Customer Reviews

Discovering the Cosmos

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Bless' Discovering the Cosmos is an excellent introductory astronomy text for students with a more advanced preparation either in the physical sciences or in mathematics. The text focuses more towards the stellar and galactic aspects of modern astronomy though there are sections on historical astronomy and planetology. While the book is does not cover the up-to-the-minute advances in astronomy, this can easily be filled in with web-based sources that build upon the excellent foundational material.

The book's great strength is that it doesn't shy away from using the science and mathematics a student who has competently passed a high school chemistry and algebra II class should have learned. While this limits the text's use in general introductory astronomy survey courses at the college level it makes for a much richer source for honors or advanced courses at either the college freshman or the high school senior level.

Educators with a solid background in the sciences will find this text a treasure trove of information that can serve as a place to pull additional information when trying to understand or expand curriculum.