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" The cosmic perspective / "
Jeffrey Bennett [and others]
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BL
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| Record Number
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582684
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b411903
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| Title & Author
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The cosmic perspective /\ Jeffrey Bennett [and others]
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| Edition Statement
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6th ed
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| Page. NO
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1 volume (varies pagings) :: color illustrations ;; 28 cm
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| ISBN
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9780321633668
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: 0321633660
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: 9780321636560
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: 0321636562
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: 9780321642691
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: 0321642694
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: 9780321642707
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: 0321642708
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: 9780321661623
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: 0321661621
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| Bibliographies/Indexes
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Includes bibliographical references and index
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| Contents
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Part 1. Developing perspective -- 1. Our place in the universe -- Our modern view of the universe -- The scale of the universe -- Spaceship Earth -- The human adventure of astronomy -- Our cosmic origins -- The meaning of a light-year -- How far is a light-year -- How far is a light year? -- How many planets are there in our solar system? -- The scale of space and time -- Confusing very different things -- Order of magnitude estimation -- Speeds of rotation and orbit -- 2. Discovering the universe for yourself -- Patterns in the night sky -- The reasons for seasons -- The Moon, our constant companion -- The ancient mystery of the planets -- Angular size, physical size, and distance -- The Moon illusion -- Stars in the daytime -- What makes the North Star special? -- The cause of seasons -- The seasons -- High noon -- Sun signals -- The "dark side" of the Moon -- Moon in the daytime and stars on the Moon -- Shadows and the Moon -- Does the Moon influence human behavior? -- Who first proposed a sun-centered solar system? -- 3. The science of astronomy -- The ancient roots of science -- Ancient Greek science -- The Copernican revolution -- The nature of science -- Astrology -- Columbus and a flat Earth -- Eratosthenes measures Earth -- Eccentricity and planetary orbits -- Kepler's third law -- The Copernican revolution -- And yet it moves -- Eggs on the Equinox -- Logic and science -- S1. Celestial timekeeping and navigation -- Astronomical time periods -- Celestial coordinates and motion in the sky -- Principles of celestial navigation -- The Copernican layout of the solar system -- Solar days and the analemma -- Time by the stars -- Compass directions -- Our expanding perspective -- Part 2. Key concepts for astronomy -- 4. Making sense of the universe : understanding motion, energy, and gravity -- Describing motion : examples from daily life -- Newton's laws of motion -- Conservation laws in astronomy -- The universal law of gravitation -- Orbits, tides, and the acceleration of gravity -- No gravity in space? -- What makes a rocket launch? -- Units of force, mass, and weight -- Mass-energy -- Newton's version of Kepler's third law -- The origin of tides -- Escape velocity -- The acceleration of gravity -- 5. Light and matter : reading messages from the cosmos -- Light in everyday life -- Properties of light -- Properties of matter -- Learning from light -- The Doppler effect -- What do polarized sunglasses have to do with astronomy? -- Can you hear radio waves? -- What could you see with X-ray vision? -- Is radiation dangerous? -- Wavelength, frequency, and energy -- The illusion of solidity -- One phase at a time? -- Laws of thermal radiation -- Interpreting a spectrum -- The Doppler shift -- 6. Telescopes : portals of discovery -- Eyes and cameras : everyday light sensors -- Telescopes : giant eyes -- Telescopes and the atmosphere -- Telescopes and technology -- Angular resolution -- Magnification and telescopes -- The diffraction limit -- Would you like to own your own telescope? -- Twinkle, twinkle, little star -- Closer to the stars? -- The universality of physics -- Part 3. Learning from other worlds -- 7. Our planetary system -- Studying the solar system -- Patterns in the solar system -- Spacecraft exploration of the solar system -- The solar system -- How did we learn the scale of the solar system? -- 8. Formation of the solar system -- The search for origins -- The birth of the solar system -- The formation of planets -- The aftermath of planet formation -- The age of the solar system -- Solar gravity and the density of planets -- Radiometric dating -- What started the collapse of the solar nebula? -- 9. Planetary geology : Earth and the other terrestrial worlds -- Connecting planetary interiors and surfaces -- Shaping planetary surfaces -- Geology of the Moon and Mercury -- Geology of Mars -- Geology of Venus -- The unique geology of Earth -- How do we know what's inside a planet? -- Earth is not full of molten lava -- Pressure and temperature -- The surface area-to-volume ratio -- 10. Planetary atmospheres : Earth and the other terrestrial worlds -- Atmospheric basics -- Weather and climate -- Atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury -- The atmospheric history of Mars -- The atmospheric history of Venus -- Earth's unique atmosphere -- "No greenhouse" temperatures -- Higher altitides are always colder -- Why is the sky blue? -- Weather and chaos -- Toliets in the Southern Hemisphere -- Thermal escape from an atmosphere -- Ozone : good or bad? -- The greenhouse effect is bad -- Global warming -- 11. Jovian planet systems -- A different kind of planet -- A wealth of worlds : satellites of ice and rock -- Jovian planet rings -- How were Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto discovered? -- 12. Asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets : their nature, orbuts, and impacts -- Asteroids and meteorites -- Comets -- Pluto : lone dog no more -- Cosmic collisions : small bodies versus the planets -- Dodge those asteroids! -- 13. Other planetary systems : the new science of distant worlds -- Detecting extrasolar planets -- The nature of extrasolar planets -- The formation of other solar systems -- Finding more new worlds -- How did we learn that other stars are suns? -- The names of extrasolar planets -- Finding orbital distances for extrasolar planets -- Finding masses of extrasolar planets -- Finding sizes of extrasolar planets -- Detecting extrasolar planets -- Learning from other worlds
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Part 4. A deeper look at nature -- S2. Space and time -- Einstein's revolution -- Relative motion -- The reality of space and time -- Toward a new common sense -- What if light can't catch you? -- The time dilation formula -- Formulas of special relativity -- Measuring the speed of light -- Deriving E=mc[superscript]2 -- S3. Spacetime and gravity -- Einstein's second revolution -- Understanding spacetime -- A new view of gravity -- Testing general relativity -- Hyperspace, wormholes, and warp drive -- The last word -- Einstein's leap -- Spacetime geometry -- The twin paradox -- S4. Building blocks of the universe -- The quantum revolution -- Fundamental particles and forces -- Uncertainty and exclusion in the quantum realm -- Key quantum effects in astronomy -- What is string theory? -- Does god play dice? -- Electron waves in atoms -- A deeper look at nature -- Part 5. Stars -- 14. Our star -- A closer look at the sun -- The cosmic crucible -- The sun-Earth connection -- The sun is not on fire -- Mass-energy conversion in hydrogen fusion -- Pressure in the sun : the ideal gas law -- 15. Surveying the stars -- Properties of the stars -- Patterns among stars -- Star clusters -- The inverse square law for light -- The parallax formula -- The modern magnitude scale -- Photos of stars -- Measuring stellar masses -- Reading an H-R diagram -- Calculating stellar radii -- 16. Star birth -- Stellar nurseries -- Stages of star birth -- Masses of newborn stars -- Gravity versus pressure -- 17. Star stuff -- Lives in the balance -- Life as a low-mass star -- Life as a high-mass star -- The roles of mass and mass exchange -- How long is 5 billion years? -- Summary of stellar lives -- 18. The bizarre stellar graveyard -- White dwarfs -- Neutron stars -- Black holes : gravity's ultimate victory -- The origin of gamma-ray bursts -- The Schwarzschild radius -- Black holes don't suck -- Too strange to be true? -- Balancing pressure and gravity -- Part 6. Galaxies and beyond -- 19. Our galaxy -- The Milky Way revealed -- Galactic recycling -- The history of the Milky Way -- The mysterious galactic center -- How did we learn, the structure of the Milky Way? -- How do we determine stellar orbits? -- Using stellar orbits to measure galactic mass -- The sound of space -- What is a nebula? -- 20. Galaxies and the foundation of modern cosmology -- Islands of stars -- Measuring galactic distances -- Hubble's law -- Standard candles -- Redshift -- Understanding Hubble's law -- Age from Hubble's constant -- Cosmological redshift and the stretching of light -- Beyond the horizon -- 21. Galaxy evolution -- Looking back through time -- The lives of galaxies -- Quasars and other active galactic nuclei -- Feeding a black hole -- Weighing supermassive black holes -- 22. Dark matter, dark energy, and the fate of the universe -- Unseen influences in the cosmos -- Evidence for dark matter -- Structure formation -- The fate of the universe -- Mass-to-light ratio -- Pioneers of science -- Finding cluster masses from galaxy orbits -- Finding cluster masses from gas temperature -- Einstein's greatest blunder -- Dark matter and dark energy -- 23. The beginning of time -- The big bang -- Evidence for the big bang -- The big bang and inflation -- Observing the big bang for yourself -- The early universe -- The steady state universe -- Temperature and wavelength of background radiation -- How will the universe end? -- Galaxy evolution -- Part 7. Life on Earth and beyond -- 24. Life in the universe -- Life on Earth -- Life in the solar system -- Life around other stars -- The search for extraterrestrial intelligence -- Interstellar travel and its implications to civilization -- Evolution and the schools -- What is life? -- Are aliens already here? -- A universe of life?
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| Abstract
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From the publisher. The enhanced pedagogy, streamlined presentation, and integrated media of The Cosmic Perspective, Third Edition makes it easier than ever for readers to successfully navigate their way through introductory astronomy. Renowned for its up-to-date and expert coverage, this student-friendly book focuses on central ideas and unifying themes to provide a cosmic context. New chapter openers and end-of-chapter summaries expertly steer readers through key concepts, helping them stay focused on core learning goals. The Third Edition features expanded coverage on seasons, the solar system, chronological history, and astrobiology. For college instructors, students, or anyone interested in introductory astronomy
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| Subject
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Astronomy, Textbooks
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| Dewey Classification
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520
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| LC Classification
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QB43.3.C68 2010
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| Added Entry
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Bennett, Jeffrey O
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