Ph.D. Dinah L. Moche: Astronomy : A Self-Teaching Guide (Paperback); 2014 Edition

I am a Biology Professor and I am learning Astronomy as a hobby. I've read countless books on Astronomy, but not a workbook. I love this book!!! I'm on the 3rd chapter of the book, and as of now I've don all the exercises up to this point. Yeah, I couldn't wait 'til I was done to give the review, and that's how excited I am about this book! I read all the reviews about this book before I purchased it. The reviewers who gave it low ratings due to the math or having to know prior scientific knowledge are correct. They are not lying. It helps to know the basics on metric conversions and knowing how to manipulate formulas.Most people hate math! I learned to respect it because math confirms everything, and math helps you to understand science better. I encourage you not to skip through the math without giving it a try. It will help you to understand the sky, your telescope, light waves and your lenses much better. The more you understand, the deeper your appreciation will be for the science of astronomy even if you're only doing it for a hobby (and it aint that serious).When I began the hobby of astronomy 10 ten years ago, I would skip through the math. I wanted to see the planets and the moon and call it a day. Now I want to know everything!!!! Since I've become more hungry for knowledge, I love astronomy that much more!Buy this book. Everything is well explained. Take your time with it. You will feel more empowered and more confident in the science.

The book is well explained for the novice, like myself, who has only the basic astronomy education of high school but wishes to go a bit further and deeper into the subject. Excellent if you are interested in aviation and space related travel. Gets a little technical in some aspects and raises more questions than it sometimes answers. That is a good thing, because you certainly can't contain all astronomical knowledge into one book; or even hundreds. It is a good positive step forward in a subject that is immensely fascinating.

I got assigned to teach an astronomy course when I had ZERO background in it. I had no textbook and had teach the concepts to myself before my students. This book is simple, breaks material down easily, good graphics, and correctly written, measurable clear objectives. Was invaluable to helping me learn and teach my course.

EXCELLENT BOOK! Let me qualify this review by first saying that I am a trained "scientist" and former educator. This book is GREAT for people without a scientific background but LOTS of curiosity about the Universe.The author covers topics using easy to understand language and offers exercises/quizzes at the end of EACH section to re-inforce the lesson. This is a REALLY good book for the beginning Amateur Astronomer....

Excellent and orderly presentation of Astronomy that should be helpful to anyone who has been exposed to science and math at the High School level. The diagrams are very helpful and instructive. The book is actually written in Programmed Instruction format. That is, you are forced to be an active learner. The photographs and illustrations are very helpful and instructive!

I was completely new to astronomy when I bought this book, and it taught me so much! The author explains things really well and in a very approachable, conversational way. As its title implies, it's geared towards someone who's teaching themselves without benefit of an instructor, and I think it does a great job of this; just wish it was published with color images. Overall, though, I highly recommend this book.

Love this book. It was easy to use. Things were easy to find. Plus it was written to the point where anyone can read and comprehend. It was way cheaper compare to what the textbook store on my college campus was asking for!!! Id recommend this book if it's a requirement for your astronomy class.

At the beginning of each section there is a list of items that will be covered. At the end of each section there is a test. These two items take up more book space than any information shared. In addition, the kindle edition is ineffective because it is difficult to flip to the charts referred to in the chapters.