Synopses & Reviews
VOYAGES TO THE PLANETS 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 the most recent images from the Cassini mission to Saturn. 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
"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
"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."
About the Author
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
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. Life in the Universe. Appendix 1: Astronomy on the World Wide Web. Appendix 2: Sources of Astronomical Information. Appendix 3: Glossary. Appendix 4: Powers-of-Ten Notation. Appendix 5: Units Used in Science. Appendix 6: Some Useful Constants for Astronomy. Appendix 7: Data for the Planets. Appendix 8: Satellites of the Planets. Appendix 9: Upcoming (Total) Eclipses. Appendix 10: The Nearest Stars. Appendix 11: The Brightest Stars. Appendix 12: The Brightest Members of the Local Group. Appendix 13: The Chemical Elements. Appendix 14: The Constellations. Appendix 15: The Messier Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters. Index. Star Maps.