which Books

[hunterz]

As I'm new to astronomy I need some reading material can you tell me which books I should get. I was looking at the Haynes Astronomy manual (A practical guide to the night sky)is it worth getting

cheers

PS: is there anywhere that sells used astronomy books

[Spikey]

Turn left at Orion gets my vote. Got mine from amazon.

[rowan46]

amazon marketplace do used astronomy books. Two books spring to mind, "Turn Left at Orion" and "The Backyard Astronomer"

[brantuk]

All the above plus also take a look at "Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders" - great for out in the field cos it opens flat on a table

[iwatkins]

Not strictly a book, but always (since a young boy) had a Philips Planisphere handy to see what to view tonight/get a general idea of where everything is in the sky in *my* back garden.

[david o]

For getting started, other than Turn Left at Orion, I found the following useful and can thoroughly recommended them :

The Backyard Astronomer's Guide (full of great advice), a Planisphere (very useful) and the more advanced Astronomy Hacks (lots of tips 'n' tricks).

Also you can't go far wrong with Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas.

If you live in an area with light pollution then The Urban Astronomer's Guide is a good one too.

For moon-watching try the Moon Observer's Guide.

HTH

[umadog]

+1 on Turn Left at Orion

[hunterz]

Thanks I will have a look at them all

[GazofCorra]

I have them all and keeps you busy and clued up when it is cloudy or seeing conditions are poor, which is quite often.

The backyard astronomers guide (3rd Edition) is a book that covers everything from getting started to astrophotography as well as the solar system and a whole lot more, so is perfect for the beginner as it teaches you all the basics and leads on to the more advanced stages of astronomy.

Turn left at orion is good once you have the basics as it starts you off viewing targets after that the illustrated guide to astronomical wonders is in my opinion the next level up and the way to go only once you have got a grip on the other 2 books as it is very intense (in a good way)

The philips moon guide is very useful for lunar viewing.

Also philips Stargazing 2011 is like an almanac on what you can expect to see on a monthly basis along with sky maps of each month, i think it is very good.

A planishere is very useful in learning constellations and showing you a map of the night sky by day and time.

Finally download stellarium for your PC or Mac it is used by a large amount of SGL members and is a computer based planishere and a whole lot more.

Don't feel overwhelmed by all the books etc, it is the best way to get an understanding of this hobby.

HTH

[r3i]

Another type of book that I've found useful is a dictionary of astronomy - handy for looking up unfamiliar terms. I've got this one: Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Astronomy: Amazon.co.uk: Jacqueline Mitton: Books but there many others available.