Discovering the Universe With Starry Night College

About this book

The ninth edition of Discovering the Universe with Starry Night Collage develops the main theme, 'the process of scientific discovery', through the clear, accurate presentation of key concepts found in previous editions. Updated with current research and modern theories of solar system formation, an 18-month access card for the planetarium software package Starry Night College is also included.

Contents

Preface

PART I: UNDERSTANDING ASTRONOMY
Discovering the Night Sky
Gravitation and the Motion of the Planets
Light and Telescopes
Atomic Physics and Spectra

PART II: UNDERSTANDING THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Formation of the Solar System and Other Planetary Systems
Earth and Moon
The Other Terrestrial Planets
The Outer Planets
Vagabonds of the Solar System
The Sun: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Star

PART III: UNDERSTANDING THE STARS
Characterizing Stars
The Lives of Stars from Birth Through Middle Age
The Deaths of Stars
Black Holes: Matters of Gravity

PART IV: UNDERSTANDING THE UNIVERSE
The Milky Way Galaxy
Galaxies
Quasars and Other Active Galaxies
Cosmology
Astrobiology

APPENDICES
Glossary
Answers to Margin Questions and Computational Questions
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Neil F Comins is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Maine, Orono, USA. William J Kaufmann III, late of San Diego State University, USA.