This relatively inexpensive textbook is written for university students, but it also offers ambitious amateurs with some prior knowledge of mathematics a very good introduction to scientific astronomy.
Astronomy and astrophysics are the oldest and most modern sciences in one – they combine observational tradition with the latest technology and observation methods. This introductory textbook is now available in a new edition, and as astrophysics is developing very rapidly, all chapters have been expanded and supplemented. A new chapter on astrobiology, a very current field of research, has been added.
The book is intended for physics and astronomy students, but also for anyone interested in the natural sciences with a basic knowledge of mathematics and physics. Basic knowledge of theoretical and practical methods, facts about fascinating objects such as supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei, computer simulations of stars, and classical astronomy are presented in a compact form, and the exercises with solutions at the end of each chapter serve as self-assessment and extension exercises.
Contents:
- Introduction
- Spherical astronomy
- History of astronomy
- Celestial mechanics
- Astronomical instruments
- Physics of the bodies of the solar system
- The Sun
- State variables of stars
- Stellar atmospheres
- Stellar structure
- Star evolution
- Interstellar matter
- The galaxy
- Extragalactic systems
- Cosmology
- Astrobiology
- Mathematical methods
The author Arnold Hanslmeier is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Graz, where, in addition to his research work on celestial mechanics and solar physics, he has been giving introductory lectures on astronomy for many years.
