Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology: An Introduction

by Peter Schneider

Accounting for the astonishing developments in the field of Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology, this second edition has been updated and substantially expanded. Starting with the description of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, this cogently written textbook introduces the reader to the astronomy of galaxies, their structure, active galactic nuclei, evolution and large scale distribution in the Universe. After an extensive and thorough introduction to modern observational and theoretical cosmology, the focus turns to the formation of structures and astronomical objects in the early Universe. The basics of classical astronomy and stellar astrophysics needed for extragalactic astronomy are provided in the appendix.
The new edition incorporates some of the most spectacular results from new observatories like the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, Herschel, ALMA, WMAP and Planck, as well as new instruments and multi-wavelength campaigns which have expanded our understanding of the Universe and the objects populating it. This includes new views on the galaxy population in the nearby Universe, on elliptical galaxies, as well as a deeper view of the distant Universe approaching the dark ages, and an unprecedented view of the distant dusty Universe. Schneider also discusses the impressive support for the standard model of the Universe, which has been substantially strengthened by recent results, including baryon acoustic oscillations (an approach which has significantly matured over the years), results from the completed WMAP mission and from the first Planck results, which have confirmed and greatly improved on these findings, not least by measuring the gravitational lensing effect on the microwave background. Further, a new chapter focusing on galaxy evolution illustrates how well the observations of distant galaxies and their central supermassive black holes can be understood in a general framework of theoretical ideas, models, and numerical simulations.
Peter Schneider’s Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology offers fundamental information on this fascinating subfield of astronomy, while leading readers to the forefront of astronomical research. But it seeks to accomplish this not only with extensive textual information and insights; the author’s own passion for exploring the workings of the Universe, which can be seen in the text and the many supporting color illustrations, will further inspire the reader.
While this book has grown out of introductory university courses on astronomy and astrophysics and includes a set of problems and solutions, it will not only benefit undergraduate students and lecturers; thanks to the comprehensive coverage of the field, even graduate students and researchers specializing in related fields will appreciate it as a valuable reference work.

Genres: Physics, Science, Astronomy, Textbooks, Reference

626 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Astrophysics

Reviews

[Aroosha Dehghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

چشم‌هاتون رو ببنندید و دستتون رو بدید به پتر اشنایدر چون قراره سفری به جایی داشته باشیم که بهش میگن «فراکهکشان».
خب بسه. چشم‌هاتون رو باز کنید که بتونید بخونید. 😐
این کتاب قراره فیزیک فراکهکشانی رو براتون توضیح بده اما نگران نباشید. یهویی وسط اون فضای ناشناس ولتون نمی‌کنه. برای این که دید خوبی از اتفاقات بیرون کهکشان داشته باشیم لازمه که خانه‌ی خودمون رو خیلی خوب بشناسیم پس اشنایدر پیش از هر چیز از کهکشان راه شیری صحبت کرده و به ساختار کهکشان، ستاره‌‌ها، سیاره‌ها، سیارک‌ها و بقیه‌ی امعا و احشای کهکشان پرداخته.
این کتاب خیلی محاسبه محور نیست و اونجاهایی هم که محاسبات داره رو میشه رد کرد. در واقع محاسباتش فقط برای درک عمیق‌تر از مطلبه که خب؛ این درک عمیق رو فقط دانشجوی فیزیک نیاز داره نه مخاطب عام. با این حال، شناخت کهکشان و فضای میان کهکشانی یکی از زیرشاخه‌های نجومه پس اگر نجوم پایه رو بلد باشید خیلی بهتر این کتاب رو درک می‌کنید. اگر هم بلد نیستید نگران نباشید. توی پیوست مفاهیم مهم نجوم پایه رو توضیح داده. اگر باز هم براتون سخت بود و همچنان اصرار داشتید که این کتاب رو بخونید حتما از پدیده‌ی کارآمدی به نام «سرچ کردن در گوگل» کمک بگیرید.😉
و طبق معمول و در نهایت تاسف و تاثر باید اعلام کنم که هیچ از خدا با خبری پیدا نشده تا کتاب‌های رشته‌ی فیزیک رو ترجمه کنه. در نتیجه این کتاب نسخه‌ی فارسی نداره و نسخه‌ی انگلیسیش هم با بدبختی و قیمت کمرشکن گیرتون میاد. البته اگر دانشجوی دانشگاه‌هایی هستید که رشته‌های فنی و علوم پایه رو دارن، به احتمال نودونه درصد در کتابخانه‌ی دانشگاهتون هست.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great overview of all the stuff happening outside our neighbourhood, although marred by multiple grammatical and spelling errors which I hope will be sorted out in a future edition

[Suhrob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The textbook provides a broad overview of extragalactic
astrophysics. None of the topics is covered particularly in depth (so
it is not a textbook you'd snuggle up with for years exploring the
nooks and crannies of your favorite super-remote sub-sub field of a
particular very specific specialization within your given
micro-field), but serves as a good - and for a brief moment also - a
relatively up-to-date overview of the field. Add a half star if you
are particularly interested in weak lensing - this topic is given a
more detailed treatment. The book is richly illustrated and quite
useful reference for the aspiring undergrad, but also higher in our
glorious academic hierarchy.

The question with this kind of textbooks is whether it is worth the
buy given wikipedia + tons of free overview articles available at
arxiv. In this case I'd say - definitely do buy (or get it from library) - it is a
good, compact reference.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Textbook.

[Folkert Wierda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly dated (as are most books in this field) but a good overview of extragalactic astronomy. The topic of cosmology gets less attention than you would expect with such a title.