Contents
- Preface
1Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour
2Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy
7Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System
13Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System
14Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System
18The Stars: A Celestial Census
20Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space
21The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System
27Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes
- AHow to Study for an Introductory Astronomy Class
- BAstronomy Websites, Images, and Apps
- CScientific Notation
- DUnits Used in Science
- ESome Useful Constants for Astronomy
- FPhysical and Orbital Data for the Planets
- GSelected Moons of the Planets
- HFuture Total Eclipses
- IThe Nearest Stars, Brown Dwarfs, and White Dwarfs
- JThe Brightest Twenty Stars
- KThe Chemical Elements
- LThe Constellations
- MStar Chart and Sky Event Resources
- Index
For Further Exploration
Articles
Croswell, K. “The Periodic Table of the Cosmos.” Scientific American (July 2011):45–49. A brief introduction to the history and uses of the H–R diagram.
Davis, J. “Measuring the Stars.” Sky & Telescope (October 1991): 361. The article explains direct measurements of stellar diameters.
DeVorkin, D. “Henry Norris Russell.” Scientific American (May 1989): 126.
Kaler, J. “Journeys on the H–R Diagram.” Sky & Telescope (May 1988): 483.
McAllister, H. “Twenty Years of Seeing Double.” Sky & Telescope (November 1996): 28. An update on modern studies of binary stars.
Parker, B. “Those Amazing White Dwarfs.” Astronomy (July 1984): 15. The article focuses on the history of their discovery.
Pasachoff, J. “The H–R Diagram’s 100th Anniversary.” Sky & Telescope (June 2014): 32.
Roth, J., and Sinnott, R. “Our Studies of Celestial Neighbors.” Sky & Telescope (October 1996): 32. A discussion is provided on finding the nearest stars.
Websites
Eclipsing Binary Stars: http://www.midnightkite.com/index.aspx?URL=Binary. Dan Bruton at Austin State University has created this collection of animations, articles, and links showing how astronomers use eclipsing binary light curves.
Henry Norris Russell: http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/brucemedalists/russell/RussellBio.pdf. A Bruce Medal profile of Russell.
Hertzsprung–Russell Diagram: http://skyserver.sdss.org/dr1/en/proj/advanced/hr/. This site from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey introduces the H–R diagram and gives you information for making your own. You can go step by step by using the menu at the left. Note that in the project instructions, the word “here” is a link and takes you to the data you need.
Stars of the Week: http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/sowlist.html. Astronomer James Kaler does “biographical summaries” of famous stars—not the Hollywood type, but ones in the real sky.
Videos
Constructing a Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram for a Globular Star Cluster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWQslu4S5eQ.
WISE Mission Surveys Nearby Stars: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1089. Short video about the WISE telescope survey of brown dwarfs and M dwarfs in our immediate neighborhood (1:21).