Book Description

An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, Second Edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect the dramatic changes and advancements in astrophysics that have occurred over the past decade. The Second Edition of this market-leading book has been updated to include the latest results from relevant fields of astrophysics and advances in our theoretical understanding of astrophysical phenomena. The Tools of Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere, Celestial Mechanics, The Continuous Spectrum of Light, The Theory of Special Relativity, The Interaction of Light and Matter, Telescopes; The Nature of Stars: Binary Systems and Stellar Parameters, The Classification of Stellar Spectra, Stellar Atmospheres, The Interiors of Stars, The Sun, The Process of Star Formation, Post-Main-Sequence Stellar Evolution, Stellar Pulsation, Supernovae, The Degenerate Remnants of Stars, Black Holes, Close Binary Star Systems; Planetary Systems: Physical Processes in the Solar System, The Terrestrial Planets, The Jovian Worlds, Minor Bodies of the Solar System, The Formation of Planetary Systems; Galaxies and the Universe: The Milky Way Galaxy, The Nature of Galaxies, Galactic Evolution, The Structure of the Universe, Active Galaxies, Cosmology, The Early Universe; Astronomical and Physical Constants, Unit Conversions Between SI and cgs, Solar System Data, The Constellations, The Brightest Stars, The Nearest Stars, Stellar Data, The Messier Catalog, Constants, A Constants Module for Fortran 95 (Available as a C++ header file), Orbits, A Planetary Orbit Code (Available as Fortran 95 and C++ command line versions, and Windows GUI), TwoStars, A Binary Star Code (Generates synthetic light and radial velocity curves; available as Fortran 95 and C++ command line versions, and Windows GUI), StatStar, A Stellar Structure Code (Available as Fortran 95 and C++ command line versions, and Windows GUI), StatStar, Stellar Models, Galaxy, A Tidal Interaction Code (Available as Java), WMAP Data. For all readers interested in moden astrophysics.

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent
Any instructor who has used the first edition of this book can attest to its fine quality of presentation and its didactic power. The second edition continues this tradition, and in addition offers more material that reflects the many discoveries and developments in astrophysics that have taken place since the first edition. The observational tools in astronomy have become even more refined over the years since the first edition along with computing power, and these two facts combined with a robust community of theoreticians have pushed the limits of astrophysical knowledge. This book is of course a sizable one, and this reviewer did not read it in its entirety, but instead focused on those sections that addressed the new developments since the first edition.

One of the interesting topics that are discussed in the book whose explanation was not found in the first edition is that of gamma ray bursts. After a brief historical discussion of their first detection, the authors address the question as to the origin of the bursts, i.e. whether galactic or extragalactic. They perform some rudimentary calculations that show how energetic the bursts must be if they were located in the solar system or from a distant galaxy. Early thinking on the cause of gamma ray bursts associated them with neutron stars, but the authors explain the problems with this explanation, and most interestingly, give arguments that support the assertion that there is an edge to the distribution of the gamma sources. Clever observational techniques resulted in the conclusion that gamma ray bursts are extragalactic. The `collapsar' and `supranova' models of gamma ray bursts are discussed, but the discussion is way too brief for those who want the in-depth details of these models. However the authors give up-to-date references for readers who want to dig deeper. From a perusal of these references it is apparent that the supranova model has gained the most popularity at the present time, even though some of the observations cannot as yet be reconciled with this model.

Another topic of great current interest is that of dark matter, which is discussed in the last chapter of the book, and which the authors describe as one of the most important theoretical issues in cosmological astrophysics. This discussion is also short, but references are given, and its inclusion since the first edition reflects the theoretical interest. The paucity of experimental evidence for the candidates of dark matter has stymied theoretical developments, with most of the effort devoted to putting bounds on the candidates, such as axions and weakly interacting massive particles.

No doubt this book will continue to be used in the classroom in years to come, and new discoveries will be included in future editions. With the CERN collider coming on line in the next few years, everyone interested will see the interplay between high-energy physics and astrophysics. The collider will give the theoretical astrophysical community new bounds on cosmological quantities, and in fact may open up whole new lines of research, all of it exciting, and proof positive that the twenty-first century is the most exciting time to be alive.

Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, An (2nd Edition)
Best Astrophysics for Undergraduate Course !All Chapters fully explained with a lot of drills and updated with latest development on the field. Jose Quintero

The long awaited new edition of BOB (Big Orange Book)
The number of books suitable for undergraduate courses in Astrophysics is not great. But of them all, this, called BOB (Big Orange Book) is the best.

This new second edition, badly needed since the first edition is now ten years old. In these ten years, there seems to have been just about as much discovered as in the centuries before. To list just a few: extrasolar planets, objects bigger than Pluto but further out (but the book was finished before the IAU decided to downgrade Pluto from being a planet), Spirit and Opportunity have been roving on Mars, discoveries like the universe is not slowing down but, rather, is actually accelerating, Dark energy wasn't even imagined at that time (and isn't easy to imagine now).

The book is aimed at the advanced undergraduate level after the student has had several previous physics classes and mathematics through differential equasions.

The one problem most often reported about BOB is its size, 1400 pages. This allows for a series of different courses to be taught using the same book by selecting appropriate chapters. Alternatively a full year course can be taught to cover most of the book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Overwhelming for 1 semester
I have just recently completed a 1-semester course using this book. It was taught tutorial-style where we were to read a chapter and come to class with questions on the book. This book has way too much information for one semester. The other students and I all agreed that we had to spend so much time trying to keep up with the current readings and homework from each chapter that there is really no way to learn & remember much from this book if it is taught in only 1 semester. We did omit a handful of chapters, the first 3, and the ones on the solar system, about 3-4 more in the middle of the book. If you are to teach the course, I reccomend you include chapter 3 because many subsequent chapters refer to it and I had to read the whole chapter anyway.
As for the content of the book, it is well organized and presented fairly clearly. Most of the math is followable to senior level students in the fields of physics and engineering. Discussions of many phenomenon are extremely thorough and multiple theories for phenomenon of unknown origin are presented.
As for complaints...
The authors are optical astronomers so there is a lot more information regarding this branch of astronomoy than there is for radio astronomy.
The solar system chapters are not that well put together, the reason our class decided to skip them.
The book contains a large number of errors. There is a list of corrections available on the publishers website, but it can still be confusing.
This book is getting old. In a field where there have been huge technical advances in the last 20 years, it might be wise to consider the new edition.

Excellent introductory book
C&O is the "almanac" of introductory astrophysics. Virtually every facet of astrophysics is beautifully presented with decent (albeit rather introductory) amounts of detail.

This book comes very highly recommended as an introductory "bible" to the second-year University student just entering astronomy. More than that, though, it's also an ever-lasting establishment on your bookshelf that, no matter how long you've had your PhD, you'll find yourself returning to rather frequently. This book is a clear must-have for the astronomer.

Highly recommended
I wanted this book for a long time and got it only when the price was reduced when they released the new version.

I highly recommend it for any serious astronomer either as a reference or for an advanced undergraduate student.

Too difficult for the average reader
This book is a bit too professional for anyone who is just starting an astrophysics course.......the provided questions really screw up ur brain.....but if ur sure u have a good solid pure math and advanced physics backgroundthen go ahead and buy it otherwise check out other books.....

An introduction to modern astrophysics
The problems are very challanging, with out an instructor and a good foundation in pure math its nearly impossible for a self learner to solve the end-chapter questions from this book. Im currenlty stuck in many of these problems. If any one happens to have a complete solutions manual, I would give $250.00 for it.
atoms_101@msn.com ... Read more

Book Description
This text is intended for undergraduate nonscience majors, satisfying a general education requirement or seeking an elective in natural science. It is a text on physics, but with an emphasis on topics and applications in astronomy; the perspective is thus different from most undergraduate astronomy courses: rather than discussing what one knows about the heavens (and including, where needed, a brief discussion of the necessary physics), this text develops the principles of physics (as one needs them to understand the behavior of matter on Earth) and uses these to illuminate what we see in the heavens. The fundamental principles governing the behavior of matter and energy are thus used to study the solar system, the structure and evolution of stars, and the early universe. The first part of the book develops Newtonian mechanics with an aim of understanding celestial mechanics. Chapters on electromagnetism and elementary quantum theory lay the foundation of the modern theory of the structure of matter and the role of radiation in the constitution of stars. Kinetic theory and nuclear physics provide the basis for a discussion of stellar structure and evolution. And an examination of red shifts and other observational data provide a basis for discussions of cosmology and cosmogony. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great if you're willing to work a bit
This is a great book. It not only introduces you to some essential and facanating astrophysoics, but it also has a lot about classical mechanics which helps you understand the more advanced parts of the book. All in all it is good for someone who is willing to think about the problems in the book (some make you have to think for youself about the way to solve the problems.) But a scarce amount of calc. and trig (E.I. logarithms/ limits) is necessairy (both of which are on one or two pages each. All in all, a great start for an undergraduate necessairily majoring or someone who is just interested in how the universe works.

The Universe in 300 Pages
I am currently teaching an undergraduate-level course titled "Introduction to Astrophysics and Cosmology" at Stevens Institute of Technology, and I am using this book as the text. The course is intended as a science elective for non-physics majors, so my class consists mostly of computer science majors who have had one semester of physics and two semesters of calculus in their freshman year.

The book provides a good summary of the classical mechanics typically taught in "Physics I" and goes on to cover electricity and magnetism, waves and optics, relativity, and atomic physics, all in the context of explaining astrophysical phenomena. As the title implies, this is an elementary physics text first and foremost, with an emphasis on astrophysics. From a practical perspective, it is relatively small, lightweight, and inexpensive (from the lack of color illustrations, I assume), all of which influenced my decision to adopt it for my course.

Here is a list of some other texts that I considered for adoption and have been using as supplemental references:

Carroll, An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics (Addison-Wesley Longman)
Chaisson, Astronomy Today (Pearson Prentice Hall)
Snow, Universe: Origins and Evolution (Wadsworth)
Zeilik, Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics (Brooks/Cole)

Unique Introduction to Astrophysics - Calculus Not Required
Science, mathematics, and engineering majors typically have little time for the more advanced, and more interesting humanities courses. Humanities majors are typically in a worse situation. In addition to scheduling difficulties, most do not have sufficient mathematical maturity to undertake first year classes in physics, chemistry, and calculus, much less the more advanced (and decidedly more interesting) topics like astrophysics, quantum physics, quantum chemistry, and abstract mathematics.

James Seaborn has created a unique text that targets humanities majors - Understanding the Universe, An Introduction to Physics and Astrophysics. Calculus is not necessary; only that level of high school mathematics generally required for college admissions. We learn the principles of physics, not in the standard format (mechanics followed bythermodynamics, vibrations and waves, electromagnetics, optics, and modern physics), but rather in the fascinating context of exploring the universe.

Seaborn does not skirt mathematics and the student will need to work, but no more than would be required in studying the poetry of William Blake, comparative religions, economic causes of the Civil War, the writings of Jorge Luis Borges, or other more advanced classes in the humanities.

Seaborn has that rare and remarkable ability to present complex and difficult topics with clarity and humor.His writing reminds me of Richard Feynman. His chapters are short and easily digestible. The example problems are well-chosen. I highly recommend this text for students looking for an introduction to physics, or astrophysics, or astronomy. It is really quite exceptional. I suspect that many science majors would also appreciate this short introduction to astrophysics.

Astrophysics: the short course.
The best book I've found for brushing up on forgotten math. Each short chapter covers a subject (optics, for example) and states what you really need to know. The problems at the end fortify that which was just taught. Answers are given to most problems but the method to find them is up to you. An excellent self-teaching book for the amateur astronomer who would like to know some of the science involved or for the serious student who needs to reclaim some lost physics. The book focuses on problems peculiar to astrophysics. Small enough to stick in your shoulder-bag and keep with you. One of my must-keep books.

A concise, lucid introduction to the world of astrophysics
As a former student of the author, I have a good feel for Dr. Seaborn's work and manner in this field. I find this recent work particularly comprehensive and helpful for those wishing to augment theirunderstanding of physics and astronomy.The level of math is suitable for detailed, logical analysis, but notso challenging that non-majors cannot follow the explanations. ... Read more

Book Description

A concise but thorough introduction to the observational data and theoretical concepts underlying modern astronomy, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is designed for advanced undergraduate science majors taking a one-semester course. This well-balanced and up-to-date textbook covers the essentials of modern astrophysics--from stars to cosmology--emphasizing the common, familiar physical principles that govern astronomical phenomena, and the interplay between theory and observation.

In addition to traditional topics such as stellar remnants, galaxies, and the interstellar medium, Astrophysics in a Nutshell introduces subjects at the forefront of modern research, including black holes, dark matter, gravitational lensing, and dark energy, all updated with some of the latest observational results. To aid physical understanding, mathematical derivations are kept as simple, short, and clear as possible, and order-of-magnitude estimates, dimensional analysis, and scaling arguments are frequently used. These no-nonsense, "back-of-the-envelope" calculations train students to think like physicists. The book is amply illustrated with simple, clear figures and each chapter ends with a set of problems.

In addition to serving as a course textbook, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is an ideal review for a qualifying exam and a handy reference for teachers and researchers.

• The most concise and up-to-date astrophysics textbook for science majors
• Contains a broad and well-balanced choice of traditional subjects and current research topics
• Uses simple, short, and clear derivations of physical results
• Trains students in the essential skills of order-of-magnitude analysis
• Includes teaching problems with each chapter

Professors: A supplementary Solutions Manual is available for this book. It is restricted to teachers using the text in courses. For information on how to obtain a copy, refer to: http://pup.princeton.edu/solutions.html (Available January 2008).

Customer Reviews (3)

Not For Teaching, Good for Reference
This text was used with my Astronomy undergradute class for the Fall 2007 semester. My professor simply paraphrased and verbally expounded upon certain topics in the book leading to a boring lecture; and furthermore, I haven't learned anything more than if I had picked up this book myself.

Here are some problems I have with the book:
-I found on several instances that there was the classic physics text book faux pax, 'and as the reader can easily see or do on their own, this equals this'. Would it really be that hard to take 2 sentences to explain what is going on? We are supposed to learn from a text book, not guess as to how things are done.

-Some of the problems having little to do with what was actually covered in the chapter. In a good text book, you should be able to reference concepts AND equations in the chapter to use in working through a problem. What is the point of introducing a topic and then having a problem essentially say, 'ignore all that, and use this simplification'. That completely nullifies the entire point of introducing the topic in the chapter.


The bottom line is that this book should NOT be used as a textbook for an undergradute astronomy course. One should thoroughly learn specific topics that can be continually built upon in later classes. This book glosses over a lot of topics, introduces things conceptually and very briefly that you won't be able to learn in depth until later after more physics.

It's a good reference book for graduates. It is NOT a good textbook, by any stretch of the imagination, for undergraduates; unless, of course, you have an amazing professor which seem few and far between in Astronomy undergrad.

Text much like an outline from lecture notes
I have completed reading this textbook, appreciating the conciseness of the material and completeness of this topic when compared to larger and more rigorous texts.Diagrams are plentiful and explanations flow well, but for the independent reader a more polished, better illustrated text would work better.This physics book would work well with a class supplemented with explanations, more mathematical examples, and correlating images.

useful undergrad text
Maoz presents a book that is well suited to a one term undergraduate course, of say 2 lectures a week. There is enough material, but not too much, so that all of it can be reasonably covered by the lecturer and understood by a typical student.

This being a book on astrophysics, there is little of the descriptive observational material of a general astronomy book. Instead, it assumes a physics background of at least a first undergraduate year with physics courses. So there is assumed a familiarity with simple optics, blackbody curves, a little bit of quantum mechanics, and some good old classical orbital mechanics. All this suffices to define the basics of how a star forms and burns, under a tradeoff between collapsing under its own gravitation and the opposing outward force of nuclear reactions and photon pressure.

There are also 3 chapters on simple General Relativity. Certainly not at the level of Misner, Thorne and Wheeler, or Weinberg. But good enough to illustrate ideas like the Hubble Constant and redshift. ... Read more

Book Description

Astrophysics is a subject that is often - with some justification - regarded as extremely difficult, requiring at least degree-level mathematics as a prerequisite to its understanding. Consequently, many amateur astronomers just don't bother, and miss out on the fascinating fundamentals of the subject, and often on an understanding of exactly what they are observing.

Book Description
Astrophysics: Decoding the Cosmos is an accessible introduction to the key principles and theories underlying astrophysics.

This text takes a close look at the radiation and particles that we receive from astronomical objects, providing a thorough understanding of what this tells us, drawing the information together using examples to illustrate the process of astrophysics. Chapters dedicated to objects showing complex processes are written in an accessible manner and pull relevant background information together to put the subject firmly into context.

The intention of the author is that the book will be a ‘tool chest’ for undergraduate astronomers wanting to know the how of astrophysics. Students will gain a thorough grasp of the key principles, ensuring that this often-difficult subject becomes more accessible. ... Read more

Book Description
Astronomy describes the mechanics of the universe in the more basic language of physics, otherwise known as "astrophysics".Knowledge of black holes, quasars and extrasolar planets requires understanding of the physics underlying astrophysics. This book clarifies the fundamental principles of the field as well as the important astronomical phenomena it describes.Readers will gain a greater appreciation of the connection between physics and astronomy.Download Description
This book develops the basic underlying physics required for a fuller, richer understanding of the science of astrophysics and the important astronomical phenomena it describes. The cosmos manifests phenomena in which physics can appear in its most extreme, and therefore more insightful, forms. A proper understanding of phenomena like black holes, quasars and extrasolar planets requires that we understand the physics that underlies all of astrophysics. Consequently, developing astrophysical concepts from fundamental physics has the potential to achieve two goals: to derive a better understanding of astrophysical phenomena from first principles and to illuminate the physics from which the astrophysics is developed. To that end, astrophysical topics are grouped according to the relevant areas of physics. The book is ideal as a text for graduate and advanced undergraduate students as well as a reference for established researchers. ... Read more

Book Description
High energy astrophysics is one of the most exciting areas of contemporary astronomy, covering the most energetic phenomena in the universe.The highly acclaimed first edition of Professor Longair's book immediately established itself as an essential textbook on high energy astrophysics.In this complete revision, the subject matter has expanded to the point where two volumes are desirable. In the first, a thorough treatment is given of the physical processes that govern the behavior of particles in astrophysical environments such as interstellar gas, neutron stars, and black holes.Special emphasis is placed on how observations are made in high energy astrophysics and the limitations imposed on them.The tools of the astronomer and high energy astrophysicist are introduced in the context of specific astronomical problems.The material in Volume 1 leads to a study of all kinds of high energy phenomena in the galaxy and universe given in the second volume. This book assumes that readers have some knowledge of physics and mathematics at the undergraduate level, but no prior knowledge of astronomy is required.The pair of books covers all aspects of modern high energy astrophysics to the point where current research can be understood. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the best books about Cosmic Rays Astrophysics
The two volumes of "High Energy Astrophysics" by M.S. Longair are amongst my favourite books: I read them several times and every time I found interesting hints for my work.I'm waiting for the third volume for 3 years, but it's still missing from the bookshelf...
The first volume ("Particles, Photons and Their Detection") focuses on the interactions between high energy particles and matter, in order to help the reader to understand how detectors work.The theoretical approach is deep enough not to hide the "dirty" steps of the calculations, and some subsection requires good mathematical skills (well, not as much as for Russian books ;-).
The second volume ("Stars, the Galaxy and Interstellar Medium") focuses on the Physics of cosmic rays (CR) while they run through the Galaxy.The author takes the occasion to explain several very exciting items, from the proposed mechanisms of CR acceleration and high energy photons emission, to the diffusion through the interstellar medium and the Solar wind, untill the CR reach the Earth.Special emphasis is given to open problems -- only very few of them were solved in the meantime (Nov. 2001).
The 2 volumes are well suited for advanced students in Physics or Astronomy, and are a good reference for researchers. ... Read more

Book Description
Astronomy, astrophysics and space research have witnessed an explosive development over the last few decades. The new observational potential offered by space stations and the availability of powerful and highly specialized computers have revealed novel aspects of the fascinating realm of galaxies, quasars, stars and planets. The present completely revised 5th edition of The New Cosmos provides ample evidence of these dramatic developments. In a concise presentation, which assumes only a modest prior knowledge of mathematics and physics, the book gives a coherent introduction to the entire field of astronomy and astrophysics. At the same time it takes into account the art of observation and the fundamental ideas behind their interpretation. Like its predecessors, this edition of The New Cosmos will provide new insight and enjoyment not only to students and researchers in the fields of astronomy, physics and earth sciences, but also to a wide range of interested amateurs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The New Cosmos, Intro Astronomy & Astrophysics
This book meets my expectations in that it covers a wide variety of topics, in some detail.I wanted to take a "step up" regarding technical detail, and this book is what I was looking for.The only drawback is the occasional heavy mathematics, but this is something I can grow into, and is not essential to enjoying the book.

applies physics to astronomy
As a physics undergrad, an earlier edition of this book was one of our texts in 1982. The latest edition continues the tradition of providing a lucid description of the basic physical principles underlying astronomic phenomena.

Hence, you are shown how the temperature in a star can rise, because as its atoms fall towards each other under mutual gravity, the conservation of energy leads to an increase in kinetic energy and hence temperature. Enough to eventually trigger ignition of nuclear reactions. Well, provided the initial mass is large enough. Otherwise one gets brown dwarfs or gas giants like Jupiter.

Other subjects like spectroscopy are also derived from basic principles. It's nice to see how we can get the surface temperature of a star by looking at its spectrum and seeing which lines exist. And the strength of the magnetic field on its surface by the amount of splitting in certain lines. And even the rate of rotation by the minute Doppler shifts.

The evolution of the elements, from nuclear fusion, is well done. The text refers to the classic papers, including B2FH (Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler and Hoyle). Other key contributors like Chandrasekhar get their fair mention.

A very good introduction to astronomy and astrophysics
It's not the flashiest text, I agree.But I think it can be used for a first course on astronomy and astrophysics (for students with some basic calculus and physics).

It covers everything:Celestial mechanics, the Sun and its planetary system, electromagnetic radiation, telescopes and detectors, astrophysics of individual stars, star clusters, interstellar matter, the Milky Way, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, cosmology, and cosmogony.But the style is concise, and there isn't enough space to cover it all in detail.It requires careful reading, and if used for a class, some topics probably need to be skipped or amplified by an instructor.

What would I add to it?Not much.Maybe a little more on planetary dynamics and magnetospheres, since I happen to find them interesting.Perhaps more material on relativity.

Solid astronomical textbook
This book may not be the most flashy in illustrations and will require that you actually read whole sections instead of just browsing the highlights in sidebars. But it does contain a lot of solid information going into more detail on several topics than other introductory textbooks. It is targeted rather at the graduating physics student than at an interested lay person.

German Science
Being a German-American, I thought this book would get to the rudiments of astrophysics - and it does. Unfortunately, I seem to fall asleep before reading a page or two. The book is full of information ... in TEXT form. The illustrations offered are dry and somewhat difficult to extract information from. The methods of problem solving assume that you have a good handle on the topics discussed already (not for introductory Astrophysicists). If you are in need of a book to give straight to the point explanations, and fundamental equations - you've found it! Try reading at a coffee shop, though - and no decaf! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Not a bad reference book for astrophysics students
This book is an ok reference book, if you've already seen the material in the book.The price is way too high.Whatever you do don't pay 180 bucks for this book. The preliminary section is weirdly way harder than the main text of the book. I had as my freshman astrophysics course text book and nearly dropped the course because the prelimary section was so scary. My biggest problem is the book uses MKS not CGS units. This would make the book more acessible to the reader with a physics (but no astronomy) background, but only does a disservice to the reader who wishes to use this book as a bridge to more advanced astronomical literature.

Intro to Astronomy
Nicely written textbook for the first year student in astronomy and astrophysics.Clearly written.

An excellent introductory book in astronomy/astrophysics
I used this book in an independent study class in astronomy and astrophysics while I was an undergraduate.With the exception of the some errors in the equations in the opacity section I found this book to be clearly written and not too difficult.You will need to know your college physics and some math but that should be expected since this is not a descriptive text.If you want a descriptive astronomy text search elsewhere, if you want an introductory astrophysics text this is a good choice.

good if you know whats up
i think this book is good if you already know a bit about astronomy and physics.it covers the topics it wants to very well, and very in depth. however, it has no logical sequencing of the chapters, and thus is a wonderful reference text, but not so great when it comes to learning in a call

OK General Study Book
This book is a good compromise between the less analytical texts and some of the books geared toward astonomy majors. It is not a great book but I felt it was up to date and comprehensive. One note though, the authors assume you have a good grounding in undergrad math and physics. On several occasions I had to pull out one of my math or physics texts to review a subject so I could understand the material being presented. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Subset of Introduction to Modern Astrophysics
Aimed at the advanced physics or astronomy undergraduate student, this is an offspring of Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, often called BOB (Big Orange Book).

The one problem most often reported about BOB is its size, 1400 pages. Consequently this new, less expensive, smaller book has been produced that is smaller, more compact, and aimed at specific subject areas. In this book numerous subjects have been simply left out. These include: optics, the Solar System, and pulsars. Other areas have been greatly reduced in size: stellar evolution and radiative transfer. What's left is the core material needed for a course in Galactic Astrophysics and Cosmology.

This new second edition, badly needed since the first edition is now ten years old. In these ten years, there seems to have been just about as much discovered as in the centuries before. Discoveries like the universe is not slowing down but, rather, is actually accelerating, Dark energy wasn't even imagined at that time (and isn't easy to imagine now).

The book is aimed at the advanced undergraduate level after the student has had several previous physics classes and mathematics through differential equasions. ... Read more

Book Description
The highly acclaimed first edition of High Energy Astrophysics instantly established itself as a classic in the teaching of contemporary astronomy. Reflecting the immense interest and developments in the subject, Professor Longair has developed the second edition into three texts; in this second volume he provides a comprehensive discussion of the high energy astrophysics of stars, the Galaxy and the interstellar medium. He develops an understanding for the essential physics with an elegance and infectious enthusiasm for which his teaching is internationally renowned, illustrating the issues throughout with results from the forefront of research. This book takes the student with an undergraduate background inphysics and mathematics--but not necessarily with training in astronomy--to the point where current astrophysical research can be understood. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the best books about Cosmic Rays Astrophysics
The two volumes of "High Energy Astrophysics" by M.S. Longair are amongst my favourite books: I read them several times and every time I found interesting hints for my work.I'm waiting for the third volume for 3 years, but it's still missing from the bookshelf...
The first volume ("Particles, Photons and Their Detection") focuses on the interactions between high energy particles and matter, in order to help the reader to understand how detectors work.The theoretical approach is deep enough not to hide the "dirty" steps of the calculations, and some subsection requires good mathematical skills (well, not as much as for Russian books ;-).
The second volume ("Stars, the Galaxy and Interstellar Medium") focuses on the Physics of cosmic rays (CR) while they run through the Galaxy.The author takes the occasion to explain several very exciting items, from the proposed mechanisms of CR acceleration and high energy photons emission, to the diffusion through the interstellar medium and the Solar wind, untill the CR reach the Earth.Special emphasis is given to open problems -- only very few of them were solved in the meantime (Nov. 2001).
The 2 volumes are well suited for advanced students in Physics or Astronomy, and are a good reference for researchers. ... Read more

Book Description

Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology offers a succinct and self-contained treatment of general relativity and its application to compact objects, gravitational waves and cosmology. The required mathematical concepts are introduced informally, following geometrical intuition as much as possible. The approach is theoretical, but there is ample discussion of observational aspects and of instrumental issues where appropriate.

Customer Reviews (2)

Nice Text
Modern Stellar Astrophysics was a nice book. It was organized very well and presented the material in an orderly fashion. I thought that it lacked depth though. It gave many concepts, but they lacked mathematical examples to go with those concepts. A good book for people who already understand modern physics, but for those without a deep understanding of modern physics it will leave many open questions. Lastly, the homework questions at the end of the chapters resembled those examples throughout the chapters themselves very closely and even identically, thus answering them takes absolutely no analytical skills just mere copying.

Update:given that I really enjoyed this book I am updating this review.This book is really excellent for people with advanced knowledge of modern physics.However, it is not a good book for people without at least an introductory course in modern physics and possibly a course in quantum mechanics.This book does not rigorously attempt to teach physics, rather it assumes prior knowledge.Given that said, this book is very enjoyable book to read for those with the background knowledge; it takes a history of astrophysics approach.Really great book and I am scoring this book a perfect 5.

An Excellent Comprehensive Introduction to the subject..
This is an excellent introduction to Stellar Astrophysics, covering from the very start the essential concepts needed to undertake the subject, and gradually building up untill a nice introductory level is achieved. The book is well organized: divided into two blocks, starts by setting a solid basis upon which later presents the subject. In the first and introductory part, the essential astronomical concepts are explained, and in the second part the author gets into the actual Astrophysics of Stars. The book is pleasant on several levels;conceptually, coherently and aesthetically, all this while making use of a clear, straightforward matheticall formalism which is simple enough to follow.It is well suited for an introductory course at the undergraduate level, and one of the few books which actually bridges the gap between the high-level available pieces and the general public oriented literature on the subject. ... Read more

Book Description

The field of astrophysics is in the midst of a technologically driven renaissance, as fundamental discoveries are being made with astonishing frequency. In the last decade, new detectors in space, on earth, and deep underground have, when coupled with the computational power of modern computers, revolutionized our knowledge and understanding of the astronomical world. This is a great time for a student of any age to become acquainted with the remarkable universe in which we live. This volume is a collection of essays, originally presented orally to a diverse group of students and professionals, which reveal the most fertile areas for future study of astronomy and astrophysics. The emphasis of this work is on the clear description of the current state of our knowledge as a preparation for the future unraveling of the mysteries of the universe that appear today as most fundamental and most amenable to solution.

A stellar group of astronomers and astrophysicists describes the directions and styles of work that they think are most likely to lead to progress. Bibliographical notes at the end of each presentation provide guidance for the reader who wishes to go more deeply into a given subject. Unsolved Problems in Astrophysics is a uniquely stimulating introduction to some of the most important topics in modern astrophysics.

Customer Reviews (2)

Good book on a wealth of topics
This book provides a great amount of information on a wide variety of hot topics in contemporary astronomy, such as cosmology, AGNs, GRBs, and dark matter.My only complaint is that the material does tend to slant towardsextragalactic astronomy.However, otherwise the material is extremelyuseful for someone looking for fresh material to work on.The referencesalso provided within are great.The reading level is also easy, and isprobably similar to Scientific American or Sky & Telescope.

the information contained therein is accurate and readable!
As far as I have been able to see with cross-referencing and my own checks and double-checks, the information in this publication is accurate.The layman ought be able to understand it with minimal effort.Very readable. ... Read more

Book Description
High-energy astrophysics covers cosmic phenomena that occur under the most extreme physical conditions. It explores the most violent events in the Universe: the explosion of stars, matter falling into black holes, and gamma-ray bursts - the most luminous explosions since the Big Bang. Driven by a wealth of new observations, the last decade has seen a large leap forward in our understanding of these phenomena. Exploring modern topics of high-energy astrophysics, such as supernovae, neutron stars, compact binary systems, gamma-ray bursts, and active galactic nuclei, this textbook is ideal for undergraduate students in high-energy astrophysics. It is a self-supporting, timely overview of this exciting field of research. Assuming a familiarity with basic physics, it introduces all other concepts, such as gas dynamics or radiation processes, in an instructive way. An extended appendix gives an overview of some of the most important high-energy astrophysics instruments, and each chapter ends with exercises. ... Read more

Book Description
Radiative Processes in Astrophysics: This clear, straightforward, and fundamental introduction is designed to present-from a physicist's point of view-radiation processes and their applications to astrophysical phenomena and space science. It covers such topics as radiative transfer theory, relativistic covariance and kinematics, bremsstrahlung radiation, synchrotron radiation, Compton scattering, some plasma effects, and radiative transitions in atoms. Discussion begins with first principles, physically motivating and deriving all results rather than merely presenting finished formulae. However, a reasonably good physics background (introductory quantum mechanics, intermediate electromagnetic theory, special relativity, and some statistical mechanics) is required. Much of this prerequisite material is provided by brief reviews, making the book a self-contained reference for workers in the field as well as the ideal text for senior or first-year graduate students of astronomy, astrophysics, and related physics courses. Radiative Processes in Astrophysics also contains about 75 problems, with solutions, illustrating applications of the material and methods for calculating results. This important and integral section emphasizes physical intuition by presenting important results that are used throughout the main text; it is here that most of the practical astrophysical applications become apparent. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An Almost Perfect Book for a Course on Astrophysics
One of the peculiarities of Astrophysics is that, as a
subject, is difficult to teach. It requires to go deep into
the physics of the objects under study (which span the whole
Universe) but alto to keep a broad view (the so called "Big
Picture") since most of the objects and their histories
cannot be understood if they are isolated from the others.
One of the problems a teacher faces is, hence, how to strike a
balance between these two disparate goals within the limited
time of one or two academic terms.

Rybicki and Lightman success with this book is to take the
physics of astrophysical problems involving radiation from
the general approaches of the physics books to the particular
conditions of most of the cases that astronomy cares about
without leaving rigorousity along the way. With a little
abuse of language: They bring Physics a step closer to
Astronomy.

On the other hand, the area of actual applications that
astronomers use is almost neglected. For example, the
introductory chapters on Radiative Transfer and Black
Body Radiation could have served to motivate a chapter on
theoretical basis of photometry (theoretical approach to
color indices, extinction by dust or other microscopic
particles). This would have given the student a more
realistic flavor of the tools that astrophysicists use
in their everyday (every night?) work. The Problem Sets,
in addition, are claiming for a few numerical
applications to profit from the, now easily available
to students, computer power.

Every serious astrophysics teacher and student should
use this book... and think hard on how to take the
next step from Rybicki and Lightman to the Absolute
Magnitude versus Color Index diagrams.

Excellent Discussion
Thorough, concise, and very readable. Topics are clearly presented, equations are elegantly explained. One of the most useful texts I own.

Standard Text in the Field
This is THE standard text in the field of astrophysical radiation processes. Covers most processes of interest for the astrophysicist, at a depth adequate for graduate students. Well written and understandable. A must buy, despite the very high price. ... Read more

Product Description
This unique book provides a clear and lucid description of several aspects of astrophysics and cosmology in a language understandable to a physicist or beginner in astrophysics. It presents the key topics in all branches of astrophysics and cosmology in a simple and concise language. The emphasis is on currently active research areas and exciting new frontiers rather than on more pedantic topics. Many complicated results are introduced with simple, novel derivations which strengthen the conceptual understanding of the subject. The book also contains over one hundred exercises which will help students in their self study.Undergraduate and graduate students in physics and astrophysics as well as all physicists who are interested in obtaining a quick grasp of astrophysical concepts will find this book useful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An Invitation to Astrophysics
I have been trying to find a book like this for years because I want a deeper understanding of the many exciting contemporary issues of astrophysics.Older, classic texts were of little help, but Prof. Padmanabhan's book has become the perfect companion and guide to my more fully appreciating today's technical papers, ranging from solar system physics to cosmology, published in journals like Science and Nature.

But you must be facile with theoretical physics at the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level and be willing to fill in the missing, but usually obvious,algebraic steps between formulae to get the most from this book.The book is hard, but not dry and Prof. Padmanabhan accompanies you with many personal comments as if you were in his class.

Even if you can only work through a few pages at a time, the rewards are high.I will leave with two personal experiences: (1) in the spirit of Feynman, Prof. Padmanabhan gives a physically intuitive development of the classical radiation field in two or three pages that I wished I had seen as a student many years ago, and (2) in one and a half pages, he cogently discusses Lagrangian points and the Roche limit that, in the former is relevant to LISA, the orbiting gravitational intevferometer, and in the latter quantifies the iconic picture of a white dwarf capturing gas from its bloated red giant companion.
Michael Bozoian, Ph.D.

Twinkle, twinkle, little equations...
This book, while an introduction to astrophysics, really is an introduction for those already at a fairly high level of sophistication with theoretical physics and mathematics.According to the preface, Padmanabhan states, `I expect the reader to know the basics of classical and quantum mechanics, special relativity, electrodynamics, etc.'The algebra and calculus requirements are at the very least to the advanced undergraduate level - I've had calculus through differential equations, statistics and abstract algebra, and still found this a very challenging text.The development of the subject is carried forward as much by mathematical equations as it is through narrative description - this is very far from being a text for the popular press; Stephen Hawking made the comment in his book, `A Brief History of Time,' that his publisher warned against equations, stating that for every equation one loses half the readership - by that calculation, the readership here becomes very small.I do not say this as a criticism of the text or its contents, but simply to advise those expecting a more layperson-friendly text that this is not that book.

For those with education and background in physics and mathematics who might want a rigourous introduction to astrophysics, this might well be the book to use.The development of topics is sound.There are occasional flourishes of creativity in the text, but for the most part, this is a straight-forward presentation.General relativity is introduced early, along with other issues of gravitation, radiative processes and topics dealing with matter.These set the stage for the more familiar astrophysical topics of stellar evolution and star structures, star remnants (black holes, white dwarves, supernova, etc.), cosmology and early universe (including the early minutes and earlier, in which so much work has been done in the past few decades), large scale structures such as galaxies, and how galaxies can evolve and demonstrate activity.

For those who find mathematics an impediment, this is not the right text.For those who have a solid background in physics and mathematics, this book will be a good choice.Padmanabhan is author of a much larger series on astrophysics, a three-volume set published through Cambridge - it is clear that he knows his topic, but as a self-study, this is a not a cake-walk for most.
... Read more

Book Description

Today's standard textbooks treat the theoretical structure of electric and magnetic fields, but their emphasis is on electromagnetic radiation and static-electric and magnetic fields. In this book, Eugene Parker provides advanced graduate students and researchers with a much-needed complement to existing texts, one that discusses the dynamic electromagnetism of the cosmos--that is, the vast magnetic fields that are carried bodily in the swirling ionized gases of stars and galaxies and throughout intergalactic space.

Parker is arguably the world's leading authority on solar wind and the effects of magnetic fields in the heliosphere, and his originality of thought and distinctive approach to physics are very much in evidence here. Seeking to enrich discussions in standard texts and correct misconceptions about the dynamics of these large-scale fields, Parker engages readers in a series of "conversations" that are at times anecdotal and even entertaining without ever sacrificing theoretical rigor. The dynamics he describes represents the Maxwell stresses of the magnetic field working against the pressure and inertia of the bulk motion of ionized gases, characterized in terms of the magnetic field and gas velocity. Parker shows how this dynamic interaction cannot be fully expressed in terms of the electric current and electric field.

Conversations on Electric and Magnetic Fields in the Cosmos goes back to basics to explain why classical hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics are inescapable, even in the deepest reaches of space.

Book Description
This second volume of a comprehensive three-volume work on theoretical astrophysics deals with stellar physics. After reviewing the key observational results and nomenclature used in stellar astronomy, the book develops a solid understanding of central concepts including stellar structure and evolution, the physics of stellar remnants, pulsars, binary stars, the sun and planetary systems, interstellar medium and globular clusters. Throughout, the reader's comprehension is developed and tested with more than seventy-five exercises.This indispensable volume will allow graduate students to master the material sufficiently to read and engage in research with heightened understanding.It can be used alone or in conjunction with Volume 1, which covers a wide range of astrophysical processes, and the forthcoming Volume 3, on galaxies and cosmology. ... Read more