Astronomy is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of one- or two-semester introductory astronomy courses. The book begins with relevant scientific fundamentals and progresses through an exploration of the solar system, stars, galaxies, and cosmology. The Astronomy textbook builds student understanding through the use of relevant analogies, clear and non-technical explanations, and rich illustrations. Mathematics is included in a flexible manner to meet the needs of individual instructors.
OpenStax is a nonprofit educational initiative based at Rice University, and it's our mission to give every student the tools they need to be successful in the classroom. Through our partnerships with philanthropic foundations and our alliance with other educational resource companies, we're breaking down the most common barriers to learning. Because we believe that a well-educated society profits us all.
We publish high-quality, peer-reviewed, openly licensed college textbooks that are absolutely free online and low cost in print. Seriously. We've also developed a low-cost, research-based courseware that gives students the tools they need to complete their course the first time around.