I’ve been reading quite a bit of science fiction the past few years. Yet, I haven’t read anything on astronomy since I was in college back in the early 90s. Please suggest some books on astronomy that I should read. My math background is limited to college calculus.
I know I’d like to buy a book with up to date information on the solar system with every planet’s known moons, atmosphere information, and the current work of NASA.
No book is going to have the absolute latest info - stuff gets discovered too quickly these days. But one good fairly recent book is The Grand Tour by Ron Miller. I haven’t read it all, but it seems to be a nice combination of readable, informative text, and pretty pictures.
How about one written by a former Doper?
You might be better off with a couple of magazine subscriptions. Scientific American, Sky & Telescope, Astronomy all have excellent coverage of a variety of astro topics, plus current event columns.
In addition to whatever textbook you end up with, you will enjoy *365 Starry Nights * by Chet Raymo. Although introductory, it has some immensely interesting methods of communicating a visceral sense of position and orientation, turning the plane of the night sky into a 3D shadowbox. Highly recommended.
It’s not a book, but this website is a good place to start for thorough information on the solar system.