Best Astronomy and Astrophysics Books

The universe through the eyes of an astronomer or astrophysicist is a fascinating place — and a good book can give you a glimpse of that world without requiring years of study. Here are the Space.com writers’ and editors’ recommendations of astronomy and astrophysics books that will thrill, puzzle, intrigue and blow your mind.

‘Sun Moon Earth’ (Basic Books, 2016) By Tyler Nordgren ‘Exoplanets’ (Smithsonian Books, 2017) By Michael Summers and James Trefil ‘Asteroid Hunters’ (Simon & Schuster, 2017) By Carrie Nugent ‘Earth in Human Hands’ (Grand Central Publishing, 2016) By David Grinspoon NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe (Firefly Books, 2016) by Terence Dickinson ‘The Glass Universe’ (Viking, 2016) By Dava Sobel ‘Facts From Space!’ (Adams Media, 2016) By Dean Regas ‘Spooky Action at a Distance’ (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015) By George Musser ‘Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy’ (W. W. Norton, 1994) By Kip Thorne ‘Cosmos’ (Random House, 1980) By Carl Sagan ‘The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark’ (Ballantine Books/Random House, 1995) By Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan ‘Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension’ (Oxford University Press, 1994) By Michio Kaku

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Tau.Neutrino said:

Best Astronomy and Astrophysics Books

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The absolute best that I know is:

“Planetary Sciences” by Imke de Pater and Jack J. Lissauer.

I’m not the only person who thinks so. At least two professional astronomers I know also consider it the best astronomy/astrophysics book ever.

Other astronomy/astrophysics books that I thoroughly recommend are these. All four are also suitable for non-astronomers.

“Norton’s star atlas” by Ian Ridpath
“Space mission analysis and design” by James R. Wertz, Douglas Kirkpatrick
“Parallax” by by Alan Hirshfeld (a history of astronomy book)
“Packing for Mars” by Mary Roach

Good but not quite so good:

“Observational astrophysics” by Léna et al.

Probably best to avoid:

“Principles of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis” by D. D. Clayton – excellent chapter on supernovae
“Neutrino Astrophysics” by John N. Bahcall – excellent but a bit technical