New astronomy and space titles reviewed
The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide
Terence Dickinson, Alan Dyer Firefly Books £35 HB
Get excited – the fourth edition of The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide is here. First published in 1991, the latest edition boasts 48 additional pages and five new bang-up-to-date chapters. Beautifully put together by authors Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer, the new edition firmly brings the book into the modern age of astronomy. the right gear
Spanning 416 pages and split into four parts, it covers how to get started, choosing and using a telescope, the telescopic Universe and capturing the cosmos. Within each part are chapters to wow and inspire and prove that you too can view the Milky Way, lunar eclipses, planets and constellations with just the naked eye. There are some truly stunning
The latest edition helps beginners manage expectations and choose images packed in to take your breath away and motivate you to get outside. Perhaps the most vital chapters are the guides on what binoculars to buy; plus choosing, buying and then using a telescope – an absolute must for those considering purchasing their first piece of optical equipment.
The guides explain everything from aperture, power and optical design to mounts and filters, each illustrated with handy photographs ensuring the reader knows the difference between a Newtonian and Maksutov telescope or an altazimuth and Go-To mount.
Among the pages are sky tours, star charts, future astronomical events and a fantastic short Moon tour by astronomy communicator Ken Hewitt-White.
The authors really help manage a beginner’s expectations, giving honest advice such as ‘leave astrophotography to the last’ – an important lesson that first-time astronomers often ignore.
This invaluable guide will appeal to anyone no matter their experience, the equipment they have (or not) or where they matter the limitations. The authors write with years of experience and it is well live. Dickinson and Dyer do just that with this book – emphasising that astronomy truly is a hobby for all, no worth the attention – it might be the best advice you pay for. The only downside to this book is that it’s not printed in paperback and ring-bound to make it easier to use outside and take full advantage of these resources! ★★★★★
Fire and Ice: The volcanoes of the Solar System
Natalie Starkey Bloomsbury £16.99 HB
Fire and Ice: the Volcanoes of the Solar System is a masterful geology lesson disguised in the excitement of fire, ice and alien worlds. When you think of a volcano, you are probably thinking of something you made at school: a tall cone-shaped structure with bubbling ‘lava’ cascading down the side. In this assumption you would be right, but also simultaneously completely wrong.
Fire and Ice will introduce you to a whole range of volcanoes, from those forming under pressure at the bottom of the ocean, to the moving wonder of hot spots from the core of Earth forming island chains in the middle of nowhere, to those that are pouring out blue flames – and those are just on our planet.
Beyond Earth, you will learn about the largest volcano in the Solar System (Olympus Mons), the cryovolcanoes made of solid ice spraying jets of salty water tens of kilometres into space, and how a world can be stretched so much it has tides of molten rock that are five times as high as the ocean tides on Earth.
This is highly recommended for anyone who has ever been fascinated by the glow of a volcano, or wondered if there is life ‘out there’. The author combines events at the frontier of Solar System exploration with our knowledge of the role of Earth’s volcanic activity to take a look beyond and answer: what really is a volcano?
★★★★★
SHORT READ, BIG IDEAS
Time: 10 Things You Should Know
Colin Stuart Seven Dials £9.99 HB
For such a familiar concept, time is actually a rather complex topic. There are subtleties, such as how exactly we measure it, but also debates as to what it even is in a physical sense. But it turns out that discovering more about the nature of time doesn’t have to take a lot of it. In Time: 10 Things You Should Know, you can cover a lot of ground in just 100 pages.
The book is made up of 10 essays, each 10 pages, covering a different aspect of time. To begin with, they’re fairly straightforward, starting with the definition of how we measure time – you’ve heard of leap years, but why on Earth do we need leap seconds? It moves on to other ways we mark and measure time, both here on Earth and with timetravelling telescopes.
The middle chapters cover the very nature of time and how we experience it, and it’s not long before you find yourself discussing the implications of general relativity. The later chapters of the book investigate how time can be manipulated and what that might mean. Whether that means trying to slow time (or even stop it!) or travel through it (being careful not to kill your grandfather!), it can be quite philosophical at times.
The book is incredibly easy to read and very enjoyable. It’s full of little facts and turns of phrase that you can share with others. And with its slightly philosophical angle, it might even get you thinking about how you spend your time. ★★★★★
Northern Lights
Tom Kerss Royal Observatory Greenwich £8.99 PB
An awful lot of people get the Northern Lights wrong and return home from the Arctic Circle disappointed and feeling conned. Host of the excellent Star Signs weekly stargazing podcast and founder of Stargazing•London, Kerss has here produced a wonderfully comprehensive and well-written guide about all facets of Northern Lights-hunting. It sets expectations and arms the reader with exactly what they need to know, and much more besides.
As evidenced by the inclusion of many of his own photos, Kerss has spent a lot of time in the Arctic Circle. Indeed, the section on how to photograph the Northern Lights is very impressive, with lengthy advice on how to take images, but also how to post-process the results when you get home. There’s even tips on using the latest smartphone cameras.
Clearly a student of the history of astronomy, Kerss also provides an entertaining overview of how our understanding of the aurora has changed over the centuries. Within these sections there are some surprising facts. For example, did you know the term aurora borealis was coined by Galileo in 1616? Or that Captain Cook witnessed the aurora over nine consecutive nights in 1770 while sailing south of the equator?
Along the way Kerss explains everything from our planet’s magnetosphere to space weather, but crucially in language that’s always straightforward. That’s no mean feat when it comes to solar physics.
As Kerss states, you’ll need perseverance and patience to see and photograph the Northern Lights. You won’t need either to find enjoyment from this excellent guide to a fabulous natural phenomenon. ★★★★★
Interview with the author Alan Dyer
What advice would you give beginners?
Take time to learn your way around the sky. People often want to buy a telescope right away. Don’t. Instead of spending money, spend time with star charts to identify the brightest stars and constellations. Use binoculars to hunt down famous objects such as the Andromeda Galaxy.
What’s in this new updated edition?
Almost every page and paragraph received updates, including wholesale rewrites and new images. We updated our equipment recommendations in chapters on buying binoculars, telescopes and accessories. Also new are three chapters with tours of selected regions of the Moon, and our picks for samplers of deep-sky targets for both binoculars and small scopes.
What’s changed since the first edition?
The hobby has been revolutionised by digital technology. Even since the third edition in 2010, the gear and software we use has changed. Smart phones and tablets were just coming into their own; not to mention social media. The new edition reflects this.
What upcoming astronomical events should be in our observing calendar?
The highlight of the coming year is the run of semi-annual eclipses of the Moon. We have an almost-total eclipse on 19 November, followed by two deep total eclipses in 2022, first on 16 May, then on 8 November. The UK misses out on the latter. To make up for it, Britons can enjoy a partial eclipse of the Sun on 25 October 2022.