Preface for the Student. Preface for the Instructor. Prologue: Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour. 1. Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy. 2. Orbits and Gravity. 3. Earth, Moon, and Sky. 4. Radiation and Spectra. 5. Astronomical Instruments. 6. Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System. 7. Earth as a Planet. 8. Cratered Worlds: The Moon and Mercury. 9. Earth-like Planets: Venus and Mars. 10. The Giant Planets. 11. Rings, Moons, and Pluto. 12. Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System. 13. Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System. 14. The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star. 15. The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse. 16. Analyzing Starlight. 17. The Stars: A Celestial Census. 18. Celestial Distances. 19. Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space. 20. The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets Outside the Solar System. 21. Stars: From Adolescence to Old Age. 22. The Death of Stars. 23. Black Holes and Curved Spacetime. 24. The Milky Way Galaxy. 25. Galaxies. 26. Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Giant Black Holes. Interlude: The Mystery of the Gamma-Ray Bursts. 27.The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies. 28. The Big Bang. 29. Life in the Universe. Apendices: 1. Astronomy on the World Wide Web. 2. Sources of Astronomical Information. 3. Glossary. 4. Powers-of-Ten Notation. 5. Units Used in Science. 6. Some Useful Constants for Astronomy. 7. Data for the Planets. 8. Selected Satellites of the Planets. 9. Upcoming (Total) Eclipses. 10. The Nearest Stars. 11. The Brightest Stars. 12. The Brightest Members of the Local Group of Galaxies. 13. The Chemical Elements. 14. The Constellations. 15. The Messier Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters. Index. Star Maps.