The New Cosmos

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Classical Astronomy. The Solar System 3

• 2.1 Humanity and the Stars - Observing and Thinking. A Historical Introduction to Classical Astronomy 3
• 2.2 The Celestial Sphere. Astronomical Coordinate Systems. Geographic Latitude and Longitude 6
• 2.3 The Motions of the Earth. Seasons and the Zodiac. Time: The Day, the Year, and the Calendar 8
• 2.4 The Moon. Eclipses of the Moon and the Sun 13
• 2.5 Orbital Motions and Distances in the Planetary System 16
• 2.6 Mechanics and the Theory of Gravitation 22
• 2.7 Artificial Satellites and Spacecraft. Space Research 31
• 2.8 The Physical Structure of the Planets and Their Moons 36
• 2.9 The Physical Properties of the Comets, Meteors, and Meteorites. The Interplanetary Medium 67

• 3.1 The Development of Astronomical Observation Methods. A Historical Introduction and Overview of the Electromagnetic Spectrum 75
• 3.2 Telescopes and Detectors in the Optical and Ultraviolet Regions 78
• 3.3 Telescopes and Detectors for the Radio-Frequency and Infrared Spectral Regions 94
• 3.4 Instruments for High-Energy Astronomy 99
• 3.5 X-Ray Telescopes and Detectors 106

• 4.1 Astronomy + Physics = Astrophysics. Historical Introduction 109
• 4.2 The Theory of Radiation 113
• 4.3 The Sun: Radiation and Velocity Fields in the Photosphere 119
• 4.4 Magnitudes and Colors, Distances and Radii of the Stars 124
• 4.5 Classification of Stellar Spectra; the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram and the Color-Magnitude Diagram 131
• 4.6 Binary Stars and Stellar Masses 135
• 4.7 Spectra and Atoms. Excitation and Ionization 142
• 4.8 The Physics of Stellar Atmospheres 153
• 4.9 Theory of the Fraunhofer Lines. The Chemical Compositions of Stellar Atmospheres 159
• 4.10 The Sun: The Chromosphere and the Corona. Flow Fields, Magnetic Fields, and Solar Activity 169
• 4.11 Variable Stars. Flow Fields, Magnetic Fields, and Activity in Stars 186
• 4.12 Stellar Structure and Energy Production in Stars 208

• 5.1 The Advance into the Universe. A Historical Introduction to the Astronomy of the 20th Century 227
• 5.2 The Structure and Dynamics of the Milky Way Galaxy 232
• 5.3 Interstellar Matter. Cosmic Radiation 243
• 5.4 Color-Magnitude Diagrams of Star Clusters. Stellar Evolution 272
• 5.5 Normal Galaxies. Infrared Galaxies 296
• 5.6 Radio Galaxies, Quasars, and Activity in Galactic Nuclei 319
• 5.7 Clusters of Galaxies and Superclusters 337
• 5.8 Galactic Evolution 342
• 5.9 Cosmology 353

• 6.1 The Origin of the Sun and the Solar System 375
• 6.2 The Origin of the Meteorites 377
• 6.3 The Earth-Moon System 379
• 6.4 The Evolution of the Earth and of Life 381

• App. A.1 Various Units in the International System of Units (SI) and the Gaussian System 391
• App. A.2 Names of the Constellations 394
• Bibliography 397
• Figure Acknowledgements 409
• Selected Exercises 417
• Subject Index