Voyages to the Planets - Softcover

Wolff, Sidney; Fraknoi, Andrew; Morrison, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0534395678 ISBN 13: 9780534395674

Publisher: Brooks Cole, 2003

Synopsis

VOYAGES TO THE PLANETS provides students and professors with the ideal combination of authors and experience. It is written by an award-winning astronomy educator (Fraknoi) and two distinguished research scientists (Morrison at NASA and Wolff at NOAO). This author team combines the latest science with classroom-tested teaching strategies and a student-friendly approach. Through unique group activities and a focus on astronomy as a human endeavor, the authors engage and involve students, helping them both understand and enjoy astronomy. The market-leading technology package includes access to InfoTrac® College Edition (free!) and TheSky™ Student Edition CD-ROM (free!), as well as an optional package with the RedShift™ College Edition CD-ROM (including animations) along with an accompanying workbook.

About this title

Review:

Preface for the Student. Preface for the Instructor. Prologue: Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour. 1. Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy. 2. Orbits and Gravity. 3. Earth, Moon, and Sky. 4. Radiation and Spectra. 5. Astronomical Instruments. 6. Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System. 7. Earth as a Planet. 8. Cratered Worlds: The Moon and Mercury. 9 Earth-like Planets: Venus and Mars. 10. The Giant Planets. 11. Rings, Moons, and Pluto. 12. Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System. 13. Cosmic Samples and the Origin of Planetary Systems. 14. The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star. 15. Life in the Universe. Appendices: 1. Astronomy on the World Wide Web. 2. Sources of Astronomical Information. 3. Glossary. 4. Powers-of-Ten Notation. 5. Units Used in Science. 6. Some Useful Constants for Astronomy. 7. Data for the Planets. 8. Selected Satellites of the Planets. 9. Upcoming (Total) Eclipses. 10. The Nearest Stars. 11. The Brightest Stars. 12. The Brightest Members of the Local Group of Galaxies. 13. The Chemical Elements. 14. The Constellations. 15. The Messier Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters. Index.

From the Author:

This is volume 1 of a textbook.
You may be asking yourself why Voyages through the Universe is listed twice in the Amazon.com catalog. This (cheaper) version is actually volume 1 of the book , which is an introductory, non-mathematical textbook on astronomy for non-science majors. Volume 1, which was published separately from the full book, covers the night sky, light and how we decode it, telescopes, and all the bodies in the solar system (planets, moons, rings, asteroids, and comets.) While this is a college text, it is written (we believe) in a friendly inviting style that also makes it a good way for anyone to get an overview of the many things we are learning about the solar system from our many new instruments.

About this edition

• Publisher: Brooks Cole
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0534395678
• ISBN 13: 9780534395674
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 408