I. Introducing Astronomy
1 Astronomy and the Universe
Guest Essay Why Astronomy? Sandra M. Faber
2 Knowing the Heavens
Guest Essay Why Astrology Is Not Science James Randi
3 Eclipses and the Motion of the Moon
Guest Essay Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy Mark Hollabaugh
4 Gravitation and the Waltz of the Planets
5 The Nature of Light
6 Optics and Telescopes
II. Planets and Moons
7 Comparative Planetology I: Our Solar System
8 Comparative Planetology II:
The Origin of Our Solar System
Scientific American article Dangling a COROT Alexander Hellemans
9 The Living Earth
10 Our Barren Moon
11 Mercury, Venus, and Mars: Earthlike yet Unique
Scientific American article Father of Spirit and Opportunity David Appell
12 Jupiter and Saturn: Lords of the Planets
13 Jupiter and Saturn’s Satellites of Fire and Ice
14 Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and the Kuiper Belt: Remote Worlds
15 Vagabonds of the Solar System
Guest Essay Pluto and the Kuiper Belt Scott Sheppard
III. Stars and Stellar Evolution
16 Our Star, the Sun
17 The Nature of the Stars
18 The Birth of Stars
19 Stellar Evolution: On and After the Main Sequence
20 Stellar Evolution: The Deaths of Stars
21 Neutron Stars
22 Black Holes
IV. Galaxies and Cosmology
23 Our Galaxy
24 Galaxies
25 Quasars and Active Galaxies
26 Cosmology: The Origin and Evolution of the Universe
Scientific American article Dark Forces at Work David Appell
27 Exploring the Early Universe
Scientific American article Making Sense of Modern Cosmology P. James E. Peebles
28 The Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Guest Essay A Biologist’s View of Astrobiology Kevin W. Plaxco
Available in Volumes:
Universe: Solar System, includes Chapters 1-16 and 28
Universe: Stars and Galaxies includes Chapters 1-8 and 16-28