Fundamentals of Astronomy (Paperback)

SPHERICAL ASTRONOMYElements of Plane TrigonometrySome Properties of Plane TrianglesElements of Spherical Trigonometry Cartesian and Polar Coordinates Terrestrial Latitude and Longitude on the Spherical EarthElements of Vector Calculus NotesExercisesASTRONOMICAL REFERENCE SYSTEMSThe Alt-Azimuth SystemThe Hour Angle and Declination System The Equatorial SystemThe Ecliptic SystemThe Galactic SystemNotesTRANSFORMATIONS OF COORDINATESTransformations by Matrix Rotation Transformations by Spherical TrigonometrySome Examples and Applications ExercisesTHE MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH AND THE ASTRONOMICAL TIMESThe Movements of the Earth The Sidereal Time (ST)The Solar Time and the Equation of TimeThe Universal Time (UT)The Tropical Year and the Rates of ST and UT The Year and the Julian CalendarThe Besselian Year or Annus Fictus The SeasonsThe Julian DateNotes Exercises THE MOVEMENTS OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PLANESFirst Dynamical ConsiderationsThe Precession of the Equinox The Movements of the Fundamental Planes First-Order Effects of the Precession on the Stellar Coordinates The Nutation Approximate Formulae for General Precession and Nutation Newcomb's Rotation Formulae for Precession Precession and Position Angles NotesExercisesDYNAMICS OF EARTH'S ROTATIONNewton's Lunisolar Precession The Lunisolar TorqueThe Precessional PotentialThe Earth's Free RotationRecent Developments NotesExercisesABERRATION OF LIGHTThe Solar AberrationThe Annual Aberration Lorentz Transformations Effects of Annual Aberration on the Stellar Coordinates The Diurnal Aberration Planetary AberrationThe Gravitational Deflection of Light Notes THE PARALLAXThe Trigonometric ParallaxThe Diurnal Parallax Solar and Lunar Parallaxes The Annual Parallax Secular and Dynamical ParallaxesNotesExercises RADIAL VELOCITIES AND PROPER MOTIONSRadial Velocities Proper Motions Variation of the Equatorial Coordinates Interplay between Proper Motions and Precession ConstantsAstrometric Radial VelocitiesApex of Stellar Motions and Group ParallaxesThe Peculiar Motion of the Sun Secular and Statistical Parallaxes Differential Rotation of the Galaxy and Oort's ConstantsNotes Exercises THE ASTRONOMICAL TIMESThe Sidereal Time ST The Solar Time T The YearThe Dynamical TimeThe Atomic Time NotesExercisesTHE TERRESTRIAL ATMOSPHEREThe Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere The RefractionEffects of Refraction on the Apparent Coordinates The Chromatic Refraction of the AtmosphereRelationships between Refraction Index, Pressure and Temperature Scintillation and SeeingNotesTHE TWO-BODY PROBLEMThe Barycentric Treatment The Gravitational AttractionThe Relative MovementPlanetary Masses from Kepler's Third Law Escape VelocitySome Considerations on Artificial Satellites Notes Exercises ORBITAL ELEMENTS AND EPHEMERIDESKepler's Equation Ephemerides from the Orbital Elements Planetary Configurations and Titius -Bode LawOrbital Elements from the Observations Application to Visual Binary Stars NotesELEMENTS OF PERTURBATION THEORIESPerturbations of the Planetary MovementsPlanet Plus Small Moon Case Earth-MoonThe Lunar Month and the Librations The Case Planet Plus Planet The Restricted Circular Three-Body ProblemA Nonspherical Body Plus a Small Nearby SatelliteOther Interesting Cases NotesExerciseECLIPSES AND OCCULTATIONSMoon's PhasesConditions for the Occurrence of an Eclipse Solar EclipsesLunar Eclipses Besselian Elements and Magnitude of the Eclipse Number and Repetitions of EclipsesStellar OccultationsNotesExercises ELEMENTS OF ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOMETRYVisual MagnitudesExtension of the Definition of MagnitudeExtinction by the Earth's AtmosphereThe Black Body Color Indices and Two-Color Diagrams Calibration of the Apparent Magnitudes in Physical Units Apparent Diameters and Absolute Magnitudes of the StarsThe Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram Interstellar AbsorptionExtension to the Bodies of the Solar SystemRadiation Quantities Notes Exercises ELEMENTS OF ASTRONOMICAL SPECTROSCOPYSpectroscopic TechniquesThe Analysis of the Spectral Lines Detailed Balance and the Boltzmann Equation The Saha EquationCriteria of Spectral Classification of Stars The Harvard and the MK Classification Schemes Low Temperature StarsPeculiaritiesRelationship between the MK Classification and Photometric Parameters NotesBibliography Index