Night sky/Astonomy book recommendations please

Son_of_Thor

Son_of_Thor

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Not quite sure if this is the right area of the site or not. Feeling inspired by others recent work on here and elsewhere and looking for recommendations on books about the night sky/Astronomy in general. I'm looking for something to get me started on the night sky in general and what can be seen from the UK and at what times of year. Can anyone recommend me a book to get me started?
 
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hunnymonster said:
Turn Left at Orion - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1108457568

Highly recommend the spiral bound edition.

Also install a planetarium app on your phone like Stellarium or SkyView
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Thanks Jason, I'll check that out...

I've installed Stellarium on my phone already and discovered that because I was a cheap-skate when I got it I don't have an inbuilt compass! :facepalm: I'm out of contract, so it might be time to sort a suitable replacement. First time I've found it lacking TBH, but nice for there to actually be a reason to 'upgrade'!
 
Hi Si,

Had a talk via zoom from Robert Harvey at my camera club. Amazing skills.

I bought his book (Photographing The Heavens) where he gives all the settings used for the shots.

Natural World Photography: Photographing the Heavens

Photographing the Heavens Images of Earth and the Universe by Robert Harvey BA ARPS EFIAP CEnv CSci MCIWEM This beautifully produced hardback book, containing over 60 large-format photographs, will appeal to anyone interested in photography, the scale of the Universe and our place in it...
www.naturalworldphotography.net

Cheers,
Dougie.
 
Fuji Dave said:
I've just started using Stellarium again and think it's great once you have it set up for how you use it, on clear nights my all time favourite is Orion. I have a spotting scope that is great for me as I will start again at it all.
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Yes, it looks good so far.. I'll be using a DSLR and telephoto lens to start off with. I was going to have a crack at Andromeda, but it looks like it'll be too low in the sky at this time of year from my location once it's fully dark. Looks like I'm only a few weeks too late too. Been looking at equatorial mounts, but wanted to have a play with what I've got already ideally before buying any kit
 
Snapper67 said:
Hi Si,

Had a talk via zoom from Robert Harvey at my camera club. Amazing skills.

I bought his book (Photographing The Heavens) where he gives all the settings used for the shots.

Natural World Photography: Photographing the Heavens

Photographing the Heavens Images of Earth and the Universe by Robert Harvey BA ARPS EFIAP CEnv CSci MCIWEM This beautifully produced hardback book, containing over 60 large-format photographs, will appeal to anyone interested in photography, the scale of the Universe and our place in it...
www.naturalworldphotography.net

Cheers,
Dougie.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dougie, I'll check it out...
 
Son_of_Thor said:
Thanks Jason, I'll check that out...

I've installed Stellarium on my phone already and discovered that because I was a cheap-skate when I got it I don't have an inbuilt compass! :facepalm: I'm out of contract, so it might be time to sort a suitable replacement. First time I've found it lacking TBH, but nice for there to actually be a reason to 'upgrade'!
Click to expand...
Annoying, isn't it? I think the manufacturers are the cheapskates here. Even the low-end phones used to have them, but someone probably did the maths and figured out they could save 10p per unit by leaving out the compass. Now it's missing on some quite nice phones. With GPS navigation you can (sort of) do without it, because it works out which way you are pointing by the direction you are moving. But that's no good for anything stationary like a star map.
 
You don't need an ibuilt compass on your phone. Just get a compass app, or OS Locate. They're free. What lens do you intend using? For a wide lens, short exposure you'll get by on a tripod but for a long lens or long exposures you will need an equatorial mount of some sort (tracking head or dedicated mount). Stuff like that seems to be in short supply at the moment. I'm trying to replace an alt az mount (the one I have has just stopped playing) and there's virtually nothing in stock anywhere. Use what you have...............
 
Apps like Sky Map (or compass apps) aren't going to work properly unless your phone has a magnetometer/compass sensor. They need to know which direction your phone is pointing in, not just your position, to match the live view on the screen to the part of the sky you are looking at automatically.
 
Retune said:
Annoying, isn't it? I think the manufacturers are the cheapskates here. Even the low-end phones used to have them, but someone probably did the maths and figured out they could save 10p per unit by leaving out the compass. Now it's missing on some quite nice phones. With GPS navigation you can (sort of) do without it, because it works out which way you are pointing by the direction you are moving. But that's no good for anything stationary like a star map.
Click to expand...

It is irritating. Yes, GPS is fine for Google Maps, but can't really see how it'd work for apps like Stellarium. Looks like it may hasten replacement of my existing phone - it's got a good few screen scratches now (plastic screen), but I was holding off until I had a reason to replace it and it looks like I may well have found one...
 
Jannyfox said:
You don't need an ibuilt compass on your phone. Just get a compass app, or OS Locate. They're free. What lens do you intend using? For a wide lens, short exposure you'll get by on a tripod but for a long lens or long exposures you will need an equatorial mount of some sort (tracking head or dedicated mount). Stuff like that seems to be in short supply at the moment. I'm trying to replace an alt az mount (the one I have has just stopped playing) and there's virtually nothing in stock anywhere. Use what you have...............
Click to expand...

Thanks Jan,

Short rant (not aimed at you at all, but at the makers of smartphone apps): I do often wonder about these 'free' apps - just gone to install OS Locate. It needs access to GPS, fine - that makes sense. But access to camera and photos, media and files - why oh why?! That'd be a 'no' from me then.

As for the astro stuff - I've got everything from 20 1.8 to 70-200 2.8 and a longer lens that I use for wildlife. I fancy having a crack at landscapes including the night sky and the Milky Way with the wider lenses and also Galaxies, etc. with the longer lenses. I've been reading up on equatorial mounts a little (although nowhere near enough to actually purchase anything). As you say, there doesn't appear to be a lot in stock anywhere ATM anyway. I suspect a lot of things are held up in the Suez Canal backlog. Currently waiting on a geared head to replace the ball head that I've finally lost patience with.. I was rather hoping there was something out there I could have a crack at without a tracking head before making any sort of investment in kit.
 
Retune said:
Apps like Sky Map (or compass apps) aren't going to work properly unless your phone has a magnetometer/compass sensor. They need to know which direction your phone is pointing in, not just your position, to match the live view on the screen to the part of the sky you are looking at automatically.
Click to expand...

That's my understanding, yep. I've had a play with Stellarium on another phone and it seems to do pretty much exactly what I'm looking for...
 
Get your tools out - DIY barn door tracking mount


Son_of_Thor said:
Thanks Jan,

Short rant (not aimed at you at all, but at the makers of smartphone apps): I do often wonder about these 'free' apps - just gone to install OS Locate. It needs access to GPS, fine - that makes sense. But access to camera and photos, media and files - why oh why?! That'd be a 'no' from me then.

As for the astro stuff - I've got everything from 20 1.8 to 70-200 2.8 and a longer lens that I use for wildlife. I fancy having a crack at landscapes including the night sky and the Milky Way with the wider lenses and also Galaxies, etc. with the longer lenses. I've been reading up on equatorial mounts a little (although nowhere near enough to actually purchase anything). As you say, there doesn't appear to be a lot in stock anywhere ATM anyway. I suspect a lot of things are held up in the Suez Canal backlog. Currently waiting on a geared head to replace the ball head that I've finally lost patience with.. I was rather hoping there was something out there I could have a crack at without a tracking head before making any sort of investment in kit.
Click to expand...
 
Once you get to know your way around the night sky have a look at this site - https://in-the-sky.org/

It list various things that can be seen in the sky in the next few days. It also can be set to your location and shows which things are naked eye objects or need binoculars or a telescope.

Dave
 
Tringa said:
Once you get to know your way around the night sky have a look at this site - https://in-the-sky.org/

It list various things that can be seen in the sky in the next few days. It also can be set to your location and shows which things are naked eye objects or need binoculars or a telescope.

Dave
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave, that looks a useful link - bookmarked!
 
Not a book, but check out the lonely speck website, I found it incredibly helpful as a starting point for general night sky stuff. If you’re thinking of Milky Way etc, I can also recommend the photo pills app, it’s costs but i found it to be invaluable for planning a shoot and well worth the investment.
 
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