Astronomy: A Beginner’s Guide to the Universe has been written and designed for students who have taken no previous college science courses and who will likely not major in physics or astronomy. We present a broad view of astronomy, straightforwardly descriptive and without complex mathematics. The absence of sophisticated mathematics, however, in no way prevents discussion of important concepts. Rather, we rely on qualitative reasoning as well as analogies with objects and phenomena familiar to the student to explain the complexities of the subject without oversimplification. We have tried to communicate the excitement that we feel abut astronomy and to awaken students to the marvelous universe around us.
Part 1 Foundations
- Charting the Heavens: The Fo8undations of Astronomy
- The copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science
- Light and Matter: The Inner Workings of the Cosmos
, etc.
Part 2 Our Planetary System
- The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets
- Earht and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard
- The Terrestrial Planets: A Study in Contrasts
, etc.
Part 3 The Stars
- The Sun: Our Parent Star
- Measuring the Stars: Giants, Ddwarfs, and the Main Sequence
- The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way
, etc.
Part 4 Galaxies and the Universe
- The Milky Way Galaxy: A Grand Design
- Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe
- Galaxies and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos
, etc.