# Suggest an Astronomy book **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-an-astronomy-book/348005 "2006-03-12T02:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-an-astronomy-book/348005/1 "2006-03-12T02:58:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-an-astronomy-book/348005/2 "2006-03-12T03:16:02Z")
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](http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/book_review_grand_tour.html) by Ron Miller. I haven’t read it all, but it seems to be a nice combination of readable, informative text, and pretty pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-an-astronomy-book/348005/3 "2006-03-12T03:34:14Z")
How about [one written by a former Doper](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471409766/qid=1142134393/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-3241141-8428639?s=books&v=glance&n=283155)? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-an-astronomy-book/348005/4 "2006-03-12T04:04:06Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-an-astronomy-book/348005/5 "2006-03-12T20:09:02Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-an-astronomy-book/348005/6 "2006-03-12T20:43:04Z")
It’s not a book, but [this website](http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/nineplanets.html) is a good place to start for thorough information on the solar system.