Product Description

Do you want a practical guide to astronomy? Would you like to be able to observe and understand the sky at night?
Teach Yourself Astronomy is a comprehensive and straightforward guide to the 'science of the sky'. Assuming no prior knowledge, this book will ensure you grasp the basics of this fascinating science. You will soon learn how to observe the sun, moon, planets and other bodies such as comets and, with the help of star charts, you will be able to impress with your knowledge of the sky at night.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52435 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
Sir Patrick Moore is a legendary British astronomer, writer, broadcaster and presenter. He is credited as having done more than any other to raise the profile of astronomy with the British public.

He is a former president of the British Astronomical Association and is the co-founder and former president of the Society for Popular Astronomy.

He has written over 70 books on astronomy, all of which he typed on his 1908 woodstock typewriter.

Since April 1957, he has presented all but one of the Sky at Night.

Customer Reviews

Great start for a great subject
I only had a passing interest in Astronomy before I read this book. Patrick makes the firs few steps into the world of astronomy as painless as possible. I couldn't put the book down, I finished it the same day and have been over it a couple of times since....

Informative and entertaining reading
I picked this book at random because I wanted a book that would tell me the basics about astronomy without all the technical jargon to confuse things. I was impressed. The only thing wrong with it was the poor standard of editing. There were numerous spelling mistakes and this meant that I had to reread certain passages to make sure I had got the meaning correct. That aside thought, I would definately recommen this book to anyone with an interest in the sky at night.

Difficult
I found this book relatively difficult to follow. Whilst it is true that Moore tries to introduce subjects to his reader I think he does so in a way that is too brief and then moves quickly to the details. This leads to the immediate confusion of those new to the subject.

Having said that, some of the more familiar subjects are relatively well explained and easier to understand.

Also much of the latter part of the book is occupied with descriptions of sections of the night sky which whilst useful (if you live in the places from which the view of the sky is being described) makes the book part-introduction to Astronomy/part-sky guide.

I like other books written by Moore but found this one hard going. Am not sure I would go so far as to advise against it as it contains interesting parts but I would consider buying it along with another easier to follow book.