The For Dummies series are designed to offer an accessible and light-hearted approach to subject areas that too often become buried in complex jargon. Astronomy is one such subject, and Stephen P. Maran’s Astronomy For Dummies aims to strip it down into plain English, beckoning the wannabe astronomer to pursue their interest free of intimidation. I’d suggest that not only does he succeed, but that this book also achieves more than it set out to.

Astronomy for Dummies has six parts:

• Part I, entitled “Stalking the cosmos” introduces some common questions and guidelines for stargazing.


• Part II, “Going Once Around the Solar System” takes a look at nearby planets, including how to view them.


• Part III, “Meeting Old Sol and Other Stars” looks at stellar objects, including the safe viewing of our sun.


• Part IV, “Pondering the Remarkable Universe” introduces astrobiology and the matter that makes up our universe.


• Part V, “The Part of Tens”, looks at some unusual space facts and popularly held beliefs.


• Part VI, “Appendices” offers star maps, a glossary and star position tables for the four brightest stars.

The book contains friendly lists and tips, with optional technical information clearly labelled. There are also two “cheat sheets” in its opening pages, including a timeline on the space age, a list of famous women in astronomy and a more general astronomical timeline. Maran also recommends books and magazines for further reading, and refers to useful websites throughout. I think these resources would be useful to anyone interested in astronomy, whether it be the beginner or the astronomy scholar.

The main strength of this book is quite simply that it does what it says it does. It is accurate (to its publication year, 2005) and the writing is straightforward, whether you read from start to finish, or choose to dip in at random. Maran isn’t afraid to have a sense of humour, which helps keep it light-hearted. There are easy-to-read diagrams, black and white pictures and some colour pictures in the centre. However, it doesn’t claim to be packed with stunning images of nebulae and swirling galaxies – anyone looking for this will be disappointed.

Any author faces the problem of what to leave in and what to miss out when dealing with vast topics and a limited word count. In saying that, I was a still bit surprised at some of the topics Maran and/or his editors didn’t include. For example, stellar distances seem to be a common head-scratcher amongst those wanting to understand astronomy (as far as I can tell, anyway). The author certainly touches on this subject here and there, and there is a page dedicated to standard candles. However, he makes no mention of measuring nearer objects through methods such as parallax shift.

Overall, Astronomy for Dummies is an excellent reference, and a must-have for those who want to get started in astronomy, or for those looking for a brush-up of the basics. If you just happen to be passing the book shelf (and you then happen to pick up a copy), I’d suggest at least reading Part V to learn some of the more interesting facts and common errors in astronomy. The meteorites in your hair, for example, might surprise you.

Astronomy For Dummies (2nd edition), author: Stephen P. Maran, published by Wiley Publishing Inc: 2005, ISBN: 0-7645-8465-0