Book Review: Astronomy For Dummies (2nd Edition)

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Astronomy For Dummies by Dr. Stephen P. Maran, an astronomer with over thirty years of NASA experience and a passion for the subject that is clearly evident in each page of his book.

Like many of the other books in the “Dummies’ series, the title is misleading.  “Astronomy For Dummies” however, is far more catchy than “Astronomy For Those Who Don’t Want To Sound Like An Idiot”.

The book starts with an included “cheat sheet” which lists important facts, figures, discoveries and persons with respect to Astronomy.

Maran starts explaining terminology in the introduction, delineating the differences between “amateur” and “professional” Astronomers (spoiler: BOTH are Astronomers), however his explanations of what each do are a bit antiquated, and I personally do not agree with his assertions.

Moving past the introduction,  Maran states that the book can be read pretty much in any order the reader would like, which for the most part is true.  The first section of the book deals with becoming an Astronomer,  explaining the art and science of Astronomy and continuing on with tips on observing, information on Astronomy clubs, tips on optical equipment such as binoculars and telescopes, and other tools to aid in observing. The section wraps up with the “Just Passing Through” chapter, which explains comets, meteors, and satellite observing.

The second section deals with our Solar System, starting with Earth and The Moon, and moves on to cover the other terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars). The chapter also covers the Asteroid Belt (between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter), the “gas giants” Jupiter and Saturn (including the “Galilean” moons of Jupiter: Io, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa) and the “ice giants”  Uranus and Neptune. Rounding out the second section is information on the outer edges of our Solar System, along with tips on viewing the outermost planets.

Section three covers stars (including our own), including information on the physics of star formation and the “life cycle” of a typical star.  Maran’s attention to detail proves useful in this section, clearly explaining the process of how stars work, yet avoids getting “bogged down” with jargon and complicated formulas.   Moving past stars, Maran covers galaxies (including information on the Milky Way), Star Clusters (Including The Pleadies, The Hyades, The Double Cluster and The Beehive), Nebulae (Orion Nebula, Ring Nebula, Crab Nebula and The North American Nebula) and wraps up with discussion on Black Holes and Quasars.

The fourth section deals with the more existential aspects of Astronomy.  Maran covers the possibility of Life on other worlds (with assistance from contributor Dr. Seth Shostak of the SETI institute ),  “Dark” matter and Antimatter, the “Big Bang” theory and wraps up with cosmic evolution.

Section five wraps up the book with Maran’s strongest showing of his wit and candor by providing fun facts about Astronomy, as well as dispelling a few common myths.   A couple fun “facts” are that the discovery of Pluto was by accident and that you can “see” the big bang on an old television when tuned to a channel with no broadcast. (“Snow” is radio waves emitted by the cosmic microwave background).   One myth Maran dispels is that our sun is “average” – most are smaller and dimmer.

In conclusion, Astronomy For Dummies acts as a good “primer” for Astronomy,  informing the reader on many essential topics, and providing enough information to allow those so inclined to learn more, but not so much as to overwhelm most readers.

Pros:

Witty prose prevents the subject matter from becoming dry and boring.

“Mile wide and an foot deep” approach gives the reader basic information necessary to help them learn more.

Section with “fun facts” and myth debunking will give readers fun bits of trivia for the next party they attend.

Cons:

Maran has some rather antiquated views on some topics, which may be off-putting to younger readers.

Included star charts are only good through 2010

Could use an updated “third” edition, as there are many items mentioned in the book that are long since outdated.
(the 2nd edition was printed in 2005)

Title of the book may offend some readers (usually those who can’t take a friggin joke).

Overall Rating: Four and a half stars out of a maximum of five.

Disclaimer: The above reviewed book was purchased with the reviewers own funds and was in no way compensated by Wiley publishing or Dr. Stephen Maran, PhD. – The link to “Astronomy for Dummies” shown in the article is an “affiliate” link which if readers of this site use to purchase a copy, a commission will be paid to this site. Recommendations for products mentioned are based completely on said products merit, and not on any outside influence.

Ray Sanders is a Sci-Fi geek, astronomer and blogger. Currently researching variable stars at Arizona State University, he writes for Universe Today, The Planetary Society blog, and his own blog, Dear Astronomer

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