For one-semester Introduction to Astronomy courses. The authors incorporate three themes in the briefer of their two textbooks; process of science (how we know what we know), the size and scale of the universe as well as the evolution of the universe. A Beginner's Guide emphasizes critical thinking and visualization, and a leading-edge technology program.

PART 1. FOUNDATIONS Exploring the Heavens: Introduction 1. The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science 2. Light and Matter: The Inner Workings of the Cosmos 3. Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy PART 2. OUR PLANETARY SYSTEM
4. The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets 5. Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard
6. The Terrestrial Planets: A Study in Contrasts
7. The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System 8. Moons, Rings, and Pluto: Small Worlds Among Giants PART 3. THE STARS 9. The Sun: Our Parent Star 10. Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence 11. The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way 12 Stellar Evolution: The Lives and Deaths of Stars 13. Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter PART 4. GALAXIES AND THE UNIVERSE 14. The Milky Way Galaxy: A Grand Design 15. Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe 16. Hubble's Law and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos 17. Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe 18. Life in the Universe: Are We Alone?