Book excerpt: With this newly revised 7th edition of UNIVERSE: SOLAR SYSTEM, STARS, AND GALAXIES, International Edition Mike Seeds’ and Dana Backman’s goal is to help students use astronomy to understand science and use science to understand what we are. Fascinating and engaging, this text illustrates the scientific method and guides students to answer these fundamental questions: “What are we?” and “How do we know?”In discussing the interplay between evidence and hypothesis, the authors provide not just facts but a conceptual framework for understanding the logic of science. The book vividly conveys their love of astronomy and illustrates how students can comprehend their place in the universe by grasping a small set of physical laws. Crafting a story about astronomy, the authors show students how to ask questions to gradually puzzle out the beautiful secrets of the physical world. The revision addresses new developments in astrophysics and cosmology, plus the latest discoveries, including evidence of a new world beyond Pluto and new evidence of dark energy and the acceleration of the universe.