Books that explain complexities of space to a regular person?

Submitted by TheHadalZone t3_z7wr3p in space

Hi all. I'm looking for educational books that explain the different concepts and objects of space to someone who has a very basic understanding of space. I'm most fascinated by spectroscopy, habitable zone, gravitational waves, and the physics of time.

All suggestions are welcome, but I'm also trying to find this one recent book that explained all the major concepts of space in simpler terms. Don't remember the title or the author but it was a buzzy book.

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rupyneupers t1_iy8iovr wrote

Astrophysics for people in a hurry is a great book from Neil degrasse Tyson

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Respawner33 t1_iy8jf01 wrote

Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagen

Its a true classic an manages to capture the complexities and bauties of space perfectly.

Furthermore, its really easy to read

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imaguitarhero24 t1_iy8ksn6 wrote

Not trying to be snarky since it’s not a book but Scott Manley on YouTube is excellent at explaining things and has many videos that explain basic concepts like orbital mechanics, staging, ground support, everything really. He’s also a great story teller with many space history stories as well, and he’s always good at explaining the scientific context and why innovations were so important for their time. This man alone took my space enthusiasm to the next level.

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BrooklynVariety t1_iy8lkgj wrote

> I'm most fascinated by spectroscopy,

Ha! As an astronomer and primarily a spectroscopist, this warms my heart, but it is definitely a case of "one of these things is not like the others".

Without going too technical on the subject, the main things I think you should learn about spectroscopy are:

  • Some basics on atomic physics, why we see discrete spectral lines from electronic transitions from different ions and molecules.
  • The difference between spectral lines and continuous emission processes, such as blackbody radiation, bremsstrahlung, etc.
  • Some basic radiative processes: where do we see these processes, what they look like, and what we can learn from an object based on these properties?
  • How does motion affect these features (redshift and blueshift)
  • Some basics of how spectrometers work.

I know its usually a bummer when someone recommends a textbook, but slightly more detailed spectroscopy is not really popular sci-comm. If I remember correctly, 21st century astronomy is a good entry-level textbook.

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TalkinAboutSound t1_iy8q17x wrote

A Brief History of Time is written very accessibly.

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RocketCello t1_iy9i4g3 wrote

Not exactly space, but very much space related: Ignition! An informal history of liquid rocket propellants, by John D Clark. It's a damn good book that explains complex topics in a way that anyone can understand, but with enough detail that you can learn from it. With, of course, plenty of stories of explosions (the book takes place from ~1890-1970, so for all the liquid fuels that have been tried in that time, most have blown up).

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Poorkiddonegood8541 t1_iy9nhhs wrote

Don't forget to look at YouTube. There are many vids by professors and other smart people that break things down to the very basics. Dr. Becky has become one of my favorites along with Sabine Hossenfelder and of course Neil deGrasse Tyson, etc. Most of their videos are short, 20-30 minutes, and they use simple words and concepts.

Good Luck!

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Relevantboi t1_iy9q7cv wrote

Cosmic queries by Neil D.T was a great read that put complex answers into mangable bites. Good humor thourought too, it was a very enjoyable read.

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baldartistdesign t1_iyay7fr wrote

any book by Neil degrasse Tyson. he's very good at condensing complicated space science so that a normy like me can understand

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Born_Employment405 t1_iyb9vtf wrote

I've been in GN&C for 20 years. The best book by far for entry level astrydynamics is Bate Muller White, Fundamentals of Astrodynamics. It's a paperback and it costs about $8 used. The math is the real deal and worth taking a look at (it's not for regular people). It was written to prep Airforce Academy grads in the wake of Sputnik. but if you ignore that and read the introduction of the sections it's an extraordinary background and foundation.

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Tricky-War1128 t1_iybc67q wrote

I liked Kip Thorne - Black Holes & Time Warps: Einstein’s outrageous legacy

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Forsaken_Attempt_773 t1_iyc763l wrote

The Three Body Problem, a Chinese sci-fi book brilliantly describes dimensions. Like the 4th demention, the 5th, etc.

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Forsaken_Attempt_773 t1_iyc7a54 wrote

The Three Body Problem, a brilliant Chinese science fiction book describes the fourth dimension, the fifth dimension, with regards to space travel and cosmology. Lots of Quantum stuff too.

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