Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals, The, 3rd edition

Published by Pearson (May 24, 2019) © 2020

  • Jeffrey O. Bennett University of Colorado at Boulder
  • Megan O. Donahue Michigan State University
  • Nicholas Schneider University of Colorado, Boulder
  • Mark Voit Michigan State University

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In this eTextbook — More ways to learn

  • More flexible. Start learning right away, on any device.
  • More supportive. Get AI explanations and practice questions (select titles).
  • More interactive. Bring learning to life with audio, videos, and diagrams.
  • More memorable. Make concepts stick with highlights, search, notes, and flashcards.
  • More understandable. Translate text into 100+ languages with one tap.

In this eTextbook — More ways to learn

  • More flexible. Start learning right away, on any device.
  • More supportive. Get AI explanations and practice questions (select titles).
  • More interactive. Bring learning to life with audio, videos, and diagrams.
  • More memorable. Make concepts stick with highlights, search, notes, and flashcards.
  • More understandable. Translate text into 100+ languages with one tap.

In this eTextbook — More ways to learn

  • More flexible. Start learning right away, on any device.
  • More supportive. Get AI explanations and practice questions (select titles).
  • More interactive. Bring learning to life with audio, videos, and diagrams.
  • More memorable. Make concepts stick with highlights, search, notes, and flashcards.
  • More understandable. Translate text into 100+ languages with one tap.

Title overview

The Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals is a brief introduction to astronomy, inspired by an activities-based classroom approach. The text actively engages you while focusing on the process of science and fundamental concepts of astronomy. Each concisely written chapter is formatted into 2 main sections to target learning and make expectations clear..

The 3rd Edition features major scientific updates, content that focuses on the possibility of life in the universe, and recent discoveries with modern contexts to help you see the relevance of astronomy to your world.

Table of contents

  1. A Modern View of the Universe
  2. Understanding the Sky
  3. Changes in Our Perspective
  4. Origin of the Solar System
  5. Terrestrial Worlds
  6. The Outer Solar System
  7. Planets Around Other Stars
  8. The Sun and Other Stars
  9. Stellar Lives
  10. The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard
  11. Galaxies
  12. Galaxy Distances and Hubble's Law
  13. The Birth of the Universe
  14. Dark Matter and Dark Energy
  15. Life in the Universe

Author bios

This publication contains markup to enable structural navigation and compatibility with assistive technologies. Images in the publication are fully described. The publication supports text reflow, is screen-reader friendly, and contains no content hazards known to cause adverse physical reactions.

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