Stars and Their Spectra

Stars and Their Spectra PDF Author: James B. Kaler
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521585705
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
The study of stars and their spectra is central to an understanding of classical and modern astronomy. The principal tool for investigating the nature of stars is to observe and interpret their spectra. In this lucid book, James Kaler clearly explains the alphabet of stellar astronomy - from the cool M stars to hot O stars - and tells the story of the evolution of stars and their place in the Universe. Before embarking on a fascinating voyage of cosmic discovery, we are introduced to the fundamental properties of stars, and how they can be categorised. Next, the structure of atoms and the formation of spectra is discussed, as a prelude to a full description of the spectral classification itself. The heart of the book examines each star type in turn and explores their spectra in detail. Notable discoveries and features related to each class sustain the story. There is also a review of unusual stars that cannot easily be classified. Finally, the book closes with a skilful integration of all the data - tracing the paths of birth, life and death of stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. This book is based on a widely acclaimed series of articles on stellar astronomy which appeared in the magazine Sky and Telescope. It provides an invaluable introduction for observers and students.

Stars and Their Spectra

Stars and Their Spectra PDF Author: James B. Kaler
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521585705
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 326

Get Book Here

Book Description
The study of stars and their spectra is central to an understanding of classical and modern astronomy. The principal tool for investigating the nature of stars is to observe and interpret their spectra. In this lucid book, James Kaler clearly explains the alphabet of stellar astronomy - from the cool M stars to hot O stars - and tells the story of the evolution of stars and their place in the Universe. Before embarking on a fascinating voyage of cosmic discovery, we are introduced to the fundamental properties of stars, and how they can be categorised. Next, the structure of atoms and the formation of spectra is discussed, as a prelude to a full description of the spectral classification itself. The heart of the book examines each star type in turn and explores their spectra in detail. Notable discoveries and features related to each class sustain the story. There is also a review of unusual stars that cannot easily be classified. Finally, the book closes with a skilful integration of all the data - tracing the paths of birth, life and death of stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. This book is based on a widely acclaimed series of articles on stellar astronomy which appeared in the magazine Sky and Telescope. It provides an invaluable introduction for observers and students.

Stars and Their Spectra

Stars and Their Spectra PDF Author: James B. Kaler
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521899540
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 413

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Book Description
Revised and expanded, the second edition of this popular book provides a thorough introduction to stellar spectra. Each chapter explores a different star type, including new classes L and T. With modern digital spectra and updates from two decades of astronomical discoveries, it is invaluable for amateur astronomers and students.

Spectroscopy: The Key to the Stars

Spectroscopy: The Key to the Stars PDF Author: Keith Robinson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387682880
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 165

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Book Description
This is the first non-technical book on spectroscopy written specifically for practical amateur astronomers. It includes all the science necessary for a qualitative understanding of stellar spectra, but avoids a mathematical treatment which would alienate many of its intended readers. Any amateur astronomer who carries out observational spectroscopy and who wants a non-technical account of the physical processes which determine the intensity and profile morphology of lines in stellar spectra will find this is the only book written specially for them. It is an ideal companion to existing books on observational amateur astronomical spectroscopy.

Extreme Stars

Extreme Stars PDF Author: James B. Kaler
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521402620
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Over the past 200 years, our knowledge of stars has expanded enormously. From seeing myriad dots of different brightnesses, we moved on to measure distances, temperatures, sizes, chemical compositions, even ages, finding stars that dwarf our Sun and are dwarfed by it, some in their youth, others ancient. First published in 2001, Extreme Stars describes the lives of stars from a fascinating perspective. It examines their amazing extremes and results in an engaging overview of stellar evolution, suitable for anyone interested in viewing or studying stars. Ten chapters, generously illustrated throughout, explain the natures of the brightest, the largest, the hottest, the youngest, and so on, ending with a selection of the strangest stars the Universe has to offer. Taken as a whole, the chapters show how stars develop and die and how each extreme turns into another under the inexorable twin forces of time and gravity.

Stellar Spectral Classification

Stellar Spectral Classification PDF Author: Richard O. Gray
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691125114
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 620

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Book Description
Written by leading experts in the field, Stellar Spectral Classification is the only book to comprehensively discuss both the foundations and most up-to-date techniques of MK and other spectral classification systems. Definitive and encyclopedic, the book introduces the astrophysics of spectroscopy, reviews the entire field of stellar astronomy, and shows how the well-tested methods of spectral classification are a powerful discovery tool for graduate students and researchers working in astronomy and astrophysics. The book begins with a historical survey, followed by chapters discussing the entire range of stellar phenomena, from brown dwarfs to supernovae. The authors account for advances in the field, including the addition of the L and T dwarf classes; the revision of the carbon star, Wolf-Rayet, and white dwarf classification schemes; and the application of neural nets to spectral classification. Copious figures illustrate the morphology of stellar spectra, and the book incorporates recent discoveries from earth-based and satellite data. Many examples of spectra are given in the red, ultraviolet, and infrared regions, as well as in the traditional blue-violet optical region, all of which are useful for researchers identifying stellar and galactic spectra. This essential reference includes a glossary, handy appendixes and tables, an index, and a Web-based resource of spectra. In addition to the authors, the contributors are Adam J. Burgasser, Margaret M. Hanson, J. Davy Kirkpatrick, and Nolan R. Walborn.

Spectral Atlas for Amateur Astronomers

Spectral Atlas for Amateur Astronomers PDF Author: Richard Walker
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107165903
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
A full colour reference featuring detailed commented spectral profiles of more than one hundred astronomical objects.

Atomic Spectra and Atomic Structure

Atomic Spectra and Atomic Structure PDF Author: Gerhard Herzberg
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 9780486601151
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
For beginners and specialists in other fields: the Nobel Laureate's introduction to atomic spectra and their relationship to atomic structures, stressing basics in a physical, rather than mathematical, treatment. 80 illustrations.

Stars

Stars PDF Author: James B. Kaler
Publisher: Times Books
ISBN: 9780716750338
Category : Stars.
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
In this fascinating Journey to the farther reaches of space, astronomer James Kaler explores the nature of stars, describing their origins, varieties, distributions, compositions, and distinctive histories. He demonstrates that stars are the key to our comprehension of how the universe evolved--and that the birth, development, and death of stars is intimately associated with our own origins. From the earliest folklore to recent theories about dark matter, Stars chronicles the science of stellar astronomy, concluding with the evolution of high mass stars, whose spectacular deaths generate supernovae, pulsars, neutron stars, and enigmatic black holes. Elegantly written and illustrated, Stars is a compelling portrait of the cosmos as a vast engine of regeneration where stars are born, live, and die.

The Astrophysics of Emission-Line Stars

The Astrophysics of Emission-Line Stars PDF Author: Tomokazu Kogure
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387689958
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 544

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Book Description
Emission line stars are attractive to many people because of their spectacular phenomena and their amazing varieties and variability. This book offers general information on emission line stars, starting from a brief introduction to stellar astrophysics and then moving to a broad overview of emission line stars including early and late type stars as well as pre-main sequence stars.

What Stars Are Made Of

What Stars Are Made Of PDF Author: Donovan Moore
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674237374
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
A New Scientist Book of the Year A Physics Today Book of the Year A Science News Book of the Year The history of science is replete with women getting little notice for their groundbreaking discoveries. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, a tireless innovator who correctly theorized the substance of stars, was one of them. It was not easy being a woman of ambition in early twentieth-century England, much less one who wished to be a scientist. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin overcame prodigious obstacles to become a woman of many firsts: the first to receive a PhD in astronomy from Radcliffe College, the first promoted to full professor at Harvard, the first to head a department there. And, in what has been called “the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy,” she was the first to describe what stars are made of. Payne-Gaposchkin lived in a society that did not know what to make of a determined schoolgirl who wanted to know everything. She was derided in college and refused a degree. As a graduate student, she faced formidable skepticism. Revolutionary ideas rarely enjoy instantaneous acceptance, but the learned men of the astronomical community found hers especially hard to take seriously. Though welcomed at the Harvard College Observatory, she worked for years without recognition or status. Still, she accomplished what every scientist yearns for: discovery. She revealed the atomic composition of stars—only to be told that her conclusions were wrong by the very man who would later show her to be correct. In What Stars Are Made Of, Donovan Moore brings this remarkable woman to life through extensive archival research, family interviews, and photographs. Moore retraces Payne-Gaposchkin’s steps with visits to cramped observatories and nighttime bicycle rides through the streets of Cambridge, England. The result is a story of devotion and tenacity that speaks powerfully to our own time.