Astronomy: A Visual Guide

by Mark A. Garlick

An introductory illustrated and comprehensive guide to observing and understanding the night sky. This book provides a survey of science's growing understanding of space and includes details of the latest space probes. The most recent photographs from the world's finest observatories and space-based cameras capture the wonder and beauty of the universe. Astronomy covers a wide variety of heavenly Vivid cross-sections of the planets with a concise description and a chart of their relative distance from the sun provide at-a-glance information. A series of monthly sky charts point out constellations, star clusters, galaxies, nebula and more. The sky maps use easy-to-read symbols to identify open and globular star clusters, galaxies and planetary nebula. The constellations are labeled and diagramed. Spectacular images of space phenomenon are further explained with colorful digital graphics. Nebula, clusters, galaxies, etc. are profiled with color images and short descriptions. A pictograph tells whether binoculars or a telescope is required. Astronomy is a fascinating and easy-to-use illustrated reference for amateur astronomers of all levels.

Genres: Astronomy, Science, Reference, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Mark Antony Garlick

Reviews

[Jamie Spiller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Astronomy: A Visual Guide, is a great book for the Astronomy enthusiast. Since it's a visual guide, it's very easy to follow, and the diagrams and small paragraphs of information after every picture are extremely informative. This is by far one of the best books you can buy. Since it was published in 2008, some of the information about current events is outdated, but that does't really matter. I'll describe it as a practical reference, and it offers a wide range of knowledge on: details of the latest space probes, monthly sky maps, charts and graphs (a great companion for the newbie stargazer), comprehensive information on space exploration, suggestions for choosing telescopes and binoculars (again, for the newcomers), in-depth coverage of our solar system, stars, and also on the billions of galaxies that surround us (although it doesn't offer information on each one individually...that would be silly!).The actual pictures throughout this book are gorgeous, so it will give you days of enjoyment! Mark A. Garlick did an amazing job on this book! You will learn a lot!

[Kaelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book written about all different aspects of astronomy. I picked it up not only to make my writing more realistic when writing about space, but also for pleasure since I find anything to do with space both horrifying and interesting. Those two adjectives make the best pair, don't they? The book discusses all aspects of space with beautiful pictures. It goes from different space craft and space voyages of humans, astronomy's history, constellations and what you can see during the different months, and even what helpful intsruments to see the night sky better. And, of course, stars, planets, galaxies, and all different things that may (or may not, in some cases) make up our universe.

Overall, I found this book to be very helpful and interesting. Since it doesn't really stick to one particular topic, I wouldn't recommend this book for someone who's doing specific research. If one just wants a general knowledge of space and all its aspects, then this one is very interesting. It's also really nice for those people who aren't big on reading or not big on reading nonfiction books. Much of this book was made out of pictures and diagrams and it was laid out in a way that you can flip to whatever part interests you the most.

The things that I most liked were the star charts and how it told you points of interest in the night sky during the different months of the year, depending on what hemisphere you're in. This can be VERY useful for amateur astronomers AND it even specifies if you can see it with the naked eye or not.

One more great thing about this book was that I could sense the author's voice in the background. The different ways he worded things made me laugh sometimes, which is really nice when I'm reading nonfiction, as it can get a bit slow at times.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great and informative. The maps and terms are easy to comprehend for beginners, and plus, dazzling pictures!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for an overview of celestial objects. The pictures are incredible and it has a nice section on objects to look for in the sky during the different months of the year.

[Chloe hambly lapointe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really informal! Gave me many research topics to look forward to later. Only it was a little boring at some parts.

[✵ Rein B✵ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is very cool. I always wanted to know more about the stars and the universe when I was young. The book helps you understand the complex things about the stars and universe. 10/10.

[Francisco Cebrián · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este fue mi primer libro serio de Astronomía. No me separaba de él nunca, todos los días lo llevaba en mano. Qué recuerdos me trae. Ojo, que todavía lo sigo llevando a todos lados y es el libro que jamás descarto en mis viajes vacacionales a pesar de llevar la maleta llena y tener que encasquetármelo de sombrero.

Lo tiene todo. El fuerte, las imágenes (¡qué gran diseñador eres, Garlick!), que te ilustran a la perfección aquello de lo que se habla, los numerosos -y anda que no son poco interesantes ni nada- datos que se ofrecen sobre los planetas -también ilustrados a la perfección-, de todo tipo, la mención preciosa (y también ilustrada como merece) y una de las más completas que leí jamás sobre las nubes del Sistema Solar (Cinturón de Kuiper, de Asteroides, o Nube de Öopik-Oort), y -por último-, dos secciones brutales. La de las dobles páginas por cada mes con, a la derecha un mapa y a la izquierda los tres objetos más destacables (estrellas, nebulosas, cúmulos o galaxias), con una información muy precisa sobre cómo encontrarlos y unas imágenes de archivo de alta calidad, y la de miscelánea al final del libro, con datos muy curiosos que desconocía en su totalidad.

En definitiva, es un libro muy complejo, revelador para los bisoños y clave para los aficionados, fácil de entender por sus ilustraciones y al que se le coge una estima elevada. Después de nueve años sigue siendo imprescindible en mis salidas. Además, su autor, es diseñador y astrónomo y he tenido la oportunidad de mantener coloquios por las redes sociales con él y, definitivamente, es una de las personas más cordiales que conocí en mi vida (además de ser británico y saber español). Magnífico.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stunning pictures.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really informative, neat pictures.