Observational Astrophysics

By: Robert Connon Smith

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Paperback | 4 September 1995

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468 Pages

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23.5 x 19.05 x 2.39

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Observational Astrophysics provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the whole of modern astrophysics beyond the Solar System. It combines a critical account of observational methods (telescopes and instrumentation) with a lucid description of the Universe, including stars, galaxies and cosmology. The first half describes the techniques used by astronomers to observe the Universe: optical telescopes and instruments are discussed in detail, but observations at all wavelengths are covered, from radio to gamma-rays. After a short interlude describing the appearance of the sky at all wavelengths, the role of positional astronomy is highlighted. In the second half, a clear description is given of the contents of the Universe, including accounts of stellar evolution and cosmological models. Fully illustrated throughout, with exercises given in each chapter, this textbook provides a thorough introduction to astrophysics for all physics undergraduates, and a valuable background for physics graduates turning to research in astronomy.

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Non-Fiction Science Physics Applied Physics Astrophysics Astronomy, Space & Time Cosmology & The Universe

List of illustrations	p. xv
List of tables	p. xxi
Preface	p. xxiii
Seeing through the fog	p. 1
The naked-eye sky	p. 3
Absorption in the Earth's atmosphere	p. 4
Bouguer's method of allowing for absorption	p. 7
Scintillation and 'seeing'	p. 10
Summary	p. 11
Optical telescopes	p. 13
Introduction	p. 13
Limiting magnitude	p. 14
Angular resolution	p. 17
Principles of telescope optics	p. 19
Telescope mountings	p. 29
New telescope designs	p. 36
Summary	p. 44
Optical detectors and instruments	p. 47
Photography	p. 47
Photoelectric detection	p. 52
Two-dimensional electronic recording	p. 57
Image intensifiers	p. 57
Television systems	p. 58
Silicon arrays	p. 62
Analysers	p. 64
Slit spectrometer	p. 65
Slitless spectrograph	p. 70
Interference filters	p. 73
Michelson stellar interferometer	p. 76
Intensity and speckle interferometry	p. 81
Area spectroscopy	p. 83
Photometric accuracy	p. 84
Sky background	p. 84
Noise	p. 87
Choosing an observing site	p. 92
Summary	p. 95
Detectors	p. 95
Instruments	p. 96
Radio telescopes and techniques	p. 99
Concepts and definitions	p. 99
Filled-aperture telescopes	p. 107
Unfilled-aperture telescopes	p. 114
Very long baseline interferometry	p. 120
Radio spectroscopy	p. 121
Summary	p. 123
Observing at other wavelengths	p. 126
Infrared observations	p. 126
Ultraviolet observations	p. 129
X-ray and [gamma]-ray observations	p. 130
X-ray detectors	p. 132
[gamma]-ray detectors	p. 134
X-ray and [gamma]-ray imaging	p. 135
Cosmic rays, neutrinos and gravitational waves	p. 137
Cosmic rays	p. 137
Neutrinos	p. 138
Gravitational waves	p. 141
Summary	p. 143
Interlude - pictures of the sky	p. 146
The sky at many wavelengths	p. 146
Optical blinkers	p. 146
The ultraviolet sky	p. 148
The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) sky	p. 150
The X-ray sky	p. 151
The [gamma]-ray sky	p. 151
The infrared sky	p. 155
The microwave sky	p. 157
The radio sky	p. 160
Summary	p. 162
Coordinates and time	p. 163
The celestial sphere	p. 163
Coordinate systems	p. 167
Time	p. 172
A practical example: planning an observing trip	p. 174
Accuracies	p. 176
Summary	p. 179
Magnitude systems and stellar spectra	p. 182
Stellar magnitudes	p. 182
Stellar spectra	p. 185
Summary	p. 193
Properties of stars	p. 195
Range of observed properties	p. 195
Binary stars	p. 199
Visual binaries	p. 201
Spectroscopic binaries	p. 203
Eclipsing binaries	p. 205
Close binaries and Roche surfaces	p. 208
Star clusters	p. 211
Variable stars	p. 217
Pulsating variables	p. 218
Eruptive variables	p. 224
Summary	p. 232
Stellar structure and evolution	p. 236
The formation of main-sequence stars	p. 236
From gas cloud to protostar	p. 236
Energy sources	p. 239
The structure of main-sequence stars	p. 242
Force and energy balance	p. 243
The pressure	p. 244
Energy transport	p. 245
Nuclear energy generation	p. 251
The full equations and boundary conditions	p. 252
The structure of main-sequence stars	p. 254
From main sequence to stellar remnant	p. 257
Central hydrogen exhaustion and the onset of shell burning	p. 257
Transition to the giant branch	p. 260
Degeneracy	p. 263
Central helium-burning	p. 264
Up the asymptotic giant branch	p. 267
Nuclear evolution beyond helium-burning	p. 271
Endpoints of evolution	p. 273
White dwarfs	p. 273
Neutron stars	p. 275
Black holes	p. 277
X-ray binaries and pulsars	p. 278
Supernova explosions	p. 282
Evolution in binary systems	p. 285
Formation of binaries	p. 286
Effects of mass transfer	p. 287
Common-envelope evolution	p. 289
Summary	p. 291
Properties of galaxies	p. 295
Classification of galaxies	p. 295
Luminosity, size and mass	p. 304
Luminosity	p. 305
Size	p. 307
Mass	p. 307
Mass-to-light ratios	p. 309
Dark matter	p. 309
Non-stellar contents of galaxies	p. 311
Gas	p. 311
Dust	p. 312
Radiation	p. 312
Cosmic rays	p. 312
Magnetic fields	p. 313
Chemical composition and stellar populations	p. 313
Peculiar galaxies and active galactic nuclei	p. 315
Peculiar galaxies	p. 315
Seyfert galaxies, N-galaxies and QSOs	p. 316
Radio galaxies	p. 320
Active galaxies and a unified model	p. 321
Summary	p. 324
Our Galaxy	p. 327
Overall structure	p. 327
Dust	p. 332
Gas	p. 334
Summary	p. 343
The distribution of galaxies	p. 346
Clusters of galaxies	p. 346
Filaments and voids	p. 351
Summary	p. 354
The distance scale of the Universe	p. 357
General principles	p. 357
Geometrical arguments for nearby objects	p. 358
The size of the solar system	p. 358
Trigonometric parallax	p. 359
The centre of the Galaxy	p. 361
Distances to nearby galaxies	p. 363
The period-luminosity relationship	p. 363
Moving cluster parallax	p. 364
Main-sequence fitting	p. 365
Beyond the help of Cepheids	p. 368
Summary	p. 371
The Universe	p. 374
Expansion of the Universe	p. 374
Simple models of the expansion	p. 377
Observational constraints	p. 385
The Hubble relationship	p. 385
The hot big bang	p. 388
Summary	p. 394
Postlude	p. 397
Encore: A summary of the Universe	p. 398
The naked-eye sky	p. 398
The hidden sky--the growth of modern astronomy	p. 400
Contents of the Universe	p. 401
Solutions to selected exercises	p. 405
General bibliography	p. 409
Low-level introductory texts	p. 409
Textbooks	p. 410
Reference books	p. 411
Practical books	p. 412
Problems	p. 414
The solar system	p. 415
Magazines	p. 415
Further reading, arranged by chapter	p. 416
Acknowledgements	p. 428
Index	p. 431
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Observational Astrophysics

At a Glance

Paperback

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