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 the Solar System
III Stars and Stellar Evolution
16 Our Star, the Sun
IV Galaxies and Cosmology
27 The Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Guest Essay A Biologist’s View of Astrobiology Kevin W. Plaxco