21st century astronomy : the solar system by Hester, John Jeffrey; Smith, Bradford; Blumenthal, George; Kay, Laura instant download

21st century astronomy : the solar system by Hester, John Jeffrey; Smith, Bradford; Blumenthal, George; Kay, Laura instant download

xxxv, 651 pages : 28 cm, This volume is an introductory astronomy textbook. Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, nebulae, star clusters and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere (such as the cosmic background radiation). It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the formation and development of the universe. This work intends to teach students how science works, help students visualize basic concepts and physical processes, and keep students focused on the \"big picture.\", Includes index, pt. 1: Introduction to astronomy. Why learn astronomy? -- Patterns in the sky-motions of earth -- Gravity and orbits-a celestial ballet -- Light -- The tools of the astronomer -- pt. 2: The solar system. The birth and evolution of planetary systems -- The terrestrial planets and earth's moon -- Atmospheres of the terrestrial planets -- Worlds of gas and liquid-the giant planets -- Gravity is more than Kepler's laws -- Planetary adornments-moons and rings -- Dwarf planets and small solar system bodies -- pt. 3: Stars and stellar evolution. Taking the measure of stars -- A run-of-the-mill G-type star-our sun -- Star formation and the interstellar medium -- Stars in the slow lane-low-mass stellar evolution -- Live fast, die young-high-mass stellar evolution -- pt. 4: Galaxies, the universe, and cosmology. Our expanding universe -- Galaxies -- The Milky Way-a normal spiral galaxy -- Modern cosmology -- The origin of structure -- Life -- Epilogue: the universe and you