Based on Bob Bless's extensive experience teaching astronomy courses, this book provides a rich, historical approach to introductory astronomy.
In the fifteen years since the first edition of this text was published, several new concepts such as dark matter, dark energy, and an incredible expansion of the universe (inflation) have been developed. Furthermore, many of the exotic effects predicted by General Relativity (e.g. black holes, warped space) have gone from being interesting theoretical speculations to useful practical tools for understanding the universe.
This book aims to give an overview of astronomy, but in such a way that the non-science major can get a feeling for how science actually developed with its false starts and wrong turns, which observational evidence eventually corrected. Several chapters of the second edition have been extensively revised to include the incredible recent developments in our understanding of the physical universe. This streamlined new edition is ideal for use as the primary text in an introductory astronomy course for nonmajors.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'Astronomy is a big subject, spanning the multi-billion light-year extent of the cosmos, and the entirety of human history. It's no easy task to encapsulate all this in a single text. The new edition of Bob Bless's book provides the best all-around treatment of the subject that I've found at the undergraduate level, including a thorough yet concise survey of astronomy's rich history, as well as rigorous but accessible explanations of diverse astrophysical phenomena. It's an admirable achievement.' -John Blakeslee, Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Canada 'This new edition of Discovering the Cosmos by R.C. Bless is the best liberal arts introduction to astronomy available. Its emphasis is on understanding rather than memorizing the science. Bless includes a generous historical account in his text. And despite the limited use of explicit mathematics, this book provides excellent coverage of the science. The problem sets, observation projects, and references are excellent. Discovering the Cosmos has been my favorite introductory astronomy text since the first edition hit the market.' -Richard Hilt, Colorado College, USA
Auflage
Sprache
Verlagsort
Mill Valley
Großbritannien
Zielgruppe
Für die Erwachsenenbildung
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Editions-Typ
Produkt-Hinweis
Broschur/Paperback
Klebebindung
Maße
Höhe: 274 mm
Breite: 212 mm
Dicke: 27 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-891389-71-9 (9781891389719)
Schweitzer Klassifikation
R.C. BLESS is from the University of Wisconsin, USA.
Comments to the Reader.- PART I: COSMOLOGY FROM THE BEGINNINGS THROUGH NEWTON.- The Naked Eye Sky.- Early Greek Astronomy.- The Beginnings of Quantitative Astronomy.- The New Astronomy.- Newtonian Synthesis.- PART II: THE TOOLS OF THE ASTRONOMER.- Tools of the Astronomer Physical Concepts.- Tools of the Astronomer Hardware.- PART III: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF STARS.- Reading Stellar Spectra.- The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.- The Structure of Stars.- The Interstellar Medium Birthplace of the Stars.- Stellar Evolution The Early Phases.- The Late Phases of Stellar Evolution Degenerate Corpses.- Black Holes.- PART IV: COSMOLOGY FROM HERSCHEL TO THE PRESENT.- The Discovery of Galaxies.- The Universe of Galaxies.- Active Galaxies.- The First Cosmological Clues.- Models of the Universe.- The Mysterious Universe.- Epilogue.- Life Elsewhere Are We Alone?.
