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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

Constant variety drives the excitement of astronomy. There's always something new and unexpected for us to discover in the universe. This edition includes, for instance, the most current observations about the Big Bang, key discoveries from the Hubble Space Telescope (and other space observatories), expanded material on the large-scale structure of the universe and dark matter, the discovery of planets beyond the solar system (finally!), young galaxies in the cosmos, new ideas on stellar birth and death, the discovery of brown dwarfs, Comet SL9's collision with Jupiter as well as Comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake.

(Extracted from the preface).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-About the Author.

-Preface.

-How to Study Astronomy.

-Brief Contents.

-Contents.

-Part I: CHANGING CONCEPTS OF THE COSMOS.

-1- From Chaos to Cosmos.
-2- The Birth of Cosmological Models.
-3- The New Cosmic Order.
-4- The Clockwork Universe.
-5- The Birth of Astrophysics.
-6- Telescopes and Our Insight to the Cosmos.
-7- Einstein and the Evolving Universe.

-Part II: THE PLANETS: PAST AND PRESENT.

-8- The Earth: An Evolving Planet.
-9- The Moon and Mercury: Dead Worlds.
-10- Venus and Mars. Evolved Worlds.
-11- The Jovian Planets: Primitive Worlds.
-12-The origin and Evolution of the Solar System.

-Part III: THE UNIVERSE OF STARS.

-13- Our Sun: Local Star.
-14- The Stars as Suns.
-15- Starbirth and Interstellar Matter.
-16- Star Lives.
-17- Stardeath.

-Part IV: GALAXIES AND COSMIC EVOLUTION.

-18- The Evolution of the Galaxy.
-19- The Universe of Galaxies.
-20- Cosmic Violence.
-21- Cosmic History.
-22- Bios and Cosmos.

-Appendix A: Units.

-Appendix B: Planetary Data.

-Appendix C: Physical Constants, Astronomical Data.

-Appendix D: Nearby Stars.

-Appendix E: The Brightest Stars.

-Appendix F: The Periodic Table of the Elements.

-Appendix G: Seasonal Star Charts.

-Expanded Glossary.

-Index.

-Science News.

-Photo Credits for Chapter Opening Images.

OUR REVIEW

No other books like that one by Michael Zeilik could have had such a success had its author not been ready to update it every now and then. Astronomy, The Evolving Universe, has thus entered its eigth edition, taking to the general readership everything one needs to know on astronomy in a completely updated way, and above all, in a very pleasant read.

This work is a true flood of information and graphic wealth that make it undoubtedly very attractive indeed even for those readers who had not felt so interested in the sciences of the cosmos before. In this occasion, furthermore, the book includes a small surprise, a card intended for experimenting the fundamental concept of the light spectra, which can be used by observing any type of lamp.

Zeilik has incorporated the latest findings of the Hubble space telescope to his work, as well as several astronomical concepts only very recently verified (such as the existence of extra-solar planets, dark matter, etc), such interesting events as the fall of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter, and uncountable new additions that make of this book one of the most complete works in its category developed up to now.

On the whole, Astronomy tells us about the different cosmological models, the fundamental physical laws, the history of astronomy, modern astrophysics, the planets, the Sun and the stars, as well as the rest of the sky bodies in the Solar System, the galaxies and the macrostructures of the Universe, etc. Several appendixes with tables and charts of astronomical units, planetary data, constants, listings of stars, star charts, as well as a most complete glossary are likewise included, together with a selection of articles from the newsletter Science News.

Each chapter incorporates numerous practical aspects for observation, as well as summaries, lists with the key terms, exercises, problems and activities. With these characterstics, no wonder this volume is widely used as a textbook for crash courses on astronomy.