The Astronomical Society of Harrisburg

At each of our monthly meetings we include a "Book of the Month" segment where a member presents a short review of a book on some topic in Astronomy, Space Science, or anything that may be of interest to members of the society. If you have an idea for a book you would like to present, please contact the president to get your book on the schedule. Some of these books can be found in the ASH library (download catalog), but you must be a member to sign out books. If you intend to purchase a copy, please consider using amazon.com. Thanks to an affiliate account, ASH receives a percentage of all purchases that come through this website.

Amazon also sells Green Laser Pointers , a former gadget of the month, that is useful to point out constellations to the public at public events, but shouldn't be taken to starparties where everyone knows their constellations, and you could risk ruining astrophotography. This laser pointer is the type that has a CONTINUOUS beam, the best type of pointer to use for constellation pointing.

October, 2002 Parallax by Alan Hirshfeld
- A history of the race to measure stellar distances.
December, 2002 Project Orion by George Dyson
- The true story of a project to design and build a spacecraft powered by nuclear explosions.
January, 2003 Tracking Apollo to the Moon by Hamish Lindsay
- The Apollo mission from the perspective of Australian radio astronomers.
February, 2003 The New CCD Astronomy By Ron Wodaski
- The authoritative guide to CCD imaging!
February, 2003 Book #2 Dragonfly: Nasa and the Crisis Aboard Mir by Bryan Burrough
- The true story of what it was like to be aboard the Mir Space Station through its famed troubles!
March, 2003 Storms from the Sun: the Emerging Science of Space Weather by Carlowicz and Lopez
- A thourough examination of how our nearest star affects our planet.
April, 2003 Deep-Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects by Stephen James O'Meara
- A guide to this catalog of deep sky treasurers compiled by Sir Patrick Moore.
May, 2003 Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril by Timothy Ferris
- Learn about how Ferris was captivated by the night sky and the great wealth of information amateurs contribute to the science of astronomy!
June, 2003 Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook by Ian Ridpath
-- "Once in a blue moon a book appears to dramatically and forever change its subject; in short, the work becomes an indispensable resource for generations. "Norton's Star Atlas" is such a work".--Leif J. Robinson, Former Editor-in-Chief, "Sky & Telescope".

Sky Atlas 2000.0 2ed Deluxe Edition and the Sky Atlas 2000.0 Companion
- One of the better sets of star charts for owners of small telescopes.
The Observing Guide to the Messier Marathon by Don Machholz
Peterson Field Guide Stars and Planets
- The textbook for the ASH basic astronomy course.
Bad Astronomy by Philip C. Plait
- Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax"
A Planisphere
- It's not a book, but they are good to have
Guy Ottewell's Astronomical Calendar 2003
- A complete resource on the year's astronomical events.
Video Astronomy by Massey, Dobbins, and Douglass
- A complete guide to video astronomy.

Bookstore: