High School Astronomy Class Text?

[mishima]

I am a high school physics teacher looking to teach an astronomy class for juniors and seniors next year. I was wondering if there are any stand out texts for this. Thanks.

 

[Astronuc]

Here's a couple of possibilities -

http://www.mhhe.com/physsci/astronomy/bookpage/index.html

Explorations: An Introduction to Astronomy, 7/e
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas T. Arny, University of Massachusetts, Amherst - Emeritus
Stephen E. Schneider, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Chapter 1: The Cycles of the Sky
Chapter 2: The Rise of Astronomy
Chapter 3: Gravity and Motion
Chapter 4: Light and Atoms
Chapter 5: Telescopes
Chapter 6: The Earth
Chapter 7: The Moon
Chapter 8: Survey of Solar Systems
Chapter 9: The Terrestrial Planets
Chapter 10: The Outer Planets
Chapter 11: Small Bodies Orbiting the Sun
Chapter 12: The Sun, Our Star
Chapter 13: Measuring the Properties of Stars
Chapter 14: Stellar Evolution
Chapter 15: Stellar Remnants: White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes
Chapter 16: The Milky Way Galaxy
Chapter 17: Galaxies
Chapter 18: Cosmology

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0072465700/?tag=pfamazon01-20

http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0010202009/instructor_view0/overview.html

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073512222/information_center_view0/table_of_contents.html



Discovering the Essential Universe
by Neil F. Comins

Chapter 1: Discovering the Night Sky
Chapter 2: Gravitation and the Motion of Planets
Chapter 3: Light and Telescopes
Chapter 4: Earth and Moon
Chapter 5: The Other Planets and Moons
Chapter 6: Vagabonds of the Solar System
Chapter 7: The Sun: Our Extraordinary Star
Chapter 8: Characterizing Stars
Chapter 9: The Lives of Stars from Birth Through Middle Age
Chapter 10: The Deaths of Stars
Chapter 11: The Galaxies
Chapter 12: Cosmology
Chapter 13: Astrobiology


https://www.amazon.com/dp/1429217979/?tag=pfamazon01-20

http://www.whfreeman.com/catalog/Product/discoveringtheessentialuniverse-fourthedition-comins

http://bcs.whfreeman.com/deu4e/default.asp

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MIT - http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-282j-introduction-to-astronomy-spring-2006/index.htm

The Solar System
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/index.html

Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/index.html

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/ recommends
TEXTBOOKS: "Astronomy: From the Earth to the Universe" (Sixth Edition),
by Jay M. Pasachoff
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0534421970/?tag=pfamazon01-20
http://web.williams.edu/astronomy/jay/
http://www.brookscole.com/cgi-wadsw...ipline_number=19&product_isbn_issn=0534421970

Online Journey Through Astronomy: The Solar System by Michael Guidry, Margaret Riedinger and Frank Edward Barnes (Student Companion by Kevin Lee)

 

[mishima]

Thanks, I had read in an astronomy education article that Astronomy Today by Chaisson was the most popular...but looking through it I was a little unsure. I'll order those through my library and take a look, they were also in the article I saw.

I really wish I could find one with a daytime, observational focus. Stuff like calculating latitude and longitude using the sun and so forth. Maybe I just need an amateur guidebook or something.

 

[Astronuc]

Certainly learning about time and date, latitude and longitude, in conjunction with declination (dec. or decl.) and right ascension (RA) are important in observational astronomy, along with relative and absolute magnitude.

Looking at Chaisson and McMillan, it's probably closer to Arny's.

Astronomy Today (7th Edition) [Hardcover]
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321691431/?tag=pfamazon01-20

The single volume would be done in a two semester course at university.

http://www.mypearsonstore.com/bookstore/astronomy-today-0321691431

Description
With Astronomy Today, Seventh Edition, trusted authors Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan communicate their excitement about astronomy and awaken you to the universe around you. The text emphasizes critical thinking and visualization, and it focuses on the process of scientific discovery, making “how we know what we know” an integral part of the text. The revised edition has been thoroughly updated with the latest astronomical discoveries and theories, and it has been streamlined to keep you focused on the essentials and to develop an understanding of the “big picture.”

Alternate Versions

•Astronomy Today, Volume 1: The Solar System, Seventh Edition—Focuses primarily on planetary coverage for a 1-term course. Includes Chapters 1-16, 28.
•Astronomy Today, Volume 2: Stars and Galaxies, Seventh Edition—Focuses primarily on stars and stellar evolution for a 1-term course. Includes Chapters 1-5 and 16-28.

Table of Contents

I. ASTRONOMY AND THE UNIVERSE
1. Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy
2. The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science
3. Radiation: Information from the Cosmos
4. Spectroscopy: The Inner Workings of Atoms
5. Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy

II. OUR PLANETARY SYSTEM
6. The Solar System: An Introduction to Comparative Planetology
7. Earth: Our Home in Space
8. The Moon and Mercury: Scorched and Battered Worlds
9. Venus: Earth’s Sister Planet
10. Mars: A Near Miss for Life?
11. Jupiter: Giant of the Solar System
12. Saturn: Spectacular Rings and Mysterious Moons
13. Uranus and Neptune: The Outer Worlds of the Solar System
14. Solar System Debris: Keys to Our Origin
15. The Formation of Planetary Systems: The Solar System and Beyond

III. STARS AND STELLAR EVOLUTION
16. The Sun: Our Parent Star
17. The Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence
18. The Interstellar Medium: Gas and Dust among the Stars
19. Star Formation: A Traumatic Birth
20. Stellar Evolution: The Life and Death of a Star
21. Stellar Explosions: Novae, Supernovae, and the Formation of the Elements
22. Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

IV. GALAXIES AND COSMOLOGY
23. The Milky Way Galaxy: A Spiral in Space
24. Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe
25. Galaxies and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos
26. Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe
27. The Early Universe: Toward the Beginning of Time
28. Life in the Universe: Are We Alone?

 

[mishima]

Thanks, after looking through a few texts (Arny, Seeds, Comins, Bennett, Chaisson) I think Arny will be best for high school. I appreciate the mathematical development compared to some others. I am also going to use Project Star for hands-on activities.