The Cosmic Perspective, 5/E
Jeffrey O. Bennett, University of Colorado, Boulder
Megan Donahue, Michigan State University
Nicholas Schneider, University of Colorado, Boulder
Mark Voit, Michigan State University

ISBN-10: 0321505670
ISBN-13: 9780321505675

Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Copyright: 2008
Format: Paper Package; 864 pp
Published: 12/05/2007

This item has been replaced by The Cosmic Perspective Media Update with MasteringAstronomy™, 5/E .

Building on a long tradition of effective pedagogy and comprehensive presentation, The Cosmic Perspective, Fifth Edition includes an enhanced art program. This student-friendly text is now even more accessible through robust visual pedagogy via new Cosmic Context two-page illustrations, which walk students through key processes and summarize the major points of each Part, and via updated zoom-in figures which provide students with a sense of orientation, scale, and relation between images. In addition to an enhanced art program, the text also features new See It For Yourself boxes with practical hands-on activities for in-class use or self-study, and a new subset of Process of Science end-of-chapter questions that challenge students to think through how we know what we know about astronomy. Renowned for its up-to-date, expert coverage and strong pedagogical support for student learning, the Fifth Edition retains and builds on all the features and supplements from previous editions that have helped to make it the #1 most adopted astronomy textbook.

 

 

The Cosmic Perspective, Fifth Edition, includes the most sophisticated yet easy-to-use astronomy tutorial and assessment system ever built: MasteringAstronomyTM It provides both instructor-assigned homework and a self-study area containing our popular astronomy media that includes Interactive TutorialsTM, Interactive Figures and PhotosTM , quizzes, and more. The Cosmic Lecture Launcher v5.0 CD-ROM includes high resolution JPEGs of all images from the book for improved in-class projection, Interactive Figures and Photos based on figures in the text, PowerPoint® Lecture Outlines, and Clicker Quizzes based on the book and book-specific interactive media, plus a variety of additional instructor resources. This unparalleled media package is designed to help professors and students seamlessly incorporate media into their lectures and at-home study.


  • Consistent Chapter Structure Focused on Learning Goals features:
    • Motivational learning goals that begin each chapter to focus students on the important concepts.
    • Learning goals that each function as the title of a section. Each section is written to address one–and only one–learning goal, ushering students through each chapter with a focus on key concepts.
    • Visual summaries at the end of each chapter revisit learning goals with text and key figures, and reinforce what students have learned.
  • An integrated media program using icons throughout the text directs students to the most widely-used library (over 100,000 users to date) of purpose-built astronomy media, including Interactive Tutorials, Interactive Figures™ and Interactive Photos™ which focus on the concepts students struggle with most.
  • Annotated Figures and Photos help students better understand the key concepts presented in complex figures or graphs and build visual interpretation skills.
  • The Process of Science is integrated seamlessly throughout, is a core theme and is reinforced in the end end of chapter questions.
  • A cosmic framework establishes a solid foundation of understanding by exploring the key themes of our place in the universe and how astronomers know what they know, and fleshes out these themes throughout the text. This approach motivates students to learn, and helps them develop a personal understanding of astronomy and a lasting appreciation of the process of science.
  • A planet-by-planet introduction gives students an overarching picture of the solar system first, followed by a comparative approach that emphasizes similarities between planets and explores their connecting processes. This combined approach gives students a deeper understanding of our solar system, our world, and prospects for life elsewhere in the universe.
  • A Media Explorations page at the end of each chapter provides quick exercises and in-depth projects using the wealth of specially developed interactive media on MasteringAstronomyTM and tools available in the Voyager: SkyGazer planetarium software.

  • Enhanced Visual Pedagogy makes this already student-friendly text even more accessible through the use of carefully crafted annotations, Cosmic Context process and summary figures, stepped blow-outs, multi-frequency images, and increased image size.
  • Cosmic Context Figures combine text and illustrations into accessible and coherent visual summaries that will help improve your students’ understanding of essential topics.
  • Expanded end-of-chapter problems include quick quizzes, multiple-choice, self-study questions, quantitative problems, and brand new Process of Science questions which ask students to think more deeply about how we know what we know about astronomy today.
  • Thorough coverage of new discoveries includes the IAU dwarf planet debate and the status of Pluto and Eris, the accelerating universe/cosmological constant, the detection of more planets around other stars, the potential of water flows on Mars, and the latest theories on the very early universe.
  • MasteringAstronomy™ is the most sophisticated astronomy tutorial and assessment system ever built. It provides both instructor-assigned homework as well as a self-study area with all of the popular Interactive Tutorials, Interactive Figures and Photos, quizzes and more.
  • An updated Cosmic Lecture Launcher includes high resolution JPEGs of all images from the book for improved in-class projection, Interactive Figures and Photos™ based on figures in the text, PowerPoint® Lecture Outlines, and Clicker Quizzes based on the book and book-specific interactive media, plus a variety of additional instructor resources

PART I DEVELOPING PERSPECTIVE

 

1 Our Place in the Universe

 

1.1 Our Modern View of the Universe

 

1.2 The Scale of the Universe

 

1.3 Spaceship Earth

 

1.4 The Human Adventure of Astronomy

 

2 Discovering the Universe for Yourself

 

2.1 Patterns in the Night Sky

 

2.2 The Reason for Seasons

 

2.3 The Moon, Our Constant Companion

 

2.4 The Ancient Mystery of the Planets

 

3 The Science of Astronomy

 

3.1 The Ancient Roots of Science

 

3.2 Ancient Greek Science

 

3.3 The Copernican Revolution

 

3.4 The Nature of Science

 

3.5 Astrology

 

S1 Celestial Timekeeping and Navigation

 

S1.1 Astronomical Time Periods

 

S1.2 Celestial Coordinates and Motion in the Sky

 

S1.3 Principles of Celestial Navigation

 

PART II KEY CONCEPTS FOR ASTRONOMY

 

4 Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity

 

4.1 Describing Motion: Examples from Daily Life

 

4.2 Newton’s Laws of Motion

 

4.3 Conservation Laws in Astronomy

 

4.4 The Universal Law of Gravitation

 

4.5 Orbits, Tides, and the Acceleration of Gravity

 

5 Light and Matter: Reading Messages from the Cosmos

 

5.1 Light in Everyday Life

 

5.2 Properties of Light

 

5.3 Properties of Matter

 

5.4 Learning from Light

 

5.5 The Doppler Shift

 

6 Telescopes: Portals of Discovery

 

6.1 Eyes and Cameras: Everyday Light Sensors

 

6.2 Telescopes: Giant Eyes

 

6.3 Telescopes and the Atmosphere

 

6.4 Telescopes and Technology

 

PART III LEARNING FROM OTHER WORLDS

 

7 Our Solar System

 

7.1 Studying the Solar System

 

7.2 Patterns in the Solar System

 

7.3 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System

 

8 Formation of the Solar System

 

8.1 The Search for Origins

 

8.2 The Birth of the Solar System

 

8.3 The Formation of Planets

 

8.4 The Aftermath of Planet Formation

 

8.5 The Age of the Solar System

 

9 Planetary Geology: Earth and the Other Terrestrial Worlds

 

9.1 Connecting Planetary Interiors and Surfaces

 

9.2 Shaping Planetary Surfaces

 

9.3 Geology of the Moon and Mercury

 

9.4 Geology of Mars

 

9.5 Geology of Venus

 

9.6 The Unique Geology of Earth

 

10 Planetary Atmospheres: Earth and the Other Terrestrial Worlds

 

10.1 Atmospheric Basics

 

10.2 Weather and Climate

 

10.3 Atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury

 

10.4 The Atmospheric History of Mars

 

10.5 The Atmospheric History of Venus

 

10.6 Earth’s Unique Atmosphere

 

11 Jovian Planet Systems

 

11.1 A Different Kind of Planet

 

11.2 A Wealth of Worlds: Satellites of Ice and Rock

 

11.3 Jovian Planet Rings

 

12 Asteroids, Comets, and Dwarf Planets: Their Nature, Orbits, and Impacts

 

12.1 Asteroids and Meteorites

 

12.2 Comets

 

12.3 Pluto: Lone Dog No More

 

12.4 Cosmic Collisions: Small Bodies Versus the Planets

 

13 Other Planetary Systems: The New Science of Distant Worlds

 

13.1 Detecting  Extrasolar Planets

 

13.2 The Nature of Extrasolar Planets

 

13.3 The Formation of Other Solar Systems

 

13.4 Finding More New Worlds

 

PART IV A DEEPER LOOK AT NATURE

 

S2 Space and Time

 

S2.1 Einstein’s Revolution

 

S2.2 Relative Motion

 

S2.3 The Reality of Space and Time

 

S2.4 Toward a New Common Sense

 

S3 Spacetime and Gravity

 

S3.1 Einstein’s Second Revolution

 

S3.2 Understanding Spacetime

 

S3.3 A New View of Gravity

 

S3.4 Testing Special Relativity

 

S3.5 Hyperspace, Wormholes, and Warp Drive

 

S3.6 The Last Word

 

S4 Building Blocks of the Universe

 

S4.1 The Quantum Revolution

 

S4.2 Fundamental Particles and Forces

 

S4.3 Uncertainty and Exclusion in the Quantum Realm

 

S4.4 Key Quantum Effects in Astronomy

 

PART V STELLAR ALCHEMY

 

14 Our Star

 

14.1 A Closer Look at the Sun

 

14.2 The Cosmic Crucible

 

14.3 The Sun-Earth Connection

 

15 Surveying the Stars

 

15.1 Properties of Stars

 

15.2 Patterns Among Stars

 

15.3 Star Clusters

 

16 Star Birth

 

16.1 Stellar Nurseries

 

16.2 Stages of Star Birth

 

16.3 Masses of Newborn Stars

 

17 Star Stuff

 

17.1 Lives in the Balance

 

17.2 Life as a Low-Mass Star

 

17.3 Life as a High-Mass Star

 

17.4 The Roles of Mass and Mass Exchange

 

18 The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard

 

18.1 White Dwarfs

 

18.2 Neutron Stars

 

18.3 Black Holes: Gravity’s Ultimate Victory

 

18.4 The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts

 

PART VI GALAXIES AND BEYOND

 

19 Our Galaxy

 

19.1 The Milky Way Revealed

 

19.2 Galactic Recycling

 

19.3 History of the Milky Way

 

19.4 The Mysterious Galactic Center

 

20 Galaxies and the Foundation of Modern Cosmology

 

20.1 Islands of Stars

 

20.2 Measuring Galactic Distances

 

20.3 Hubble's Law

 

21 Galaxy Evolution

 

21.1 Looking Back Through Time

 

21.2 The Lives of Galaxies

 

21.3 Quasars and Other Active Galactic Nuclei

 

22 Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe

 

22.1 Unseen Influences in the Cosmos

 

22.2 Evidence for Dark Matter

 

22.3 Structure Formation

 

22.4 The Fate of the Universe

 

23 The Beginning of Time

 

23.1 The Big Bang

 

23.2 Evidence for the Big Bang

 

23.3 The Big Bang and Inflation

 

23.4 Observing the Big Bang for Yourself

 

PART VI LIFE ON EARTH AND BEYOND

 

24 Life in the Universe

 

24.1 Life on Earth

 

24.2 Life in the Solar System

 

24.3 Life Around other Stars

 

24.4 The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

 

24.5 Interstellar Travel and Its Implications to Civilization

    Building on a long tradition of effective pedagogy and comprehensive presentation, The Cosmic Perspective Media Update, Fifth Edition includes Voyager: SkyGazer planetarium software, an updated Astronomy Media Workbook on CD-ROM at no extra charge, and an enhanced MasteringAstronomy™ online tutorial and assessment system. This edition’s expanded visual pedagogy features new Cosmic Context two-page illustrations that walk students through key processes and summarize the major concepts in each Part. Zoom-in figures also provide students with a sense of orientation, scale, and relation between images. In addition to its enhanced visuals, the text also features See It For Yourself boxes with practical hands-on activities for in-class use or self-study, and a new set of Process of Science end-of-chapter questions that challenge students to think through how we know what we know about astronomy. Renowned for its up-to-date, expert coverage and strong pedagogical support for student learning, the Media Update Fifth Edition retains and builds on all the features and supplements from previous editions that have helped to make it the most widely adopted astronomy textbook.

     

     Offered with The Cosmic Perspective Media Update, Fifth Edition is an unparalleled media package designed to help professors and students seamlessly incorporate media into lectures and independent study.  MasteringAstronomy™, the most sophisticated yet easy-to-use astronomy tutorial and assessment system ever built, provides a library of assignable tutorial problems, a powerful gradebook for instructors, and a robust self-study area that includes quizzes, Interactive Tutorials, new Interactive Figures and Photos™, RSS news feeds that provide up-to-date articles from major astronomy news sources, a content-plus eBook, with enhanced functionality, write-to capability, live links, and more. For additional instructor media resources, The Cosmic Lecture Launcher v5.0 CD-ROM set includes high resolution JPEGs of all images from the book, Interactive Figures and Photos based on figures in the text, PowerPoint® Lecture Outlines, and Clicker Quizzes based on the book and book-specific interactive media, plus a variety of additional instructor resources.

  • 0321551389The Cosmic Perspective Media Update with MasteringAstronomy™, 5/E
    Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit
    © 2009 | Addison-Wesley | Paper Package; 864 pages | Estimated Availability: 12/19/2008
    ISBN-10: 0321551389 | ISBN-13: 9780321551382
    Brief Description

For Astronomy


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  • 0321506189The Cosmic Perspective, 5/E
    Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit
    © 2008 | Addison-Wesley | Paper; 736 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321506189 | ISBN-13: 9780321506184
    Buy from myPearsonStore

    • Building on a long tradition of effective pedagogy and comprehensive presentation, The Cosmic Perspective: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology, Fifth Edition includes an enhanced art program. This student-friendly text is now even more accessible through robust visual pedagogy via new Cosmic Context two-page illustrations, which walk students through key processes and summarize the major points of each Part, and via updated zoom-in figures which provide students with a sense of orientation, scale, and relation between images. In addition to an enhanced art program, the text also features new See It For Yourself boxes with practical hands-on activities for in-class use or self-study, and a new subset of Process of Science end-of-chapter questions that challenge students to think through how we know what we know about astronomy. Renowned for its up-to-date, expert coverage and strong pedagogical support for student learning, the Fifth Edition retains and builds on all the features and supplements from previous editions that have helped to make it the #1 most adopted astronomy textbook.

     

     

    The Cosmic Perspective: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology, Fifth Edition, includes the most sophisticated yet easy-to-use astronomy tutorial and assessment system ever built: MasteringAstronomyTM It provides both instructor-assigned homework and a self-study area containing our popular astronomy media that includes Interactive TutorialsTM, Interactive Figures and PhotosTM , quizzes, and more. The Cosmic Lecture Launcher v5.0 CD-ROM includes high resolution JPEGs of all images from the book for improved in-class projection, Interactive Figures and Photos based on figures in the text, PowerPoint® Lecture Outlines, and Clicker Quizzes based on the book and book-specific interactive media, plus a variety of additional instructor resources. This unparalleled media package is designed to help professors and students seamlessly incorporate media into their lectures and at-home study.

  • 0321503198Cosmic Perspective, The: Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology, 5/E
    Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit
    © 2008 | Addison-Wesley | Paper Package; 340 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321503198 | ISBN-13: 9780321503190
    Brief Description

    • Building on a long tradition of effective pedagogy and comprehensive presentation, The Cosmic Perspective: The Solar System, Fifth Edition includes an enhanced art program. This student-friendly text is now even more accessible through robust visual pedagogy via new Cosmic Context two-page illustrations, which walk students through key processes and summarize the major points of each Part, and via updated zoom-in figures which provide students with a sense of orientation, scale, and relation between images. In addition to an enhanced art program, the text also features new See It For Yourself boxes with practical hands-on activities for in-class use or self-study, and a new subset of Process of Science end-of-chapter questions that challenge students to think through how we know what we know about astronomy. Renowned for its up-to-date, expert coverage and strong pedagogical support for student learning, the Fifth Edition retains and builds on all the features and supplements from previous editions that have helped to make it the #1 most adopted astronomy textbook.

     

     

    The Cosmic Perspective: The Solar System, Fifth Edition, includes the most sophisticated yet easy-to-use astronomy tutorial and assessment system ever built: MasteringAstronomyTM It provides both instructor-assigned homework and a self-study area containing our popular astronomy media that includes Interactive TutorialsTM, Interactive Figures and PhotosTM , quizzes, and more. The Cosmic Lecture Launcher v5.0 CD-ROM includes high resolution JPEGs of all images from the book for improved in-class projection, Interactive Figures and Photos based on figures in the text, PowerPoint® Lecture Outlines, and Clicker Quizzes based on the book and book-specific interactive media, plus a variety of additional instructor resources. This unparalleled media package is designed to help professors and students seamlessly incorporate media into their lectures and at-home study.

  • 0321503171Cosmic Perspective, The: The Solar System, 5/E
    Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit
    © 2008 | Addison-Wesley | Paper Package; 340 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321503171 | ISBN-13: 9780321503176
    Brief Description

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