An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics (2nd Edition) 2nd Edition

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.

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.

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.

Don't let the huge size fool you - this is indeed more of a textbook than a reference. However, it does require slow digestion of the material. Any instructor thinking they can cover this in one semester is biting off more than his students can chew. What is annoying is the lack of a table of contents. I present that information next.

Part I The Tools of Astronomy 1
Chapter 1 The Celestial Sphere 2
1.1 The Greek Tradition 2
1.2 The Copernican Revolution 5
1.3 Positions on the Celestial Sphere 8
1.4 Physics and Astronomy 19
Chapter 2 Celestial Mechanics 23
2.1 Elliptical Orbits 23
2.3 Kepler's Laws Derived 39
2.4 The Virial Theorem 50
Chapter 3 The Continuous Spectrum of Light 57
3.1 Stellar Parallax 57
3.2 The Magnitude Scale 60
3.3 The Wave Nature of Light 63
3.4 Blackbody Radiation 68
3.5 The Quantization of Energy 71
3.6 The Color Index 75
Chapter 4 The Theory of Special Relativity 84
4.1 The Failure of the Galilean Transformations 84
4.2 The Lorentz Transformations 87
4.3 Time and Space in Special Relativity 92
4.4 Relativistic Momentum and Energy 102
Chapter 5 The Interaction of Light and Matter 111
5.1 Spectral Lines 111
5.2 Photons 116
5.3 The Bohr Model of the Atom 119
5.4 Quantum Mechanics and Wave--Particle Duality 127
Chapter 6 Telescopes 141
6.1 Basic Optics 141
6.2 Optical Telescopes 154
6.3 Radio Telescopes 161
6.4 Infrared, Ultraviolet, X-ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy 167
6.5 All-Sky Surveys and Virtual Observatories 170
Part II The Nature of Stars 179
Chapter 7 Binary Systems and Stellar Parameters 180
7.1 The Classification of Binary Stars 180
7.2 Mass Determination Using Visual Binaries 183
7.3 Eclipsing, Spectroscopic Binaries 186
7.4 The Search for Extrasolar Planets 195
Chapter 8 The Classification of Stellar Spectra 202
8.1 The Formation of Spectral Lines 202
8.2 The Hertzsprung--Russell Diagram 219
Chapter 9 Stellar Atmospheres 231
9.1 The Description of the Radiation Field 231
9.2 Stellar Opacity 238
9.3 Radiative Transfer 251
9.4 The Transfer Equation 255
9.5 The Profiles of Spectral Lines 267
Chapter 10 The Interiors of Stars 285
10.1 Hydrostatic Equilibrium 285
10.2 Pressure Equation of State 289
10.3 Stellar Energy Sources 297
10.4 Energy Transport and Thermodynamics 316
10.5 Stellar Model Building 330
10.6 The Main Sequence 341
Chapter 11 The Sun 350
11.1 The Solar Interior 350
11.2 The Solar Atmosphere 361
11.3 The Solar Cycle 382
Chapter 12 The Interstellar Medium and Star Formation 399
12.1 Interstellar Dust and Gas 399
12.2 The Formation of Protostars 413
12.3 Pre-Main-Sequence Evolution 425
Chapter 13 Main Sequence and Post-Main-Sequence Stellar Evolution 448
13.1 Evolution on the Main Sequence 448
13.2 Late Stages of Stellar Evolution 459
13.3 Stellar Clusters 476
Chapter 14 Stellar Pulsation 485
14.1 Observations of Pulsating Stars 485
14.2 The Physics of Stellar Pulsation 493
14.3 Modeling Stellar Pulsation 501
14.4 Nonradial Stellar Pulsation 505
14.5 Helioseismology and Asteroseismology 511
Chapter 15 The Fate of Massive Stars 520
15.1 Post-Main-Sequence Evolution of Massive Stars 520
15.2 The Classification of Supernovae 526
15.3 Core-Collapse Supernovae 531
15.4 Gamma-Ray Bursts 545
15.5 Cosmic Rays 551
Chapter 16 The Degenerate Remnants of Stars 560
16.1 The Discovery of Sirius B 560
16.2 White Dwarfs 562
16.3 The Physics of Degenerate Matter 565
16.4 The Chandrasekhar Limit 572
16.5 The Cooling of White Dwarfs 575
16.6 Neutron Stars 580
16.7 Pulsars 589
Chapter 17 General Relativity and Black Holes 614
17.1 The General Theory of Relativity 614
17.2 Intervals and Geodesics 627
17.3 Black Holes 638
Chapter 18 Close Binary Star Systems 659
18.1 Gravity in a Close Binary Star System 659
18.2 Accretion Disks 667
18.3 A Survey of Interacting Binary Systems 674
18.4 White Dwarfs in Semidetached Binaries 679
18.5 Type Ia Supernovae 692
18.6 Neutron Stars and Black Holes in Binaries 695
Part III The Solar System 720
Chapter 19 Physical Processes in the Solar System 721
19.1 A Brief Survey 721
19.2 Tidal Forces 726
19.3 The Physics of Atmospheres 731
Chapter 20 The Terrestrial Planets 744
20.1 Mercury 744
20.2 Venus 747
20.3 Earth 753
20.4 The Moon 761
20.5 Mars 769
Chapter 21 The Realms of the Giant Planets 782
21.1 The Giant Worlds 782
21.2 The Moons of the Giants 798
21.3 Planetary Ring Systems 809
Chapter 22 Minor Bodies of the Solar System 821
22.1 Pluto and Charon 821
22.2 Comets and Kuiper Belt Objects 825
22.3 Asteroids 838
22.4 Meteorites 847
Chapter 23 Formation of Planetary Systems 857
23.1 Characteristics of Extrasolar Planetary Systems 857
23.2 Planetary System Formation and Evolution 866
Part IV Galaxies and the Universe 883
Chapter 24 The Milky Way Galaxy 885
24.1 Counting the Stars in the Sky 885
24.2 The Morphology of the Galaxy 892
24.3 The Kinematics of the Milky Way 910
24.4 The Galactic Center 934
Chapter 25 The Nature of Galaxies 953
25.1 The Hubble Sequence 953
25.2 Spirals and Irregular Galaxies 962
25.3 Spiral Structure 977
25.4 Elliptical Galaxies 997
Chapter 26 Galactic Evolution 1013
26.1 Interactions of Galaxies 1013
26.2 The Formation of Galaxies 1030
Chapter 27 The Structure of the Universe 1052
27.1 The Extragalactic Distance Scale 1052
27.2 The Expansion of the Universe 1066
27.3 Clusters of Galaxies 1072
Chapter 28 Active Galaxies 1099
28.1 Observations of Active Galaxies 1099
28.2 A Unified Model of Active Galactic Nuclei 1121
28.3 Radio Lobes and Jets 1137
28.4 Using Quasars to Probe the Universe 1145
Chapter 29 Cosmology 1160
29.1 Newtonian Cosmology 1160
29.2 The Cosmic Microwave Background 1179
29.3 Relativistic Cosmology 1199
29.4 Observational Cosmology 1215
Chapter 30 The Early Universe 1248
30.1 The Very Early Universe and Inflation 1248
30.2 The Origin of Structure 1265
Appendix A Astronomical and Physical Constants 1296
Appendix B Unit Conversions 1299
Appendix C Solar System Data 1301
Appendix D The Constellations 1303
Appendix E The Brightest Stars 1305
Appendix F The Nearest Stars 1307
Appendix G Stellar Data 1309
Appendix H The Messier Catalog 1314
Appendix I Constants, A Programming Module 1317
Appendix J Orbit, A Planetary Orbit Code 1318
Appendix K TwoStars, A Binary Star Code 1319
Appendix L StatStar, A Stellar Structure Code 1325
Appendix M Galaxy, A Tidal Interaction Code 1329
Appendix N WMAP Data 1332