Lose yourself in a great book about astronomy or give one as a gift to your star-loving friend.
With the holidays approaching, it's a great time to find some astronomy books to put on your Christmas list or to give to others as gifts. It's a smart idea to have your bookshelf prepared when those cloudy nights ruin your observing plans. Here are some of my favorite books that will please just about anyone on your list.
Capture by Aliens by Joel Achenbach. No, it's not a tale of alien abduction. It's a hilarious look at the search for life in the Universe, from serious-minded studies such as SETI to UFO fanatics at a festival in Roswell, New Mexico, and everyone in between. Joel Achenbach had me laughing out loud more times than I could count. I dare say that this book is good enough to read on a clear night.
The Planets by Dava Sobel is a great book for the starry-eyed astronomy buff. It reads more like poetry and makes for a cozy little read by a roaring fire.
Where Is Everybody? by Stephen Webb. Webb takes the question once asked by Enrico Fermi at a lunch with colleagues and explores every possible answer to the question now know as Fermi's Paradox. "If the Universe is Teeming with Aliens... Where Is Everybody?" Webb goes through every possible scenario for why we haven't yet seen or been contacted by "aliens" if indeed the Universe is full of life. He also goes through scenarios that show why Earth may be the only place in the Universe with life. But his final conclusion, drawn from every possibility raised earlier in the book, is chilling and thought-provoking and may just keep you up at night.
Strange Universe by Bob Berman is a book that even younger readers may find enertaining and could use to invent great projects for a science fair. Berman explores the mysteries of Earth and space in this engaging book. He helps uncover the real answer to many phenomena that people only think they understand, and leaves us wondering with other stories, such as how it is that two photons can share information faster than the speed of light. Is it some "spooky action at a distance?" Maybe one of those students doing the science fair project will one day provide us with the answer!
Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. There are so many books to pick by Carl Sagan, Cosmos being the most well-known. Unfortunately that book is starting to get a bit dated, as is Pale Blue Dot, but it is the more recent of the two. If you are fascinated by Carl Sagan the person, there are also two great biographies written on him, one by Keay Davidson and one by William Poundstone.
Nightwatch by Terence Dickinson is an excellent book for budding astronomers. It goes over all the basics of observing, including eqiupment, and includes sky maps and points out helpful features to get you started exploring the universe.
Burnham's Celestial Handbooks Volumes 1-3 may be old but they are classics in every sense of the word. For encyclopedic information on everything you want to see in the night sky and personal observations and hints, these are the books for you. Don't be put off by the archaic font and illustrations, after you come to know the material you will be charmed by its quaintness.
Sky Atlas 2000.0 by Wil Tirion. You can't really learn the sky if you don't know what you are looking at. And you can't find the great nebulae and galaxies if you don't know where to look. Every amateur astronomer needs a good star atlas, and this is the cream of the crop. With this atlas, you will never get lost again. In space, at least. On Earth, it is still wise to stop and ask directions.
What's your favorite astronomy book? Share it in the discussion forum.
