Astronomy: The Human Quest for Understanding

Since humans first looked up at the stars, astronomy has had a particular ability to stir the imagination and challenge the thinking of scientists and non-scientists alike. Astronomy: The Human Quest for Understanding is an introductory astronomy textbook specifically designed to relate to non-science majors across a wide variety of disciplines, nurture their curiosity, and develop vital science-based critical-thinking skills.

This textbook provides an introduction to how science operates in practice and what makes it so successful in uncovering nature's secrets. Given that the study of astronomy dates back thousands of years, it is the ideal subject for tracing the development of the physical sciences and how our evolving understanding of nature has influenced, and been influenced by, mathematics, philosophy, religion, geography, politics, and more. This historical approach also illustrates how wrong turns have been taken, and how the inherent self-correcting nature of science through constant verification and the falsifiability of truly scientific theories ultimately leads us back to a more productive path in our quest for understanding. This approach also points out why, as a broadly educated citizenry, students of all disciplines must understand how scientists arrive at conclusions, and how science and technology have become central features of modern society.

In discussing this fascinating and beautiful universe of which we are a part, it is necessary to illustrate the fundamental role that mathematics plays in decoding nature's mysteries. Unlike other similar textbooks, some basic mathematics is integrated naturally into the text, together with interpretive language, and supplemented with numerous examples; additional tutorials are provided on the book's companion website.

Astronomy: The Human Quest for Understanding leads the reader down the path to our present-day understanding of our Solar System, stars, galaxies, and the beginning and evolution of our universe, along with profound questions still to be answered in this ancient, yet rapidly changing field.

Dale Ostlie, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Weber State University

Professor Ostlie earned his BA degree from St. Olaf College in 1977 and his PhD in theoretical astrophysics from Iowa State University in 1982. Following a two-year position at Bates College, Ostlie went to Weber State University in 1984, where he remained until his retirement in 2014. Along with
teaching astronomy, physics, and mathematics courses, Ostlie conducted research in stellar pulsation theory, served as Chair of the Physics Department and Dean of the College of Science. Ostlie also co-authored a highly successful introductory astrophysics textbook with WSU colleague, Bradley W.
Carroll. Ostlie continues an active career in textbook writing today.

I The Process of Science Through the Lens of Astronomy
1. The Nature of Science
2. The Heavens: A Realm of Mystery
3. On the Path Toward Modern Science
4. The Copernican Revolution
5. Sir Isaac Newton's Universe
6. The Universality of Physical Law
7. Revealing Secrets Hidden in Light and Matter
8. Modern Physics: New Science to Study the Universe
II The Sun, Our Solar System, and Exoplanets
9. The Sun, Our Parent Star
10. An Overview of the Solar System
11. The Rocky Planets and Our Moon
12. The Giant Planet Systems
13. Dwarf Planets and Small Bodies
14. Planets Everywhere and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
III Stars and the Universe Beyond
15. Measuring the Stars
16. The Lives of Stars
17. The End of a Stellar Life
18. Galaxies Galore
19. The Once and Future Universe
Appendices