Turn left at Orion or Backyard Astronomer's Guide?

[coxie]

Im stuck in 2 minds on which of these books to get 1st, which of these would any of you recommend as a 1st book, which will i find most usefull and easy to understand?

Thanks

[TopHouse]

Backyard 1st and orion very close second, backyard is VERY helpfull with regard equipment, what it does, how it works, how to use it, then takes you on to what everything in the sky is, all about planets, stars nebulas and onto star hopping etc, highly recommend as a first book.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I dont know anything about Backyard Astronomer. The most highly recommended book for beginners and anyone else who is interested is Turn Left At Orion. Its a fantastic book. Everyone should have a copy of it in their collection.

Just MY opinion.

Backyard sounds a bit more heplful on a lot of other stuff, going by TopHouse' comment

[coxie]

yeah, see my problem im still split on it lol, i might just take a gamble at the 1st 1 i come across in wh smiths

[Bizibilder]

I seem to remember seeing that "Turn Left" is being reprinted at the moment - you may not find it available for a short while? (There is a post somewhere on here about it!!)

[JonH]

I got both off Amazon, Backyard Astronomers Guide first and then a few weeks later Turn Left At Orion. I can thoroughly recommend both for beginners.

[steve_bham]

Turn left at Orion is a great book, well worth getting.

[pvaz]

Now I come in to make it even more confusing!

I don't know about Backyard Astronomer as I don't have it. I do have TLAO and it was very helpful at 1st to help learn how to starhop and start finding my 1st targets.

After about a month, or less, when those concepts ware well learn I stopped using it all together. I only use Pocket Sky Atlas now, it's cheaper, it doesn't tell you "locate the square of Pegasus, now use the left most star and the one on the right to make an imaginary line...." and so on, it just shows a map and you have to choose for yourself where you start hopping and which lines to imagine and so on.

TALO is great for a beginner but if you already can get around and know the basics of star hopping I would recommend Pocket Sky Atlas. If you can get all of them then do so, but if you only want one, and you know the basics then Pocket Sky Atlas is the one to get IMO.

[Iris]

Now I come in to make it even more confusing!

I don't know about Backyard Astronomer as I don't have it. I do have TLAO and it was very helpful at 1st to help learn how to starhop and start finding my 1st targets.

After about a month, or less, when those concepts ware well learn I stopped using it all together. I only use Pocket Sky Atlas now, it's cheaper, it doesn't tell you "locate the square of Pegasus, now use the left most star and the one on the right to make an imaginary line...." and so on, it just shows a map and you have to choose for yourself where you start hopping and which lines to imagine and so on.

TALO is great for a beginner but if you already can get around and know the basics of star hopping I would recommend Pocket Sky Atlas. If you can get all of them then do so, but if you only want one, and you know the basics then Pocket Sky Atlas is the one to get IMO.

Fair points pvas - but then TLAO also gives a list of things to look at and describes very nicely what it is one is looking at. I dont know if the Pocket Sky atlas does that though as I dont have it (yet) - but I found TLAO to be a good 'leg up' certainly.

[coxie]

lol confused even more now, im going to wh smiths tomorrow i'll see what I can find, also gonna pick up a copy of the sky at night mag

[pvaz]

Fair points pvas - but then TLAO also gives a list of things to look at and describes very nicely what it is one is looking at. I dont know if the Pocket Sky atlas does that though as I dont have it (yet) - but I found TLAO to be a good 'leg up' certainly.

True. But all that info you can get for free on the internet.

I don't mean to say TLAO is not good. I have it, and though I don't use it much I have no intension to let it go. However, if you want only one book to have outside with you, then IMO it's a good atlas. All the other info as events, whats up in the sky tonight, info on the target, you can get it online for free. Besides I don't like the reading to shorten my observing time, I rather observe carefully then read about it afterwards when I'm inside. If you want to buy more then one then get both as they have different purposes and compliment each other.

[LukeSkywatcher]

If you want to buy more then one then get both as they have different purposes and compliment each other.

Thats the thing. I have about 7-8 books on astronomy and they all contain roughly the same material....but compliment each other by having a few different chapters on different stuff. I have pocket size star atlas and big hard backs. Some i use outside...others i use inside.

Can never have too many books.

[crepitis]

I own both books and they are both very good, however TLAO is the one I use most often "in the field" as it were, with "Backyard" being more of a book that I browse through from time to time, its beautifully illustrated and a joy to "dip" into, but if I had to choose just one of them, especially for someone who may be starting out, I would definately go for "Turn Left".

[glowjet]

There are some extremely good second hand copies of both books to be had, try Amazon.uk, I have bought a number of Astronomy books in my collection as second user, purchased as "like new" and they are all excellent, at a fraction of the cost when new.

John.

[Queensmessenger]

Have both of these books which are extremely good but I think that an even better book for beginners is "The Stars - A New Way To See Them" by H. A. Rey. £5.71 from Amazon.. A brilliant book which starts with easilly understood basics but then developes these into more detail later in the book. Very good star charts and Constellation diagrams with the whole being written in an easy to follow style. A first rate book for anyone interested in Astronomy.

Doug

[coxie]

thanks queens will look into that 1

[Ogri]

Don't ignore the deals you can get secondhand from Amazon.

I picked up Norton's Star Atlas for just over £1.70 + postage, haven't seen it yet as dad grabbed it for a quick look, and I haven't been able to prize it out of his mitts yet! lol! There's secondhand copies of various editions on Amazon at the moment from £1.22 up.

I can also vouch for Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas, which arrived this morning. It looks absolutely brilliant (I had a bit of a mental OMG! moment with it, tbh), and I'm not even telling dad I have it, or I'll NEVER see it again.

Amazon has Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas new from £7.19 + postage at the moment.

I was going to go for TLAO first, but with the new edition coming out, I wasn't sure if anything important might be being updated. Apparently anything fairly recent should be ok though, so I'll look for a secondhand copy soon.

TLAO isn't really worth buying secondhand on Amazon at the moment, as the new price is better than most of the secondhand ones. If nothing crops up soon, I'll just get the new one.

eta: Thanks Doug, "The Stars - A New Way To See Them" definitely sounds like one to put on the list. (eta2: love this comment by a reviewer on Amazon "I've used this book so much I've had to buy it three times. " lol!)

[TopHouse]

TLAO is only being reprinted, not revised, I got that info from the publishers.

[Rusty Strings]

I've got both TLAO and backyard astronomers and I would suggest the former as a first book and the latter as a general reference book. I wouldn't have "backyard" outside with me and the scope.

[glowjet]

If you are looking for books to add to a future list, Night Watch by Terrence Dickinson ( co author of Backyard Astronomers Guide ) has been mention a few times on the forum I believe, excellent book.

John.

[acey]

I've never read either book. I'm sure they're very useful and worth having, but hardly essential. "Star hopping" is something that anyone can do if they can read a map and know which way to turn it, and the Internet is absolutely full of object lists and finder charts. I'd say the only essential thing is a decent map.

I started with: Stars (Collins GEM): Amazon.co.uk: Ian Ridpath, Wil Tirion: Books. Then moved up to A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets Peterson Field Guides: Amazon.co.uk: PASACHOFF: Books. Both list interesting objects alongside the charts; the Collins goes down to mag 4.5 and the Peterson to 6.5.

[Queensmessenger]

A tip to help decide on which book to buy is to go onto www.4shared.com. You can then search (click on magnifying glass symboland register for free before downloading many different books. There are plenty on astronomy including Turn Left and The backyard astronomer together with the Stars, a new way to see them.. As I say all downloads are free for you to use as you wish. Buying a book then becomes an option. When I search I always download as a pdf file which can be set up during input of search parameters.

Doug

[BobinKy]

Im stuck in 2 minds on which of these books to get 1st, which of these would any of you recommend as a 1st book, which will i find most usefull and easy to understand?

Thanks

1st: Turn Left at Orion -- Observing oriented (simple and a joy to read)

2nd: Backyard Astronomer's Guide -- Equipment oriented (can get complex)

. . .

You may also want to consider the following.

The Monthly Sky Guide (Ridpath & Tirion, 2009) -- One of the best beginner's atlas and sky guide around. Takes you through the sky, month by month. Consider purchasing this at the same time you get Turn Left at Orion. Purchase before Pocket Sky Atlas.

Stars & Planets (Ridpath & Tirion, 2008) -- A nice constellation-by-constellation pocket atlas and sky guide. Ian Ridpath hangs out here at Stargazers Lounge. Check out his website: Ian Ridpath - Homepage

365 Starry Nights: An Introduction to Astronomy for Every Night of the Year (Raymo, 1982) -- A "fun" introduction to astronomy, presenting science, lore, and easy-to-use illustrations. The book's only fault: no index. Like Ridpath & Tirion (2009), takes a seasonal approach to the sky.

Sky Watch: The Amateur Astronomer's Guide to Finding, Observing, and Learning About over 125 Celestial Objects (Harrington, 2003) -- Takes the "sky windows" approach to covering the night sky, presents the author's own personal observations and illustrations. If you can't find it--and this book covers it--you will find it.

The Hundred Greatest Stars (Kaler, 2002) -- Written by Professor Emeritus of Astronomy, University of Illinois. Also check out his websiteJames B. Kaler

Binocular Highlights: 99 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users (Seronik, 2007) -- A gem of a book, you might think you were reading a poetry book with beautiful illustrations.

Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy (Ridpath, 2007) -- Learn what all those astro terms mean.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I dont think it matters much which book you buy first because most people end up buying pretty much the same collection of books during their lives.

Any book you are thinking of buying.........give it a quick flick through in the book store and see if it contains what you want.

There ARE a couple of books that i think EVERYONE should have in their collection and they are: "TLAO" and "Collins gem: STARS".