The Cosmos: Astronomy in the New Millennium [With 1pass Eresource]

It came in very quick and was in great condition.

We bought this as a companion to the Teaching Company's "Understanding the Universe" course taught by Alex Filippenko, who is co-author of this volume. It's a good accessory to the course, and would also be very good as a course in itself. It IS a course textbook and as such is entirely suitable for a classroom, but could also work well for those interested in learning on their own if you like the 'classroom' approach which builds on each previous chapter. There are questions at the end of each chapter which are quite useful. There are no answers with the book, though, so you need to be 'scientific' and verify your responses on your own. Haven't yet checked out the virtual astronomy lab access which comes with full versions of the book, so I can't comment on them. The book does NOT delve deeply into the math behind the findings, but explains in very good detail the currest state of cosmology; what we know, what we suspect, and where we are likely headed in the future.

This is an excellent textbook for beginning astronomy students and for people who want to explore the Cosmos on their own. It's full of helpful illustrations, and the font is clear and easy to read. End-of-chapter questions truly make the reader explore the information in further detail. The list of Messier Objects in the appendix is useful as well. Our local community college uses this book as a textbook for two astronomy classes. The Professor believes it to be more approachable for average students taking college transfer science courses --the students who WILL NOT become astro-physicists! LOL

As I look at a beautiful new astronomy book like this one, I am reminded of Galileo who was sentenced to be shown the implements of torture and then confined under house arrest for the remainder of his life for publishing that the sun went around the earth rather than the other way around. Galileo's first telescope was probably about eight power, about standard these days for binoculars. Today with the advanced state of even inexpensive commercial telescopes, CCDs and advanced software which can be processed quite easily on the very powerful home computers fo today, the home astronomer is up to about where the pros were a dozen or so years ago. If you are a student using this book as a text, you are lucky. If you are just interested in astronomy, this is a highly recommended book. It's writing quality, and the quality of its printed pictures is supurb. It's up to date with as good a discussion on recent findings such as the accelerating expansion of the Universe (one of the authors AF, was on one of the teams that discovered this), dark energy, dark matter, and of course the eleven dimensions that make up superstring theory as you will find in any book. They even make these subjects clear without having to go into deep mathematics. (Then again, going into deep mathematics may well not make these subjects more understandable at all.) Now updated in its third edition this book accurately reflects the current state of astronomy. It would make a great present to an amateur astronomer.

This is a great introductory Astronomy text. It is easy to understand and learn the material presented. There are magnificent photos and easy to understand illustrations for those who are visual learners. I recommend it to anyone wanting to just have an understanding of the subject, whether in an educatinal setting or just wanting to learn it on their own.

This is a five-star book! Designed as a textbook for basic astronomy courses, it also serves as a stand-alone book for the average person who wants seriously to find out more about the universe. The content is clear and easy to follow, moving from the earth through the solar system, stars, galaxies, black holes, quasars, and finally issues of cosmology. Pages are well laid-out for easy reading, and enhanced with beautiful four-color photos and diagrams. Each chapter concludes with a concept review and questions for reflection. Help in learning terminology is provided by boldfaced vocabulary throughout the book and a glossary at the end.Special features that are set apart in the text, either on separate pages or in boxes, include interviews with people in astronomy (excellent diversity of persons), exercises in calculation, expanded "closer looks" at topics, biographies of scientific figures, and exercises in finding things in the sky. Web-enhanced features for students that go with the book include www sites for more information using the Internet, web-links, chapter maps, quizzes, and even a source on popular misconceptions. Instructors' ancillary materials include photo resource catalog, overhead transparencies/slides, and a computerized test bank.You don't have to be a scientist to read this book! Anyone can learn a great deal about the universe from these 395 pages. Pasachoff and Filippenko have produced a winner. Enjoy!