Table of Contents
Dedication v
What It's All About xi
Chapter 1 A Sunny Day 1
"Just the facts…" 1
A Sun of many colors 5
Up in the air 7
By the silvery Moon 12
Expanding the spectrum 16
The very small explains the very large 19
Inside the Sun 23
Outside the Sun 27
Chapter 2 The Wanderers 33
More true facts 34
As seen from Earth 37
The revolution and the gang of six 40
The last two told how it all works 43
Expanding the solar system Albert 51
The planets near the Sun 52
Here there be giants 61
Launching outward 68
Chapter 3 Seeing Far 73
What telescopes actually do 73
Refractors and how telescopes work 74
The mirrored sky: Reflectors 78
Directions please 83
Instruments, analysis, and whatnot 84
Domes and mountains: The observatory 87
And then came hubble 89
Opening up 91
Onward 96
Chapter 4 A Celestial Tour 99
Constellations: A continuing theme 99
Star light, star bright 102
Far out, man 104
The galaxy 106
Continuing on 109
Star names 115
The Zodiac, astrology, and black holes 117
Striding the sacred path 122
Andromeda and family 127
While in between 129
The moderns 132
Chapter 5 Out of Darkness 135
Cloudy skies 137
The secret lives of nebulae 140
Mirror mirror 143
Bumping through the darkness 144
Birth 149
Planets 155
Chapter 6 An Infinite Variety 159
By their spectra shall ye know them 160
The big tool 167
Double down 173
O'er the bounding main 178
Gatherings 180
Chapter 7 Star Lives 183
Growing up 183
And then the hydrogen runs out 188
Then the helium runs out 191
Saved? 193
The end is nigh 194
Degeneracy 197
Supernovac 199
Left behind 202
It's la time 205
Looking back 207
Chapter 8 Other Worlds 209
Musings on the solar system 209
Exoplanets 213
"Finding Nemo" 214
But is anybody there? 220
Index 225
