Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide, Eighth Edition

by Dinah L. Moch

Overview

Now with a full-color insert and thoroughly revised, this perennial bestseller is the most comprehensive and successful beginner's astronomy books in the market. 
"One of the best ways by which one can be introduced to the wonders of astronomy." —The Strolling Astronomer 
For a generation, Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide to the night sky. Now this classic beginner's guide has been completely revised to bring it up to date with the latest discoveries. Updated with the latest, most accurate information, new online resources, and more than 100 new graphics and photos, this Eighth Edition features:

Website addresses throughout for the best color images and astronomy resources online

Technical ideas made simple without mathematics

A beautiful updated full-color, glossy insert with spectacular images

An interactive format with learning goals, reviews, self-tests, and answers for fast learning

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620459904
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	07/22/2014
Series:	Wiley Self-Teaching Guides Series , #190
Edition description:	Eighth Edition
Pages:	388
Sales rank:	1,018,247
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Dinah L. Moché, Ph.D., is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the City University of New York. An award-winning author and lecturer, her books have sold over ten million copies in seven languages.

Read an Excerpt

Objectives

Locate sky objects by their right ascension and declination on the celestial sphere.

Identify some bright stars and constellations visible each season.

Explain why the stars appear to move along arcs in the sky during the night.

Explain why some different constellations appear in the sky each season.

Explain the apparent daily and annual motions of the Sun.

Define the zodiac.

Describe how the starry sky looks when viewed from different latitudes on Earth.

Define a sidereal day and a solar day, and explain why they differ.

Explain how astronomers classify objects according to their apparent brightness (magnitude).

Explain why the polestar and the location of the vernal equinox change over a period of thousands of years.

1.1 STARGAZER’S VIEW

On a clear, dark night the sky looks like a gigantic dome studded with stars. We can easily see why the ancients believed that the starry sky was a huge sphere turning around Earth. Today we know that stars are remote, blazing Suns racing through space at different distances from Earth. The Earth rotates, or turns, daily around its axis (the imaginary line running through its center between the North and South Poles).

But the picture of the sky as a huge, hollow globe of stars that turns around Earth is still useful. Astronomers call this fictitious picture of the sky the celestial sphere. “Celestial” comes from the Latin word for heaven. Astronomers use the celestial sphere to locate stars and galaxies and to plot the courses of the Sun, Moon, and planets throughout the year. When you look at the stars, imagine yourself inside the celestial sphere looking out (Figure 1.1).

Why do the stars on the celestial sphere appear to move during the night when you observe them from Earth? ________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Answer: Because the Earth is rotating on its axis inside the celestial sphere.

Table of Contents

List of Tables

Introduction Cosmic View 
Chapter 1 Understanding the Starry Sky 
Chapter 2 Light and Telescopes 
Chapter 3 The Stars 
Chapter 4 The Sun 
Chapter 5 Stellar Evolution 
Chapter 6 Galaxies 
Chapter 7 The Universe 
Chapter 8 Exploring the Solar System 
Chapter 9 The Planets 
Chapter 10 The Moon 
Chapter 11 Comets, Meteors, and Meteorites 
Chapter 12 Life on Other Worlds? 
Epilogue
Useful Resources and Web Sites

Periodicals: Print and Online

Databases

Books by Dinah L. Moché

Career Information

Almanacs, Observing Guides, and Star Atlases

Organizations

Stunning Color Images and News Online

Appendixes

1. The Constellations 2. Physical and Astronomical Constants 3. Measurements and Symbols 4. Periodic Table of the Elements 5. The Nearest Stars 6. The Messier Objects

Index
Star and Moon Maps

Spring Skies
Summer Skies
Autumn Skies
Winter Skies
Moon Map

What People are Saying About This

Science Digest

"A lively, up-to-date account of the basic principles of astronomy and exciting current fields of research."

Editorial Reviews

"One of the best ways by which one can be introduced to the wonders of astronomy." — The Strolling Astronomer

"Excellent . . . provides stimulating reading and actively involves the reader in astronomy." — The Reflector

"A lively, up-to-date account of the basic principles of astronomy and exciting current field of research." — Science Digest

From the Publisher