Astronomy : A Beginner's Guide to the Universe

by Chaisson, Eric; McMillan, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780130873071
• ISBN10: 0130873071
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-07-01
• Publisher: PRENTICE HALL

Summary

A brief, introductory astronomy book designed for readers with little or no scientific background, "A Beginner's Guide" uses an exceptionally clear writing style. The authors present a broad view of astronomy without complex mathematics, yet the book discusses important concepts without simplification. The book's organization follows the popular and effective "Earth-Out" progression, starting with our planet and then moving through the solar system. A study of the Sun as a model star follows, then the book covers the Milky Way Galaxy, cosmology, and the universe as a whole. Because of its easy-to-read yet comprehensive coverage of astronomy, this book can serve as excellent reference material for those readers interested in learning about our universe. Personal Response System: Through a partnership with Interwrite PRS, this text is available with the PRS clicker system. The Instructor Resource Center on CD-ROM contains conceptual "clicker" questions in PowerPoint.

Table of Contents

PART ONE ASTRONOMY AND THE UNIVERSE
Prologue: Charting the Heavens	1	(22)
The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science	23	(20)
Light and Matter: The Inner Workings of the Cosmos	43	(28)
Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy	71	(28)
PART TWO OUR PLANETARY SYSTEM
The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets	99	(28)
Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard	127	(28)
The Terrestrial Planets: A Study in Contrasts	155	(28)
The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System	183	(24)
Moons, Rings, and Pluto: Small Worlds among Giants	207	(24)
PART THREE STARS AND STELLAR EVOLUTION
The Sun: Our Parent Star	231	(22)
Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence	253	(24)
The Interstellar Medium: Birthplace of Stars	277	(24)
Stellar Evolution: The Lives and Deaths of Stars	301	(26)
Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter	327	(24)
PART FOUR GALAXIES AND COSMOLOGY
The Milky Way Galaxy: A Grand Design	351	(26)
Normal Galaxies: The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe	377	(28)
Active Galaxies and Quasars: Limits of the Observable Universe	405	(26)
Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe	431	(24)
Life in the Universe: Are We Alone?	455