Universe : Solar System, Stars, and Galaxies

Dana Backman works for the SETI Institute of Mountain View, California, as director of outreach for the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) mission at NASA's Ames Research Center. He also teaches introductory astronomy, astrobiology, and cosmology courses in Stanford University's Continuing Studies Program. From 1991 to 2003, he taught in the physics and astronomy department at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he invented and taught a Life in the Universe course in the interdisciplinary Foundations program. Dr. Backman's research interests focus on infrared observations of planet formation, models of debris disks around nearby stars, and evolution of the solar system's Kuiper Belt. With Mike Seeds, he also coauthored HORIZONS: EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE, 11e (2009); ASTRONOMY: THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND, 6e (2009); and PERSPECTIVES ON ASTRONOMY (2008)--all published by Cengage. Dr. Backman earned his bachelor's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from the University of Hawai'i. Michael A. Seeds has been Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, since 1970. In 1989, he received F&M College's Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. Seeds's love for the history of astronomy led him to create upper-level courses on Archaeoastronomy and Changing Concepts of the Universe. His research interests focus on variable stars and the automation of astronomical telescopes. Mike is coauthor with Dana Backman of HORIZONS: EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE, Twelfth Edition (2011); ASTRONOMY: THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND, Sixth Edition (2009); and PERSPECTIVES OF ASTRONOMY (2008), all published by Cengage. He was Senior Consultant in the creation of the twenty-six-episode telecourse accompanying the book HORIZONS: EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE.

• PART I: EXPLORING THE SKY. 1. Here and Now. Where Are We? When Is Now? Why Study Astronomy? 2. A User's Guide to the Sky. The Stars. The Sky and Its Motion. 3. Cycles of the Sun and Moon. Cycles of the Sun. Astronomical Influences on Earth's Climate. The Changeable Moon. 4. The Origin of Modern Astronomy. Classical Astronomy. The Copernican Revolution. Planetary Motion. Galileo Galilei. Isaac Newton and Orbital Motion. 5. Light and Telescopes. Radiation: Information from Space. Telescopes. Observatories on Earth: Optical and Radio. Airborne and Space Observatories. Astronomical Instruments and Techniques. PART II: THE STARS. 6. Atoms and Spectra. Atoms. Interactions of Light and Matter. Understanding Spectra. 7. The Sun. The Solar Atmosphere. Solar Activity. Nuclear Fusion in the Sun. 8. The Family of Stars. Star Distances. Apparent Brightness, Intrinsic Brightness, and Luminosity. Star Spectra. Star Sizes. Star Masses--Binary Stars. A Census of the Stars. 9. The Formation and Structure of Stars. The Interstellar Medium. Making Stars from the Interstellar Medium. Young Stellar Objects and Protostellar Disks. Stellar Structure and Nuclear Fusion. Main-Sequence Stars. 10. The Deaths of Stars. Giant Stars. The Deaths of Lower-Main-Sequence Stars. The Evolution of Binary Systems. The Deaths of Massive Stars. 11. Neutron Stars and Black Holes. Neutron Stars. Black Holes. Compact Objects with Disks and Jets. PART III: THE UNIVERSE OF GALAXIES. 12. The Milky Way Galaxy. Discovery of the Galaxy. Structure of the Galaxy. Spiral Arms and Star Formation. The Nucleus of the Galaxy. Origin and History of the Milky Way Galaxy. 13. Galaxies: Normal and Active. The Family of Galaxies. Measuring the Properties of Galaxies. The Evolution of Galaxies. Active Galactic Nuclei. Supermassive Black Holes. 14. Modern Cosmology. Introduction to the Universe. The Big Bang Theory. Space and Time, Matter and Energy. Twenty-First-Century Cosmology. PART IV: THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 15. The Origin of the Solar System. The Great Chain of Origins. A Survey of the Solar System. The Story of Planet Building. Planets Orbiting Other Stars. 16. Earth and Moon: Bases for Comparative Planetology. A Travel Guide to the Terrestrial Planets. Planet Earth. The Moon. 17. Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Mercury. Venus. Mars. 18. The Outer Solar System. A Travel Guide to the Outer Solar System. Jupiter. Saturn. Uranus. Neptune. Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. 19. Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets. Meteoroids, Meteors, and Meteorites. Asteroids. Comets. Asteroid and Comet Impacts. PART V: LIFE. 20. Astrobiology: Life on Other Worlds. The Nature of Life. Life in the Universe. Intelligent Life in the Universe. Afterword. Appendix A: Units and Astronomical Data. Appendix B: Observing the Sky. Glossary. Answers to Even-Numbered Problems. Credits. Index.