Astronomy A Beginner's Guide to the Universe

by Chaisson, Eric; McMillan, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780134152110
• ISBN10: 0134152115
• Edition: 8th
• Copyright: 2016-01-28
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

For one-semester Introduction to Astronomy courses.

 

With the Eighth Edition of Astronomy: A Beginner’s Guide , trusted authors Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan bring a renewed freshness and analysis to recent changes in our understanding of the cosmos. As with the other two books in their Astronomy suite (one for two-semester courses and the other, a brief visual book), the authors continue to emphasize three major themes: the process of science, the size and scale of the universe, and the evolution of the cosmos. This new edition ignites reader interest with new discoveries from the latest space missions and a new focus on reader-oriented engagement.

 

Also available as a Pearson eText or packaged with Mastering Astronomy

 

Pearson eText is a simple-to-use, mobile-optimized, personalized reading experience that can be adopted on its own as the main course material. It lets students highlight, take notes, and review key vocabulary all in one place, even when offline. Seamlessly integrated videos and other rich media engage students and give them access to the help they need, when they need it. Educators can easily share their own notes with students so they see the connection between their eText and what they learn in class — motivating them to keep reading, and keep learning.

 

Mastering combines trusted author content with digital tools and a flexible platform to personalize the learning experience and improve results for each student.Built for, and directly tied to the text, Mastering Astronomy enables an extension of learning, allowing students a platform to practice, learn, and apply outside of the classroom.

 

Note: You are purchasing a standalone book; Pearson eText and Mastering Astronomy do not come packaged with this content. Students, ask your instructor for the correct package ISBN and Course ID. Instructors, contact your Pearson representative for more information.

 

If your instructor has assigned Pearson eText as your main course material, search for:

• 0135234433 / 9780135234433 Pearson eText Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe, 8/e-- Access Card    

OR
• 0135234425 / 9780135234426 Pearson eText Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe, 8/e -- Instant Access

 

If you would like to purchase both the physical text and Mastering Astronomy, search for:

0134054725 / 9780134054728     Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe Plus MasteringAstronomy with eText -- Access Card Package

Package consists of: 

• 0134060245 / 9780134060248     MasteringAstronomy with Pearson eText -- ValuePack Access Card -- for Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe
• 0134087704 / 9780134087702     Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe

Author Biography

Eric Chaisson holds a doctorate in astrophysics from Harvard University, where he spent 10 years on the faculty of Arts and Sciences. For more than two decades thereafter, he served on the senior science staff at the Space Telescope Science Institute and held various professorships at Johns Hopkins and Tufts universities. He is now back at Harvard, where he teaches and conducts research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Eric has written 12 books on astronomy and has published nearly 200 scientific papers in professional journals.

 

Steve McMillan holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics from Cambridge University and a doctorate in astronomy from Harvard University. He held postdoctoral positions at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, where he continued his research in theoretical astrophysics, star clusters, and high-performance computing. Steve is currently Distinguished Professor of Physics at Drexel University and a frequent visiting researcher at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study and Leiden University. He has published more than 100 articles and scientific papers in professional journals.

 

Table of Contents

I. FOUNDATIONS

0. Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy

1. The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science

2. Light and Matter: The Inner Workings of the Cosmos

3. Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy

 

II. OUR PLANETARY SYSTEM

4. The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets

5. Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard

6. The Terrestrial Planets: A Study in Contrasts

7. The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System

8. Moons, Rings, and Plutoids: Small Worlds Among Giants

 

III. THE STARS

9. The Sun: Our Parent Star

10. Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence

11. The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way

12. Stellar Evolution: The Lives and Deaths of Stars

13. Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

 

IV. GALAXIES AND THE UNIVERSE

14. The Milky Way Galaxy: A Spiral in Space

15. Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe

16. Hubble’s Law and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos

17. Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe

18. Life in the Universe: Are We Alone?