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Astronomy Today 8E Astronomy Today 8e CHAI_1675_NASTA_FM_ppi-xxxiii.indd 1 18/07/13 12:23 PM CHAI_1675_NASTA_FM_ppi-xxxiii.indd 2 18/07/13 12:23 PM Astronomy Today 8e Eric Chaisson Harvard University Steve McMillan Drexel University Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montréal Toronto Delhi Mexico City São Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo CHAI_1675_NASTA_FM_ppi-xxxiii.indd 3 18/07/13 12:23 PM Publisher: Jim Smith Design Manager: Mark Ong Executive Editor: Nancy Whilton Interior and Cover Design: Jeanne Calabrese Editorial Manager: Laura Kenney Manufacturing Buyer: Jeffrey Sargent Project Editor: Tema Goodwin Specialist, Rights and Permissions: Joseph Croscup Content Producers: Kate Brayton, Ziki Dekel Image Permissions Coordinator: Maya Melunchuk Development Editor: Barbara Price Photo Research: Stefanie Ramsay Director of Marketing: Christy Lesko Cover Printer: Lehigh-Phoenix Marketing Manager: Will Moore Printer and Binder: R. R. Donnelley Director of Product Management Services: Erin Gregg Cover Images: Team Lead, Program and Project Management: Corinne Benson Main Edition: ESO/S. Guisard (www.eso.org/~sguisard) Compositor: Cenveo® Publisher Services Vol. 1: The Solar System: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS, Mastcam Production Service: Thistle Hill Publishing Services Vol. 2: Stars and Galaxies: ESO/F. Comeron Illustrations: Rolin Graphics Inc. Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., 1301 Sansome St., San Francisco, CA 94111. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, 1900 E. Lake Ave., Glenview, IL 60025. For information regarding permissions, call (847) 486-2635. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial caps or all caps. MasteringAstronomy® is a trademark, in the U.S. and/or other countries, of Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chaisson, Eric, author. Astronomy today / Eric Chaisson, Harvard University, Steve McMillan, Drexel University. — Eighth edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-321-90167-5 (student edition) — ISBN 978-0-321-90971-8 (volume 1) — ISBN 978-0-321-90972-5 (volume 2) — ISBN 978-0-13-341279-6 (nasta) 1. Astronomy—Textbooks. I. McMillan, S. (Stephen), 1955– author. II. Title. QB43.3.C48 2014 520—dc23 2013019295 ISBN-10: 0-13-341279-2 (High School Binding) ISBN-13: 978-0-13-341279-6 (High School Binding) PearsonSchool.com/Advanced 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10—VHC—19 18 17 16 15 14 13 CHAI_1675_NASTA_FM_ppi-xxxiii.indd 4 18/07/13 12:24 PM Brief Contents Part One: Astronomy and the Universe 2 1 Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy 4 2 The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science 32 3 Radiation: Information from the Cosmos 58 4 Spectroscopy: The Inner Workings of Atoms 78 5 Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy 98 Part Two: Our Planetary System 132 6 The Solar System: Comparative Planetology and Formation Models 134 7 Earth: Our Home in Space 160 8 The Moon and Mercury: Scorched and Battered Worlds 188 9 Venus: Earth’s Sister Planet 216 10 Mars: A Near Miss for Life? 236 11 Jupiter: Giant of the Solar System 264 12 Saturn: Spectacular Rings and Mysterious Moons 290 13 Uranus and Neptune: The Outer Worlds of the Solar System 318 14 Solar System Debris: Keys to Our Origin 338 15 Exoplanets: Planetary Systems Beyond Our Own 366 Part Three: Stars and Stellar Evolution 386 16 The Sun: Our Parent Star 388 17 The Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence 420 18 The Interstellar Medium: Gas and Dust among the Stars 448 19 Star Formation: A Traumatic Birth 468 20 Stellar Evolution: The Life and Death of a Star 494 21 Stellar Explosions: Novae, Supernovae, and the Formation of the Elements 520 22 Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter 542 Part Four: Galaxies and Cosmology 574 23 The Milky Way Galaxy: A Spiral in Space 576 24 Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe 606 25 Galaxies and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos 638 26 Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe 666 27 The Early Universe: Toward the Beginning of Time 688 28 Life in the Universe: Are We Alone? 714 CHAI_1675_NASTA_FM_ppi-xxxiii.indd 5 18/07/13 12:24 PM Contents About the Authors xxi Preface xxiii Part One: Astronomy and the Universe 2 1 Charting the Heavens The Foundations of Astronomy 4 1.1 Our Place in Space 6 1.2 Scientific Theory and the Scientific Method 8 1.3 The “Obvious” View 10 1.4 Earth’s Orbital Motion 13 More Precisely 1-1 Angular Measure 14 1.5 The Motion of the Moon 18 1.6 The Measurement of Distance 24 More Precisely 1-2 Measuring Distances with Geometry 28 Chapter Review 29 2 The Copernican Revolution The Birth of Modern Science 32 2.1 Ancient Astronomy 34 2.2 The Geocentric Universe 36 2.3 The Heliocentric Model of the Solar System 39 Discovery 2-1 Foundations of the Copernican Revolution 40 2.4 The Birth of Modern Astronomy 41 2.5 The Laws of Planetary Motion 44 More Precisely 2-1 Some Properties of Planetary Orbits 46 2.6 The Dimensions of the Solar System 47 2.7 Newton’s Laws 49 2.8 Newtonian Mechanics 52 More Precisely 2-2 Weighing the Sun 54 Chapter Review 56 3 Radiation Information from the Cosmos 58 3.1 Information from the Skies 60 3.2 Waves in What? 63 3.3 Electromagnetic Spectrum 65 Discovery 3-1 The Wave Nature of Radiation 67 3.4 Thermal Radiation 68 More Precisely 3-1 The Kelvin Temperature Scale 69 More Precisely 3-2 More About the Radiation Laws 72 3.5 The Doppler Effect 73 More Precisely 3-3 Measuring Velocities with the Doppler Effect 75 Chapter Review 76 CHAI_1675_NASTA_FM_ppi-xxxiii.indd 6 18/07/13 12:24 PM Contents vii 4 Spectroscopy The Inner Workings of Atoms 78 4.1 Spectral Lines 80 4.2 Atoms and Radiation 84 More Precisely 4-1 The Hydrogen Atom 86 4.3 The Formation of Spectral Lines 87 Discovery 4-1 The Photoelectric Effect 88 4.4 Molecules 91 4.5 Spectral-Line Analysis 92 Chapter Review 95 5 Telescopes The Tools of Astronomy 98 5.1 Optical Telescopes 100 5.2 Telescope Size 105 5.3 Images and Detectors 109 5.4 High-Resolution Astronomy 111 5.5 Radio Astronomy 114 5.6 Interferometry 118 5.7 Space-Based Astronomy 121 Discovery 5-1 The ALMA Array 124 5.8 Full-Spectrum Coverage 128 Chapter Review 129 Part Two: Our Planetary System 132 6 The Solar System Comparative Planetology and Formation Models 134 6.1 An Inventory of the Solar System 136 6.2 Measuring the Planets 138 6.3 The Overall Layout of the Solar System 139 6.4 Terrestrial and Jovian Planets 140 Discovery 6-1 Gravitational “Slingshots” 142 6.5 Interplanetary Matter 143 6.6 How Did the Solar System Form? 144 Discovery 6-2 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System 146 More Precisely 6-1 Angular Momentum 149 6.7 Jovian Planets and Planetary Debris 152 Chapter Review 156 7 Earth Our Home in Space 160 7.1 Overall Structure of Planet Earth 162 7.2 Earth’s Atmosphere 162 More Precisely 7-1 Why Is the Sky Blue? 165 CHAI_1675_NASTA_FM_ppi-xxxiii.indd 7 18/07/13 12:24 PM viii Contents Discovery 7-1 The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming 167 7.3 Earth’s Interior 168 More Precisely 7-2 Radioactive Dating 172 7.4 Surface Activity 173 7.5 Earth’s Magnetosphere 180 7.6 The Tides 182 Chapter Review 185 8 The Moon and Mercury Scorched and Battered Worlds 188 8.1 Orbital Properties 190 8.2 Physical Properties 191 8.3 Surface Features on the Moon and Mercury 192 8.4 Rotation Rates 195 More Precisely 8-1 Why Air Sticks Around 196 Discovery 8-1 Lunar Exploration 198 8.5 Lunar Cratering and Surface Composition 201 8.6 The Surface of Mercury 206 8.7 Interiors 208 8.8 The Origin of the Moon 210 8.9 Evolutionary History of the Moon and Mercury 211 Chapter Review 213 9 Venus Earth’s Sister Planet 216 9.1 Orbital Properties 218 9.2 Physical Properties 219 9.3 Long-Distance Observations of Venus 220 9.4 The Surface of Venus 221 9.5 The Atmosphere of Venus 228 9.6 Venus’s Magnetic Field and Internal Structure 232 Chapter Review 233 10 Mars A Near Miss for Life? 236 10.1 Orbital Properties 238 10.2 Physical Properties 239 10.3 Long-Distance Observations of Mars 239 10.4 The Martian Surface 240 10.5 Water on Mars 244 Discovery 10-1 Life on Mars? 250 10.6 The Martian Atmosphere 256 10.7 Martian Internal Structure 259 10.8 The Moons of Mars 260 Chapter Review 261 CHAI_1675_NASTA_FM_ppi-xxxiii.indd 8 18/07/13 12:24 PM Contents ix 11 Jupiter Giant of the Solar System 264 11.1 Orbital and Physical Properties 266 11.2 Jupiter Atmosphere 268 Discovery 11-1 A Cometary Impact 274 11.3 Internal Structure 274 Discovery 11-2 Almost a Star? 276 11.4 Jupiter’s Magnetosphere 277 11.5 The Moons of Jupiter 279 11.6 Jupiter’s Ring 287 Chapter Review 287 12 Saturn Spectacular Rings and Mysterious Moons 290 12.1 Orbital and Physical Properties 292 12.2 Saturn’s Atmosphere 293 12.3 Saturn’s Interior and Magnetosphere 296 12.4 Saturn’s Spectacular Ring System 298 12.5 The Moons of Saturn 304
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