Over the past twenty years, astronomers have identified hundreds of extrasolar planets--planets orbiting stars other than the sun. Recent research in this burgeoning field has made it possible to observe and measure the atmospheres of these exoplanets. This is the first textbook to describe the basic physical processes--including radiative transfer, molecular absorption, and chemical processes--common to all planetary atmospheres, as well as the transit, eclipse, and thermal phase variation observations that are unique to exoplanets.

In each chapter, Sara Seager offers a...

The study of exoplanetary atmospheres--that is, of planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system--may be our best hope for discovering life elsewhere in the universe. This dynamic, interdisciplinary field requires practitioners to apply knowledge from atmospheric and climate science, astronomy and astrophysics, chemistry, geology and geophysics, planetary science, and even biology. Exoplanetary Atmospheres provides an essential introduction to the theoretical foundations of this cutting-edge new science.

Exoplanetary Atmospheres covers the physics of radiation, fluid...

This book provides an in-depth and self-contained treatment of the latest advances achieved in quantitative spectroscopic analyses of the observable outer layers of stars and similar objects. Written by two leading researchers in the field, it presents a comprehensive account of both the physical foundations and numerical methods of such analyses. The book is ideal for astronomers who want to acquire deeper insight into the physical foundations of the theory of stellar atmospheres, or who want to learn about modern computational techniques for treating radiative transfer in non-equilibrium...

One of the world's most distinguished astrophysicists presents a comprehensive theoretical treatment of the dynamical evolution of globular clusters. Lyman Spitzer's research in this field established the framework for decades of investigation. Now he summarizes in a unified, systematic way this branch of theoretical astrophysics with its still challenging problems.

Originally published in 1988.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton...

Ever since the first observations of sunspots in the early seventeenth century, stellar rotation has been a major topic in astronomy and astrophysics. Jean-Louis Tassoul synthesizes a large number of theoretical investigations on rotating stars. Drawing upon his own research, Professor Tassoul also carefully critiques various competing ideas.

In the first three chapters, the author provides a short historical sketch of stellar rotation, the main observational data on the Sun and other stars on which the subsequent theory is based, and the basic Newtonian hydrodynamics used to study...

One of the world's most distinguished astrophysicists presents a comprehensive theoretical treatment of the dynamical evolution of globular clusters. Lyman Spitzer's research in this field established the framework for decades of investigation. Now he summarizes in a unified, systematic way this branch of theoretical astrophysics with its still challenging problems.

Originally published in 1988.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton...