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Astronomy: A Visual Guide
Take a tour of the Universe, from the 150km impact craters on the Moon to Jupiter's Great Red Spot - a 400mph swirling storm that started in the 1600s.
This stunningly illustrated handbook is lavishly designed to cover every aspect of astronomy. Learn about the history of discoveries in the field, from the earliest human civilizations to the present day. Discover more about astronomical phenomena, from the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, and what happens when a star runs out of energy, to theories about the fate of the Universe - including the Big Crunch and the Big Rip, and take a visual tour of the Solar System, complete with the very latest photographs of the planets.
A definitive month-by-month guide to the night sky, with profiles of all 88 constellations, over 100 star charts, and an Almanac of astronomical events over the next decade, will help you to navigate your way around the night sky, and locate stars, galaxies, and other objects. Featuring no-nonsense advice on how to observe the skies using the naked eye, binoculars, and telescopes, Astronomy is the perfect guide for keen amateur astronomers, as well as a great reference book for the whole family.
This stunningly illustrated handbook is lavishly designed to cover every aspect of astronomy. Learn about the history of discoveries in the field, from the earliest human civilizations to the present day. Discover more about astronomical phenomena, from the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, and what happens when a star runs out of energy, to theories about the fate of the Universe - including the Big Crunch and the Big Rip, and take a visual tour of the Solar System, complete with the very latest photographs of the planets.
A definitive month-by-month guide to the night sky, with profiles of all 88 constellations, over 100 star charts, and an Almanac of astronomical events over the next decade, will help you to navigate your way around the night sky, and locate stars, galaxies, and other objects. Featuring no-nonsense advice on how to observe the skies using the naked eye, binoculars, and telescopes, Astronomy is the perfect guide for keen amateur astronomers, as well as a great reference book for the whole family.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 7, 2018
28 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
Ian Ridpath
89 books16 followersIan William Ridpath is an English amateur astronomer, who has been an active observer, writer, editor, and broadcaster, on the subject since 1972. He is also known for his UFO skepticism, an interest in astro-philately, marathon running (having participated in the London Marathon dressed as Halley’s Comet) and, most recently, horse racing.
Ridpath has an equally varied and productive professional life. He has written or edited over forty books in the field of astronomy, he is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (Council member 2004–07), a member of the Society of Authors, a member of the Association of British Science Writers, he has worked at the University of London Observatory, and manages a self-publishing business. He also regularly gives talks and lectures on astronomy.
He is most well known in astronomical circles as the editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy, and for his updates and work on the acclaimed classic Norton's Star Atlas.
Ridpath has an equally varied and productive professional life. He has written or edited over forty books in the field of astronomy, he is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (Council member 2004–07), a member of the Society of Authors, a member of the Association of British Science Writers, he has worked at the University of London Observatory, and manages a self-publishing business. He also regularly gives talks and lectures on astronomy.
He is most well known in astronomical circles as the editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy, and for his updates and work on the acclaimed classic Norton's Star Atlas.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 8, 2019
Impressive. Usually, I find these 'DK visual guide' books heavy on the pictures, and too light on the real content. Not with this book. Sure - lots of pictures. But the writing is concisely to the point, and covers content without talking up or down to the reader - just the facts.
History sections that open books can get l-o-n-g: not here. By page 24 (in this 350 pg book), the topic of spectroscopy is covered, showing a color picture of several star spectra from Draper catalogue to compare (usually, I've only seen this in a textbook, not an armchair book).
Nice Big Bang pix on pgs 50-54, showing timing/events. Small picture showing splitting of forces.
Fate of universe on pg 61 has pictures of: Big Crunch, Big Chill, and Big Rip as Dark Energy gets some mention.
The many pictures are extremely well laid-out within the text. Text flows around the pictures a little bit, but remains in blocks, so you can ACTUALLY read the text (again - visual guide books are notorious for un-readablity - usually - IMO).
I've taught Astrophysics as part of a High School IB course, and I would really like to have had these pictures!
Observing section keeps the same concise talk about binoculars and models of telescopes.
All 88 constellations (pgs 169-273), with a star chart, small image/drawing of the 'character/animal/etc' that is the name of the constellation. THANK YOU for no lecture on Greek Mythology!! (Very minor mentioning of Greek origins of names).
First pages show Northern sky with alphabetic index. Then Southern hemisphere with alpha-index. The actual constellations are in order starting with Ursa Minor (north pole) and then spiraling around and southward. Thus, on the sky may of the constellation you are looking at, you see nearby constellation-names to the left and right - and these are then TO THE IMMEDIATE LEFT and THE RIGHT in the book. Nice.
Monthly sky charts for separate North and South latitudes follow.
An almanac out to 2031 concludes the book, showing Full/New moon, all eclipses, oppositions and greatest elongations. (Major meteor showers not here, but listed back on pg 139)
Short glossary and then index.
Web resources would have been nice...
Book is 8x9 inches. Why didn't they make this BIGGER dimensions? This is a VERY good book.
Favorite Pictures:
pg 50 Big Bang
54 Universe Structure
61 Fate of universe
65 HR diagram extremely well labeled with examples
68 star evolution
76 Cepheid and eclipsing variables
93 Sun viewing with binoculars backward through cardboard onto projection board
90+++ Sun and all planet interior layers
138 Meteor path/tail
142 Asteroid belt
History sections that open books can get l-o-n-g: not here. By page 24 (in this 350 pg book), the topic of spectroscopy is covered, showing a color picture of several star spectra from Draper catalogue to compare (usually, I've only seen this in a textbook, not an armchair book).
Nice Big Bang pix on pgs 50-54, showing timing/events. Small picture showing splitting of forces.
Fate of universe on pg 61 has pictures of: Big Crunch, Big Chill, and Big Rip as Dark Energy gets some mention.
The many pictures are extremely well laid-out within the text. Text flows around the pictures a little bit, but remains in blocks, so you can ACTUALLY read the text (again - visual guide books are notorious for un-readablity - usually - IMO).
I've taught Astrophysics as part of a High School IB course, and I would really like to have had these pictures!
Observing section keeps the same concise talk about binoculars and models of telescopes.
All 88 constellations (pgs 169-273), with a star chart, small image/drawing of the 'character/animal/etc' that is the name of the constellation. THANK YOU for no lecture on Greek Mythology!! (Very minor mentioning of Greek origins of names).
First pages show Northern sky with alphabetic index. Then Southern hemisphere with alpha-index. The actual constellations are in order starting with Ursa Minor (north pole) and then spiraling around and southward. Thus, on the sky may of the constellation you are looking at, you see nearby constellation-names to the left and right - and these are then TO THE IMMEDIATE LEFT and THE RIGHT in the book. Nice.
Monthly sky charts for separate North and South latitudes follow.
An almanac out to 2031 concludes the book, showing Full/New moon, all eclipses, oppositions and greatest elongations. (Major meteor showers not here, but listed back on pg 139)
Short glossary and then index.
Web resources would have been nice...
Book is 8x9 inches. Why didn't they make this BIGGER dimensions? This is a VERY good book.
Favorite Pictures:
pg 50 Big Bang
54 Universe Structure
61 Fate of universe
65 HR diagram extremely well labeled with examples
68 star evolution
76 Cepheid and eclipsing variables
93 Sun viewing with binoculars backward through cardboard onto projection board
90+++ Sun and all planet interior layers
138 Meteor path/tail
142 Asteroid belt
January 29, 2024
Ian Ridpath erklärt in diesem Buch umfassend die wichtigsten Aspekte der Astronomie und legt dabei Wert auf die Historie. Von Babylon über Fernost bis zu Galilei und Albert Einstein werden die Meilensteine zur Entdeckung des Weltraums erläutert. Auch der Wettlauf ins All zwischen der ehemaligen Sowjetunion und den USA und auch die Grenzen der Astronomie werden erklärt. Besonders interessant fand ich das Kapitel zum Universum mit Ursprung und Blick in die Zukunft.
Zusätzlich werden hier, wie auch in „Praktische Astronomie“ aus dem gleichen Verlag, die Sternbilder und Planeten ausführlich erklärt und es wird angegeben, welche Sterne man mit bloßem Auge sehen kann und für welche man ein Fernrohr oder Teleskop benötigt. Auch hier gibt es am Ende einen Almanach und monatliche Sternkarten, an denen man sich orientieren kann.
Als visueller Guide enthält das Buch sehr viele Fotos und Abbildungen, die den Text veranschaulichen, sodass komplexe Informationen vereinfacht erklärt werden - aber: trotz der „nur“ ca. 350 Seiten enthält es wirklich sehr viele Informationen! Es eignet sich sehr für alle Astronomie-Begeisterten.
Zusätzlich werden hier, wie auch in „Praktische Astronomie“ aus dem gleichen Verlag, die Sternbilder und Planeten ausführlich erklärt und es wird angegeben, welche Sterne man mit bloßem Auge sehen kann und für welche man ein Fernrohr oder Teleskop benötigt. Auch hier gibt es am Ende einen Almanach und monatliche Sternkarten, an denen man sich orientieren kann.
Als visueller Guide enthält das Buch sehr viele Fotos und Abbildungen, die den Text veranschaulichen, sodass komplexe Informationen vereinfacht erklärt werden - aber: trotz der „nur“ ca. 350 Seiten enthält es wirklich sehr viele Informationen! Es eignet sich sehr für alle Astronomie-Begeisterten.
April 25, 2023
The DK Publishing visual guide series are packed full of photos as well as providing a general overview of their subjects. An this one is about the sky above us and the ground below us - Astronomy.
Basics from the history of how we look at our skies. Telescopes through the centuries. Astrophysics. Exploration and satellites and astronaut programs. The origins of the universe from the Big Bang with the formation of the tiniest particles to dark energy through the stars, galaxies and the future billions of years from now. Stellar life spans and the various types, Our own solar system - the structure of the sun and its planets - basic data on each as well as the atmosphere and all the moons.
Observing the night sky and equipment. Thirty-seven constellations of the northern hemisphere and fifty of the southern with the name, brief description, features of interest including the deep-sky objects - open and globular clusters, other galaxies, black holes, supernova remains or planetary nebula - where they are located, a depiction or drawing of object/character. And then there is the monthly sky guide which tells you what constellations of features - broken by hemisphere - during which month (if not overwhelmed by nearby light pollution).
It all ends with an almanac of the full and new moons as well as partial and full solar and lunar eclipses from 2018 through 2031.
Fantastic resource for the stargazer. And you've got to love the massive amount of photos, charts and other collected information.
2023-036
Basics from the history of how we look at our skies. Telescopes through the centuries. Astrophysics. Exploration and satellites and astronaut programs. The origins of the universe from the Big Bang with the formation of the tiniest particles to dark energy through the stars, galaxies and the future billions of years from now. Stellar life spans and the various types, Our own solar system - the structure of the sun and its planets - basic data on each as well as the atmosphere and all the moons.
Observing the night sky and equipment. Thirty-seven constellations of the northern hemisphere and fifty of the southern with the name, brief description, features of interest including the deep-sky objects - open and globular clusters, other galaxies, black holes, supernova remains or planetary nebula - where they are located, a depiction or drawing of object/character. And then there is the monthly sky guide which tells you what constellations of features - broken by hemisphere - during which month (if not overwhelmed by nearby light pollution).
It all ends with an almanac of the full and new moons as well as partial and full solar and lunar eclipses from 2018 through 2031.
Fantastic resource for the stargazer. And you've got to love the massive amount of photos, charts and other collected information.
2023-036
August 3, 2021
It is just amazing!! Initially I found it a bit difficult to grasp.. But soon got into the groove.. I strongly recommend this book to all the Cosmo Sapiens out there!
April 22, 2021
This would be a great resource for those who want to learn more about astronomy in easily digestible chunks. Like many books from DK, it’s written in a simple style with smaller chunks of information and well-chosen photographs and illustrations. They really do make some stunning books and the cover and binding are both high quality and meant to hold up to heavy use.
There’s nothing in the text to overwhelm a beginner, but they’ve included a lot of fascinating information about the history of astronomy and space exploration, the origins and structure of the Universe, stars, and planets, and a section on observing the night sky with a great collection of star maps of the constellations and monthly whole-sky star maps for both the northern and southern hemispheres. They included an almanac at the back that covers the timing of the major events from 2018 (the year it was published) to 2031. Events listed in the almanac include lunar phases, eclipses, and key times to observe the planets.
There’s nothing in the text to overwhelm a beginner, but they’ve included a lot of fascinating information about the history of astronomy and space exploration, the origins and structure of the Universe, stars, and planets, and a section on observing the night sky with a great collection of star maps of the constellations and monthly whole-sky star maps for both the northern and southern hemispheres. They included an almanac at the back that covers the timing of the major events from 2018 (the year it was published) to 2031. Events listed in the almanac include lunar phases, eclipses, and key times to observe the planets.
December 15, 2018
A complete, highly readable, unique visual astronomy guide: trace the fascinating history of astronomy, uncover the mysteries of the universe, navigate the night skies.
Begin with the history of astronomy, then explore the universe and the night sky and seek an answer to the most fundamental astronomy questions: where did we come from and are we alone? To assist readers in their explorations, the book includes constellation charts and maps, a monthly sky guide, an almanac, and a glossary.
For all its complexity, astronomy is a science in which amateurs can play a role. Full-color drawings, charts, and photographs fill each page, illustrating the extensive text that seeks to help readers understand the universe.
Highly recommended.
Begin with the history of astronomy, then explore the universe and the night sky and seek an answer to the most fundamental astronomy questions: where did we come from and are we alone? To assist readers in their explorations, the book includes constellation charts and maps, a monthly sky guide, an almanac, and a glossary.
For all its complexity, astronomy is a science in which amateurs can play a role. Full-color drawings, charts, and photographs fill each page, illustrating the extensive text that seeks to help readers understand the universe.
Highly recommended.
February 24, 2024
This book is a space encyclopedia that records the culmination of the history of astronomy.
It contains easy-to-understand explanations and numerous reference materials, even for beginners who do not know much about astronomy like me.
People who are interested in space will be drawn into a world of beauty and mystery just by looking at the photos.
The scenery of the night sky each month, taken with a special camera that cannot be seen with the naked eye or binoculars, is breathtaking.
When I thought that there must be a lot of life on the other side of the distant galaxy looking at the earth with the same, I began to feel like my worries didn't matter.
It contains easy-to-understand explanations and numerous reference materials, even for beginners who do not know much about astronomy like me.
People who are interested in space will be drawn into a world of beauty and mystery just by looking at the photos.
The scenery of the night sky each month, taken with a special camera that cannot be seen with the naked eye or binoculars, is breathtaking.
When I thought that there must be a lot of life on the other side of the distant galaxy looking at the earth with the same, I began to feel like my worries didn't matter.
March 19, 2024
I bought this book yesterday and have only gotten to around page 27, but I am absolutely loving it so far! It's an easy read for beginners, and covers so much that anyone can find something to interest them. It's a fascinating look into the beginning and history of astronomy and many of the celestial bodies we've found within our universe. The pictures are placed with care and thought and beautiful to boot, and they aren't the main focus of the guide: The actual text, history, facts, and information is. Wonderfully well made and highly recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in astronomy or astrophysics!
November 13, 2023
I always find Dorling Kindersley books to be invaluable guides for both children and adults, and this astronomy book is no exception. It leans heavily on the science to explore both basics and advanced topics, neatly arranged in separate sections for ease of reading. The book is slimmer in content than it first appears, because the second half is given over to maps and charts, while the first half is packed full of excellent nighttime photography and illustrations. It's handsomely presented throughout, and a joy to flick through.
October 16, 2020
Haven't fully read all of it yet, but I'm loving it so far. The photos are really amazing, and it's a fascinating and highly informative book - this is my first time reading a book about astronomy and I'm really enjoying it because of how much I've learnt. Would definitely recommend it!
October 19, 2020
Haven't finished yet but it is a beautifully informative and insightful book about astronomy. Easily my favorite book about the subject. Perfect for space lovers like me.
April 8, 2025
Rich with details and great photos and illustrations.
March 6, 2025
i’ve had this book for over a year and i still read and awe over it every single day. the visuals are outstanding. the explanations are concise and easily understood as someone who studies (amateur) astronomy as a hobby. i flipping love space.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews