Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide

About this book

This book lets you discover the wonders of the night sky with this bestselling astronomy guide. 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 and graphics. Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide features over 80 new photos and illustrations, including a full-color insert. It reviews the newest telescopes and spacecraft.

It includes an overview of the best astronomy Web sites. It is written by award-winning author Dinah Moch. Packed with valuable tables, charts, and star and moon maps, this user-friendly guide makes it easy for you to quickly grasp the basic principles of astronomy and start observing the night sky. Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide includes objectives, reviews, and self-tests, and can be used on its own as a self-teaching guide or as a supplement to astronomy course materials.

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 Websites

Periodicals: Print and Online
Databases
Books by Dinah L
Moche
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 Back of Book
Spring Skies
Summer Skies
Autumn Skies
Winter Skies
Moon Map

Customer Reviews

Biography

Dinah L. Moché, PhD, is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the City University of New York and an award-winning author and lecturer. Her books have sold more than ten million copies in seven languages.