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Cool, I was thinking of learning this recently. I also wanted to find a book on amateur astronomy but still have no idea what exactly to look for.

themodelplumber 8y ago
Me too! I've also been looking for an astronomy app that's not super complex, and not like a projection of the sky, just a list: "What's in the sky tonight," ordered by most-commonly-wondered about. Like "1) If you look to the West you'll probably see Venus."
- Jtsummers 8y ago
  I’ve been happy with Sky Guide over the years. It’s not a list but it tells you what you’re looking at and you can set it to arbitrary times and locations. Like I can know what my girlfriend would see in Argentina tonight while sitting in my apartment in the US. It is a projection and not a list but it’s very handy and helps you identify objects better than a list would.
mast 8y ago
One of my favourite books is Turn Left at Orion by Guy Consolmagno. It describes the different astronomical objects that you can expect to see and how to find them in the sky. I think it also does a good job of setting expectations because you just won't see Hubble class images from your backyard. The is also a companion website http://www.cambridge.org/features/turnleft/ http://www.cambridge.org/features/turnleft/
- abenedic 8y ago
  I can second this recommendation, if you are into backyard astronomy.
gcheong 8y ago
NightWatch by Terence Dickinson is often recommended.
jcurbo 8y ago
Turn Left at Orion is a popular suggestion (see sibling comment) but the other question is what do you want to do, what part of astronomy interests you? Amateur astronomy is a vast field and depending on what you're interested in, you'll go in different directions. Do you want to look at the Moon? Planets? Galaxies? And so on. Of course, you probably need a starting point which a good book can provide. See if you have a local astronomy club you can go visit, they will usually have events where you can use telescopes and talk to experienced folks. You can also poke around on Cloudy Nights (www.cloudynights.com), by far the largest amateur astronomy forum online.
- dhimes 8y ago
  I've used Redshift since I taught astronomy. The mobile app is very good.

themodelplumber 8y ago

Me too! I've also been looking for an astronomy app that's not super complex, and not like a projection of the sky, just a list: "What's in the sky tonight," ordered by most-commonly-wondered about. Like "1) If you look to the West you'll probably see Venus."

Jtsummers 8y ago
I’ve been happy with Sky Guide over the years. It’s not a list but it tells you what you’re looking at and you can set it to arbitrary times and locations. Like I can know what my girlfriend would see in Argentina tonight while sitting in my apartment in the US. It is a projection and not a list but it’s very handy and helps you identify objects better than a list would.

mast 8y ago

One of my favourite books is Turn Left at Orion by Guy Consolmagno. It describes the different astronomical objects that you can expect to see and how to find them in the sky. I think it also does a good job of setting expectations because you just won't see Hubble class images from your backyard. The is also a companion website http://www.cambridge.org/features/turnleft/ http://www.cambridge.org/features/turnleft/

abenedic 8y ago
I can second this recommendation, if you are into backyard astronomy.

gcheong 8y ago

NightWatch by Terence Dickinson is often recommended.

jcurbo 8y ago

Turn Left at Orion is a popular suggestion (see sibling comment) but the other question is what do you want to do, what part of astronomy interests you? Amateur astronomy is a vast field and depending on what you're interested in, you'll go in different directions. Do you want to look at the Moon? Planets? Galaxies? And so on. Of course, you probably need a starting point which a good book can provide. See if you have a local astronomy club you can go visit, they will usually have events where you can use telescopes and talk to experienced folks. You can also poke around on Cloudy Nights (www.cloudynights.com), by far the largest amateur astronomy forum online.

dhimes 8y ago
I've used Redshift since I taught astronomy. The mobile app is very good.