FUNDAMENTALS OF ASTRONOMY
ASTRONOMY FUNDAMENTALS IMPORTANT DISCIPLINES IN ASTRONOMY … HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY … MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE ASTRONOMY … EIGHTEENTH- AND NINETEENTH-CENTURY ADVANCES … MATTER AND ENERGY … TIME, WAVES, AND PARTICLES … QUANTUM MECHANICS THE UNIVERSE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNIVERSE … ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE … EVIDENCE OF THE BIG BANG … EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE … BLACK HOLES … WORMHOLES AND COSMIC STRINGS … DARK MATTER AND DARK ENERGY … MULTI-DIMENSION THEORIES … THE END OF THE UNIVERSE GALAXIES FUNDAMENTALS … THE MILKY WAY … THE MILKY WAY’S NEIGHBORHOOD … GALAXY MOVEMENT … AGE OF GALAXIES … GALACTIC DUST AND CLOUDS … NEBULAE, QUASARS, AND BLAZARS … BLACK HOLES IN GALAXIES … ACTIVE GALAXIES … MORE ACTIVE GALAXIES AND QUASARS STARS STAR BASICS … MAPPING THE STARS … DESCRIBING AND MEASURING STARS … HOW STARS WORK … SUNSPOTS, FLARES, AND SOLAR WIND … STAR EVOLUTION … THE SUN … DWARF STARS AND GIANT STARS … NEUTRON STARS AND PULSARS … RADIATING STARS … BINARY STAR SYSTEMS … STAR CLUSTERS THE SOLAR SYSTEM PLANETARY SYSTEMS … PLANET BASICS … THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM … GAS GIANTS … MOONS … THE KUIPER BELT AND BEYOND … ASTEROIDS … COMETS EARTH AND THE MOON EARTH … ORBIT AND ROTATION … THE ATMOSPHERE … THE MAGNETIC FIELD … VAN ALLEN BELTS … NEUTRINOS … COSMIC RAYS … METEORS AND METEORITES … THE MOON … TIDES … CLOCKS AND CALENDARS … THE SEASONS … ECLIPSES CONTENTS SPACE PROGRAMS ROCKET HISTORY … SATELLITES AND SPACECRAFT … THE SPUTNIK ERA … COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES … FIRST HUMANS IN SPACE … EARLY SOVIET PROGRAMS … EARLY AMERICAN PROGRAMS … THE APOLLO MISSIONS … EARLY SPACE STATIONS … THE SPACE SHUTTLE ASTRONOMY TODAY MEASURING UNITS … TELESCOPE BASICS … PHOTOGRAPHY AND PHOTOMETRY … SPECTROSCOPY … INTERFEROMETRY … RADIO TELESCOPES … MICROWAVE TELESCOPES … SOLAR TELESCOPES … SPECIAL TELESCOPES … TERRESTRIAL OBSERVATORIES … AIRBORNE AND INFRARED OBSERVATORIES … SPACE TELESCOPES … INFRARED SPACE TELESCOPES … X-RAY SPACE TELESCOPES … ULTRAVIOLET SPACE TELESCOPES … GAMMA-RAY SPACE TELESCOPES EXPLORING THE SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION BASICS … EXPLORING THE SUN … EXPLORING MERCURY AND VENUS … EXPLORING MARS … FAILED MARS MISSIONS … MARS MISSIONS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY … EXPLORING THE OUTER PLANETS … EXPLORING ASTEROIDS AND COMETS LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE LIVING IN SPACE … LIFE ON EARTH AND ON THE MOON … LIFE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM … SEARCHING FOR INTELLIGENT LIFE … EXOPLANETS … LIFE ON EXOPLANETS IMPORTANT DISCIPLINES IN ASTRONOMY WHAT IS ASTRONOMY? ASTRONOMY IS THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, THE STUDY OF MOTION, MATTER, AND ENERGY; THE STUDY OF PLANETS, MOONS, ASTEROIDS, COMETS, STARS, GALAXIES, AND ALL THE GAS AND DUST BETWEEN THEM; AND EVEN THE STUDY OF THE UNIVERSE ITSELF, INCLUDING ITS ORIGIN, AGING PROCESSES, AND FINAL FATE WHAT IS ASTROPHYSICS? ASTROPHYSICS IS THE APPLICATION OF THE SCIENCE OF PHYSICS TO THE UNIVERSE AND EVERY- THING IN IT THE MOST IMPORTANT WAY ASTRONOMERS GAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNI- VERSE IS BY GATHERING AND INTERPRETING LIGHT ENERGY FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE UNIVERSE (AND EVEN THE UNIVERSE ITSELF) SINCE PHYSICS IS THE MOST RELEVANT SCIENCE IN THE STUDY OF SPACE, TIME, LIGHT, AND OBJECTS THAT PRODUCE OR INTERACT WITH LIGHT, THE MAJORITY OF ASTRONOMY TODAY IS CONDUCTED USING PHYSICS WHAT IS MECHANICS? MECHANICS IS THE BRANCH OF PHYSICS THAT DESCRIBES THE MOTIONS OF OBJECTS IN A SYS- TEM SYSTEMS OF MOVING BODIES CAN BE VERY SIMPLE, SUCH AS EARTH AND THE MOON, OR THEY CAN BE VERY COMPLICATED, SUCH AS THE SUN, PLANETS, AND ALL THE OTHER OBJECTS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM PUT TOGETHER ADVANCED STUDIES OF MECHANICS REQUIRE COMPLEX AND DETAILED MATHEMATICAL TECHNIQUES