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Book Description

A brief overview of astronomy and cosmology is presented in five different ways, through the lenses of space, time, evolution, process, and structure.

Specific topics are chosen for their contribution to a "big picture" understanding of the interconnectedness of knowledge in astronomy and cosmology. Thus, many topics (stellar astronomy for example) are treated in multiple sections, but from different viewpoints—for example, sizes and distances of stars (space); when stars appeared in the history of the universe (time); stellar evolution (evolution); hydrostatic equilibrium and stellar spectra (process); and stellar structure (structure). Some topics traditional to the introductory astronomy curriculum—eclipses and lunar phases, for example—are omitted altogether as they are inessential for the big-picture goals of the book, and excellent summaries are easily available elsewhere. On the other hand, the book treats some topics not usually covered in an introductory astronomy course, for example the roles played by equilibrium processes and symmetry in our understanding of the universe. The level is for the beginning undergraduate, with only basic skills in rudimentary algebra assumed. But more advanced students and teachers will also find the book useful as both a set of practical tools and a point of departure for taking stock (in five different ways) of the current state of knowledge in astronomy and cosmology.

Table of Contents

  1. Preface
  2. Acknowledgments (1/2)
  3. Acknowledgments (2/2)
  4. Space
    1. Tools for Understanding Space
      1. Powers of Ten
      2. Measuring Distances in Space (1/2)
      3. Measuring Distances in Space (2/2)
        1. Using Time to Measure Distance
        2. Angular Diameter and Parallax
        3. Triangulation, Parallax, and the Astronomical Unit
        4. Stellar Parallax
      4. Scaling and Scale Models
        1. Scaling Ratios
      5. Surface Area, Volume, Mass, and Density
      6. References
    2. Looking Outward
      1. Earth, Moon, and Sun
        1. The Shape of the Earth
        2. The Rotation of Earth
        3. The Spherical Earth: An Example
        4. The Size of Earth
      2. The Solar System
        1. A Scale Model of the Solar System
        2. The Data
        3. The Shapes of Planets and Orbits
        4. Densities of the Planets
      3. Stars (1/2)
      4. Stars (2/2)
        1. A Scale Model for the Stars
        2. Densities of Stars
        3. The Angular Sizes of Stars
        4. Star Clusters
      5. HII Regions and Giant Molecular Clouds
      6. Galaxies
        1. The Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy
        2. Dwarf Galaxies
        3. Giant Ellipticals
      7. Clusters of Galaxies
        1. The Local Group
        2. The Virgo Cluster
        3. Superclusters and Voids
      8. Constellations and the View from Earth
      9. From the Milky Way to 3C273
      10. The Deep Field
      11. The End of Space
        1. The Cosmological Horizon
      12. References
    3. Looking Inward
      1. Self Gravitation
      2. The Size of Life
      3. The Microscopic
      4. Molecules, Atoms, and Their Parts
      5. The Planck Length
      6. References
  5. Time
    1. Tools for Understanding Time
      1. Timelines
        1. Logarithmic Timelines
      2. Light-Travel Distance
      3. Look-Back Time
      4. The Cycle of Time and the Arrow of Time
      5. The Doppler Effect
      6. References
    2. The Present
      1. Space, Time, and Spacetime
        1. Time Dilation
        2. Length Contraction
        3. The Addition of Velocities
        4. Minkowski Spacetime
      2. Right Now and Right Here
        1. Simultaneity and the Meaning of Local
        2. Time Variations and Size
      3. Cosmology and the Cosmological Principal
      4. Cosmological Parameters (1/2)
      5. Cosmological Parameters (2/2)
        1. The Hubble Parameter (H_0) and Hubble's Law
        2. The Expansion of the Universe and the Big Bang
        3. The Current Age of the Universe (t_0)
        4. The Baryon Density (_b)
        5. The Dark Matter Density (_c)
        6. The Dark Energy Density (_)
        7. The Cosmic Microwave Background Temperature (T)
        8. The Chemical Composition of the Universe (XYZ)
      6. References
    3. The Past
      1. Measuring the History of the Universe
      2. The Beginning
      3. A Time-Line to Now
        1. The Planck Era
        2. Inflation
        3. The Formation of Protons and Neutrons
        4. The Fusion Era
        5. Time of Decoupling
        6. Time of Re-Ionization: Stars and Galaxies
        7. Formation of the Milky Way, Sun, and Earth
        8. Time of Dark Energy Domination
      4. A Graphical Summary
      5. A Cosmic Calendar
      6. References
    4. The Future
      1. The Future at Large Scales
      2. The Future at Small Scales
      3. References
  6. Evolution
    1. Evolution of the Solar System
      1. Components of the Solar System
        1. Terrestrial Planets
        2. Jovian Planets
        3. Asteroids
        4. Oort Cloud Comets
        5. Periodic Comets
        6. Meteors and Meteorites
        7. Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs)
        8. Satellites
      2. Overall Properties of the Solar System
      3. The Nebular Hypothesis
      4. The Condensation Sequence
      5. The Late Heavy Bombardment
      6. Formation of the Comets and Asteroids
    2. Stellar Evolution
      1. M, L, R, and T
        1. The Relation Between L, T, and R
      2. The Hertzsprung–Russel Diagram
      3. Formation of Stars
      4. The Main Sequence
        1. Mass and the Main Sequence
        2. Main Sequence Lifetime
      5. Evolutionary Track of the Sun
      6. Lower-Main-Sequence Stars
      7. Upper-Main-Sequence Stars
      8. Stellar Explosions
      9. Star Clusters and Isochrones
      10. What Remains
      11. Nucleosynthesis and Evolution of the ISM
    3. The Evolution of Galaxies
      1. Formation and Evolution of the Milky Way
        1. Top-Down Scenario
        2. Bottom-Up Scenario
      2. References
  7. Process
    1. Fields
      1. Newton's Gravity
        1. The Classical Gravitational Field
        2. Gravity and Spheres
        3. Gravity and Orbits
        4. What is Mass?
      2. Einstein's Gravitational Field
        1. Gravitational Lenses
        2. Neutron Stars and Black Holes
        3. Dark Matter and Dark Energy
      3. The Electric and Magnetic Fields
        1. What the Fields Do
        2. What is Charge?
        3. Maxwell's Equations and the Causes of and
      4. References
    2. Waves
      1. The Nature of Waves
        1. Amplitude, Speed, Wavelength, and Frequency
      2. Light: Electromagnetic Waves (1/4)
      3. Light: Electromagnetic Waves (2/4)
      4. Light: Electromagnetic Waves (3/4)
      5. Light: Electromagnetic Waves (4/4)
        1. The Electromagnetic Spectrum
        2. Light and its Spectrum
        3. Thermal Radiation
        4. The Colors of Stars
        5. Non-Thermal Radiation
        6. The Spectrum of an Emission Nebula
        7. Stellar Spectra
        8. Brightness and the Inverse Square Law
        9. Scattering of Light
        10. Scattering by Interstellar Dust
        11. Views at Different Wavelengths
      6. Gravitational Waves
      7. Spiral Density Waves
      8. Probability Waves: Quantum Physics
      9. References
    3. Equilibrium
      1. Static Equilibrium
        1. Stability and Instability
        2. Hydrostatic Equilibrium
      2. Dynamic Equilibrium (1/2)
      3. Dynamic Equilibrium (2/2)
        1. Thermodynamic Equilibrium
        2. Atomic Level Populations
        3. The Absorption Spectra of Stars
        4. Photoionization-Recombination Equilibrium
      4. References
  8. Structure
    1. The Structure of Energy and Matter
      1. The Nature of Energy
      2. Symmetry
        1. Symmetry in Astronomy
        2. Symmetry and Conservation Laws
      3. The Standard Model of Particle Physics
        1. The Particles and their Interactions
        2. Where is Gravity?
        3. Where is Dark Matter? Where is Dark Energy?
      4. References
    2. The Interior Structure of Stars
      1. Main Sequence Stars
        1. The Fusion Core
      2. Post-Main Sequence Stellar Structure
        1. Giants: Hydrogen Shell Fusion
        2. End Stages of Fusion
    3. The Structure of Galaxies
      1. Elliptical and Lenticular Galaxies
      2. Spiral Galaxies
      3. The Hubble Tuning-Fork Diagram
      4. The de Vaucouleurs Classification Scheme
      5. Irregular and Peculiar Galaxies
      6. The Causes of Galactic Structure
      7. References
    4. Large-Scale Structure of the Universe
      1. The -CDM Model of Cosmology
      2. Entropy and Gravity
      3. The Flat Interaction and Large-Scale Structure
      4. References
    5. Units and Scientific Notation
      1. Units and Dimensions
      2. Scientific Notation
      3. References
    6. Author's Biography
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