I am having days that I study at home because the pandemic situation is quite complicated. I'm thinking of buying some good books to supplement my knowledge, do you guys have any good books? Please recommend some books that people feel impressed with!!!
What books are good and interesting to read?
About any topic? Or just about astronomy?
If that’s about astrophotography :
- Astrophotography by Thierry Legault
- The Astrophotography Manual by Chris Woodhouse
- Digital SLR Astrophotography by Michael Covington
- The Deepsky Imaging Primer by Charles Bracken
- The Astrophotography Atlas, by Bracken again
On solar astronomy : Astronomie Solaire by Christian Viladrich (have it in French, maybe it is translated ?)
On post processing or Pixinsight :
- Mastering Pixinsight by Rogelio Bernal Andreo
- Lessons from the Masters (Gendler)
- Inside Pixinsight (Keller)
As an introduction to astrophysics in general with thoughts on the relationship between mankind and the Universe : all book by Hubert Reeves. Fantastic readings.
For SciFi :
https://www.astrobin.com/forum/c/off-topic/anything-goes/science-fiction-books/
Well, I stop here. But @John Hayes mentionned goog books as well in other posts about optics and more precisely optical aberrations. That should interest many people within our community, as lots of us complain about our gears :-)
- Astrophotography by Thierry Legault
- The Astrophotography Manual by Chris Woodhouse
- Digital SLR Astrophotography by Michael Covington
- The Deepsky Imaging Primer by Charles Bracken
- The Astrophotography Atlas, by Bracken again
On solar astronomy : Astronomie Solaire by Christian Viladrich (have it in French, maybe it is translated ?)
On post processing or Pixinsight :
- Mastering Pixinsight by Rogelio Bernal Andreo
- Lessons from the Masters (Gendler)
- Inside Pixinsight (Keller)
As an introduction to astrophysics in general with thoughts on the relationship between mankind and the Universe : all book by Hubert Reeves. Fantastic readings.
For SciFi :
https://www.astrobin.com/forum/c/off-topic/anything-goes/science-fiction-books/
Well, I stop here. But @John Hayes mentionned goog books as well in other posts about optics and more precisely optical aberrations. That should interest many people within our community, as lots of us complain about our gears :-)
Helpful
Try Daniel Kahneman "Thinking, Fast and Slow". Or Jared Diamond "Guns, Germs and Steel". Frans de Waal "Chimpanzee Politics". Gombrich "The Story of Art".
ok, if it is not limited to astro-things, then "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by T.L. Friedmann, "Slanted Truths" by L. Margulis, D. Sagan, and a fast reading one, "A walk Through Time: from stardust to us", S. Liebes, E. Sahtouris, B. Swimme.
For those reading Spanish, I recommend the book of Vicent Peris "FOTOGRAFIAR LO INVISIBLE. La estetica de la astrofotografia". In here, (https://www.astroilusion.es/producto/fotografiar-lo-invisible/) you may find an excerpt . A cross-over of art philosophy and astrophothography.
Vera Rubin, A Life, by Jacqueline and Simon Mitton
It's a well done and relatable biography of her life, career. It recently came out, and I found it kept a good perspective of a genius, while noting how family, society and various other life moments all had an influence along the way.
It's a well done and relatable biography of her life, career. It recently came out, and I found it kept a good perspective of a genius, while noting how family, society and various other life moments all had an influence along the way.
"The observer's guide to astronomy" by Patrick Martinez (2 volumes) published in 1994. It deals with scientific use of amateur astronomy, very detailed and well written. A bit outdated when dealing with CCD astronomy.
If you want to read some fascinating astronomical history, I recommend THE PERFECT MACHINE by Ronald Florence. It's the whole story behind the conception, design, and construction of the 200-inch telescope at Mt. Palomar. This project stretched from the 1930's into the
late 1940's, and has been called "America's first Apollo Project". It is fascinating reading for anyone interested in astronomy.
Stargazer66207
late 1940's, and has been called "America's first Apollo Project". It is fascinating reading for anyone interested in astronomy.
Stargazer66207
Well Written Concise
Guillermo Gonzalez:
For those reading Spanish, I recommend the book of Vicent Peris "FOTOGRAFIAR LO INVISIBLE. La estetica de la astrofotografia". In here, (https://www.astroilusion.es/producto/fotografiar-lo-invisible/) you may find an excerpt . A cross-over of art philosophy and astrophothography.
It's the same V Peris from the Pixinsight team? Sounds really interesting. Hope it will be translated.
Clear skies !
Bogdan
Cosmos by Carl Sagan. A great read for us astro geeks as well as the average Joe.
That's Carl, not Peter Sagan. Anything by the dazzling, late, astrophysicist Carl Sagan is well worth reading, no matter when it was written.
CS, Bob
CS, Bob
Well Written
Bogdan Borz:Guillermo Gonzalez:
For those reading Spanish, I recommend the book of Vicent Peris "FOTOGRAFIAR LO INVISIBLE. La estetica de la astrofotografia". In here, (https://www.astroilusion.es/producto/fotografiar-lo-invisible/) you may find an excerpt . A cross-over of art philosophy and astrophothography.
It's the same V Peris from the Pixinsight team? Sounds really interesting. Hope it will be translated.
Clear skies !
Bogdan
I tried ordering it from the site linked, but it seems that only send to Spain and Portugal.
Bogdan Borz:Guillermo Gonzalez:
For those reading Spanish, I recommend the book of Vicent Peris "FOTOGRAFIAR LO INVISIBLE. La estetica de la astrofotografia". In here, (https://www.astroilusion.es/producto/fotografiar-lo-invisible/) you may find an excerpt . A cross-over of art philosophy and astrophothography.
It's the same V Peris from the Pixinsight team? Sounds really interesting. Hope it will be translated.
Clear skies !
Bogdan
Yes it is. I certainly hope so too as it is an interesting book. You can find a talk about the contents of book (with some of the insights) of Vicent this event arranged by Agrupación Astrosirio (https://www.astrosirio.org/2021/01/28/fotografiar-lo-invisible-charla-de-vicent-peris/), once again in Spanish, sorry about that, but maybe with the subtitles becomes easier. CS, Guillermo.
Geoff:Bogdan Borz:Guillermo Gonzalez:
For those reading Spanish, I recommend the book of Vicent Peris "FOTOGRAFIAR LO INVISIBLE. La estetica de la astrofotografia". In here, (https://www.astroilusion.es/producto/fotografiar-lo-invisible/) you may find an excerpt . A cross-over of art philosophy and astrophothography.
It's the same V Peris from the Pixinsight team? Sounds really interesting. Hope it will be translated.
Clear skies !
Bogdan
I tried ordering it from the site linked, but it seems that only send to Spain and Portugal.
Yes it seems that it is not distributed through the main channels.... Have you tried finding it in other stores?
I might be able to resend it to you (although I dont know how very well)...
Guillermo Gonzalez:Geoff:Bogdan Borz:Guillermo Gonzalez:
For those reading Spanish, I recommend the book of Vicent Peris "FOTOGRAFIAR LO INVISIBLE. La estetica de la astrofotografia". In here, (https://www.astroilusion.es/producto/fotografiar-lo-invisible/) you may find an excerpt . A cross-over of art philosophy and astrophothography.
It's the same V Peris from the Pixinsight team? Sounds really interesting. Hope it will be translated.
Clear skies !
Bogdan
I tried ordering it from the site linked, but it seems that only send to Spain and Portugal.
Yes it seems that it is not distributed through the main channels.... Have you tried finding it in other stores?
I might be able to resend it to you (although I dont know how very well)...
Thanks Guillermo, I’ll try an email to Vicent first.
Well Written Respectful
Reading now "The Glass Universe" from Dava Sobel, about the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory who catalogued the stars and made discoveries such as the period-luminosity relationship of Perseids. Pretty interesting read both for the history of astronomy in general and the place of women in science in particular.
Frédéric
Frédéric
Well Written Concise
Cosmos by Peter Sagan. A great read for us astro geeks as well as the average Joe.
Found the cyclist! 🚵♂️
If you want to read some fascinating astronomical history, I recommend THE PERFECT MACHINE by Ronald Florence.
I also heartily recommend “The Perfect Machine”. In addition, “Stargazer, the life and times of the Telescope” by Fred Watson, on the history and development of optical telescopes (mostly prior to 1900). “The Day We Found the Universe” by Marcia Bartusiak, on the work by Edwin Hubble and others to establish the scale of the universe, and “Discoverers of the Universe” by Michael Hoskin, a biography of William and Caroline Herschel.
I also recently picked up a copy of the Bedford Catalogue, a 19th century catalog of objects by Admiral William Smyth, which makes a nice supplement to the lists by Messier and Herschel (which can be found online). It’s kind of fun to read commentary by historical astronomers on the things I’m imaging.
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The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan should help you pass a few hours 
. Sword of Shannara series (and offshoots) by Terry Brooks.
Of course, this assumes you like fantasy.
. Sword of Shannara series (and offshoots) by Terry Brooks.Of course, this assumes you like fantasy.
Intereresting thread!
Currently reading The Dawn of Everything and can already recommend it! The book calls into question a lot of what we think to "know" about history
Currently reading The Dawn of Everything and can already recommend it! The book calls into question a lot of what we think to "know" about history
Cosmos by Peter Sagan. A great read for us astro geeks as well as the average Joe.
That's Carl Sagan.
It may sound like heresy to say it but "Cosmos" is weak. In my opinion, a better book is the "Now: The Physics of Tim" by Richard A. Muller.
John
I can recommend Heino Falcke/ Jörg Römer: "Light in the darkness". It contains current aspects about the universe and especially describes the project to obtain the first "image" of a black hole, concerning the one in Messier 87 by combining recorded datas from several radio telescopes around the world, very fascinating. There is also a German edition.
Harald
Harald
Concise
Hi all,
I would like to mention the page of my site dedicated to a selection of books (most of them are in French, some in English or there is a translation or the original edition is in English...).
So not necessarily reserved to French speakers ;)
You can automatically translate the site into English if needed...
https://millenniumphoton.com/references/bibliographie/
CS,
JB
I would like to mention the page of my site dedicated to a selection of books (most of them are in French, some in English or there is a translation or the original edition is in English...).
So not necessarily reserved to French speakers ;)
You can automatically translate the site into English if needed...
https://millenniumphoton.com/references/bibliographie/
CS,
JB