The Solar System

Part I: EXPLORING THE SKY. 1. Here and Now 2. The Sky. 3. Cycles of the Moon. 4. The Origin of Modern Astronomy. 5. Gravity. 6. Light and Telescopes. Part II: THE STARS. 7. Atoms and Starlight. 8. The Sun. Perspective: Origins Part IV: THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 19. The Origin of the Solar System. 20. Earth: The Standard of Comparative Planetology. 21. The Moon and Mercury: Comparing Airless Worlds. 22. Comparative Planetology of Venus and Mars. 23. Comparative Planetology of Jupiter and Saturn. 24. Uranus, Neptune, and the Dwarf Planets. 25. Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets. Part V: LIFE. 26. Astrobiology: Life on Other Worlds. Afterword. Appendix A: Units and Astronomical Data. Appendix B: Observing the Sky. Glossary. Answers to Even-Numbered Problems. Index.

Mike Seeds was a professor of physics and astronomy at Franklin and Marshall College (F&M) 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 archeoastronomy 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 FOUNDATIONS OF ASTRONOMY, 14th Edition (2019); STARS AND GALXIES, 10th Edition (2019); THE SOLAR SYSTEM, 10th Edition (2019); and ASTRO, 3rd Edition (2018), all published by Cengage. He was senior consultant for creation of the 20-episode telecourse accompanying his book HORIZONS: EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE. Mike Seeds was a professor of physics and astronomy at Franklin and Marshall College (F&M) 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 archeoastronomy 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 FOUNDATIONS OF ASTRONOMY, 14th Edition (2019); STARS AND GALXIES, 10th Edition (2019); THE SOLAR SYSTEM, 10th Edition (2019); and ASTRO, 3rd Edition (2018), 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 with Mike Seeds 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 has also taught