Voyages to the Stars and Galaxies (with CD-ROM, Virtual Astronomy Labs, and InfoTrac)

by Fraknoi, Andrew; Morrison, David; Wolff, Sidney C.

• ISBN13: 9780534395667
• ISBN10: 053439566X
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-08-14
• Publisher: Cengage Learning

Summary

VOYAGES TO THE STARS AND GALAXIES provides students and professors with the ideal combination of authors and experience. It is written by an award-winning astronomy educator (Fraknoi) and two distinguished research scientists (Morrison at NASA and Wolff at NOAO). This author team combines the latest science with classroom-tested teaching strategies and a student-friendly approach. Through unique group activities and a focus on astronomy as a human endeavor, the authors engage and involve students, helping them both understand and enjoy astronomy. The market-leading technology package includes access to InfoTrac®College Edition (free!) and TheSky Student Edition CD-ROM (free!), as well as an optional package with the RedShift College Edition CD-ROM (including animations) along with an accompanying workbook.

Table of Contents

Preface for the Student

Preface for the Instructor

Prologue: Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour

1. Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy

2. Orbits and Gravity

3. Earth, Moon, and Sky

4. Radiation and Spectra

5. Astronomical Instruments

6. The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star

7. The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse

8. Analyzing Starlight

9. The Stars: A Celestial Census

10. Celestial Distances

11. Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space

12. The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets Outside the Solar System

13. Stars: From Adolescence to Old Age

14. The Death of Stars

15. Black Holes and Curved Spacetime

16. The Milky Way Galaxy

17. Galaxies

18. Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Giant Black Holes

Interlude: The Mystery of the Gamma-Ray Bursts

19. The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies

20. The Big Bang

21.Life in the Universe

Appendices: 1. Astronomy on the World Wide Web

2. Sources of Astronomical Information

3. Glossary

4. Powers-of-Ten Notation

5. Units Used in Science

6. Some Useful Constants for Astronomy

7. Data for the Planets

8. Selected Satellites of the Planets

9. Upcoming (Total) Eclipses

10. The Nearest Stars

11. The Brightest Stars

12. The Brightest Members of the Local Group of Galaxies

13. The Chemical Elements

14. The Constellations

15. The Messier Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters

Index

Star Maps