VOYAGES TO THE STARS AND GALAXIES provides students and professors with the ideal combination of authors and experience. It is written by an award-winning astronomy educator (Fraknoi) and two distinguished research scientists (Morrison at NASA and Wolff at NOAO). This author team combines the latest science with classroom-tested teaching strategies and a student-friendly approach. Through unique group activities and a focus on astronomy as a human endeavor, the authors engage and involve students, helping them both understand and enjoy astronomy. The Media Update features the latest research and most recent discoveries since the original publication of the third edition, including an updated section about extra solar planets, a discussion on the effects of the Halloween solar storms of 2003, and the latest stardust mission information. Automatically packaged with every new copy of the text at no additional cost, AceAstronomy, Virtual Astronomy Labs, and TheSky™ Planetarium Software CD-ROM, the Media Update provides the strongest package of interactive learning tools available for students of astronomy today.