With the Eighth Edition of Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide, trusted authors Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan bring a renewed freshness and analysis to recent changes in our understanding of the cosmos. As with the other two books in their Astronomy suite (one for two-semester courses and the other, a brief visual book), the authors continue to emphasize three major themes: the process of science, the size and scale of the universe, and the evolution of the cosmos. This new edition ignites reader interest with new discoveries from the latest space missions and a new focus on reader-oriented engagement.   KEY TOPICS: FOUNDATIONS: Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy; The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science; Light and Matter: The Inner Workings of the Cosmos; Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy; OUR PLANETARY SYSTEM: The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets; Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard ; The Terrestrial Planets: A Study in Contrasts ; The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System; Moons, Rings, and Plutoids: Small Worlds Among Giants; THE STARS: The Sun: Our Parent Star; Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence; The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way ; Stellar Evolution: The Lives and Deaths of Stars; Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter; GALAXIES AND THE UNIVERSE: The Milky Way Galaxy: A Spiral in Space; Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe; Hubble's Law and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos; Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe; Life in the Universe: Are We Alone?   MARKET: For all readers interested in introductory astronomy.   0134054725 / 9780134054728     Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe Plus MasteringAstronomy with eText -- Access Card Package   Package consists of:  0134060245 / 9780134060248     MasteringAstronomy with Pearson eText -- ValuePack Access Card -- for Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe 0134087704 / 9780134087702     Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe