Spherical Astronomy -- Observations and Instruments -- Photometric Concepts and Magnitudes -- Radiation Mechanisms -- Celestial Mechanics -- The Solar System -- Stellar Spectra -- Binary Stars and Stellar Masses -- Stellar Structure -- Stellar Evolution -- The Sun -- Variable Stars -- Compact Stars -- The Interstellar Medium -- Star Clusters and Associations -- The Milky Way -- Galaxies -- Cosmology -- Astrobiology.

Fundamental Astronomy gives a well-balanced and comprehensive introduction to the topics of classical and modern astronomy. While emphasizing both the astronomical concepts and the underlying physical principles, the text provides a sound basis for more profound studies in the astronomical sciences. The fifth edition of this successful undergraduate textbook has been extensively modernized and extended in the parts dealing with the Milky Way, extragalactic astronomy and cosmology as well as with extrasolar planets and the solar system (as a consequence of recent results from satellite missions and the new definition by the International Astronomical Union of planets, dwarf planets and small solar-system bodies). Furthermore a new chapter on astrobiology has been added. Long considered a standard text for physical science majors, Fundamental Astronomy is also an excellent reference and entrée for dedicated amateur astronomers.