{"product_id":"discovering-the-cosmos-isbn-9781891389719","title":"Discovering the Cosmos","description":"Thisbook provides a rich, historical approach to introductoryastronomy. It is ideal for use in an introductory astronomycourse for nonmajors.\u003cbr\u003eBased on the very popular liberal arts course Bob Bless has taught at University of Wisconsin for many years, this book provides a rich, historical approach to introductory astronomy. It is ideal for use in an introductory astronomy course for nonmajors. 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, and also to describe the incredible recent developments in our understanding of the physical universe.  Several chapters of this 2nd edition have been extensively revised to include these recent developments.Because it has become increasingly difficult to “cover” all of astronomy in a one-semester course, this edition has largely omitted coverage of the physical nature of the objects in our, and other, planetary systems, although a discussion of the possibility of life elsewhere closes the book.1. Comments to the Reader\u003cbr\u003ePART I: Cosmology From the Beginnings through Newton\u003cbr\u003e2. The Naked-Eye Sky\u003cbr\u003e3. Early Greek Astronomy\u003cbr\u003e4. The Beginnings of Quantitative Astronomy\u003cbr\u003e5. The New Astronomy\u003cbr\u003e6. Newtonian Synthesis\u003cbr\u003ePART II: The Tools of the Astronomer\u003cbr\u003e7. Tools of the Astronomer — Physical Concepts\u003cbr\u003e8. Tools of the Astronomer — Hardware\u003cbr\u003ePART III: The Life and Death of Stars\u003cbr\u003e9. Reading Stellar Spectra\u003cbr\u003e10. The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram\u003cbr\u003e11. The Structure of Stars\u003cbr\u003e12. The Interstellar Medium — Birthplace of the Stars\u003cbr\u003e13. Stellar Evolution — The Early Phases\u003cbr\u003e14. The Late Phases of Stellar Evolution — Degenerate Corpses\u003cbr\u003e15. Black Holes\u003cbr\u003ePart IV: Cosmology from Herschel to the Present\u003cbr\u003e16. The Discovery of Galaxies\u003cbr\u003e17. The University of Galaxies\u003cbr\u003e18. Active Galaxies\u003cbr\u003e19. The FIrst Cosmological Clues\u003cbr\u003e20. Models of the Universe\u003cbr\u003e21. The Mysterious Universe\u003cbr\u003eEpilogue\u003cbr\u003e22. Life Elsewhere: Are We Alone?AppendicesIndex\"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 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This is an excellent book. It is also different. It offers a clear alternative choice over its competitors.\" --Joe Miller, Lick Observatory \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"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 CollegeAfter receiving his Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Michigan, Robert C. Bless spent his career at the Astronomy Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He was a member of the Wisconsin group responsible for planning and operating the payload in the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, the first successful stellar space observatory.  He was later involved in technical studies in support of what became the Hubble Space Telescope, and his proposal for a high speed photometer became one of the first-generation space instruments in the Hubble Space telescope.  Bless served on many NSF and NASA administrative and review panels and was the first Chair of the Gemini Board of Directors.  Over a long career of teaching, he became increasingly interested in the historical origins of astronomical concepts, ideas, and techniques, and integrated many of these in his teaching of elementary survey courses in astronomy and in this book.","brand":"University Science Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233089040613,"sku":"NP9781891389719","price":104.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781891389719.jpg?v=1767725186","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/discovering-the-cosmos-isbn-9781891389719","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}