Synopses & Reviews
Discovering the Universe is the bestselling brief text for descriptive one-term astronomy courses (especially those with no mathematics prerequisites). Carried along by the book's vibrant main theme, "the process of scientific discovery," the Eighth Edition furthers the books legacy for presenting concepts clearly and accurately while providing all the pedagogical tools to make the learning process memorable.
Table of Contents
Preface
Part I Understanding Astronomy
1.Discovering the Night Sky
What If . . . Earths Axis Lay on the Ecliptic?
2. Gravitation and the Motion of the Planets
3. Light and Telescopes
What If . . . Humans Had Infrared-Sensitive Eyes?
4. Atomic Physics and Spectra Part II Understanding the Solar System
5. Formation of the Solar System and Other Planetary Systems
6. Earth and Moon
What If . . . The Moon Didnt Exist?
7. The Other Terrestrial Planets
8. The Outer Planets
What If . . . We Lived on a Metal-Poor Earth?
9. Vagabonds of the Solar System
10. The Sun: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Star
Part III Understanding the Stars
11. Characterizing Stars
12. The Lives of Stars from Birth Through Middle Age
What If . . .The Earth Orbited a 1.5 M Sun?
13. The Deaths of Stars
What If . . . A Supernova Exploded Near Earth?
14. Black Holes: Matters of Gravity
Part IV Understanding the Universe
15. The Milky Way Galaxy
16. Galaxies
What If . . . The Solar System Were Located Closer to the Center of the Galaxy?
17. Quasars and Other Active Galaxies
18. Cosmology
19. Astrobiology Appendices
Glossary
Answers to Margin Questions and Computational Questions
Index