Synopses & Reviews
VOYAGES THROUGH THE UNIVERSE 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 Media Update features the latest research and most recent discoveries since the original publication of the third edition, including the first pictures from the Huygens landing on Titan, the latest results from the Mars Exploration Rovers, and an updated section about extra solar planets. Automatically packaged at no additional cost with every new copy of the text, AceAstronomy, Virtual Astronomy Labs, and TheSky? Planetarium Software CD-ROM, the Media Update provides the strongest package of interactive learning tools available for students of astronomy today.
Review
"This text is rather unique. The authors have written in a manner that is very accessible. The typical student of today is significantly different from those of 15 or 20 years ago, and this text is a significant step toward addressing the needs of those students."
Review
"I think the strength of this text is that it is very well-written in a voice that is non-intimidating, which is very good when trying to teach, especially students without much background in science or math (like ours)."
Review
"I like the illustrations and diagrams in Fraknoi. I find that other texts work very hard on establishing a graphic style but seem to do so at the expense of content. Others seem to want to cram too much into a page. I find that Fraknoi's balance of text, graphics and layout is at a very appropriate level." "...Voyages compares very well with other texts. I've used Bennett (which I like but which seems to intimidate my students) and others, none of which come close. The strongest points about Fraknoi, in my opinion, are the straightforward (casual?) writing style and the appropriate content level."
Review
"I have used the text for the last three years. I am very happy with the text and supporting material...it is easy to read and the authors do a good job of explaining difficult concepts in understandable language."
Review
"Your text is clearly written and very understandable. My students really liked it...One of the things that really makes your testbank great is the humor that you place in a lot of your answers. These really get to some of my students..."
Synopsis
VOYAGES THROUGH THE UNIVERSE 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 InfoTracCollege 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.
About the Author
e of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for his contributions to the public understanding of astronomy. Asteroid 4859 was named Asteroid Fraknoi in 1992 in recognition of his work in astronomy education. David S Morrison CA, FTIA, Barrister-at-law is senior lecturer in law in the TC Beirne School of Law, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, The University of Queensland. He holds Commerce and Laws degrees, a Masters of Financial Management, Masters of Laws, PhD and a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Education (UQ). The author of eight books including Taxation Law - in principle, Introduction to Taxation Law, and co-author of Crutchfield's Corporate Voluntary Administration, he has published over 40 articles in refereed journals and chapters in books. Foundation Director of the Australian Centre for Commerce and Taxation and member of the Assets and Ageing Research Program, Dr Morrison acknowledges the support of the Australian Research Council. David serves on various Taxation Institute of Australia committees, including the Education, Examinations and Quality Assurance Board at national level and Queensland State Council. He also serves on the Taxation Committee and the Insolvency Committee of the Business Law Section for the Law Council of Australia. Sidney C. Wolff received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and then joined the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii. During the 17 years she spent in Hawaii, the Institute for Astronomy developed Mauna Kea into the world's premier international observatory. She became Associate Director of the Institute for Astronomy in 1976 and Acting Director in 1983. During that period, she earned international recognition for her research, particularly on stellar atmospheres and how they can help us understand the evolution, formation, and composition of stars. In 1984, she was named Director of the Kitt Peak National Observatory and in 1987 became Director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories. She was the first woman to head a major observatory in the United States. As Director of NOAO, she and her staff oversaw facilities used annually by nearly 1000 visiting scientists. During its early phases, she was Director of the Gemini Project, which is an international program to build two state-of-the-art 8m telescopes. She is currently on the scientific staff of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories where she is serving as project scientist for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. She has served as President of the American Astronomical Society. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Carleton College, a liberal arts school that excels in science education. With Andrew Fraknoi, she is founding editor of the Astronomy Education Review, an electronic journal devoted to education in astronomy and space science. The author of more than 70 professional articles, she has written a monograph, The A-Type Stars: Problems and Perspectives, as well as several astronomy textbooks.
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. Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System. 7. Earth as a Planet. 8. Cratered Worlds: The Moon and Mercury. 9. Earth-like Planets: Venus and Mars. 10. The Giant Planets. 11. Rings, Moons, and Pluto. 12. Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System. 13. Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System. 14. The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star. 15. The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse. 16. Analyzing Starlight. 17. The Stars: A Celestial Census. 18. Celestial Distances. 19. Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space. 20. The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets Outside the Solar System. 21. Stars: From Adolescence to Old Age. 22. The Death of Stars. 23. Black Holes and Curved Spacetime. 24. The Milky Way Galaxy. 25. Galaxies. 26. Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Giant Black Holes. Interlude: The Mystery of the Gamma-Ray Bursts. 27.The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies. 28. The Big Bang. 29. Life in the Universe. Apendices: 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.