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The main purpose of this book is to serve as a university textbook
for a first course in astronomy. However, we believe that the
audience will also include many serious ama teurs, who often find
the popular texts too trivial. The lack of a good handbook for am
ateurs has become a problem lately, as more and more people are
buying personal com puters and need exact, but comprehensible,
mathematical formalism for their programs. The reader of this book
is assumed to have only a standard high-school knowledge of
mathematics and physics (as they are taught in Finland); everything
more advanced is usually derived step by step from simple basic
principles. The mathematical background needed includes plane
trigonometry, basic differential and integral calculus, and (only
in the chapter dealing with celestial mechanics) some vector
calculus. Some mathematical concepts the reader may not be familiar
with are briefly explained in the appendices or can be understood
by studying the numerous exercises and examples. However, most of
the book can be read with very little knowledge of mathematics, and
even if the reader skips the mathematically more involved sections,
(s)he should get a good overview of the field of astronomy. This
book has evolved in the course of many years and through the work
of several authors and editors. The first version consisted of
lecture notes by one of the editors (Oja).
Fundamental Astronomy is a well-balanced, comprehensive
introduction to classical and modern astronomy. While emphasizing
both the astronomical concepts and the underlying physical
principles, the text provides a sound basis for more profound
studies in the astronomical sciences. This is the fifth edition of
the successful undergraduate textbook and reference work. It has
been extensively modernized and extended in the parts dealing with
extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. You will also find augmented
sections on the solar system and extrasolar planets as well as a
new chapter on astrobiology. Long considered a standard text for
physical science majors, Fundamental Astronomy is also an excellent
reference work for dedicated amateur astronomers.
Fundamental Astronomy is a well-balanced, comprehensive
introduction to classical and modern astronomy. While emphasizing
both the astronomical concepts and the underlying physical
principles, the text provides a sound basis for more profound
studies in the astronomical sciences. This is the fifth edition of
the successful undergraduate textbook and reference work. It has
been extensively modernized and extended in the parts dealing with
extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. You will also find augmented
sections on the solar system and extrasolar planets as well as a
new chapter on astrobiology. Long considered a standard text for
physical science majors, Fundamental Astronomy is also an excellent
reference work for dedicated amateur astronomers.
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