Some neat books here...
For myself, I've been star gazing for over 45 years now and in that time have accumulated a fair size collection of astronomy books (around a hundred or so). However, these titles are the ones that I still use on a very regular basis:
Lunar viewing:
Atlas of the Moon (1978), Antonin Rükl - still one of the best traditional moon atlases out there.
21st Century Atlas of the Moon (2013), Charles A. Wood - very clear photographic atlas and the one that I use for making a list of lunar targets to look at or to confirm that I did see what I thought I saw!
The Hatfield Photographic Lunar Atlas (1999), edited by Jeremy Clark - the one that I still use at the actual eyepiece whenever I'm out viewing the moon, despite the low res photos. Very well labelled atlas.
Understanding what I'm seeing when viewing the moon:
The Modern Moon (2003), Charles A. Wood - great for understanding what geological processes you're looking at.
Luna Cognita (2020), Robert A. Garfinkle - great for the smaller detail, plus so much more.
Viewing the planets:
Sky Watcher's Handbook (1993), edited by James Muirden - some great chapters on viewing Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Viewing DSOs and binary stars:
Burnham's Celestial Handbook Vol I to III (1978), Robert Burnham Jr. - need I have to say anything about these books?
Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars (2001), Patrick Moore - useful for binocular work but mostly used by me to view the 'easy' targets with my telescope.
Planning ahead for my star gazing sessions:
A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets (1983), Menzel & Pasachuff - still a great 'field guide' to the night skies.
The Edmund Sky Guide (1977), Sam Brown - I have used this little book since 1978 and it still is the one that I grab when I'm planning ahead for a night under the stars. Easy to read sky maps make it the one that I use most often.
Wow, these are indeed good books. I have Luna Cognita (2020), Robert A. Garfinkle and 21st Century Atlas of the Moon (2013), Charles A. Wood - amazing.
I also regularly use The Night Sky Observer's Guide, vol. 1&2 by Kepple & Sanner.
I'm also thinking about a topic for my dissertation, and it's harder to choose than I expected. I have different ideas, but I don't know which would be the best one. I think I will start by looking through various books, atlases, and textbooks to see which information is more available and which topic will have enough info to write on. And in any case, I'd be able to use dissertation help, but I want to be sure, first of all, that the topic is good enough. And this site is good because there are a lot of threads about books and other materials, so I'll for sure find something useful.
