Foundations of Astrophysics

by Barbara Ryden

Key Foundations of Astrophysics provides a contemporary and complete introduction to astrophysics for astronomy and physics majors. This book is briefer and more accessible than other books in the market, and is the most up-to-date book available in this fast-changing field. With a logical presentation and conceptual and quantitative end-of-chapter problems, the material is easier-to-grasp for introductory astrophysics readers. Key Early Astronomy, Emergence of Modern Astronomy, Orbital Mechanics, The Earth-Moon System, Interaction of Radiation and Matter, Astronomical Detection of Light, The Sun, Overview of the Solar System, Earth and Moon, The Planets, Small Bodies in the Solar System, The Solar System in Perspective, Properties of Stars, Stellar Atmospheres, Stellar Interiors, The Interstellar Medium, Formation and Evolution of Stars, Stellar Remnants, Our Galaxy, Galaxies, Active Galaxies, Clusters and Superclusters, Cosmology, History of the Universe Intended for those interested in learning the basics of astrophysics

Genres: Physics, Science, Astronomy, Textbooks, Academic

608 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Josh Issa]

Barbara is so good at explaining stars!

[Samuel Andersen]

Extremely comprehensive, thorough, comedic, and enjoyable text. Offers a good deal of simple math problems that take more thought than raw computational prowess. Highly recommend reading through the whole book and attempting practice problems as they come up, as it only invites more questions and curiosities.

[Kronas]

Very straightforward textbook, examples, equations clearly outlined and explained.

[Marty]

Readable and well formatted. Could do for more mathematical nuance.

[Rose]

read selected chapters for data lab

[Tyler Robbins]

Cool stars

[Michael Tabb]

Impressively clear and very helpful, though the problems at the ends of the chapters are more complex than they would initially seem, and often don't actually derive from the chapter.