Contents
- Preface
1Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour
2Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy
7Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System
13Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System
14Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System
18The Stars: A Celestial Census
20Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space
21The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System
27Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes
- AHow to Study for an Introductory Astronomy Class
- BAstronomy Websites, Images, and Apps
- CScientific Notation
- DUnits Used in Science
- ESome Useful Constants for Astronomy
- FPhysical and Orbital Data for the Planets
- GSelected Moons of the Planets
- HFuture Total Eclipses
- IThe Nearest Stars, Brown Dwarfs, and White Dwarfs
- JThe Brightest Twenty Stars
- KThe Chemical Elements
- LThe Constellations
- MStar Chart and Sky Event Resources
- Index
Review Questions
Review Questions
1.
Explain why we see the Milky Way as a faint band of light stretching across the sky.
2.
Explain where in a spiral galaxy you would expect to find globular clusters, molecular clouds, and atomic hydrogen.
3.
Describe several characteristics that distinguish population I stars from population II stars.
4.
Briefly describe the main parts of our Galaxy.
5.
Describe the evidence indicating that a black hole may be at the center of our Galaxy.
6.
Explain why the abundances of heavy elements in stars correlate with their positions in the Galaxy.
7.
What will be the long-term future of our Galaxy?