Pathways to astronomy / Stephen E. Schneider, Professor of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Thomas T. Arny, Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Includes appendices, glossary and index.

The cosmic landscape -- Probing matter, light, and their interactions -- The solar system -- Stars and stellar evolution -- Galaxies and the universe.

"There are many astronomy textbooks available today, but Pathways to Astronomy offers something different. Created by two veteran teachers of astronomy, both recipients of outstanding teaching awards, Pathways breaks down introductory astronomy into its component parts. The huge and fascinating field of astronomy is divided into 86 Units from which you can selectively choose topics according to your interests, while maintaining a natural flow of presentation. One of the frustrations created by other current astronomy textbooks is that each chapter covers such a wide array of topics that it is difficult for students to absorb the large amount of material, and the texts are wed to such a specific order of presentation that it is difficult for the professor to link the chapter readings and review questions to his or her own particular approach to teaching the subject. Whether you are learning astronomy for the first time or teaching it for the tenth, Pathways offers greater flexibility for exploring astronomy in the way you want to"--

English