Search

As new discoveries complicate the scientific picture of the universe, the evolving theories about the nature of space and time and the origins and fate of the universe threaten to become overwhelming. Enter David Seargent. Continuing the author's series of books popularizing strange astronomy facts and knowledge, Weird Universe explains the bizarre, complicated terrain of modern cosmology for lay readers.From exploring some of the strange consequences of the theories of special and general relativity, to probing time dilation and the twin and mother-and-baby “paradoxes” and the theory that the universe can be mathematically considered as a hologram, all of the latest findings and conjectures are clearly described in non-technical language. The development of quantum physics and the more recent developments of string and M-theory are looked at, in addition to several hypotheses that have not won wide acceptance from the scientific community, such as modified gravity. Enter the wonderfully weird world of these theories and gain a new appreciation for the latest findings in cosmological research.

It is commonly assumed that if the Sun suddenly turned into a black hole, it would suck Earth and the rest of the planets into oblivion. Yet, as prominent author and astrophysicist Jeffrey Bennett points out, black holes don't suck. With that simple idea in mind, Bennett begins an entertaining introduction to Einstein's theories of relativity, describing the amazing phenomena readers would actually experience if they took a trip to a black hole.The theory of relativity reveals the speed of light as the cosmic speed limit, the mind-bending ideas of time dilation and curvature of spacetime, and what may be the most famous equation in history: E = mc2. Indeed, the theory of relativity shapes much of our modern understanding of the universe. It is not'just a theory'—every major prediction of relativity has been tested to exquisite precision, and its practical applications include the Global Positioning System (GPS). Amply illustrated and written in clear, accessible prose, Bennett's book proves anyone can grasp the basics of Einstein's ideas. His intuitive, nonmathematical approach gives a wide audience its first real taste of how relativity works and why it is so important to science and the way we view ourselves as human beings.

Chapter 1 - Gravitational Lens Chapter 2 - Dynamical Friction and Einstein Ring Chapter 3 - Frame-Dragging Chapter 4 - Gravitational Induction and Gravitational Lensing Formalism Chapter 5 - Gravitational Microlensing Chapter 6 - Gravitational Time Dilation Chapter 7 - Gravitational Wave Chapter 8 - Gravity Assist Chapter 9 - Lunar Theory Chapter 10 - Shapiro Delay and Tidal Force Chapter 11 - Speed of Gravity Chapter 12 - Gravitational Redshift Chapter 13 - Gravitomagnetism

This book presents the first comprehensive exploration of the state of this well studied and thus unsolved mystery of the value of the Hubble constant. Chapters covering data, systematics, independent methodologies, and theoretical explanations are authored by distinguished subject-matter experts. Tailored for scientists in the field or adjacent fields, this book provides a resource of insights and also an in-depth background sufficient for motivating future study. Key Features: Introduction: Written by the Nobel Laureate Adam Riess. Measurement Techniques: Gain a profound understanding of the leading Hubble constant measurement techniques, from parallax and masers to supernovae and cosmic chronometers, dissected by leading authorities on each. Systematic Errors: A deep dive into the complexities of data. Experts scrutinize potential sources of systematics that may contribute to the observed disagreements, offering a nuanced view of the challenges in Hubble constant determinations. Theoretical Explanations and Progress: A review of the theoretical explanations, some that are still standing, and some that have been ruled out; all of which have led to scientific progress toward the truth. A Comprehensive Take: This book covers every key and influential aspect to the dilemma of the Hubble tension to date and has gathered world-leading voices on each respective topic.

This book explores Einstein's theory of general relativity, which revolutionized our understanding of gravity and space-time. The book covers topics such as the curvature of space-time, black holes, and the expanding universe. It also discusses the applications of general relativity in modern physics and cosmology. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding one of the most significant scientific theories of the 20th century.

This book highlights a comprehensive coverage of X­‐ray and Gamma‐ray astrophysics. The first and the second parts discuss, respectively, X-ray and Gamma-ray experimental techniques and observatories. The third part is devoted to science, including galactic and extragalactic sources. The fourth and last parts are dedicated to analysis techniques in X-ray and Gamma-ray astronomy: spectral analysis, imagining analysis, timing analysis, and polarimetric analysis. Presenting the state of the art in X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, this is both a valuable book for students and an important reference resource for researchers in the field.

This textbook introduces the reader to the study of astrophysics through a journey that spans the fields of physics, mathematics, and technology. Based on the author's extensive teaching experience, it emphasizes the fundamental observational data and theoretical methods employed for constructing models of stars, galaxies, and large-scale structures in the universe. After an introduction outlining the historical development of universe studies, Part I delves into gravitational theories including basic general relativity and gravitational waves. Part II explores radiation and plasma processes crucial for interpreting observed data and modeling cosmic objects. Part III addresses the observational techniques essential in astrophysics, along with the analysis of astrophysical parameters obtained from photometry and spectroscopy.

This book discusses in great detail the best theory of gravitation known to date: Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. Based on this theory, Gravitation examines compact objects (including white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes) and gravitational waves, and then explores the importance of relativity in cosmology, the Big Bang and the organization of structure in the universe. Many practical examples are also provided throughout the book.

The 15th Edition of Seeds/Backman/Wegryn's HORIZONS: EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE, is made for aspiring astronomers and science enthusiasts alike. This edition brings together the latest discoveries and interactive tools to match a variety of learning styles. Explore stars and how they're connected to planet formation and life on Earth.

This book provides a brief and pedagogic introduction to a variety of topics, with a common motif that they all occur, in some way or other, in “the sky”, and involve some sort of “rhythm”. Sky is not just the inside of a dome; there are many strata, each with its own beauties and mysteries. As we go up, the atmosphere thins out and ends, and we move into the space, into the realms of planets, asteroids, and comets, and even further, beyond the solar system into the vast Milky Way galaxy. This is where the night sky comes in, with all its twinkling stars, the stars in our own galaxy. We must use telescopes to explore further. In this book, we will start from the ancient astronomers and how they studied the motion of earth through space. Study of planetary orbits, from Kepler and Newton to Einstein, had been fascinating. We will try to take the reader through the wonderful worlds of the cepheid variables and pulsars to the strange oscillations of the neutrinos and the new eye to look at the universe, namely the gravitational waves. The book stops at the discovery of the black hole at the center of our galaxy, but that is just because we must stop somewhere, or the assortment could go on ad infinitum. Some of these topics are highly mathematical in nature, but we will try to avoid the complicated mathematics as much as possible, without compromising with the rigor.

A leading astronomer and gifted teacher takes readers on a wondrous tour—'perfect for anyone who enjoyed Astrophysics for People in a Hurry'(Publishers Weekly)—of how science confronts the big questions about the origins, destiny, and fundamental nature of our universe Humans have learned a lot about the world around us and the universe beyond. We have made powerful insights and created profound theories about the universe and everything in it. Surely the ultimate theory must be waiting, just beyond our current knowledge. Well, maybe. In Into the Unknown, astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson takes us to the edge of scientific understanding about the universe: What caused the Big Bang? What happens inside black holes? Are there other dimensions? She doesn't just celebrate what we know but rather what we don't, and asks what it means if we never find that knowledge. Exploring the convergence of science, philosophy, and theology, Johnson argues we must reckon with possibilities—including those that may be beyond human comprehension. The very places where we run smack into total ignorance are the places where the most important questions—about the philosophy of knowledge, the nature of our cosmos, and even the existence of God—await. As accessible as it is profound, Into the Unknown invites each of us to join in the great quest for knowledge.

This textbook provides an accessible and self-contained introduction to the physics behind fluid dynamics; exploring the laws of nature describing three out of four fundamental states of matter (liquids, gases, and plasmas). Based on years of teaching of fluid dynamics theory and computation at advanced undergraduate level, it provides readers with the tools to understand and model fluid dynamical systems across a wide range of applications, from dense liquids to dilute space plasmas. The book covers the principles of fluid dynamics for an audience without prior exposure to fluid dynamics specifically. Discussion of relevant vector algebra, thermodynamics and electromagnetism is included, to ensure that the book is accessible both to readers experienced in these topics and readers starting from a basic understanding.Example applications are drawn both from astrophysics and physics, touching upon topical research such as relativistic blast waves from neutron star mergers and the implications of plasma nature of the atmosphere for present and future radio observatories. These are contrasted and complemented with examples from general physics (e.g. contrasting the incompressible nature of water with the dilute interstellar medium). It is an ideal textbook for advanced undergraduates studying the topic and will provide a solid foundation for further (postgraduate) studies into fluid dynamics in physics or astrophysics.Key Features: Introduction to fluid dynamics pitched at advanced undergraduate level, accessible to students who are still learning relevant mathematical techniques Includes over 60 exercises and selected worked solutions, in addition to timely examples and easily accessible numerical demonstrations written in C and python for readers to experiment with (https://github.com/hveerten/code_fluid_dynamics_book) Up-to-date selection of topics including fluid dynamics in special relativity and computational fluid dynamics, written by an expert in the field. The book covers all that is needed to independently write a finite-volume solver for Euler's equations and/or reproduce the provided Python and C software Covers a wide range of applications in astrophysics, including first-order Fermi acceleration in shocks, accretion discs, self-similarity in cosmic explosions and interstellar turbulence

In The PI (π) Cycle, discover the fascinating history of the ancient calendar and how it was ultimately changed by the will of God. Follow the story of King Hezekiah of Judea, whose life was extended by 15 years, and learn about the ground-breaking calendar reforms of Julius Caesar. Explore the observations of ancient astronomers, including the Egyptians and Hipparchus, and how they tracked the length of the year. Uncover the mysteries of how the earth generates natural time at God's command and how it was altered to accommodate King Hezekiah's request. This thought-provoking book will leave you marvelling at the power of God and the complexity of time.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry takes readers on an entertaining and edifying tour of the universe.In Neil deGrasse Tyson's delightful journey through the cosmos, his fictional character Merlin responds to popular questions asked by adults and children alike. Merlin, a timeless visitor from Planet Omniscia in the Andromeda Galaxy, has observed firsthand many of the major scientific events of Earth's history. Merlin's friends include the most important scientific figures and explorers of all time—da Vinci, Magellan, Newton, Einstein, and Hubble. While Merlin occasionally recounts playful conversations with these luminaries, all questions are answered with authentic science, infused with wit, wisdom, and an occasional rhyme. With the help of intermittent humorous cartoons, Merlin clarifies the details of familiar phenomena like gravity, light, space, and time, and travels to distant stars and galaxies to describe what makes them tick, rotate, explode, and collapse.Merlin's Tour of the Universe is perfect for anyone who harbors burning questions on how the cosmos works.

Pathways to the Origin and Evolition of Meanings in the Universe The book explains why meaning is a part of the universe populated by life, and how organisms generate meanings and then use them for creative transformation of the environment and themselves. This book focuses on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of biology, semiotics, philosophy, ethology, information theory, and the theory of evolution. Such a broad approach provides a rich context for the study of organisms and other semiotic agents in their environments. This methodology can be applied to robotics and artificial intelligence for developing robust, adaptable learning devices. In this book, leading interdisciplinary scholars reveal their vision on how to integrate natural sciences with semiotics, a theory of meaning-making and signification. Developments in biology indicate that the capacity to create and understand signs is not limited to humans or vertebrate animals, but exists in all living organisms - the fact that inspired the integration of biology and semiotics into biosemiotics. The authors discuss the nature of semiotic agents (organisms and other autonomous goal-directed units), meaning, signs, information, memory, evolution, and consciousness. Also discussed are issues including the origin of life, potential meaning and its actualization, top-down causality in physics and biology, capacity of organisms to encode their functions, the strategy of organisms to combine homeostasis with direct adaptation to new life-cycle phases or new environments, multi-level memory systems, increase of freedom via enabling constraints, creative modeling in evolution and learning, communication in animals and humans, the origin and function of language, and the distribution and transfer of life in space. This is the first book on biosemiotics in its global conceptual and spatial scope. Biosemiotics is presented using the language of natural sciences, which supports the scientific grounding of semiotic terms. Finally, the cosmic dimension of life and meaning-making leads to a reconsideration of ethical principles and ecological mentality here on earth and in space exploration. Audience Theoretical biologists, ethologists, astrobiologists, ecologists, evolutionary biologists, philosophers, phenomenologists, semioticians, biosemioticians, molecular biologists, linguists, system scientists and engineers.

Discover the undiscovered with this jargon-free introduction to astrophysics Astronomy is the study of what you see in the sky. Physics is the study of how things work. Astrophysics is the study of how things in the sky work, from large objects to tiny particles. Astrophysics For Dummies breaks it all down for you, making this difficult but fascinating topic accessible to anyone. Tracking the topics covered in a typical undergraduate astrophysics class, this book will teach you the essential pieces to understanding our universe. Get ready to launch into outer space with this ever-changing branch of science. Discover the latest advances in the world of astrophysics Understand how and why galaxies form and evolve Find out the origins of cosmic rays Get a standalone primer on the science or supplement your astrophysics courseStudents in introductory astrophysics courses and would-be astronomy buffs who want to better understand the mechanics of the universe will love Astrophysics For Dummies.

Get the Summary of Neil deGrasse Tyson & Charles Liu's StarTalk in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book.'StarTalk'by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Charles Liu explores the multifaceted challenges and wonders of space exploration, from the practicalities of living on Mars to the profound implications of time travel and extraterrestrial life. The book delves into the history and future of space missions, highlighting the International Space Station's contributions and the potential for Mars colonization. It discusses the physical effects of space on astronauts, the importance of diverse skills in space missions, and the technological advancements needed for long-term space travel...

Have you ever gazed up at the night sky and wondered how many stars you can see? Whether the universe is infinite? Or, more prosaically, what the chances are of you being hit by a rock from space? The Quizzer's Guide to the Cosmos is here to satisfy your curiosity by offering an overview of the history of astronomy, from the earliest beginnings through to the most recent discoveries. This isn't a typical astronomy book, however — it's packed with a 500-question multiple-choice quiz that not only makes the book more interactive but also helps you retain information and lets you test your knowledge of some of the most captivating concepts in science. The book will appeal to astronomy buffs and to general quiz afficianados alike. Digital questions and answers also via app: Download the Springer Nature Flashcards app free of charge and test your knowledge.

This book is a collection of contributions presented at the 16th annual international symposium “Frontiers of Fundamental Physics” (FFP16), supported by Istanbul University. As a document of the latest occurrence of this very important gathering, it presents the most recent advances in fundamental physics and physics teaching. For nearly fifteen years, the FFP has attracted some of the greatest physicists in the world. The broad objective of the entire endeavor has been to enable scholars working in slightly different areas to meet on a single platform. Even with this particular year's safety restrictions arising from Covid, we feel that the general mission has been carried out as fully as in any year. The book features addresses given by a host of expert contributors, all of which are organized according to seven individual themes. The areas covered include Astronomy and Astrophysics, Particle Physics, Theoretical Physics, Gravitation and Cosmology, Computational Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Complex Systems and related areas. This book should prove to be a veritable bounty for anyone with an interest in the continued evolution of our understanding of the physical world.

Throughout the history of science, different thinkers, philosophers and scientists postulated the existence of entities that, in spite of their not being visible or detectable in their time, or perhaps ever, were nevertheless useful to explain the real world. We started this book by looking at a handful of these entities. These included phlogiston to account for fire; the luminiferous ether for propagation of radiation; the homunculus to provide for heredity; and crystalline spheres to carry the wandering planets around the earth. Many of these erroneous beliefs had held up progress, just as dragons drawn on the edges of a map discouraged exploration. This pattern of science evolution continued through the centuries up to the present day.The book evolved into a more extensive history of how science evolved through controversy, suppression, and the desire to maintain the status quo. Our story passes from the Babylonians and Greeks through the middle ages, the renaissance and the scientific revolution to almost current events. We discuss the evolution of our world, the controversy about the extinction of dinosaurs, and open questions in contemporary science such as dark matter, black holes and the origin of the Universe, including how we understand the subatomic world of elementary particles.Most of the chapters deal with astronomy, cosmology and physics, but there are brief ventures into geosciences (continental drift), biosciences (the homunculus), atmospheric physics (Heaviside layer), paleontology (the extinction of dinosaurs), and computer science (artificial intelligence). The authors present a sequence of how mistakes and fallacies have been purged from our quest to understand nature. The way these changes have come about are skillfully set in their relevant historical contexts.

Models of Time and Space from Astrophysics and World Cultures explores how our conceptions of time, space, and the physical universe have evolved across cultures throughout the centuries. Developed with a humanistic approach, this book blends historical sources, biographical profiles of exceptional scientists, and the latest discoveries in both astrophysics and particle physics. This rich read describes the incredible insights and ultimate limits of our knowledge, the physical universe, and how ideas old and new have converged, across the world, to build our current understanding of reality. From the Large Hadron Collider to the James Webb Space Telescope, we have mapped the universe from the smallest to largest scales; allowing us to gain fundamental knowledge that has transformed our understanding of the universe. The chapters herein will teach you about dark matter and dark energy, gravitational waves and other complex parts of the cosmos. Along the way, you will learn a thing or two about quantum mechanics, parallel universes, and the ultimate boundaries of the observable universe. This book cultivates insight from a variety of cultural traditions, including perspectives from both modern and ancient cultures, in order to show how our modern conceptions of space and time have arisen from the ongoing explorations within ancient world civilizations.It is a valuable, intriguing and insightful volume for those interested in the fields of historical astronomy and cultural astronomy, as well as for anyone interested in learning about the latest finds from the field of physics and astrophysics.

In recent years, cosmic rays have become the protagonists of a new scientific revolution. We are able today to film the Universe with telescopes of completely novel conception, recording information from many different messengers and accessing previously unknown cosmic regions.Written by a recognized authority in physics, this book takes readers on a captivating journey through the world of cosmic rays, their role in the revolutionary field of multi-messenger astronomy, their production from powerful accelerators close to the surfaces of black holes and compact objects, reaching the highest levels of energy observed in nature, and the implications this has for our understanding of the Universe. Through the stories of pioneering scientists, explorations of cutting-edge technologies, and simple explanations related to particle physics, quantum mechanics, and astrophysics, the book provides an illuminating state-of-the-art introduction to the current state of high-energy astrophysics. The book was written in straightforward yet rigorous language, so as to be accessible to the greater public. For those curious about the cosmos and cosmic gamma rays, nuclei, neutrinos, and gravitational waves, from casual observers to professional astronomers and physicists, the book is a must-read, offering a thrilling adventure into the future of astronomy and particle physics.

In this book, rotation dynamics of galaxies is described using coupled field equations for the gravitational and electromagnetic fields. Relativistic frame-dragging effect is one of the consequences predicted by the general theory of relativity for rotating masses. However, except for strong gravitational sources, the spacetime dragging is too weak to produce significant modifications around rotating astrophysical systems. Here it is shown that, in the case of gravitational and magnetic field coupling, the effects of magnetic field energy density are enhanced. An outward dragging caused by the coupled effect of the magnetic field and the background spacetime can produce significant increase in the rotational velocities of galaxies. This has important implications for the missing mass problem in galactic dynamics. Other consequences of the magneto-gravitational coupling, such as galactic size, age, and the luminosity-mass relation, consolidate the model of galactic dynamics.

Indulge in this collection of the best astronomy books from the past 800 years. The Astronomers'Library is a rich history of astronomy (and astrology) publishing across Europe. This is a carefully selected arrangement of publications from all over the continent – Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. And of course, as the original world leader in astrology, the middle east is featured, with multiple books from Persia. Humankind has looked to the heavens since the dawn of time, wondering what is out there, as well as how everything works and (originally) who was responsible for it. Every tribe, race and civilization has wondered about our place in the universe and what lies beyond and what lies within it, below our feet. Lately, attention has turned to the origins of the universe. From the turn of the millennium, knowledge and ideas were recorded, first on tablets or rock, then in the form of simple manuscripts, and eventually in a much more elaborate fashion as illustrative and engraving skills evolved. The advent of printed books saw the production of highly illustrated tomes that showed off the skills of the printers as well as the newfound knowledge of the scholars and artists that wrote them. Many of these works pushed the boundaries of illustrated publishing (and continue to do so to this day). They commanded expert illustrators and skilled engravers and hence didn't come cheaply. They were treasured in the libraries of the wealthy and their intrinsic worth has meant that there is an incredible wealth of beautifully preserved historic examples from the 14th century onwards. The significant difference we acknowledge today between astronomy and astrology has a relatively recent past, and the stars have long been associated with creatures, gods, characters and all sorts of divine beings. The study of such has a long, fascinating history that is shown in beautiful detail in the pages of these many beautiful books, and the transition from seeing the stars as characters to understanding them as spinning, celestial beings and part of our huge universe is akin to witnessing the history of the world. As far back as the tenth century, Persian scholars such as Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi was recording his findings, observations and speculations on the wider universe, in his Book of Fixed Stars. The focus turned to Europe in the Middle Ages, with Germany, Holland and England the centres of study and publication. Following the “Copernican Revolution”, observation and study underwent a radical change, paving the way for astronomers such as Kepler, Galilei and Newton to shed further light on the nature of the planets and stars of our known systems, and the ground beneath our feet. Each of those famous names contribute to the illustrated books that are featured within.

This open access book highlights the autonomous and intelligent flight control of future launch vehicles for improving flight autonomy to plan ascent and descent trajectories onboard, and autonomously handle unexpected events or failures during the flight. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, space launch activities worldwide have grown vigorously. Meanwhile, commercial launches also account for the booming trend. Unfortunately, the risk of space launches still exists and is gradually increasing in line with the rapidly rising launch activities and commercial rockets. In the history of space launches, propulsion and control systems are the two main contributors to launch failures. With the development of information technologies, the increase of the functional density of hardware products, the application of redundant or fault-tolerant solutions, and the improvement of the testability of avionics, the launch losses caused by control systems exhibita downward trend, and the failures induced by propulsion systems become the focus of attention. Under these failures, the autonomous planning and guidance control may save the missions. This book focuses on the latest progress of relevant projects and academic studies of autonomous guidance, especially on some advanced methods which can be potentially real-time implemented in the future control system of launch vehicles. In Chapter 1, the prospect and technical challenges are summarized by reviewing the development of launch vehicles. Chapters 2 to 4 mainly focus on the flight in the ascent phase, in which the autonomous guidance is mainly reflected in the online planning. Chapters 5 and 6 mainly discuss the powered descent guidance technologies. Finally, since aerodynamic uncertainties exert a significant impact on the performance of the ascent / landing guidance control systems, the estimation of aerodynamic parameters, which are helpful to improve flight autonomy, is discussed in Chapter 7. The book serves as a valuable reference for researchers and engineers working on launch vehicles. It is also a timely source of information for graduate students interested in the subject.

This third edition of Malcolm Longair's highly acclaimed textbook is an up-to-date text on astrophysical cosmology expounding the structure of classical cosmological models from a contemporary viewpoint. This forms the background to a detailed study of the origin of structure and galaxies in the Universe. The derivations of many of the most important results are described using simple physical arguments which illuminate the results of more advanced treatments. A very wide range of recent observational data is brought to bear upon the problems, including the results from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Planck mission of the European Space Agency, galaxy surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the ALMA submillimetre observatory, studies of Type 1a supernovae and many other remarkable recent observations.This book serves as an ideal text for graduate level courses on astrophysical cosmology and is also highly appreciated as a reference source for professional astrophysicist and cosmologists.

In this work, Prof. Arnold Hanslmeier provides modern and fascinating astronomical knowledge. The book begins with a description of the origin of the universe and goes on to dark matter, black holes and the formation of the solar system. Finally, it is rounded off at the end by the exciting question: Are we alone in the universe?In this book, which originated from a lecture given at the University of Graz for students of all faculties, the author explains the interrelationships clearly and in a generally understandable way with the help of many colourful pictures, without demanding too much basic knowledge of mathematics and physics. Somewhat deeper formulas and text passages are separated from the rest of the text and can be skipped without losing the context.This third edition incorporates new findings such as the spectacular direct discovery of gravitational waves, fascinating images and data from Pluto, and the first landing on a comet. Numerous new photographsand illustrations have been added to aid understanding. The latest data in the field of exoplanet research has also been incorporated.The book is intended not only for students, but also for interested laymen as well as for all those who deal with modern findings of natural science.'Physics, especially astrophysics, can be extremely exciting, I hope my readers gain just that impression by reading this book!'A. Hanslmeier

The Cosmic Perspective delivers an engaging, current introduction to astronomy that is suitable for anyone who is curious about the universe, regardless of prior background in astronomy or physics. Authored by respected teachers and active researchers in the field, this text presents astronomy, using a coherent, thematic narrative that will actively engage you, connect big ideas, and demonstrate the power and process of modern science. The 10th Edition provides new discussion of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, recent research on supermassive black holes, and developments in the search for life beyond Earth. This edition also features new images and insights from modern telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope.

This is an open access book. This book, the first edited collection of its kind, explores the recent emergence of philosophical research in astrophysics. It assembles a variety of original essays from scholars who are currently shaping this field, and it combines insightful overviews of the current state of play with novel, significant contributions. It therefore provides an ideal source for understanding the current debates in philosophy of astrophysics, and it offers new ideas for future cutting-edge research. The selection of essays offered in this book addresses methodological and metaphysical questions that target a wide range of topics, including dark matter, black holes, astrophysical observations and modelling.The book serves as the first standard resource in philosophy of astrophysics for all scholars who work in the field and want to expand or deepen their knowledge, but it also provides anaccessible guide for all those philosophers and scientists who are interested in getting a first, basic understanding of the main issues in philosophy of astrophysics.

This book provides a mathematical and numerical analysis of many problems which lead to paradoxes in contemporary cosmology, in particular, the existence of dark matter and dark energy. It is shown that these hypothetical quantities arise from excessive extrapolations of simple mathematical models to the whole physical universe. Written in a completely different style to most books on General Relativity and cosmology, the important results take the form of mathematical theorems with precise assumptions and statements. All theorems are followed by a corresponding proof, or an exact reference to the proof.Some nonstandard topics are also covered, including violation of the causality principle in Newtonian mechanics, a critical mathematical and numerical analysis of Mercury's perihelion shift, inapplicability of Einstein's equations to the classical two-body problem due to computational complexity, non-uniqueness of the notion of universe, the topology of the universe, various descriptions of a hypersphere, regular tessellations of hyperbolic spaces, local Hubble expansion of the universe, neglected gravitational redshift in the detection of gravitational waves, and the possible distribution of mass inside a black hole. The book also dispels some myths appearing in the theory of relativity and in contemporary cosmology. For example, although the hidden assumption that Einstein's equations provide a good description of the evolution of the whole universe is considered to be obvious, it is just a null hypothesis which has not been verified by any experiment, and has only been postulated by excessive extrapolations of many orders of magnitude.

Written in an accessible style, this unique book aims at describing the Nobel prize winning works in astronomy to readers who only have a background of high school physics. It gives a glimpse of the work done by those prize-winning astronomers at the forefront of research and the state-of-the-art techniques used for that, to an interested reader. There have been 11 years when Nobel prizes in physics have been given to astronomers. These award-winning works cover almost the entire subject of astronomy, starting from stellar structure all the way to cosmology. The prizes have been divided in 7 categories which are described in 7 chapters. For each prize a brief biography of the winner(s) is given first. The subject of the award is put into context and the reader is reminded of all the basic concepts needed for understanding the work before, finally, the prize-winning work is described. This enjoyable book will give the interested reader an excellent overview of the highlights and development of astronomy of the 20th and early 21st century.

The Short Story of the Universe is a new introduction to the subject of the universe. Covering 130 key components that make it up - from dwarf galaxies and spiral arms to red giants and the planets of the solar sytem - and linking these to the universe's structure and the theories that help us understand it, this book simplifies this riveting yet mind-boggling subject, telling the story of how it came into being and how it will eventually be no more. Accessible and concise, generously illustrated throughout, and with all the essential information presented without jargon, readers are given all the tools they need to enjoy the fascinating history of the deepest depths of the universe.

This open access book is a biography of Joseph L. Pawsey. It examines not only his life but the birth and growth of the field of radio astronomy and the state of science itself in twentieth century Australia. The book explains how an isolated continent with limited resources grew to be one of the leaders in the study of radio astronomy and the design of instruments to do so. Pawsey made a name for himself in the international astronomy community within a decade after WWII and coined the term radio astronomy. His most valuable talent was his ability to recruit and support bright young scientists who became the technical and methodological innovators of the era, building new telescopes from the Mills Cross and Chris (Christiansen) Cross to the Parkes radio telescope. The development of aperture synthesis and the controversy surrounding the cosmological interpretation of the first major survey which resulted in the Sydney research group's disagreements withNobel laureate Martin Ryle play major roles in this story. This book also shows the connections among prominent astronomers like Oort, Minkowski, Baade, Struve, famous scientists in the UK such as J.A. Ratcliffe, Edward Appleton and Henry Tizard, and the engineers and physicists in Australia who helped develop the field of radio astronomy. Pawsey was appointed the second Director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (Green Bank, West Virginia) in October 1961; he died in Sydney at the age of 54 in late November 1962. Upper level students, scientists and historians of astronomy and technology will find the information, much of it from primary sources, relevant to any study of Joseph L. Pawsey or radio astronomy. This open access book includes a Foreword by Woodruff T. Sullivan II.

This textbook provides the basic theoretical and practical knowledge of astronomy and astrophysics. It provides an overview from classical astronomy and observational methods to solar physics and astrophysics of stars and galaxies. It concludes with chapters on cosmology, astrobiology, and mathematical and numerical methods. Numerous color illustrations, examples of calculations, and exercises with solutions make this work a useful companion to undergraduate astronomy lectures.The book is suitable for students of physics and astronomy at teacher training level or in the Bachelor's degree - but also people interested in natural sciences with appropriate basic knowledge of mathematics and physics will find here an appealing introduction to the subject.This fourth edition has been updated and revised with respect to the latest developments in astronomy. The chapter on mathematical methods has been redesigned and the software used is now exclusively Python.From thecontents: Spherical astronomy - History of astronomy - Celestial mechanics - Astronomical instruments - Physics of the bodies of the solar system - The Sun - State variables of the stars - Stellar atmospheres - Stellar structure - Stellar evolution - Interstellar matter - The Galaxy - Extragalactic systems - Cosmology - Astrobiology - Mathematical methods.This book is a translation of the original German 4th edition Einführung in Astronomie und Astrophysik by Arnold Hanslmeier, published by Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature in 2020. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.

Astrophysics is often –with some justification – regarded as incomprehensible without the use of higher mathematics. Consequently, many amateur astronomers miss out on some of the most fascinating aspects of the subject. Astrophysics Is Easy! cuts through the difficult mathematics and explains the basics of astrophysics in accessible terms. Using nothing more than plain arithmetic and simple examples, the workings of the universe are outlined in a straightforward yet detailed and easy-to-grasp manner. Following on the success of the first and second editions, this fully updated third edition covers the significant changes in astrophysics theories and research that have occurred in the last five years, including new material on: exomoons, exocomets and exoasteroids; Special and General Relativity; gravitational waves, their origins and detection; telescope optics; black hole astrophysics; and more. For each topic under discussion, an observing list is included so thatobservers can actually see for themselves the concepts presented – stars of the spectral sequence, nebulae, galaxies, even black holes. The book also features in-text, nonmathematical questions and end-of-chapter problems – all with their accompanying solutions – to help readers discuss and digest the material.

With an emphasis on numerical modelling, Physics of the Sun: A First Course presents a quantitative examination of the physical structure of the Sun and the conditions of its extended atmosphere. It gives step-by-step instructions for calculating the numerical values of various physical quantities in different regions of the Sun.Fully updated throughout, with the latest results in solar physics, this second edition covers a wide range of topics on the Sun and stellar astrophysics, including the structure of the Sun, solar radiation, the solar atmosphere, and Sun-space interactions. It explores how the physical conditions in the visible surface of the Sun are determined by the opacity of the material in the atmosphere. It also presents the empirical properties of convection in the Sun, discusses the physical conditions which must be satisfied for nuclear reactions to occur in the core, and describes how radiation transports energy from the core outwards. This text enables a practical appreciation of the physical models of solar processes. Numerical modelling problems and step-by-step instructions are featured throughout, to empower students to calculate, using their own codes, the interior structure of different parts of the Sun and the frequencies of p-modes and g-modes. They encourage a firm grasp of the numerical values of actual physical parameters as a function of radial location in the Sun.It is an ideal introduction to solar physics for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in physics and astronomy, in addition to research professionals looking to incorporate modelling into their practises. Extensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter enable the reader to explore the latest research articles in the field.Features: Fully updated with the latest results from the spacecraft Hinode, Stereo, Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), and Parker Solar Probe Presents step-by-step explanations for calculating numerical models of the photosphere, convection zone, and radiative interior with exercises and simulation problems to test learning Describes the structure of polytropic spheres and the acoustic power in the Sun and the process of thermal conduction in different physical conditions

The remarkable story of how humankind discovered gravitational waves, chronicled with unparalleled historical and scientific vision.In 2016, the LIGO and Virgo Collaborations made headlines when they announced the detection of gravitational waves—a century after Albert Einstein first predicted their existence with his general theory of relativity. With unprecedented perspective as physicists at the forefront of this discovery, Mario Díaz, Gabriela González, and Jorge Pullin provide a comprehensive and accessible account of the quest to find gravitational waves, their controversial history, and the efforts that culminated with their detection and a Nobel Prize in Physics.The Sounds of the Cosmos vividly narrates contributions from the ancient Greeks through Einstein, in addition to the breakthroughs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including the discovery of the Hulse–Taylor binary star system (the first of its kind ever observed) and the technology behind gravitational wave detectors. The authors'fusion of meticulous research and accessible prose makes this book an indispensable resource for the scientifically curious, lending astonishing new context to the revelation that we can “hear” the cosmos through gravitational waves. Written with exceptional historical and conceptual insight, this is a definitive and dazzling journey through “the eternal quest of humankind to understand the universe.”

The Tenth Edition of Explorations: An Introduction to Astronomy continues to share with students a sense of wonder about the universe and the dynamic, ever-changing science of astronomy. Written for students of various educational backgrounds, Explorations emphasizes current, accurate information, a visually exciting art package, accessible writing. The new edition of Explorations: Introduction to Astronomy is also available in McGraw Hill Connect, featuring SmartBook 2.0, STEM Prep Modules, Stellarium Exercises, and more!

A Degree in a Book: Cosmology is the perfect introduction to cosmology, astronomy and astrophysics. Written by one of NASA's leading astronomers and educators, this book provides you with the essential foundations for understanding the science behind the universe we live in. It will help you answer questions such as: • How do we know the universe is expanding?• What is the theory of relativity?• How does the Higgs mechanism work?• What is dark matter?Filled with helpful diagrams, suggestions for further reading and easily digestible history sections, this book makes it easier than ever to understand the workings of the universe. Featuring the most important ideas in the field, including the Theory of Relativity, the Standard Model, Loop Quantum Gravity, and Supersymmetry, it covers the whole breadth of cosmology.

All galaxies host a super-massive black hole in their center. These black holes grow their mass in symbiosis with their host galaxy and moderate their star formation. When matter is driven towards the nucleus, an accretion disk is formed to transfer angular momentum and considerable energy is released when the material falls into the black hole: this is the phenomenon of active galactic nuclei (AGN). A nucleus can shine one thousand times more brightly than the entire galaxy with its 200 billion stars. The nuclear activity can take many forms, from very powerful quasars to more ordinary Seyfert galaxies, passing by radio-galaxies, which eject a collimated plasma at ten times the radius of the galaxy. This book examines all of these manifestations and presents a unified view. When two galaxies merge, a binary black hole is formed and the two black holes will spiral inwards and merge, emitting long gravitational waves, which could be detected by the future LISA satellite.

Physics and Astrophysics—Glimpses of the Progress provides a comprehensive account of physics and astrophysics from the time of Aristotle to the modern era of Stephen Hawking and beyond. It takes the readers of all ages through a pleasant journey touching on the major discoveries and inventions that have taken place in both the macro-world, including that in the cosmos, and the micro-world of atomic and subatomic particles related to physics and astrophysics. Use of historical perspective and anecdote makes the storytelling on the progress of physics and astrophysics both interesting and absorbing. While peering through different developments in these fields, the book never compromises with the sanctity of the scientific content, including the depth and beauty of the physical concept of the topics concerned and the philosophical viewpoints they represent. Where appropriate, the book also delves into value judgments of life that affect our civilization.Features The intricate concepts of physics and astrophysics are explained in simple terms and in easy-to-understand language. Physics and astrophysics are discussed in a connected and correlated way in a single volume of comprehensive size but in totality, which to date is the unique feature of this book. Starting with Aristotle's Physics and going through the work of Newton, Einstein, Schrödinger, Hubble, Hewish, Hawking, and others, including the present research on dark energy, dark matter, and the fifth force of nature, the reader will be kept absorbed and spellbound. In addition to the fundamental principles of Newtonian mechanics, Einstein's relativity, quantum mechanics, string theory, loop quantum gravity, and so on, the cutting-edge technologies of recent times, such as the Large Hadron Collider, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, and Event Horizon Telescope, are also explored. The book is aimed primarily at undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and professionals studying physics and astrophysics. General readers will also find the book useful to quench their thirst for knowledge about the developments in physics and astrophysics.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ‘Sean Carroll has achieved something I thought impossible: a bridge between popular science and the mathematical universe of working physicists. Magnificent!'Brian Clegg, author of Ten Days in Physics that Shook the World Immense, strange and infinite, the world of modern physics often feels impenetrable to the undiscerning eye – a jumble of muons, gluons and quarks, impossible to explain without several degrees and a research position at CERN. But it doesn't have to be this way! Allow world-renowned theoretical physicist and bestselling author Sean Carroll to guide you through the biggest ideas in the universe. Elegant and simple, Carroll unravels this web of theories and formulae equation by equation, getting to the heart of the truths they represent. — In Space, Time and Motion, the first book of this landmark trilogy, Carroll delves into the core of classical physics. From Euclid to Einstein, Space, Time and Motion explores the ideas which revolutionised science and forever changed our understanding of our place in the cosmos.

To study astronomy is to consider the most wondrous phenomena on the grandest of scales – the universe and all it contains. Beginning with our earliest explorations of the night sky, William Waller takes us on an enthralling journey through the Milky Way and far, far beyond. He combines science and history to show how our understanding of everything from black holes to the structure of the universe has evolved over time, illuminating past discoveries and offering contemporary insights into the cosmic histories of stars, planets and galaxies. Whether object of study or curiosity, the universe – and all it contains – is tantalisingly introduced here.

‘Entertaining and engrossing'Sean Carroll Press the snooze button on your alarm once too often and you soon remember the importance of good timekeeping. That need to tell the time connects you to over five thousand years of human history, from the first solstice markers at Newgrange to quartz crystal oscillating in your watch today. Science underpins time: measuring the movement of Sun, Earth and Moon, and unlocking the mysteries of quantum mechanics and relativity theory – the key to ultra-precise atomic clocks. Yet time is also socially decided: the Gregorian calendar we use today came out of fraught politics, while the ancient Maya used sophisticated astronomical observations to produce a calendar system unlike any other. In his quirky and accessible style, Chad Orzel reveals the wondrous physics that makes time something we can set, measure and know.

This book is a small but practical summary of how one can and should learn science. The author argues that science cannot be taught but has to be learnt. Based on historical examples he shows that practicing science means putting one's intellect into the understanding of simple questions like what, why, how and when events around you happen. The reader understands that the search for the cause and effect relationship of so called normal happenings is a very provocative experience and learning science leads one to it. This is underpinned by looking at everyday experiences and how they can help any lay-person learn science. The author also explains the methodology of science and discusses an integrated approach to science communication. Finally he elaborates on the influence and role of science in society. The book addresses interested general readers, teachers and science communicators.

The proceedings of MG16 give a broad view of all aspects of gravitational physics and astrophysics, from mathematical issues to recent observations and experiments. The scientific program of the meeting included 46 plenary presentations, 3 public lectures, 5 round tables and 81 parallel sessions arranged during the intense six-day online meeting. All talks were recorded and are available on the ICRANet YouTube channel at the following link: www.icranet.org/video_mg16.These proceedings are a representative sample of the very many contributions made at the meeting. They contain 383 papers, among which 14 come from the plenary sessions.The material represented in these proceedings cover the following topics: accretion, active galactic nuclei, alternative theories of gravity, black holes (theory, observations and experiments), binaries, boson stars, cosmic microwave background, cosmic strings, dark energy and large scale structure, dark matter, education, exact solutions, early universe, fundamental interactions and stellar evolution, fast transients, gravitational waves, high energy physics, history of relativity, neutron stars, precision tests, quantum gravity, strong fields, and white dwarf; all of them represented by a large number of contributions.The online e-proceedings are published in an open access format.

The three volumes of the proceedings of MG15 give a broad view of all aspects of gravitational physics and astrophysics, from mathematical issues to recent observations and experiments. The scientific program of the meeting included 40 morning plenary talks over 6 days, 5 evening popular talks and nearly 100 parallel sessions on 71 topics spread over 4 afternoons. These proceedings are a representative sample of the very many oral and poster presentations made at the meeting.Part A contains plenary and review articles and the contributions from some parallel sessions, while Parts B and C consist of those from the remaining parallel sessions. The contents range from the mathematical foundations of classical and quantum gravitational theories including recent developments in string theory, to precision tests of general relativity including progress towards the detection of gravitational waves, and from supernova cosmology to relativistic astrophysics, including topics such as gamma ray bursts, black hole physics both in our galaxy and in active galactic nuclei in other galaxies, and neutron star, pulsar and white dwarf astrophysics. Parallel sessions touch on dark matter, neutrinos, X-ray sources, astrophysical black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, binary systems, radiative transfer, accretion disks, quasars, gamma ray bursts, supernovas, alternative gravitational theories, perturbations of collapsed objects, analog models, black hole thermodynamics, numerical relativity, gravitational lensing, large scale structure, observational cosmology, early universe models and cosmic microwave background anisotropies, inhomogeneous cosmology, inflation, global structure, singularities, chaos, Einstein-Maxwell systems, wormholes, exact solutions of Einstein's equations, gravitational waves, gravitational wave detectors and data analysis, precision gravitational measurements, quantum gravity and loop quantum gravity, quantum cosmology, strings and branes, self-gravitating systems, gamma ray astronomy, cosmic rays and the history of general relativity.

This book provides examples of multi-wavelength and multimessenger studies within astronomical research. The examples range widely over topics at the forefront of contemporary research and include colliding black holes and neutron stars, the discovery of planetary systems around stars other than our own, and the determination of the Hubble constant which sets the size and age scales of our universe. The book provides a good overview of the multiple paths through which we gain physical information about the universe and relates some of the most important contemporary results. The key readership for this book is an interested general audience as well as students interested in an overview of multimessenger astronomy.Key Features:Provides a broad survey of recent advances in multimessenger astronomy for a scientifically literate general audience as well as an initial survey for studentsFirst book covering all four natural channels of information with historical backgroundCovers a diverse range of topics including stars, planets, radio pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, accretion-powered objects, and dark matter/dark energy

This textbook equips Masters'students studying Physics and Astronomy with the necessary mathematical tools to understand the basics of General Relativity and its applications. It begins by reviewing classical mechanics with a more geometrically oriented language, continues with Special Relativity and, then onto a discussion on the pseudo-Riemannian space-times. Applications span from the inner and outer Schwarzschild solutions to gravitational wave, black holes, spherical relativistic hydrodynamics, and Cosmology. The goal is to limit the abstract formalization of the problems, to favor a hands-on approach with a number of exercises, without renouncing to a pedagogical derivation of the main mathematical tools and findings. Features • Provides a self-contained introduction to General Relativity and to its standar applications.• Presents readers with all the tools necessary for further learning and research in the field.• Accessible to readers with just foundational knowledge of linear algebra and Lagrangian mechanics.

This handbook provides an updated comprehensive description of gravitational wave astronomy. In the first part, it reviews gravitational wave experiments, from ground and space based laser interferometers to pulsar timing arrays and indirect detection from the cosmic microwave background. In the second part, it discusses a number of astrophysical and cosmological gravitational wave sources, including black holes, neutron stars, possible more exotic objects, and sources in the early Universe. The third part of the book reviews the methods to calculate gravitational waveforms. The fourth and last part of the book covers techniques employed in gravitational wave astronomy data analysis. This book represents both a valuable resource for graduate students and an important reference for researchers in gravitational wave astronomy.