Jay Pasachoff and Alex Filippenko combine extensive research experience, teaching experience, and textbook-writing experience to offer a book that is unparalleled in its ability to present the latest science in a way that students can understand.
This brief, beautifully illustrated text – one of the briefest available for the course – offers concise coverage of a wide range of astronomical topics. The authors have struck a balance between the fundamental concepts and the exciting topics at the forefront of astronomy, conveying the spirit of contemporary astronomy within a big picture context.
The authors emphasize the central theme of origins in this text, first by singling out specifics in the headings of each chapter and then by dealing with a variety of relevant material in the text itself. An early discussion of the scientific method stresses an importance on the verification of observations, and sets the stage for the text’s consistent focus on astronomy as a science.
New to this edition
The new third edition has been thoroughly updated to include the latest images and reflect the latest advancements in astronomy, including coverage of the Cassini mission to Saturn, the Huygens mission to Titan, an updated discussion on gamma ray bursts, and the Deep Impact comet collision.
Each new copy of most versions of the text comes with AceAstronomy?, the first assessment-based student tutorial system for students. Seamlessly tied to the new edition of this text through Active Figures (interactive animations of art from the text), AceAstronomy? helps students gauge their unique study needs, then gives them a Personalized Learning Plan that focuses their study time on the concepts they most need to master. By providing students with a better understanding of exactly what they need to focus on, AceAstronomy? helps students make the optimum use of their study time, bringing them closer to success!
Fully revised and expanded Concept Reviews are included at the end of each chapter, along with an assortment of new types of questions, including multiple choice, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank.
Revised pedagogy designed to aid student study. The chapter-opening "Aims" and chapter-ending "Summaries" now direct students to specific numbered text sections, making it easier for students to review and draw connections.
Marginal "Asides" offer additional information, address common misconceptions, and provide study tips.
Three different CD-based planetarium software options are available on request, allowing instructors more flexibility when designing their course. Choose from TheSky? Student Edition or Starry Night? (both packaged at no additional cost) or RedShift? College Edition (an additional cost). Contact your Brooks/Cole representative for details on how to include your preferred planetarium software with your text.
New "Topics for Discussion" questions provide an opportunity for group learning and help build critical thinking skills.
Features
"People in Astronomy" boxes include interviews with some of today’’s leading scientists, including a fully updated interview with Carolyn Porco, leader of the Cassini mission imaging team. Each of these interviews presents a notable contemporary researcher engaged in conversation about a variety of topics, such as what led that person to study and pursue astronomy as a career as well as why learning about astronomy is both an important scientific and human endeavor.
"Star Parties" are naked-eye observational guides scattered throughout the text. Each Star Party box includes observational exercises as well as references to the in-text Star Maps.
"Figure It Out" boxes are optional math boxes, providing detail on specific equations related to concepts in the text. This separate treatment of mathematics provides professors the opportunity to include more quantitative material in the course, or to focus on a more descriptive presentation.
"Lives in Science" biographical boxes allow instructors to present more biographical information and stories about famous historical astronomers into the course.
"A Closer Look" boxes allow students to further explore interesting topics, such as size of scale, mythology, biographies, and naming systems.
Solar System coverage is captured in three chapters, covering the planets by type in terms of planetary specifics as well as comparisons to other planets, giving students a view of the solar system as a whole. Comparative planetology is summarized in marginal notes throughout these chapters.
Automatically bundled with new copies of most versions of the text, the "Virtual Astronomy Labs" are an online, interactive way for students to learn. Focusing on twenty of the most important concepts in astronomy, the labs offer students hands-on exercises that complement the topics in the text. Instructors can set up classes online and view student results, or students can print their lab reports for submission, making the Virtual Astronomy Labs ideal for homework assignments, lab exercises, or extra-credit work.