本书规模宏大，内容相当全面，从经典到现代。比如本书第79单元就论及了现在很热门的所谓“暗物质”。它将天文学导论分解成它的组成部分进行讲解。在自然流畅的表达之下，巨大又迷人的天文学领域被分成了86个单元，使读者，可以根据自己的兴趣挑选相应主题来阅读。本书的一个优点是它大量地采用了数学的语言，而非国人所常用的描述性日常用语。本书的目标读者，既可以是靠前重点大学天文学专业的学生以及具有航天背景的工科大学的学生，也可以是对自己要求有期许的一个现代社会普通公民。

Looking Up Illustrations
#1 Northen Circumpolar Constellations
#2 Ursa Major
#3 M3I & Perseus
#4 Summer Triangle
#5 Taurus
#6 Orion
#7 Sagittarius
#8 Centaurus and Crux, The Southern Cross
#9 Southern Circumpolar Constellations
About the Authors
Preface
Approach
New to the Fifth Edition
Features of this Book
For the Instructor
Acknowledgements
PART 1 THE COSMIC LANDSCAPE
Unit 1 Our Planetary Neighborhood
1.1 Earth
1.2 The Moon
1.3 The Planets
1.4 The Sun
1.5 The Solar System
1.6 The Astronomical Unit
Unit 2 Beyond the Solar System
2.1 Stellar Evolution
2.2 The Light-Year
2.3 The Milky Way Galaxy
2.4 Galaxy Clusters and Beyond
2.5 The Still-Unknown Universe
Unit 3 Astronomical Numbers
3.1 The Metric System
3.2 Scientific Notation
3.3 Spe Units
3.4 Approximation
Unit 4 Scientific Foundations of Astronomy
4.1 The Scientific Method
4.2 The Nature of Matter
4.3 The Four Fundamental Forces
4.4 The Elementary Particles
Unit 5 The Night Sky
5.1 The Celestial Sphere
5.2 Constellations
5.3 Daily Motion
5.4 Latitude and Longitude
5.5 Celestial Coordinates
Unit 6 The year
6.1 Annual motion of the sun
6.2 The Ecliptic and the Zodiac
6.3 The Seasons
6.4 The Ecliptic's Tilt
6.5 Solstices and Equinoxes
6.6 Precession
Unit 7 The Time of Day
7.1 The Day
7.2 Length of Daylight Hours
7.3 Time Zones
7.4 Daylight Saving Time
7.5 Leap Seconds
Unit 8 Lunar Cycles
8.1 Phases of the Moon
8.2 Eclipses
8.3 Eclipse Seasons
8.4 Moon Lore
Unit 9 Calendars
9.1 The Week
9.2 The Month
9.3 The Roman Calendar
9.4 The Leap Year
9.5 The Chronicling of Years
Unit 10 Geometry of the Earth, Moon, and Sun
10.1 The Shape of Earth
10.2 Distance and Size of the Sun and Moon
10.3 The Size of Earth
10.4 Measuring the Diameter of Astronomical Objects
10.5 The Moon Illusion
Unit 11 Planets: The Wandering Stars
11.1 Motions of the Planets
11.2 Early Ideas About Retrograde Motion
11.3 The Heliocentric Model
11.4 The Copernican Revolution
Unit 12 The Beginnings of Modern Astronomy
12.1 Precision Astronomical Measurements
12.2 The Nature of Planetary Orbits
12.3 The First Telescopic Observations
Unit 13 Observing the Sky
13.1 Learning the Constellations
13.2 Motions of the Stars
13.3 Motion of the Sun
13.4 Motions of the Moon and Planets
13.5 A Sundial: Orbital Effects on the Day
PART 2 PROBING MATTER, LIGHT, AND THEIR INTERACTIONS
PART 3 THE SOLAR SYSTEM
PART 4 STARS AND STELLAR EVOLUTION
PART 5 GALAXIES AND THE UNIVERSE
Appendix
Answers to Test Yourself Questions
Glossary
Credits
Index
编辑手记
图片声明