Moongazing: Beginner’S Guide to Exploring the Moon

Collins Astronomy

by Tom Kerss

An in-depth guide for aspiring astronomers and Moon observers from the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Includes detailed Moon maps and covers the history of lunar observation and exploration, the properties of the Moon, its origin and orbit. This is the ideal book for Moon observers covering essential equipment, and the key events to look out for.


Detailed advice is given on how to choose a telescope and how to capture the Moon in sketches.


Discover all you need to know about eclipses, blue moons, supermoons, conjunctions and occultations.


A comprehensive section covers astrophotography using lenses, telescopes, Smartphones, including video and how to process your images.


Comes with a photographic atlas of lunar features with plates and annotated maps.


A glossary of key terms, index of lunar features and software references are also provided.

Genres: Astronomy, Nonfiction, Science, Reference, Physics, Photography

96 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Tom Kerss F.R.A.S. is an astronomer and the author of numerous best selling books about the night sky for both adults and children. Having worked at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich for more than six years, he now shares his passion for the stars with people all over the world, delivering courses, podcasts and media interviews. Tom loves nothing more than to seek out the darkest and most beautiful skies on Earth, but he does most of his stargazing from his home in London. Find out more about Tom's projects at tomkerss.co.uk

Reviews

[Farjam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have read Moongazing many moons ago. I was unaware of many essential facts about the moon covered in it, and I'm sure many of you are in the same boat as me.
What is the moon’s temperature, and why is it so different from the Earth? How long does it take for the moon to complete its orbit? What is a blue moon? These are some of the questions this book answers.
There are three parts to the book. I think the most valuable section of the book is part one, which is dedicated to a general explanation of the Moon's movements and features. Part two is an atlas of the Moon. I had no idea that the Moon's regions had names, let alone that it had a map. Despite being a fascinating work, I cannot say that that part will be beneficial for lots of people. In the last part, astrophotography techniques are addressed, along with advice on image processing, equipment, and appropriate software for this type of photography. I enjoy photography, so I find this section quite helpful and informative.

[André Luís Pitombeira · Rating 4 out of 5]

This great short book is for anyone new to astronomy. I just got my first telescope and wanted to learn more about the moon, and this book was perfect. It’s easy to read and has a lot of useful information without being too complicated. If you’re just starting out, I definitely recommend this book to help you get started with observing the moon.

[yana · Rating 3 out of 5]

(⭐️3/5) I must admit, I was a bit lost at times. However, I still enjoyed this book. It’s brief, has key information and overall a good guide for beginners. Haven’t read in a while so this was a good quick read.

[Mike Ncube · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good introduction to moongazing

[John Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good introduction to the moon and how to observe it and photograph it using a telescope. Also has good maps showing all the lunar surface features.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book to use as a reference when looking at the Moon with binoculars or telescope.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic but not patronising, and loads of information. The maps are very useful. Quite a lot on astrophotography if you want to have a go at taking moon shots. There’s a moon log at the back, it would be great if ROG would produce a standalone moon log book like that.

[Mikko · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a total beginner I can't judge accuracy but as far as I can tell the book is very informative and practical.