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Foundations of Astronomy, 15th Edition

Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman, Eric Wegryn

  • Copyright 2026
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2025-06-10T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At £35.00 See pricing and ISBN options
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Foundations of Astronomy 15th Edition by Michael A. Seeds/Dana Backman/Eric Wegryn
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Overview

Seeds/Backman/Wegryn’s “Foundations of Astronomy,” 15th Edition, offers a comprehensive and visually rich exploration of two key questions: "What are we?" and "How do we know?" Students gain a deep understanding of their place in the universe, viewed as a natural outcome of galaxy, star and planet formation. The stars-first approach provides clarity for studying planets in our solar system, including Earth, within the context of the universe's history and evolution. The authors emphasize the relationship between evidence and hypothesis, offering insights and understanding of scientific processes. Mathematical concepts are integrated into the text, avoiding separate sidebars. End-of-chapter "Sense of Proportion" questions encourage grasping relative time and size scales. Updates include a new chapter on exoplanets and the latest online resources to help meet students' needs.

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Meet the Authors

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Michael A. Seeds

Mike Seeds was a professor of physics and astronomy at Franklin and Marshall College (F&M) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from 1970 until his retirement in 2001. In 1989 he received F&M College’s Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. Mike’s love for the history of astronomy led him to create upper-level courses on archeoastronomy and on the Copernican Revolution (“Changing Concepts of the Universe”). His research interests focused on variable stars and automation of astronomical telescopes. Mike is coauthor with Dana Backman of FOUNDATIONS OF ASTRONOMY, 14th Edition (2019); STARS AND GALXIES, 10th Edition (2019); THE SOLAR SYSTEM, 10th Edition (2019); and ASTRO, 3rd Edition (2018), all published by Cengage. He was senior consultant for creation of the 20-episode telecourse accompanying his book HORIZONS: EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE.

Dana Backman

Dana Backman taught with Mike Seeds in the physics and astronomy department at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from 1991 until 2003. He invented and taught a course titled “Life in the Universe” in F&M’s interdisciplinary foundations program. Dana has also taught introductory solar system astronomy at Santa Clara University, plus introductory courses on astronomy, astrobiology, cosmology and the science of climate change in Stanford University’s continuing studies program. His research interests focused on infrared observations of planetary system formation and evolution of the solar system’s Kuiper belt. Dana is employed by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, as lead for the Astronomy Activation Ambassadors teacher professional development program at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Dana is coauthor with Mike Seeds of FOUNDATIONS OF ASTRONOMY, 14th Edition (2019); STARS AND GALAXIES, 10th Edition (2019); THE SOLAR SYSTEM, 10th Edition (2019); and ASTRO, 3rd Edition (2018), all published by Cengage.

Eric Wegryn

Eric Wegryn is a life-long explorer and explainer. His career began as an aerospace engineer who helped launch NASA's Space Shuttles. Eric transitioned to science, earning a Ph.D. in planetary science from the University of Arizona (Lunar & Planetary Lab), as part of the Mars Pathfinder mission. After Mars, he helped explore Saturn, discovering organic chemicals on Saturn's moons as member of the Cassini mission team at NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute. Eric has taught astronomy, engineering, and physics courses at several colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has traveled the world chasing solar eclipses and investigating nuclear sites including Hiroshima and Chernobyl. Eric has also authored Just Twelve Men, a history of the Moon landings, as well as a history of the Space Shuttle program.

What's New

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  • Chapter 25 is a new chapter focused exclusively on the rapidly expanding field of extrasolar planets, consolidating substantial up-to-date content with some material appearing in other chapters in the previous edition.
  • Every chapter has been reviewed, revised and updated with recent discoveries and images, including the latest results from the James Webb Space Telescope and new international planetary missions. This includes the chapter-opening images.
  • Revised and enhanced inclusive language, including using “we” terminology over “you.” The wording has also been updated to avoid excluding persons with low visual acuity.

Features

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  • Concept Art Spreads are special two-page spreads that help students synthesize and visualize key scientific concepts.
  • How Do We Know? Commentaries are integrated sections in every chapter that explain how scientific knowledge is built, emphasizing the role of evidence.
  • What Are We? Essays are end-of-chapter essays that explore humanity's place in the cosmos, encouraging reflection of the larger picture.
  • End-of-Chapter Active Learning Questions are designed to push students beyond the text, encouraging creative and critical thinking.
  • WebAssign Integration offers practice opportunities, additional resources and real-time feedback to enhance learning, including new Stellarium Activities.
  • How Do We Know? commentaries appear in every chapter and will help students comprehend how science works. They point out where scientists use statistical evidence, why they think with analogies, and how they build confidence in hypotheses.
  • Practicing Science boxes at the end of many text sections are carefully designed to help students review and synthesize concepts from the section and practice thinking like a scientist.
  • Special two-page Concept Art spreads provide an opportunity for students to synthesize their own understanding and share in the satisfaction that scientists feel as they uncover the secrets of nature.
  • Celestial Profiles of objects in our Solar System directly compare and contrast planets with each other. This is the way planetary scientists understand the planets: not as isolated, unrelated bodies but as siblings with noticeable differences and yet many characteristics and a family history in common.
  • Guideposts on the opening page of each chapter help students understand the organization of the book by focusing on a small number of questions to be answered as they read the chapter.
  • End-of-Chapter Review Questions are designed to help students review and test their understanding of the material.
  • End-of-Chapter Active Learning Questions go beyond the text and invite students to think critically and creatively about scientific questions. These questions can be pondered solo or discussed in class.
  • End-of Chapter Sense of Proportion Questions gauge student understanding of relative sizes and timescales in the Universe.
  • End-of-Chapter Learning to Look Questions prompt students to answer questions based on observations of visual evidence shown in diagrams or photographs.

Table of Contents

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Part I: THE SKY.
1. Here and Now.
2. A Guide to the Sky.
3. Moon Phases and Eclipses.
4. Origins of Modern Astronomy.
5. Gravity.
6. Light and Telescopes.
7. Atoms and Spectra.
Part II: THE STARS.
8. The Sun.
9. The Family of Stars.
10. The Interstellar Medium.
11. Formation and Structure of Stars.
12. Stellar Evolution.
13. Deaths of Stars.
14. Neutron Stars and Black Holes.
Part III: GALAXIES AND THE UNIVERSE.
15. The Milky Way Galaxy.
16. Galaxies: Normal and Active.
17. Modern Cosmology.
Part IV: THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
18. Origin of the Solar System and Extrasolar Planets.
19. Earth: The Active Planet.
20. The Moon and Mercury.
21. Venus and Mars.
22. Jupiter and Saturn.
23. Uranus and Neptune.
24. Small Solar System Bodies.
Part V: LIFE.
25. Extrasolar Planets.
26. Astrobiology.
Afterword.
Appendix A: Scientific Units and Astronomical Data.
Appendix B: Star Charts.
Glossary.

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WebAssign Options

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WebAssign
Each WebAssign online product offers the full textbook combined with a flexible and fully customizable online instructional assignments and tools.

Cengage provides a seamless user experience for Learning Management Systems (LMS) integration. Please contact your Cengage Learning Consultant for ordering information and visit our Learning Management System Integration web page on WebAssign for general information.

Standalone Digital Access — Ultimate Value

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  • ISBN-10: 8214193389
  • ISBN-13: 9798214193380
  • RETAIL £35.00
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Textbook Only Options

Traditional eBook and Print Options

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  • ISBN-10: 8214193427
  • ISBN-13: 9798214193427
  • RETAIL £53.00

  • ISBN-10: 821419332X
  • ISBN-13: 9798214193328
  • RETAIL £92.99
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Supplements

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Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

FOR STUDENTS

WebAssign for Seeds/Backman/Wegryn's Foundations of Astronomy, Multi-Term Instant Access

ISBN: 9798214193380
WebAssign for Seeds/Backman/Wegryn’s “Foundations of Astronomy,” offers a flexible and fully customizable online solution designed to engage and support students in mastering key astronomy concepts. This digital platform equips instructors with a robust set of tools for deploying assignments, tracking performance and tailoring coursework to suit their class needs. WebAssign includes interactive Stellarium activities that bring celestial observations into the digital classroom along with Digital Workbooks to reinforce student learning. An extensive question bank includes quantitative and qualitative questions, supporting students in practicing mathematical problem-solving as well as grasping broader conceptual ideas. With powerful analytics and customization options, WebAssign is an essential tool for engaging students in their exploration of the universe.