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.
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 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 live. Dickinson and Dyer do just that with this book – emphasising that astronomy truly is a hobby for all, no matter the limitations. The authors write with years of experience and it is well 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!
Katrin Raynor Evans is an amateur astronomer, a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the librarian for Cardiff Astronomical Society