An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics (2nd Edition) [Hardcover]

Bradley W. Carroll (Author), Dale A. Ostlie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0805304029 | ISBN-13: 978-0805304022 | Edition: 2

An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, Second Edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect the dramatic changes and advancements in astrophysics that have occurred over the past decade. The Second Edition of this market-leading book has been updated to include the latest results from relevant fields of astrophysics and advances in our theoretical understanding of astrophysical phenomena. The Tools of Astronomy: The Celestial Sphere, Celestial Mechanics, The Continuous Spectrum of Light, The Theory of Special Relativity, The Interaction of Light and Matter, Telescopes; The Nature of Stars: Binary Systems and Stellar Parameters, The Classification of Stellar Spectra, Stellar Atmospheres, The Interiors of Stars, The Sun, The Process of Star Formation, Post-Main-Sequence Stellar Evolution, Stellar Pulsation, Supernovae, The Degenerate Remnants of Stars, Black Holes, Close Binary Star Systems; Planetary Systems: Physical Processes in the Solar System, The Terrestrial Planets, The Jovian Worlds, Minor Bodies of the Solar System, The Formation of Planetary Systems; Galaxies and the Universe: The Milky Way Galaxy, The Nature of Galaxies, Galactic Evolution, The Structure of the Universe, Active Galaxies, Cosmology, The Early Universe; Astronomical and Physical Constants, Unit Conversions Between SI and cgs, Solar System Data, The Constellations, The Brightest Stars, The Nearest Stars, Stellar Data, The Messier Catalog, Constants, A Constants Module for Fortran 95 (Available as a C++ header file), Orbits, A Planetary Orbit Code (Available as Fortran 95 and C++ command line versions, and Windows GUI), TwoStars, A Binary Star Code (Generates synthetic light and radial velocity curves; available as Fortran 95 and C++ command line versions, and Windows GUI), StatStar, A Stellar Structure Code (Available as Fortran 95 and C++ command line versions, and Windows GUI), StatStar, Stellar Models, Galaxy, A Tidal Interaction Code (Available as Java), WMAP Data. For all readers interested in moden astrophysics.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bradley Carroll received his B.A. in Mathematics and a Secondary Teaching Credential from the University of California, Irvine, his M.S. in Physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder and his Ph.D. Astrophysics from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Brad's lifelong fascination with astronomy, combined with a happy naivete concerning what lay ahead, led him to graduate school at CU Boulder. His thesis, supervised by Carl Hansen and John Cox, was a study of the effect of rotation on pulsating stars. Brad then headed east to work as a postdoc with Hugh Van Horn at the University of Rochester, where he carried out research on the oscillations of accretion disks and neutron stars. At both CU Boulder and the U of R, he learned the virtues of making simple models of complex astrophysical systems. .

Four years later, as the postdoc came to an end, Brad was lucky to find a teaching position in the Physics Department at Weber State University, and doubly lucky that Dale Ostlie was there. It is rare to find two experts in Stellar pulsation in the same institution and department, especially when their outlooks are congenial. .

Brad truly enjoys teaching which gives him the chance to share the wonders of the physical world with his students. Such a background served him well (especially his naivete about what lay ahead) when he and Dale decided to write An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics. Now that the book and solutions manual, are completed, Brad once again has the time to enjoy traveling, camping, and fishing.

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Dale A. Ostlie's long-time interest in astronomy began with his childhood fascination in the space program, including vivid recollections of watching the Apollo missions with his family. His interest in teaching was born from his experiences as a student, being fortunate to have had excellent instructors and mentors in high school, college, and graduate school. During graduate school, Dale had the opportunity to spend a significant period of time working with Dr. Arthur N. Cox and the theoretical astrophysics group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. While at Los Alamos, Dale was introduced to great number of exciting and challenging problems in astrophysics, which spurred his interest in developing a broad exposure to the discipline.

After completing his graduate thesis on Mira variable stars, and after a two-year teaching position at Bates College in Maine, Dale accepted a teaching position at Weber State University. With WSU nestled up against the Wasatch mountains of Utah, Dale is able to indulge his addictions to skiing, hiking, camping, and mountain biking. One year after Dale arrived at Weber State, Brad Carroll was hired, and their partnership in stellar pulsation studies and text-book writing was born. Sharing many of the same pedagogical views, as well as a dedication to producing the best possible text, Brad and Dale worked for six years to write An Introduction to Modern Stellar Astrophysics and An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, and another year to produce the Instructor's Solutions Manual. Work related to the texts continues today with the maintenance of a collection of web pages associated with the books, including discussions of new discoveries since the publication of the texts in 1996.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1400 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley; 2 edition (July 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805304029
• ISBN-13: 978-0805304022
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 2 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 103 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and encyclopedic January 26, 2000

By "physics-r-us"

Format:Hardcover

There are very few comprehensive astrophysics text books at the junior/senior level. In trying to find a book which surveys most of the field I found only three possibilities. Two were good (Astrophysical Concepts by Harwitt and Astrophysics by Bowers and Deeming) but this one is EXCELLENT. The level of presentation is mathematically accessible to advanced undergrads in physics, math, comp sci, and engineering while the underlying physics is reviewed before it is applied. The exercises are interesting and complete and include several nice computer based problems in each chapter.

For a one semester survey class the size and scope of this book will induce heart attacks in your students but the organization and clear layout of the text allows the instructor to select a set of topics which (a) cover a wide range of astrophysical ideas and (b) don't depend strongly on the omitted material.

Highly recommended.

66 of 70 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for astrophysics beginners and theory lovers! December 25, 1999

By Thomas Tsoi

Format:Hardcover

The book is a comprehensive book which guides you to the every corner of modern astrophysics.

From Kepler's Law to Relativity, from the geocentric model to modern cosmology, this book gives very clear descriptions of every aspect that you might be interested in.

The mathematical equations and formulaes are clear and tidy, wordings are simple enough to understand.

Therefore, not only if you are to take an astrophysics course at university, even if you just a high-school student or an amateur who is interested in knowing more about our universe, well, maybe in an mathematical way, this is a book for you.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The long awaited new edition of BOB (Big Orange Book) December 8, 2006

By John Matlock

Format:Hardcover

The number of books suitable for undergraduate courses in Astrophysics is not great. But of them all, this, called BOB (Big Orange Book) is the best.

This new second edition, badly needed since the first edition is now ten years old. In these ten years, there seems to have been just about as much discovered as in the centuries before. To list just a few: extrasolar planets, objects bigger than Pluto but further out (but the book was finished before the IAU decided to downgrade Pluto from being a planet), Spirit and Opportunity have been roving on Mars, discoveries like the universe is not slowing down but, rather, is actually accelerating, Dark energy wasn't even imagined at that time (and isn't easy to imagine now).

The book is aimed at the advanced undergraduate level after the student has had several previous physics classes and mathematics through differential equasions.

The one problem most often reported about BOB is its size, 1400 pages. This allows for a series of different courses to be taught using the same book by selecting appropriate chapters. Alternatively a full year course can be taught to cover most of the book.