Astrophysics is often –with some justification – regarded as incomprehensible without the use of higher mathematics. Consequently, many amateur astronomers miss out on some of the most fascinating aspects of the subject. Astrophysics Is Easy! cuts through the difficult mathematics and explains the basics of astrophysics in accessible terms. Using nothing more than plain arithmetic and simple examples, the workings of the universe are outlined in a straightforward yet detailed and easy-to-grasp manner.
Following on the success of the first and second editions, this fully updated third edition covers the significant changes in astrophysics theories and research that have occurred in the last five years, including new material on: exomoons, exocomets and exoasteroids; Special and General Relativity; gravitational waves, their origins and detection; telescope optics; black hole astrophysics; and more.For each topic under discussion, an observing list is included so that observers can actually see for themselves the concepts presented – stars of the spectral sequence, nebulae, galaxies, even black holes. The book also features in-text, nonmathematical questions and end-of-chapter problems – all with their accompanying solutions – to help readers discuss and digest the material.
Author(s): Michael Inglis
Series: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series
Edition: 3
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 473
City: Cham
Tags: Astronomical Observing Stars; Astrophysics Demystified; Astrophysics Explained; Astrophysics for Lay Readers; Astrophysics for non-Academics; Basic Motions of Planets; Greenhouse Effect; Math-Free Astrophysics; Overview of Astrophysics; Practical Astrophysics
Preface
Rationale for the Book
Acknowledgements
Contents
About the Author
Chapter 1: Tools of the Trade
1.1. Angular Measurement
1.2. Distances in Astronomy
1.3. Brightness and Luminosity of Astronomical Objects
1.4. Magnitudes
1.4.1 Apparent Magnitude
1.4.2 Absolute Magnitude
1.5. The Visually Brightest Stars
1.6. The Colour of Stars
1.7. The Sizes of Stars
1.8. The Constituents of Stars
1.9. Telescope Basics
1.9.1 Magnification
1.9.2 Resolution
1.9.3 Limiting Magnitude
1.9.4 Field of View
1.10. Atmospheric Effects
1.10.1 Transparency
1.10.2 Seeing
1.10.3 Light Pollution
1.10.4 Dark Adaption and Averted Vision
Chapter 2: The Solar System
2.1. Early History of Astronomy
2.1.1 The Geocentric Universe
2.1.2 The Scientific Method
2.1.3 Ancient Greek Science
2.1.4 The Ptolemaic System
2.1.5 The Copernican Revolution
2.1.6 Tycho—The Great Observer
2.1.7 Kepler—The Great Theoretician
2.1.8 Galileo—The Great Experimenter
2.1.9 Newton—The Genius
2.1.10 The Greenhouse Effect
2.2. Observing the Solar System
2.2.1 The Moon
2.2.2 Mercury
2.2.3 Venus
2.2.4 Jupiter
2.2.5 Uranus
Chapter 3: Spectroscopy and the Spectral Sequence
3.1. Spectra and Spectroscopy
3.2. Stellar Classification
3.3. Amateur Astronomical Spectroscopy
3.4. Redshift and Blueshift
Chapter 4: The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
4.1. Introduction
4.2. The H-R Diagram and Stellar Radius
4.3. The H-R Diagram and Stellar Luminosity
4.4. The H-R Diagram and Stellar Mass
Chapter 5: The Interstellar Medium and Protostars
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Nebulae
5.3. Emission Nebulae
5.4. Dark Nebulae
5.5. Reflection Nebulae
5.6. Molecular Clouds
5.7. Protostars
5.8. The Jeans Criterion
Chapter 6: Star Birth
6.1. The Birth of a Star
6.2. Pre-Main-Sequence Evolution and the Effect of Mass
6.3. Mass Loss and Mass Gain
6.3.1 T Tauri Stars
6.3.2 Discs and Winds
6.4. Star Formation Triggers
6.4.1 The Spiral Arms of a Galaxy
6.4.2 Expanding HII Regions
6.4.3 Supernova
Chapter 7: Galactic Clusters and Stellar Associations
7.1. Galactic Star Clusters
7.2. Trumpler Classification for Star Clusters
7.2.1 Concentration
7.2.2 Range of Brightness
7.2.3 Richness of Cluster
7.3. Stellar Associations and Streams
Chapter 8: The Sun, Our Nearest Star
8.1. From the Core to the Surface
8.2. The Proton-Proton Chain
8.3. Energy Transport from the Core to the Surface
8.4. Sunspots
8.4.1 The Solar Cycle
8.4.2 The Maunder Minimum
8.4.3 The Solar Magnetic Cycle
8.5. Prominences, Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections, and the Solar Wind
Chapter 9: Binary Stars and Stellar Mass
9.1. Binary Stars
9.2. The Masses of Orbiting Stars
Chapter 10: Life on the Main Sequence
10.1. Lifetimes of Main Sequence Stars
10.2. Red Giant Stars
10.3. Helium Burning and the Helium Flash
10.4. Globular Star Clusters and the H-R Diagram
10.5. Post-Main Sequence Star Clusters—The Globular Clusters
10.6. Pulsating Stars
10.7. Why Do Stars Pulsate?
10.8. Cepheid Variables and the Period-Luminosity Relation
10.9. Temperature and Mass of Cepheids
10.10. RR Lyrae and Long-Period Variable Stars
Chapter 11: Star Death: White Dwarfs and Planetary Nebulae
11.1. The Death of Stars
11.2. The Asymptotic Giant Branch
11.3. Dredge-Ups
11.4. Mass Loss and Stellar Winds
11.5. Infrared Stars
11.6. The End of an AGB Star’s Life
11.7. Planetary Nebulae
11.8. White Dwarf Stars
11.8.1 Electron Degeneracy
11.8.2 The Chandrasekhar Limit
11.8.3 White Dwarf Origins
11.8.4 Composition of White Dwarfs
11.8.5 White Dwarf Evolution
11.8.6 Spectral Types of White Dwarfs
Chapter 12: Star Death: Supernovae, & Neutron Stars
12.1. High-Mass Stars and Nuclear Burning
12.2. Supernovae and the Formation of Elements
12.3. Supernova Remnants
12.4. Types of Supernovae
12.5. Hypernovae
12.6. Neutron Stars and Pulsars
Chapter 13: An Interlude: Special & General Relativity
13.1. Introduction
13.2. Special Relativity
13.3. What Is Relative?
13.4. Time Dilation, Length Contraction and Relativistic Mass
13.4.1 Time Dilation
13.4.2 Length Contraction
13.4.3 Relativistic Mass
13.5. General Relativity
13.6. Spacetime
13.7. Curved Spacetime
13.8. Gravity and the Equivalence Principle
Chapter 14: Black Holes
14.1. Black Hole Basics
14.2. The Singularity
14.3. The Event Horizon
14.4. Rotating and Kerr Black Holes
14.5. The Lifetime of a Black Hole and Hawking Radiation
14.6. Size of a Black Hole
14.7. Spaghettification
14.8. Time Travel
14.9. Finding Black Holes
Chapter 15: Exoplanets
15.1. Introduction
15.2. Types of Exoplanets
15.3. Exocomets, Exomoons and Exoasteroids
15.4. Techniques of Detection
15.5. Observing Exoplanet Systems
Chapter 16: Galaxies
16.1. Introduction
16.2. Galaxy Types
16.3. Galaxy Structure
16.4. Stellar Populations
16.5. Hubble Classification of Galaxies
16.6. Gérard de Vaucouleurs’s Classification of Galaxies
16.7. The Milky Way
16.8. Observing Galaxies
16.9. Clusters of Galaxies
Chapter 17: Active Galaxies
17.1. Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN’s)
17.2. Origin of Nuclear Activity
17.3. Classification of Active Galaxies
17.4. AGN Variability
17.5. Starburst Galaxies
17.6. Observing Active Galaxies
Chapter 18: Cosmology
18.1. The Big Bang
18.2. Hubble and Humason
18.3. After the Big Bang
18.4. Evidence for and Against the Big Bang Theory
18.5. The Inflationary Model
18.5.1 Inflation and the Cosmic Microwave Background Variations
18.5.2 Inflation and the Horizon Problem
18.5.3 Inflation and the Flatness Problem
18.6. Dark Matter and Dark Energy
18.7. The Future of the Universe
18.8. Cosmology and the Amateur Astronomer
18.9. Olber’s Paradox
Chapter 19: The Speculative Universe
19.1. Introduction
19.2. Dark Matter
19.2.1 The History of Dark Matter
19.2.2 The Observational Evidence for Dark Matter
19.2.2.1 Galaxy Rotation Curves
19.2.2.2 Velocity Dispersions
19.2.2.3 Galaxy Clusters
19.2.2.4 Gravitational Lensing
19.2.2.5 Cosmic Microwave Background
19.2.2.6 Structure Formation
19.2.2.7 Bullet Cluster
19.2.3 What Is Dark Matter Made Of?
19.2.4 Alternative Hypothesis of Dark Matter
19.3. Dark Energy
19.4. The Multiverse
19.4.1 Basically…
19.4.2 How & Why…
19.4.3 The Many Different Types of Multiverses
19.4.4 The Search for Proof
19.5. The Infinite Universe
19.6. What Came First, Inflation or the Big Bang?
19.7. Endnote
Thought Question Answers
Answers to End of Chapter Problems
Appendices
Appendix 1: Degeneracy
Appendix 2: Book, Magazines, Organizations, and Equipment
Star Atlases and Observing Guides
Astronomy and Astrophysics Books
Magazines
Organizations
Spectroscopic Equipment
Index
