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
What is the Copernican principle? Make a list of scientific discoveries that confirm it.
Where in the solar system (and beyond) have scientists found evidence of organic molecules?
Give a short history of the atoms that are now in your little finger, going back to the beginning of the universe.
What is a biomarker? Give some possible examples of biomarkers we might look for beyond the solar system.
Why are Mars and Europa the top targets for the study of astrobiology?
Why is traveling between the stars (by creatures like us) difficult?
What are the advantages to using radio waves for communication between civilizations that live around different stars? List as many as you can.
What is the “cosmic haystack problem”? List as many of its components as you can think of.
What is a habitable zone?
Why is the simultaneous detection of methane and oxygen in an atmosphere a good indication of the existence of a biosphere on that planet?
What are two characteristic properties of life that distinguish it from nonliving things?
What are the three requirements that scientists believe an environment needs to supply life with in order to be considered habitable?
Can you name five environmental conditions that, in their extremes, microbial life has been challenged by and has learned to survive on Earth?