Brief Description: The authors incorporate three themes in this briefer version of their two textbooks; process of science (how we know what we know), the size and scale of the universe as well as the evolution of the universe. A Beginner's Guide emphasizes critical thinking and visualization, and a leading-edge technology program. Key Topics: Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy, The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science, Light and Matter: The Inner Workings of the Cosmos, Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy, The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets, Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard, The Terrestrial Planets: A Study in Contrasts, The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System, Moons, Rings, and Plutoids: Small Worlds Among Giants, The Sun: Our Parent Star, Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence, The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way, Stellar Evolution: The Lives and Deaths of Stars, Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter, The Milky Way Galaxy: A Spiral in Space, Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe, Hubble's Law and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos, Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe, Life in the Universe: Are We Alone? Market: Intended for those interested in learning the basics of astronomy