Interstellar dust grains catalyse chemical reactions, absorb, scatter, polarise and re-radiate starlight and constitute the building blocks for the formation of planets. Understanding this interstellar component is therefore of primary importance in many areas of astronomy & astrophysics. For example, observers need to understand how dust effects light passing through molecular clouds. Astrophysicists wish to comprehend how dust enables the collapse of clouds or how it determines the spectral behaviour of protostars, star forming regions or whole galaxies. This book gives a thorough...

Despite remarkable advances in astronomy, space research, and related technology since the first edition of this book was published, the philosophy of the prior editions has remained the same throughout. However, because of this progress, there is a need to update the information and present the new findings. In the fourth edition of Astronomy: Principles and Practice, much like the previous editions, the celebrated authors give a comprehensive and systematic treatment to the theories of astronomy.
This reference furthers your study of astronomy by presenting the basic software and...