Chapter 1: Introduction to Astronomy
Page 14 – The kilometers for a light-year should have more zeros. The distance of one light-year is 9,460,528,000,000 km. In one year, light travels 9,460,528,000,000 km. [Thank you to Steph]
Chapter3: Stars
Page 74 – in km (1ly = 9.46 x 10^12 km) In miles (1ly = 5.88 x 10^12 miles), not multiplying by 1012.
Page 75 – Luminosity is 3.84 x 10^26 watts, not 3.84 x 1026 watts.
[Thank you to Steph}
Chapter 4: Differentiating Stars
Page 88 – In the eBook version (print unaffected) the top two lines are cut off. The paragraph should read: Luminosity measures the total energy radiated every second from the surface of the star. Luminosity is affected by a star’s size and temperature. Big, hot stars are more luminous than small, cool stars. The luminosity of a star is determined by the amplitude of electromagnetic waves leaving it. Scientists use the amplitude (height) of electromagnetic waves to determine the luminosity of stars. High energy stars emit high amplitude waves. Low energy stars emit low amplitude waves.
Page 91 – In the H-R Diagram: There should be more red and yellow giants around the 5,000 K mark for surface temperature. Also note: A white dwarf has an initial temperature of approximately 100,000 K, but it quickly cools to about 20,000 K in only about 100 million years (“quickly” being a relative term). A white dwarf will eventually cool (in 4-6 billion years) to 5,000 K. The H-R Diagram in the text reflects a white dwarf’s average temperature over its life cycle (25,000-8,000 K).
Chapter 5: Formation of the Solar System
Page 114 – In the sun diagram: The average temperature of the sun is 5778 K, not 5578 K. [Thank you to Hasmin M.]
Chapter 6: Planetary Motion
Page 149 – Albert Einstein existed from 1879 to 1955, not 1643 to 1727 (which better describes Isaac Newton’s existence).
Chapter 8: The Gassy Ones
Page 195 – Multiple Choice: 2. Steam becoming liquid water (not ice). [Thank you to Hasmin M.]
Page 190 – The model for “Distance from Sun” provided is based on a much smaller scale than the object size scale in order that the model may fit within the boundaries of your room. The text does not indicate that the size and distance scales are different. For those wishing to create a model that uses the same scale for distance from the sun as object size, click here for a corrected page 190. [Thank you to Matt M. and his wife and daughter for pointing this out and for providing the larger scale numbers.]
Chapter 10: Happy Birthday, Earth
Page 241 – The last line should read: It was not until about two billion years ago, when most of the dissolved iron in the oceans was gone, that oxygen gas began increasing in a concentration in the atmosphere. [Thank you to Linda’s astute daughter for drawing our attention to this important detail.]