From award winning author, John A. Read
Books to Aid Your Journey
For kids, beginners, and stargazing enthusiasts alike. These are your guides to the night sky.
New Releases
Explore constellations, the brightest stars, and tour our solar system with this easy-to-use stargazing guide. With star-hopping instructions on how to find the most fascinating sights in the night sky, readers will learn how the sky changes with each season, when to look for meteor showers, how to see the milky way, and much more!
This book and a telescope are all you need to find, view, and record your observations of the 110 most popular stargazing targets. Star-hopping instructions make finding these targets easy. Each page contains an observation log so you can apply for a Messier Observing Certificate from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada!
Embark on an awe-inspiring journey through the cosmos with just a pair of binoculars. This is your ultimate guide to exploring stars, galaxies, and nebulae right from your backyard. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned stargazer, this book makes navigating the night sky easy and rewarding.
Best Sellers
Our most popular book is great for young readers, or first-time stargazers who want the easiest-of-all guides to dozens of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters. Every page features a helpful “telescope view”, showing exactly how objects appear through a small telescope or binoculars.
The moon is our nearest neighbor in space, it's easy to find, and you don't have to go anywhere special to view it. Astronomer John A. Read has selected fifty of the best things to see — organized by the phases of the Moon. with each phase comes new craters, lunar seas, and jagged mountain ranges. This is the perfect book for a first-time stargazer who is curious about what is up there.
Explore planets, galaxies and nebulae from your own backyard! Easy to follow star maps and a "Telescope View" that shows how each object appears when viewed through a small telescope make this a practical guide for all stargazers. This book will help you: Choose the telescope that's right for your budget- Identify prominent stars and constellations - Explore the Moon and planets - View comets and asteroids and - So much more!
John A. Read covers everything needed to identify constellations, planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae and more. Inquisitive stargazers will find planet hunting and star hopping easy with clearly plotted routes and images of the sky both as seen by the naked eye and detailed views from a telescope. Many fascinating cosmic objects can be easily spotted with the help of this book including beautiful Cassiopeia, regal Leo, the plentiful Kemble's Cascade, the explosive Crab Nebula, the rings of Saturn — even the moon! This easy to read, fully illustrated reference book will enrich every young person's experience of the skies above.
*A Southern Hemisphere edition is also available.
A hands-on approach to learning the night sky! This workbook provides over fifty unique stargazing challenges, allowing you to track your progress and record your observations. Stargazers are encouraged to sketch what they see, from lunar craters to globular star clusters. Learn how to set up and focus any type of telescope, and align a finderscope. Simple exercises will help you calculate your telescope’s magnification, focal ratio, and more. This workbook is designed for any experience level, from the extreme beginner, to the seasoned astronomer looking for a new outreach tool. Whatever your background in astronomy, you’ll find something to love within these pages.
50 Things Story Series
Since the early days of spaceflight, there have been many incredible missions that have changed the world. The 50 featured in this collection include Voyager’s Grand Tour, Apollo 8 (the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon), the first woman in space and the first communication satellite that brought live television to the world. In the early days of space exploration, the focus was on military dominance. Today, most missions are peaceful, and require the collaboration of several different countries. This is an exciting time we are living in. Space history is unfolding right before our eyes!
Did you know that the first animals in space were fruit flies, or that a cat was launched on a rocket from Africa? Did you know about the five mice that orbited the Moon with Apollo 17? This book explores 50 animal voyages into space, with details about the science and technology involved. It provides a detailed historical account of space missions featuring snails, scorpions, newts, quails and more. Learn how biological systems develop in micro-gravity and how this knowledge helps researchers solve problems on Earth. Suitable for inquisitive readers from age seven and beyond!
This book tells young readers everything they want to know about life in space. With a focus on international collaboration, it details how men and women in space celebrate the holidays, watch the latest movies, go to sleep, call home, eat and drink, use the toilet and so much more.