21st Century Astronomy and Learning Astronomy by Doing Astronomy

Influenced by astronomy education research, 21st Century Astronomy offers a complete pedagogical and media package that facilitates learning by doing, while the new one-column design makes the Fifth Edition the most accessible introductory text available today. Written by two expert teachers and based on astronomy education research, Learning Astronomy by Doing Astronomy guides students through concepts, promotes quantitative literacy, and increases student confidence in their understanding of how the universe works.

About the Author :
Laura Kay is Ann Whitney Olin professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College, where she has taught since 1991. She received a BS degree in physics and an AB degree in feminist studies from Stanford University, and MS and PhD degrees in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of California-Santa Cruz. As a graduate student she spent 13 months at the Amundsen Scott station at the South Pole in Antarctica, and has had fellowships in Chile and Brazil. She studies active galactic nuclei using optical and X-ray telescopes. At Barnard she teaches courses on astronomy, astrobiology, women and science, and polar exploration. Ana Larson received a double bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Washington in 1990. She obtained her PhD from the University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C., Canada, in 1996, and it was during her time there that she started developing activities for the undergraduates to enhance their lectures in astronomy. Upon her graduation, she joined the University of Washington, where she is now a senior lecturer in astronomy. On average, she has taught introductory astronomy at least twice a year for the past 17+ years, most frequently for the large lecture-based course. Her developing and thorough testing of introductory, lecture-related activities has been an on-going effort for over a decade. Having recognized that students need to see connections between what is read in the textbook, taught in class, and practiced, she has made sure that the activities remain relevant as well as challenging. Ana is also the director of the Jacobsen Observatory on the University of Washington campus and guides undergraduates in all majors in their educational outreach efforts as they give their talks and introduce the night sky to the public during public viewing nights. Stacy Palen is an award-winning professor in the physics department at Weber State University. She received her BS in physics from Rutgers University and her PhD in physics from the University of Iowa. As a lecturer and postdoc at the University of Washington, she taught Introductory Astronomy more than 20 times over 4 years. Since joining Weber State, she has been very active in science outreach activities ranging from star parties to running the state Science Olympiad. Stacy does research in formal and informal astronomy education and the death of Sun-like stars. She spends much of her time thinking, teaching, and writing about the applications of science in everyday life. She then puts that science to use on her small farm in Ogden, Utah. George Blumenthal is the director of the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2006 to 2019 he was chancellor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He joined the UC Santa Cruz faculty as a professor of astronomy and astrophysics in 1972. Chancellor Blumenthal received his BS degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and his PhD in physics from the University of California, San Diego. As a theoretical astrophysicist, Blumenthal's research encompasses several broad areas, including the nature of the dark matter that constitutes most of the mass in the universe, the origin of galaxies and other large structures in the universe, the earliest moments in the universe, astrophysical radiation processes, and the structure of active galactic nuclei such as quasars.