Astronomy Books for College & University Students, Audio CD
1. Voyages to the Planets (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac) by Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, Sidney Wolff; Paperback: 448 pages, Publisher: Brooks Cole
This book provides students and professors with the ideal combination of authors and experience. It is written by an award-winning astronomy educator (Fraknoi) and two distinguished research scientists (Morrison at NASA and Wolff at NOAO). This author team combines the latest science with classroom-tested teaching strategies and a student-friendly approach. Through unique group activities and a focus on astronomy as a human endeavor, the authors engage and involve students, helping them both understand and enjoy astronomy. The market-leading technology package includes access to InfoTrac College Edition (free!) and TheSky Student Edition CD-ROM (free!), as well as an optional package with the RedShift College Edition CD-ROM (including animations) along with an accompanying workbook.
2. Voyages Through the Universe (with CD-ROM, Virtual Astronomy Labs, and InfoTrac) by Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, Sidney Wolff; Paperback: 784 pages, Publisher: Brooks Cole
This introductory textbook is designed for either a one-semester overview or a more thorough two-semester introductory course. It discusses the history of the field, orbits and gravity, radiation and spectra, astronomical instruments, the major features of our solar system, celestial distances, the life cycle of planets and stars, and galaxies. It is written by an award-winning astronomy educator (Fraknoi) and two distinguished research scientists (Morrison at NASA and Wolff at NOAO). The companion CD includes a database of 118,00 stars and 13,000 deep-sky objects, and features a program reconstructing the view of the sky over a 12,000- year period.
3. Moons and Planets by William K. Hartmann, Hardcover: 456 pages, Publisher: Brooks Cole
Author William Hartmann has fully updated This textbook, which retains a comparative approach to the principles of planetology, including organization by physical topic rather than by planet. This unique approach promotes an understanding of the unifying principles and processes that cause similarities and differences among the moon and planets. This edition features findings and photos from Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor missions as well as information on new discoveries about Mars, such as underground ice and possible glacial features. The author also includes new results about the "Tagish Lake fireball," material from the landing of the NEAR spacecraft on asteroid Eros, and updates on satellites of Jupiter and Saturn. The text's unique math boxes provide flexibility to teach planetary science at a descriptive level or at a moderately advanced level involving algebra and elementary calculus.
4. Foundations of Astronomy (with CD-ROM, Virtual Astronomy Labs, AceAstronomy, and InfoTrac) by Michael A. Seeds, Hardcover: 688 pages, Publisher: Brooks Cole
This book's goal is to help students use astronomy to understand science and use science to understand what we are. Fascinating and engaging, This textbook illustrates the scientific method and guides students to these fundamental questions: "What are we?" and "How do we know?" In discussing the interplay between evidence and hypothesis, Seeds provides not just facts, but a conceptual framework for understanding the logic of science. The book vividly conveys his love of astronomy, and illustrates how students can comprehend their place in the universe by grasping a small set of physical laws. Crafting a story about astronomy, Mike shows students how to ask questions to gradually puzzle out the beautiful secrets of the physical world. Mathematics is incorporated into the text (and in separate sections for easy reference), but the book's arguments do not depend on mathematical reasoning, keeping even math-averse students engaged. The revision addresses new developments in astrophysics and cosmology, plus the latest discoveries, from Mars' buried water to proto-galaxies at the limits of the observable universe. This edition is now fully integrated with a FREE, brand-new student tutorial system.
5. The Cosmos : Astronomy in the New Millennium by Jay M. Pasachoff, Alex Filippenko, Paperback: 496 pages, Publisher: Brooks Cole
The authors combine extensive research experience (including years of research in such areas as radio astronomy, solar eclipses, supernovae, active galaxies, black holes, and cosmology), teaching experience, and textbook-writing experience to offer a book that is unparalleled in its ability to present the latest science in a way that students can understand. This brief and beautifully illustrated text--one of the briefest available for the course--offers concise coverage of a wide range of astronomical topics. An early discussion of the scientific method stresses its importance in the verification of observations. The authors emphasize the study of origins in This textbook, first by singling out specifics in the headings of each chapter and then by dealing with a variety of relevant material in the text itself. This new edition includes a new chapter on the dozens of exoplanets that are being discovered around other stars. Automatically packaged with TheSky CD-ROM and four months' free access to InfoTrac College Edition, the new edition extends student learning opportunities beyond the walls of the classroom.