Author Profile

Matthew Olmstead is an Emeritus professor in the Astronomy Department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He was associated there with the Five College Astronomy Program (comprising faculty from U-Mass, Amhurst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke, and Smith Colleges). Dr. Matthew Olmstead received his undergraduate degree from Haverford College and his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Arizona. In addition to his interest in astronomy, he has a longstanding fascination with the natural world: weather (especially atmospheric optics such as rainbows), birds, wildflowers, and butterflies. James Lowentha became interested in astronomy at the amateur level when he was a child. He studied astronomy as an undergraduate at Harvard and obtained his Ph.D. from Cornell. His dissertation work received the Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and he was named a Presidential Young Investigator. In addition to teaching introductory astronomy, he works closely with science teachers, presenting workshops and special courses. He also loves to draw and paint.

About The Book

The sense of wonder grows deeper when we begin to understand why things happen. Many astronomy books today seem to simply say, "This is how it is." We want instead to offer explanations that draw as much as possible on simple, everyday experiences. For example, why do some stars pulsate? A simple analogy of steam building up pressure under the lid of a pan offers a model of this phenomenon that is easy to understand and reasonably accurate. You can even learn how planets get their internal structure by examining a previously-melted box of chocolate chip ice cream. When we can thus link physical principles to everyday observations, many of the more abstract and remote ideas become more familiar. Throughout the book we have made heavy use of analogies, along with carefully designed illustrations to make those analogies more concrete. Knowing the facts about astronomical objects is important, but it is equally important to understand how astronomers deduce those facts. Thus, an additional aim throughout this text is to explain how astronomers have come to their understanding of our Universe. New observations can force astronomers to revise their ideas of how a given process occurs. As part of showing how scientists arrive at their ideas, we have set many of the modern discoveries in their historical context to illustrate that science is a dynamic process and subject to controversy-many ideas are not immediately accepted, even if they ultimately prove to be "correct." We hope that by seeing the arguments for and against various ideas, you will gain a better understanding of how science works. Seeing a clear night sky spangled with stars is a wondrous experience. And yet the beauty and sense of wonder can be enriched even more by an appreciation of the complex processes that make the Universe work. We hope this book will similarly increase your appreciation of our Universe's wonders. Explorations: An Introduction to Astronomy is written in clear non-technical language, with the occasional touch of humour and a wide range of clarifying illustrations. It has many analogies drawn from everyday life to help non-science majors appreciate, on their own terms, what our modern exploration of the universe is revealing. The book can be used for either a one-semester or two-semester introductory course (bear in mind, you can customize your version and include only those chapters or sections you will be teaching.) The purpose of this text is to take a break in our busy lives, look into the depths of the universe, and to try to understand what we see. Astronomy is part of physics, so to truly understand and appreciate what we see, there will be some physics involved.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. GENERAL ASTRONOMY
2. STELLAR SPECTRA AND STELLAR CLASSIFICATION
3. INTRODUCTION TO H.R. DIAGRAM
4. MASSES OF STARS, CLOSE BINARIES AND MASS-LUMINOSITY RELATION OF STARS
5. THE SUN
6. TELESCOPES AND OBSERVATIONS
7. STELLAR PHOTOMETRY: METHODS & POINT SPREAD FUNCTION
8. OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY
Bibliography
Index