Astronomy in Depth

ISBN-13: 9781852335809 / Angielski / Miękka / 2002 / 230 str.

Gerald North

Opis

Astronomy in Depth fills the need for a textbook that covers pre-university level Astronomy courses (in the UK, the GCSE syllabuses) and provides numerical examples to help students. It is also written as a serious foundation in Astronomy for amateurs who want to take a more detailed approach than can be found in the bulk of introductory astronomy books. Almost every aspect of astronomy is considered, from Earth and its place in the solar system, through instrumentation, the planets, stars, and galaxies, to black holes and the beginnings of cosmology. This book is perfect for anyone who wants to get to know astronomy in detail, as quickly as possible.

Recenzje

The numerical work is really quite simple and basic, and should frighten nobody who has a genuine wish to learn a little more than might be gleaned from one of the many coffee-table books covering similar ground…This is a useful book for students, and would also suit the teacher who may touch on astronomical topics during a science course. The style and content will allow the text to be revised in years to come as new discoveries and theories prove to make this necessary, and at a cost that is very appropriate for the target market.

--Gnomon, Newsletter of the Association for Astronomy Education

Spis treści

1 Spaceship Earth.- 1.1 Our Home Among the Stars.- 1.2 The Shape and Size of the Earth.- 1.3 Our Place in the Solar System.- 1.4 The Structure of the Earth.- 1.5 The Earth's Surface.- 1.6 The Earth's Atmosphere.- 1.7 The Earth's Ionosphere.- 1.8 The Earth's Magnetosphere.- 1.9 The Van Allen Radiation Zones.- 1.10 The Aurorae.- Questions.- 2 The Language of Starlight.- 2.1 The Electromagnetic Spectrum.- 2.2 Telescopes.- 2.3 Detectors.- 2.4 Getting More Resolution.- 2.5 The Radio Telescope.- 2.6 Astronomy at Other Wavelengths.- 2.7 Astronomy from Above the Ground.- 2.8 Black Body Radiation.- 2.9 The Beginnings of Spectroscopy.- 2.10 The Production of Spectra.- 2.11 Types of Spectra.- 2.12 The Development of Astronomical Spectroscopy.- 2.13 Modern Spectroscopy.- Questions.- 3 The Moon.- 3.1 The Nature and Origin of the Moon.- 3.2 The Orbit and Phases of the Moon.- 3.3 Libration.- 3.4 Measuring the Moon's Distance.- 3.5 The Selenographers.- 3.6 Lunar Probes and Man on the Moon.- 3.7 The Moon's Appearance.- 3.8 Surface Conditions.- 3.9 The Moon's Structure and Evolution.- 3.10 Transient Lunar Phenomena.- Questions.- 4 The Universal Force.- 4.1 Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion.- 4.2 Newton's Law of Gravitation.- 4.3 Circular Motion.- 4.4 Mathematical Derivation of Kepler's Third Law.- 4.5 Two-Body Orbiting Systems.- 4.6 The Tides.- 4.7 The Measurement of the Astronomical Unit.- 4.8 The Earth's Gravitational Field.- 4.9 The Acceleration Due to Gravity.- 4.10 Rockets and Satellites.- Questions.- 5 The Inferior Planets.- 5.1 Stellar and Planetary Brightnesses.- 5.2 The Orbit and Phases of Mercury.- 5.3 Mercury's Telescopic Appearance.- 5.4 The Rotation Rate of Mercury.- 5.5 Mariner 10.- 5.6 Comparison Between Mercury and the Moon.- 5.7 The Caloris Basin.- 5.8 The Surface Conditions on Mercury.- 5.9 The Orbit and Phases of Venus.- 5.10 Venus's Telescopic Appearance.- 5.11 The Size and Nature of Venus.- 5.12 Spacecraft to Venus.- 5.13 Venus - a Volcanic Planet?.- 5.14 Magellan - and Yet More Mysteries.- 5.15 The Earth and Venus - Worlds Apart.- 5.16 The Greenhouse Effect - a Difference in Evolution.- Questions.- 6 The Planet Mars.- 6.1 Oppositions.- 6.2 The Path of Mars Across the Sky.- 6.3 The Telescopic Appearance of Mars.- 6.4 The Martian Atmosphere.- 6.5 The Canals of Mars.- 6.6 Early Space Probes to Mars.- 6.7 Later Space Probes to Mars.- 6.8 Vikings to Mars.- 6.9 Life on Mars?.- 6.10 The New Assault on Mars.- 6.11 Phobos and Deimos.- Questions.- 7 The Planet Jupiter.- 7.1 The Telescopic Appearance of Jupiter.- 7.2 Transient Features.- 7.3 The Great Red Spot.- 7.4 Pioneers 10 and 11.- 7.5 The Voyager Missions.- 7.6 Collision with a Comet.- 7.7 Galileo Enters the Jovian Atmosphere.- 7.8 The Structure of Jupiter.- 7.9 Jupiter's Magnetosphere.- 7.10 Radiation Belts.- 7.11 Radio Emissions.- 7.12 The Satellites.- 7.13 Io.- 7.14 Europa.- 7.15 Ganymede.- 7.16 Callisto.- 7.17 The Rings of Jupiter..- Questions.- 8 The Planet Saturn.- 8.1 The Telescopic Appearance of Saturn.- 8.2 Spacecraft to Saturn.- 8.3 The Atmosphere of Saturn.- 8.4 The Structure of Saturn.- 8.5 Saturn's Magnetosphere.- 8.6 The Rings of Saturn.- 8.7 Voyager - a Detailed Look at the Rings.- 8.8 The Formation of Planetary Rings.- 8.9 The Satellites of Saturn.- 8.10 Titan.- Questions.- 9 The Twilight Zone of the Solar System.- 9.1 The Planet Uranus.- 9.2 Voyager to Uranus.- 9.3 The Satellites of Uranus.- 9.4 The Planet Neptune.- 9.5 Voyager at Neptune.- 9.6 Neptune's Rings and Satellites.- 9.7 The Planet Pluto.- Questions.- 10 The Debris of the Solar System.- 10.1 The Formation of the Solar System.- 10.2 Planetary Cratering.- 10.3 Bode's Law.- 10.4 The Celestial Police.- 10.5 The Asteroids.- 10.6 Meteors.- 10.7 Meteorites.- 10.8 The Breakdown of Bode's Law.- Questions.- 11 The Comets.- 11.1 Comet Orbits.- 11.2 The Structure of a Comet.- 11.3 A Comet's Tail.- 11.4 The Hydrogen Cloud.- 11.5 A Comet's Coma.- 11.6 A Comet's Nucleus.- 11.7 Cometary Debris.- 11.8 Spacecraft to Halley's Comet.- 11.9 The Origins of the Comets.- Questions.- 12 The Sun.- 12.1 The Size and Composition of the Sun.- 12.2 The Absolute Scale of Temperature.- 12.3 The Structure of the Sun.- 12.4 Solar Eclipses.- 12.5 The Photosphere.- 12.6 The Solar Magnetosphere.- 12.7 The Sun's Internal Rotation.- 12.8 Sunspots and Faculae.- 12.9 The Chromosphere.- 12.10 Prominences and Filaments.- 12.11 The Solar Corona.- 12.12 Solar Flares and the Solar Wind.- 12.13 The Sun's Energy Source.- Questions.- 13 The Celestial Sphere and Time.- 13.1 The Concept of the Celestial Sphere.- 13.2 Latitude and Longitude.- 13.3 Declination and Right Ascension.- 13.4 The Altitude of the Celestial Equator and Poles.- 13.5 The Starry Vault.- 13.6 A Better Definition of Right Ascension.- 13.7 To Calculate the Maximum Altitude of a Star.- 13.8 Circumpolar Stars.- 13.9 Stars that Never Rise.- 13.10 Azimuth.- 13.11 The Earth in Space.- 13.12 The Seasons.- 13.13 The Moon and the Celestial Sphere.- 13.14 Lunar Eclipses.- 13.15 The Saros.- 13.16 The Solar System and the Celestial Sphere.- 13.17 Stellar Motions.- 13.18 Precession.- 13.19 The Need for Time Measurement.- 13.20 Calendars.- 13.21 The Solar Day.- 13.22 Universal Time.- 13.23 Time Zones.- 13.24 Hour Angle.- 13.25 The Sidereal Day.- 13.26 A Fundamental Equation.- 13.27 The Measurement of Time.- Questions.- 14 The Stars.- 14.1 The Natures and Brightnesses of the Stars.- 14.2 The Distances of the Stars.- 14.3 Absolute Magnitude and Distance Modulus.- 14.4 Star Colours.- 14.5 The Constellations.- 14.6 Stellar Spectra.- 14.7 The Sun - a Star Among Stars.- 14.8 The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.- 14.9 The Motions of the Stars.- 14.10 Binary Stars and Stellar Masses.- Questions.- 15 Gas, Dust, Stars and Variable Stars.- 15.1 The Power Behind the Stars.- 15.2 The Interstellar Medium.- 15.3 Gaseous Nebulae.- 15.4 Stellar Birthplaces.- 15.5 Stellar Birth and Infancy.- 15.6 Extrinsic Variable Stars.- 15.7 Intrinsic Variable Stars.- 15.8 Shells Around Stars.- Questions.- 16 Stellar Evolution.- 16.1 The Main-Sequence Phase.- 16.2 The Fate of a Low-Mass Star.- 16.3 The Evolution of a Star Like the Sun.- 16.4 The Evolution of a Massive Star.- 16.5 Neutron Stars.- 16.6 The Evolution of Binary Star Systems.- Questions.- 17 Brown Dwarfs and Extra-Solar Planets.- 17.1 Early Mistakes.- 17.2 HD 114762 - Harbinger of a Planet or of a Brown Dwarf?.- 17.3 A Definite Brown Dwarf.- 17.4 PSR 1957+12.- 17.5 51 Pegasi.- 17.6 47 Ursae Majoris.- 17.7 70 Virginis.- 17.8 Rho Cancri.- Questions.- 18 Violent Stars.- 18.1 Novae.- 18.2 Supernovae.- 18.3 Stellar Populations.- 18.4 Black Holes.- 18.5 Hypernovae.- Questions.- 19 The Galaxies.- 19.1 The Shape and Size of Our Galaxy.- 19.2 Other Galaxies.- 19.3 The Structure of Our Galaxy.- 19.4 Galactic Morphology.- 19.5 The Formation and Evolution of Galaxies.- 19.6 Groups of Galaxies.- 19.7 Supermassive Black Holes.- Questions.- 20 Quasars, Active Galaxies and Cosmology.- 20.1 The Expansion of the Universe.- 20.2 Quasars.- 20.3 Active Galaxies.- 20.4 Black Holes, Accretion Disks, Jets and Cosmic Chameleons.- 20.5 Cosmology.- 20.6 Genesis of the Galaxies.- 20.7 Where Will it all End?.- Questions.- Glossary of Terms.