Product Description
Key Benefit:
For one-semester Introduction to Astronomy courses.
With Astronomy: A Beginner’s Guide, Sixth Edition, trusted authors Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan communicate their excitement about astronomy and awaken readers to the universe around them. Thoroughly updated, the revised edition focuses on the process of scientific discovery and scientific method, making “how we know what we know” a more integral part of the book with attention to clearly and concisely presenting scientific terms to the non-science reader. The authors incorporate three themes in this briefer version of their two textbooks; process of science, 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 is now available with a custom tailored leading-edge technology program.
The Sixth Edition features an even greater focus on the process of science, MasteringAstronomy,™ and a dedicated myeBook.
Key Topics:
Charting the Heavens : The Foundations of Astronomy, The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science, Light and Matter: The Inner Workings of the Cosmos, Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy, The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets, Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard, The Terrestrial Planets: A Study in Contrasts, The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System, Moons, Rings, and Plutoids: Small Worlds Among Giants, The Sun: Our Parent Star, Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence, The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way, Stellar Evolution: The Lives and Deaths of Stars, Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter, The Milky Way Galaxy: A Spiral in Space,
Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe, Hubble’s Law and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos, Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe, Life in the Universe: Are We Alone?
Market: Intended for those interested in learning the basics of astronomy
Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe with MasteringAstronomy
Tags: MasteringAstronomy, matter, astronomy, Beginners
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I purchased the “International” edition of this book in a local book store so I’m assuming the difference being the conversion to metric units.
Although this book was wrapped and I couldn’t open the book it immediately stood out from the rest of the books. So this was actually a wild guess but it turned out a real good one.
This book is so well written that you need very little knowledge of astronomy in advance. The average person with basic education could pick this one up and let himself/herself be guided from the first chapters where the basics of spectroscopy and gravitation are explained, followed by the A-Z of our neighboring planets, our star and the rest of the milky way, ending with the final chapters that deal with such topics as black holes and general relativity.
And what makes it even more great is that a code is included that enables you to view interactive animations and videos on the Pearson website which will clear up things that otherwise may look confusing in still pictures.
Very much recommended for people who aren’t familiar with the workings of our solar system and universe.
They will learn all the basics (and they are a lot) of the universe.
But for people who are already familiar with astronomy will find this a good reference.
It is also updated with the latest theories and findings, including NASA info from 2008.
You must log in to post a comment.