annieb123's Review of Yearbook of Astronomy 2022

by Brian Jones

The Yearbook of Astronomy 2022 is the Diamond Jubilee edition of this iconic publication, the annual appearance of which has been eagerly anticipated by astronomers, both amateur and professional, ever since this invaluable book first appeared in 1962\. As the preface to the 1962 edition informed its readers, the post-war years had seen a tremendous growth of interest in astronomy and space research. Doubtless fuelled by the dawn of the Space Age, the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 marked a significant change in the course of history. This epoch-making event, coupled with the subsequent flights of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (April 1961) and American astronaut Alan Shepard (May 1961), served to engender a public interest in astronomy and space that has continued to grow and expand to this day.

Maintaining its appealing style and presentation, the Yearbook of Astronomy 2022 contains comprehensive jargon-free monthly sky notes and an authoritative set of sky charts to enable backyard astronomers and sky gazers everywhere to plan their viewing of the year's eclipses, comets, meteor showers and minor planets as well as detailing the phases of the Moon and visibility and locations of the planets throughout the year. To supplement all this is a variety of entertaining and informative articles, a feature for which the Yearbook of Astronomy is known. In the 2022 edition the reader is presented with articles covering a wide range of topics including A History of the Amateur Astronomical Society: 1962 to 2022; Expanding Cosmic Horizons; Frank Drake and His Equation; Remote Telescopes; Skies Over Ancient America and others.

The Yearbook of Astronomy continues to be essential reading for anyone lured and fascinated by the magic of astronomy. It remains an inspiration to amateur and professional astronomers alike, and warrants a place on the bookshelf of all stargazers and watchers of the Universe.

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Yearbook of Astronomy 2022 is the 60th annual edition of the series, curated and edited by Brian Jones. Due out 30th Oct 2021 from Pen & Sword on their White Owl imprint, it's 352 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is the diamond jubilee edition of this amazing perennial resource. It's built on a no-nonsense, useful, and familiar format. A forward and introduction are followed by recommendations for using and getting the most out of the book. The following star charts, which comprise roughly 15% of the content, are split into charts for the northern and southern hemisphere. Following the charts, there's a short section with dates and data for moon phases and eclipse info and best viewing areas.

The bulk of the yearbook (as in previous years) is taken up by the monthly sky notes and articles. I really love that the 'meat' of these yearbooks are accessible and interesting to a broad range of users, from amateurs to academics. It's a very inclusive, well (and entertainingly) written guide for everyone.

Following the monthly sky notes are the articles whose author list reads like a who's who from Astronomy, Popular Astronomy, Astronomy FM, etc etc. Contributors include Neil Haggath, John McCue, Rod Hine, David H. Levy, Damian Peach (with whose gorgeous photography many readers will be familiar even if they don't know that they know his work), and many others.

Practical, well written, inclusive and classic, it's a worthy successor to a long line of Astronomy Yearbooks.

Personal confession. Some of my best memories are going out (with a homemade redlight) with my dad to look up at the stars. He gave me a lifelong love of and joy in learning and an appreciation for physics and astronomy particularly. I'm overjoyed that my dad lived long enough to know that my daughter, his granddaughter has gone on to study astrophysics and pursue a career as an astrophysicist.
I'm very happy and thankful that Pen and Sword picked up the publication for the Astronomy Yearbook and continue to offer it to enthusiasts worldwide.

I would encourage everyone to get outside and look up at our beautiful and amazing night sky.

Five stars, plus nostalgia value

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

Yearbook of Astronomy 2022

by Brian Jones

Reviewed by annieb123 on Sep 12, 2021

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