United States
£ GBP
Compiled by a team of experts, An Introduction to the Sun and Stars has been designed for elementary university courses in astronomy and astrophysics. It starts with a detailed discussion of our nearest star, the Sun, and describes how solar physicists have come to understand its internal workings. It then considers how astronomers go about studying the basic physical properties and life-cycles of more distant stars, and culminates with a discussion of the formation of exotic objects such as neutron stars and black holes.
Introduction
1. Seeing the Sun
2. The working Sun
3. Measuring stars
4. Comparing stars
5. The formation of stars
6. The main sequence life of stars
7. The life of stars beyond the main sequence
8. The death of stars
9. The remnants of stars
Conclusion
Answers and comments
Appendix 1. Useful quantities and units
Appendix 2. Stellar nomenclature
Appendix 3. The 100 closest stars to the Sun
Appendix 4. The 100 brightest stars visible from Earth
Appendix 5. The chemical elements and their abundances
Glossary
Acknowledgements
Index
"This up-to-the-minute treatment of the universe of stars is the most enjoyable and informative book at this level that I have read. It combines clear physical arguments with excellent illustrations and diagrams, and keen readers can enhance their depth of understanding through the copious worked examples. Spread throughout, the 'biography boxes' give a refreshing human perspective to the science. Good for coffee table or lecture course!"
- Professor Peter Brand, University of Edinburgh
