Posted on Sunday, October 13, 2013
Astronomers Anonymous by Steve Ringwood
Rating 7/10
"Astronomers Anonymous" is a book that seems to have all of those problems that one might have to deal with when observing the night sky. It is a compendium of letters, that have sometimes been edited for the readers entertainment and of the answers given as advice that poor amateur astronomers often dearly need. Those are the humorous parts, that mostly read like anecdotes, but then again once in a while there's an Aha-moment and you realize something like that might have happened to you.
For example have you ever had a tree blocking your view to the most exciting object you'd want to observe? Maybe it's growing in your neighbor's garden as in "Astronomers Anonymous" and you need to find a way of eliminating it discreetly?
Or perhaps you have tried to clean a rather expensive piece of astronomical equipment and unintentionally made the situation worse?
And of-course how can one keep on observing with one eye tightly shut?
If you have ever wondered about things like that, then "Astronomers Anonymous" is a great book to turn to, as it is both fun, and might give you ideas on how to solve problems that might creep up in the dark.
However if you need to find something comforting to read after getting hit by your telescope's counterbalance or after dropping an expensive eyepiece on your toe, then there can't be anything better to read, as it shows in black and white how somewhere it has been worse for someone else.
It is not just fun and games to, all of the questions also get a serious and helpful answer later on.
Labels: Astronomers Anonymous, book review, Steve Ringwood