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Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe, 4/E
Eric Chaisson, Tufts University
Steve McMillan, Drexel University

ISBN-10: 0131007270
ISBN-13: 9780131007277

Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Copyright: 2004
Format: Paper; 552 pp
Status: Out of Print

Suggested retail price: $104.00
This item is out of print and is no longer available for purchase.

For one-semester Introduction to Astronomy courses.

The authors incorporate three themes in the briefer of their two textbooks; process of science (how we know what we know), the size and scale of the universe as well as the evolution of the universe. A Beginner's Guide emphasizes critical thinking and visualization, and a leading-edge technology program.

  • NEW - Design—The new one-column design allows for more photos, illustrations, and white space on each page, which makes the text more inviting to read.
  • NEW - Part Openers—In the fourth edition, each Part begins with a concise preview emphasizing the size, scale, and evolution of that portion of the universe. Astronomy uses numbers (billions of miles, thousands of light years) that are difficult for students to understand.

    • Helps students better visualize and comprehend the relationships discussed in the chapters.

  • NEW - Over 100 new photos and line drawings—Added throughout the book.

    • Provides students with exciting visual imagery, holding their interest.

  • NEW - Greatly revised and updated material—Includes the latest advances in telescope technology; recent satellite observations; implications for theory of solar system formation; observations from the Galileo space probe; expanded discussions of the moons Europa and Titan; latest observations of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy and of active galactic nuclei; latest estimates of the age of the universe, including BOOMERANG and WMAP data, and more.

    • Provides students with additional knowledge, clearly and concisely explained.

  • Learning Goals—Each chapter begins with a set of goals to help students focus their reading.
  • Concept Check Questions—Closely tied to the Learning Goals, these questions ask students to think critically about the material they have read.
  • More Precisely Boxes—These boxes expand on a topic discussed in the chapter and usually contain a quantitative treatment of the subject.
  • Discovery Boxes—These boxes cover additional, interesting topics and often highlight how a discovery was made, further emphasizing the "process of science".
  • NEW - New and revised Discovery boxes—Include the new “Sizing Up Planet Earth,” “Earth's Growing Ozone Hole,” “The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming,” “Martian Canals?,” “SOHO: Eavesdropping on the Sun,” “Naming the Stars,” “Ultraviolet Astronomy and the “Local Bubble”, “Early Computers.” Revised and expanded boxes include: “The Scientific Method,” “What Killed the Dinosaurs?.”

    • Enables students to further study what interests them. Allows instructors flexibility in class discussions.

  • Concept Links—These integrated icons, which resemble two links in a chain, reinforce the connection between concepts as well as provide a guide to where a concept was first introduced. Concept Links are hyperlinks on the eBook version of the text.
  • Spectrum Icons—Every photo in the text is accompanied by a Spectrum Icon which identifies the wavelength that the photo was taken.
  • Compound art with explanatory captions—Presents visible images along with their counterparts captured at other wavelengths; superimposes interpretative line drawings on real astronomical photographs; and provides breakouts that zoom from wide-field shots to closeups. Captions are longer and more detailed than in other texts

    • Helps students really “see” what the images reveal and shows them that detailed images can be understood in their larger context; enables students to review a chapter visually.

  • Questions, problems, and projects—Incorporated in each chapter are 15 Self-Test Questions, 15 Review and Discussion Questions, and 10 problems based on chapter contents and entailing some numerical calculation.
  • Accompanying free eBook CD-ROM—Redesigned for easier and clearer navigation, it contains a fully hyper-linked electronic version of the text, integrated animations, and videos to bring text concepts to life.

    • Enables students to quickly find related information and assists them with their review of the text.

    • Also includes the latest Skychart III student version Planetarium Software, which accurately simulates and displays the sky.

  • Integration of media—The eBook that accompanies the Beginner's Guide, Fourth Edition allows students to watch videos and animations, and do interactive exercises in the context of what they read. Icons identifying animations, videos, Physlet Illustrations, and Interactive Tutorials are integrated throughout the book.
  • NEW - Physlet® Illustrations for Astronomy and Interactive student tutorials—These exploratory activities are interactive exercises based on topics in the book. They are located on the eBook, in the course management systems with additional, gradeable questions. And on the Instructor's Resource CD-ROM.
  • Companion Website, www.astro.prenhall.com/chaisson—A chapter-specific resource for students, containing images, animations, and web links that are all regularly updated, as well as multiple-choice quizzes and algarithmic problems from the text.
  • A full package of Instructor's Supplements—Includes Comets, an Instructor's Resource Manual, a Instructors Resource CD-ROM package, Acetates and Slides, a Test Item File, and more.

    • Gives instructors the resources they need to successfully teach their course (see description of supplements for details).

  • Resources for the Classroom -- www.prenhall.com/astronomyinfo

  • Design—The new one-column design allows for more photos, illustrations, and white space on each page, which makes the text more inviting to read.
  • Part Openers—In the fourth edition, each Part begins with a concise preview emphasizing the size, scale, and evolution of that portion of the universe. Astronomy uses numbers (billions of miles, thousands of light years) that are difficult for students to understand.

    • Helps students better visualize and comprehend the relationships discussed in the chapters.

  • Over 100 new photos and line drawings—Added throughout the book.

    • Provides students with exciting visual imagery, holding their interest.

  • Greatly revised and updated material—Includes the latest advances in telescope technology; recent satellite observations; implications for theory of solar system formation; observations from the Galileo space probe; expanded discussions of the moons Europa and Titan; latest observations of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy and of active galactic nuclei; latest estimates of the age of the universe, including BOOMERANG and WMAP data, and more.

    • Provides students with additional knowledge, clearly and concisely explained.

  • New and revised Discovery boxes—Include the new “Sizing Up Planet Earth,” “Earth's Growing Ozone Hole,” “The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming,” “Martian Canals?,” “SOHO: Eavesdropping on the Sun,” “Naming the Stars,” “Ultraviolet Astronomy and the “Local Bubble”, “Early Computers.” Revised and expanded boxes include: “The Scientific Method,” “What Killed the Dinosaurs?.”

    • Enables students to further study what interests them. Allows instructors flexibility in class discussions.

  • Physlet® Illustrations for Astronomy and Interactive student tutorials—These exploratory activities are interactive exercises based on topics in the book. They are located on the eBook, in the course management systems with additional, gradeable questions. And on the Instructor's Resource CD-ROM.



Prologue.

The “Obvious” View. Earth's Orbital Motion. The Measurement of Distance.



1. The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science.

The Orbit of the Moon. Planetary Motion. The Birth of Modern Astronomy. The Laws of Planetary Motion. Newton's Laws.



2. Light and Matter: The Inner Workings of the Cosmos.

Information from the Skies. Waves in What? The Electromagnetic Spectrum. Thermal Radiation. Spectroscopy. The Formation of Spectral Lines. The Doppler Effect.



3. Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy.

Optical Telescopes. Telescope Size. High-Resolution Astronomy. Radio Astronomy. Other Astronomies.



4. The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets.

An Inventory of the Solar System. Solar System Debris. The Formation of the Solar System. Planets Beyond the Solar System.



5. Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard.

Earth and the Moon in Bulk. The Tides. Atmospheres. Interiors. Surface Activity on Earth. The Surface of the Moon. Magnetospheres. History of the Earth-Moon System.



6. The Terrestrial Planets: A Study in Contrasts.

Orbital and Physical Properties. Rotation Rates. Atmospheres. The Surface of Mercury. The Surface of Venus. The Surface of Mars. Internal Structure and Geological History. Atmospheric Evolution on Earth, Venus, and Mars. The Moons of Mars.



7. The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System.

Observations of Jupiter and Saturn. The Discoveries of Uranus and Neptune. Bulk Properties of the Jovian Planets. Jupiter's Atmosphere. The Atmospheres of the Outer Jovian Worlds. Jovian Interiors.



8. Moons, Ring, and Pluto: Small Worlds among Giants.

The Galilean Moons of Jupiter. The Large Moons of Saturn and Neptune. The Medium-Sized Jovian Moons. Planetary Rings. Pluto and Its Moon. Is Pluto a Planet?



9. The Sun: Our Parent Star.

The Sun in Bulk. The Solar Interior. The Solar Atmosphere. The Active Sun. The Heart of the Sun.



10. Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence.

The Solar Neighborhood. Luminosity and Apparent Brightness. Stellar Temperatures. Stellar Sizes. The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram. Extending the Cosmic Distance Scale. Stellar Masses.



11. The Interstellar Medium: Birthplace of Stars.

Interstellar Matter. Interstellar Clouds. The Formation of Stars Like the Sun. Stars of Other Masses. Star Clusters.



12. Stellar Evolution: The Lives and Deaths of Stars.

Leaving the Main Sequence. Evolution of a Sun-Like Star. The Death of a Low-Mass Star. Evolution of High-Mass Stars. Supernova Explosions. Observing Stellar Evolution in Star Clusters.



13. Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter.

Neutron Stars. Pulsars. Neutron-Star Binaries. Gamma-Ray Bursts. Black Holes. Gravity and Curved Space. Space Travel Near Black Holes. Observational Evidence for Black Holes.



14. The Milky Way Galaxy: A Grand Design.

Our Parent Galaxy. Measuring the Milky Way. Galactic Structure. The Formation of the Milky Way. Galactic Spiral Arms. The Mass of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Galactic Center.



15. Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe.

Hubble's Galaxy Classification. Clusters of Galaxies. Active Galactic Nuclei. The Central Engine of an Active Galaxy. Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei.



16. Hubble's Law and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos.

Cosmic Expansion. Dark Matter in the Universe. Large-Scale Structure. Galaxy Formation and Evolution.



17. Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe.

The Universe of the Largest Scales. The Expanding Universe. The Fate of the Cosmos. The Geometry of Space. The Early Universe. The Formation of Nuclei and Atoms. Cosmic Inflation. The Formation of Large-Scale Structure in the Universe.



18. Life in the Universe: Are We Alone?

Cosmic Evolution. Life in the Solar System. Intelligent Life in the Galaxy. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

    For one-semester Introduction to Astronomy courses.

    The authors incorporate three themes in the briefer of their two textbooks; process of science (how we know what we know), the size and scale of the universe as well as the evolution of the universe. A Beginner's Guide emphasizes critical thinking and visualization, and a leading-edge technology program.

  • 013187165XAstronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe, 5/E
    Chaisson & McMillan
    © 2007 | Addison-Wesley | Paper; 576 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 013187165X | ISBN-13: 9780131871656
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

Eric Chaisson. Eric holds a doctorate in astrophysics from Harvard University, where he spent ten years on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. For five years, Eric was a Senior Scientist and Director of Educational Programs at the Space Telescope Science Institute and Adjunct Professor of Physics at Johns Hopkins University. He then joined Tufts University, where he is now Professor of Physics, Professor of Education, and Director of the Wright Center for Innovative Science Education. He has written nine books on astronomy, which have received such literary awards as the Phi Beta Kappa Prize, two American Institute of Physics Awards, and Harvard's Smith-Weld Prize for Literary Merit. He has published more than 100 scientific papers in professional journals, and has also received Harvard's Bok Prize for original contributions to astrophysics.

Steve McMillan. Steve holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Mathematics from Cambridge University and a doctorate in Astronomy from Harvard University. He held post-doctoral positions at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, where he continued his research in theoretical astrophysics, star clusters, and numerical modeling. Steve is currently Distinguished Professor of Physics at Drexel University and a frequent visiting researcher at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study and the University of Tokyo. He has published more than 50 scientific papers in professional journals.

Astronomy Today 4/e (ISBN 0-13-091542-4) is the more comprehensive text by this: proven team of authors. This twenty-eight chapter text begins with the foundations of the history of science and physics as they relate to astronomy (Part One), then proceeds with an "Earth-out" organization for coverage of the solar system (Part Two), stars and stellar evolution (Part Three), and galaxies and cosmology (Part Four). New with the fourth edition, the book is now available in two paperback splits:

Astronomy Today 4/e: The Solar System (ISBN 0-13-093560-3) covers Part One on foundations (Chapters 1-$); Part Two on the solar system (Chapters 6-15); the Sun chapter (Chapter 16); and the final chapter on life in the universe (Chapter 28).

Astronomy Today 4/e: Stars and Galaxies (ISBN 0-13-093571-9) includes Part One on foundations (Chapters 1-S); Part Three on stars and stellar evolution (Chapters 16-22); and Part Four on galaxies and cosmology (Chapters 23-28).

Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe 4/e (ISBN 0-13-100727-0) is the authors' briefer text. It covers the same scope of material in the same order as Astronomy Today 4/e, but with less detail and in fewer chapters (eighteen instead of twenty-eight) and fewer pages.

View a Sample Chapter PDF:

For Astronomy


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