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• Cover
• Introduction
• About This Book
• Foolish Assumptions
• Icons Used in This Book
• Beyond the Book
• Where to Go from Here
• Part 1: Getting Started with Astronomy
• Chapter 1: Seeing the Light: The Art and Science of Astronomy
• Astronomy: The Science of Observation
• What You See: The Language of Light
• Gravity: A Force to Be Reckoned With
• Space: A Commotion of Motion
• Chapter 2: Join the Crowd: Skywatching Activities and Resources
• You’re Not Alone: Astronomy Clubs, Websites, Smartphone Apps, and More
• Visiting Observatories and Planetariums
• Vacationing with the Stars: Star Parties, Eclipse Trips, Dark Sky Parks, and More
• Chapter 3: Terrific Tools for Observing the Skies
• Seeing Stars: A Sky Geography Primer
• Beginning with Naked-Eye Observation
• Using Binoculars or a Telescope for a Better View
• Planning Your First Steps into Astronomy
• Chapter 4: Just Passing Through: Meteors, Comets, and Artificial Satellites
• Meteors: Wishing on a Shooting Star
• Comets: The Lowdown on Dirty Ice Balls
• Artificial Satellites: Enduring a Love–Hate Relationship
• Part 2: Going Once Around the Solar System
• Chapter 5: A Matched Pair: Earth and Its Moon
• Putting Earth under the Astronomical Microscope
• Examining Earth’s Time, Seasons, and Age
• Making Sense of the Moon
• Chapter 6: Earth’s Near Neighbors: Mercury, Venus, and Mars
• Mercury: Weird, Hot, and Mostly Metal
• Dry, Acidic, and Hilly: Steering Clear of Venus
• Red, Cold, and Barren: Uncovering the Mysteries of Mars
• Differentiating Earth through Comparative Planetology
• Observing the Terrestrial Planets with Ease
• Chapter 7: Rock On: The Asteroid Belt and Near-Earth Objects
• Taking a Brief Tour of the Asteroid Belt
• Understanding the Threat That Near-Earth Objects Pose
• Searching for Small Points of Light
• Chapter 8: Great Balls of Gas: Jupiter and Saturn
• The Pressure’s On: Journeying Inside Jupiter and Saturn
• Almost a Star: Gazing at Jupiter
• Our Main Planetary Attraction: Setting Your Sights on Saturn
• Chapter 9: Far Out! Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Beyond
• Breaking the Ice with Uranus and Neptune
• Meeting Pluto, the Amazing Dwarf Planet
• Buckling Down to the Kuiper Belt
• Viewing the Outer Planets
• Hunting New Planet Number Nine
• Part 3: Meeting Old Sol and Other Stars
• Chapter 10: The Sun: Star of Earth
• Surveying the Sunscape
• Don’t Make a Blinding Mistake: Safe Techniques for Solar Viewing
• Fun with the Sun: Solar Observation
• Chapter 11: Taking a Trip to the Stars
• Life Cycles of the Hot and Massive
• Star Color, Brightness, and Mass
• Eternal Partners: Binary and Multiple Stars
• Change Is Good: Variable Stars
• Your Stellar Neighbors
• How to Help Scientists by Observing the Stars
• Star Studies to Aid with Your Brain and Computer
• Chapter 12: Galaxies: The Milky Way and Beyond
• Unwrapping the Milky Way
• Star Clusters: Meeting Galactic Associates
• Taking a Shine to Nebulae
• Getting a Grip on Galaxies
• Joining Galaxy Zoo for Fun and Science
• Chapter 13: Digging into Black Holes and Quasars
• Black Holes: Keeping Your Distance
• Quasars: Defying Definitions
• Active Galactic Nuclei: Welcome to the Quasar Family
• Part 4: Pondering the Remarkable Universe
• Chapter 14: Is Anybody Out There? SETI and Planets of Other Suns
• Using Drake’s Equation to Discuss SETI
• SETI Projects: Listening for E.T.
• Discovering Alien Worlds
• Astrobiology: How’s Life on Other Worlds?
• Chapter 15: Delving into Dark Matter and Antimatter
• Dark Matter: Understanding the Universal Glue
• Taking a Shot in the Dark: Searching for Dark Matter
• Dueling Antimatter: Proving That Opposites Attract
• Chapter 16: The Big Bang and the Evolution of the Universe
• Evidence for the Big Bang
• Inflation: A Swell Time in the Universe
• Dark Energy: The Universal Accelerator
• Universal Info Pulled from the Cosmic Microwave Background
• In a Galaxy Far Away: Standard Candles and the Hubble Constant
• The Fate of the Universe
• Part 5: The Part of Tens
• Chapter 17: Ten Strange Facts about Astronomy and Space
• You Have Tiny Meteorites in Your Hair
• A Comet’s Tail Often Leads the Way
• Earth Is Made of Rare and Unusual Matter
• High Tide Comes on Both Sides of Earth at the Same Time
• On Venus, the Rain Never Falls on the Plain
• Rocks from Mars Dot Earth
• Pluto Was Discovered from the Predictions of a False Theory
• Sunspots Aren’t Dark
• A Star in Plain View May Have Exploded, but No One Knows
• You May Have Seen the Big Bang on an Old Television
• Chapter 18: Ten Common Errors about Astronomy and Space
• “The Light from That Star Took 1,000 Light-Years to Reach Earth”
• A Freshly Fallen Meteorite Is Still Hot
• Summer Always Comes When Earth Is Closest to the Sun
• The Back of the Moon Is Dark
• The “Morning Star” Is a Star
• If You Vacation in the Asteroid Belt, You’ll See Asteroids All Around You
• Nuking a “Killer Asteroid” on a Collision Course for Earth Will Save Us
• The Sun Is an Average Star
• The Hubble Telescope Gets Up Close and Personal
• The Big Bang Is Dead
• Part 6: Appendixes
• Appendix A: Star Maps
• Appendix B: Glossary
• Sky Measures
• About the Author
• Supplemental Images
• Connect with Dummies
• End User License Agreement