Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide, Eighth Edition

by Dinah L. Moché

Now with a full-color insert and thoroughly revised, this perennial bestseller is the most comprehensive and successful beginner's astronomy books in the market. 
"One of the best ways by which one can be introduced to the wonders of astronomy."  —The Strolling Astronomer  
For a generation,  Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide  has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide to the night sky. Now this classic beginner's guide has been completely revised to bring it up to date with the latest discoveries. Updated with the latest, most accurate information, new online resources, and more than 100 new graphics and photos, this Eighth Edition features:

388 pages, Hardcover

Published July 22, 2014

Reviews

[Nathan Ridings · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a basic astronomy textbook as described. I’d put it at an 8th grade level. Not bad, but is written to discourage curiosity as are many student textbooks.

[Robert Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Astronomy A Self-Teaching Guide by Dinah L. Moche covers everything from the Big Bang to the solar system. This book claims to be an introduction to the topic, however, as I read the book it became apparent that this is not a beginner's book. The book contains a lot of math, and it is really for intermediate to advanced readers. The book contains a lot of data in the appendixes such as The Constellations and physical and astronomical constants and the periodic table. Although Moche provides a lot of data in the back of the book, she does not use it in her examples. The book is broken up into twelve chapters. The book opens with a discussion of the celestial spear and there is an explanation on what 'right ascension' and 'declination' work. The book gives an overview of the sun, stars and stellar evolution. The book then explains cosmology by introducing the reader to the big-bang model and the failed models of steady-state and oscillating universe. The final third of the book explores the solar system and the prospects of finding life. Overall, the book is well researched, but it doesn't cover cutting edge research into dark matter, dark energy, string theory or exoplanets. There is some information about dark matter in the book, but it is not covered in detail. If you are a beginner in astronomy, stay away from this book, however, if you have been studying astronomy for some time this book may be for you.