Funded by the National Science Foundation, Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy, 4th Edition is designed to make traditional lecture-format courses more interactive. These easy-to-implement student activities can be integrated into any existing course structure. Presented in a classroom-ready format and requiring no equipment, each of the 50 Lecture-Tutorials challenges students with a series of questions carefully designed to engage them in critical reasoning and spark classroom discussion. Each activity targets one or more specific learning objectives based on education research; these activities lead to deeper, more complete student understanding through a series of structured questions that prompt students to use reasoning and identify and correct their misconceptions. All content has been extensively field tested and 7 new tutorials have been added that respond to reviewer demand, numerous interviews, and nationally conducted workshops--back cover.

Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy provides a collection of 44 collaborative learning, inquiry-based activities to be used in introductory astronomy courses. Based on education research, these activities are "classroom ready" and lead to deeper, more complete student understanding through a series of structured questions that prompt students to use reasoning and identify and correct their misconceptions. All content has been extensively field tested and six new tutorials have been added that respond to reviewer demand, numerous interviews, and nationally conducted workshops. An Instructor Resource Center page is available with complete notes and text art.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy is designed to help make large lecture-format courses more interactive with easy-to-implement student activities that can be integrated into existing course structures. The Second Edition of the Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy contains nine new activities that focus on planetary science, system related topics, and the interactions of Light and matter. These new activities have been created using the same rigorous class-test development process that was used for the highly successful first edition. Each of the 38 Lecture-Tutorials, presented in a classroom-ready format, challenges students with a series of carefully designed questions that spark classroom discussion, engage students in critical reasoning, and require no equipment. The Night Sky: Position, Motion, Seasonal Stars, Solar vs. Sidereal Day, Ecliptic, Star Charts. Fundamentals of Astronomy: Kepler’s 2nd Law, Kepler’s 3rd Law, Newton’s Laws and Gravity, Apparent and Absolute Magnitudes of Stars, The Parse, Parallax and Distance, Spectroscopic Parallax. Nature of Light in Astronomy: The Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum of Light, Telescopes and Earth’s Atmosphere, Luminosity, Temperature and Size, Blackbody Radiation, Types of Spectra, Light and Atoms, Analyzing Spectra, Doppler Shift. Our Solar System: The Cause of Moon Phases, Predicting Moon Phases, Path of Sun, Seasons, Observing Retrograde Motion, Earth’s Changing Surface, Temperature and Formation of Our Solar System, Sun Size. Stars Galaxies and Beyond: H-R Diagram, Star Formation and Lifetimes, Binary Stars, The Motion of Extrasolar Planets, Stellar Evolution, Milky Way Scales, Galaxy Classification, Looking at Distant Objects, Expansion of the Universe. For all readers interested in astronomy.

"Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy," which was developed by the Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team, is a collection of classroom-tested activities designed for the large-lecture introductory astronomy class, although it is suitable for any astronomy class. The Lecture-Tutorials are short, structured activities designed for students to complete while working in pairs. Each activity targets one or more specific learning objectives based on research on student difficulties in astronomy. Most activities can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes. The instructor's guide provides, for each activity, the recommended prerequisite knowledge, the learning goals for the activity, a pre-activity assessment question, an answer key, suggestions for implementation, and follow-up questions to be used for class discussion or homework.

Astronomy is written in clear non-technical language, with the occasional touch of humor and a wide range of clarifying illustrations. It has many analogies drawn from everyday life to help non-science majors appreciate, on their own terms, what our modern exploration of the universe is revealing. The book can be used for either aone-semester or two-semester introductory course (bear in mind, you can customize your version and include only those chapters or sections you will be teaching.) It is made available free of charge in electronic form (and low cost in printed form) to students around the world. If you have ever thrown up your hands in despair over the spiraling cost of astronomy textbooks, you owe your students a good look at this one. Coverage and Scope Astronomy was written, updated, and reviewed by a broad range of astronomers and astronomy educators in a strong community effort. It is designed to meet scope and sequence requirements of introductory astronomy courses nationwide. Chapter 1: Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour Chapter 2: Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy Chapter 3: Orbits and Gravity Chapter 4: Earth, Moon, and Sky Chapter 5: Radiation and Spectra Chapter 6: Astronomical Instruments Chapter 7: Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System Chapter 8: Earth as a Planet Chapter 9: Cratered Worlds Chapter 10: Earthlike Planets: Venus and Mars Chapter 11: The Giant Planets Chapter 12: Rings, Moons, and Pluto Chapter 13: Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System Chapter 14: Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System Chapter 15: The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star Chapter 16: The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse Chapter 17: Analyzing Starlight Chapter 18: The Stars: A Celestial Census Chapter 19: Celestial Distances Chapter 20: Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space Chapter 21: The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System Chapter 22: Stars from Adolescence to Old Age Chapter 23: The Death of Stars Chapter 24: Black Holes and Curved Spacetime Chapter 25: The Milky Way Galaxy Chapter 26: Galaxies Chapter 27: Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes Chapter 28: The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies Chapter 29: The Big Bang Chapter 30: Life in the Universe Appendix A: How to Study for Your Introductory Astronomy Course Appendix B: Astronomy Websites, Pictures, and Apps Appendix C: Scientific Notation Appendix D: Units Used in Science Appendix E: Some Useful Constants for Astronomy Appendix F: Physical and Orbital Data for the Planets Appendix G: Selected Moons of the Planets Appendix H: Upcoming Total Eclipses Appendix I: The Nearest Stars, Brown Dwarfs, and White Dwarfs Appendix J: The Brightest Twenty Stars Appendix K: The Chemical Elements Appendix L: The Constellations Appendix M: Star Charts and Sky Event Resources

The ideal text for a one-semester course in radio astronomy Essential Radio Astronomy is the only textbook on the subject specifically designed for a one-semester introductory course for advanced undergraduates or graduate students in astronomy and astrophysics. It starts from first principles in order to fill gaps in students' backgrounds, make teaching easier for professors who are not expert radio astronomers, and provide a useful reference to the essential equations used by practitioners. This unique textbook reflects the fact that students of multiwavelength astronomy typically can afford to spend only one semester studying the observational techniques particular to each wavelength band. Essential Radio Astronomy presents only the most crucial concepts—succinctly and accessibly. It covers the general principles behind radio telescopes, receivers, and digital backends without getting bogged down in engineering details. Emphasizing the physical processes in radio sources, the book's approach is shaped by the view that radio astrophysics owes more to thermodynamics than electromagnetism. Proven in the classroom and generously illustrated throughout, Essential Radio Astronomy is an invaluable resource for students and researchers alike. The only textbook specifically designed for a one-semester course in radio astronomy Starts from first principles Makes teaching easier for astronomy professors who are not expert radio astronomers Emphasizes the physical processes in radio sources Covers the principles behind radio telescopes and receivers Provides the essential equations and fundamental constants used by practitioners Supplementary website includes lecture notes, problem sets, exams, and links to interactive demonstrations An online illustration package is available to professors

"This book provides a contemporary and complete introduction to astrophysics for astronomy and physics majors."--