An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics

An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics is a comprehensive, well-organized and engaging text covering every major area of modern astrophysics, from the solar system and stellar astronomy to galactic and extragalactic astrophysics, and cosmology. Designed to provide students with a working knowledge of modern astrophysics, this textbook is suitable for astronomy and physics majors who have had a first-year introductory physics course with calculus. Featuring a brief summary of the main scientific discoveries that have led to our current understanding of the universe; worked examples to facilitate the understanding of the concepts presented in the book; end-of-chapter problems to practice the skills acquired; and computational exercises to numerically model astronomical systems, the second edition of An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics is the go-to textbook for learning the core astrophysics curriculum as well as the many advances in the field.

Preface; Part I. The Tools of Astronomy: 1. The celestial sphere; 2. Celestial mechanics; 3. The continuous spectrum of light; 4. The theory of special relativity; 5. The interaction of light and matter; 6. Telescopes; Part II. The Nature of Stars: 7. Binary systems and stellar parameters; 8. The classification of stellar spectra; 9. Stellar atmospheres; 10. The interiors of stars; 11. The Sun; 12. The interstellar medium and star formation; 13. Main sequence and post-main-sequence stellar evolution; 14. Stellar pulsation; 15. The fate of massive stars; 16. The degenerate remnants of stars; 17. General relativity and black holes; 18. Close binary star systems; Part III. The Solar System: 19. Physical processes in the solar system; 20. The terrestrial planets; 21. The realms of the giant planets; 22. Minor bodies of the solar system; 23. Formation of planetary systems; Part IV. Galaxies and the Universe: 24. The Milky Way Galaxy; 25. The nature of galaxies; 26. Galactic evolution; 27. The structure of the Universe; 28. Active galaxies; 29. Cosmology; 30. The early Universe; Appendix A. Astronomical and physical constants; Appendix B. Unit conversions; Appendix C. Solar system data; Appendix D. The constellations; Appendix E. The brightest stars; Appendix F. The nearest stars; Appendix G. Stellar data; Appendix H. The Messier catalog; Appendix I. Constants, a programming module; Appendix J. Orbit, a planetary orbit code; Appendix K. TwoStars, a binary star code; Appendix L. StatStar, a stellar structure code; Appendix M. Galaxy, a tidal interaction code; Appendix N. WMAP Data; Suggested reading; Index.

Bradley W. Carroll received his B.A. in Mathematics and a Secondary Teaching Credential from the University of California, Irvine, his M.S. in Physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He then accepted a postdoc with Hugh Van Horn at the University of Rochester and, four years later, accepted a position in the Physics Department at Weber State University, where he served as the Physics Department chair for ten years. He retired in 2015 after thirty years at Weber State University, Utah. During this time, he was awarded the Lowe Innovative Teaching Award and named a WSU Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor. He is an emeritus member of the American Astronomical Society.
Dale A. Ostlie received his B.A. from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota with degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Iowa State University. After a two-year teaching position at Bates College in Maine, he moved to Weber State University (WSU), where he worked for thrity years, retiring in 2014. At WSU Dale served as Chair of the Department of Physics for seven years and Dean of the College of Science for eight years. He also served as a collaborator at Los Alamos National Laboratory and worked as an early consultant at the Space Telescope Science Institute. In addition, he has authored or co-authored numerous papers in stellar pulsation theory. While at WSU, Dale was awarded the Lowe Innovative Teaching Award and the Exemplary Collaboration Award. He is a member of the American Astronomical Society.