Best Space and Astronomy Books for Adults

Looking to pick up a new hobby and study the planets and stars? This review covers the best Space and Astronomy books which are absolutely perfect for adult learners. It also includes a fantastic buyer's guide which will enable you to start your new hobby on the right foot.

Are you searching for the best space and astronomy books for adults? You have come to the right place!

The stars, nebulae, planets, and black holes are all part of this vast galaxy that we live in. The milky ways and the black holes, equally fascinating, the asteroids and the stars, the moons, and the orbits of planets, all so mysterious in their own ways, make a man question the reality of these subjects. 

Ever since we start learning about space, we cannot help but wonder about the truth that has concealed itself behind the deep darkness of space. Why not spend some time devoted to learning about the vast space of extraterrestrial objects that we gaze upon in our starry sky every night. 

We have reviewed the top 10 best space & astronomy books for adults. The books written on space and astronomy help us understand the little things we know about this grand Universe. These books help us understand our place and inspires us to look with a better eye towards the sky.

And if you already have an interest in learning about the concealed truths and lies of the Universe, then you might have hit the jackpot with this blog. We have for you here a list of the topmost knowledgeable and amazing astronomy books from known and popular publishers so you will not be feeding on rotten facts. 

Our FAQ section is going to answer all of your queries about these books and their authenticity. And the buying guide is made to help you find the book that will fulfill your thirst for knowledge in the subject you are most passionate about.

Let's get started!

Our Overall #1 Rated Pick


Space Atlas, Second Edition
  • Uses charts, photographs, and illustrations to make everything clearer
  • Easy to understand
  • Affordable
  • Amazing graphics

Space Atlas, Second Edition, is written by James Trefil. He is a professor of Physics at George Mason University. He is famous as an expert in exceptional and complex scientific ideas. This book is published by National Geographic.

Space Atlas is composed of all authentic data that is a source of knowledge and guidance for science and space lovers. It explains every bit of space through its amazing graphics. As the book is published by National Geographic, hence it contains maps and pictures for illustrations.

The 10 Best Space and Astronomy Books Comparison Chart

The 10 Best Space and Astronomy Books Out There

In this section, we review the Top 10 Space and Astronomy Books for Adults.

Space Atlas, Second Edition

Space Atlas, Second Edition, is written by James Trefil. He is a professor of Physics at George Mason University. He is famous as an expert in exceptional and complex scientific ideas. This book is published by National Geographic.

Space Atlas is composed of all authentic data that is a source of knowledge and guidance for science and space lovers. It explains every bit of space through its amazing graphics. As the book is published by National Geographic, hence it contains maps and pictures for illustrations.

Due to these maps, charts, and photographs, this book explains even very basic knowledge about the components of space. Everything that has an effective existence in space is described in this book. The wording and the way of explanation are so easy and comprehensive that everyone can benefit from this book. 

Through this book, one can explore space and enhance his knowledge about it. This book has 352 pages, and the language is English.

PROS

  • Uses charts, photographs, and illustrations to make everything clearer
  • Easy to understand
  • Affordable

CONS

  • The quality of the book material is not that good.
The Hubble Cosmos 25 Years of New Vistas in Space

The Hubble Cosmos is the celebration of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's 25 years. This book is written by David H. Devorkin, Robert W. Smith, and Robert P. Kirshner. David H. Devorkin is the co-author and is a senior scientist having vast knowledge about astronomy and other space science. His area of interest in astrophysics.

Robert W. Smith is the co-author of this book and has information about the history of science, astronomy, and spaceflight, etc. Robert P. Kirshner is a Professor of Astrophysics at Harvard University. This book has 150 photographs that are helpful in the illustration of the ideas. 

This book also gives an idea of the discoveries that are yet to come. The book has complete knowledge of stars and also tells about the history of the telescope. The book has real Hubble images that support its text well. Photographs of different galaxies are also in this book.

PROS

  • Informative
  • Easy to understand
  • Factual
  • Contains good photographs

CONS

  • Expensive
50 Things to See With a Small Telescope

50 Things to see with a Small Telescope are written by John A. Read, who is a student of astrophysics in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This book tells you how you can make planets, galaxies, and other space components visible from your terrace.

It has various star maps and eclipse charts that are according to the time and are updated through the year 2030. This book will tell you how everything will appear to you when you will see it through a telescope. 

The book will further guide you through buying a suitable telescope according to your budget. Not only the buying process, but it will also guide you in its use. It will tell you how to view stars, constellations, planets, moons, satellites, and other things. So now, if you are crazy about space, then you simply have to buy this book and follow its direction. 

It will help you to experience satellites from your backyard. Solar Eclipse Schedules and Constellation Maps provide some reasonable knowledge. The book is handy and concise for the beginners of the telescope. This book is available in many languages, e.g., English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Hindi, Japanese, Dutch, Russian, and Italian.

PROS

  • This book is useful for beginners of the telescope.
  • The book comes in many languages.
  • Affordable

CONS

  • The pictures in this book are black and white.
  • It does not contain all the information.
Space! The Universe as You've Never Seen It Before

Space! The Universe as you've Never Seen it Before is written and published by DK, which is in London. It covers every topic of daily routine in its publications. This book covers the topic of astronomy and is all about planets, stars, and other space components.

It has real pictures from NASA that shows some fascinating wonders of Cosmos. It has pictures of black holes too. So if you have a thirst for knowledge about space, then this book will be useful for you. Furthermore, it also consists of computerized 3D models that support the theories and explain the text well. 

Every topic in this book is self-explanatory, and you will not need any other supportive material to make things clear for you. So now, you can access all the facts and theories relevant to space with the help of this book. Book has 208 pages, and the language is English.

PROS

  • The book contains pictorial representation.
  • Every topic is explained well.
  • Self-explanatory
  • Informative

CONS

  • The binding of this book is not that durable.

This book is written by Guy Consolmagno, and he is the author of 200 publications on scientific topics. He is a professor of Earth and Space Sciences at Stony Brook University. This is among the famous books of astronomy and is well known for its quality.

It tells you all about how space looks through an object. This is a very descriptive guide book for space lovers to view different components of space. It contains all the astronomical information that is up-to-date. 

The pictorial illustration of space and telescopes make it easy to understand the text in a better way. Now this book has made it easy to explore the night sky with the description of the Southern and Northern hemisphere. 

This telescope guide is helpful for both beginners and experienced. The book has 256 pages and the language is English.

PROS

  • The book contains a detailed guide for telescope use.
  • The book is helpful for both beginners and experienced.
  • Informative

CONS

  • The diagrams are small and having an idea of scale is challenging.

This book is a complete encyclopedia of space. This book is written and published by DK. If you are interested in space topics and want to dive into plenty of knowledge, then this book is made for you. You will get a chance to experience the world through the eye of an astronaut.

This book contains images from NASA and ESA missions, and this pictorial illustration develops the interest of the reader. This pictorial representation represents knowledge well. It will inform you about space and ideas and facts about it. 

The book is very suitable for astronauts and those who are crazy about space. From the earth to beyond this galaxy, this book will provide you the knowledge and will tell you everything about space that you need to know.

Every topic is explained well in this book and contains a concise topic with a self-explanatory explanation. This book is also suitable for public libraries. Good quality pictures from NASA and high-quality telescopes help the reader experience a scenario in which he feels himself there. It has 256 pages and is in the English language. 

PROS

  • It contains quality images from NASA and ESA missions.
  • The book is the product of well-known publishers, i.e., DK.
  • Good quality pictures

CONS

  • It contains fundamental knowledge.

This book is by the Astronomical Society of Pacific. It is in San Francisco, California, and has a long history of serving space enthusiasts with all the tools and the required information about the space. Their general audience includes students and the people who have an interest in space.

If you simply want to enhance your knowledge about the space and want to know the facts about it, then go for this book. This book will not only provide you with the necessary information but will also help you to choose the best telescope and to identify the desired objects in space through it. Now you can view it all by yourself and capture images by yourself. 

This book provides step by step instructions for all this procedure. Furthermore, the illustration charts and pictorial representation make it easy to understand everything. Now explore this amazing Universe under the guidance of this fantastic book. This book has 272 pages and has covered more topics than its page numbers. This book is in the English language.

PROS

  • This book is concise.
  • It covers nearly all the topics required.
  • User friendly

CONS

  • The book is not that helpful for experts.

This book is written by Bob McDonald and is a science commentator on CBC News Network. In An Earthling's Guide to Outer Space, Bob McDonald takes us on a tour of this space. Through this space, one can experience the feeling of being present in outer space.

It helps us in answering all the questions that are present in our mind about our planet, galaxy, and this Universe. This book is an adventurous book that will help us to know more about this gigantic Universe. You can get a chance to visit those far off planets and can know about the basics of these stars. 

So if you want to know about the existence of life on another planet and this Universe, then this book will help you on this journey. Just buy a book and go for a tour to the Universe free of cost. That means for having a visit to space; you do not need to be an astronaut at all. 

It will satisfy all your thirst to know about this Universe, stars, planets, and galaxies. This book has 240 pages and is in the English language.

PROS

  • This book provides an opportunity to have an imaginary tour of space.
  • The book contains pictorial illustrations.
  • Informative
  • Good quality

CONS

  • This book is relatively expensive.

This book is by the famous and well-known author of The Elegant Universe Brian Greene. This book is an entirely modern exploration of the cosmos and explains every new fact and idea about this Universe.

This book takes us to the journey that tells us about the existence of space and starts from the big bang and takes us till the end of the time. This book is entirely thrilling. One cannot call this book, ultimately, a science book. 

But it also explains every idea concerning the adoption of the religion. This book has an essential feature that it comes in an audiobook too. Most people are attracted to this kind of topic to gather knowledge but are not fond of reading much. 

This product solves your issue here. Its listening length is 14 hours and 36 minutes. The language of this book in English and hence addresses a large amount of audience.

PROS

  • This book also comes in an audiobook.
  • Highly informative
  • Explores various ideas

CONS

  • The topic of the book is not entirely scientific.

This book is written by Ruben Kier. This book has the necessary knowledge that a space enthusiast requires to fulfill his need for astrophotography. This book is the manual and guideline for astrophotography through various mediums.

Usually, different objects are visible in different periods of the year in space. So this book is best to know about it. It unites the people's craze of photography and astronomy. Detailed advice about different filters and frames is given in this book. 

It tells you about different imaging objects at a different point at a specific period in a year. That means it tells you about the respective target object at a particular time. The author has told about 100 different space objects that how, when, and where to catch them in photographs?

PROS

  • The book tells about the visibility of space objects for astrophotography.
  • The book has clear and concise ideas.
  • Affordable
  • Lots of information

CONS

  • Quality could have been better

Buying Guide

In every field, there are hundreds of text and data available online, and even in the form of books, you must be questioning why to create a buying guide for such a nominal thing. Well, we went through the trouble of rummaging through the internet to find a list of features that are required to make an astronomy book in its true essence. 

There is tons of bogus knowledge out on the internet, anyone can rant about anything in their blog, and that is one of the reasons we fall back onto books for authentic knowledge. Even with books, we see publishers do not pay heed to the authenticity of facts writers have them published. But we have a list for you that cannot have any false facts and a list of specs to look in a book if you want to spot an authentic one. 

About Space and Astronomy Books 

Before jumping on to qualities to look for in space or astronomy books, let's understand what a general astronomy book entails for you. There are many theories and hypotheses ready to be tested in the field of astronomy about some unexplained wonders and phenomena of this world. 

These books give us an insight into how these theories unfold our reality and what aspects of the Universe they are trying to explain. Some of these books have chapters where you can study about your galaxy as well as nearby galaxies, and these galaxies can be communicated with. 

What exactly these galaxies contain in themselves, how many planets and the moons and stars in their orbits. These are some of the questions that are being answered in these books. If you are already a fan of the subject, you might want to own some of the gadgets related to the field, such as telescopes. 

Benefits of Astronomy Books 

The human mind never stops wondering about the realities of its existence, and so we never stop learning, and we should never stop learning because there is a world out there waiting to be discovered. 

The vast knowledge that entails this galaxy is overwhelming and great as well. As adults, we face hurdles in our daily life that may put us down for a while, but the solution to them is to vent out. And what better way to go out other than getting in your chair with a cozy intellectual book and learn something new. 

These books do not just teach us about the realities of space but also are an escape from our own harsh realities. We learn from then about the things that exist far beyond our reach. We learn that our ginormous planet is a little part of just this galaxy, which entails hundreds of planets, comets, nebulae, and stars, and this galaxy is itself a little fragment of a milky way, and in the far reaches, there are hundreds of thousands of such milky ways.

 In order to know about the details of such delicate intricacies of this Universe, we need an outlet of real facts, and these authentic books provide us one.

Factors to look for in the best space & astronomy books for adults

In some of the books, there is detailed knowledge about some great telescopes and how to properly set them to have a look beyond the skies.

In order to buy a book that is top-notch and fits your requirements by covering the topics you feel passionate about, you need to judge it on some features, and for that reason, we have this buying guide. Just give this a read, and you will be good to go in the market and independently choose an authentic book based on astronomy.

Knowledgeable

The books out there are supposed to teach us on topics we do not know and feed us knowledge that unravels every now and then. Even though books are held in high regard, sometimes publishers try to raise the page count to get the book more expensive with filler words and general information. 

It is absolutely necessary for an astronomy book to be focused on the information about space and its components. Always read the line of topics the book explains before buying it.

Secondly, everyone has preferences about topics they feel passionate about, some people might want to learn about planets, and their atmosphere, and some might be interested in studying the stars and their evolutionary process. 

One book cannot contain so much information; such vast knowledge requires multiple authors to construct numerous books. So, do not blame the book if it does not entail what you expected and always check to see which area of information that the book is going to be covering in detail.

Indulgent

There is a pattern that can be followed to get the information across someone by making it enjoyable. If a book contains just plain facts and stagnant knowledge, it gets boring very soon, with advanced technology all around us, the book needs to keep up being interesting. 

If you are a serial reader, you must know you can determine the quality of a book just by reading its introductory paragraph, and so that becomes the most crucial aspect in judging a book. Whenever you buy a book, just remember to read its introductory article to determine if it is worth your time and money.

Paper Quality

A good book that is worth your hard-earned money is supposed to have knowledgeable material with good quality paper, For someone who reads as a hobby, a book with poor paper quality just gets downgraded no matter what the content holds. 

The feel of the paper matters because at times we invest huge sums of money into buying books that can be viewed online for less amount of money and one of the reasons people still fall back on books is because they feel connected to their past with the present age advancing at an alarming rate and everything going digital. 

The lower quality paper is difficult to handle and easy to be torn apart while a book that has good quality paper can last a lifetime.

Picturesque 

Pictures have helped humans learn from an early stage of life, the first things we learn are associated with pictures, and there is a reason behind this. Our nervous system stores tones of knowledge with particular cues so we can retract information by remembering those cues. 

The visual center, i.e., the occipital lobe of our brain, is most active while reading, so most of our data gets stored with the help of visual cues. And that is why pictures are an essential tool to use while trying to memorize information. The illustrations in such books also help us visualize what we cannot see with our naked eye; they help us see what lies beyond our limits and thus make the books more interesting.

Cost 

At times we are held back from buying books because of the extreme price ranges. It is almost unethical to price books at such alarming rates so much so that the general public cannot even afford to buy an informative book to enjoy in their leisure time. 

The books that publish authentic knowledge of known scientists and writers, especially in the field of astronomy, are priced a little higher than others. But don't worry, we know that there are certain publishers who still have the decency to not sell their books at an unimaginable rate. 

Some of those books are in our product review section. But you can also search for them independently when you are out in the market.

FAQs

Can we view nearby constellations from a home telescope?

Yes! Telescopes have the ability to give us a closer look onto far off subjects, but there are many types of telescopes in the market, and if you want to buy one solely for the purpose of reading constellations you might need to do a little research, or you can read one of these books that might end up explaining which type of telescope can fulfill your requirements.

Would we be able to learn how to set up a telescope with the help of these books?

Some of these books have significant proportions fixed in explaining the nature of telescopes that are currently available in the market, and simultaneously there are steps to set up such telescopes in your home.

Do these books explain why most planets are inhabitable for humans?

The very primary reason why most planets are inhabitable for humans because of the absence of molecular oxygen in the environment to breathe from and the lack of pure water for drinking without these two necessities we humans cannot live on another planet under normal circumstances. But there are studies being conducted about how we can make other planets potentially available for humans, and they are explained in these books.

Do these books explain the reality of alien life?

Alien life has always been inconclusive; there is no substantial proof that some extra-terrestrial life exists beyond the reach of man no matter how many people believe in Area 51, it is and will remain a conspiracy theory.

But the possibility of anything cannot be ruled out as we do not have access to the limits of the Universe. There are certain myths about alien life that have been debunked in these books. And there are explanations so as to where potential alien life could be spotted in the near future.

Final Words

We have given you the list of the most notable books and the aspects the most extraordinary astronomy books are made from. After reading, you must have realized the importance of learning about the Universe and that there are a million things we do not know about the galaxy we procreate in.

Doesn't it help us in looking at the bigger picture even in our everyday life? The knowledge about space and astronomy is ever-changing and ever-evolving, just like this Universe. There is no known boundary to space, and that should be our motto for learning, we should never limit ourselves to just comprehensively learning about one specific field. 

Even if you have expertise in any other area, these top 10 best space and astronomy books for adults are going to give you an insight into the general functionality of the Universe and how to spot any beautiful abnormality such as a falling star.