KEY MESSAGE: Building on a long tradition of strong pedagogy and comprehensive presentation, "The Cosmic Perspective," Fifth Edition includes an enhanced art program. This student-friendly book is now even more accessible through robust visual pedagogy via new Cosmic Context two-page figures, which walk readers through key processes and summarize the major points of each Part, and via updated zoom-in figures which provide students with a sense of orientation, scale, and relation between images. Renowned for its up-to-date, expert coverage and strong pedagogical support for student learning, the Fifth Edition retains and builds on all the features and supplements from previous editions that have helped to make it the #1 most adopted astronomy book. Our Place in the Universe, Discovering the Universe for Yourself, The Science of Astronomy, Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity, Light and Matter: Reading Messages from the Cosmos, Telescopes: Portals of Discovery, Our Solar System, Formation of the Solar System, Planetary Geology: Earth and the Other Terrestrial Worlds, Planetary Atmospheres: Earth and the Other Terrestrial Worlds, Jovian Planet Systems, Remnants of Rock and Ice: Other Planetary Systems, Our Star, Surveying the Stars, Star Birth, Star Stuff, The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard, Our Galaxy, A Universe of Galaxies, Galaxy Evolution, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe, The Beginning of Time, Life in the Universe. For all readers interested in learning the basics of Astronomy.