The Solar System - Softcover

Mike Seeds was a professor of physics and astronomy at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from 1970 until his retirement in 2001. In 1989 he received F&M College's Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. Mike's love for the history of astronomy led him to create upper-level courses on archaeoastronomy and on the Copernican Revolution ("Changing Concepts of the Universe"). His research interests focused on variable stars and automation of astronomical telescopes. Mike is coauthor with Dana Backman of Horizons: Exploring the Universe, 12th edition (2012); Universe: Solar Systems, Stars, and Galaxies, 7th edition (2012); Stars and Galaxies, 8th edition (2013); The Solar System, 8th edition (2013); and ASTRO, 2nd edition (2013), all published by Cengage. He was senior consultant for creation of the 20-episode telecourse accompanying his book Horizons: Exploring the Universe.

Dana Backman taught in the physics and astronomy department at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from 1991 until 2003. He invented and taught a course titled "Life in the Universe" in F&M's interdisciplinary Foundations program. Dana now teaches introductory Solar System astronomy at Santa Clara University and introductory astronomy, astrobiology, and cosmology courses in Stanford University's Continuing Studies Program. His research interests focus on infrared observations of planet formation, models of debris disks around nearby stars, and evolution of the solar system's Kuiper belt. Dana is employed by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, as director of education and public outreach for SOFIA (the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) at NASA's Ames Research Center. Dana is coauthor with Mike Seeds of Horizons: Exploring the Universe, 14th edition (2018); Universe: Solar Systems, Stars, and Galaxies, 7th edition (2012); Stars and Galaxies, 8th edition (2013); The Solar System, 8th edition (2013); and ASTRO, 2nd edition (2013), all published by Cengage.

PART I: EXPLORING THE SKY. 1. Here and Now. Where Are You? When Is Now? Why Study Astronomy? 2. A User's Guide to the Sky. The Stars. The Sky and Celestial Motion. The Cycles of the Sun. Astronomical Influences on Earth's Climate. 3. Cycles of the Moon. The Changeable Moon. Lunar Eclipses. Solar Eclipses. Predicting Eclipses. 4. The Origin of Modern Astronomy. The Roots of Astronomy. The Copernican Revolution. Planetary Motion. Galileo Galilei. Modern Astronomy. 5. Gravity. Galileo and Newton. Orbital Motion and Tides. Einstein and Relativity. 6. Light and Telescopes. Radiation: Information from Space. Telescopes. Observations on Earth: Optical and Radio. Airborne and Space Observatories. Astronomical Instruments and Techniques. Nonelectromagnetic Astronomy. PART II: THE STARS. 7. Atoms and Spectra. Atoms. Interactions of Light and Matter. Understanding Spectra. 8. The Sun. The Solar Atmosphere. Solar Activity. Nuclear Fusion in the Sun. Perspective: Origins. PART IV: THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 19. The Origin of the Solar System. The Great Chain of Origins. A Survey of the Solar System. The Story of Planet Building. Planets Orbiting Other Stars. 20. Earth: The Standard of Comparative Planetology. A Travel Guide to the Terrestrial Planets. Earth as a Planet. The Solid Earth. Earth's Atmosphere. 21. The Moon and Mercury: Comparing Airless Worlds. The Moon. Mercury. 22. Comparative Planetology of Venus and Mars. Venus. Mars. The Moons of Mars. 23. Jupiter and Saturn. A Travel Guide to the Outer Solar System. Jupiter. Jupiter's Moons and Rings. Saturn. Saturn's Moons and Rings. 24. Uranus, Neptune, and the Kuiper Belt. Uranus. Neptune. The Kuiper Belt. 25. Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets. Meteoroids, Meteors, and Meteorites. Asteroids. Comets. Asteroid and Comet Impacts. PART V: LIFE. 26. Astrobiology: Life on Other Worlds. The Nature of Life. Life in the Universe. Intelligent Life in the Universe. Afterword. Appendix A: Units and Astronomical Data. Introduction. Fundamental and Derived SI Units. Appendix B. Observing the Sky.