Resources - Books and Magazines

Books.

Science & popular science

  • James B. Kaler books about stars and astronomy are ones of the very best available. He has a very good narrative style appealing both to beginner and advanced. You can expect to learn all the basic knowledge along with some other information that is quite hard to find elsewhere. And last but not the least his personal writing style is very clear and engaging. Excellent. Must read!

  • "Origins: How the Planets, Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Began (Astronomers' Universe)" by Stephen Eales
    This is a great popular science astronomy book written from the point of view of an active research astronomer. It shows not only the result, i.e. what we know at present, but also how we got there and what observations support it. Highly recommended. This is the first book from Springer's "Astronomers' Universe" series I bought and I am very impressed. I have many more now in my Amazon.com cart .
     

  • "Journey from the Center of the Sun" by Jack B. Zirker
    Clearly the best popular science book written about the Sun I have ever read. Must read!
     

  • "The Birth of Stars and Planets" by John Bally, Bo Reipurth
    It looks like a coffee table book with all its colorful Hubble images, but it is a real book about astronomy written by two astronomers. Very good!
     

    "At the Edge of the Solar System: Icy New Worlds Unveiled" by A. Doressoundiram, Emmanuel Lellouch
    A very good text on the outer solar system bodies, their evolution, dynamics and history. Mostly focused on Kuiper Belt objects, but the other relevant topics are discussed too. A must read update on our current knowledge of the Solar System.
     

  • "Mysteries of Galaxy Formation" by  Francoise Combes
    Very good book describing our current knowledge (or lack of thereof) on galaxy-size aspects of the Universe. Includes different points of view (MOND is discussed too, not only dark matter). Very good read.
     

    "Spectroscopy: The Key to the Stars: Reading the Lines in Stellar Spectra" by Keith Robinson
    A very good introductory book about all aspects of spectroscopy for those who would like to understand astronomical spectroscopy but lack background in physics and mathematics. It is not a difficult book, all concepts are explained in easy and straightforward way. Good book!
     

    "Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . " by  Philip C. Plait
    This one is a very different book! It takes an unusual angle on the astronomical subjects and reviews various astronomical phenomena from the point of view of possible destruction on Earth. Each chapter starts with a description of a catastrophic event, followed with detail explanations of the scientific background. Very refreshing!
     

    "Universe" by Roger Freedman, William J. Kaufmann
    One of the best introductory texts on astronomy and cosmology, very accurate, concise and imaginative. The level is a bit above typical popular science, rather like an introductory textbook, but it covers all necessary fields and is very easy to read.  Highly recommended.
     

  • "An Introduction to the Sun and Stars" by Simon F. Green, Mark H. Jones
    Very good introductory text about stars and their evolution. This is an introductory textbook, but very easy to read. Highly recommended.
     

  • "An Introduction to Planets and Solar System" by Neil McBride, Iain Gilmour
    Very good introductory text about planets and solar system. This is an introductory textbook, but very easy to read. Highly recommended.
     

  • "An Introduction to Galaxies and Cosmology" by Mark H. Jones, Robert J. Lambourne
    Very good introductory text about galaxies and cosmology. This is an introductory textbook, but very easy to read. Highly recommended.