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Preface
Introduction to the AXXXX Textbook
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Nature of Astronomy
1.2 The Nature of Science
1.3 The Laws of Nature
1.4 Numbers in Astronomy
1.5 Consequences of Light Travel Time
1.6 A Tour of the Universe
1.7 The Universe on the Large Scale
1.8 The Universe of the Very Small
1.9 A Conclusion and a Beginning
2.0 Thinking Ahead
2.1 The Sky Above
2.2 Ancient Astronomy Around the World
2.3 Astronomy of the First Nations of Canada
2.4 Ancient Babylonian, Greek and Roman Astronomy
2.5 Astrology and Astronomy
2.6 The Birth of Modern Astronomy – Copernicus and Galileo
2.7 For Further Exploration, Websites
2.8 Collaborative Group Activities
2.9 Questions and Exercises
3.0 Thinking Ahead
3.1 The Laws of Planetary Motion
3.2 Newton’s Great Synthesis
3.3 Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation
3.4 Orbits in the Solar System
3.5 Motions of Satellites and Spacecraft
3.6 Gravity with More Than Two Bodies
3.7 For Further Exploration
3.7 Collaborative Group Activities
3.8 Questions and Exercises
4.0 Thinking Ahead
4.1 Earth and Sky
4.2 The Seasons
4.3 Keeping Time
4.4 The Calendar
4.5 Phases and Motions of the Moon
4.6 Ocean Tides and the Moon
4.7 Eclipses of the Sun and Moon
5.0 Thinking Ahead
5.1 The Behavior of Light
5.2 The Electromagnetic Spectrum
5.3 Spectroscopy in Astronomy
5.4 The Structure of the Atom
5.5 Formation of Spectral Lines
5.6 The Doppler Effect
6.0 Thinking Ahead
6.1 Telescopes
6.2 Telescopes Today
6.3 Visible-Light Detectors and Instruments
6.4 Radio Telescopes
6.5 Observations outside Earth’s Atmosphere
6.6 The Future of Large Telescopes
7.0 Thinking Ahead
7.1 Overview of Our Planetary System
7.2 Composition and Structure of Planets
7.3 Dating Planetary Surfaces
7.4 Origin of the Solar System
8.0 Thinking Ahead
8.1 The Global Perspective
8.2 Earth’s Crust
8.3 Earth’s Atmosphere
8.4 Life, Chemical Evolution, and Climate Change
8.5 Cosmic Influences on the Evolution of Earth
9.0 Thinking Ahead
9.1 General Properties of the Moon
9.2 The Lunar Surface
9.3 Impact Craters
9.4 The Origin of the Moon
9.5 Mercury
9.6 Key Concepts and Summary, Further Explorations
9.7 Collaborative Group Activities and Exercises
10.0 Thinking Ahead
10.1 The Nearest Planets: An Overview
10.2 The Geology of Venus
10.3 The Massive Atmosphere of Venus
10.4 The Geology of Mars
10.5 Water and Life on Mars
10.6 Divergent Planetary Evolution
10.7 Collaborative Group Activities and Exercises
11.0 Thinking Ahead
11.1 Exploring the Outer Planets
11.2 The Giant Planets
11.3 Atmospheres of the Giant Planets
12.0 Thinking Ahead
12.1 Ring and Moon Systems Introduced
12.2 The Galilean Moons of Jupiter
12.3 Titan and Triton
12.4 Pluto and Charon
12.5 Planetary Rings
12.6 Summary, Further Exploration, Websites
12.7 Collaborative Group Activities and Exercises
13.0 Thinking Ahead
13.1 Asteroids
13.2 Asteroids and Planetary Defense
13.3 The “Long-Haired” Comets
13.4 The Origin and Fate of Comets and Related Objects
13.5 Key Concepts and Summary, Further Explorations, Websites
13.6 Collaborative Group Activities and Exercises
14.0 Thinking Ahead
14.2 Meteorites: Stones from Heaven
14.3 Formation of the Solar System
14.4 Comparison with Other Planetary Systems
14.5 Planetary Evolution
14.6 Collaborative Activities, Questions and Exercises
15.0 Thinking Ahead
15.1 The Structure and Composition of the Sun
15.2 The Solar Cycle
15.3 Solar Activity above the Photosphere
15.4 Space Weather
16.0 Thinking Ahead
16.1 Sources of Sunshine: Thermal and Gravitational Energy
16.2 Mass, Energy, and the Theory of Relativity
16.3 The Solar Interior: Theory
16.4 The Solar Interior: Observations
17.0 Thinking Ahead
17.1 The Brightness of Stars
17.2 Colors of Stars
17.3 The Spectra of Stars (and Brown Dwarfs)
17.4 Using Spectra to Measure Stellar Radius, Composition, and Motion
18.0 Thinking Ahead
18.1 A Stellar Census
18.2 Measuring Stellar Masses
18.3 Diameters of Stars
18.4 The H–R Diagram
18.5 Collaborative Group Activities, Questions and Exercises
19.0 Thinking Ahead
19.2 Surveying the Stars
19.3 Variable Stars: One Key to Cosmic Distances
19.4 The H–R Diagram and Cosmic Distances
19.5 Collaborative Group Activities, Questions and Exercises
20.0 Thinking Ahead
20.1 The Interstellar Medium
20.2 Interstellar Gas
20.3 Cosmic Dust
20.4 Cosmic Rays
20.5 The Life Cycle of Cosmic Material
20.6 Interstellar Matter around the Sun
21.0 Thinking Ahead
21.1 Star Formation
21.2 The H–R Diagram and the Study of Stellar Evolution
21.3 Evidence That Planets Form around Other Stars
21.4 Planets beyond the Solar System: Search and Discovery
21.5 Exoplanets Everywhere: What We Are Learning
21.6 New Perspectives on Planet Formation
22.0 Thinking Ahead
22.1 Evolution from the Main Sequence to Red Giants
22.2 Star Clusters
22.3 Checking Out the Theory
22.4 Further Evolution of Stars
22.5 The Evolution of More Massive Stars
23.0 Thinking Ahead
23.1 The Death of Low-Mass Stars
23.2 Evolution of Massive Stars: An Explosive Finish
23.3 Supernova Observations
23.4 Pulsars and the Discovery of Neutron Stars
23.5 The Evolution of Binary Star Systems
23.6 The Mystery of the Gamma-Ray Bursts
24.0 Thinking Ahead
24.1 Introducing General Relativity
24.2 Spacetime and Gravity
24.3 Tests of General Relativity
24.4 Time in General Relativity
24.5 Black Holes
24.6 Evidence for Black Holes
24.7 Gravitational Wave Astronomy
25.0 Thinking Ahead
25.1 The Architecture of the Galaxy
25.2 Spiral Structure
25.3 The Mass of the Galaxy
25.4 The Center of the Galaxy
25.5 Stellar Populations in the Galaxy
25.6 The Formation of the Galaxy
26.0 Thinking Ahead
26.1 The Discovery of Galaxies
26.2 Types of Galaxies
26.3 Properties of Galaxies
26.4 The Extragalactic Distance Scale
26.5 The Expanding Universe
27.0 Thinking Ahead
27.1 Quasars
27.2 Supermassive Black Holes: What Quasars Really Are
27.3 Quasars as Probes of Evolution in the Universe
28.0 Thinking Ahead
28.1 Observations of Distant Galaxies
28.2 Galaxy Mergers and Active Galactic Nuclei
28.3 The Distribution of Galaxies in Space
28.4 The Challenge of Dark Matter
28.5 The Formation and Evolution of Galaxies and Structure in the Universe
29.0 Thinking Ahead
29.1 The Age of the Universe
29.2 A Model of the Universe
29.3 The Beginning of the Universe
29.4 The Cosmic Microwave Background
29.5 What Is the Universe Really Made Of?
29.6 The Inflationary Universe
29.7 The Anthropic Principle
30.0 Thinking Ahead
30.1 The Cosmic Context for Life
30.2 Astrobiology
30.3 Searching for Life beyond Earth
30.4 The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Appendices A.1 How to Study for an Introductory Astronomy Class
A.2 Astronomy Websites, Images, and Apps
A.3 Scientific Notation
A.4 Units Used in Science
A.5 Some Useful Constants for Astronomy
A.6 Physical and Orbital Data for the Planets
A.7 Selected Moons of the Planets
A.8 Future Total Eclipses
A.9 The Nearest Stars, Brown Dwarfs, and White Dwarfs
A.10 The Brightest Twenty Stars
A.11 The Chemical Elements
A.12 The Constellations
A.13 Star Chart and Sky Event Resources
A.14 Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
Chapter 19 Celestial Distances
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BCIT Astronomy XXXX: YYYY Copyright © 2017 by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.