The Joan Thomas Library

The Society maintains, for use by members, an extensive Library of astronomical books.

In 2015, our then Librarian, Joan Thomas, passed away. Joan was passionate about books and every volume in the Library was treated with the utmost respect. A member of the Society for over 20 years, Joan was also responsible for looking after and putting up overnight our guest speakers who would always agree to return and request that they stay over at Joan's. She was also heavily involved with local and national "light pollution" issues. The Society Committee has agreed unanimously that the Library should be known as The Joan Thomas Library as a mark of our deep respect for all that Joan did for the Cardiff Astronomical Society.

The Library Catalogue can be accessed via this link. As you can see, the items have been divided according to subject to make browsing a bit easier.

The Library is located in a side room off the lecture room at the Cardiff University Department of Physics and Astronomy in which the Society holds its fortnightly talks. The Library is usually open for at least half an hour prior to the talks and for a short period afterwards.

Items can be borrowed - by paid-up members only - for an initial period of two calendar months but the loan period can be extended upon request to the current Librarian, Peter Crabb (peterwcrabb@gmail.com) provided that no other member has asked to borrow the item.

Finally, the Society is happy to receive donated books from members and we would also welcome reviews from members of books they have borrowed and enjoyed.














































































































































































































































































































































TITLEAUTHORYEAR
Atlases  
Atlas of the Heavens- Atlas Coeli 1950Antonio Becvar1962
Elger's Map of the MoonH.P.Wilkins1959
Philip's Moon Map 1990
Star ClustersB A Archinal S J Hynes2003
Starlist 2000 Quick Ref Star CatalogueRichard Dibon-Smith2000
The Atlas of MercuryCharles Across & Patrick Moore1977
The Atlas of the UniversePatrick Moore1970
The Night Sky Observer's Guide Vol 1: Autumn & WinterG R Kepple & G W Sanner2000
The Night Sky Observer's Guide Vol 2: Spring & SummerG R Kepple & G W Sanner2002
The Photographic Atlas of the StarsHJP Artnold P Doherty P Moore1999
The Stargazer's HandbookGiles Sparrow2007
Variable Stars -Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's HandbookEd. K G Jones1990
Biographical  
A Journey with Fred Hoyle The Search for Cosmic LifeChandra Wickramasinghe2005
Carl Sagan A LifeKeay Davidson1999
Edwin Hubble. Mariner of the nebulaeGale E Christianson1995
Einstein for BeginnersJ Schwartz & M McGuinness1992
Einstein in 90 minutesJohn & Mary Cribbin1997
England's Leonardo: Robert Hooke & the 17th Century Scientific RevolutionAllan Chapman2005
Explorers of SpacePatrick Moore1986
Fred Hoyle. A Life in ScienceSimon Mitton2005
From Copernicus to EinsteinHans Reichenbach1970
Jeremiah Horrocks - young genius & first Venus transit observerPaul Marston2004
John Glenn A MemoirJogn Glen & Nick Taylor1999
Longitude - The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His TimeDava Sobel1996
Miss Leavitt's StarsGeorge Johnson2005
Newton's GiftDavid Berlinski2000
Patrick Moore The AutobiographyPatrick Moore2003
Richard Feynman - A Life in ScienceJohn Gribbin and Mary Gribbin1998
Searching the Stars. The story of Caroline HerschelM B Ogilvie2008
Space has no Frontier The terrestrial life& Times of Bernard LovellJ Bromey-Dacvenport2013
Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" - A Reader's CompanionEd: Stephen Hawking Prepared by Gene Stone1992
Stephen Hawking A Life in ScienceM White & J Gribbin1992
Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman!Richard P Feynman1985
The Age of WonderRichard Holmes2008
CDs  
Atlas of the Solar SystemPeter Grossi etc2004
CD-3D Atlas of MarsXamba Software Ltd2001
CD-Solar System ExplorerKnowledge1996
Introducing Chandra & The X-ray Universe 2007
Various "Sky At Night" CDsBBC2010
Cosmology  
Ancient Light. Our Changing View of the UniverseAlan Lightman1991
Big Bang The most important scientific discovery of all time etcSimon Singh2004
Black HolesJ P Luminet1992
Bubbles, voids and bumps in time - the new cosmologyEd. James Cornell1989
Companion to the CosmosJohn Gribbin1997
Cosmic CatastrophesJ Craig Wheeler2000
Cosmic Imagery - Key Images in the History of ScienceJohn D Barrow2008
Cosmos - The infographic book of spaceStuart Lowe & Chris North2015
Dark Side of the Universe - Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the Fate of the CosmosIain Nicolson2007
Einstein's Greatest Blunder?Donald Goldsmith1995
Just Six NumbersMartin Rees1999
Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos - the Quest for the Secret of the UniverseDennis Overbye1993
Man and the CosmosGerald E Tauber1979
Masks of the Universe - Changing Ideas on the Nature of the CosmosEdward Harrison2003
Masters of TimeJohn Boslough1992
Matter, Dark Matter and Anti-MatterAlain Mazure & Vincent Le Brun2012
Our Cosmic HabitatMartin Rees2001
RedshiftStuart Clark1997
Relativity and Cosmology 2nd EditionWilliam J Kaufman III1977
Stardust - the cosmic recycling of stars, planets and peopleJohn Gribbin2001
The Alchemy of the Heavens (2 copies)Ken Croswell1996
The Artful Universe ExpandedJohn D Barrow2005
The Big Bang TheoryKaren C Fox2002
The Big QuestionsStuart Clark2012
The Birth of Time - How We Measured The Age Of The UniverseJohn Gribbin1999
The Cosmic OnionFrank Close1983
The CosmosTime Life1988
The Dark Matter - The Quest for the Mass Hidden in our UniverseW&K Tucker1988
The Edge of InfinityPaul Davies1994
The Elegant Universe - Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions and the Quest for the Ultimate TheoryBrian Greene1999
The Last Three Minutes.Paul Davies1994
The Magic FurnaceMarcus Chown1999
The Nature of the Universe (A Series of Broadcast Lectures)Fred Hoyle1950
The New World of Mr TompkinsGamow & Stannard1999
The Origin of the UniverseJohn D Barrow1994
The Stuff of the Universe - Dark Matter, Mankind and the Coincidences of CosmologyJohn Gribbin & Martin Rees1990
To See the Face of GodJonathon Davies2008
Towards the Edge of the UniverseStuart Clark1997
Wrinkles in TimeGeorge Snoot & Keay Davidson1995
Encyclopaedia  
Collins Dictionary of AstronomyDaintith and Gould2006
Oxford Illustrated EncyclopediaMisc1993
Space EncyclopediaHeather Cooper & Nigel Henbest1999
The Astronomy EncyclopaediaEd. Patrick Moore1989
The Canopus Encyclopedia of AstronomyEd. P Murdin & M Penston2004
The Icon Critical Dictionary of the New CosmologyEd: Peter Coles1998
Evolution  
Astrophysics I: StarsR Bowers & T Deeming1984
Astrophysics II: Interstellar Matter and GalaxiesR Bowers & T Deeming1984
Colliding Galaxies The Universe in TurmoilBarry Parker1990
GalaxiesOpen University1994
Stellar EvolutionA J Meadows1982
Structure and Evolution of GalaxiesEd: Giancarlo Setti1974
Supernova The violent death of a starDonald Goldsmith1990
The Classification of StarsC Jaschek & M Jaschek1990
General  
A Brief History of TimeStephen Hawking1988
Afterglow of Creation - From the Fireball to the Discovery of Cosmic RipplesMarcus Chown1993
AstronomicaProfessor Patrick Moore2007
AstronomyIain Nicolson1974
Astronomy for DummiesStephen P Maran2005
Astronomy. A Beginner's Guide to the Sky at NightPaul Sutherland2007
Astronomy. A Self-teaching Guide.Dinal L Moche1993
At Home in the Universe - The Search for Laws of ComplexityStuart Kauffman1995
Between Inner Space and Outer SpaceJohn D Barrow2000
CosmosCarl Sagan1981
Dust - A History of the Small & the InvisibleJoseph A Amato2000
First Light - The Search for the Edge of the UniverseRichard Preston1991
First Magnitude - A book of the Bright SkyJames B Kaler2013
Foundations of AstronomyMichael A Seeds1990
Galileo's Finger - the Ten Great Ideas of SciencePeter Atkins2003
Hothouse Earth - the Greenhouse Effect & GaiaJohn Gribbin1990
Introductory AstronomyKeith Holliday1998
Letts Pocket Guide to Stars & PlanetsP Forey & C Fitzsimons1991
Nothing: From absolute zero to cosmic oblivion - amazing insights into nothingnessEd: Jeremy Webb2013
Observing the Deep Sky - an astronomer's companionDaren Bushnall2005
Other Worlds - Space, Superspace and the Quantum UniversePaul Davies1988
Patrick Moore's Astronomy Quiz BookPatrick Moore1987
Secrets of SpaceAnthony Feldman1980
Space - Discover the UniverseMiles Kelly2012
SpacewatchingBurnham, Dyer, Garfinkle, George etc1998
Teach Yourself Astronomy with Patrick MoorePatrick Moore1995
The Book of NothingJohn D Barrow2000
The Case of the Missing Neutrinos and other curious phenomena of the UniverseJohn Gribbin2000
The Cosmic BlueprintPaul Davies1989
The Cosmic Microwave BackgroundRhodri Evans 2015
The Dynamic Universe - an introduction to astrnomy, 4th editionTheodore P Snow1991
The Emperor's New MindRoger Penrose1989
The End of ScienceJohn Horgan1996
The Exploding UniverseNigel Henbest1979
The Guide to the GalaxyHenbest and Cooper1994
The London Planetarium  
The Natural History of the UniverseColin A Ronan1991
The Pocket Guide to AstronomyIan Ridpath1990
The Rough Guide to the UniverseJohnScalzi2003
The Secret Life of Dust From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Counter etcHannah Holmes2001
The Universe in a NutshellStephen Hawking2001
The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy and MathematicsEd: Timothy Ferris1991
Universe, 6th editionKaufmann & Freedman2002
What's New in SpacePatrick Moore1982
Historic  
A Treatise on AstronomyHugh Godfray1886
Dust - A History of the Small & the InvisibleJoseph A Amato2000
Foundations of AstronomyW M Smart1965
Guide de l'Ouvrier en Verres d'Optique de PrecisionColonel Charles Deve1930
In Starry RealmsSir Robert S Ball1892
L'Evolution de l'Astronomie ModernePierre Busco1912
New Handbook of the HeavensBernard Bennett Rice1948
Popular Lectures on Scientific SubjectsSir John F W Herschel1895
Recent Advances in AstronomyAlfred H.Fison1898
Science News 19ED: J L Crammer1951
Star-LandSir Robert S. Ball1893
Telescopic Work for Starlight EveningsW.F.Denning1891
The Cardiff City Telescope (2 copies)Arthur Mee1906
The Expanding Universe (in transparent folder)Sir Arthur Eddington1941
The Expanding UniverseSir Arthur Eddington1933
The Living UniverseJ D Hebwynd & V A Rytov1963
The Milky WayBart J Bok & Priscilla F Bok1946
The Mysterious UniverseSir James Jeans1931
The Nature of the UniverseFred Hoyle1950
The Stars in their CoursesSir James Jeans1931
The Story of the Heavens (2 copies)Sir Robert Stawell Ball1891
The Story of the HeavensSir Robert Ball1913
The TelescopeLouis Bell1922
The TelescopeSir John Herschel1861
Violent UniverseNigel Calder1973
History  
Astronomy before the TelescopeEd: Christopher Walker1996
Gods in the Sky. Astronomy form the Ancients to the RenaissanceAllan Chapman2001
Lunatick Astronomy. The Astronomical Activities of the Lunar Society (2 copies)Andrew P B Lound2008 & 2009
Measuring the UniverseKitty Ferguson1999
Newton and the CounterfeiterThomas Levenson2009
Parallax - The race to measure the CosmosAlan W Hirshfeld2001
Patrick Moore's Millennium YearbookPatrick Moore & Allan Chapman2000
Star Names - Their Lore and MeaningR Hincklay Allen2005
StarseekersColin Wilson1980
Stonehenge Neolithic Man and the CosmosJohn North1996
The Age of Science - What Scientists Learned in the Twentieth CenturyGerard Piel2001
The Book Nobody Read - in pursuit of revolutions of CopernicusOwen Gingerich2004
The Cambridge Concise History of AstronomyEd Michael Hoskin1999
The Dance of Time - The Origins of the CalendarMichael Judge2004
The Story of Jodrell BankBernard Lovell1968
The Sun KingsStuart Clark2007
Life  
Cosmic Dragons Life and Death on our PlanetChandra Wickramasinghe2001
Deep Simplicity - Chaos, Complexity and the Emergence of LifeJohn Gribbin2004
Extraterrestrial IntelligenceHeidman0
Other Worlds. The search for life in the universe.Michael Lemonick1998
Rare Earth. Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the UniversePeter Ward , Donald Brownlee2000
The Origin of LifePaul Davies2003
Where Is Everybody? The search for Extra Terrestrial IntelligenceEdward Ashpole1989 revis
Observational  
Astronomical PhotometryA Henden & R H Kaitchuck1990
Astrophotography for the AmateurMichael Covington1991
A Walk through the HeavensMilton D Heifetz and Wil Tirion1996
Binocular AstronomyG.Crossen & W Trion2008
Challenges of Astronomy. Hands-on Experiments for the Sky & LaboratorySchlosser, Schmidt-Kaler & Milone1994
Philip's Dark Skies MapBAA CfDS2004
Deep Sky ObservingSteven R.Coe2000
Exploring the Night Sky with BinocularsPatrick Moore1986
Field Guide to the Deep Sky ObjectsMike Inglis2001
How to Observe the Sun SafelyLee Macdonald2002
Introduction to Digital AstrophotographyRobert Reeves2006
Light Pollution Responses and RemediesBob Mizon2002
New Astronomy. The Practical Guide to the Skills & Techniques of SkywatchingCarole Stott1999
Night Scenes - Guide to Simple AstrophotographyPaul Money2012
Night Scenes - 2015Paul Money2015
Night Sky Northern HemisphereStorm Dunlop2008
Observing the ConstellationsJohn Sanford1989
Philip's Dark Skies MapBAA CfDS2004
Pocket Guide to Stars and PlanetsEd: Martin Wace1998
Practical Astronomy - A User-friendly Handbook for Sky WatchersH Robert Mills1994
SkywatchingDavy Levy1994
Solar Observing TechniquesChris Kitchen2001
The Guide to Amateur AstronomyJ Newton & P Teece1995
The Messier AlbumMallas & Kreimer1978
The Modern Amateur AstronomerEd: Patrick Moore1995
The Monthly Sky GuideIan Ridpath & Wil Tirion1996 & 1997
The Observer's Guide to Astronomy Vol 1Ed. Patrick Martinez1994
The Observer's Guide to Astronomy Vol 2Ed. Patrick Martinez1994
The Observer's Sky AtlasE.Karkoschka 2nd editn1998
The Skywatcher's HandbookColin A Ronan1985
The Stars - The Starry SkyPatrick Moore1994
Turn Left at Orion. A hundred night sky objects to see in a small telescope and how to find themGuy Consolmagno & Dan M Davis1989
Viewing and Imaging the Solar System - A Guide for Amateur AstronomersJane Clark2015
Oddments  
Extraterrestrials - Where are they?Ed Zuckerman and Hart1995
I'r Lleuad a Thu HwntEirwen Gwynn1964
Keeper of Genesis - The quest for the hidden legacy of mankindG.Bauval & G.Hancock1996
The Meaning of It AllRichard P Feynman1998
Physics  
ABC of RelativityBertrand Russell1958
Einstein's MirrorTony Hey and Patrick Walters1997
Einstein's Theory of RelativityMax Born1962
In Search of Schrodinger's Cat - Quantum Physics and RealityJohn Gribbin1996
In Search of SUSY - Supersymmetry and the Theory of EverythngJohn Gribbin1998
Physics: A World ViewLarry D Kirkpatrick & Gregory E FrancisThomson Learning Inc2004
Quarks - The Stuff of MatterHarold Fritzsch1983
QED - the Strange Theory of Light and MatterRichard P Feynman1990
Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for RealityJohn Gribbin1996
Supersymmetry and BeyondGordon Kane2013
The Fabric of the CosmosBrian Greene2004
The Matter Myth - Beyond Chaos and ComplexityPaul Davies & John Gribbin1992
The New PhysicsEd: Paul Davies1992
Turbulent Mirror - Guide to chaos and the science of wholenessBriggs & Peat1990
Pictures  
A concise Guide to the Stars & PlanetsDuncan John2006
A Journey Through Time - Exploring the Universe with the Hubble Space TelescopeJ Barbree & M Caidin1995
Cosmic Butterfies. The Colorful Mysteries of Planetary NebulaeSun Knowk2001
GalaxiesEd: Gillian Moore1988
GalaxiesTimothy Ferris1980
Hubble - the mirror on the universeRobin Kerrod2003
Images of the CosmosJones, Lambourne & Rothery1990
The Amazing UniverseHerbert Friedman1975
The Night SkyEd Cloutman2013
Universe - A Journey from Earth to the centre of the CosmosNicolas Cheetham2006
Visions of HeavenTom Wilkie & Mark Rosselli1998
Solar System  
Arctic LightsTromso Museum2005
Astrophysics of the SunHarold Zirin1987
Aurora - The Northern Lights in Mythology, History & ScienceHarold Falck-Ytter1999
Beginner's Guide to the SunP.O.Taylor&N.Hendrickson1995
CometCarl Sagan Ann Druyan1997
Comets - Creators and DestroyersDavid H.Levy1998
Comets - Culture and CatastropheProf Wickramasinghe1998
Discovering the Solar SystemBarrie W.Jones1999
Extrasolar PlanetsStuart Clark1998
Feynman's Lost Lecture - the Motion of Planets around the SunDavid L Goodstein and Judith R Goodstein1997
Guide to the PlanetsPatrick Moore1971
Mars - the Next Frontier (Into Soace 5!)Sir Patrick Moore2003
JupiterG Hunt & Patrick Moore1981
Lifting Titan's VeilR Lorenz & J Mitton2002
Mars - the Inside Story of the Red PlanetHeather Cooper & Nigel Henbest2001
Mars - the Next Frontier (Into Soace 5!)Sir Patrick Moore2003
Marswalk OneD J & M D Shayler & A Salmon2005
Meteorites and their Parent PlanetsHarry Y McSween Jr.1999
Meteotites - The Key to Our ExistenceNat History Museum 
Partrick Moore on MarsPatrick Moore1999
Philip's Moon Observer's GuidePeter Grego2003
Sunquakes. Probing the Interior of the SunJ B Zirker2003
The atlas of the Solar SystemPatrick Moore, Iain Nicolson etc1990
The Aurora. An introduction for observers and photographersJ Henderson&J MacNicol1997
The Book of the MoonRick Stroud2009
The Cosmogony of the Solar SystemFred Hoyle1978
The Galaxy and the Solar SystemEd: Smoluchowski, Bahcall & Matthews1986
The Neptune FileTom Standage2000
The new solar system 4th editionEd Beatty Perterson Chaikin1999
The Real Mars. Spirit Opportunity etcMichael Hanlon2004
The SunIain Nicolson1982
The Sun - A biographyDavid Whitehouse2005
VenusPatrick Moore1988
Volcanoes of the Solar SystemCharles Frankel1996
Wanderers in space  
Space Programme  
A History of Space Flight (Countdown)T A Heppenheimer1997
Colonies in SpaceT A Heppenheimer1977
Computers in Space. Journeys with NasaTomayko 
Creating the International Space StationHarland & Catchpole2002
Disasters and Accidents in Manned SpaceflightDavid Shayler2000
How Spacecraft Fly. Spaceflight without FormulaeGraham Swinerd2008
Into the Black - The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle and the Men Who Flew HerRowland White2016
Lunar Rover - Owners' Workshop ManualRiley, Woods & Dolling2012
Moon DustAndrew Smith2006
Nasa's Voyager Missions, Exploring the Solar SystemBen Evans2003
Reaching for the stars. An illustrated history of manned spaceflightPeter Bond1998
Skylab America's Space StationDavid J.Shayler2001
Solar System LogAndrew Wilson1987
Space . The next 100 yearsNicholas Booth 
Space Exploration - Discover the space that surrounds our world etcCarole Stott1997
Space is a Funny PlaceColin Pillinger etc2007
Sputnick to Space ShuttleIan Nicholson1982
The Giant LeapAdrian Berry2000
Tracking Apollo to the MoonHamish Lindsay2001
Two Sides of the Moon - Our Story of the Cold War Space RaceDavid Scott & Alexei Leonov2005
We Have CaptureThomas P.Stafford2002
Telescopes  
Astronomical Equipment for AmateursMartin Mobberley1999
Astronomical Telescopes and Observatories for AmateursPatrick Moore?
Astronomy through the telescope: the 500-year history of the Instruments, the Inventors and their DiscoveriesRichard Learner1982
Care of Astronomical Telescopes and AccessoriesM Barlow Pepin2005
Eyes on the UniverseIsaac Asimov1976
Royal Greenwich ObservatoryScience Research Council1975
Small Astronomical ObservatoriesEd: Patrick Moore1996
Telescopes and techniquesC.R.Kitchin1995
The Adjustment & Testing of Telescope ObjectivesT Cooke & Sons1921
The Sun and the Amateur AstronomerW.M.Baxter1973
Using a Telescope (Getting Started in Astronomy)Tony Williams1998