Astronomy is a user-friendly guidefor beginners. Chapters make it easy for you to quickly learn the main topicsof a college level course. Sections clarify basic principles and contemporaryadvances. The Index enables you to look up concepts, definitions, facts andfamous astronomers, fast. You can use the book alone or with a conventionaltextbook, Internetbased or distance-learning course, computer software,telescope manual, or as a handy reference.

While keeping its successful self-teaching format,this seventh edition incorporates Web site addresses for spectacular colorimages. The entire book was revised to include revolutionary discoveries and the best suggestions from many readers and educatorswho profitably used prior editions.

Frontier twenty-first-century research into blackholes, active galaxies and quasars, searches for life in space, origin andstructure of our universe, and the newest ground and space telescopes aredescribed.

Web sites with daily astro-news and space scenes never before viewed by humansare specified. Labeled drawings of the Keck Telescope, Fermi Gamma RayObservatory, and Hubble Space Telescope data path clarify space technology. Newart illustrates fundamental concepts, such as the electromagnetic spectrum,phases of the Moon, planet orbits, and H-R diagrams.

A list of objectives for each chapter tells youinstantly what information is contained there. The first time a new term isintroduced, it appears in bold type and is defined. Topics in each chapter arepresented in short, numbered sections. Each section contains new informationand usually asks you to answer a question or asks you to suggest an explanation,analyze, or summarize as you go along. You will always see the answer to thequestion right after you have answered it. If your answer agrees with the book’s,you understand the material and are ready to proceed to the next section. If itdoes not, you should review some previous sections to make sure you understandthe material before you proceed.

A self-test at the end of each chapter lets you find out fast how wellyou understand the material in the chapter. You may test yourself right aftercompleting a chapter, or you might take a break and then take the self-test asa review before beginning a new chapter. Compare your answers with the book’s.If your answers do not agree with the printed ones, review the appropriate sections(listed next to each answer).