Astronomy

Astronomy is written in clear non-technical language, with the occasional touch of humor and a wide range of clarifying illustrations. It has many analogies drawn from everyday life to help non-science majors appreciate, on their own terms, what our modern exploration of the universe is revealing. The book can be used for either aone-semester or two-semester introductory course (bear in mind, you can customize your version and include only those chapters or sections you will be teaching.) It is made available free of charge in electronic form (and low cost in printed form) to students around the world. If you have ever thrown up your hands in despair over the spiraling cost of astronomy textbooks, you owe your students a good look at this one.


Coverage and Scope

Astronomy was written, updated, and reviewed by a broad range of astronomers and astronomy educators in a strong community effort. It is designed to meet scope and sequence requirements of introductory astronomy courses nationwide.



Chapter 1: Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour

Chapter 2: Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy

Chapter 3: Orbits and Gravity

Chapter 4: Earth, Moon, and Sky

Chapter 5: Radiation and Spectra

Chapter 6: Astronomical Instruments

Chapter 7: Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System

Chapter 8: Earth as a Planet

Chapter 9: Cratered Worlds

Chapter 10: Earthlike Planets: Venus and Mars

Chapter 11: The Giant Planets

Chapter 12: Rings, Moons, and Pluto

Chapter 13: Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System

Chapter 14: Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System

Chapter 15: The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star

Chapter 16: The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse

Chapter 17: Analyzing Starlight

Chapter 18: The Stars: A Celestial Census

Chapter 19: Celestial Distances

Chapter 20: Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space

Chapter 21: The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System

Chapter 22: Stars from Adolescence to Old Age

Chapter 23: The Death of Stars

Chapter 24: Black Holes and Curved Spacetime

Chapter 25: The Milky Way Galaxy

Chapter 26: Galaxies

Chapter 27: Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes

Chapter 28: The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies

Chapter 29: The Big Bang

Chapter 30: Life in the Universe

Appendix A: How to Study for Your Introductory Astronomy Course

Appendix B: Astronomy Websites, Pictures, and Apps

Appendix C: Scientific Notation

Appendix D: Units Used in Science

Appendix E: Some Useful Constants for Astronomy

Appendix F: Physical and Orbital Data for the Planets

Appendix G: Selected Moons of the Planets

Appendix H: Upcoming Total Eclipses

Appendix I: The Nearest Stars, Brown Dwarfs, and White Dwarfs

Appendix J: The Brightest Twenty Stars

Appendix K: The Chemical Elements

Appendix L: The Constellations

Appendix M: Star Charts and Sky Event Resources