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Astronomy for Dummies
Embark on your own personal journey into the night sky. Today! Ever catch yourself staring up at the night sky and wondering just what the heck is out there? While no one book can answer all your questions, Astronomy For Dummies will take you on a tour through the Milky Way (and beyond!) that describes some of the most fascinating objects in the universe. This book comes complete with online access to chapter quizzes and downloadable full-color astronomical photos of our universe, as well as easy-to-follow explanations of the eye-popping wonders and gorgeous interstellar objects that populate our solar system, galaxy, and universe. You’ll Filled with discussions of the biggest and greatest new breakthroughs and an 8-page color insert packed with unbelievable, full-color photographs, Astronomy For Dummies is a can’t-miss book that will ignite a passion for understanding the mysteries of the universe in children and adults alike!
412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 11, 1999
373 people are currently reading
2081 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
March 23, 2020
One of the best. Almost covers up every basic topic in astronomy nice and smoothly for the beginnings. The writing style isn't gonna make you bore. It's fun to read & quite enjoyable to learn. Besides, this guy really makes thing interesting. And provides necessary stuffs that you must need to know.
Well here is a fact that you might need to know : if you've already read "An idiots guide to astronomy" or "Astronomy: A self teaching Guide" you don't need to read this book. I've started with this one though. These 3 books are a like. You can start with anyone of 'em. And if you do, don't waste your time by reading "Astronomy 101". Look for higher once.
Well here is a fact that you might need to know : if you've already read "An idiots guide to astronomy" or "Astronomy: A self teaching Guide" you don't need to read this book. I've started with this one though. These 3 books are a like. You can start with anyone of 'em. And if you do, don't waste your time by reading "Astronomy 101". Look for higher once.
February 3, 2018
Este libro es el comienzo de un camino largo por la ciencia que se esconde en los cosmos. Siempre he tenido desde pequeño ese bichito de la astronomia dentro de mi. Soy un fanatico de la fisica cuantica, los astros, la cosmologia, las leyes, las ecuaciones, la ciencia. Me seducen todos esos temas y seguiré indagando mas sobre todos esos temas. Ahora es que la cosa se pone buena. Gracias al destino por poner este libro en mi camino. Se lo recomiendo a todo aquel que desee adquirir una base, pero una base para comenzar a aprender mucho mas.
PD: el libro es Dummie pero por mas que quieran los temas son complejos y hay que sentarse a analizar cada parrafo. Es muy divertido si realmente te gustan las ciencias.
PD: el libro es Dummie pero por mas que quieran los temas son complejos y hay que sentarse a analizar cada parrafo. Es muy divertido si realmente te gustan las ciencias.
July 15, 2011
I’m not a big fan of the Dummies books. Don’t really like the humor which always seems—well, sort of dumb. But, I had picked this up at a yard sale some years ago and found it when I decided I wanted to read a little bit about astronomy. It answered lots of questions and was a good start to learning about this subject.
October 12, 2019
Very educational, but riddled with some extremely corny humor, which may be a pro or a con depending on who you ask I guess.
February 9, 2019
یه کتاب دیگه از مجموعه دامیز
نجوم برای احمق ها
فکر کنم بهترین ترجمه ای که گیرتون بیاد ترجمه حسین شهرابی باشه که البته من اونو نخوندم
فکر نمی کنم زیاد نیازی به توضیح داشته باشه اگر به نجوم علاقمند هستین و مثل من هیچی راجع بهش نمی دونین ، کتاب خیلی مناسبی برای شروع هست . که می تونید از طریق اون یک کم اطلاعات اونم از نوع کلی و صرفا تعریفی پیدا کنید .
اگر علاقه دارید خوبه .
نجوم برای احمق ها
فکر کنم بهترین ترجمه ای که گیرتون بیاد ترجمه حسین شهرابی باشه که البته من اونو نخوندم
فکر نمی کنم زیاد نیازی به توضیح داشته باشه اگر به نجوم علاقمند هستین و مثل من هیچی راجع بهش نمی دونین ، کتاب خیلی مناسبی برای شروع هست . که می تونید از طریق اون یک کم اطلاعات اونم از نوع کلی و صرفا تعریفی پیدا کنید .
اگر علاقه دارید خوبه .
August 3, 2020
A theory book full of dad jokes. Nice.
May 12, 2017
The book was interesting, provided some information about astronomy, but I was a little disappointed with the large amount of data about star gazing. I'm not really into that sort of thing and it adds a lot of clutter to an otherwise decent book. Also, I don't think that a book should list future eclipses, star map apps or events for amateurs. This kind of information has a short life span and I think most people will find it on the Internet, anyway.
It was funny at times, but I wouldn't call the book "for dummies". I believe some of the concepts could have been explained in a different fashion. All in all, the book is ok. Next time I'll try one on astrophysics, which is what I was interested in the first place.
It was funny at times, but I wouldn't call the book "for dummies". I believe some of the concepts could have been explained in a different fashion. All in all, the book is ok. Next time I'll try one on astrophysics, which is what I was interested in the first place.
February 29, 2020
My favorite chapters were 2 & 3. I never knew that there were telescope motels. And I never thought about using binoculars to look at stars. I also liked the discussion of astronomy software.
Astronomy for dummies has everything I wanted to know about astronomy for meteoroids, comets, asteroids. The sky has been full of stars, and planets for my whole life yet I have never taken the time to spend time looking at it. I have even had stellarium on my computer for awhile but, never used it. I have wanted to learn astronomy for awhile but, have never done it.
Astronomy for dummies got me excited about astronomy. So hopefully I went star doing some star gazing of my own. I can't wait. I am glad I read astronomy for dummies.
Astronomy for dummies has everything I wanted to know about astronomy for meteoroids, comets, asteroids. The sky has been full of stars, and planets for my whole life yet I have never taken the time to spend time looking at it. I have even had stellarium on my computer for awhile but, never used it. I have wanted to learn astronomy for awhile but, have never done it.
Astronomy for dummies got me excited about astronomy. So hopefully I went star doing some star gazing of my own. I can't wait. I am glad I read astronomy for dummies.
November 14, 2019
I couldn't finish this book , I tried so hard but that's it ,I give up (it also made me get into a long ass reading slump , I'm never forgiving it for this )
Well , I was expecting something more interesting rather than sky viewing and techniques to spot stars and constellations(which I will never be able to remember of course ) I was expecting more informations about the universe , the galaxies , the planets even , in a funny amusing way .
It's a meh (I'm giving it two stars just becuz I learned some new stuff although they weren't numerous , but I'm a grateful fella)
Well , I was expecting something more interesting rather than sky viewing and techniques to spot stars and constellations(which I will never be able to remember of course ) I was expecting more informations about the universe , the galaxies , the planets even , in a funny amusing way .
It's a meh (I'm giving it two stars just becuz I learned some new stuff although they weren't numerous , but I'm a grateful fella)
November 20, 2018
Really good stuff
This is the expanded basics. Hit a lot of stuff I learned in a year of college physics 45 years ago. The links to more info are worth the price. Helped me figure out what I am really interested in knowing more about. I loved it!!
This is the expanded basics. Hit a lot of stuff I learned in a year of college physics 45 years ago. The links to more info are worth the price. Helped me figure out what I am really interested in knowing more about. I loved it!!
February 21, 2008
I am a total astronomy nerd, and this is the book that got me started. One day I was just wondering about how the universe works so I got this book on a whim and now I'm hooked.
April 28, 2019
Al terminar de leerlo me preguntaba ¿para dummies? Realmente toca todo lo referente a la astronomía, desde el astro más cercano (la Luna) hasta los límites observables y más allá teorizado.
El libro está lleno de referencias URL para completar todo tipo de conocimiento, consejos para la observación propia, consejos para adquirir un telescopio y como usarlo, errores comunes ...
Un libro bastante completo sin profundizar en lo verdaderamente complejo sobre cálculos matemáticos de cosmología y de la naturaleza de la materia a nivel subatómico aunque se menciona todo esto también.
Lo más flojo de este libro es en el desarrollo de la astronomía a través de la historia como tal, para eso existen otros libros y no es el objetivo a cubrir.
Otro aspecto por el que no le doy las 5 estrellas es porque especialmente en los últimos capítulos se hace repetitivo o hace referencias a capítulos anteriores, esto tiene a la vez a favor que aquellos que leen sin orden o aquellos que tengan el libro como herramienta de consulta no tengan la sensación de estar perdido aunque abra el libro por el final.
El libro está lleno de referencias URL para completar todo tipo de conocimiento, consejos para la observación propia, consejos para adquirir un telescopio y como usarlo, errores comunes ...
Un libro bastante completo sin profundizar en lo verdaderamente complejo sobre cálculos matemáticos de cosmología y de la naturaleza de la materia a nivel subatómico aunque se menciona todo esto también.
Lo más flojo de este libro es en el desarrollo de la astronomía a través de la historia como tal, para eso existen otros libros y no es el objetivo a cubrir.
Otro aspecto por el que no le doy las 5 estrellas es porque especialmente en los últimos capítulos se hace repetitivo o hace referencias a capítulos anteriores, esto tiene a la vez a favor que aquellos que leen sin orden o aquellos que tengan el libro como herramienta de consulta no tengan la sensación de estar perdido aunque abra el libro por el final.
September 17, 2022
Astronomy for dummies is a nice, introductory book about astronomy, with many information about Earth, moon, our solar system and the cosmos. It's always fascinating to read all these facts about space. Be warned though, this is not an easy and elementary reading. Some of the stuff were too detailed and require a good physics background, especially if you want to grasp almost everything in the book. On a side note, the colorful section is really good, but I would have expected the whole book to be likewise.
The first chapter (Seeing the light: The art and science of astronomy) is a nice start-up chapter with α definition about what astronomy is and information about the 88 official constellations (which aren't the same as asterisms). The second chapter (Join the crowd: Skywatching activities and resources) was extremely indifferent and uninteresting to me, with much detailed information about astronomy clubs, astronomy apps and observatories. The third chapter (The way you watch tonight: Terrific tools for observing the skies) is another bland, technical chapter with information about telescopes and binoculars, but with some interesting facts about the brightness of the stars. The fourth chapter (Just passing through: Meteors, comets, and artificial satellites) is a good and interesting chapter, if you stay to the basics, there are many detailed info about the definitions and the differences between meteors, meteoroids, meteorites, fireballs, bolides etc, that you could get lost in the details.
The fifth chapter (A Matched pair: Earth and its Moon) is about our home planet and its natural satellite. I already knew most of the facts in this chapter, but there are also many others that are not well-known facts. The information about the moon, its dark side, and its craters (there is an interesting effort about sketching and identifying moon craters that everyone can participate) is fascinating. Chapter 6 (Earth's near neighbors: Mercury, Venus, and Mars) is one of the best sections of the book, with facts about the inner planets of our solar system. The facts about Venus' acidic rain that never reaches the ground, Mars water and the possible existence of life there, as well as comparative planetology are breathtaking. The seventh chapter (Rock On: The asteroid belt and near-Earth objects) is about the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Ceres being the biggest, and there is also a part about why the near-Earth object pose a threat to our planet. Chapter 8 (Great balls of gas: Jupiter and Saturn) is possibly the most exciting of the book. The info about Jupiter's great red spot (which is actually a storm), its moons (Europa, Callisto, Ganymede and Io), the rings of Saturn (consisting mainly of ice), the Cassini mission, Saturn's largest moons such as Titan and Enceladus with its water geysers are fascinating. Chapter 9 (Far out! Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and beyond) is another interesting chapter with many info about the light- blue, tilted Uranus, dark-blue Neptune with the Triton moon, and even Pluto, although it has unfortunately demoted as a planet (called dwarf planet now).
The tenth chapter (The sun: Star of Earth) is about our star. There are many facts about the sun (some of them overly detailed), about the layers of the sun (chromosphere, corona, core, radiative zone and convection zone), sunspots, solar flares, solar wind, the life expectancy of our star, the dangers and the precautions you have to take if you watch the sun or a solar eclipse, about strange phenomena during the totality of an eclipse (animals reactions to it, birds roosting and cattle returning to their barn) and some upcoming eclipse dates. Chapter 11 (Taking a trip to the stars) is another excellent chapter. Here we learn about the main sequence of stars, how stars are born, the types of stars (main sequence stars, for example our sun, red giants, white dwarfs, supernovas, neutron stars, black holes) Of course the facts about the black holes are the most interesting. We also learn about spectral types, binary and multiple stars, a phenomenon called the Doppler effect, exploding stars such as novas, supernovas and hypernovas. Chapter 12 (Galaxies: The milky way and beyond) unwraps the milky way mysteries, explains what star clusters and planetary nebulae are, divide galaxies into main types (spiral, barred spiral, elliptical, irregular, dwarf) and lists some great galaxies. Chapter 13 (Digging into black holes and quasars) has many interesting facts about black holes. There are two main types, the stellar mass black holes and the supermassive black holes, located at the centers of galaxies. A black hole has three parts: the event horizon, the singularity and falling objects. There are also facts about quasars which are active galactic nuclei and some of them (10%) emit strong radio waves. The differences between the main types of quasars though are too difficult to understand.
The fourteenth chapter (Is anybody out therer? SETI and planets of other suns) explains the Drake's equation to figure out the number of civilizations in our galaxy, the SETI (search for extraterrestrial life) project with the huge radio telescopes, the types of exoplanets that have been discovered (carbon planet, exo-earth, super-earth, nomad planet, water world, etc) and astrobiology. Chapter 15 (Delving into dark matter and antimatter) is a hard chapter about dark matter and antimatter. Chapter 16 (The big bang and the evolution of the universe) discusses the big bang theory (not the sitcom!), the evidence for it, the inflation of the universe, the dark energy, the Hubble constant and the fate of the universe.
Chapter 17 has ten strange facts about astronomy and space, while Chapter 18 has ten common errors about astronomy and space, two nice additions to end the book.
The first chapter (Seeing the light: The art and science of astronomy) is a nice start-up chapter with α definition about what astronomy is and information about the 88 official constellations (which aren't the same as asterisms). The second chapter (Join the crowd: Skywatching activities and resources) was extremely indifferent and uninteresting to me, with much detailed information about astronomy clubs, astronomy apps and observatories. The third chapter (The way you watch tonight: Terrific tools for observing the skies) is another bland, technical chapter with information about telescopes and binoculars, but with some interesting facts about the brightness of the stars. The fourth chapter (Just passing through: Meteors, comets, and artificial satellites) is a good and interesting chapter, if you stay to the basics, there are many detailed info about the definitions and the differences between meteors, meteoroids, meteorites, fireballs, bolides etc, that you could get lost in the details.
The fifth chapter (A Matched pair: Earth and its Moon) is about our home planet and its natural satellite. I already knew most of the facts in this chapter, but there are also many others that are not well-known facts. The information about the moon, its dark side, and its craters (there is an interesting effort about sketching and identifying moon craters that everyone can participate) is fascinating. Chapter 6 (Earth's near neighbors: Mercury, Venus, and Mars) is one of the best sections of the book, with facts about the inner planets of our solar system. The facts about Venus' acidic rain that never reaches the ground, Mars water and the possible existence of life there, as well as comparative planetology are breathtaking. The seventh chapter (Rock On: The asteroid belt and near-Earth objects) is about the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Ceres being the biggest, and there is also a part about why the near-Earth object pose a threat to our planet. Chapter 8 (Great balls of gas: Jupiter and Saturn) is possibly the most exciting of the book. The info about Jupiter's great red spot (which is actually a storm), its moons (Europa, Callisto, Ganymede and Io), the rings of Saturn (consisting mainly of ice), the Cassini mission, Saturn's largest moons such as Titan and Enceladus with its water geysers are fascinating. Chapter 9 (Far out! Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and beyond) is another interesting chapter with many info about the light- blue, tilted Uranus, dark-blue Neptune with the Triton moon, and even Pluto, although it has unfortunately demoted as a planet (called dwarf planet now).
The tenth chapter (The sun: Star of Earth) is about our star. There are many facts about the sun (some of them overly detailed), about the layers of the sun (chromosphere, corona, core, radiative zone and convection zone), sunspots, solar flares, solar wind, the life expectancy of our star, the dangers and the precautions you have to take if you watch the sun or a solar eclipse, about strange phenomena during the totality of an eclipse (animals reactions to it, birds roosting and cattle returning to their barn) and some upcoming eclipse dates. Chapter 11 (Taking a trip to the stars) is another excellent chapter. Here we learn about the main sequence of stars, how stars are born, the types of stars (main sequence stars, for example our sun, red giants, white dwarfs, supernovas, neutron stars, black holes) Of course the facts about the black holes are the most interesting. We also learn about spectral types, binary and multiple stars, a phenomenon called the Doppler effect, exploding stars such as novas, supernovas and hypernovas. Chapter 12 (Galaxies: The milky way and beyond) unwraps the milky way mysteries, explains what star clusters and planetary nebulae are, divide galaxies into main types (spiral, barred spiral, elliptical, irregular, dwarf) and lists some great galaxies. Chapter 13 (Digging into black holes and quasars) has many interesting facts about black holes. There are two main types, the stellar mass black holes and the supermassive black holes, located at the centers of galaxies. A black hole has three parts: the event horizon, the singularity and falling objects. There are also facts about quasars which are active galactic nuclei and some of them (10%) emit strong radio waves. The differences between the main types of quasars though are too difficult to understand.
The fourteenth chapter (Is anybody out therer? SETI and planets of other suns) explains the Drake's equation to figure out the number of civilizations in our galaxy, the SETI (search for extraterrestrial life) project with the huge radio telescopes, the types of exoplanets that have been discovered (carbon planet, exo-earth, super-earth, nomad planet, water world, etc) and astrobiology. Chapter 15 (Delving into dark matter and antimatter) is a hard chapter about dark matter and antimatter. Chapter 16 (The big bang and the evolution of the universe) discusses the big bang theory (not the sitcom!), the evidence for it, the inflation of the universe, the dark energy, the Hubble constant and the fate of the universe.
Chapter 17 has ten strange facts about astronomy and space, while Chapter 18 has ten common errors about astronomy and space, two nice additions to end the book.
May 16, 2018
Excellent book for sky-star gazers!
I got this book to share facts regarding astronomy with my grandsons that are right into it. Myself, always living astronomy, caught up on new discoveries, missions, & information. Very easy to read format (as are most of the "for Dummies" books). It makes it easy to share this book between adults & kids with an interest. Recommend to anyone or family.
I got this book to share facts regarding astronomy with my grandsons that are right into it. Myself, always living astronomy, caught up on new discoveries, missions, & information. Very easy to read format (as are most of the "for Dummies" books). It makes it easy to share this book between adults & kids with an interest. Recommend to anyone or family.
April 9, 2022
Solid introduction to various outlined astronomical topics and related segments presented in narrative form. Abundant suggestions--mostly online--to supplementary materials and exploratory possibilities. Plenty of charts, graphs, sketches, drawings, and some nice color pics.
I quite enjoyed my initial reading of this book. It already could benefit from updating but should serve me well enough as an astronomical amateur's basic reference in future.
[Refers to the 4th Edition, 2017.]
I quite enjoyed my initial reading of this book. It already could benefit from updating but should serve me well enough as an astronomical amateur's basic reference in future.
[Refers to the 4th Edition, 2017.]
May 26, 2019
Ein aufschlussreiches und auch für Laien lesenswertes Buch über den Einstieg in die Astronomie. Vom Thema Ausrüstung bis zur Supernova wird hier alles abgedeckt, sodass man gut gerüstet in sein neues Hobby starten kann. Wer die Reihe der Dummies-Bücher kennt, weiss, was ihn/sie erwartet. Ansonsten kann ich diese Bücher wirklich nur empfehlen.
September 12, 2022
Aunque no tengo ninguna duda de que el autor es un gran astrónomo, pienso que no es tan buen "profesor" o no se le da tan bien explicar las cosas.
A este libro le eliminaría el "Para Dummies" pues profundiza demasiado en temas bastante complejos y no se para lo suficiente en las cuestiones que pueden resultar de interés para alguien que pretende aficionarse a la astronomía.
A este libro le eliminaría el "Para Dummies" pues profundiza demasiado en temas bastante complejos y no se para lo suficiente en las cuestiones que pueden resultar de interés para alguien que pretende aficionarse a la astronomía.
April 5, 2020
Ta bien, aprendí unas cuantas cosas y aclaré otras tantas. Pero la mayor parte de los consejos para practicar astronomía no me sirve, ya sea por la posición geográfica en que vivo, o por mi incapacidad para comprar prismáticos/telescopios.
October 26, 2020
Boring, confusing and jumped about a bit too much. Some helpfulness but too many assumptions made that the reader will understand something that's not explained. Some things too repeated while others I had to look up the meaning of elsewhere to continue reading.
August 9, 2023
It did a good job of simplifying without being too patronising. There were definitely elements that were far beyond this Dummy.
I suspect it would be better read in book form than kindle though to flick around easier. I read it cover to cover which didn't feem best approach.
I suspect it would be better read in book form than kindle though to flick around easier. I read it cover to cover which didn't feem best approach.
July 2, 2017
A lot of very readable and very relevant content for anyone with an interest in the topic
January 18, 2018
Extremely well-written book. It's full of practical knowledge that you can apply the very same day (evening is better). Very funny, interesting and useful book! LOVE IT.
August 22, 2018
Explains all the important things about Astronomy.
November 18, 2018
Exactly what I needed for my research, easy to follow and quite interesting.
December 26, 2020
Excellent beginner book will show where to find all the information you need if the book doesn’t actually provide the information, In most cases the information is provided.
Read
March 8, 2021random books I read ep 2!
I'm still shocked about how much I didn't know about space.
I'm still shocked about how much I didn't know about space.
July 15, 2021
This was a really good introduction to astronomy and it did delve into some of the more complex topics in a concise and clear manner.
February 28, 2023
Learned so much but still don’t understand a lot. If you’re totally new to this, several pages might be too complicated. At least for me.
March 22, 2023
«ستاره‌شناسی به زبان آدمیزاد» را از طاقچه دریافت کنید
https://taaghche.com/book/28327?utm_s...
https://taaghche.com/book/28327?utm_s...
April 11, 2023
Even though the book deals with a timeless subject it's starting to show its age.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews