Combining the latest science with classroom-tested teaching strategies and a student-friendly approach this text focuses on astronomy as a human endeavour. It aims to engage and involve students, and help them both understand and enjoy astronomy. The technology package includes free access to "InfoTrac College Edition" and a free CD-ROM, as well as an optional package with "RedShift College Edition" (including animations) along with an accompanying workbook.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Science and the Universe - A Brief Tour; Observing the Sky - The Birth of Astronomy; Orbits and Gravity; Earth, Moon and Sky; Radiation and Spectra; Astronomical Instruments; The Sun - Our Star; The Sun - A Nuclear Powerhouse; Analyzing Starlight; The Stars - A Celestial Census; Celestial Distances; Between the Stars - Gas and Dust in Space; The Birth of Stars and the Search for Planets; Stars - From Adolescence to Old Age; The Death of Stars; Black Holes and Curved Spacetime; Interlude - Stellar Corpses in Action - Gamma-ray Bursts; The Milky Way Galaxy; Galaxies; Quasars and Active Galaxies; Mapping the Universe; The Big Bang; Astrobiology and the Search for Life Elsewhere. Appendices: Astronomy on the World Wide Web; Sources of Astronomical Information; Powers-of-Ten Notation; Units Used in Science; Some Useful Constants for Astronomy; Data for the Planets; Upcoming (Total) Eclipses; The Nearest Stars; The Brightest Stars; Stars with Planets; The Brightest Members of the Local Group; The Chemical Elements; The Constellations; The Messier Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters.