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This book is the final one in a series of three texts which together provide a modern, complete and authoritative account of our present knowledge of the stars. It discusses the internal structure and the evolution of stars, and is completely self-contained. There is an emphasis on the basic physics governing stellar structure and the basic ideas on which our understanding of stellar structure is based. The book also provides a comprehensive discussion of stellar evolution. Careful comparison is made between theory and observation, and the author has thus provided a lucid and balanced introductory text for the student. As for volumes 1 and 2, volume 3 is self-contained and can be used as an independent textbook. The author has not only taught but has also published many original papers in this subject. Her clear and readable style should make this text a first choice for undergraduate and beginning graduate students taking courses in astronomy and particularly in stellar astrophysics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Introduction to Stellar Astrophysics Vol 3
This is an excellent series Vol 1 thur 3 for the person wishing to review the basics of stellar astrophysics. I stress the words review for the author assumes at least a basic level of knowledge on the physics of stellar interiors. The reader is cautioned to be versed in basic mathematical skills up through the beginning calculus level as detailed worked out examples are not provided in the text. At the conclusion of this and Volumes 1 and 2 are a series of chapter review problems for which there are no answers provided. Volume 1 and 2 deal with stellar data and atmospheres.

This is a good set of volumes and worth having if you are knowledgeable in the subject. It is not a self teaching set but a sound set to be used for classroom work at the intermediate level.

My only real complaint was that the author did not provide worked out answers to the problem sets at the end of each book.

Excellent book
This is one of those rare books bridging the gap between undergraduate and more advanced graduated books. The book is not very big in size, but it is certainly dense. I goes straight to the point and allows very little deviation from its main topic: basic stellar structure and evolution. The book is easy to follow. Uses lots of formulae, but mathematics are kept at a basic level and most important, developments are always complete. Little is left for the imagination of the reader. That contributes to make it a pleasure to read. The book is part of a series, but it is self-contained and the frequent references to volume 2 are not too much annoying.

The book covers lots of stellar topics from the very beginning, but it is focused mainly in main sequence stars and red giants. Stars formation is treated only superficially and black holes are simply avoided; i.e. general relativity background is not required.

The book is always close to the observational phenomena but does not overwhelm the reader with lots of observational data. The first part of the book is oriented to settling the background of the basic stellar equations. The second part builds on that to draw conclusions and compare the results with observational phenomena.

I strongly recommend this book for readers who are not experts in the subject, but would like to advance one more step into stellar astrophysics. It would be also a good reference book for a one semester course in stellar evolution.

Excellent overview of a fascinating topic
The third volume in this series is an excellent text.It provides a good level of detail (ie, no hand-waving and no obsession with minutiae), moving efficiently through convection, energy generation, basic stellar structure equations, methods for calculating the models, evolution and tests of the models, star formation.It is worth noting that this book has the clearest description of degeneracy I have yet come across; this is a topic where many authors wave their hands and give a footnote, but she has taken the time to clearly delineate issues that many students find puzzling.This is a REAL text, so come prepared with the usual background in calculus, quantum, and thermodynamics. ... Read more

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R.N. Wilson's two-volume treatise on reflecting telescope optics has become a classic in its own right. It is intended to give a complete treatment of the subject, addressing the professional in research and industry as well as students of astronomy and amateur astronomers. This first volume, Basic Design Theory and its Historical Development, is devoted to the theory of reflecting telescope optics and systematically recounts the historical progress. The author's approach is morphological, with strong emphasis on the historical development. The book is richly illustrated including spot-diagrams analysing special systems in modern form. In this second edition, the historical section has been revised. Various improvements to the text have been made and new systems such as the 4-lens corrector of Delabre and the LADS corrector are now covered in this volume. The concluding part II treats Manufacture, Testing, Alignment, Modern Techniques. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A superb and most complete reference about telescope optics
Since the mid-19th century and the application by Foucault of chemical silvering to glass mirrors, reflecting telescopes have gradually taken over from refracting ones, to eventually become the dominant telescope concept over the entire 20th century. Reflecting Telescope Optics I (RTO I) is an unequaled reference for those who have interest in the field, be they students, telescope designers, professional or amateur astronomers.In Chapter 1 the author takes us on a short, fascinating and at times surprising, journey through the history of telescope design. A delightful story of men, ideas and fascinating machines. It stems from the account by the author that optics is one of those sciences whose progress is inescapably tied to the progress of experimentation and technology. Chapter I tells about great ideas which, sometimes, had to wait for centuries before being understood and recognized. The second and third chapters deal with Gaussian optics and aberration theory, respectively. Fundamental aspects of Gaussian optics are reviewed in a concise manner, albeit to a level of detail sufficient to make the book a valuable reference for an advanced course on geometrical optics. The same comment applies to the third chapter, which deals with aberration theory of telescopes -in the broadest sense. All relations necessary to set up a design, understand and evaluate its first order (paraxial) properties and third order aberrations are clearly demonstrated and their implications thoroughly analyzed.Section 2.2.5.2, in particular, will be invaluable to set up the basis for a two-mirror telescope design, while section 3.2.4 provides all necessary information to evaluate its aberrations. Tables and practical examples provide most useful illustrations to the theory, and serve as well for quick reference when reviewing properties of existing designs.A thorough review of one- and two-mirror design solutions is provided in sections 3.2.6 and 3.2.7, together with detailed illustrations and numerical examples. Section 3.3 provides much detailed and useful information on third order aberrations. A unique and most complete review of wide-field telescope designs, from Schmidt and Maksutov solutions to less known three- and four-mirror designs, is proposed in section 3.6; off-axis designs are addressed in section 3.7, together with a detailed analysis of the effects of decentering of 2-mirror telescopes. Even if this is certainly not its main purpose, there is little doubt that these sections will retain the attention of amateur telescope makers as well.Elaborating on a generalization of the Schwarzschild Theorem, the author demonstrates the relation between the number of optical surfaces and the achievable compensation of third order aberrations. The four-mirror designs with spherical primary and secondary mirrors derived in section 3.6.5.3 pave the way for giant telescopes beyond the 10-m range. Despace effects are reviewed in much detail (section 3.8), unfortunately in the restricted case of two-mirror designs only. As such effects can be of utmost importance with regards to preservation of optical quality and may come to play a role in a trade-off between otherwise equivalent designs, it seems to me that a broader -and, in view of its tremendous complexity, simplified- account would have usefully complemented the review of three- and four mirror designs of section 3.6. A brief but quite complete account of diffraction theory and its relation to aberrations is provided in section 3.10. This section is essential to the completeness of RTO I; it provides the key to understanding image formation and properties, and appeals to the broadest range of readers. Chapter 4 covers field correctors and focal extenders/reducers in great detail, and provides a brief account of atmospheric dispersion correctors, thereby adding to the completeness of RTO I.Finally, theory meets reality in chapter 5, which provides a delectable and most instructive account of major telescope projects -and ideas related to them- from the early 19th century until the mid-1980's. It should be pointed out that, although RTO I deals with telescope optics in a largely theoretical manner, realistic constraints and limitations are given due regard, a consequence of the author's impressive experience in telescope design and fabrication.This review would be incomplete if no acknowledgment were made to the rigorous and consistent formalism of the author, as well as to the useful indices, list of symbols, tables and figures, the most complete bibliography, and the unique portrait gallery of major figures in the field.Indeed, a unique reference in a superb presentation. ... Read more

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This book provides an overview of many of the dramatic recent developments in the fields of astronomy, cosmology and fundamental physics. Topics include observations of the structure in the cosmic background radiation, evidence for an accelerating Universe, the extraordinary concordance in the fundamental parameters of the Universe coming from these and other diverse observations, the search for dark matter candidates, evidence for neutrino oscillations, space experiments on fundamental physics, and discoveries of extrasolar planets. This book will be useful for researchers and graduate students who wish to have a broad overview of the current developments in these fields.

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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

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"Astrophysics Updates" is intended to serve the information needs of professional astronomers and postgraduate students about areas of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology that are rich and active research spheres. Observational methods and the latest results of astronomical research are presented as well as their theoretical foundations and interrelations. The contributed commissioned articles are written by leading exponents in a format that will appeal to professional astronomers and astrophysicists who are interested in topics outside their own specific areas of research. This collection of timely reviews may also attract the interest of advanced amateur astronomers seeking scientifically rigorous coverage.

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Our understanding of the formation of stars and planetary systems has changed greatly since the first edition of this book was published. This new edition has been thoroughly updated, and now includes material on molecular clouds, binaries, star clusters and the stellar initial mass function (IMF), disk evolution and planet formation. This book provides a comprehensive picture of the formation of stars and planetary systems, from their beginnings in cold clouds of molecular gas to their emergence as new suns with planet-forming disks. At each stage gravity induces an inward accretion of mass, and this is a central theme for the book. The author brings together current observations, rigorous treatments of the relevant astrophysics, and 150 illustrations, to clarify the sequence of events in star and planet formation. It is a comprehensive account of the underlying physical processes of accretion for graduate students and researchers. ... Read more

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Dust is widespread in the galaxy. To astronomers studying stars it may be just an irritating fog, but it is becoming widely recognized that cosmic dust plays an active role in astrochemistry. Without dust, the galaxy would have evolved differently, and planetary systems like ours would not have occurred.

To explore and consolidate this active area of research, Dust and Chemistry in Astronomy covers the role of dust in the formation of molecules in the interstellar medium, with the exception of dust in the solar system. Each chapter provides thorough coverage of our understanding of interstellar dust, particularly its interaction with interstellar gas. Aimed at postgraduate researchers, the book also serves as a thorough review of this significant area of astrophysics for practicing astronomers and graduate students. ... Read more

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Delineating the huge strides taken in cosmology in the past ten years, this much-anticipated second edition of Malcolm Longair's highly appreciated textbook has been extensively and thoroughly updated. It tells the story of modern astrophysical cosmology from the perspective of one of its most important and fundamental problems – how did the galaxies come about? Longair uses this approach to introduce the whole of what may be called "classical cosmology". What’s more, he describes how the study of the origin of galaxies and larger-scale structures in the Universe has provided us with direct information about the physics of the very early Universe.

Customer Reviews (2)

Review
The book is very detailed and covers a wide range in galaxy formation. It explains astrophysical processes very clearly and can be recommended for students.

Best single volume text for galaxy formation and the formation of structure
This is an oustanding text on the physics of the formation of structure in the Universe.It is written at the level of a beginning graduate student in physics or astronomy, and will provide sufficient background for the student to begin serious research in this area.The text is well written and the topics well chosen.It was written in 1998, so it is already a bit dated (it obviously contains nothing about the most recent advances in dark energy), but all the basics are here.This explains what we know and what we don't know about how and why clusters and galaxies form, dark matter, and the Big Bang. ... Read more

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This volume deals specifically with recent original research in the history of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Islamic, and Indian astronomy. It strikes a balance between landmarks in the history of ancient and medieval astronomy in the Orient on one hand, and on the other the transmission of European astronomy into the countries of the Orient. Most contributions are based on research by experts in this field.

The book also indicates the status of astronomy research in non-European cultural areas of the world. It will be of interest to historians of astronomy and science, and students of cultural heritage.

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Variable stars are those that change brightness. They come in many varieties, but each one provides important information about the star: its properties, its internal structure, and its evolution. This book provides a concise overview of variable stars, including a historical perspective, an introduction to stars in general, the techniques for discovering and studying variable stars, and a description of the main types of variable stars. Intended for anyone with some background knowledge of astronomy, it is especially suitable for undergraduate students and experienced amateur astronomers. ... Read more