Astronomy in Depth (Paperback, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2003)

1 Spaceship Earth.- 1.1 Our Home Among the Stars.- 1.2 The Shape and Size of the Earth.- 1.3 Our Place in the Solar System.- 1.4 The Structure of the Earth.- 1.5 The Earth's Surface.- 1.6 The Earth's Atmosphere.- 1.7 The Earth's Ionosphere.- 1.8 The Earth's Magnetosphere.- 1.9 The Van Allen Radiation Zones.- 1.10 The Aurorae.- Questions.- 2 The Language of Starlight.- 2.1 The Electromagnetic Spectrum.- 2.2 Telescopes.- 2.3 Detectors.- 2.4 Getting More Resolution.- 2.5 The Radio Telescope.- 2.6 Astronomy at Other Wavelengths.- 2.7 Astronomy from Above the Ground.- 2.8 Black Body Radiation.- 2.9 The Beginnings of Spectroscopy.- 2.10 The Production of Spectra.- 2.11 Types of Spectra.- 2.12 The Development of Astronomical Spectroscopy.- 2.13 Modern Spectroscopy.- Questions.- 3 The Moon.- 3.1 The Nature and Origin of the Moon.- 3.2 The Orbit and Phases of the Moon.- 3.3 Libration.- 3.4 Measuring the Moon's Distance.- 3.5 The Selenographers.- 3.6 Lunar Probes and Man on the Moon.- 3.7 The Moon's Appearance.- 3.8 Surface Conditions.- 3.9 The Moon's Structure and Evolution.- 3.10 Transient Lunar Phenomena.- Questions.- 4 The Universal Force.- 4.1 Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion.- 4.2 Newton's Law of Gravitation.- 4.3 Circular Motion.- 4.4 Mathematical Derivation of Kepler's Third Law.- 4.5 Two-Body Orbiting Systems.- 4.6 The Tides.- 4.7 The Measurement of the Astronomical Unit.- 4.8 The Earth's Gravitational Field.- 4.9 The Acceleration Due to Gravity.- 4.10 Rockets and Satellites.- Questions.- 5 The Inferior Planets.- 5.1 Stellar and Planetary Brightnesses.- 5.2 The Orbit and Phases of Mercury.- 5.3 Mercury's Telescopic Appearance.- 5.4 The Rotation Rate of Mercury.- 5.5 Mariner 10.- 5.6 Comparison Between Mercury and the Moon.- 5.7 The Caloris Basin.- 5.8 The Surface Conditions on Mercury.- 5.9 The Orbit and Phases of Venus.- 5.10 Venus's Telescopic Appearance.- 5.11 The Size and Nature of Venus.- 5.12 Spacecraft to Venus.- 5.13 Venus - a Volcanic Planet?.- 5.14 Magellan - and Yet More Mysteries.- 5.15 The Earth and Venus - Worlds Apart.- 5.16 The Greenhouse Effect - a Difference in Evolution.- Questions.- 6 The Planet Mars.- 6.1 Oppositions.- 6.2 The Path of Mars Across the Sky.- 6.3 The Telescopic Appearance of Mars.- 6.4 The Martian Atmosphere.- 6.5 The Canals of Mars.- 6.6 Early Space Probes to Mars.- 6.7 Later Space Probes to Mars.- 6.8 Vikings to Mars.- 6.9 Life on Mars?.- 6.10 The New Assault on Mars.- 6.11 Phobos and Deimos.- Questions.- 7 The Planet Jupiter.- 7.1 The Telescopic Appearance of Jupiter.- 7.2 Transient Features.- 7.3 The Great Red Spot.- 7.4 Pioneers 10 and 11.- 7.5 The Voyager Missions.- 7.6 Collision with a Comet.- 7.7 Galileo Enters the Jovian Atmosphere.- 7.8 The Structure of Jupiter.- 7.9 Jupiter's Magnetosphere.- 7.10 Radiation Belts.- 7.11 Radio Emissions.- 7.12 The Satellites.- 7.13 Io.- 7.14 Europa.- 7.15 Ganymede.- 7.16 Callisto.- 7.17 The Rings of Jupiter..- Questions.- 8 The Planet Saturn.- 8.1 The Telescopic Appearance of Saturn.- 8.2 Spacecraft to Saturn.- 8.3 The Atmosphere of Saturn.- 8.4 The Structure of Saturn.- 8.5 Saturn's Magnetosphere.- 8.6 The Rings of Saturn.- 8.7 Voyager - a Detailed Look at the Rings.- 8.8 The Formation of Planetary Rings.- 8.9 The Satellites of Saturn.- 8.10 Titan.- Questions.- 9 The Twilight Zone of the Solar System.- 9.1 The Planet Uranus.- 9.2 Voyager to Uranus.- 9.3 The Satellites of Uranus.- 9.4 The Planet Neptune.- 9.5 Voyager at Neptune.- 9.6 Neptune's Rings and Satellites.- 9.7 The Planet Pluto.- Questions.- 10 The Debris of the Solar System.- 10.1 The Formation of the Solar System.- 10.2 Planetary Cratering.- 10.3 Bode's Law.- 10.4 The Celestial Police.- 10.5 The Asteroids.- 10.6 Meteors.- 10.7 Meteorites.- 10.8 The Breakdown of Bode's Law.- Questions.- 11 The Comets.- 11.1 Comet Orbits.- 11.2 The Structure of a Comet.- 11.3 A Comet's Tail.- 11.4 The Hydrogen Cloud.- 11.5 A Comet's Coma.- 11.6 A Comet's Nucleus.- 11.7 Cometary Debris.- 11.8 Spacecraft to Halley's Comet.- 11.9 The Origins of the Comets.- Questions.- 12 The Sun.- 12.1 The Size and Composition of the Sun.- 12.2 The Absolute Scale of Temperature.- 12.3 The Structure of the Sun.- 12.4 Solar Eclipses.- 12.5 The Photosphere.- 12.6 The Solar Magnetosphere.- 12.7 The Sun's Internal Rotation.- 12.8 Sunspots and Faculae.- 12.9 The Chromosphere.- 12.10 Prominences and Filaments.- 12.11 The Solar Corona.- 12.12 Solar Flares and the Solar Wind.- 12.13 The Sun's Energy Source.- Questions.- 13 The Celestial Sphere and Time.- 13.1 The Concept of the Celestial Sphere.- 13.2 Latitude and Longitude.- 13.3 Declination and Right Ascension.- 13.4 The Altitude of the Celestial Equator and Poles.- 13.5 The Starry Vault.- 13.6 A Better Definition of Right Ascension.- 13.7 To Calculate the Maximum Altitude of a Star.- 13.8 Circumpolar Stars.- 13.9 Stars that Never Rise.- 13.10 Azimuth.- 13.11 The Earth in Space.- 13.12 The Seasons.- 13.13 The Moon and the Celestial Sphere.- 13.14 Lunar Eclipses.- 13.15 The Saros.- 13.16 The Solar System and the Celestial Sphere.- 13.17 Stellar Motions.- 13.18 Precession.- 13.19 The Need for Time Measurement.- 13.20 Calendars.- 13.21 The Solar Day.- 13.22 Universal Time.- 13.23 Time Zones.- 13.24 Hour Angle.- 13.25 The Sidereal Day.- 13.26 A Fundamental Equation.- 13.27 The Measurement of Time.- Questions.- 14 The Stars.- 14.1 The Natures and Brightnesses of the Stars.- 14.2 The Distances of the Stars.- 14.3 Absolute Magnitude and Distance Modulus.- 14.4 Star Colours.- 14.5 The Constellations.- 14.6 Stellar Spectra.- 14.7 The Sun - a Star Among Stars.- 14.8 The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.- 14.9 The Motions of the Stars.- 14.10 Binary Stars and Stellar Masses.- Questions.- 15 Gas, Dust, Stars and Variable Stars.- 15.1 The Power Behind the Stars.- 15.2 The Interstellar Medium.- 15.3 Gaseous Nebulae.- 15.4 Stellar Birthplaces.- 15.5 Stellar Birth and Infancy.- 15.6 Extrinsic Variable Stars.- 15.7 Intrinsic Variable Stars.- 15.8 Shells Around Stars.- Questions.- 16 Stellar Evolution.- 16.1 The Main-Sequence Phase.- 16.2 The Fate of a Low-Mass Star.- 16.3 The Evolution of a Star Like the Sun.- 16.4 The Evolution of a Massive Star.- 16.5 Neutron Stars.- 16.6 The Evolution of Binary Star Systems.- Questions.- 17 Brown Dwarfs and Extra-Solar Planets.- 17.1 Early Mistakes.- 17.2 HD 114762 - Harbinger of a Planet or of a Brown Dwarf?.- 17.3 A Definite Brown Dwarf.- 17.4 PSR 1957+12.- 17.5 51 Pegasi.- 17.6 47 Ursae Majoris.- 17.7 70 Virginis.- 17.8 Rho Cancri.- Questions.- 18 Violent Stars.- 18.1 Novae.- 18.2 Supernovae.- 18.3 Stellar Populations.- 18.4 Black Holes.- 18.5 Hypernovae.- Questions.- 19 The Galaxies.- 19.1 The Shape and Size of Our Galaxy.- 19.2 Other Galaxies.- 19.3 The Structure of Our Galaxy.- 19.4 Galactic Morphology.- 19.5 The Formation and Evolution of Galaxies.- 19.6 Groups of Galaxies.- 19.7 Supermassive Black Holes.- Questions.- 20 Quasars, Active Galaxies and Cosmology.- 20.1 The Expansion of the Universe.- 20.2 Quasars.- 20.3 Active Galaxies.- 20.4 Black Holes, Accretion Disks, Jets and Cosmic Chameleons.- 20.5 Cosmology.- 20.6 Genesis of the Galaxies.- 20.7 Where Will it all End?.- Questions.- Glossary of Terms.