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Horizons
14 FOURTEENTH EDITION
Horizons
Exploring the Universe
Michael Seeds
Joseph R. Grundy Observatory
Franklin and Marshall College
Dana Backman
SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory
for Infrared Astronomy)
SETI Institute & NASA Ames
Research Center
With MindTap media contributions

and additional problems from
Michele Montgomery,
© Universal History Archive / Getty Images
University of Central Florida.
Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States
Horizons: Exploring the Universe, © 2018, 2014, 2012 Cengage Learning
Fourteenth Edition
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein
Michael Seeds, Dana Backman may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, except as
Product Director: Dawn Giovanniello permitted by U.S. copyright law, without the prior written permission of the
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Dedication
For our families
Brief Contents
Part 1: The Sky
CHAPTER 1 HERE AND NOW 1
CHAPTER 2 A USER’S GUIDE TO THE SKY 11
CHAPTER 3 CYCLES OF THE SUN AND MOON 23
CHAPTER 4 THE ORIGIN OF MODERN ASTRONOMY 45
CHAPTER 5 LIGHT AND TELESCOPES 73
Part 2: The Stars

CHAPTER 6 ATOMS AND SPECTRA 99
CHAPTER 7 THE SUN 114
CHAPTER 8 THE FAMILY OF STARS 138
CHAPTER 9 THE FORMATION AND STRUCTURE OF STARS 166
CHAPTER 10 THE DEATHS OF STARS 194
CHAPTER 11 NEUTRON STARS AND BLACK HOLES 221
Part 3: The Universe of Galaxies

CHAPTER 12 THE MILKY WAY GALAXY 244
CHAPTER 13 GALAXIES: NORMAL AND ACTIVE 269
CHAPTER 14 MODERN COSMOLOGY 298
Part 4: The Solar System

CHAPTER 15 ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND EXTRASOLAR PLANETS 328
CHAPTER 16 EARTH AND MOON: BASES FOR COMPARATIVE PLANETOLOGY 353
CHAPTER 17 MERCURY, VENUS, AND MARS 374
CHAPTER 18 THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM 398
CHAPTER 19 METEORITES, ASTEROIDS, AND COMETS 427
Part 5: Life
CHAPTER 20 ASTROBIOLOGY: LIFE ON OTHER WORLDS 449
vi
Contents
Part 1: The Sky
How Do We Know?
Chapter 1 | Here and Now 1 1-1 The Scientific Method 8
1-1 WHERE ARE WE? 2
2-1 Scientific Models 20
1-2 WHEN IS NOW? 6
3-1 Pseudoscience 29
1-3 WHY STUDY ASTRONOMY? 7
3-2 Evidence as the Foundation of Science 31
Chapter 2 | A User’s Guide to the Sky 11 3-3 Scientific Arguments 32
2-1 THE STARS 12 4-1 Scientific Revolutions 52
2-2 THE SKY AND ITS MOTIONS 17 4-2 Hypothesis, Theory, and Law 57
4-3 Cause and Effect 64
Chapter 3 | Cycles of the Sun and Moon 23 4-4 Testing a Hypothesis by Prediction 70
3-1 CYCLES OF THE SUN 24 5-1 Resolution and Precision 81
3-2 ASTRONOMICAL INFLUENCES ON
EARTH’S CLIMATE 28
3-3 THE CHANGEABLE MOON 31
Chapter 4 | The Origin of Modern Astronomy 45

4-1 CLASSICAL ASTRONOMY 46 Concept Art Portfolios
4-2 THE COPERNICAN REVOLUTION 47
2A The Sky Around You 18–19
4-3 PLANETARY MOTION 53
4-4 GALILEO GALILEI 59 3A The Cycle of the Seasons 26–27
4-5 ISAAC NEWTON AND ORBITAL MOTION 62 3B The Phases of the Moon 34–35
4A An Ancient Model of the Universe 48–49

Chapter 5 | Light and Telescopes 73
5-1 RADIATION: INFORMATION FROM SPACE 74 4B Orbits 66–67
5-2 TELESCOPES 77 5A Modern Optical Telescopes 84–85
5-3 OBSERVATORIES ON EARTH: OPTICAL AND
RADIO 83
5-4 AIRBORNE AND SPACE OBSERVATORIES 88
5-5 ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS AND
TECHNIQUES 91
Reasoning with Numbers
2-1 Magnitudes 16
3-1 The Small-Angle Formula 37
4-1 Circular Velocity 65
5-1 The Powers of a Telescope 82
NASA/Rami Daud
vii
Part 2: The Stars
How Do We Know?
Chapter 6 | Atoms and Spectra 99 6-1 Quantum Mechanics 102
6-1 A
ATOMS 100
7-1 Confirmation and Consolidation 127
6-2 INTERACTIONS OF LIGHT AND MATTER 103
7-2 Scientific Confidence 135
6-3 UNDERSTANDING SPECTRA 106
8-1 Chains of Inference 154
Chapter 7 | The Sun 114 8-2 Basic Scientific Data 159
7-1 THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE

A 115 9-1 Separating Facts from Hypotheses 176
7-2 SOLAR ACTIVITY 121 9-2 Mathematical Models 188

7-3 NUCLEAR FUSION IN THE SUN 128 10-1 Toward Ultimate Causes 198
11-1 Hypotheses, Theories, and Proofs 232
Chapter 8 | The Family of Stars 138 11-2 Checks on Fraud in Science 237
8-1 STAR DISTANCES 139
8-2 APPARENT BRIGHTNESS, INTRINSIC BRIGHTNESS,
AND LUMINOSITY 141
8-3 STELLAR SPECTRA 143 Concept Art Portfolios
8-4 STAR SIZES 147
6A Atomic Spectra 108–109
8-5 STAR MASSES—BINARY STARS 152
8-6 A CENSUS OF THE STARS 158 7A Sunspots and the Solar Magnetic Cycle 124–125
7B Solar Activity and the Sun–Earth Connection 130–131

Chapter 9 | The Formation and Structure of Stars 166
8A The Family of Stars 160–161
9-1 THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM 167
9-2 MAKING STARS FROM THE INTERSTELLAR 9A Three Kinds of Nebulae 172–173
MEDIUM 170
9B Star Formation in the Orion Nebula 178–179
9-3 YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS AND PROTOSTELLAR
DISKS 180 9C Observations of Young Stellar Objects and Protostellar
Disks 182–183
9-4 STELLAR STRUCTURE AND NUCLEAR FUSION 184
9-5 MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS 188 10A Star Clusters and Stellar Evolution 202–203
10B Formation of Planetary Nebulae and

Chapter 10 | The Deaths of Stars 194 White Dwarfs 206–207
10-1 GIANT STARS 196
11A The Lighthouse Model of Pulsars 226–227
10-2 LOWER-MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS 200
10-3 THE EVOLUTION OF BINARY SYSTEMS 208
10-4 THE DEATHS OF MASSIVE STARS 211

Chapter 11 | Neutron Stars and Black Holes 221
11-1 NEUTRON STARS 222 6-1 Blackbody Radiation 106
11-2 BLACK HOLES 233 6-2 The Doppler Formula 111

11-3 COMPACT OBJECTS WITH DISKS AND JETS 238 7-1 Hydrogen Fusion 129
8-1 Parallax and Distance 140
8-2 Absolute Magnitude and Distance 142
8-3 Luminosity, Radius, and Temperature 148
8-4 The Masses of Binary Stars 153
8-5 The Mass–Luminosity Relation 162
9-1 The Life Expectancies of Stars 190
Celestial Profile 1 | The Sun 116
viii CONTENTS
How Do We Know?
+ Visual
12-1 Calibration 249

12-2 Nature as Processes 259
13-1 Classification in Science 271
13-2 Statistical Evidence 286
14-1 Reasoning by Analogy 301
14-2 Science: A System of Knowledge 310
NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA/NSF/ESA/CXC/SAO/J. Hester (Arizona State Univ.)

14-3 Wishing Doesn’t Make It So 318
Concept Art Portfolios

12A Sagittarius A* 260–261
13A Galaxy Classification 272–273
13B Interacting Galaxies 284–285
13C Galaxy Jets and Radio Lobes 288–289
14A The Nature of Space-Time 312–313
Part 3: The Universe of Galaxies

Chapter 12 | The Milky Way Galaxy 244
12-1 DISCOVERY OF THE GALAXY 245
12-2 STRUCTURE OF THE GALAXY 250
12-3 SPIRAL ARMS AND STAR FORMATION 253 13-1 The Hubble Law 276
12-4 THE NUCLEUS OF THE GALAXY 258 14-1 The Age of the Universe 303
12-5 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE MILKY WAY GALAXY 262
Chapter 13 | Galaxies: Normal and Active 269

13-1 THE FAMILY
F OF GALAXIES 270
13-2 MEASURING THE PROPERTIES OF GALAXIES 274
13-3 THE EVOLUTION OF GALAXIES 280
Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/R. Kennicutt, SINGS Team

13-4 ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AND QUASARS 283
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Univ. of Massachusetts/Q. D. Wang et al.;

Visual: NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA/NSF/The Hubble Heritage Team;
13-5 DISKS, JETS, ERUPTIONS, AND GALAXY EVOLUTION 290
Chapter 14 | Modern Cosmology 298

14-1 INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIVERSE 299
14-2 THE BIG BANG THEORY 302
14-3 SPACE AND TIME, MATTER AND GRAVITY 310
14-4 TWENTY-F
WENTY IRST-C
WENTY-F IRST ENTURY COSMOLOGY 316
CONTENTS ix
Part 4: The Solar System
How Do We Know?
Chapter 15 | Origin of the Solar System and Extrasolar 15-1 Two Kinds of Hypotheses: Catastrophic and
Planets 328 Evolutionary 330
15-1 THE GREAT CHAIN OF ORIGINS 329 15-2 Reconstructing the Past from Evidence and
15-2 A SURVEY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM 331 Hypotheses 336
15-3 THE STORY OF PLANET BUILDING 338 16-1 Understanding Planets: Follow the Energy 356
15-4 PLANETS ORBITING OTHER STARS 344 16-2 Scientists: Courteous Skeptics 362
17-1 Hypotheses and Theories Unify the Details 377
Chapter 16 | Earth and Moon: Bases for Comparative 17-2 The Present Is the Key to the Past 392
Planetology 353
18-1 Funding for Basic Research 409
16-1 A TRAVEL GUIDE TO THE TERRESTRIAL
19-1 Selection Effects 430
PLANETS 354
16-2 PLANET EARTH 356
16-3 THE MOON 365
Chapter 17 | Mercury, Venus, and Mars 374

17-1 MERCURY 375
17-2 VENUS 378 15A Terrestrial and Jovian Planets 332–333
17-3 MARS 384
16A The Active Earth 360–361
Chapter 18 | The Outer Solar System 398 16B Impact Cratering 366–367
18-1 A TRAVEL GUIDE TO THE OUTER SOLAR 17A Volcanoes 382–383
SYSTEM 399
17B When Good Planets Go Bad 394–395
18-2 JUPITER 400
18-3 SATURN 407 18A Jupiter’s Atmosphere 402–403
18-4 URANUS 414 18B The Ice Rings of Saturn 412–413
18-5 NEPTUNE 417
18C Uranus’s and Neptune’s Rings 418–419
18-6 PLUTO AND THE KUIPER BELT 422
19A Observations of Asteroids 434–435
Chapter 19 | Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets 427 19B Observations of Comets 440–441
19-1 METEOROIDS, METEORS, AND METEORITES 428
19-2 ASTEROIDS 432
19-3 COMETS 437
19-4 ASTEROID AND COMET IMPACTS 443
Celestial Profile 2 | Earth 364
Celestial Profile 3 | The Moon 364, 376
Celestial Profile 4 | Mercury 376
Celestial Profile 5 | Venus 385
Celestial Profile 6 | Mars 385
Celestial Profile 7 | Jupiter 408
Celestial Profile 8 | Saturn 408
Celestial Profile 9 | Uranus 420
Celestial Profile 10 | Neptune 420
NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
x CONTENTS
How Do We Know?
20-1 The Nature of Scientific Explanation 451
20-2 UFOs and Space Aliens 462

20A DNA: The Code of Life 452–453
Mural by Peter Sawyer
Part 5: Life AFTERWORD 469

APPENDIX A UNITS AND ASTRONOMICAL DATA 471
Chapter 20 | Astrobiology: Life on Other Worlds 449 APPENDIX B OBSERVING THE SKY 479
20-1 THE NATURE OF LIFE 450 GLOSSARY 482
20-2 LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE 454 ANSWERS TO EVEN-NUMBERED PROBLEMS 487
20-3 INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE 461 INDEX 488
NASA
CONTENTS xi
A Note to Students
From Dana and Mike do you know it is true? For instance, astronomy boring. Rather, this book is
how can anyone know there was a big organized to show you how scientists use
We are excited that you are taking
bang? In today’s world, you need to evidence and theory to create logical
an astronomy course and using our
think carefully about the things so-called arguments that show how nature works.
MindTap and textbook. You are going
experts say. You should demand explana- Look at the list of special features that
to see some amazing things, from the icy
tions. Scientists have a special way of follows this note. Those features were
rings of Saturn to monster black holes.
knowing based on evidence that makes carefully designed to help you
We are proud to
scientific knowledge much more power- understand astronomy as evidence and
be your guides as you explore.
ful than just opinion, policy, marketing, theory. Once you see science as logical
We have developed this book to
or public relations. It is the human race’s arguments, you hold the key to the
help you expand your knowledge of
best understanding of nature. To under- Universe.
astronomy, from the Moon and a few
stand the world around you, you need to
stars in the evening sky to a deeper
understand how science works. Don’t Be Humble
understanding of the extent, power, and
Throughout this book, you will find
diversity of the Universe. You will meet As teachers, our quest is simple. We
boxes called How Do We Know? and
worlds where it rains methane, stars so want you to understand your place in
Practicing Science. They will help you
dense atoms cannot exist there, colliding the Universe—not just your location in
understand how scientists use the meth-
galaxies that are ripping each other apart, space but your location in the unfolding
ods of science to know what the
and a Universe that is expanding faster history of the physical Universe. Not
Universe is like.
and faster. only do we want you to know where you
are and what you are in the Universe,
Two Goals Expect to Be Astonished but we want you to understand how sci-
This book is designed to help you One reason astronomy is exciting is entists know. By the end of this book,
answer two important questions: that astronomers discover new things we want you to know that the Universe
every day. Astronomers expect to be is very big but that it is described by a
• What are we? astonished. You can share in the excite- small set of rules and that we humans
• How do we know? ment because we have worked hard to have found a way to figure out the
By the question “What are we?” we include the newest images, the newest rules—through a method called science.
mean, “How do we fit into the Universe discoveries, and the newest insights that To appreciate your role in this beau-
and its history?” The atoms you are will take you, in an introductory course, tiful Universe, you need to learn more
made of had their first birthday in the to the frontier of human knowledge. than just the facts of astronomy. You can
big bang when the Universe began, but Telescopes in space and on remote strive for an understanding of what we
those atoms were cooked and remade mountaintops provide a daily dose are and how we know. Every page of this
inside stars, and now they are inside you. of excitement that goes far beyond book reflects that ideal.
Where will they be in a billion years? sensationalism. These new discoveries
Dana Backman
Astronomy is the only course on campus in astronomy are exciting because they
dbackman@sofia.usra.edu
that can tell you that story, and it is a are about us. They tell us more and
story that everyone should know. more about what we are. Mike Seeds
By the question “How do we As you read this book, notice that it mseeds@fandm.edu
know?” we mean, “How does science is not organized as lists of facts for you
work?” What is the evidence, and how to memorize. That could make even
xii A NOTE TO STUDENTS
Key Content and Pedagogical Special Features
Changes to the Fourteenth
Edition • What Are We? essays are placed at the end of each chapter
to help you understand your own role in the cosmos.
• How Do We Know? commentaries appear in every chapter
• Every chapter has been reviewed and updated with new and will help you see how science works. They point out
discoveries and images. where scientists use statistical evidence, why they think with
• The lunar and solar eclipse tables in Chapter 3 have been analogies, and how they build confidence in hypotheses.
updated to include eclipses through the year 2024. • Practicing Science boxes at the end of many text sections
• The Mars retrograde loop figure in Chapter 4 (“The Ori- are carefully designed to help you review and synthesize con-
gin of Modern Astronomy,” Concept Art 4A, “An Ancient cepts from the section and practice thinking like a scientist.
Model of the Universe”), is updated to 2018. • Special two-page Concept Art spreads provide an oppor-
• New and planned observatory facilities, including the tunity for you to create your own understanding and share
Thirty Meter Telescope, are featured in Chapter 5 (“Light in the satisfaction that scientists feel as they uncover the
and Telescopes”). secrets of nature.
• Solar cycle plots in Chapter 7 (“The Sun”) have been up- • Celestial Profiles of objects in our Solar System directly
dated to 2016, and implications of the late start and weak compare and contrast planets with each other. This is the
maximum of the most recent solar activity cycle are dis- way planetary scientists understand the planets, not as iso-
cussed. lated, unrelated bodies but as siblings with noticeable difdif-
• Chapter 11 (“Neutron Stars and Black Holes”) ferences and yet many characteristics and a family history
includes a description of the discovery of gravity in common.
waves from distant black hole mergers by the LIGO • Guided discovery figures illustrate important ideas visually
interferometer. and guide you to understand relationships and contrasts
• Chapter 12 (“The Milky Way Galaxy”) includes a new interactively.
image of the galaxy’s circumnuclear ring orbiting a central • Guideposts on the opening page of each chapter help you see
supermassive black hole, obtained by an infrared camera the organization of the book by focusing on a small number
onboard NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared of questions to be answered as you read the chapter.
Astronomy (SOFIA). • End-of-Chapter Review Questions are designed to help
• Chapter 14 (“Modern Cosmology”) contains a discussion you review and test your understanding of the material.
of the claimed detection of cosmological gravity waves in • End-of-Chapter Discussion Questions go beyond the text
2014 and subsequent careful reanalysis of the data by and invite you to think critically and creatively about scien-
several research teams, as an object lesson in the care that tific questions. You can ponder these questions yourself or
professional scientists take to check their results and avoid discuss them in class. Many of the Discussion Questions
wishful thinking. have been replaced or rewritten in this edition to better
• Chapter 15 (“Origin of the Solar System and Extrasolar support active-learning classroom scenarios.
Planets”) has been updated with new information regard-
ing the wide and wonderful variety of extrasolar planets
discovered and studied by the Kepler and Spitzer space MindTap for Astronomy
telescopes plus ground-based research programs.
• Chapter 17 (“Mercury, Venus, and Mars”), Chapter 18
• Sense of Proportion questions extend the journey of dis-
(“The Outer Solar System”), and Chapter 19 (“Meteorites, covery through every chapter while grounding the concepts
Asteroids, and Comets”) are updated with new findings in mathematical meaning.
and images regarding Mercury, Mars, Ceres, Comet
• Show Me Astronomy videos guide you through chapter
Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and Pluto from the topics selected and presented by co-author Michele
MESSENGER, Curiosity, Dawn, Rosetta-Philae, and Montgomery, UCF
New Horizons space missions, respectively.
A NOTE TO STUDENTS xiii
MindTap is a digital learning solution that helps instructors simulations that are integrated right into the MindTap
engage and transform today’s students into critical thinkers. reader to help students better visualize the concepts.
Through paths of dynamic assignments and applications that Animation tutorials will build student reasoning so they will
you can personalize, real-time course analytics, and an acces- ultimately be able to draw stronger conclusions.
sible reader, MindTap helps you turn cookie cutter into cutting The end of chapter homework questions in MindTap
edge, apathy into engagement, and memorizers into higher- provide a tighter integration with the textbook content and
level thinkers. emphasize conceptual understanding. In addition, instruc-
MindTap for Astronomy has a carefully curated learning tors can customize the learning path with the Assessment
path that includes tutorial simulations, readings, and assess- app, which includes thousands of questions pulled from
ments. Research has proven that students perform better decades of legacy content. Instructor supplements include
when activities encourage an active experience; with this Class Engagement Lecture Slides, Images from the book,
research in mind, author Mike Seeds has developed tutorial and Cengage Learning Testing, powered by Cognero®.
Acknowledgments
Over the years we have had the guidance of a great many people operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. We also used images and
who care about astronomy and teaching. We would like to thank image mosaics obtained as part of the Two Micron All Sky
all of the students and teachers who have contributed their Survey (2MASS), a joint project of the University of
insights and suggestions. Their comments have been very helpful Massachusetts and Caltech, funded by NASA and the NSF.
in shaping this book. It is always a pleasure to work with the Cengage Learning
We would especially like to thank Susan English, whose team. Special thanks go to all of the people who have contrib-
careful reading and thoughtful suggestions have been invaluable uted directly to this project, including Product Assistants
in completing this new edition, and Michael Jacobs for his help Margaret O’Neil and Caitlin Ghegan and Content Developer
with new Discussion Questions. Michael Jacobs. We always enjoy working with Margaret
Many observatories, research institutes, laboratories, and Pinette, and continue to appreciate her understanding and
individual astronomers have supplied figures and diagrams for goodwill. We would especially like to thank Product Manager
this edition. They are listed in the individual item credits, and Rebecca Berardy Schwartz for her help and guidance through-
we would like to thank them here specifically for their out this project.
generosity. Most of all, we would like to thank our families for putting
We are happy to acknowledge the use of images and data up with “the books.” They know all too well that textbooks are
from a number of important programs. In updating materials for made of time.
this book, especially the data tables in Chapters 9 and 10 and Dana Backman
Appendix A, we made extensive use of the SIMBAD database Mike Seeds
xiv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
About the Authors
Dana Backman taught in the physics and astronomy department at Franklin
and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from 1991 until 2003.
He invented and taught a course titled “Life in the Universe” in F&M’s inter-
disciplinary Foundations program. Dana now teaches some introductory
astronomy classes at Santa Clara University. His research interests focus on
infrared observations of planet formation, models of debris disks around
nearby stars, and evolution of the Solar System’s Kuiper Belt. Dana is
employed by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, as director of
education and public outreach for SOFIA (the Stratospheric Observatory for
Seth Shostak / SETI Institute
Infrared Astronomy) at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Dana is coauthor

with Mike Seeds of Horizons: Exploring the Universe, 12th edition (2012);
Universe: Solar Systems, Stars, and Galaxies, 7th edition (2012); Stars and
Galaxies, 8th edition (2013); The Solar System, 8th edition (2013); and
ASTRO, 2nd edition (2013), all published by Cengage.
Mike Seeds was a professor of physics and astronomy at Franklin and Marshall
College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from 1970 until his retirement in 2001. In
1989 he received F&M College’s Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Mike’s love for the history of astronomy led him to create upper-level courses on
archaeoastronomy and on the Copernican Revolution (“Changing Concepts of
the Universe”). His research interests focus on variable stars and automation of
astronomical telescopes. Mike is coauthor with Dana Backman of Horizons:
Exploring the Universe, 12th edition (2012); Universe: Solar Systems, Stars,
and Galaxies, 7th edition (2012); Stars and Galaxies, 8th edition (2013);
The Solar System, 8th edition (2013); and ASTRO, 2nd edition (2013), all
published by Cengage. He was senior consultant for creation of the 20-episode
telecourse accompanying his book Horizons: Exploring the Universe.
Courtesy of Kris Koenig
ABOUT THE AUTHORS xv
Guidepost As you study astronomy, you also learn about
Here and Now
This chapter is a jumping-off point for your exploration of

1
yourself. You are a planet-walker, and this chapter offers you deep space and deep time. The next chapter continues your
a preview of what that means. The planet you live on whirls journey by looking at the night sky as seen from Earth. As you
around a star that moves through a space filled with other stars study astronomy, you will see how science gives you a way to
and galaxies (see the photo in CO1). You owe it to yourself to know how nature works. Later chapters will provide more spe-
know where you are located in the Universe and when you are cific insights into how scientists study and understand nature.
living its history because those are important steps to knowing
what you are.
In this chapter, you will consider three important questions:
▶ Where is Earth in the Universe?
▶ How does human history fit into the history of the

The longest journey begins with a single step.
Universe?
—LAOZI
▶ Why study astronomy?
NOAA/NASA GOES Project
Visual
CO1. Image of Earth from the GOES (Geostationary Operational

Environment Satellite) East weather satellite stationed over the central
Atlantic Ocean. This image, which was made during the month of
January, shows a coating of snow over Canada and the northern part
of the United States, as well as lush vegetation in the Amazon Basin of
South America.
1-1 Where Are We?
To find your place among the stars, you can take a cosmic zoom,
a ride out through the Universe to preview the kinds of objects
you are about to study.
You can begin with something familiar. Figure 1-1 shows a
region about 50 feet across occupied by a human being, a side-
walk, and a few trees—all objects with sizes you can understand.
Each successive picture in this cosmic zoom will show you a
region of the Universe that is 100 times wider than the preced-
ing picture. That is, each step will widen your field of view, the
region you can see in the image, by a factor of 100.
Widening your field of view by a factor of 100 allows you
to see an area 1 mile in diameter (Figure 1-2). People, trees, and
sidewalks have become too small to see, but now you see a col- Visual
USGS
lege campus and surrounding streets and houses. The dimen-
sions of houses and streets are familiar. This is still the world you ▲ Figure 1-2 This box ■ represents the relative size of the
know. previous frame.
Before leaving this familiar territory, you should make
a change in the units you use to measure sizes. All scientists, (Figure 1-3). Now your field of view is 160 km wide, and you
including astronomers, use the metric system of units because see cities and towns as patches of gray. Wilmington, Delaware,
it is well understood worldwide and, more importantly, because is visible at the lower right. At this scale, you can see some of the
it simplifies calculations. If you are not already familiar with natural features of Earth’s surface. The Allegheny Mountains of
the metric system, or if you need a review, study Appendix A southern Pennsylvania cross the image in the upper left, and the
before reading on. Susquehanna River flows southeast into Chesapeake Bay. What
In metric units, the image in Figure 1-1 is about 16 meters look like white bumps are a few puffs of clouds.
across, and the 1-mile diameter of Figure 1-2 equals about 1.6 Figure 1-3 is an infrared photograph in which healthy green
kilometers. You can see that a kilometer (abbreviated km) is a leaves and crops show up as red. Human eyes are sensitive to
bit under two-thirds of a mile—a short walk across a neighbor- only a narrow range of colors called “visual.” As you explore the
hood. But when you expand your field of view by a factor of Universe in the following chapters, you will learn to use a wide
100, the neighborhood you saw in the previous photo vanishes range of other “colors,” from X-rays to radio waves, to reveal
NASA/Landsat
Michael A. Seeds
Infrared
Visual
▲ Figure 1-3 This box ■ represents the relative size of

▲ Figure 1-1 the previous frame.
2 PART 1 THE SKY
Earth Moon
Enlarged to show
relative sizes
Visual
NASA
NASA
Earth Moon
▲ Figure 1-4 This box ■ represents the relative size of the
previous frame.
previous frame.
sights invisible to unaided human eyes. Photographs in this book When you once again enlarge your field of view by a fac-
generally will have labels noting which color or type of light was tor of 100, Earth, the Moon, and the Moon’s orbit all lie in the
used to make the image. small red box at lower left of Figure 1-6. Now you can see the Sun
At the next step in your journey, you can see your entire and two other planets that are part of our Solar System. Our
planet, which is nearly 13,000 km in diameter (Figure 1-4). At Solar System consists of the Sun, its family of planets, and some
any particular moment, half of Earth’s surface is exposed to sun- smaller bodies, such as moons and comets.
light, and half is in darkness. As Earth rotates on its axis, it car- Earth, Venus, and Mercury are planets, small, spherical,
ries you through sunlight and then through darkness, producing nonluminous bodies that orbit a star and shine by reflected light.
the cycle of day and night. The blurriness you see at the extreme Venus is about the size of Earth, and Mercury has just over a
right of the photo is the boundary between day and night—the third of Earth’s diameter. On this diagram, they are both too
sunset line. This is a good example of how a photo can give you small to be seen as anything but tiny dots. The Sun is a star, a
visual clues to understanding a concept. Special questions called self-luminous ball of hot gas that generates its own energy. Even
“Learning to Look” at the end of each chapter give you a chance
to find connections between images and information regarding
astronomical objects.
Enlarge your field of view by another factor of 100, and
you see a region 1,600,000 km wide ( Figure 1-5). Earth is the Sun
Venus
small blue dot in the center, and the Moon, whose diameter is
only one-fourth that of Earth, is an even smaller dot along its
orbit 380,000 km away. The relative sizes of Earth and Moon are
shown in the inset at the bottom right of Figure 1-5.
These numbers are so large that it is inconvenient to write AU
1
them out. Astronomy is sometimes known as the science of big Mercury
numbers, and soon you will be using numbers much larger than
these to discuss the Universe. Rather than writing out these Enlarged to show
relative sizes
numbers as in the previous paragraph, it is more convenient to
write them in scientific notation. This is nothing more than Earth
NSF/AURA/NOAO
a simple way to write very big or very small numbers without Earth
using lots of zeros. In scientific notation, 380,000 becomes Sun
3.8 3 10 5. If you are not familiar with scientific notation,
read the section on powers of 10 notation in Appendix A. The ▲ Figure 1-6 The small red box around Earth at lower left
Universe is too big to discuss without using scientific notation. contains the entire field of view of Figure 1-5 .
Chapter 1 HERE AND NOW 3
though the Sun is about 100 times larger in diameter than Earth
(inset), it too is nothing more than a dot in the figure.
This diagram represents an area with a diameter of
1.6 3 10 8 km. Another way astronomers simplify descrip-
tions and calculations using large numbers is to define larger
units of measurement. For example, the average distance from
Earth to the Sun is a unit of distance called the astronomical
Sun and planets
unit (AU), which is equal to 1.5 3 108 km. You can express
the average distance from Venus to the Sun as about 0.72 AU
and the average distance from Mercury to the Sun as about
0.39 AU.
These distances are averages because the orbits of the planets
are not perfect circles. This is particularly apparent in the case of
Mercury. Its orbit carries it as close to the Sun as 0.31 AU and
as far away as 0.47 AU. You can see the variation in the distance
from Mercury to the Sun in Figure 1-6. Earth’s orbit is more cir- ▲ Figure 1-8 The small red box at the center contains the
cular, and its distance from the Sun varies by only a few percent. entire field of view of Figure 1-7.
Enlarge your field of view again by a factor of 100, and you

can see the entire Solar System (Figure 1-7). The Sun, Mercury,
Venus, and Earth lie so close together that you cannot see them You can remember the order of the plants from the Sun
separately at this scale, and they are lost in the red square at the outward by remembering a simple sentence: My Very Educated
center of the diagram that shows the size of the previous figure. Mother Just Served Us Noodles (perhaps you can come up with a
You can see only the brighter, more widely separated objects such better one). The first letter of each word is the same as the first
as Mars, the next planet outward. Mars lies only 1.5 AU from letter of a planet’s name: Mercury, Venus Earth, Mars Jupiter,
the Sun, but Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are farther Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
from the Sun and so are easier to place in this diagram. They When you again enlarge your field of view by a factor of
are cold worlds far from the Sun’s warmth. Light from the Sun 100, the Solar System vanishes (Figure 1-8). The Sun is only a
reaches Earth in only 8 minutes, but it takes more than 4 hours point of light, and all the planets and their orbits are now
to reach Neptune. crowded into the small red square at the center. The planets
are too small and too faint to be visible so near the brilliance of
the Sun.
Notice that no stars are visible in Figure 1-8 except for the
Sun. The Sun is a fairly typical star, and it seems to be located in
a fairly average neighborhood in the Universe. Although there
are many billions of stars like the Sun, none are close enough
to be visible in this diagram, which shows a region only 11,000
AU in diameter. Stars are typically separated by distances about
30 times larger than that.
Sun In Figure 1-9, your field of view has expanded to a diameter
of a bit over 1.1 million AU. The Sun is at the center, and at this
Mars scale you can see a few of the nearest stars. These stars are so dis-
Jupiter tant that it is not convenient to give their distances in astronomi-
Saturn cal units. To express distances so large, astronomers define a new
Uranus unit of distance, the light-year. One light-year (ly) is the distance
that light travels in one year, roughly 1013 km or 63,000 AU.
Neptune
It is a Common Misconception that a light-year is a unit of
time, and you can sometimes hear the term misused in science
fiction movies and TV shows. The diameter of your field of view
in Figure 1-9 is 17 ly.
▲ Figure 1-7 The small red box around the Sun at center Another Common Misconception is that stars look like
contains the entire field of view of Figure 1-6. disks when seen through a telescope. Although stars are typically
4 PART 1 THE SKY
Sun
NSF/AURA/NOAO/Bill Schoening
Visual

previous frame. ▲ Figure 1-10 This box ■ represents the relative size of the
previous frame.
about the same size as the Sun, they are so far away that astrono- of stars surrounding us and ringing the sky. This band of stars
mers cannot see them as anything but points of light. Even the is known as the Milky Way, and our galaxy is called the
closest star to the Sun—Proxima Centauri, only 4.2 ly away— Milky Way Galaxy.
looks like a point of light through the biggest telescopes on How does anyone know what the disk of the Milky Way
Earth. Furthermore, planets that circle other stars are much too Galaxy would look like from a vantage point tens of thousands of
small, too faint, and too close to the glare of their star to be easily light years away? Astronomers use evidence to guide their expla-
visible. Astronomers have used indirect methods to detect thou- nations as they envision what our galaxy looks like. Artists can
sands of planets orbiting other stars, but only a few have been then use those scientific descriptions to create a painting. Many
photographed directly, and even those show up as nothing more images in this book are artists’ renderings of objects and events
than faint points of light. that are too big or too dim to see clearly, emit energy your eyes
Figure 1-9 follows the astronomical custom of making the
sizes of the dots represent not the sizes of the stars but their
brightnesses. This is how star images are recorded on photo-
graphs. Bright stars make larger spots on a photograph than faint
stars, so the size of a star image in a photograph tells you only
how bright the star is, not how big it is.
In Figure 1-10, you expand your field of view by another fac-
tor of 100, and the Sun and its neighboring stars vanish into the
background of thousands of other stars. The field of view is now
1700 ly in diameter. Of course, no one has ever journeyed thou-
sands of light-years from Earth to look back and photograph the
solar neighborhood, so this is a representative photograph of the
sky. The Sun is a relatively faint star that would not be easily
located in a photo at this scale.
Mark A. Garlick/space-art.co.uk
If you again expand your field of view by a factor of 100, Location of Sun
• and Earth
you see our galaxy, with a visible disk of stars about 80,000 ly
in diameter (Figure 1-11). A galaxy is a great cloud of stars, gas,
and dust held together by the combined gravity of all of its mat- Artist’s conception
ter. Galaxies range from 1500 to over 300,000 ly in diameter, and
the largest contain more than 1 trillion stars. In the night sky, you ▲ Figure 1-11 This box ■ represents the relative size of the
can see our galaxy as a great, cloudy ring of stars surrounding us. previous frame.
cannot detect, or happen too slowly or too rapidly for humans to
sense. These images are much better than mere guesses; they are
scientifically based illustrations guided by the best information
astronomers can gather. As you continue to explore, notice how
Based on data from M. Seldner et al. 1977, Astronomical Journal 82, 249.
astronomers use the methods of science to imagine, understand,
and depict cosmic events.
The artist’s conception of the Milky Way reproduced in
Figure 1-11 shows that our galaxy, like many others, has graceful
spiral arms winding outward through its disk. In a later chap-
ter, you will learn that the spiral arms are places where stars are
formed from clouds of gas and dust. Our Sun was born in one
of these spiral arms; if you could see it in this picture, it would
be in the disk of the galaxy about two-thirds of the way out from
the center, at about the location of the marker dot indicated in
the figure.
Ours is a fairly large galaxy. Only a century ago astronomers
thought it was the entire Universe—an island cloud of stars in ▲ Figure 1-13 This box ■ represents the relative size of the
an otherwise empty vastness. Now they know that our galaxy is previous frame.
not unique; it is only one of many billions of galaxies scattered
throughout the Universe.
You can see a few of these other galaxies when you expand System, and they sometimes confuse both terms with Universe.
your field of view by another factor of 100 (Figure 1-12). Our gal- Your cosmic zoom has shown you the difference. The Solar Sys-
axy appears as a tiny luminous speck surrounded by other specks tem is your local neighborhood, that is, the Sun and its planets,
in a region 17 million ly in diameter. Each speck represents a one planetary system. The Milky Way Galaxy contains our Solar
galaxy. Notice that our galaxy is part of a cluster of a few dozen System plus billions of other stars and whatever planets orbit
galaxies. Galaxies are commonly grouped together in such clus- around them—in other words, billions of planetary systems.
ters. Some galaxies have beautiful spiral patterns like our own The Universe includes everything: all of the galaxies, stars, and
galaxy, but others do not. Some are strangely distorted. In a later planets, including the Milky Way Galaxy and, a very small part
chapter, you will learn what produces these differences among of that, our Solar System.
the galaxies. If you expand your field of view one more time, you can
Now is a chance for you to spot another Common Mis- see that clusters of galaxies are connected in a vast network
conception. People often say Galaxy when they mean Solar (Figure 1-13). Clusters are grouped into superclusters—clusters
of clusters—and the superclusters are linked to form long fila-
ments and walls outlining nearly empty voids. These filaments
and walls appear to be the largest structures in the Universe.
Were you to expand your field of view another time, you would
probably see a uniform fog of filaments and walls. When you
puzzle over the origin of these structures, you are at the frontier
of human knowledge.
Milky Way Galaxy

1-2 When Is Now?
Now that you have an idea where you are in space, you might
also like to know where you are in time. Stars shone for billions
of years before the first human looked up and wondered what
they were.
To get a sense of your place in time, all you need is a long
ribbon. Imagine stretching that ribbon down the center of
a U.S. football field from goal line to goal line, a distance of
▲ Figure 1-12 This box ■ represents the relative size of the 100 yards (about 91 meters), as shown on the inside front
previous frame. cover of this book. Further, imagine that one end of the ribbon
6 PART 1 THE SKY
represents today and the other end represents the beginning of
the Universe—the moment of beginning that astronomers call the 1-3 Why Study Astronomy?
big bang. In a later chapter, “Modern Cosmology,” you will learn
about the big bang, and you will see evidence that the Universe Your exploration of the Universe will help you answer two fun-
is approximately 14 billion years old. Your ribbon represents 14 damental questions:
billion years, the entire history of the Universe. What are we?
Imagine beginning at the goal line labeled BIG BANG and How do we know?
replaying the entire history of the Universe as you walk along
the ribbon toward the goal line labeled TODAY. Astronomers The question “What are we?” is the first organizing theme
have evidence that the big bang filled the entire Universe with of this book. Astronomy is important to you because it will
hot, glowing gas, but as the gas cooled and dimmed the Uni- tell you what you are. Notice that the question is not “Who
verse went dark. All that happened along the first half inch of are we?” If you want to know who we are, you may want to
the ribbon. There was no light for the next 400 million years, talk to a psychologist, sociologist, theologian, paleontologist,
until gravity was able to pull some of the gas together to form artist, or poet. “What
What are we?” is a fundamentally different
the first stars. That seems like a lot of years, but if you stick a question.
little flag beside the ribbon to mark the birth of the first stars, As you study astronomy, you will learn how you fit into the
it would be not quite 3 yards from the goal line where the Uni- history of the Universe. You will learn that the atoms in your
verse began. body had their first birthday in the big bang when the Universe
You have to walk only about 4 or 5 yards along the rib- began. Those atoms have been cooked and remade inside gen-
bon before galaxies formed in large numbers. Our home galaxy erations of stars, and now, after billions of years, they are inside
would be one of those taking shape. By the time you cross the you. Where will they be in another 10 billion years? This is a
50-yard line, the Universe is full of galaxies, but the Sun and story everyone should know, and astronomy is the only course
Earth have not formed yet. You need to walk past the 50-yard on campus that can tell you that story.
line all the way to the other 33-yard line before you can finally Every chapter in this book ends with a short segment titled
stick a flag beside the ribbon to mark the formation of the Sun “What Are We?” This summary shows how the astronomy in the
and planets—our Solar System— 4.6 billion years ago and about chapter relates to your role in the story of the Universe.
9 billion years after the big bang. The question “How do we know?” is the second organiz-
You can carry your flags a few yards further to about the ing theme of this book. It is a question you should ask yourself
25-yard line, 3.4 billion years ago, to mark the earliest firm evi- whenever you encounter statements made by so-called experts in
dence for life on Earth—microscopic creatures in the oceans— any field. Should you swallow a diet supplement recommended
and you have to walk all the way to the 3-yard line before by a TV star? Should you vote for a candidate who warns of a
you can mark the emergence of life on land only 0.4 billion climate crisis? To understand the world around you and to make
(400 million) years ago. Your dinosaur flag goes inside the wise decisions for yourself, for your family, and for your nation,
2-yard line. Dinosaurs go extinct as you pass the one-half-yard you need to understand how science works.
line, 65 million years ago. You can use astronomy as a case study in science. Through-
What about people? You can put a little flag for the first out this book, you will find short essays titled “How Do We
humanlike creatures, 4 million years ago, only about 1 inch Know?” and “Practicing Science.” These essays are designed
(2.5 cm) from the goal line labeled TODAY. Civilization, the to help you think not about only what is known, but how it
building of cities, began about 10,000 years ago, so you have is known. To do that, they will explain a variety of scientific
to try to fit that flag in only 0.0026 inches (0.066 millimeter) thought processes and procedures to help you understand how
from the goal line. That’s less than the thickness of the page you scientists know about the natural world.
are reading right now. Compare the history of human civiliza- Over the last four centuries, scientists have developed a way
tion with the history of the Universe. Every war you have ever to understand nature by comparing hypotheses with evidence,
heard of, the life of every person whose name is recorded, and a process that has been called the scientific method (How Do
the construction of every structure ever made from Stonehenge We Know? 1-1). As you read about exploding stars, colliding gal-
to the building you are in right now fits into that final 0.0026 axies, and alien planets in the following chapters, you will see
inches of the time ribbon. astronomers using the scientific method over and over. The Uni-
Humanity is very new to the Universe. Our civilization on verse is very big, but it is described by a small set of rules, and
Earth has existed for only a flicker of an eyeblink in the history we humans have found a way to figure out the rules by using a
of the Universe. As you will discover in the chapters that follow, method called science. See What Are We? 1.
only in the last hundred years or so have astronomers begun to
understand where we are in space and in time.
How Do We Know? 1-1
The Scientific Method
How do scientists learn about nature? You For example, Gregor Mendel (1822–1884) discuss a new idea, other times spending
have probably heard several times during was an Austrian abbot who liked plants. He years studying a single promising hypothesis.
your education about the scientific method formed a hypothesis that offspring usually inherit The scientific method is, in fact, a com-
as the process by which scientists form traits from their parents not as a smooth blend, bination of many ways of analyzing informa-
hypotheses and test them against evidence as most scientists of the time believed, but in tion, finding relationships, and creating new
gathered by experiments and observations. discrete units according to strict mathematical ideas, in order to know and understand
That is an oversimplification of the subtle and rules. Mendel cultivated and tested more than nature. The “How Do We Know?” essays in
complex ways that scientists actually work. 28,000 pea plants, noting which produced the chapters that follow will introduce you to
Scientists use the scientific method all the smooth peas and which produced wrinkled some of those techniques.
time, and it is critically important, but they peas and how that trait was inherited by suc-
rarely think of it while they are doing it, any cessive generations (See Figure UN 1-1). His
more than you think about the details of what study of pea plants confirmed his hypothesis
you are doing while you are riding a bicycle. and allowed the development of a series of laws
Inspirestock/Jupiterimages/Getty Images
It is such an ingrained way of thinking about of inheritance. Although the importance of his
and understanding nature that it is almost work was not recognized in his lifetime, Mendel
transparent to the people who use it most. is now called the “father of modern genetics.”
Scientists try to form hypotheses that The scientific method is not a simple,
explain how nature works. If a hypothesis is mechanical way of grinding facts into
contradicted by evidence from experiments or understanding; a scientist needs insight
observations, it must be revised or discarded. and ingenuity both to form and to test good
If a hypothesis is confirmed, it still must be hypotheses. Scientists use the scientific
tested further. In that very general way, the method almost automatically, sometimes
scientific method is a way of testing and refin- forming, testing, revising, and discard- ▲ Figure UN 1-1 Whether peas are wrinkled or
ing ideas to better describe how nature works. ing hypotheses minute by minute as they smooth is an inherited trait.
What Are We? 1 Participants

Astronomy will give you perspective on what it means to be here Gravity and atoms work together to make stars, light the
on Earth. This chapter has helped you locate yourself in space Universe, generate energy, and create the chemical elements
and time. Once you realize how vast our Universe is, Earth seems in your body. The chapters that follow will show how you fit into
quite small. People on the other side of the world seem like those cosmic processes.
neighbors. And, in the entire history of the Universe, the human Although you are very small and your kind have existed in
story is only the blink of an eye. This may seem humbling at first, the Universe for only a short time, you are an important part of
but you can be proud of how much we humans have understood something very large and very beautiful.
in such a short time.
Not only does astronomy locate you in space and time, it
places you in the physical processes that govern the Universe.
8 PART 1 THE SKY
Study and Review
Summary ▶ Although astronomy seems to be about stars and planets, it

describes the Universe in which you live, so it is really about you.
▶ You surveyed the Universe by taking a cosmic zoom in which Astronomy helps you answer the question “What are we?”
each field of view was 100 times wider than the previous field ▶ As you study astronomy, you should ask “How do we know?” and
of view. that will help you understand how science gives us a way to
▶ Astronomers use the metric system because it simplifies calcula- understand nature.
tions and use scientific notation for very large or very small ▶ In its simplest outline, science follows the scientific method, by
numbers. which scientists test hypotheses against evidence from experi-
▶ You live on a planet, Earth, which orbits our star, the Sun, once a ments and observations. This method is a powerful way to learn
year. As Earth rotates once a day, you see the Sun rise and set. about nature.
▶ The Moon is only one-fourth the diameter of Earth, but the Sun is
about 100 times larger in diameter than Earth—a typical size for a
star. Review Questions
▶ The Solar System includes the Sun at the center, all of the planets 1. What is the largest dimension of which you have personal knowl-
that orbit around it—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, edge? Have you run a mile? Hiked 10 miles? Run a marathon?
Uranus, and Neptune—plus the moons of the planets and all other 2. What is the difference between our Solar System, our galaxy, and
objects bound to the Sun by its gravity. the Universe?
▶ The astronomical unit (AU) is the average distance from Earth to 3. Why are light-years more convenient than miles, kilometers, or
the Sun. Mars, for example, orbits 1.5 AU from the Sun. The light- astronomical units for measuring certain distances?
year (ly) is the distance light can travel in one year. The nearest 4. Why is it difficult to detect planets orbiting other stars?
star is 4.2 ly from the Sun. 5. What does the size of the star image in a photograph tell you?
▶ Many stars seem to have planets, but such small, distant worlds 6. What is the difference between the Milky Way and the Milky Way
are difficult to detect. Nevertheless, thousands have been found Galaxy?
after almost 30 years of searching by astronomers. So far only a 7. What are the largest known structures in the Universe?
few of those planets have been determined to be Earth-like in
terms of size and temperature. 8. How does astronomy help answer the question “What are we?”
9. How Do We Know? How does the scientific method give scientists a
▶ The Milky Way, the hazy band of light that encircles the sky, is the
way to know about nature?
Milky Way Galaxy seen from inside. The Sun is just one out of the
billions of stars that fill the Milky Way Galaxy.
▶ Galaxies contain many billions of stars. Our galaxy is about Discussion Questions
80,000 ly in diameter and contains over 100 billion stars.
1. You and three of your friends have won an all-expenses paid
▶ Some galaxies, including our own, have graceful spiral arms bright one-time-only round-trip first-class vacation to anywhere in the
with stars, but some galaxies are plain clouds of stars. Universe, so long as the choice of destination is unanimous.
▶ The Solar System consists of the Sun plus eight planets, including Where do you want to go, and how do you convince your friends
Earth. Our galaxy contains our Solar System plus billions of other to agree?
stars and whatever planets orbit around them. The Universe 2. Think back to the last time you got a new phone and had to figure
includes everything that there is: billions of galaxies, each out how it worked. In what way did you employ the scientific
containing billions of stars and, presumably, billions of planetary method, maybe without even realizing that you did?
systems.
▶ Our galaxy is just one of billions of galaxies that fill the Universe
in great clusters, clouds, filaments, and walls—the largest struc- Problems
tures in the Universe.
1. The diameter of Earth across the equator is 7928 miles. If a mile
▶ The Universe began about 14 billion years ago in an event called equals 1.609 km, what is Earth’s diameter in kilometers? In
the big bang, which filled the Universe with hot gas. centimeters?
▶ The hot gas cooled, the first galaxies began to form, and stars 2. The diameter of the Moon across its equator is 3476 kilometers.
began to shine only about 400 million years after the big bang. If a kilometer equals 0.6214 miles, what is the Moon’s diameter
▶ The Sun and planets of our Solar System formed about 4.6 billion in miles?
years ago. 3. One astronomical unit is about 1.50 3 108 km. Explain why this
▶ Life began in Earth’s oceans soon after Earth formed but did not is the same as 150 3 106 km.
emerge onto land until only 400 million years ago. Dinosaurs 4. Venus orbits 0.72 AU from the Sun. What is that distance in
evolved not long ago and went extinct only 65 million kilometers? (Hint: See Problem 3.)
years ago. 5. Light from the Sun takes 8 minutes to reach Earth. How long does
▶ Humanlike creatures developed on Earth only about 4 million it take to reach Mars?
years ago, and human civilizations developed only about 6. The Sun is almost 400 times farther from Earth than is the Moon.
10,000 years ago. How long does light from the Moon take to reach Earth?
7. If the speed of light is 3.00 3 105 km/s, how many kilometers 4. In the photograph in Figure UN 1-3, which stars are brightest,
is 1 light-year? How many meters? (Note: One year contains and which are faintest? How can you tell? Why can’t you tell
3.16 3 107 s.) which stars in this photograph are biggest or which have planets?
8. How long does it take light to cross the diameter of our Milky Way
Galaxy?
9. The nearest large galaxy to our own is about 2.5 million
light-years away. How many meters is that?
10. How many galaxies like our own would it take laid edge-to-edge to
reach the nearest galaxy? (Hint: See Problem 9.)
Learning to Look
1. In Figure 1-4, the division between daylight and darkness is at the
NSF/AURA/NOAO
right on the globe of Earth. How do you know this is the sunset
line and not the sunrise line?
2. Look at Figure 1-6. How can you tell that Mercury does not follow a
circular orbit?
3. Of the objects listed here, ▲ Figure UN 1-3
which would be contained
inside the object shown in
Figure UN 1-2? Which would
contain the object in the photo?
stars
planets
galaxy clusters
filaments
NOAO/AURA/NSF/Bill Schoening
spiral arms
▲ Figure UN 1-2
10 PART 1 THE SKY
Guidepost
A User’s Guide to the Sky
The previous chapter took you on a cosmic An astronomer observing the sky is shown in the photo
2
zoom through space and time. That quick preview set the in CO2.
stage for the drama to come. In this chapter, you restart your
explorations by viewing the sky from Earth with your own
unaided eyes. As you do, consider three important questions:
▶ How are stars and constellations named?
▶ How are the brightnesses of stars measured and

The Southern Cross I saw every night abeam.
compared?
▶ How does the sky appear to move as Earth rotates? The sun every morning came up astern; every
As you study the sky and its apparent daily motion, you will
evening it went down ahead. I wished for no other
understand that Earth is a planet rotating on its axis. The next compass to guide me, for these were true.
chapter will introduce you to celestial cycles caused by the C A P T A I N J O S H U A S L O C U M
monthly revolution of the Moon around Earth and the yearly SAI LI NG A LONE AROU ND TH E W OR L D
revolution of Earth around the Sun.
Science Source/Getty Images
CO2 A long-exposure photograph of the Milky Way, the planet Jupiter

(bright object at upper right), and the constellation Scorpius.
11
T
he night sky is the rest of the Universe as seen from our Greek astronomers. Of these ancient constellations, 48 are still
planet. When you look up at the stars, you are looking in use.
out through a layer of air only a little more than a hun- Originally, constellations were only loosely defined group-
dred kilometers deep. Beyond that, space is nearly empty, and ings of stars. Many of the fainter stars were not included in any
the stars are scattered light-years apart. constellation, and the stars of the southern sky not visible to
As you read this chapter, keep in mind that you live on a the ancient astronomers of northern latitudes were not grouped
planet in the midst of these scattered stars. Because Earth turns into constellations. Constellation boundaries, when they were
on its axis once a day, the sky appears to revolve around you in a defined at all, were only approximate ( Figure 2-2a), so a star
daily cycle. Not only does the Sun rise in the eastern part of the like Alpheratz could be thought of as part of Pegasus or part
sky and set in the western part, but so do the stars. of Andromeda. To correct these gaps and ambiguities, astrono-
mers have added 40 modern constellations, and in 1928 the
International Astronomical Union established 88 official con-
2-1 The Stars stellations with clearly defined boundaries (Figure 2-2b). Con-
sequently, a constellation now represents not a group of stars
On a dark night far from city lights, you can see a few thou- but an area of the sky, and any star within the region belongs to
sand stars. Long ago, humans organized what they saw by nam- one and only one constellation. Now Alpheratz belongs only to
ing stars and groups of stars. Some of those names are still used Andromeda.
today. In addition to the 88 official constellations, the sky con-
tains a number of less formally defined groupings called aster-
Constellations isms. The Big Dipper, for example, is a well-known asterism
All around the world, ancient cultures celebrated heroes, gods, that is part of the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear).
and mythical beasts by giving their names to groups of stars— Another asterism is the Great Square of Pegasus (Figure 2-2b),
constellations (Figure 2-1). You should not be surprised that which includes three stars from Pegasus plus Alpheratz from
the star patterns generally do not look like the creatures they Andromeda. The star charts at the end of this book will intro-
represent any more than Columbus, Ohio, looks like Christo- duce you to the brighter constellations and asterisms.
pher Columbus. The constellations simply celebrate the most Although constellations and asterisms are groups of stars
important mythical figures in each culture. The oldest constel- that appear close together in the sky, it is important to remember
lations named in Western cultures originated in Assyria over that most are made up of stars that are not physically associated
3000 years ago, and others were added later by Babylonian and with one another. Some stars may be many times farther away
Figure 2-1 The constellations are an ancient

▲
heritage handed down for thousands of years as

celebrations of mythical heroes and monsters.
Here Sagittarius and Scorpius hang above the
southern horizon.
12 PART 1 THE SKY
Constellation boundaries were
only approximate prior to 1928.
From Duncan Bradford, Wonders of the Heavens (Boston:

John B. Russell, 1837).
a
Andromeda
Alpheratz
Pegasus
Figure 2-2 (a) In antiquity, constellation boundaries
▲
were poorly defined, as shown on this map by the curving
dotted lines that separate Pegasus from Andromeda.
Great Square (b) Modern constellation boundaries are precisely defined
b of Pegasus by international scientific agreement.
than others and moving through space in different directions. star in the sky or to its brightness. A more useful way to iden-
The only thing they have in common is that they happen to lie tify stars is to assign letters to the bright stars in a constellation
in approximately the same direction from Earth (Figure 2-3). in approximate order of brightness. Astronomers use the Greek
alphabet for this purpose. Thus, the brightest star in a constella-
tion is usually designated alpha, the second brightest beta, and
Star Names so on. Often the name of the Greek letter is spelled out, as in
In addition to naming groups of stars, ancient astronomers gave “Alpha,” but sometimes the actual Greek letter is used, espe-
names to the brightest individual stars. Modern astronomers cially in charts. You will find the Greek alphabet in Appendix A
still use many of those ancient names. Although the constella- Table A-13. For many constellations, the letters follow the order
tion names came from Greek translated into Latin—the lan- of brightness, but some constellations, because of tradition,
guage of science until the 19th century—most star names come mistake, or the personal preferences of early chart makers, are
from ancient Arabic, much altered by the passing centuries. exceptions (Figure 2-4).
For example, the name of Betelgeuse, the bright orange star in To identify a star by its Greek-letter designation, you would
Orion, comes from the Arabic yad al-jawza, meaning “Hand of give the Greek letter followed by the possessive form of the con-
Jawza (Orion).” Names such as Sirius (“Scorcher”) and Aldeba- stellation name; for example, the brightest star in the constel-
ran (“The Follower [of the Pleiades]”) are beautiful additions to lation Canis Major is Alpha Canis Majoris, which can also be
the mythology of the sky. written a Canis Majoris. This both identifies the star and the
Naming individual stars is not very helpful because you can constellation and gives a clue to the relative brightness of the
see thousands of them. How many names could you remember? star. Compare this with the ancient name for this star, Sirius,
Also, a simple name gives you no clues to the location of the which does not give you any information about its properties.
Chapter 2 A USER’S GUIDE TO THE SKY 13
Figure 2-3 You see the Big Dipper in the sky because you are looking
▲
through a group of stars scattered through space at different distances from
sky Earth. You see them as if they were projected on a screen, and they form
on the
p rojected the shape of the Dipper.
rs
Sta
Famous Stars
It is fun to know the names of the brighter stars, but they are
more than points of light in the sky. They are glowing spheres
of gas much like the Sun, each with its unique characteristics.
Figure 2-5 identifies eight bright stars that you can adopt as
Famous Stars. As you study astronomy you will discover their
peculiar personalities and enjoy finding them in the evening sky.
You will learn, for example, that Betelgeuse is not just an orange
point of light but is an aging, cool star over 800 times larger than
Nearest Farthest star the Sun. As you learn more in later chapters, you may want to
star
add more Famous Stars to your list.
Actual distribution You can use the star charts at the end of this book to help
of stars in space you locate these Famous Stars. You can see Polaris year round, but
Sirius, Betelgeuse, Rigel, and Aldebaran are only in the winter sky.
Earth Spica is a summer star, and Vega is visible evenings in later sum-
mer and fall. Alpha Centauri, only 4.4 ly away, is the nearest star
to the Sun, but you will have to travel to the latitude of south
Florida to glimpse it above the southern horizon.
Figure 2-4 The stars in Orion do
▲
not quite follow the rule for assigning
Greek letters in order of decreasing
brightness. For example, β (Beta) is
brighter than α (Alpha), and κ (Kappa)
is brighter than η (Eta). Fainter stars
λ do not have Greek letters or names, but
if they are located inside the constel-
α
lation boundaries, they are part of the
constellation. The brighter stars in a
γ
constellation often also have individual
α Orionis is names derived from Arabic. (The spikes
also known as on the star images in the photograph
Orion
Orion Betelgeuse. were produced by an optical effect in
the telescope.)
δ
ζ ε
η
ι
τ
κ β
β Orionis is also
known as Rigel.
Willliam Hartmann
Visual
14 PART 1 THE SKY
Figure 2-5 Famous Stars:
▲
Sirius Alpha Canis Majoris Brightest star in the sky Winter
Locate these bright stars in the
Betelgeuse Alpha Orionis Bright red star in Orion Winter
sky and learn about their inter-
Rigel Beta Orionis Bright blue star in Orion Winter esting characteristics.
Aldebaran Alpha Tauri Red eye of Taurus the Bull Winter
Polaris Alpha Ursae Minoris The North Star Year round
Vega Alpha Lyrae Brightest star in summer sky Summer
Spica Alpha Virginis Bright southern star Summer
Rigil Kentaurus Alpha Centauri Nearest bright star to the Sun Spring, far south
Taurus
Centaurus
Aldebaran
Betelgeuse
Orion
Alpha Crux
Rigel Centauri
Sirius
Southern
Canis Cross
Major
Little
Virgo
Dipper Polaris
Vega Big
Dipper
Cygnus
Lyra
Spica
Star Brightness Thus, the larger the magnitude number, the fainter the star. This
makes sense if you think of the bright stars as first-class stars and
Astronomers usually describe the brightness of stars using
the faintest visible stars as sixth-class stars.
the magnitude scale, a system that first appeared in the writ-
Ancient astronomers could only estimate magnitudes, but
ing of Claudius Ptolemaeus (pronounced TAHL-eh-MAY-us;
modern astronomers can measure the brightness of stars to
also known as Ptolemy, pronounced TAHL-eh-mee) about the
high precision, so they have carefully redefined the magnitude
year 140. The system probably originated even earlier, and most
scale. Instead of saying that the star known by the charming
astronomers attribute it to the Greek astronomer Hipparchus
name Chort (Theta Leonis) is third magnitude, they can say its
(about 190–120 bce). Hipparchus compiled the first known star
magnitude is 3.34. Accurate measurements show that some stars
catalog, and he may have used the magnitude system in that cat-
are actually brighter than magnitude 1.0. For example, Famous
alog. Almost 300 years later, Ptolemy used the magnitude system
Star Vega (Alpha Lyrae) is so bright that its magnitude, 0.03, is
in his own catalog, and successive generations of astronomers
almost zero. A few are so bright that the modern magnitude scale
have continued to use the system.
must extend into negative numbers (Figure 2-6). On this scale,
Those early astronomers divided the stars into six classes.
Famous Star Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, has a magnitude
The brightest were called first-magnitude stars and those that
of –1.46. Modern astronomers have had to extend the faint end
were fainter, second-magnitude. The scale continued down to
of the magnitude scale as well. The faintest stars you can see with
sixth-magnitude stars, the faintest visible to the human eye.
Figure 2-6 The scale of apparent visual magnitudes extends
▲
Venus at Hubble
into negative numbers to represent the brightest objects and to
brightest Space
positive numbers larger than 6 to represent objects fainter than
Telescope
Sirius the human eye can see.
limit
Full
Sun moon Polaris
Naked
eye limit
–30 –25 –20 –15 –10 –5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Apparent magnitude (mv)
Brighter Fainter
your unaided eyes are about sixth magnitude, but if you use a you only how bright the star looks as seen from Earth, not about
telescope, you will see stars much fainter. Astronomers must use its actual light output.
magnitude numbers larger than 6 to describe such faint stars. Your interpretation of brightness is quite subjective, depend-
T h e s e n u m b e r s a re k n ow n a s a p p a re n t v i s u a l ing on both the physiology of human eyes and the psychology
magnitudes(m V ), and they describe how the stars look to of perception. To be accurate you should refer to flux—the
human eyes observing from Earth. Although some stars emit amount of light energy that hits one square meter in one second.
large amounts of infrared or ultraviolet light, human eyes can’t This makes a precise definition of brightness. A simple relation-
see those types of radiation, and they are not included in the ship connects apparent visual magnitudes and flux (brightness)
apparent visual magnitude. The subscript “V” stands for “visual” (Reasoning with Numbers 2-1). In this way, modern astronomers
and reminds you that only visible light is included. Apparent can measure the brightness of stars to high precision while still
visual magnitude also does not take into account the distance to making comparisons to observations of apparent visual magni-
the stars. In other words, a star’s apparent visual magnitude tells tude that go back to the time of Hipparchus.
Reasoning with Numbers 2-1

Magnitudes
TABLE 2-1 Magnitude Differences and Flux Ratios
Astronomers use a simple formula to convert between magni-
tudes and fluxes (brightness). If two stars have fluxes FA and
Magnitude Difference Corresponding Flux Ratio
FB, then the ratio of their fluxes is FA/F
FB. Modern astrono-
mers have defined the magnitude scale so two stars that differ 0 .0 0 1 .0 0
by five magnitudes have a flux ratio of exactly 100. Therefore, 1 .0 0 2 .5 1
two stars that differ by one magnitude must have a flux ratio 2 .0 0 6 .3 1
5 3 .0 0 1 5 .8
that equals the fifth root of 100, !100
! or 1000.2, which is
approximately 2.51—that is, the light arriving at Earth from 4 .0 0 3 9 .8
5 .0 0 1 0 0
one star must be about 2.51 times brighter than from the
6 .0 0 2 5 1
other. Two stars that differ by two magnitudes will have a flux
7 .0 0 6 3 1
ratio of 2.51 3 2.51, which is approximately 6.31, and so on
8 .0 0 1 5 8 0
(Table 2-1). 9 .0 0 3 9 8 0
1 0 .0 0 1 0 ,0 0 0
Example A: Suppose star C is third magnitude, and star D is
: :
ninth magnitude. What is their brightness ratio? Solution: The
: :
magnitude difference is six magnitudes, and Table 2-1 shows
1 5 .0 0 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
the corresponding flux ratio is 251. Therefore star C is 251
2 0 .0 0 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
times brighter (has 251 times as much flux arriving at Earth)
2 5 .0 0 1 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
than star D.
A table is convenient, but for more precision you can
express the relationship as a simple formula. The flux ratio
On the other hand, when you know the flux ratio and want
FA/FFB is equal to 2.51 raised to the power of the magnitude
to find the magnitude difference, it is convenient to rearrange
difference mB – mA:
the previous formula and write it as:
FA mB 2 mA 5 2.5 log 1 FA/F
FB 2
5 1 2.51 2 1mB 2mA2
FB
The expression log means logarithm to the base 10.
Example B: If the magnitude difference is 6.32 magni- Example C: The light from Sirius has 24.2 times as much
tudes, what is the flux ratio? Solution: The flux ratio must flux (is 24.2 times brighter than) light from Polaris. What
be 2.516.32. A pocket calculator tells you the answer: 336. is their magnitude difference? Solution: The magnitude dif dif-
The flux of light from star A is 336 times larger than the flux ference is 2.5 times the logarithm of 24.2, which is written
from star B. Note that, because of the way magnitudes are 2.5 log (24.2). Your calculator tells you the logarithm of 24.2
defined, star A has the larger flux and numerically smaller is 1.384, so the magnitude difference is 2.5 3 1.384, which
magnitude. equals 3.46 magnitudes.
16 PART 1 THE SKY
the celestial sphere and its apparent motions explain the chang-
2-2 The Sky and Its Motions ing appearance of the sky above you.
The celestial sphere is an example of a scientific model,
The sky above seems to be a great blue dome in the daytime a common feature of scientific thought ( How Do We Know?
and a sparkling ceiling at night. It was this ceiling that the first 2-1 ). Notice that a scientific model does not have to be true
astronomers observed long ago as they tried to understand the to be useful. You will encounter many scientific models in
night sky. the chapters that follow, and you will discover that some of
the most useful models are highly simplified descriptions of
The Celestial Sphere reality.
This is a good time to eliminate a couple of Common Miscon-
Ancient astronomers believed the sky was a great sphere sur- ceptions. Many people, without thinking about it much, assume
rounding Earth with the stars stuck on the inside like thumb- that the stars are not in the sky during the daytime. The stars
tacks in a ceiling. Modern astronomers know that the stars are actually there day and night; they are just invisible during
are scattered through space at different distances, but it is still the day because the sky is lit up by the Sun. Also, many people
convenient to think of the sky as a great starry sphere enclos- insist that Famous Star Polaris is the brightest star in the sky. It
ing Earth. is actually the 50th visually brightest star. You now know that
Concept Art 2A, “The Sky Around You,” takes you on an illus-
Polaris is important because of its position, not because of its
trated tour of the sky. Throughout this book, these two-page art brightness.
spreads introduce new concepts and new terms through photos In addition to causing the obvious daily motion of the sky,
and diagrams. Notice that Concept Art 2A introduces you to Earth’s rotation conceals a very slow celestial motion that can be
three important principles and 16 new terms that will help you detected only over centuries.
understand the sky:
1 The sky appears to rotate westward around Earth each day, Precession
but that is a consequence of the eastward rotation of Earth.
In addition to causing the obvious daily motion of the sky,
That rotation produces day and night. Notice how reference
Earth’s rotation is connected with a very slow celestial motion
points on the celestial sphere such as the zenith, nadir, hori-
that can be detected only over centuries. More than 2000
zon, celestial equator, and north celestial pole and south celes-
years ago, Hipparchus compared positions of some stars with
tial pole define the four directions, north point, south point,
their positions recorded nearly two centuries previously and
east point, and west point.
realized that the celestial poles and equator were slowly mov-
2 Astronomers measure angular distance across the sky as ing across the sky. Later astronomers understood that this
angles and express them as degrees, arc minutes, and arc sec- motion is caused by a toplike motion of Earth known as
onds. The same units are used to measure the angular diam- precession.
eter of an object. If you have ever played with a gyroscope or top, you have
3 What you can see in the sky depends on your latitude. seen how the spinning mass resists any sudden change in the
For example, if you lived in Australia, you could see many direction of its axis of rotation. The more massive the top
start, asterisms, and constellations invisible from North and the more rapidly it spins, the more it resists your efforts
America, but you would never see the Big Dipper. How to twist it out of position. You may recall that even the most
many circumpolar constellations you see depends on where rapidly spinning top slowly swings its axis around in a circle.
you are. Remember Famous Star Alpha Centauri? It is in The weight of the top tends to make it tip over, and this
the southern sky and isn’t visible from most of the United combines with its rapid rotation to make its axis sweep out
States. You can just glimpse it above the southern horizon the shape of a cone. That motion is precession (Figure 2-7a).
if you are in Miami, Florida, but you can see it easily from In later chapters, you will learn that many celestial bodies
Australia. precess.
Earth spins like a giant top, but it does not spin upright
Pay special attention to the new terms in Concept Art 2A. in its orbit; its axis is tipped 23.4 degrees from vertical. Earth’s
You need to know these terms to describe the sky and its large mass and rapid rotation keep its axis of rotation pointed
motions, but don’t fall into the trap of just memorizing new toward a spot near the star Polaris, and the axis would remain
terms. The goal of science is to understand nature, not to memo- pointed constantly in that direction except for the effect of
rize definitions. Study the diagrams and see how the geometry of precession.
Zenith
North
1
The eastward rotation of Earth causes the Sun, Moon, planets, celestial
and stars to move westward in the sky as if the celestial sphere pole
West
were rotating westward around Earth. From any location on Earth you
see only half of the celestial sphere, the half above the horizon. The
Cel
zenith marks the point of the celestial sphere directly above your head,
est
and the nadir marks the point of the celestial sphere directly under your South North
ial
Earth
eq
feet. The drawing at right shows the view for an observer in North n
Horizo
ua
America. An observer in South America would have a completely
tor
different
dif rent horizon, zenith, and nadir.
diffe East
The apparent pivot points are the north celestial pole and the South
south celestial pole located directly above Earth’s north and celestial
south poles. Halfway between the celestial poles lies the celestial pole
equator. Earth’s rotation defines the directions you use every day:
the north point and south point are the points on the horizon Nadir
closest to the celestial poles, and the east point and the west
point lie halfway between the north and south points. The celestial
equator always meets the horizon at the east and west points.
North
celestial
pole Ursa
Major
Ursa
Minor
Looking north
Gemini Orion
NSF/AURA/NOAO
Looking east
Canis
Major
This time exposure of about 30 minutes shows stars as streaks,

1a
called star trails, rising behind an observatory dome lit from below
by red night lights. The camera was facing northeast to take this photo. The Looking south
motion you see in the sky depends on which direction you look, as shown
at right. Looking north, you see Favorite Star Polaris (the North Star)
located near the north celestial pole. As the sky appears to rotate
westward, Polaris hardly moves, but other stars circle the celestial pole.
Looking south from a location in North America you can see stars circling
the south celestial pole, which is invisible below the southern horizon.
North celestial
Zenith pole
Astronomers measure
distance across the
sky as angles.
Latitude 90°
Angular distance
North
Zenith celestial
pole
2 Astronomers might say, “The star was two degrees from the Moon.” Of W
course, the stars are much farther away than the Moon, but when you think
of the celestial sphere, and pretend that all celestial objects are attached to it, you S N
can measure distance on the sky as an angle. The angular distance between
two objects is the angle between two lines extending from your eye to the two Latitude 60° E
objects. Astronomers measure angles in degrees, arc minutes that are 1/60th of
a degree, and arc seconds that are1/60th of an arc minute. Using the term arc North
avoids confusion with minutes and seconds of time. The angular diameter of an Zenith celestial
object is the angular distance from one edge to the other. The Sun and Moon are pole
each about half a degree in diameter, and the bowl of the Big Dipper is about 10
W
degrees wide.
L
S N
3 What you see in the sky depends on your latitude, as shown at right. Imagine that you
begin a journey in the ice and snow at Earth’s North Pole with the north celestial pole
Latitude 30° E
North
directly overhead. As you walk southward, the celestial pole moves toward the horizon, and
Zenith celestial
you can see further into the southern sky. The angular distance (L) from the horizon to the pole
north celestial pole shown in the middle panel always equals your latitude—an important
basis for celestial navigation. As you cross Earth’s equator, the celestial equator would pass W
through your zenith, and the north celestial pole would sink below your northern horizon.
S N
A few circumpolar Cassiopeia Latitude 0° E

constellations
South
celestial Zenith
pole
Cepheus Perseus
W
S N
Apparent Apparent
rotation Polaris rotation Latitude –30°
of sky of sky
Ursa Circumpolar constellations are those that never rise
3a
Minor or set. From mid-northern latitudes, as shown at left,
you see a number of familiar constellations circling Polaris
and never dipping below the horizon. As Earth turns and the
sky appears to rotate, the pointer stars at the front of the Big
Dipper always point approximately toward Polaris.
Ursa Circumpolar constellations near the south celestial pole
Major never rise as seen from mid-northern latitudes. From a high
northern latitude location such as Norway (second panel
from top), you would have more circumpolar constellations,
and from Quito, Ecuador, located on Earth’s equator (second
panel from bottom), you would have no circumpolar
constellations at all.
How Do We Know? 2-1
Scientific Models
How can a scientific model be useful if it isn’t help scientists think productively about DNA
entirely true? A scientific model is a carefully molecules.
devised conception of how something works, A scientific model is not a statement of
a framework that helps scientists think about truth; it does not have to be precisely correct
some aspect of nature, just as the celestial to be useful. In an idealized model, some
sphere helps astronomers think about the complex aspects of nature can be simplified
motions of the sky. or omitted. The ball-and-stick model of a
Chemists, for example, use colored balls molecule doesn’t show the relative strength
to represent atoms and sticks to represent of the chemical bonds, for instance. A
the bonds between them, kind of like model gives scientists a way to think about
Tinkertoys. Using these molecular models, some aspect of nature but need not be true
chemists can see the three-dimensional in every detail.
shape of molecules and understand how the When you use a scientific model, it is
atoms interconnect. important to remember the limitations of
The molecular model of DNA proposed that model. If you begin to think of a model
by Watson and Crick in 1953 led to our as true, it can be misleading instead of
modern understanding of the mechanisms helpful. The celestial sphere, for instance,
of genetics. You have probably seen elabo- can help you think about the sky, but you
rate ball-and-stick models of DNA (see must remember that it is only a model. The
Figure UN 2-1), but does the molecule really Universe is much larger and much more
look like Tinkertoys? No, but the model is interesting than this ancient scientific model
both simple enough and accurate enough to of the heavens.
John Harwood/Photodisc/Getty Images

▲ Figure UN 2-1 Balls represent atoms and rods repre-
sent chemical bonds in this model of a DNA molecule.
Earth has a slight bulge around its middle because of its at all from night to night or year to year, but precise mea-
rotation. The gravity of the Sun and Moon pull on the bulge, surements can reveal the slow precession of the celestial
tending to twist Earth’s axis “upright” relative to its orbit. If poles and the resulting change in orientation of the celestial
Earth were a perfect sphere, it would not be subjected to this equator.
twisting force. Notice that the analogy to a spinning top is not Over centuries, precession has significant effects.
perfect; gravity tends to make a top fall over, but it tends to twist Egyptian records show that 4800 years ago the north celestial
Earth upright. In both cases, the twisting of the axis of rotation pole was near the star Thuban (Alpha Draconis). The
combined with the rotation of the object causes precession. The pole is now approaching Polaris and will be closest to it in
precession of Earth’s axis takes about 26,000 years for one cycle approximately the year 2100. In about 12,000 years, the pole
(Figure 2-7b). will have moved to within 5° of Vega (Alpha Lyrae). Figure 2-7c
Because the locations of the celestial poles and equa- shows the path followed by the north celestial pole. Next time
tor are defined by Earth’s rotational axis, precession slowly you glance at Famous Star Vega, remind yourself that it will
moves these reference marks. You would notice no change someday be a very impressive north star. See What Are We? 2.
20 PART 1 THE SKY
To Polaris
23.4°
Precession Vega
Precession
ati on 14,000 CE
Rot
Earth’s Thuban
orbit Path of
north
celestial
a b 3000 BCE pole
▲ Figure 2-7 Precession. (a) The rotation axis of a spinning top

precesses in a conical motion around the perpendicular to the floor
because its weight tends to make it fall over. (b) Earth’s axis pre-
cesses around the perpendicular to its orbit because the gravity of
the Sun and Moon acting on Earth’s equatorial bulge tend to twist Polaris
it “upright.” (c) Precession causes the north celestial pole to move c
slowly among the stars, completing a circle in about 26,000 years.
What Are We? 2 Along for the Ride

We humans are planet-walkers. We live on the surface of a whirl- world, nearly all locate their gods and goddesses in the heavens.
ing planet, and as we look out into the depths of the Universe we The gods watch over us from their remote and powerful thrones
see the scattered stars near us. Because our planet spins, the stars among the stars.
appear to move westward across the sky in a continuous march. Our days are filled with necessary trivia, but astronomy
The sky is a symbol of remoteness, order, and power, and enriches our lives by fitting us into the continuity of life on
that may be why so many cultures worship the sky in one way or Earth. As you rush to an evening meeting, a glance at the sky
another. Every culture divides up the star patterns to represent will remind you that the sky carries our human heritage. Jesus,
their heroes, gods, and symbolic creatures. Hercules looked Moses, and Muhammad saw the same stars that you see.
down on the ancient Greeks, and the same stars represent the Aristotle watched the stars of Orion rise in the east and set in the
protector Båakkaataxpitchee (Bear Above) to the Crow people west just as you do. Astronomy helps us understand what we are
of North America. Among the hundreds of religions around the by linking us to the past of human experience on this planet.
Study and Review
Summary ▶ Astronomers refer to the brightness of stars using the magnitude

scale. First-magnitude stars are brighter than second-magnitude
▶ Astronomers divide the sky into 88 constellations with modern stars, which are brighter than third-magnitude stars, and so on.
boundaries defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The magnitude you see when you look at a star in the sky is its
Although the constellations originated in Middle Eastern and Greek apparent visual magnitude, mv, which includes only types of light
mythology, the names are Latin. Named groups of stars that are not visible to the human eye and does not take into account the star’s
constellations are called asterisms. distance from Earth.
▶ The names of stars usually come from ancient Arabic, though ▶ Flux is the amount of light energy that hits one square meter per
modern astronomers often refer to a star by its constellation and a second, a rigorous definition of brightness. The magnitude of a
Greek letter assigned according to its brightness within the star is related mathematically to the flux of light received on Earth
constellation. from the star, in other words, the star’s brightness.
▶ The celestial sphere is a scientific model of the sky, to which the 11. Where would you go on Earth if you wanted to be able to see both
stars appear to be attached. Because Earth rotates eastward, the the north celestial pole and the south celestial pole at the same
celestial sphere appears to rotate westward on its axis. time?
▶ The north and south celestial poles are the pivots on which the sky 12. Where would you go on Earth to have a celestial pole at your zenith?
appears to rotate, and they define the four directions around the 13. Explain how to make a simple astronomical observation that would
horizon: the north, south, east, and west points. The point directly determine your latitude.
overhead is the zenith, and the point on the sky directly underfoot 14. Why does the number of circumpolar constellations depend on the
is the nadir. latitude of the observer?
▶ The celestial equator, an imaginary line around the sky above 15. How could you detect Earth’s precession by examining star charts
Earth’s equator, divides the sky into northern and southern halves. from ancient Egypt?
▶ Astronomers often refer to distances “on” the sky as if the stars, 16. How Do We Know? How can a scientific model be useful if it isn’t a
Sun, Moon, and planets were equivalent to spots painted on a correct description of nature?
plaster ceiling. These angular distances, measured in degrees, arc
minutes, and arc seconds, are unrelated to the true distance
between the objects in light-years. The angular distance across an Discussion Questions
object is its angular diameter.
1. Using stars from one or more of the “official” constellations,
▶ What you see of the celestial sphere depends on your latitude. create an asterism that is significant to the culture of your school.
Much of the Southern Hemisphere of the sky is not visible from
2. You discover an ancient document that lists the location of buried
northern latitudes. T
To see that part of the sky, you would have to
treasure as 36° 24' 11.9" N by 25° 25' 35.4"E. You look on a map
travel southward over Earth’s surface. Circumpolar constellations
to see approximately where that is, but when you start on your trip
are those close enough to a celestial pole that they do not rise
you find that your GPS is broken. How will you know when you’re
or set from a given location.
at the right latitude? Much harder question: How will you know
▶ The angular distance from the horizon to the north celestial pole when you’re at the right longitude?
always equals your latitude. This is a basis for celestial navigation.
Precession is caused by the gravitational forces of the Moon and
Problems
▶
Sun acting on the equatorial bulge of the spinning Earth and
causing its axis to sweep around in a conical motion like the 1. If light from one star is 40 times brighter (has 40 times more flux)
motion of a top’s axis. Earth’s axis of rotation precesses with a than light from another star, what is their difference in
period of 26,000 years. Consequently, the celestial poles and magnitudes?
celestial equator move slowly against the background of the stars.
2. If two stars differ by 8.6 magnitudes, what is their flux ratio?
3. Star A has a magnitude of 2.5; star B, 5.5; and star C, 9.5. Which
Review Questions is brightest? Which are visible to the unaided eye? Which pair of
stars has a flux ratio of 16?
1. Why have astronomers added modern constellations to the sky? 4. By what factor is sunlight brighter than moonlight? (Hint: See
2. What is the difference between an asterism and a constellation? Figure 2-6 and T Table 2-1.)
Give some examples. 5. If you are at a latitude of 35º north of Earth’s equator, what is
3. What characteristic do stars in a constellation or asterism share? the angular distance from the northern horizon up to the north
4. Do people from other cultures on Earth see the same stars, constel- celestial pole? From the southern horizon down to the south
lations, and asterisms that you see? celestial pole?
5. How does the Greek-letter designation of a star give you a clue to
its brightness?
6. How did the magnitude system originate in a classification of stars
Learning to Look
by brightness? 1. Look at the five figures in Concept Art 2A, item 3. Continue the
7. What does the word apparent mean in apparent visual magnitude? series, drawing two more pictures. What latitudes are the next two
8. In what ways is the celestial sphere a scientific model? pictures in the series? If you are at latitude −90 degrees, is your
zenith the same as a person located at a latitude +90 degrees?
9. Why do astronomers use the word on to describe angles on the sky
rather than angles in the sky? 2. Look at Concept Art 2A, item 2. What is the angular diameter of a
typical star in the cartoon? (Hint: Compare the size of a star with
10. If Earth did not rotate, could you define the celestial poles and
that of the Moon in the cartoon.)
celestial equator?
22 PART 1 THE SKY
Guidepost
Cycles of the Sun and Moon
In the previous chapter you looked at the The cycles of the sky are elegant and dramatic, and you
3
sky and saw how its apparent daily motion is caused by the can understand them fully only if you know that Earth is a
rotation of Earth. In this chapter you will discover that the Sun, moving planet. Humans did not always know that. How we
Moon, and planets move against the background of stars in came to understand that Earth is a planet is the subject of the
cycles longer than one day. Some of those motions have direct next chapter.
influences on your life and produce dramatic sights in the
sky (see CO3). As you explore, you will find answers to four
important questions:
Even a man who is pure in heart and
▶ What causes the seasons? says his prayers by night
▶ How do astronomical cycles affect Earth’s climate?
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
▶ Why does the Moon go through phases?
and the moon shines full and bright.
▶ What causes lunar and solar eclipses?
P R O V E R B F R O M O L D W O L F M A N M O V I E S
NASA/Rami Daud
CO3 A sequence of images spanning about two hours showing a lunar

eclipse visible from the United States in September 2015. From left to
right, the full moon is increasingly covered by Earth’s shadow. In the
image at far right, the Moon is shown fully shadowed, illuminated only
by the orange glow of sunlight refracted through Earth’s atmosphere.
This was a rare “supermoon” eclipse that occurred when the Moon was
closest in its orbit to Earth, and near the horizon for many observers,
thereby appearing as large as possible.
23
Y
our alarm clock and your calendar are astronomical stars. It would move a distance roughly equal to its own diameter
instruments that track the apparent motion of the Sun between sunrise and sunset. This motion is caused by the motion
in the sky. Furthermore, your calendar is divided into of Earth in its nearly circular orbit around the Sun.
months, and that recognizes the monthly orbital motion of the For example, in early to mid-January, you would see the
Moon. Your life is regulated by the cycles of the sky, and the Sun in front of the constellation Sagittarius (Figure 3-1). As Earth
most obvious cycle is that of the Sun. moves along its circular orbit, the Sun appears to move east-
ward among the stars. By March, you would see it in front of
Aquarius.
3-1 Cycles of the Sun Although people often say the Sun is “in Sagittarius” or “in
Aquarius,” it isn’t really correct to say the Sun is “in” a constella-
Earth’s rotation on its axis causes the cycle of day and night, but it is tion. The Sun is only 1 AU away, and most of the stars visible in
its motion around the Sun in its orbit that defines the year. Notice an the sky are millions of times more distant. Nevertheless, in late
important distinction. Rotation is the turning of a body on its axis, February and early March of each year, the Sun crosses in front
but revolution means the motion of a body around a point outside of the stars that make up Aquarius, and people use the common
the body. You should be careful to say Earth rotates once a day on its expression, “The Sun is in Aquarius.”
axis and revolves once a year around the Sun. The apparent path of the Sun against the background of stars
is called the ecliptic. If the sky were a great screen, the ecliptic
Annual Motion of the Sun would be the shadow cast by Earth’s orbit. That is why the ecliptic
Even in the daytime, the sky is filled with stars, but the glare of can be described as the projection of Earth’s orbit on the sky.
sunlight fills Earth’s atmosphere with scattered light, and you can Earth circles the Sun in 365.26 days, and consequently the
see only the brilliant Sun. If the Sun were fainter, you would be Sun appears to circle the sky in the same period. That means the
able to see it rise in the morning in front of the stars. During Sun, traveling 360° around the ecliptic in 365.26 days, travels
the day, you would see the Sun and the stars moving westward, about 1° eastward in 24 hours, about twice its angular diameter.
and the Sun would eventually set in front of the same stars. If You don’t notice this apparent motion of the Sun because you
you watched carefully as the day passed, you would notice that can’t see the stars in the daytime, but it does have an important
the Sun was creeping slowly eastward against the background of consequence that you do notice—the seasons.
▼ Figure 3-1 Earth’s orbit is a nearly perfect circle, but it is shown in an inclined view in this diagram and consequently
looks oval. Earth’s motion around the Sun makes the Sun appear to move against the background of the stars. Earth’s
orbit is thus projected on the sky as the circular path of the Sun, the ecliptic. If you could see the stars in the daytime,
you would notice the Sun crossing in front of the distant constellations as Earth moves along its orbit.
Capricornus
Aquarius Sagittarius
Pisces Scorpius
Libra
Earth’s orbit Sun

Aries
January 1 March 1
Virgo
Taurus
Leo Projection of Earth’s
Gemini Cancer orbit — the ecliptic
View from Earth Sun View from Earth

on January 1 on March 1
Sun
24 PART 1 THE SKY
Seasons All of the planets of the Solar System, including Earth, orbit
around the Sun. If you were looking down on the Solar System
Earth would not experience seasons if it rotated upright in its
from the north celestial pole, you would see the planets moving
orbit, but it does have seasons because its axis of rotation is
in the same counterclockwise direction around their orbits, with
tipped 23.4° from the perpendicular to its orbit. Another way to
the planets farthest from the Sun moving the slowest. Seen from
say this is that Earth’s equator is inclined 23.4° to its orbit. Study
Earth, the outer planets move slowly eastward* along the eclip-
Concept Art 3A, “The Cycle of the Seasons,” and notice two impor-
tic. In fact, the word planet comes from the Greek word mean-
tant principles and six new terms:
ing “wanderer.” Mars moves completely around the ecliptic in
1 Because Earth’s axis of rotation is inclined 23.4°, the Sun slightly more than 2 years, but Saturn, being farther from the
moves into the northern sky in the spring and into the Sun, takes nearly 30 years.
southern sky in the fall. That causes the cycle of the sea- Mercury and Venus also stay near the ecliptic, but they move
sons. Notice how the vernal equinox, the summer solstice, the differently from the other planets. They have orbits inside Earth’s
autumnal equinox, and the winter solstice mark the begin- orbit, and that means they are never seen far from the Sun in
ning of the seasons. Earth’s elliptical orbit is very nearly the sky. Observed from Earth, they move eastward away from
circular, and as it travels from perihelion to aphelion, its dis- the Sun and then back toward the Sun, crossing the near part of
tance from the Sun varies only slightly and is not the cause their orbit. They continue moving westward away from the Sun
of the seasons. and then move back, crossing the far part of their orbit before
2 Earth goes through a cycle of seasons because of changes they move out east of the Sun again. To find one of these planets,
in the amount of solar energy that Earth’s Northern and you need to look above the western horizon just after sunset or
Southern Hemispheres receive at different times of the year. above the eastern horizon just before sunrise. Venus is easier to
Because of circulation patterns in Earth’s atmosphere, the locate because it is brighter and because its larger orbit carries it
Northern and Southern Hemispheres are mostly isolated higher above the horizon than does Mercury’s (Figure 3-2). Mer-
from each other and exchange little heat. When one hemi- cury’s orbit is so small that it can never get farther than 28° from
sphere receives more solar energy than the other, it grows the Sun. Consequently, it is hard to see against the Sun’s glare
rapidly warmer. and is often hidden in the clouds and haze near the horizon.
By tradition, any planet visible in the evening sky is called
Notice that the seasons in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere an evening star, even though planets are not stars. Similarly, any
are reversed with respect to those in the Northern Hemisphere; planet visible in the sky shortly before sunrise is called a morn-
Australia and other lands in the Southern Hemisphere experi- ing star. Perhaps the most beautiful is Venus, which can become
ence winter from June 22 to September 22, and summer from as bright as magnitude 24.7. As Venus moves around its orbit, it
December 21 to March 20. can dominate the western sky each evening for many weeks, but
Now you can set your friends straight if they mention two eventually its orbit carries it back toward the Sun, and it is lost
of the most Common Misconceptions about the seasons. First, the in the haze near the horizon. In a few weeks, it reappears in the
seasons don’t occur because Earth moves closer to or farther dawn sky, a brilliant morning star.
from the Sun. If that were the cause, both of Earth’s hemispheres The cycles of the sky are so impressive that it is not sur-
would experience winter at the same time, but that’s not what prising that people have strong feelings about them. Ancient
happens. Earth’s orbit is nearly circular. Its distance from the Sun peoples saw the motion of the Sun around the ecliptic as a pow-
varies by only a few percent from winter to summer, and that erful influence on their daily lives, and the motion of the plan-
isn’t enough to cause the seasons. Second, it is not easier to stand ets along the ecliptic seemed similarly meaningful. The ancient
a raw egg on end on the day of the vernal equinox! Have you superstition of astrology is based on the cycles of the Sun and
heard that one? Radio and TV personalities love to talk about it, planets around the sky. You have probably heard of the zodiac,
but it just isn’t true. It is one of the silliest misconceptions in sci- a band around the sky extending about 9° above and below the
ence. You can stand a raw egg on end any day of the year if you ecliptic. The signs of the zodiac take their names from the 12
have steady hands. (Hint: It helps to shake the egg really hard to principal constellations along the ecliptic. A horoscope is just
break the yolk inside so it can settle to the bottom.) a diagram showing the location of the Sun, Moon, and planets
around the ecliptic and their position above or below the hori-
Motions of the Planets zon for a given date and time. Centuries ago, astrology was an
The planets of our Solar System produce no visible light of their important part of astronomy, but the two are now almost exact
own; they are visible only by reflected sunlight. Mercury, Venus, opposites—astronomy is a science that depends on evidence,
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are all easily visible to the unaided eye
and look like stars, but Uranus is usually too faint to be seen, and
Neptune is never bright enough. *You will discover occasional exceptions to this eastward motion in Chapter 4.
Chapter 3 CYCLES OF THE SUN AND MOON 25
North celestial pole
Celestial
1 theYouseasons.
can use the celestial sphere to help you think about
The celestial equator is the projection of
equator
Earth’s equator on the sky, and the ecliptic is the projection of Autumnal equinox
Earth’s orbit on the sky. Because Earth is tipped in its orbit, the Winter
ecliptic and equator are inclined to each other by 23.4 degrees, solstice
as shown at right. As the Sun moves eastward around the sky, it
spends half the year in the southern half of the sky and half the
year in the northern half. That causes the seasons.
Summer
Ecliptic
23.4° solstice
The Sun crosses the celestial equator going northward at the Vernal equinox
point called the vernal equinox. The Sun is at its farthest north
at the point called the summer solstice. It crosses the celestial
equator going southward at the autumnal equinox and reaches
its most southern point at the winter solstice.
South celestial pole
Event Date* N. Hemisphere

The seasons are defined by the dates when the Sun Vernal equinox March 20 Spring begins
1a Summer solstice June 22 Summer begins
crosses these four points, as shown in the table at the
right. Equinox comes from the word for “equal”; the day of an Autumnal equinox September 22 Autumn begins
equinox has equal amounts of daylight and darkness. Solstice Winter solstice December 21 Winter begins
comes from the words meaning “Sun” and “stationary.” Vernal
comes from the word for “green.” The “green” equinox marks * Give or take a day due to leap years and other factors.
the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
ris
a
23.4°
Pol
To
On the day of the summer solstice in

1b
late June, Earth’s Northern 40°
Hemisphere is inclined toward the N la
titu
de
Sun, and sunlight shines almost
straight down at northern
latitudes. At southern
latitudes, sunlight strikes
the ground at an angle
and spreads out. North Sunlight nearly direct
America has warm on northern latitudes
weather, and South
America has cool Equ
weather. ato
r
To Sun
Earth’s axis of rotation
points toward Polaris,
and, like a top, the
spinning Earth holds its
axis fixed as it orbits the
Sun. On one side of the
Sun, Earth’s Northern 40°
S la
Hemisphere leans toward titu
de
the Sun; on the other side of
its orbit, it leans away. The
direction of the axis of rotation
does not change during the year. NASA Sunlight spread out
on southern latitudes
Earth at Northern Hemisphere

summer solstice
Summer solstice Noon Sun
light
2 The two causes of the

seasons in the Northern West
Hemisphere are shown at right.
Sunset
C ele
First, the noon summer Sun is
higher in the sky and the winter
s ti a
South North
Sun is lower, as shown by the
le
longer winter shadows. Thus,
qu
ato
Light striking the ground at a winter sunlight is more spread
r
1c out. Second, the summer Sun
steep angle spreads out less than
rises in the northeast and sets East Sunrise
light striking the ground at a shallow
At summer solstice
angle. Light from the summer solstice in the northwest, spending more
Sun strikes northern latitudes from than 12 hours in the sky. The
nearly overhead and is concentrated. winter Sun rises in the
southeast and sets in the
southwest, spending less than Noon Sun
Winter solstice light 12 hours in the sky. Both of
Sunset West
these effects mean that
northern latitudes receive more
C ele
energy from the summer Sun,
s ti a
and summer days are warmer South North
le
than winter days.
qu
ato
r
Sunrise
East
Light from the winter solstice Sun At winter solstice
strikes northern latitudes at a much
steeper angle and spreads out. The
same amount of energy is spread over
a larger area, so the ground receives
risa
less energy from the winter Sun. 23.4°
Pol
To
Sunlight spread out On the day of the winter
on northern latitudes 1d
solstice in late December,
Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is
40° inclined away from the Sun, and
N la
titu sunlight strikes the ground at
de
an angle and spreads out. At
southern latitudes, sunlight
shines almost straight
down and does not spread
out. North America has
cool weather and South
America has warm
Equ weather.
To Sun ato
r
Earth’s orbit is only very
slightly elliptical. About
January 3, Earth is at
Sunlight nearly direct perihelion, its closest
on southern latitudes
point to the Sun, when it
is only 1.7 percent closer
than average. About July 4,
Earth is at aphelion, its most
40° distant point from the Sun,
S la
titu when it is only 1.7 percent farther
de
than average. This small variation
does not significantly affect the
seasons.
Earth at Northern Hemisphere

winter
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not solstice
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Doctrine 1. There are spirituall benefits arising from vertues,
whereby the faithfull are stirred up to labour for vertue.
This is gathered from the scope of this verse, and from the
connexion which it hath with the former exhortation. These benefits
are such, that they cannot be understood by carnall and worldly
men; but the faithfull do not only understand them, but also seeke for
them with great and continuall diligence. Otherwise this argument
which the Apostle useth to the faithfull, would have beene altogether
uneffectuall. But these benefits are such, that they make men rich,
not in this world, but in the Lord, 1 Timothy 6.18. Luke 12.21.
Vse. This may serve to reprove those earthly men, which are not
moved with such arguments, but covet the gaine, profits, and
pleasures of this life, and savour not those things that belong to the
kingdome of God.
Doctrine 2. It is a great benefit to the faithfull, and so they

esteeme it; if they can be ready to do good works.
This is gathered from that, they make you that ye shall not be
barren, that is, not idle or slothfull in the profession of religion.
Reason 1. Because it is the greatest misery for men to be

reprobate unto good workes.
2. Because by this readinesse to do good, the faithfull come to

obtaine their desires.
3. Because by this meanes the life spirituall is exercised and

increased. For as all life is the beginning of operation, and tends
unto operation, so also is it increased by operations.
4. Because the glory of God, wherein consists the chiefest good,

and mans happinesse, is by this meanes advanced.
Vse 1. This may serve to reprove those foolish and slothfull

Christians, that neglect their owne proper good, or rather do not
understand what that is wherein it consists.
2. To exhort us, by all meanes to make our selves ready to do

good, and therefore according to the minde of the Apostle in this
place, to get all vertue, that we may not be barren in the knowledge
of Christ.
Doctrine 3. Good workes are fruits that the faithfull should

continually bring forth.
This is gathered therehence, that fruitfulnesse is both required

and promised in this place. It is required therein, that the Apostle
intimates, that this is necessary for the faithfull, to be fruitfull. It is
promised thereby, that it is made as a benefit arising from vertues.
Good workes are called fruits by a metaphor, for the likenesse that
they have unto the fruits of trees and plants. Now in naturall fruit
many things are considered, which according to the Scripture must
be applyed unto good workes. 1. That it be something agreeable to
the nature of the seed from which it ariseth. 2. That it hath not only
some good in it, but also perfections; hence flowers and leaves are
not wont to be called fruits, although they come from the same seed
that the fruits do, and be the last two that comes forth, and hath in it
that perfection, that it is the end both of the seed, and all other things
that arise from the seed before the fruit. 3. It is required also,
especially in those that arise from good husbandry, that there be
something that is desired and expected and will be acceptable to the
husbandman, and master, or owner. All these things in the Scriptures
are to be applyed unto good works, 1. That they be agreeable to the
word of God, which is the seed, as it is in the Parables, Matthew 13.
Marke 4. of the good seed: and good workes differ from tares, as
grapes differ from wilde grapes, Isaiah 5.2. 2. That they have
goodnesse in them. For bad workes neither are properly fruits
according to Scripture, unlesse it be with an addition, evill fruits. Nor
do they bring any fruit to their authors, Romans 6.21. They must also
have perfection in their kinde: for as the seeds which are said in the
parable to arise, perhaps unto the eare, yet because they did not
come to just perfection, are said to have brought forth no fruits: so
also Christians, which have only the flowers and leaves of
profession, and not the solid workes of godlinesse, are accounted by
God unfruitfull and barren plants. 3. Our workes also must answer
the expectation of God, and that care which he hath taken in
manuring our soules, Isaiah 5.2. Luke 13.6,7. & 20.10. Although in
all these things our good workes and fruits are alike, yet one thing
may be observed, wherein they are unlike; namely, that whereas the
profit of naturall fruits is wont to returne to the husbandman and
master, the profit of these fruits redounds properly to those that
beare them, Romans 6.12. Although hence also something redounds
unto God our master, Iohn 15.8.
Vse 1. This may serve to condemne those, that bring forth no

fruit, Matthew 3.10. Iohn 15.2. Luke 13.7. Much more are they to be
condemned, that are like unto the cursed ground, and in steed of
fruits bring forth thornes and briers, Hebrews 6.8. Deuteronomy
32.32.
2. To exhort us, by all meanes to labour to bring forth good fruits,

and so also that they may be answerable unto those meanes which
God used towards us, to make us fruitfull, according to Gods
expectation, and in that season wherein God expects them, and in
that measure also which he expects, of some thirty, of some sixty,
and of some an hundred fold.
Doctrine 4. Without these fruits the knowledge of God is

unprofitable.
For it is as it were choaked with thornes, or withered away.
Vse. This may serve to admonish us, to be so much the more

carefull to bring forth fruit, that we may not heape up this sinne of
barrennesse unto the other, by making the word of God void and of
no effect.
Doctrine 5. That we may be fruitfull, vertues must not only be

in us, but also abound in us.
They are in us when we have gotten a habit of them; they
abound, when we do seriously and diligently endeavour to make that
habit more perfect.
Verse 9. But he that lacketh these things, is blinde, and cannot see
farre off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old
sinnes.
The Analysis.
T his is the second argument whereby the exhortation of the

Apostle is confirmed; and it is taken from the disprofits that
befall all those that are strangers to these vertues. And these
disprofits are contrary to those profits whereof mention was made in
the former verse. For the Apostle would say that they which have not
these vertues, are quite barren and unfruitfull. But he doth not barely
expresse this, but sets it forth by the causes thereof. And the causes
are two, blindnesse and forgetfulnesse. For he that is blinde, must
needs be barren and unfruitfull, and unfit to do those businesses
especially, which require the eye sight: and he that forgets the
benefit which he hath received, it is no wonder, if he bring forth no
fruit worthy of that benefit. Their forgetfulnesse is set forth by the
object or benefit which they should remember, that is, their
purification from their old sinnes. By blindnesse in this place is
meant, not the privation of their corporall sight, or of their naturall
understanding, but of that spirituall perfection, whereby we come to
the saving knowledge of those things that pertaine to the kingdome
of God, and our eternall life. By those things that are farre off, are
meant things truly spirituall, which as touching their nature and
condition, are as farre off from carnall men as heaven is from earth.
The Doctrines arising here-hence.
Doctrine 1. All that are destitute of vertue are spiritually blinde.
They are blinde in a twofold respect. 1. In respect of that naturall

blindnesse, wherein all the sonnes of Adam are born, like that man
that was blinde from his birth, Iohn 9.1. And secondly, in respect of
another adventitious blindnesse, which they have brought upon
themselves by their sinnes, through the just judgement of God
blinding those that will not see, like that sorcerer, Acts 13.11. upon
whom the hand of the Lord seemes to have beene, to blinde him.
The former blindnesse goes before as the cause, viz. the neglect of
vertue; the other followes as the effect. And both of them appeares
by those signes that corporall blindnesse doth.
Reason 1. Because those men know not the speciall way

wherein they should go.
2. They cannot see those stumbling-blocks that lye in the way,

but continually stumble and fall.
3. They cannot so much as discerne the colours of those things

which they handle, and therefore as it is, Isaiah 5.20. They call evill
good, and good evill, &c. And one thing there is that addes to their
misery more then is in those that are corporally blinde; namely, that
they seeke not fit guides to leade them, as it is said of the sorcerer,
that he did, Acts 13.11. for either they trust wholly to themselves,
because they doe not know that they are blinde, Apocalypse 3.17. or
else they follow some blinde guide, so that both fall into the ditch.
Vse 1. This may serve to admonish us, to acknowledge our

spirituall blindnesse, and to labour to get out of it. For it is in every
one of us either in whole or in part. We should therefore thinke with
our selves how great a misery it is to continue in perpetuall
darknesse and in a most thick myst. Christ wept over Jerusalem for
this their blindnesse.
2. To exhort us earnestly to pray unto God, who can open the

eyes of our minde. The blinde man, Luke 18.38. never ceased to cry
out, saying, Iesus thou Sonne of David have mercy on me, and when
Christ asked him, what he would that he should do unto him, he
desired nothing else, but that he might receive his sight, verse 41.
So also in spirituall blindnesse, although a great part of it was cured
in David, yet we see that he constantly prayes unto God, to open his
eyes, Psalms 119.18. So also the Apostle saith, that he ceased not
to pray for the faithfull, that the eyes of their understanding might be
enlightned, Ephesians 1.18. This is the counsell of the holy Ghost,
and of Christ, Apocalypse 3.18.
3. To instruct us, never to think that we have received sight, untill

we finde in our selves this study and labour to abound in vertue.
Doctrine 2. The forgetting of Gods benefits is a great evill and

sinne, and brings misery along with it.
For it is here attributed unto those, that are strangers unto vertue,
not only as a sinne, but also as a great disprofit, and is opposed to
that fruitfulnesse wherein the happinesse of the faithfull doth consist.
It is a sinne, because it containes ingratitude in it, and that not the
least degree of ingratitude; for though a man be mindfull of the
benefit which he hath received, purposing to be thankfull for it, yet if
he doth not render thankes, he is said to be ungratefull; yea, and
though he doth render thankes, if he doth it coldly, and doth not
endeavour to answer the merits of him that bestowed this benefit
upon him, and the dignity of the benefit, he is not yet free from this
vice; but if he doth quite forget the benefit which he hath received,
then he is rightly said to be as it were twice ungratefull.
Vse. This may serve to admonish us, to beware of this kinde of

ingratitude, and not to think our selves ungratefull then only, when
we do repay evill for good, but also when we doe any way forget the
benefit which we have received.
Doctrine 3. God accounts him forgetfull of the benefits which

he hath received, that is not effectually mindfull of them, that is, that
doth not so remember them, as to live answerably.
This is gathered therehence, that fruitfulnesse and forgetfulnesse

are opposed. For they are made immediately contraries, so that
there is no medium betweene them. Deuteronomy 32.18. The
Israelites are said to have forgotten God for that reason only,
because they had forsaken the true worship of God, and his due
obedience, as it is explained, verse 15. So Psalms 106.13. where
they are said to have forgotten God and his workes, as often as they
murmured against him, although there is no doubt but if they had
beene asked, they could have easily related the whole history of
those things that God had done for them in Egypt. After the like
manner are the words of Christ to be understood, when he asked his
Disciples, whether they had forgotten the miracle of the five loaves
and two fishes, intimating that it was a manifest token of their
forgetfulnesse, that they were at that time so troubled about bread.
Vse 1. This may serve to admonish us, not to rest satisfied with
such a memory as consists in bare contemplation, which God
accounts forgetfulnesse.
2. To exhort us, by all meanes to study this art of memory.
Which that we may the better do, let us observe these Rules.
Rule 1. That we do not slightly passe over the thought of these

things, but look narrowly into the natures and circumstances of them.
For the more plainly we come to understand them, the more firmely
do we retaine them.
Rule 2. That having come to such a cleare knowledge of them,

we should also call them to minde, so as to consider the efficacy of
them; for the more they worke upon the affections, the stronger is
the impression upon the memory: thence is it, that children are wont
to remember many things, which others forget, because they use to
admire all things as new and strange; and wee also doe not easily
forget those things which we admire, as being things wherewith we
are much taken, Psalms 119.16. I will delight my selfe in thy statutes,
there is the affection; and I will not forget thy word, there is the
memory flowing from the affection.
Rule 3. That we should alwayes carry a memoriall with us,

whereby the memory of these things may be kept. Numbers 16.40.
This is a memoriall. Now our memoriall is the word of God chiefly,
which in that respect we should daily read and meditate upon.
Doctrine 4. Our purification from sinne is a benefit never to be
forgotten.
Reason 1. Because it is very great in it selfe and its owne nature,

seeing by it we are freed from the guilt and dominion of sinne, from
the curse of the law, from the anger of God and eternall death.
2. Because it is of great force and efficacy to stirre us up to

labour to be thankfull, and to abound in vertue, as here it appeares
by the manner of arguing, which the Apostle useth. For that cause
also Paul, Romans 12.1. and in other places exhorteth the faithfull by
the mercies of God.
Vse 1. This may serve to condemne those, that do either not

think at all upon the mercy of God, and redemption through Christ; or
else turne it into an occasion of sinne.
2. To exhort us, daily to meditate upon this benefit, and not to

satisfie our selves, unlesse we are daily stirred up by this argument
to the practise of piety.
Doctrine 5. All the sinnes from which we are purged in Christ,

must be accounted old, that is, out of use, forsaken, dead, never to
be taken up againe.
Verse 10. Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make

your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall
never fall.
Verse 11. For so an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly,

into the everlasting kingdome of our Lord and Saviour Iesus
Christ:
The Analysis.
I n these words is contained the conclusion of the Apostles

exhortation, as it is intimated in the first word, Wherefore. Now
because the conclusion and the question must alwayes be the same,
as touching the thing it selfe, although they differ in some respects,
there is no doubt but the Apostle here concludes the same thing,
which he had before, verse 5. propounded to himselfe to be
concluded, viz. That they should give all diligence to adde to their
faith vertue, &c. And as repetitions in the Scripture are not wont to be
vaine, nor bare, but for the most part with some usury or increase; so
also in this place he doth not barely repeat the exhortation to labour
for vertue, but he doth illustrate this endeavour and labour by the
proper office thereof, that is, by the confirmation of our calling and
election; so that he doth both repeat the exhortation, and also adde a
new argument, and that a most weighty one, to presse it the more,
after this manner: If by the exercise of good workes ye make your
election and calling sure, then should ye most of all apply your
selves thereunto: but the former is true, Therefore. The assumption
is laid downe in the text, and proved by a double argument. 1. By
removing the contrary or Apostasie, which is most opposite to the
assurance of our election and calling; and is alike opposite also to
the exercise of vertue and good workes, which is shewed in these
words: If ye do these things, ye shall never fall: wherein is such a
reason contained, if ye shall never fall, then ye will have your calling
sure. The second argument is taken from the felicity adjoyned, which
is set forth by the proper cause thereof, that is, by the abundant
entrance into the everlasting kingdome of Christ. And this argument
strengthens both the conclusion and also the foregoing argument,
after this manner: If ye have abundant entrance into the everlasting
kingdome of Christ, then ye shall never fall, but hold your calling
sure; But if ye labour to be vertuous and to do good workes, ye shall
have abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdome of Christ:
therefore if ye labour to be vertuous and to do good workes, ye shall
never fall, but have your calling sure. But before we consider the
conclusion it selfe which the Apostle layes downe, there comes the
manner to be observed, how he doth propound it, that so it may
worke the deeper. Now the manner is shewed in that title which he
gives unto the faithfull, when he cals them brethren, which is not only
a title of good will, but of some speciall and singular love, such as
useth to be betwixt these men that are most neerly joyned together.
Observation. Here we may observe in generall, That our
exhortations must be seasoned with love and goodwill; but more
especially it affords us this Observation, That there is not a more
brotherly office, then to stirre up and bring those that we love, to
labour and endeavour to lead a Christian life.
Reason 1. Because by this meanes they are delivered from the

greatest evils, Iames 5.20.
2. Because they are made partakers of the greatest good, as it

appeares in the text.
Use 1. This may serve to admonish us, to take in good part such
exhortations and admonitions that are given us, whether they be in
publick or in private.
2. To exhort us, to season our exhortations and admonitions after

this manner, and so to be more frequent in these duties. For
oftentimes he that neglects these duties, shewes that he doth hate
his brother and is his enemy; they being proper to brethren, and the
neerest and dearest friends, Leviticus 19.17.
The Doctrines arising herehence.
Doctrine 1. The assurance of our calling and election is a

thing greatly to be desired.
This is gathered from the text: because Peter in this exhortation

presupposeth some such desire in the faithfull, and then stirres them
up to a more fervent and earnest desire of it.
Reason. Because our happinesse and all spirituall good things

are greatly to be desired, and they depend upon this assurance of
our calling and election. For election is the free love of God, whereby
he intends saving grace, or supernaturall blessings unto us. Our
calling is the manifestation of that love by the application of this
saving grace. The assurance of both consists, 1. in Gods
unchangeable purpose, 2 Timothy 2.19. The foundation of God
standeth sure. 2. In the effectuall operation, which those blessings of
God have in us, as in that place of Timothy, that foundation hath this
seale, that whosoever cals on the name of Christ, should depart from
iniquity. 3. In assurance of faith, confidence, and experimentall
knowledge, which we come to have both of Gods purpose towards
us, and the effectuall and saving operation thereof in our hearts.
Vse 1. This may serve to condemne those that have no affection

at all unto these spirituall good things, but rest well pleased in the
things of this world. They are like unto the rebellious Israelites, who
more desired the Onions and Garlick of Egypt, then the Milke and
Honey of the promised Land, or the celestiall Manna, Numbers
11.5,6. They are farre worse then the Prodigall Sonne, if they
alwayes rest satisfied with the Swines husks, and never desire the
bread that is in their fathers house, Luke 15.16,17.
2. To exhort us, to labour for a spirituall hunger and thirst after

these spirituall good things: God himselfe shewes us the best
meanes, who, when he would stirre up the people of Israel to desire
the promised land, forthwith commended unto them the riches of the
land, wherewith it did abound: so also should we alwayes set before
our eyes those innumerable blessings, which depend upon our
calling and election.
Doctrine 2. It belongs to our duty to make this our calling and

election sure.
Give diligence. Not as they are in the purpose of God, but as they
have an effectuall operation in us, whereby they are certainly
manifested and sealed unto us; and this is the reason why our
calling is set before election: for although election be eternall in God,
and our calling be in time; yet we come to know our calling before
our election, and the knowledge of our election depends upon the
effectualnesse of our calling.
Reason 1. Because although God himselfe causeth this, yet he

doth it partly by morall perswasions and by those meanes wherein
our endeavour is required.
2. Because there are no effects of our calling and election, which
are not also our effects, because God makes us to doe them.
3. Because that very thing which God doth in this kinde, we are in
some sort said to doe, if we beg it of him by continuall prayer.
4. Because Gods confirmation of it is such, that it requires also

the like confirmation of us. God confirmes our calling and election by
his promise, his covenant, Sacraments, oath, and spirituall pledge:
And these things do in like manner require of us our promise, and
vow, to cleave unto God, our covenant, faith, and endeavour, and all
those things whereby we may be confirmed in that communion which
we have with God.
Vse 1. This may serve to comfort us, because the certainty and
assurance of our calling and election is not only possible for us to
attaine unto, but also commanded us; so that nothing is more
pleasing unto God, then that we should labour to be more and more
assured of these things: for this is the end both of the promise and
the precept.
2. To reprove those, that either altogether neglect this primary

duty of the faithfull, or take such slight care of it, that they must
needs alwayes waver in their minds touching those things whereof
they should be most assured. Dangerous is that doctrine of the
Papists, that holds mens minds alwayes in suspense, both in life and
death. For in life they accuse this firme confidence of presumption,
and in death they leave wretched men in doubt, how long they shall
be tormented in Purgatory.
3. To exhort us to this labour and diligence; and indeed this

indeavour is inseparable from a true and lively faith: for look how it is
amongst men; if one did beleeve that he had an inheritance left him
by his Father, or any other, he would never be at quiet, till he had
gotten it assured unto him, according to the lawes and customes of
the countrey wherein he lives, so is it with the faithfull also touching
these spirituall good things.
Doctrine 3. All those, and those alone, make their election
sure, that make their calling sure.
These two God hath joyned together, as the Apostle doth in this
place, so that no man ought or may dis-joyne them. Hence election
and calling are taken sometimes in the Scriptures for one and the
same, as 1 Corinthians 1.26,27. that which is called calling,
verse 26. is called election, verse 27. There is indeed an outward
and ineffectuall calling, which is many times separated from election,
as when it is said, Many are called, but few are chosen. But
effectuall and saving calling hath alwayes a sure connexion with
election, as Romans 8.30. and 11.28,29.
Reason. Because this calling is nothing else but the operation of

God, whereby in time he begins to execute that purpose of election,
which he had decreed from everlasting.
Vse 1. This may serve to reprove those, that are wont to boast of
their election and predestination, when in the meane time they never
looke after their calling or conversion, to demonstrate it either to
themselves or others. It is presumption, whatsoever men say of their
election, if they are not first assured of their calling.
2. To comfort all the faithfull that are penitent, converted, and

called, because all those may and ought to be sure of their election.
Doctrine 4. An endeavour to abound in vertue, and to do good

workes is the only meanes to make our calling and election sure.
This is gathered from the words, If ye do these things.
Reason 1. Because these are the proper effects of calling and

election.
2. They are the causes of that knowledge which we have of our

calling and election. For the knowledge and assurance of these
things depends upon the reflex act of our understanding, whereby
we see in our selves the markes and signes of effectuall calling, and
consequently of eternall election. Hence this assurance increaseth
and decreaseth in us, according as our endeavour to abound in
vertues, and to do good workes is greater or lesser.
Vse 1. This may serve to refute those, that teach that the
assurance of election crosseth the practise of piety, whereas there is
as great an agreement betwixt these, as is betwixt the effect and the
cause, which absolutely agree.
2. To condemne those, that from this doctrine of the assurance of

election, take occasion to cast off all care of piety: these are they
that the Apostle speaks of, chapter 3 verse 16. who being unlearned
and unstable, wrest the Scriptures unto their owne destruction.
Although the election of God be sure in it selfe, yet no man is sure of
it without the practice of piety. Then againe the certainty of election
that is in God, makes this certaine, that no man shall ever be saved
by vertue of election, unlesse there be in him the practise of piety:
such words or thoughts are certaine tokens of a profane soule, which
neither cares for election nor salvation, nor hath any feare of God.
For whereas it is alike certaine with God, how long every one of us
shall live in this world, yet there is none that cares not for his life, or
useth not the meanes to live, unlesse he be quite mad: so from the
certainty of election none concludes after such a manner, unlesse he
be altogether profane.
3. To exhort us, to stirre up our selves more and more to do these

things, whereby we shall receive so great fruit and benefit.
Doctrine 5. By labouring to do these things we are fore-armed

against the dangers of all temptations.
If ye do these things, ye shall never fall.
Reason 1. Because we are never led into temptation without our

owne fault, and consequently without the neglect of this duty.
2. We are never led into temptation, unlesse we have first

tempted God, by forsaking those meanes, whereby we might be
upheld and preserved.
3. God can and will defend those that flye unto him, and that
seeke him in his wayes. Hither tend those frequent promises, such
as are Psalms 15. the last words, and Psalms 16.8.
Doctrine 6. The more we are freed from the fals of sinne, the
more are we assured of our calling and election.
This is gathered from the opposition, which is made betwixt the

assurance of our calling and our fals.
Reason. The reason is taken from the contrariety; for like as the
more the darknesse is dispelled, the more the light increaseth, and
on the contrary; so is it in these things.
Doctrine 7. Look what progresse we make in grace and

vertue, so much progresse do we make in glory and happinesse.
This is gathered from the connexion of the eleventh verse with

the former, the force whereof consists in this, that by adding vertue
unto faith, and knowledge unto vertue, we shall adde also something
unto that participation, which we have in the kingdome of God:
where it is to be observed that the same word is used in this
eleventh verse, where he speakes of glory, that was used, verse 5.
where he spake of vertue; there it was ♦ ἐπιχορηγήσατε, here
ἐπιχορηγηθήσεται.
♦ “ἐπιχωρηγήσατε” replaced with “ἐπιχορηγήσατε” and

“ἐπιχωρηγηθήσετω” replaced with “ἐπιχορηγηθήσεται”
Reason. The reason is, because as in evill the sinne is never

separated from the punishment, but in the sinne it selfe there is the
spot or blemish, which is like unto misery; so also in good the
obedience and vertue is never separated from the reward. For it hath
alwayes joyned with it that consolation which pertaines to the reward
of happinesse.
Use 1. This may serve to comfort us against the afflictions of this
life; for although the faithfull receive no reward from this world, by
reason of the iniquity of men, but hatred, disgrace, contempt, and
persecutions: yet they may rest well contented in this, that they shall
not only receive an ample reward in the life to come, but also they
shall receive it in some sort in this life present, Matthew 5.10,12. &
19.29.
2. To exhort us to labour to increase in piety, for as much as this

labour is not in vaine, but hath its reward even in this present world,
1 Corinthians 15. last.
Doctrine 8. This happinesse consists in being made partakers

of the everlasting kingdome of God.
By the kingdome of God is meant properly that condition into

which the faithfull are translated by their effectuall calling: now
seeing there are no degrees of this condition, this kingdome is
distinguished into the kingdome of grace, and the kingdome of glory.
Into the kingdome of grace, because the preaching and ministery of
the Gospell is the efficient cause thereof, therefore the Gospell it
selfe is called in Scripture the kingdome of God, and because the
Church is the proper subject of this state and condition, therefore the
Church is also called the kingdome of God; and because spirituall
grace hath the chiefe part in this condition, therefore that also is
called the kingdome of God, Romans 14.17. but most properly the
condition it selfe is the kingdome of God. And it is compared to a
kingdome rather then to a Democracy or Aristocracy, or any other
society.
Reason 1. Because of the dignity and splendour which it hath.
2. Because the rule or governement is in the power of one. For

although it is called sometimes the kingdome of God, sometimes the
kingdome of our Lord Jesus Christ, as in this place; yet they are not
made two Kings as touching the essence, but thereby it is shewed
that he hath a singular charge in this kingdome.
3. Because the lawes and edicts of this society are altogether
Kingly and Monarchicall; the seales also, and all things that pertaine
to this government, beare the effigies as it were, or image of one
King.
Vse 1. This may serve to comfort the faithfull, who should think
with them selves, and often call to minde, unto what a great
happinesse they are called. For that which David said heretofore,
1 Samuel 18.23, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a Kings sonne
in law? that may all the faithfull say of themselves in respect of this
kingdome, that it is not a light thing to be made Citizens of this
kingdome, and especially seeing we are poore and vile creatures,
the greater will our comfort be, when we consider the glory and
eternity of this kingdome. The glory is such that the kingdomes of
David and Solomon, even in the greatest glory that ever they had,
were but imperfect representations and shadowes as it were of this
kingdome. For they were but types of it. So great is the glory of this
kingdome, that all the Citizens and Subjects thereof are in some sort
Kings, Apocalypse 1.6. The eternity is such, that neither in whole nor
in part is it lyable unto an end, or any essentiall change. Compare all
the kingdomes of the Persians, Medes, and Grecians, all which are
abolished; this kingdome of God alone continues for ever.
2. To reprove those, that professe themselves Christians, and yet

live so as if they were under no lawes, & did acknowledge no King.
For as this is reckoned as the cause that the Israelites did runne into
all kind of wickednesse, because there was no king in Israel, but
every one did that which was right in his owne eyes, Iudges 17.6. &
18.1. So also do these men as it were proclaime, that they neither
acknowledge Christ nor God for their King, while they do that which
seemes right in their own eyes, not caring whether it do please God,
or displease him. Such men must expect that sentence of Christ,
which is laid downe, Luke 19.27. Those mine enemies which would
not that I should reigne over them, bring hither and slay them before
me.
3. To exhort all to seeke this kingdome of God above all other
things, according as Christ bids us; first seeke the kingdome of God.
And not only the happinesse of those that are admitted to be
partakers of this kingdome, but also the misery of all those that are
excluded from it, should be an argument to perswade hereunto: for
there are two spirituall kingdomes, and every man must needs be a
subject of one of them: the kingdome of light and the kingdome of
darknesse; the kingdome of righteousnesse and grace, and the
kingdome of sinne; the kingdome of God, and the kingdome of the
Devill, who is called the Prince of this world. All those that are
excluded out of the kingdome of God, of grace and salvation, are
necessarily included in the kingdome of the Devill, sinne and
darknesse; and deservedly doth this befall all unbeleevers and
impenitent men, according to that commination, Deuteronomy 28.45.
Doctrine 9. The faithfull must seeke not only to have an

entrance into the kingdome of God, but also an entrance in a
plentifull and abundant manner.
Men may be considered to be in a fourefold condition in respect

of the kingdome of God. For some are very farre off from it: namely,
such as the Apostle speaks of, Ephesians 2.12. That are without
Christ, and without God, aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel,
strangers from the covenants of promise: such are all those that
either understand nothing at all of those things which pertaine unto
this kingdome, or else nothing care for them, having their
consciences seared as it were with a hot iron, as the Apostle speaks,
1 Timothy 4.2. Others there are which come neere unto the
kingdome of God, although they are not partakers of it, such as that
Scribe was of whom Christ saith, Mark 12.34. that he was not farre
from the kingdome of God; and King Agrippa, Acts 26.28. Others
there are that enter into the kingdome of God by faith and
repentance, Iohn 3.3. He that is borne againe seeth the kingdome of
God, that is, he enters into it, as it is, verse 5. But then againe others
there are, (with whom also in that respect God is very well pleased,)
that do not only enter into it, but enter in a plentifull and abundant
manner, as in this place. The difference betwixt these two last sorts
is such, as is betwixt those that make entrance only into the borders
of a countrey, and those that go even into the most inward parts of it:
or as is betwixt those that make entrance only into a discipline, and
those that have throughly learned, and do exercise the very
mysteries thereof. This Doctrine is confirmed, Colossians 3.15,16.
And to that purpose is that in Colossians 1.9.
Reason 1. Because these spirituall things are such, that they can
never exceed measure: there is nothing in them too much.
2. They are of such a nature, that they do whet and stirre up the
desire, so that whosoever hath tasted the sweetnesse of them, doth
still desire to be more and more filled with them, untill he shall come
to the highest perfection, as we may see in their examples, who in
this respect are most commended in Scripture.
Vse 1. This may serve to reprove and condemne those, to whom

the bare profession of piety seemes to be enough and too much, that
feare lest they should be too godly, that is, lest they should be too
happy: this is a certaine token of a carnall minde.
2. To exhort us, 1. To give God thanks, that he hath not only

admitted us into the suburbs, as it were, and gates of this kingdome,
but hath also revealed unto us those things which are more inward
and secret. 2. To be diligent and carefull, that we do not neglect or
despise so great grace, but day by day earnestly to strive to make a
greater progresse in this kingdome, which we shall do, if we be more
diligent and religious in those exercises, whereby this kingdome is
advanced.
Verse 12. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you alwayes in

remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be
established in the present truth.
Verse 13. Yea, I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle, to

stirre you up, by putting you in remembrance:
Verse 14. Knowing that shortly, I must put off this my tabernacle,
even as our Lord Iesus Christ hath shewed me.
Verse 15. Moreover, I will endeavour, that you may be able after my
decease, to have these things alwayes in remembrance.
The Analysis.
I n the former words the Apostle had given a reason of his

exhortation, why all the faithfull should imbrace it: and in these
words he gives a reason of the same, why he should use it unto
them; which reason he delivers by way of anticipation, whereby he
meets with a close objection by a kinde of modest excuse, or by
removing the cause which they might suspect, why he should put
them in remembrance of these things, namely, because he did think
they were ignorant and unstable. Now he shewes that this was not
the cause, in these words, though ye know them, and be stablished
in the present truth. And then he brings divers true causes that
moved him to make this exhortation unto them. 1. The great profit
that would redound unto them by the performance of these duties
whereunto he exhorts them. This reason is intimated in that causall
particle, whereby he joynes these words with the former, wherefore,
that is, for those benefits sake which you shall receive by this
meanes, I thought it my part to put you in remembrance of these
things after this manner. 2. The second reason, which depends upon
the former, is the desire and care that he had to further their good;
this is intimated in these words, I will not be negligent. 3. The third
reason is taken from the duty of the Apostle, because justice and
equity required this of him, in these words, I think it meet. 4. The
fourth reason is taken from the opportunity of time, which he had
now, and was not long to continue; that he had it now, he shewes in
these words, as long as I am in this tabernacle; that it was not long
to continue, in these words, Knowing that shortly I must put off this
my tabernacle, which he confirmes by the testimony of Jesus Christ.
5. The fifth reason is taken from the fruit which this exhortation might
bring forth; which is set forth by the adjunct of time, that it would be
profitable unto them, not only while Peter lived, but also after his

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Horizons : Exploring the Universe

Fourteenth Edition Michael A. Seeds

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Jews in Ancient and Medieval Armenia: First Century BCE

Interplay: the process of interpersonal communication

A Dangerous Universe 4 Andrew

With MindTap media contributions

University of Central Florida.

Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States

For our families

Part 2: The Stars

Part 3: The Universe of Galaxies

Part 4: The Solar System

Chapter 2 | A User’s Guide to the Sky 11 3-3 Scientific Arguments 32

2-1 THE STARS 12 4-1 Scientific Revolutions 52

Chapter 4 | The Origin of Modern Astronomy 45

4A An Ancient Model of the Universe 48–49

Chapter 7 | The Sun 114 8-2 Basic Scientific Data 159

7-1 THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE

7-2 SOLAR ACTIVITY 121 9-2 Mathematical Models 188

7B Solar Activity and the Sun–Earth Connection 130–131

10B Formation of Planetary Nebulae and

Reasoning with Numbers

11-2 BLACK HOLES 233 6-2 The Doppler Formula 111

Celestial Profile 1 | The Sun 116

12-1 Calibration 249

NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA/NSF/ESA/CXC/SAO/J. Hester (Arizona State Univ.)

Concept Art Portfolios

13A Galaxy Classification 272–273

13B Interacting Galaxies 284–285

13C Galaxy Jets and Radio Lobes 288–289

14A The Nature of Space-Time 312–313

Part 3: The Universe of Galaxies

Chapter 13 | Galaxies: Normal and Active 269

Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/R. Kennicutt, SINGS Team

X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Univ. of Massachusetts/Q. D. Wang et al.;

Chapter 14 | Modern Cosmology 298

Chapter 17 | Mercury, Venus, and Mars 374

Concept Art Portfolios

Mural by Peter Sawyer

Part 5: Life AFTERWORD 469

20-1 THE NATURE OF LIFE 450 GLOSSARY 482

20-2 LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE 454 ANSWERS TO EVEN-NUMBERED PROBLEMS 487

20-3 INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE 461 INDEX 488

xii A NOTE TO STUDENTS

A NOTE TO STUDENTS xiii

Infrared Astronomy) at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Dana is coauthor

ABOUT THE AUTHORS xv

This chapter is a jumping-off point for your exploration of

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▲ Figure 1-3 This box ■ represents the relative size of

2 PART 1 THE SKY