Table of Contents

Physics Prelude. Orbits in the Solar System. Orbits Outside the Solar System. Special Relativity. Particles and Forces. Stars. Radiation Processes. Cosmology. Part 1: The Solar System. 1. Celestial Mechanics and the Solar System. 2. The Solar System in Perspective. 3. The Dynamics of the Earth. 4. The Earth - Moon System. 5. The Terrestrial Planets: Mercury, Venus, and Mars. 6. The Jovian Planets. 7. Small Bodies and the Origin of the Solar System. Part 2: The Stars. 8. Electromagnetic Radiation and Matter. 9. Telescopes and Detectors. 10. The Sun: A Model Star. 11. Stars: Distances and Magnitudes. 12. Stars: Binary Systems. 13. Stars: The Hertzsprung - Russell Diagram. Part 3: The Milky Way Galaxy. 14. Our Galaxy: A Preview. 15. The Interstellar Medium and Star Birth. 16. The Evolution of Stars. 17. Star Deaths. 18. Variable and Violent Stars. 19. Galactic Rotation: Stellar Motions. 20. The Evolution of Our Galaxy. Part 4: The Universe. 21. Galaxies Beyond the Milky Way. 22. Hubble's Law and The Distance Scale. 23. Large-Scale Structure in the Universe. 24. Active Galaxies and Quasars. 25. Cosmology: The Big Bang and Beyond. 26. The New Cosmology. Hale-Bopp Comet Update. Appendices. Glossary.