Annotated Contents
Part I: Introduction To Astronomy
Chapter 1: Why Learn Astronomy?
A ”Bending Your Brain into Shape“ section introduces origins as a theme and emphasizes how important it is for students to read the text actively, share ideas, and focus on relationships and connections.
Chapter 2: Patterns in of the Sky—Motions of the Earth
Earth’s motions and the consequences of its axial tilt, the motion and phases of the moon, the Coriolis effect and eclipses are all discussed in this chapter.
Chapter 3: Gravity and Orbits—A Celestial Ballet
This chapter covers Kepler and Newton and how they formulated the laws that govern the motions of the planets.
Chapter 4: Light
This chapter introduces students to all forms of radiation, and to how the finite speed of light leads us to Einstein’s special theory of relativity.
NEW Chapter 5: The Tools of the Astronomer
Here the authors explain how astronomers use telescopes and other instruments, with coverage of optical and radio telescopes, detectors and instrumentation, neutrino and gravity wave detectors, airborne and orbiting observatories, planetary spacecraft, high-energy colliders, and high-speed computers.
Part II: The Solar System
Chapter 6: A Brief History of the Solar System
This chapter discusses the formation of the Solar System before discussing the planets themselves, helping students understand the planets in the context of how they formed.
Chapter 7: The Terrestrial Planets and Earth’s Moon
A comparative analysis of the solid rocky worlds yields lessons about what shapes a planet’s fate—and covers impacts, tectonism, volcanism, and gradation.
Chapter 8: Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets
This chapter includes a new section on how convection can create severe weather.
Chapter 9: Worlds of Gas—The Giant Planets
This chapter discusses the gas giants and the ice giants of the outer Solar System.
Chapter 10: Gravity Is More Than Kepler’s Laws
This chapter on gravity—including coverage of tidal interactions, orbital resonances, chaos, and more—appears later in the book in order to give students a break from the extensive physics coverage in Part I and to lay the groundwork for the more difficult concepts in Part II.
Chapter 11: Planetary Moons And Rings, and Pluto
Most of Chapters 11 and 12 is devoted to the smaller bodies of the Solar System, including coverage of 2003 UB313.
Chapter 12: Asteroids, Meteorites, Comets, and Other Debris
This chapter covers the wide variety of interplanetary debris.
Part III: Stars And Stellar Evolution
Chapter 13: Taking the Measure of Stars
This chapter discusses distance, brightness, and the composition of stars in general before leading students through the specifics of our nearest star, the Sun.
Chapter 14: A Run-of-the-Mill G Dwarf: Our Sun
This chapter looks at the structure and activity of our local star, the sun.
Chapter 15: Star Formation And The Interstellar Medium
The various components of the interstellar medium are discussed here, along with the process through which it gives birth to stars.
Chapter 16: Stars In The Slow Lane
This chapter covers the evolution of low-mass stars.
Chapter 17: Live Fast, Die Young
The evolution of massive stars, the chemical composition of the universe, and general relativity are discussed here.
Part IV: Galaxies, The Universe, And Cosmology
Chapter 18: Galaxies
In this chapter, the authors provide a clear explanation of galaxies in general before going into detail about our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
Chapter 19: The Milky Way—A Normal Spiral Galaxy
We learn how we can measure the size of the Milky Way, map its structure, and study its development.
Chapter 20: Our Expanding Universe
This chapter focuses on the evolution, shape, and future of the universe.
Chapter 21: The Origin of Structure
This chapter explores the science behind the origin and structure of the universe, how life has evolved on this planet, and the possibility of life elsewhere.
Epilogue: We Are Stardust in Human Form
Copyright © 2005, W. W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved.
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