Astronomy 2e

by Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison and Sidney Wolff

Published by OpenStax

PhysicsCollege

Designed to meet the scope and sequence of your course, Astronomy 2e is written in clear non-technical language, with the occasional touch of humor and a wide range of clarifying illustrations. It has many analogies drawn from everyday life to help non-science majors appreciate, on their own terms, what our modern exploration of the universe is revealing. The book can be used for either a one-semester or two-semester introductory course. The second edition has been updated according to new exploration and discoveries. The second edition also includes a significant amount of new art and images. The first edition of Astronomy by OpenStax is available in web view here . If you have encountered a white screen while accessing your OpenStax textbook, our developers suggest closing all of your OpenStax.org tabs and then loading the book again.

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Attribution

Adapted from Astronomy 2e by Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, and Sidney Wolff, published by OpenStax (Rice University) under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Access the original for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/astronomy-2e. Changes: converted to CuraCourse lessons, with interactive practice added.

228 pages in 32 modules. Sign up to read and adopt them.

Preface1 page
1. Preface
1Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour10 pages
1. Introduction
2. 1.1The Nature of Astronomy
3. 1.2The Nature of Science
4. 1.3The Laws of Nature
5. 1.4Numbers in Astronomy
6. 1.5Consequences of Light Travel Time
7. 1.6A Tour of the Universe
8. 1.7The Universe on the Large Scale
9. 1.8The Universe of the Very Small
10. 1.9A Conclusion and a Beginning
2Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy6 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 2.1The Sky Above
3. 2.2Ancient Astronomy
4. 2.3Astrology and Astronomy
5. 2.4The Birth of Modern Astronomy
6. Practice
3Orbits and Gravity8 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 3.1The Laws of Planetary Motion
3. 3.2Newton’s Great Synthesis
4. 3.3Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation
5. 3.4Orbits in the Solar System
6. 3.5Motions of Satellites and Spacecraft
7. 3.6Gravity with More Than Two Bodies
8. Practice
4Earth, Moon, and Sky9 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 4.1Earth and Sky
3. 4.2The Seasons
4. 4.3Keeping Time
5. 4.4The Calendar
6. 4.5Phases and Motions of the Moon
7. 4.6Ocean Tides and the Moon
8. 4.7Eclipses of the Sun and Moon
9. Practice
5Radiation and Spectra8 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 5.1The Behavior of Light
3. 5.2The Electromagnetic Spectrum
4. 5.3Spectroscopy in Astronomy
5. 5.4The Structure of the Atom
6. 5.5Formation of Spectral Lines
7. 5.6The Doppler Effect
8. Practice
6Astronomical Instruments8 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 6.1Telescopes
3. 6.2Telescopes Today
4. 6.3Visible-Light Detectors and Instruments
5. 6.4Radio Telescopes
6. 6.5Observations outside Earth’s Atmosphere
7. 6.6The Future of Large Telescopes
8. Practice
7Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System6 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 7.1Overview of Our Planetary System
3. 7.2Composition and Structure of Planets
4. 7.3Dating Planetary Surfaces
5. 7.4Origin of the Solar System
6. Practice
8Earth as a Planet7 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 8.1The Global Perspective
3. 8.2Earth’s Crust
4. 8.3Earth’s Atmosphere
5. 8.4Life, Chemical Evolution, and Climate Change
6. 8.5Cosmic Influences on the Evolution of Earth
7. Practice
9Cratered Worlds7 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 9.1General Properties of the Moon
3. 9.2The Lunar Surface
4. 9.3Impact Craters
5. 9.4The Origin of the Moon
6. 9.5Mercury
7. Practice
10Earthlike Planets: Venus and Mars8 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 10.1The Nearest Planets: An Overview
3. 10.2The Geology of Venus
4. 10.3The Massive Atmosphere of Venus
5. 10.4The Geology of Mars
6. 10.5Water and Life on Mars
7. 10.6Divergent Planetary Evolution
8. Practice
11The Giant Planets5 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 11.1Exploring the Outer Planets
3. 11.2The Giant Planets
4. 11.3Atmospheres of the Giant Planets
5. Practice
12Rings, Moons, and Pluto7 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 12.1Ring and Moon Systems Introduced
3. 12.2The Galilean Moons of Jupiter
4. 12.3Titan and Triton
5. 12.4Pluto and Charon
6. 12.5Planetary Rings (and Enceladus)
7. Practice
13Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System6 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 13.1Asteroids
3. 13.2Asteroids and Planetary Defense
4. 13.3The “Long-Haired” Comets
5. 13.4The Origin and Fate of Comets and Related Objects
6. Practice
14Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System7 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 14.1Meteors
3. 14.2Meteorites: Stones from Heaven
4. 14.3Formation of the Solar System
5. 14.4Comparison with Other Planetary Systems
6. 14.5Planetary Evolution
7. Practice
15The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star6 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 15.1The Structure and Composition of the Sun
3. 15.2The Solar Cycle
4. 15.3Solar Activity above the Photosphere
5. 15.4Space Weather
6. Practice
16The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse6 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 16.1Sources of Sunshine: Thermal and Gravitational Energy
3. 16.2Mass, Energy, and the Theory of Relativity
4. 16.3The Solar Interior: Theory
5. 16.4The Solar Interior: Observations
6. Practice
17Analyzing Starlight6 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 17.1The Brightness of Stars
3. 17.2Colors of Stars
4. 17.3The Spectra of Stars (and Brown Dwarfs)
5. 17.4Using Spectra to Measure Stellar Radius, Composition, and Motion
6. Practice
18The Stars: A Celestial Census6 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 18.1A Stellar Census
3. 18.2Measuring Stellar Masses
4. 18.3Diameters of Stars
5. 18.4The H–R Diagram
6. Practice
19Celestial Distances6 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 19.1Fundamental Units of Distance
3. 19.2Surveying the Stars
4. 19.3Variable Stars: One Key to Cosmic Distances
5. 19.4The H–R Diagram and Cosmic Distances
6. Practice
20Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space8 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 20.1The Interstellar Medium
3. 20.2Interstellar Gas
4. 20.3Cosmic Dust
5. 20.4Cosmic Rays
6. 20.5The Life Cycle of Cosmic Material
7. 20.6Interstellar Matter around the Sun
8. Practice
21The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System8 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 21.1Star Formation
3. 21.2The H–R Diagram and the Study of Stellar Evolution
4. 21.3Evidence That Planets Form around Other Stars
5. 21.4Planets beyond the Solar System: Search and Discovery
6. 21.5Exoplanets Everywhere: What We Are Learning
7. 21.6New Perspectives on Planet Formation
8. Practice
22Stars from Adolescence to Old Age7 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 22.1Evolution from the Main Sequence to Red Giants
3. 22.2Star Clusters
4. 22.3Checking Out the Theory
5. 22.4Further Evolution of Stars
6. 22.5The Evolution of More Massive Stars
7. Practice
23The Death of Stars8 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 23.1The Death of Low-Mass Stars
3. 23.2Evolution of Massive Stars: An Explosive Finish
4. 23.3Supernova Observations
5. 23.4Pulsars and the Discovery of Neutron Stars
6. 23.5The Evolution of Binary Star Systems
7. 23.6The Mystery of the Gamma-Ray Bursts
8. Practice
24Black Holes and Curved Spacetime9 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 24.1Introducing General Relativity
3. 24.2Spacetime and Gravity
4. 24.3Tests of General Relativity
5. 24.4Time in General Relativity
6. 24.5Black Holes
7. 24.6Evidence for Black Holes
8. 24.7Gravitational Wave Astronomy
9. Practice
25The Milky Way Galaxy8 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 25.1The Architecture of the Galaxy
3. 25.2Spiral Structure
4. 25.3The Mass of the Galaxy
5. 25.4The Center of the Galaxy
6. 25.5Stellar Populations in the Galaxy
7. 25.6The Formation of the Galaxy
8. Practice
26Galaxies7 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 26.1The Discovery of Galaxies
3. 26.2Types of Galaxies
4. 26.3Properties of Galaxies
5. 26.4The Extragalactic Distance Scale
6. 26.5The Expanding Universe
7. Practice
27Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes5 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 27.1Quasars
3. 27.2Supermassive Black Holes: What Quasars Really Are
4. 27.3Quasars as Probes of Evolution in the Universe
5. Practice
28The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies7 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 28.1Observations of Distant Galaxies
3. 28.2Galaxy Mergers and Active Galactic Nuclei
4. 28.3The Distribution of Galaxies in Space
5. 28.4The Challenge of Dark Matter
6. 28.5The Formation and Evolution of Galaxies and Structure in the Universe
7. Practice
29The Big Bang9 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 29.1The Age of the Universe
3. 29.2A Model of the Universe
4. 29.3The Beginning of the Universe
5. 29.4The Cosmic Microwave Background
6. 29.5What Is the Universe Really Made Of?
7. 29.6The Inflationary Universe
8. 29.7The Anthropic Principle
9. Practice
30Life in the Universe6 pages
1. Thinking Ahead
2. 30.1The Cosmic Context for Life
3. 30.2Astrobiology
4. 30.3Searching for Life beyond Earth
5. 30.4The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
6. Practice
Appendices13 pages
1. AHow to Study for an Introductory Astronomy Class
2. BAstronomy Websites, Images, and Apps
3. CScientific Notation
4. DUnits Used in Science
5. ESome Useful Constants for Astronomy
6. FPhysical and Orbital Data for the Planets
7. GSelected Moons of the Planets
8. HFuture Total Eclipses
9. IThe Nearest Stars, Brown Dwarfs, and White Dwarfs
10. JThe Brightest Twenty Stars
11. KThe Chemical Elements
12. LThe Constellations
13. MStar Chart and Sky Event Resources

Astronomy 2e

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