Designed for the junior- level astrophysics course, each topic is approached in the context of the major unresolved questions in astrophysics. The core chapters have been designed for a course in stellar structure and evolution, while the extended chapters provide additional coverage of the solar system, galactic structure, dynamics, evolution, and cosmology. * Two versions of this text are available: An Introduction to Modern Stellar Astrophysics, (Chapters 1-17), and An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, (Chapters 1-28). * Computer programs included with the text allow students to explore the physics of stars and galaxies. * In designing a curriculum, instructors can combine core and extended chapters with the optional advanced sections so as to meet their individual goals. * Up-to-date coverage of current astrophysical discoveries are included. * This text emphasizes computational physics, including computer problems and on-line programs. * This text also includes a selection of over 500 problems. For additional information and computer codes to be used

    

    From blue moons to Betelgeuse, it's all in this witty, fact-packed, profusely illustrated guide to the heavens by the author of Discover magazine's popular "Night Watchman" column.

    A captivating journey through the modern astronomy of the Milky Way, Croswell shows us how a deeper understanding of the nature and working of the galaxy can offer larger clues into the origins of the universe itself.

    A general guide to astronomy; some say it should be called the Astronomical Treasury. Same large page-size format as the Astronomical Calendar. The Companion begins with an "Overview of Astronomy" and pictures that make it easy to understand coordinate systems and orientation in space. A strand running through the book is the series of 30 ten-inch-diameter diagrams showing expanding spheres of space, from the Moon's orbit and the domains of planets and comets out through the nearest stars, the neighboring regions of our Milky Way galaxy, the whole galaxy, the local group of galaxies, the Virgo cloud, and so on to the eerie limits of the universe. Among many other features: a map and catalogue of star names with their derivations; the seasons (including their linking with traditional dates such as Beltane, Halloween, St. Lucy's Day); the world's calendars; precession and its many consequences; "Moonlight" and "Earthlight" and "Moon as Signpost"; comparative distances; a comprehensive Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (the graph that relates all the kinds of star by color and brightness); and pages on constellations, meteor showers, double stars, variable stars, even cloudiness by month and region.

    Travel from Earth to the ends of the known universe. Space is a colorful first guide to astronomy packed with facts about space exploration, the solar system, planets, stars, galaxies, and much more. Dramatic, atmospheric photography provides a wealth of visual information. Packed with facts and written in an accessible style, Eye Wonders are the perfect educational start for young children. A groundbreaking reference series specially developed for younger children aged five plus. In a stunning style departure for DK, wonderful photography shows subjects within their natural setting, offering a whole new level of information through powerful images. Vocabulary is accessible to children aged five plus, with the meanings of new, subject-related words clearly explained. The series provides an excellent knowledge base on the natural world for children starting to learn. The combination of breathtaking visuals and informative, accurate text will hook even those children who usually avoid books.

    This spectacular collection of more than 200 color photos taken through Hubble presents a stupendous view of the universe.

    The book provides a broad, yet selective, treatment of the subject, covering virtually all aspects of space plasmas in the solar system. There are sections on the sun and solar wind, the magnetized and unmagnetized planets, and the fundamental process of space plasmas including shocks, plasma waves, ULF waves, wave-particle interactions, and auroral processes. In addition to emphasizing analysis, the authors also place importance on underlying phenomenology with extensive attention to observations.

    

    Filled with data about the Earth, Moon, the planets, the stars, our Galaxy, and the myriad galaxies in deep space, it also reveals the latest scientific discoveries about black holes, quasars, and the origins of the Universe. Written by a premier astronomy expert, this book begins with a discussion of the Sun, from sunspots to solar eclipses. It then features over 100 tables on characteristics of the Moon, and the names, positions, sizes, and other key descriptors of all the planets and their satellites. The book tabulates solar and lunar eclipse, comets, close-approach asteroids, and significant meteor showers dates. Twenty-four maps show the surface features of the planets and their moons. The author then looks to the stars, their distances and movements, and their detailed classification and evolution. Forty-eight star charts cover both northern and southern hemispheres, enabling you to track down and name the main stars in all the constellations. The maps are supported by detailed tables of the names, positions, magnitudes, and spectra of the main stars in each constellation, along with key data on galaxies, nebulae, and clusters. There is a useful catalogue of the world's great telescopes and observatories, a history of astronomy and of space research, and biographies of 250 astronomers who have been most influential in developing the current understanding of the subject.

    The easy-to-follow text is divided into six beautifully-illustrated sections, beginning with early beliefs and origins and continuing on to a full visual treatment of Mercury and Venus to Pluto and the mysterious Planet X, and even planets beyond the solar system. Special full-color features compare the planets and explore such subjects as life on other planets, meteorites, and the Shoemaker-Levy comet.

    The unique result is a series capable of answering, in an understandable and truly informative way, the multitude of questions children ask when they gaze skyward.

    Researchers who were involved in all aspects of observing and interpreting the encounter give personal narratives of the events, from the discovery of the comet through to the dramatic effects on the appearance of Jupiter in the hours, days and months after the collision. The chapters are all by distinguished researchers who personally participated in the international teams who recorded the events. The book is illustrated in colour throughout by the very best images selected from professional observatories around the world. The Great Comet Crash is the definitive illustrated account by professional astronomers of the collision and its consequences.

    Black Holes explore the fascinating realms of space; our neighbours in the solar system, phenom ena such as comets and stars and the history of human explor ation of the Universe. '

    Treating each body in-depth and with great detail, it begins with discussion of small bodies and moves towards larger bodies as it emphasizes the roles of heat and tectonics in planetary evolution. The outer planets are discussed in order outward from the sun to emphasise the role distance from the sun plays in determining composition. Soundly organized around important themes, this text provides a theoretically based examination that facilitates comparative study of bodies and is accessible to non-specialists.

    Here gravity crushes matter to realms that lie far beyond present empirical knowledge. This book explores the diverse forms that such compact stars can possibly take, as constrained by the laws of nature: the general principles of relativity and quantum mechanics, the properties of nuclear matter deduced from nuclei, and the asymptotic freedom of quarks at high density. The book is self contained. It reviews general relativity, essential aspects of nuclear and particle physics, and general features of white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes; it includes background on such matters as stellar formation and evolution, the discovery of pulsars and associated phenomena, and the strange-matter hypothesis. The book develops a theory for the constitution of neutron stars and the more exotic Hyperon Stars, Hybrid Stars (containing a quark matter core surrounded by an intricate lattice of quark and hadronic matter) and Strange Stars and Dwarfs (composed of the three light quark flavors sheathed in a solid skin of heavy ions). This second edition has been revised throughout to clarify discussions and bring data up to date; it includes new figures, several new sections, and new chapters on Bose condensates in neutron stars and on phase transitions.

    Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter, changing forever our understanding of comets and cosmic cataclysms. Our own sense of security would never be the same as the world witnessed fragment after fragment of the comet bash into Jupiter with the collective equivalent force of a 50-million-megaton bomb. David Levy, co-discoverer of periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, shares his once-in-several-lifetimes' story from the time of the discovery, with Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker, of this unusual "squashed" comet to the later shocking revelation of hearing that "their" comet was destined to collide with Jupiter. Never in recorded history has a comet created such a catastrophic event as smashing into a planet. Impact Jupiter takes off where David Levy's earlier acclaimed book, The Quest for Comets, left us. Magnificent photos of the impacts, including superb color pictures, accompany David's poetic words, vividly bringing to life his thrilling story. Savor the words of one of the world's most celebrated amateur astronomers as he humbly and eloquently opens the beauty of the heavens to all who are curious.