Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide, Sixth Edition (Paperback)

~ Dinah L. Moche (Author) "On a clear, dark night the sky looks like a gigantic dome studded with stars..." (more)
Key Phrases: nonliving molecules, gamma ray telescopes, celestial meridian, Milky Way Galaxy, Alpha Centauri, Comet Halley (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A lively, up-to-date account of the basic principles of astronomy and exciting current field of research."

Product Description

Explore the fascinating night sky with this acclaimed astronomy self-teaching guide

From stars, planets, and galaxies to black holes, the Big Bang, and life in space, this new edition of Astronomy brings the wonders of the cosmos to life. Offering a unique, successful self-teaching format, this practical, user-friendly guide makes it easy for you to quickly grasp the basic principles of astronomy and build gradually on what you have learned.

Updated with the latest discoveries and graphics, this new guide by award-winning author Dinah Moché features:

• Frontier twenty-first-century research into black holes, active galaxies, and quasars
• New Web site addresses throughout for the best astronomy online
• Removable Star and Moon maps for fun stargazing
• A review of the latest ground and space telescopes
• Up-to-date star, constellation, and astronomical data
• Objectives, reviews, and self-tests to monitor your progress

This complete, new edition is all any student or amateur stargazer needs to understand and appreciate the wonders of the universe. You can use the book alone or with a conventional textbook, Internet-based or distance-learning course, computer software, telescope manual, or as a handy reference.

Praise for previous editions of Astronomy

" One of the best ways by which one can be introduced to the wonders of astronomy. "
–– The Strolling Astronomer

"Excellent . . . provides stimulating reading and actively involves the reader in astronomy."
–– The Reflector

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 6 edition (February 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471265187
• ISBN-13: 978-0471265184
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #282,985 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good diagrams and easy format for the beginner/intermediate, July 2, 1998

By	Ivy Merriot [e-mail] (Bozeman, MT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide, Fourth Edition (Paperback)

Dinah's book is a great workbook to use in conjunction with learning astronomy from a larger, more complete text. I have often left a larger text to pull out Dinah's as she gets to the point quicker and helps the reader stay focused. Although she walks you through concepts more clearly and concisely than many larger texts, you often find that you want to know *why* or just more about a particular topic, and in this regard, combining this book with Zeilik's or Arny's works very well.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An armchair guide to the cosmos, January 22, 2001

By	Wes Edens (Glendale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide, Fifth Edition (Paperback)

I'm an armchair astronomer. While I save up to buy that telescope, I read books like this, attend star parties (dark sky gatherings where amateur astronomers let wannabes like me peek through their scopes) and daydream about the day when my future telescope sees first light.
This is a great book for people like me. It's the equivalent of a very thorough undergraduate "Introduction to Astronomy" class. The author makes good use of illustrations throughout the book to explain difficult concepts like stellar spectra, distances to astronomical objects, and how astronomers determine the temperature, mass, and composition of stars.
New discoveries are being made every day in astronomy,and of course it's impossible for a book to be as current as today's newspaper. Readers of this book will want to update themselves on certain topics, such as extrasolar planets, human spaceflight, SETI, the explosion of CCD photography in amateur astronomy, among others. A list of resources to do just that is provided in the back of the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to be entertained and enlightened at the same time. If you're like me, preparing to morph from armchair to amateur status, this book provides an excellent foundation.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a nice little book for intro to astronomy, December 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide, Fifth Edition (Paperback)

Obviously there are no people who are completely clueless about astronomy since we all were taught as children (at least I was) about the planets in our solar system and about other galaxies. Beyond that most people would not know much about astronomy; which is where this nice little book comes in handy. It has enough information on astronomy subjects without mathematics and without being textbook-like. I think the value of this book is the combination of illustrations and text that stimulate an interest to explore the topics (in another, more extensive book) if this is so desired. And if not, then it is still a good overview of astronomy. Good book for the price!