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Books > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy, space & time > Galaxies, clusters, intergalactic matter
The search for life in the universe, once the stuff of science
fiction, is now a robust worldwide research program with a
well-defined roadmap probing both scientific and societal issues.
This volume examines the humanistic aspects of astrobiology,
systematically discussing the approaches, critical issues, and
implications of discovering life beyond Earth. What do the concepts
of life and intelligence, culture and civilization, technology and
communication mean in a cosmic context? What are the theological
and philosophical implications if we find life - and if we do not?
Steven J. Dick argues that given recent scientific findings, the
discovery of life in some form beyond Earth is likely and so we
need to study the possible impacts of such a discovery and
formulate policies to deal with them. The remarkable and often
surprising results are presented here in a form accessible to
disciplines across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
The majority of this volume is devoted to the subject of high
energy radiation from galactic and extragalactic black holes. The
volume also covers future space missions to primitive bodies and
fine structures in the middle atmosphere and their origin. In
total, 27 papers are presented, the final two included in the
appendix emanating from the previous COSPAR meeting in Washington.
This thesis by Cole Johnston brings novel insights into the inner
workings of young massive stars. By bridging the observational
fields of binary stars and asteroseismology this thesis uses state
of the art statistical techniques to scrutinise theories of modern
stellar astrophysics. Developing upon the commonly used isochrone
fitting methodology, the author introduces the idea of isochrone
cloud fitting in order to account for the full breadth of physics
observed in stars. The author combines this methodology with
gravity mode asteroseismic analysis to asses the level of chemical
mixing deep within the stellar core in order to determine the
star's age and core mass. Wrapped into a robust statistical
framework to account for correlations, this methodology is employed
to analyse individual stars, multiple systems, and clusters alike
to demonstrate that chemical mixing has dramatic impact on stellar
structure and evolution.
This book compiles an array of interesting constellations that fell
by the wayside before the IAU established the modern canon of
constellations. That decision left out lesser known ones whose
history is nevertheless interesting, but at last author John
Barentine is giving them their due. This book is a companion to
"The Lost Constellations", highlighting the more obscure
configurations. The 16 constellations found in this volume fall
into one or more of three broad categories: asterims, such as the
Big Dipper in Ursa Major; single-sourced constellations introduced
on surviving charts by a cartographer perhaps currying the favor of
sponsors; and re-brands, new figures meant to displace existing
constellations, often for an ideological reason. All of them reveal
something unique about the development of humanity's map of the
sky.
Fascinating, engaging and extremely visual, STARS AND GALAXIES,
10th Edition, is renowned for its current coverage, reader-friendly
presentation and detailed--yet clear--explanations. The authors'
goals are to help you use Astronomy to understand science, and use
science to answer two fundamental questions: What are we? And how
do we know? Available with WebAssign, the powerful digital solution
that enriches the teaching and learning experience. It includes
Virtual Astronomy Labs 3.0--a set of 20 interactive activities that
combine analysis of real astronomical data with robust
simulations--providing a true online laboratory experience for your
Introductory Astronomy course.
Illustrated with breathtaking images of the Solar System and of the
Universe around it, this book explores how the discoveries within
the Solar System and of exoplanets far beyond it come together to
help us understand the habitability of Earth, and how these
findings guide the search for exoplanets that could support life.
The author highlights how, within two decades of the discovery of
the first planets outside the Solar System in the 1990s, scientists
concluded that planets are so common that most stars are orbited by
them. The lives of exoplanets and their stars, as of our Solar
System and its Sun, are inextricably interwoven. Stars are the
seeds around which planets form, and they provide light and warmth
for as long as they shine. At the end of their lives, stars expel
massive amounts of newly forged elements into deep space, and that
ejected material is incorporated into subsequent generations of
planets. How do we learn about these distant worlds? What does the
exploration of other planets tell us about Earth? Can we find out
what the distant future may have in store for us? What do we know
about exoworlds and starbirth, and where do migrating hot Jupiters,
polluted white dwarfs, and free-roaming nomad planets fit in? And
what does all that have to do with the habitability of Earth, the
possibility of finding extraterrestrial life, and the operation of
the globe-spanning network of the sciences?
The revolutionary discovery of thousands of confirmed and candidate
planets beyond the solar system brings forth the most
fundamental
question: How do planets and their host stars form and evolve?
Protostars and Planets VI brings together more than 250
contributing authors at the forefront of their field, conveying the
latest results in this research area and establishing a new
foundation for advancing our understanding of stellar and planetary
formation.
Continuing the tradition of the Protostars and Planets series,
this latest volume uniquely integrates the cross-disciplinary
aspects of this broad field. Covering an extremely wide range of
scales, from the formation of large clouds in our Milky Way galaxy
down to small chondrules in our solar system, Protostars and
Planets VI takes an encompassing view with the goal of not only
highlighting what we know but, most importantly, emphasizing the
frontiers of what we do not know.
As a vehicle for propelling forward new discoveries on stars,
planets, and their origins, this latest volume in the Space Science
Series is an indispensable resource for both current scientists and
new students in astronomy, astrophysics, planetary science, and the
study of meteorites.
First published in 1986, this is the story of the analysis of
starlight by astronomical spectroscopy. Beginning with Joseph
Fraunhofer's discovery of spectral lines in the early nineteenth
century, this new edition continues the story through to the year
2000. In addition to the key discoveries, it presents the cultural
and social history of stellar astrophysics by introducing the
leading astronomers and their struggles, triumphs and
disagreements. Basic concepts in spectroscopy and spectral analysis
are included, so both observational and theoretical aspects are
described, in a non-mathematical framework. This new edition covers
the final decades of the twentieth century, with its major advances
in stellar astrophysics: the discovery of extrasolar planets, new
classes of stars and the observation of the ultraviolet spectra of
stars from satellites. The in-depth coverage makes it essential
reading for graduate students working in stellar spectroscopy,
professional and amateur astronomers, and historians of science.
This thesis by Cole Johnston brings novel insights into the inner
workings of young massive stars. By bridging the observational
fields of binary stars and asteroseismology this thesis uses state
of the art statistical techniques to scrutinise theories of modern
stellar astrophysics. Developing upon the commonly used isochrone
fitting methodology, the author introduces the idea of isochrone
cloud fitting in order to account for the full breadth of physics
observed in stars. The author combines this methodology with
gravity mode asteroseismic analysis to asses the level of chemical
mixing deep within the stellar core in order to determine the
star's age and core mass. Wrapped into a robust statistical
framework to account for correlations, this methodology is employed
to analyse individual stars, multiple systems, and clusters alike
to demonstrate that chemical mixing has dramatic impact on stellar
structure and evolution.
Every atom of our bodies has been part of a star. In this lively
and compact introduction, astrophysicist Andrew King reveals how
the laws of physics force stars to evolve, driving them through
successive stages of maturity before their inevitable and sometimes
spectacular deaths, to end as remnants such as black holes. The
book shows how we know what stars are made of, how gravity forces
stars like the Sun to shine by transmuting hydrogen into helium in
their centers, and why this stage is so long-lived and stable.
Eventually the star ends its life in one of just three ways, and
much of its enriched chemical content is blasted into space in its
death throes. Every dead star is far smaller and denser than when
it began, and we see how astronomers can detect these stellar
corpses as pulsars and black holes and other exotic objects. King
also shows how astronomers now use stars to measure properties of
the Universe, such as its expansion. Finally, the book asks how it
is that stars form in the first place, and how they re-form out of
the debris left by stars already dead. These birth events must also
be what made planets, not only in our solar system, but around a
large fraction of all stars.
This book is a simple, non-technical introduction to cosmology, explaining what it is and what cosmologists do. Peter Coles discusses the history of the subject, the development of the Big Bang theory, and more speculative modern issues like quantum cosmology, superstrings, and dark matter.
Studies of stars and stellar populations, and the discovery and
characterization of exoplanets, are being revolutionized by new
satellite and telescope observations of unprecedented quality and
scope. Some of the most significant advances have been in the field
of asteroseismology, the study of stars by observation of their
oscillations. Asteroseismic Data Analysis gives a comprehensive
technical introduction to this discipline. This book not only helps
students and researchers learn about asteroseismology; it also
serves as an essential instruction manual for those entering the
field. The book presents readers with the foundational techniques
used in the analysis and interpretation of asteroseismic data on
cool stars that show solar-like oscillations. The techniques have
been refined, and in some cases developed, to analyze asteroseismic
data collected by the NASA Kepler mission. Topics range from the
analysis of time-series observations to extract seismic data for
stars to the use of those data to determine global and internal
properties of the stars. Reading lists and problem sets are
provided, and data necessary for the problem sets are available
online. The first book to describe in detail the different
techniques used to analyze the data on stellar oscillations,
Asteroseismic Data Analysis offers an invaluable window into the
hearts of stars. * Introduces the asteroseismic study of stars and
the theory of stellar oscillations* Describes the analysis of
observational (time-domain) data* Examines how seismic parameters
are extracted from observations* Explores how stellar properties
are determined from seismic data* Looks at the "inverse problem,"
where frequencies are used to infer internal structures of stars
This is the definitive treatment of the phenomenology of
galaxies--a clear and comprehensive volume that takes full account
of the extraordinary recent advances in the field. The book
supersedes the classic text Galactic Astronomy that James Binney
wrote with Dimitri Mihalas, and complements Galactic Dynamics by
Binney and Scott Tremaine. It will be invaluable to researchers and
is accessible to any student who has a background in undergraduate
physics.
The book draws on observations both of our own galaxy, the Milky
Way, and of external galaxies. The two sources are complementary,
since the former tends to be highly detailed but difficult to
interpret, while the latter is typically poorer in quality but
conceptually simpler to understand. Binney and Merrifield introduce
all astronomical concepts necessary to understand the properties of
galaxies, including coordinate systems, magnitudes and colors, the
phenomenology of stars, the theory of stellar and chemical
evolution, and the measurement of astronomical distances. The
book's core covers the phenomenology of external galaxies, star
clusters in the Milky Way, the interstellar media of external
galaxies, gas in the Milky Way, the structure and kinematics of the
stellar components of the Milky Way, and the kinematics of external
galaxies.
Throughout, the book emphasizes the observational basis for
current understanding of galactic astronomy, with references to the
original literature. Offering both new information and a
comprehensive view of its subject, it will be an indispensable
source for professionals, as well as for graduate students and
advanced undergraduates.
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