Overview

The present book is a translation of the original German edition (published in 1982) with some minor corrections and improvements. The guide to sup­ plementary and advanced literature given in the Appendix, however, has been brought up to date. This book is addressed primarily to students taking astronomy as a prin­ cipal or subsidiary subject, and to scientists of related fields, but amateur as­ tronomers should also be able to profit from it. For most chapters an elementary knowledge of mathematics and physics will be sufficient, however, Chaps. 5 and 6 impose somewhat greater requirements. In addition the reader should already be acquainted with the basic concepts of stellar physics as treated in introduc­ tory books, including the spectral types, the system of stellar magnitudes and colours, absolute magnitudes and luminosities, the Herlzsprung-Russell dia­ gram and its interpretation. A modem textbook should use SI units. On the other hand, the use of the cgs system is still the prevailing custom in astrophysics - together with the special units of astronomy: length is quoted in parsecs [pc], mass in solar masses [M0] and time in years [a]. We have therefore compromised and employed both cgs and SI units in this book, whichever was the appropriate choice in each instance. A table for conversion of cgs units into SI units and vice versa is given in the Appendix.

Full Product Details

Author:   Helmut Scheffler ,  Arthur H. Armstrong ,  Hans Elsässer ,  Hans Elsasser
Publisher:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG
Imprint:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
Edition:   Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1988
Dimensions:   Width: 17.00cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 24.40cm
Weight:   0.867kg
ISBN:  

9783540173151

ISBN 10:   3540173153
Pages:   492
Publication Date:   11 July 1988
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

1. Introductory Survey.- 1.1 The Stellar System.- 1.2 Interstellar Matter.- 1.3 Dynamics and Evolution.- 2. Positions, Motions and Distances of the Stars — Concepts and Methods.- 2.1 Positions and Motions.- 2.2 Distances.- 3. Structure and Kinematics of the Stellar System.- 3.1 Apparent Distribution of the Stars.- 3.2 The Local Galactic Star Field.- 3.3 Large Scale Distribution of the Stars.- 3.4 Large Scale Motion of the Stars.- 3.5 General Summary, Stellar Populations.- 4. Interstellar Phenomena.- 4.1 The Generally Distributed Medium.- 4.2 Interstellar Clouds.- 5. Physics of the Interstellar Matter.- 5.1 Radiation in the Interstellar Gas.- 5.2 State of the Interstellar Gas.- 5.3 The Interstellar Dust Grains.- 5.4 Distribution and Motion of the Interstellar Matter.- 6. Dynamics of the Galaxy.- 6.1 Stellar Dynamics.- 6.2 Gravitational Theory of the Spiral Structure.- 6.3 Dynamics of the Interstellar Gas.- A. Fundamental Formulae for the Transformation of Astronomical Coordinates.- B. Energy States and Transitions of Molecules.- C. Charts for the Graphical Determination of Approximate Galactic Coordinates.- D. Excitation and Ionisation in the Thermo dynamical Equilibrium.- Astronomical and Physical Constants.- Latin Names of Constellations.- References.- Supplementary and Advanced Literature.- Sources of Tables.- Sources of Figures.

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