03/28/01

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Astrogators

Links to various books and other resources on astronomy and astrophysics for science fiction writers and readers.

Welcome to the Astrogators' and Space Pilots' Resources Page

What is an astrogator? That is the person on a starship who navigates from one star to another. And just like the astrogators of the future, we science fiction writers have a unique problem that Earth-based astronomy never seems to solve. We really don't care where the stars are in the night skies of Earth. We are far more interested in where they are with respect to one another. After all, our starship captains don't want to stare at the damned things! They want to fly their ships from one star to another.

Sci Fi - Arizona partially filled the need in 1997 with the introduction of The Astrogator's Handbook, a look at the positions of the 300 closest stars as they would appear if viewed from the vicinity of Polaris, the North Star.

We will shortly be expanding this contribution to the science fiction universe when we publish the Sci Fi - Arizona Astrogator's Handbook, Expanded Edition. This volume will contain 3500 stars located in the cubical region of space that extends for 75 light-years in all directions around Sol. There are so many stars, in fact, that we have to plot them on 63 separate maps just to make the information readable. Watch for it.

In addition to our own resources, this section has links to books by other authors that will help you in finding your way around your fictional universe.

Resources for Astrogators and Space Pilots
Illustration	Price	Book and Author	Remarks
	FREE	Sci Fi - Arizona Astrogator's Handbook by Michael McCollum	Maps and information regarding the closest 300 stars as viewed from galactic north.
	$12.50	Sci Fi - Arizona Astrogator's Handbook, Expanded Edition by Michael McCollum and Jordan Hartnett	Maps and information regarding the closest 3500 stars as viewed from galactic north. The book includes 60 pages of instructions, 7 overview maps, 63 quadrant maps, and 120 pages of supporting tables. DON'T LEAVE SOL WITHOUT IT!
	$17.75	Astronomical Formulae for Calculators by Jean H. Meeus Our Price: Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours.
	$10.36	Fundamentals of Astrodynamics by Roger R. Bate, Jerry E. White, Donald Mueller	I used this book as an orbital mechanics text book in 1969. It is still the primary text book for teaching the subject. (Michael McCollum)
	$24.95	Fundamentals of Celestial Mechanics by J.M.A. Danby 0943396204	"Great textbook on celestial mechanics. A classic." - Amazon Review.
	$7.96	Introduction to Space Dynamics by William Tyrrell Thomson	A book on orbital mechanics.
	$24.95	Mathematical Astronomy Morsels by Jean Meeus	Outstanding description of rare astronomical events If you are interested in observational astronomy, this book is for you. Its extensive listing and description of the rarest alignments, conjuctions, occulations, eclipses, transits, etc., are embodied under one cover. Written with clarity that grade 10 or higher can easily understand. A must have library addition!
	$24.95	Methods of Orbit Determination for the Microcomputer by Dan L. Boulet	This title usually ships within 4-6 weeks.
	$13.56	Practical Astronomy With Your Calculator by Peter J. Duffett-Smith	The third edition includes sections on generalized coordinate transformations, nutations, abberation, and selenographic coordinates. Improvements have been made to the sunrise and moonrise calculations, and the page size has been increased to enhance the clarity of presentation. No bibliography.

Page Last Edited on December 25, 1999

Copyright © 1999-2000 by Sci Fi - Arizona, All Rights Reserved

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