Ash . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave In Vermont Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Welcome back again, Ash - nice to have you aboard! Clear & dark skies, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesM Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Hi Ash and welcome to the forum Clear skies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glowjet Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Hi Ash and welcome back to SGL. In my view, any of the books written by the late SPM; are worth having, as an historical reference of the era in which they were written. Times do change, however, so any questionable data can be checked against present day information, enjoy the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seo Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Hi Ash and welcome aboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Presland Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charon Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 Hi Ash and welcome aboard from Crete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starwiz Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Welcome to the SGL! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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