Table of Contents
"Introduction to Astrophysics"
INTRODUCTION
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
THE STARS
GALAXIES AND OTHER CELESTIAL OBJECTS
ASTRONOMIC MEASUREMENTS
"Introduction to Astrophysics"
SIMONE MALACRIDA
The following topics are presented in this book:
description of the Solar System
classification and evolution of stars
interstellar nuclear processes
galaxies and their evolution from a cosmogonic perspective
quasars, novae, supernovae, nebulae, binary and neutron stars
astronomical measurements and measuring instruments
Simone Malacrida (1977)
Engineer and writer, has worked on research, finance, energy policy and industrial plants.
ANALYTICAL INDEX
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INTRODUCTION
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I – THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Planets and satellites
Other celestial objects
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II - THE STARS
Classification and evolution
Equations and processes
Birth and death of a star
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III - GALAXIES AND OTHER CELESTIAL OBJECTS
Galaxies, clusters and superclusters
Evolution of galaxies
Other celestial objects
Cosmogony
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IV - ASTRONOMIC MEASUREMENTS
Astronomical distances
Magnitudes and spectra
Other measures
Astronomical survey instruments
INTRODUCTION
The goal of this book is to frame astrophysics as a scientific discipline in its own right.
Often squeezed between astronomy and cosmology, astrophysics, i.e. the physical study of celestial objects, runs the risk of becoming a kind of chapter in these sectors.
Instead, it has quite special characteristics.
Unlike astronomy, it doesn't just catalog and be descriptive, it probes the inner workings of stellar and galactic functioning.
Unlike cosmology or the study of black holes, it investigates neither the origins of the Universe nor global or singular spacetime.
Obviously, astrophysics owes a lot to these disciplines and it is for this reason that the first chapter of this book (and partly also the last) will have a purely astronomical descriptive character.
As for the points of contact with cosmology, only a brief hint is given during the exposition of stellar and galactic evolution.
For the rest, the book focuses on the main celestial objects, especially stars and galaxies, probing their equations, the physical and chemical processes that govern them.
To understand what is stated, it is not necessary to know the general theory of relativity (as is the case for cosmology), but it is enough to have a smattering of classical physics, at least at the university level.
Even a knowledge, albeit limited, of nuclear and particle physics would not be disdainful, since the nuclear processes that take place in stars are very similar to what we try to reproduce in particle accelerators present in laboratories around the world.
I
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
The planet we live on, the Earth, is located within a planetary system that surrounds a star, called the Sun.
The mass of this star makes up 99.9% of the total mass of the solar system.
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 19.04.2023
ISBN: 978-3-7554-3952-3
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