The Cosmic Perspective

✍ Scribed by Jeffrey Bennett, Megan Donahue, Nicholas Schneider, Mark Voit

• Publisher: Pearson
• Year: 2017
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 826
• Edition: 8
• Category: Library

✦ Table of Contents

Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication Page
Brief Contents
CONTENTS (with direct page links)
PART I - Developing Perspective
PART II - Key Concepts for Astronomy
PART III- Learning from Other Worlds
PART IV - A Deeper Look at Nature
PART V - Stars
PART VI - Galaxies and Beyond
PART VII - Life on Earth and Beyond
PART I - DEVELOPING PERSPECTIVE
1. A Modern View of the Universe
1.1. The Scale of the Universe
1.2. The History of the Universe
1.3. Spaceship Earth
1.4. The Human Adventure of Astronomy
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Common Misconceptions: The Meaning of a Light-Year
Mathematical Insight 1.1: How Far Is a Light-Year? An Introduction to Astronomical Problem Solving
Special Topic: How Many Planets Are There in Our Solar System?
Mathematical Insight 1.2: The Scale of Space and Time
Common Misconceptions: Confusing Very Different Things
Mathematical Insight 1.3: Order of Magnitude Estimation
Cosmic Context Figure 1.10: Our Cosmic Origins
Mathematical Insight 1.4: Speeds of Rotation and Orbit
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
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Mathematical Insight 2.1: Angular Size, Physical Size, and Distance
Common Misconceptions: The Moon Illusion
Common Misconceptions: Stars in the Daytime
Common Misconceptions: What Makes the North Star Special?
Common Misconceptions: The Cause of Seasons
Cosmic Context Figure 2.15: The Seasons
Common Misconceptions: High Noon
Common Misconceptions: Sun Signs
Common Misconceptions: Shadows and the Moon
Common Misconceptions: The “Dark Side” of the Moon
Common Misconceptions: Moon in the Daytime and Stars on the Moon
Special Topic: Does the Moon Influence Human Behavior?
Special Topic: Who First Proposed a Sun-Centered Solar System?
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
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Special Topic: Aristotle
Common Misconceptions: Columbus and a Flat Earth
Special Topic: Eratosthenes Measures Earth
Mathematical Insight 3.1: Eccentricity and Planetary Orbits
Mathematical Insight 3.2: Kepler’s Third Law
Cosmic Context Figure 3.25: The Copernican Revolution
Special Topic: And Yet It Moves
Common Misconceptions: Eggs on the Equinox
Special Topic: Logic and Science
Extraordinary Claims: Earth Orbits the Sun
S1. Celestial Timekeping and Navigation
S1.1. Astronomical Time Periods
S1.2. Celestial Coordinates and Motion in the Sky
S1.3. Principles of Celestial Navigation
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Mathematical Insight S1.1: The Copernican Layout of the Solar System
Special Topic: Solar Days and the Analemma
Mathematical Insight S1.2: Time by the Stars
Common Misconceptions: Compass Directions
Cosmic Context Part I: Our Expanding Perspective
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
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Common Misconceptions: No Gravity in Space?
Mathematical Insight 4.1: Units of Force, Mass, and Weight
Common Misconceptions: What Makes a Rocket Launch?
Mathematical Insight 4.2: Mass-Energy
Mathematical Insight 4.3: Newton’s Version of Kepler’s Third Law
Mathematical Insight 4.4: Escape Velocity
Common Misconceptions: The Origin of Tides
Mathematical Insight 4.5: The Acceleration of Gravity
5. Light and Matter : Reading Mesages from the Cosmos
5.1. Light in Everyday Life
5.2. Properties of Light
5.3. Properties of Matter
5.4. Learning from Light
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Common Misconceptions: Is Radiation Dangerous?
Common Misconceptions: Can you Hear Radio Waves or See an X Ray?
Mathematical Insight 5.1: Wavelength, Frequency, and Energy
Special Topic: What Do Polarized Sunglasses Have to Do with Astronomy?
Common Misconceptions: The Illusion of Solidity
Common Misconceptions: One Phase at a Time?
Extraordinary Claims: We Can Never Learn the Composition of Stars
Mathematical Insight 5.2: Laws of Thermal Radiation
Cosmic Context Figure 5.25: Interpreting a Spectrum
Mathematical Insight 5.3: 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 Across the Spectrum
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Common Misconceptions: Magnification and Telescopes
Mathematical Insight 6.1: Angular Resolution
Mathematical Insight 6.2: The Diffraction Limit
Common Misconceptions: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Common Misconceptions: Closer to the Stars?
Special Topic: Would You Like Your Own Telescope?
Cosmic Context Part II: The Universality of Physics
PART III - LEARNING FROM OTHER WORLDS
7. Our Planetary System
7.1. Studying the Solar System
7.2. Patterns in the Solar System
7.3. Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Cosmic Context Figure 7.1: The Solar System
Special Topic: How Did We Learn the Scale of the Solar System?
8. Formation of the Solar System
8.1. The Search for Origins
8.2. Explaining the Major Features of the Solar System
8.3. The Age of the Solar System
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Common Misconceptions: Solar Gravity and the Density of Planets
Extraordinary Claims: A Giant Impact Made Our Moon
Mathematical Insight 8.1: Radiometric Dating
Special Topic: What Started the Collapse of the Solar Nebula?
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
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Common Misconceptions: Earth Is Not Full of Molten Lava
Special Topic: How Do We Know What’s Inside Earth?
Common Misconceptions: Pressure and Temperature
Mathematical Insight 9.1: The Surface Area–to–Volume Ratio
Extraordinary Claims: Martians!
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
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Mathematical Insight 10.1: “No Greenhouse” Temperatures
Common Misconceptions: Temperatures at High Altitude
Common Misconceptions: Why is the Sky Blue?
Common Misconceptions: Toilets in the Southern Hemisphere
Special Topic: Weather and Chaos
Mathematical Insight 10.2: Thermal Escape from an Atmosphere
Common Misconceptions: Ozone—Good or Bad?
Common Misconceptions: The Greenhouse Effect
Cosmic Context Figure 10.42: Global Warming
Extraordinary Claims: Human Activity Can Change the Climate
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
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Special Topic: How Were Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto Discovered?
12. Asteroids, Comets, and Dwarf Planets: Their Nature , Orbits, and Impacts
12.1. Classifying Small Bodies
12.2. Asteroids
12.3. Comets
12.4. Pluto and the Kuiper Belt
12.5. Cosmic Collisions: Small Bodies versus the Planets
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Common Misconceptions: Dodge Those Asteroids!
Extraordinary Claims: The Death of the Dinosaurs Was Catastrophic, Not Gradual
13. Other Planetary Systems: The New Science of Distant Worlds
13.1. Detecting Planets Around Other Stars
13.2. The Nature of Planets Around Other Stars
13.3. The Formation of Other Solar Systems
13.4. The Future of Extrasolar Planetary Science
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Special Topic: How Did We Learn That Other Stars Are Suns?
Special Topic: The Names of Extrasolar Planets
Cosmic Context Figure 13.6: Detecting Extrasolaring Planets
Mathematical Insight 13.1: Finding Orbital Distances for Extrasolar Planets
Mathematical Insight 13.2: Finding Masses of Extrasolar Planets
Mathematical Insight 13.3: Finding Sizes of Extrasolar Planets
Cosmic Context Part III: Learning from Other 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
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Exercises and Problems
Special Topic: What If Light Can’t Catch You?
Mathematical Insight S2.1: The Time Dilation Formula
Mathematical Insight S2.2: Formulas of Special Relativity
Special Topic: Measuring the Speed of Light
Mathematical Insight S2.3: Deriving E = mc2
S3. Spacetime and Gravity
S3.1. Einstein’s Second Revolution
S3.2. Understanding Spacetime
S3.3. A New View of Gravity
S3.4. Testing General Relativity
S3.5. Hyperspace, Wormholes, and Warp Drive
S3.6. The Last Word
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Exercises and Problems
Special Topic: Einstein’s Leap
Mathematical Insight S3.1: Spacetime Geometry
Special Topic: The Twin Paradox
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
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Exercises and Problems
Extraordinary Claims: Faster-Than-Light Neutrinos
Special Topic: A String Theory of Everything?
Special Topic: Does God Play Dice?
Mathematical Insight S4.1: Electron Waves in Atoms
Cosmic Context Part IV: A Deeper Look at Nature
PART V - STARS
14. Our Star
14.1. A Closer Look at the Sun
14.2. Nuclear Fusion in the Sun
14.3. The Sun-Earth Connection
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Common Misconceptions : The Sun Is Not on Fire
Mathematical Insight 14.1: Mass-Energy Conversion in Hydrogen Fusion
Mathematical Insight 14.2: Pressure in the Sun: The Ideal Gas Law
15. Surveying the Stars
15.1. Properties of Stars
15.2. Patterns Among Stars
15.3. Star Clusters
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Mathematical Insight 15.1: The Inverse Square Law for Light
Mathematical Insight 15.2: The Parallax Formula
Mathematical Insight 15.3: The Modern Magnitude System
Common Misconceptions: Photos of Stars
Mathematical Insight 15.4: Measuring Stellar Masses
Mathematical Insight 15.5: Calculating Stellar Radii
Cosmic Context Figure 15.10: Reading an H-R Diagram
16. Star Birth
16.1. Stellar Nurseries
16.2. Stages of Star Birth
16.3. Masses of Newborn Stars
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Mathematical Insight 16.1: Gravity versus Pressure
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
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Special Topic: How Long Is 5 Billion Years?
Cosmic Context Figure 17.19: Summary of Stellar Lives
18. The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard
18.1. White Dwarfs
18.2. Neutron Stars
18.3. Black Holes: Gravity’s Ultimate Victory
18.4. Extreme Events
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Mathematical Insight 18.1: The Schwarzschild Radius
Common Misconceptions: Black Holes Don’t Suck
Extraordinary Claims: Neutron Stars and Black Holes Are Real
Cosmic Context Part V: Balancing Pressure and Gravity
PART VI - GALAXIES AND BEYOND
19. Our Galaxy
19.1. The Milky Way Revealed
19.2. Galactic Recycling
19.3. The History of the Milky Way
19.4. The Galactic Center
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Common Misconceptions: The Halo of a Galaxy
Special Topic: How Did We Learn the Structure of the Milky Way?
Special Topic: How Do We Determine Stellar Orbits?
Mathematical Insight 19.1: Using Stellar Orbits to Measure Galactic Mass
Common Misconceptions: The Sound of Space
Common Misconceptions: What Is a Nebula?
Cosmic Context Figure 19.22: The Galactic Center
20. Galaxies and the Foundation of Modern Cosmology
20.1. Islands of Stars
20.2. Measuring Galactic Distances
20.3. The Age of the Universe
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Mathematical Insight 20.1: Standard Candles
Special Topic: Who Discovered the Expanding Universe?
Mathematical Insight 20.2: Redshift
Mathematical Insight 20.3: Understanding Hubble’s Law
Common Misconceptions: What Is the Universe Expanding Into?
Mathematical Insight 20.4: Age from Hubble’s Constant
Mathematical Insight 20.5: Cosmological Redshift and the Stretching of Light
Common Misconceptions: Beyond the Horizon
21. Galaxy Evolution
21.1. Looking Back Through Time
21.2. The Lives of Galaxies
21.3. The Role of Supermassive Black Holes
21.4. Gas Beyond the Stars
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Mathematical Insight 21.1: Feeding a Black Hole
Mathematical Insight 21.2: Weighing Supermassive Black Holes
22. The Birth of the Universe
22.1. The Big Bang Theory
22.2. Evidence for the Big Bang
22.3. The Big Bang and Inflation
22.4. Observing the Big Bang for Yourself
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Cosmic Context Figure 22.5: The Early Universe
Extraordinary Claims: The Universe Doesn’t Change with Time
Mathematical Insight 22.1: Temperature and Wavelength of Background Radiation
23. Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe
23.1. Unseen Influences in the Cosmos
23.2. Evidence for Dark Matter
23.3. Structure Formation
23.4. Dark Energy and the Fate of the Universe
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Mathematical Insight 23.1: Mass-to-Light Ratio
Mathematical Insight 23.2: Finding Cluster Masses from Galaxy Orbits
Mathematical Insight 23.3: Finding Cluster Masses from Gas Temperature
Extraordinary Claims: Most of the Universe’s Matter Is Dark
Special Topic: Einstein’s Greatest Blunder
Cosmic Context Figure 23.20: Dark Matter and Dark Energy
Cosmic Context Part VI: Galaxy Evolution
PART VII - 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 for Civilization
The BIG Picture
Summary of Key Concepts
Visual Skills Check
Exercises and Problems
Special Topic: Evolution and the Schools
Special Topic: What is Life?
Extraordinary Claims: Aliens Are Visiting Earth in UFOs
Cosmic Context Part VII: A Universe of Life?
Credits
APPENDIXES
A: Useful Numbers
B: Useful Formulas
C: A Few Mathematical Skills
D: The Periodic Table of the Elements
E: Planetary Data
F: Stellar Data
G: Galaxy Data
H: The 88 Constellations
I: Star Charts
J: Key to Icons on Figures
Glossary
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h - i
j - k - l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t - u
v
w
x - z
INDEX (with direct page links)
A
B - C
D
E
F - G
H
I - J - K - L
M
N
O
P
Q - R - S
T
U
V - W
X - Y - Z
You Are Here in Space
You Are Here in Time
Cosmic Perspective CD