William J. Kauffman (1942–1994)

This is a really good (if somewhat dated) survey of cosmic and stellar evolution. Kaufmann has a very clear and easily readable style. With this and wikipedia anyone can become conversant with everything we currently know regarding stellar evolution and black holes and their effects upon space-time. Plenty of illustrations in here.

I've found myself referring to this book frequently, even after the semester ended. I couldn't get the Starry Night program to work on my computer. Apparently this is a wide ranging problem since the prof said "When you can't get Starry Night to work on your computer, we've got three computers in the lab that have it."

There were some points where the professor and the author diverged, but for the most part, the book was easy to read, the information was well presented, and Starry Night is a show more seriously cool program. show less

All about the Universe. Purely scientific approach to describe galaxies, planets, stars etc.

This edition contains several different features including: a greater emphasis on stars and galaxies; treatment of the planets one at a time for greater clarity; completely rewritten chapter introductions; "What Do You Think" questions that open each chapter and address specific common student misconceptions; new key-term chapter-ending lists; improved pedagogy including "Foundations" part openers and "Astronomer's Toolboxes"; and a new CD-ROM with full text and art plus new graphics, show more animations, historical timelines, interviews with prominent astronomers and sky-chart software. show less