Pathways to Astronomy breaks down introductory astronomy into its component parts. The huge and fascinating field of astronomy is divided into 84 units. These units are woven together to flow naturally for the person who wants to read the text like a book, but it is also possible to assign them in different orders, or skip certain units altogether. Professors can customize the units to fit their course needs. They can select individual units for exploration in lecture while assigning easier units for self-study, or they can cover all the units in full depth in a content-rich course. With the short length of units, students can easily digest the material covered in an individual unit before moving onto the next unit.
Pathways to Astronomy offers the most complete technology media support package available. That technology media package includes: Starry Night Planetarium Software; ARIS (text web site providing a complete online electronic homework and course management system); 23 Interactives (on ARIS); Animations (on ARIS). Electronic Media Integration has been incorporated throughout the text by the use of icons to indicate where additional understanding can be gained through an animation or interactive.
