50 Things to See with a Telescope: A young stargazer's guide

Beginner's Guide to Space

by John A. Read

John A. Read covers everything needed to identify constellations, planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae and more. Inquisitive stargazers will find planet hunting and star hopping easy with clearly plotted routes and images of the sky both as seen by the naked eye and detailed views from a telescope.

Many fascinating cosmic objects can be easily spotted with the help of this book including beautiful Cassiopeia, regal Leo, the plentiful Kemble's Cascade, the explosive Crab Nebula, the rings of Saturn — even the moon!

This easy to read, fully illustrated reference book will enrich every young person's experience of the skies above.

Genres: Astronomy, Science, Childrens, Kids, Nonfiction

72 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2017

About the author

Shortly after his wife bought him a twelve-inch Dobsonian Telescope for Christmas (to be fair, she got leather boots), he joined the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society, volunteering as many as four nights per week under California's cloudless skies. In 2013 he published his first book, 50 Things to See with a Small Telescope. In 2016, John left corporate America, and in 2020, completed a four year astrophysics degree.

He recently won the Simon Newcomb for excellence in Science Communication by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, for his books: 50 Things to See on the Moon and 50 Things to See with a Telescope.

Reviews

[Robert New · Rating 5 out of 5]

A useful guide for gazing at the stars with your children. Easy to follow and gave good background on constellations and stars. In the age where there's an app for everything, I still found this preferable as I could read it with my kids before looking up at the sky.

[Roger Dier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Roadmap to the Night Sky

The author uses all the major constellations visible in the northern hemisphere as guides to objects within those constellations or near them. Useful skills like star hopping are explained, as are different types of telescopes. Great first astronomy book for kids wanting to take their first look.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for kids learning about astrology and constellations with a telescope!

[Elizabeth Anne Goode · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easyontheeyes

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍fab u lous
Super easy
Kids loved it
I love it
When is your next one coming out ?
Cub night 🌙went well with this book

[Aprilleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is wonderful book to get kids started with a telescope. It's a simple collection of 50 objects, sorted by the best time of year to see them. Each object includes photos, diagrams, a difficulty rating, and just the right amount of interesting information. This last part is important, because most viewing guides for adults contain enough information to lose the interest of the younger crowd before giving them a chance to get excited about any of it. It also has a small section (11 pages total) at the front that talks about how to choose and use a telescope, how to locate objects using the starhopping technique, and a few other topics of interest to even a young amateur taking their first steps. Very well done by an author who is clearly good at both science communication and talking with kids.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

50 things to see with a telescope is a great accessible start to viewing the night sky. It gives tips and descriptions for stars, constellations, planets and nebula that can be seen with a small telescope, binoculars, or even the naked eye. It is a great book to get started with simple, easy to locate constellations and then uses those locations to find others nearby. It was helpful, practical, and came with great pictures. It is a short book aimed at amateur stargazers and children and I would definitely recommend this book to those groups. I am a pre-amateur stargazer with young children and I can’t wait to show them this book and look for constellations together.

Thank you NetGalley for a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to using your telescope and finding many things in the night sky. The book offers illustrations and photographs to guide you to planets, nebulas and constellations. It discusses many basic findings for either a young astronomer or a family just starting their stargazing journey,
I remember when my older boys were interested in space, with our telescope we were able to see Saturn’s rings from our backyard, much like the photograph in the book! It’s a pretty awesome hobby and once you see something like that on your own, your sort of hooked.
I highly recommend this book for any young astronomer!
Thank you to James Lorimer and NetGalley for this e-copy in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.

[Teresa Grabs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love astronomy and found Read's book absolutely amazing. The inclusion of actual photos taken by the author brought the book closer to what the backyard astronomer will find. Filled with star facts, hints on finding it, and wonderful background images makes this book enjoyable and inspirational to any reader. After reading this, I really wished I had a telescope again to go star hopping.

Thank you NetGalley and Lerner Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy. It will certainly be an addition to my home's library.

[Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for beginners

If like me you have read multiple books on astronomy but were still left wondering where to actually start observing then this is the book for you. This is a very simple, well illustrated, non-technical book aimed at novice stargazers and would be ideal for anyone over ages 10+. It is helpfully broken down into the best stargazing targets by each season, the planets, and those sights which are above the horizon all year round.