<p>I'm an undergrad software engineer but I also love physics and math. I'm starting to get going in AI/Machine Learning techniques and I'm going to use NASA data-sets to conduct analysis. However, I am not really acquainted with the pieces that make up the universe. This is a GIANT problem for me! I could browse wikipedia for hours but I don't think that would fit well with my way of learning in a linear fashion. I do not have any background in astronomy, so:</p>

<p>I realize this is probably a bit hard to answer but what book(s) should I read first? What should I read after that? What about after that etc...?</p>

<p>I love learning and am more than prepared to take the time to work my way through them. Thank you in advance!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-12T20:23:16.347Z
I saw your question yesterday and meant to sift through my books before work and list some of my personal recommendations (as well as why it is I recommend them), but it looks like I've failed. (I won't be able to write any answers for at least a couple days.) Just off the top of my head though, Carl Sagan's book [Pale Blue Dot](https://books.google.com/books/about/Pale_Blue_Dot.html?id=rTCr0H6sRSoC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button) is about where I started reading when I wanted to learn more about space exploration and astrophysics stuff.
BMF
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-12T23:09:35.957Z
Thank you! I'll leave this post up in case you decide to share more :) @BMFForMonica
ErlichBachman
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-13T04:21:52.227Z
Astronomy (with astrophysics) is a GIANT field. Will you need to know about how stars form, why there are spiral galaxies, supernovas, stellar nucleosynthesis, black holes, ... ?
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-13T08:06:09.057Z
I would love to know all of that, so your recommendations are more than welcome! I'm planning on using data to look at pulsars, black holes at the center of galaxies(supermassive blackholes?), the life of stars(also star clusters), exoplanets, calculating redshift, classifying galaxies into categories. This is just a short list of the data sets that I'm most interested in at the moment, however, my enthusiasm has a tendency to get the better of me so whatever I learn first will be what I focus on and then successively from there. I hope this helps clarify some things! :) @KeithMcClary
ErlichBachman
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-13T19:16:24.687Z
I only know what I read on [Bad Astronomy](https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.05068) and other science sites. Note, for example, that some of the authors of [The Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations project](https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.05068) , [PDF](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.05068.pdf)  are IT people. Also discussed in [Gizmodo](https://gizmodo.com/weird-vanishing-stars-could-potentially-be-aliens-st-1840486666) with mention of AI.
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-13T21:25:44.960Z
I'm always interested in searching for aliens I guess :-) haha thank you! @KeithMcClary
ErlichBachman
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-22T08:24:12.050Z
See answers to these questions https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/6412/requesting-book-references-for-a-non-expert-person-with-math-background-or-just/6417#6417 https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/2566/recommendation-for-introductory-cosmology-text https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/22756/what-should-i-read-next-after-neil-degrasse-tysons-astrophysics-for-people-in-a https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/16161/books-describing-first-hand-experience-of-astrophysicists-finding-planets-withou
usernumber
<observational-astronomy><universe><positional-astronomy>
What book(s) should I read to get started learning about astronomy?
ErlichBachman
# What book(s) should I read to get started learning about astronomy?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-02-12)

I'm an undergrad software engineer but I also love physics and math. I'm starting to get going in AI/Machine Learning techniques and I'm going to use NASA data-sets to conduct analysis. However, I am not really acquainted with the pieces that make up the universe. This is a GIANT problem for me! I could browse wikipedia for hours but I don't think that would fit well with my way of learning in a linear fashion. I do not have any background in astronomy, so:

I realize this is probably a bit hard to answer but what book(s) should I read first? What should I read after that? What about after that etc...?

I love learning and am more than prepared to take the time to work my way through them. Thank you in advance!

**Tags:** observational-astronomy, universe, positional-astronomy
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I saw your question yesterday and meant to sift through my books before work and list some of my personal recommendations (as well as why it is I recommend them), but it looks like I've failed. (I won't be able to write any answers for at least a couple days.) Just off the top of my head though, Carl Sagan's book [Pale Blue Dot](https://books.google.com/books/about/Pale_Blue_Dot.html?id=rTCr0H6sRSoC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button) is about where I started reading when I wanted to learn more about space exploration and astrophysics stuff.  
> **username_0**: Thank you! I'll leave this post up in case you decide to share more :) @BMFForMonica  
> **username_2**: Astronomy (with astrophysics) is a GIANT field. Will you need to know about how stars form, why there are spiral galaxies, supernovas, stellar nucleosynthesis, black holes, ... ?  
> **username_0**: I would love to know all of that, so your recommendations are more than welcome! I'm planning on using data to look at pulsars, black holes at the center of galaxies(supermassive blackholes?), the life of stars(also star clusters), exoplanets, calculating redshift, classifying galaxies into categories. This is just a short list of the data sets that I'm most interested in at the moment, however, my enthusiasm has a tendency to get the better of me so whatever I learn first will be what I focus on and then successively from there. I hope this helps clarify some things! :) @KeithMcClary  
> **username_2**: I only know what I read on [Bad Astronomy](https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.05068) and other science sites. Note, for example, that some of the authors of [The Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations project](https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.05068) , [PDF](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.05068.pdf)  are IT people. Also discussed in [Gizmodo](https://gizmodo.com/weird-vanishing-stars-could-potentially-be-aliens-st-1840486666) with mention of AI.  
> **username_0**: I'm always interested in searching for aliens I guess :-) haha thank you! @KeithMcClary  
> **username_3**: See answers to these questions https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/6412/requesting-book-references-for-a-non-expert-person-with-math-background-or-just/6417#6417 https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/2566/recommendation-for-introductory-cosmology-text https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/22756/what-should-i-read-next-after-neil-degrasse-tysons-astrophysics-for-people-in-a https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/16161/books-describing-first-hand-experience-of-astrophysicists-finding-planets-withou  

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## 0 answers

