The Fundamentals of Modern Astrophysics provides an overview of the modern science of astrophysics. It covers the Sun, Solar System bodies, exoplanets, stars, and star life cycle, planetary systems origin and evolution, basics of astrobiology, our galaxy the Milky Way, other galaxies and galactic clusters, a general view of the Universe, its structure, evolution and fate, modern views and advanced models of cosmology as well as the synergy of micro- and macro physics, standard model, superstring theory, multiversity and worm holes. The main concepts of modern astrophysics and...
The Fundamentals of Modern Astrophysics provides an overview of the modern science of astrophysics. It covers the Sun, Solar System bodies, ...
What does existing scientific knowledge about physics, chemistry, meteorology and biology tell us about the likelihood of extraterrestrial life and civilizations? And what does the fact that there is currently no credible scientific evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial biospheres or civilizations teach us? This book reviews the various scientific issues that arise in considering the question of how common extraterrestrial life is likely to be in our galaxy and whether humans are likely to detect it. The book stands out because of its very systematic organization and relatively...
What does existing scientific knowledge about physics, chemistry, meteorology and biology tell us about the likelihood of extraterrestrial life and ci...
Electrical processes take place in all planetary atmospheres. There is evidence for lightning on Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, it is possible on Mars and Titan, and cosmic rays ionise every atmosphere, leading to charged droplets and particles. Controversy surrounds the role of atmospheric electricity in physical climate processes on Earth; here, a comparative approach is employed to review the role of electrification in the atmospheres of other planets and their moons. This book reviews the theory, and, where available, measurements, of planetary atmospheric electricity,...
Electrical processes take place in all planetary atmospheres. There is evidence for lightning on Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, it is ...
Measuring the spin distribution of supermassive black holes is of critical importance for understanding how these black holes and their host galaxies form and evolve over time, yet this type of study is only in its infancy. This brief describes how astronomers measure spin in supermassive black holes using X-ray spectroscopy. It also reviews the constraints that have been placed on the spin distribution in local, bright active galaxies over the past six years, and the cosmological implications of these constraints. Finally, it summarizes the open questions that remain in this exciting new...
Measuring the spin distribution of supermassive black holes is of critical importance for understanding how these black holes and their host galaxies ...
Whereas conventional maps can be expressed as outward-expanding formulae with well-defined central features and relatively poorly defined edges, Constant Scale Natural Boundary (CSNB) maps have well-defined boundaries that result from natural processes and thus allow spatial and dynamic relationships to be observed in a new way useful to understanding these processes. CSNB mapping presents a new approach to visualization that produces maps markedly different from those produced by conventional cartographic methods. In this approach, any body can be represented by a 3D coordinate system. For a...
Whereas conventional maps can be expressed as outward-expanding formulae with well-defined central features and relatively poorly defined edges, Const...
This book covers the use and development of software for astronomy. It describes the control systems used to point the telescope and operate its cameras and spectrographs, as well as the web-based tools used to plan those observations. In addition, the book also covers the analysis and archiving of astronomical data once it has been acquired. Readers will learn about existing software tools and packages, develop their own software tools, and analyze real data sets.
This book covers the use and development of software for astronomy. It describes the control systems used to point the telescope and operate its camer...
Since Luna and Lunar Orbiter photographed the far side of the Moon, the mysterious dichotomy between the face of the Moon as we see it from Earth and the side of the Moon that is hidden has puzzled lunar scientists. As we learned more from the Apollo sample return missions and later robotic satellites, the puzzle literally deepened, showing asymmetry of the crust and mantle, all the way to the core of the Moon. This book summarizes the author's successful search for an ancient impact feature, the Near Side Megabasin of the Moon and the extensions to impact theory needed to find it. The...
Since Luna and Lunar Orbiter photographed the far side of the Moon, the mysterious dichotomy between the face of the Moon as we see it from Earth and ...
In this SpringerBrief the author considers the underlying problems and questions that are common to numerical models of turbulence in different astrophysical systems. Turbulence has emerged as an important research topic in several areas of astrophysics. Understanding and modeling turbulence is particularly important for the dynamics of the interstellar medium, but also for the intergalactic medium, as well as in stars. The advancement of methods for numerical simulations of astrophysical turbulence, however, is still challenging because of gravity, strong compressibility, magnetic fields,...
In this SpringerBrief the author considers the underlying problems and questions that are common to numerical models of turbulence in different astrop...
Space weather has attracted a lot of attention in recent times. Severe space weather can disrupt spacecraft, and on Earth can be the cause of power outages and power station failure. It also presents a radiation hazard for airline passengers and astronauts. These "magnetic storms" are most commonly caused by coronal mass ejections, or CMES, which are large eruptions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun that can reach speeds of several thousand km/s. In this SpringerBrief, Space Weather and Coronal Mass Ejections, author Timothy Howard briefly introduces the coronal mass ejection, its...
Space weather has attracted a lot of attention in recent times. Severe space weather can disrupt spacecraft, and on Earth can be the cause of power ou...
This SpringerBrief details the MESSENGER Mission, the findings of which present challenges to widely held conventional views and remaining mysteries surrounding the planet. The work answers the question of why Mercury is so dense, and the implications from geochemical data on its planetary formation. It summarizes imaging and compositional data from the terrestrial planet surface processes and explains the geologic history of Mercury. It also discusses the lack of southern hemisphere coverage.
Our understanding of the planet Mercury has been in a transitional phase over the decades...
This SpringerBrief details the MESSENGER Mission, the findings of which present challenges to widely held conventional views and remaining mysterie...
