Pathways to Astronomy

by SCHNEIDER

• ISBN13: 9780077401832
• ISBN10: 0077401832
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-10-06
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math

Summary

Pathways to Astronomybreaks down introductory astronomy into its component parts. The huge and fascinating field of astronomy is divided into 84 units. These units are woven together to flow naturally for the person who wants to read the text like a book, but it is also possible to assign them in different orders, or skip certain units altogether. Professors can customize the units to fit their course needs. They can select individual units for exploration in lecture while assigning easier units for self-study, or they can cover all the units in full depth in a content-rich course. With the short length of units, students can easily digest the material covered in an individual unit before moving onto the next unit.Pathways to Astronomyoffers the most complete technology media support package available. That technology media package includes: Starry Night Planetarium Software; ARIS (text web site providing a complete online electronic homework and course management system); 23 Interactives (on ARIS); Animations (on ARIS). Electronic Media Integration has been incorporated throughout the text by the use of icons to indicate where additional understanding can be gained through an animation or interactive.

Table of Contents

Preface

Looking Up Illustrations

The Cosmic Landscape

Our Planetary Neighborhood

Beyond the Solar System

Astronomical Numbers

Foundations of Astronomy

The Night Sky

The Year

The Time of Day

Lunar Cycles

Calendars

Geometry of the Earth, Moon, and Sun

Planets: The Wandering Stars

The Beginnings of Modern Astronomy

Observing the Sky

Probing Matter, Light, And Their Interaction

Astronomical Motion: Inertia, Mass, and Force

Force, Acceleration, and Interaction

The Universal Law of Gravity

Measuring a Body’s Mass Using Orbital Motion

Orbital and Escape Velocities

Tides

Conservation Laws

Light, Matter, and Energy

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Thermal Radiation

Atomic Spectra: Identifying Atoms by Their Light

The Doppler Shift

Detecting Light

Collecting Light

Focusing Light

Telescope Resolution

The Earth’s Atmosphere and Space Observatories

Amateur Astronomy

The Solar System

The Structure of the Solar System

The Origin of the Solar System

Other Planetary Systems

The Earth as a Terrestrial Planet

Earth's Atmosphere and Hydrosphere

Our Moon

Mercury

Venus

Mars

Asteroids

Comparative Planetology

Jupiter and Saturn

Uranus and Neptune

Satellite Systems and Rings

Ice Worlds, Pluto, and Beyond

Comets

Impacts on Earth

Stars And Stellar Evolution

The Sun, Our Star

The Sun’s Source of Power

Solar Activity

Surveying the Stars

Special Relativity

Light and Distance

The Temperatures and Compositions of Stars

The Masses of Orbiting Stars

The Sizes of Stars

The H-R Diagram

Overview of Stellar Evolution

Star Formation

Main-Sequence Stars

Giant Stars

Variable Stars

Mass Loss and Death of Low-Mass Stars

Exploding White Dwarfs

Old Age and Death of Massive Stars

Neutron Stars

Black Holes

Star Clusters

Galaxies And The Universe

Discovering the Milky Way

Stars of the Milky Way

Gas and Dust in the Milky Way

Mass and Motions in the Milky Way

A Universe of Galaxies

Types of Galaxies

Galaxy Clustering

Active Galactic Nuclei

Dark Matter

Cosmology

The Edges of the Universe

The Beginnings of the Universe

The Fate of the Universe

Astrobiology

The Search for Life Elsewhere

Glossary

Answers to Test Yourself Questions

Credits

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.