Essays On The Frontiers Of Modern Astrophysics And Cosmology

This book is a collection of fourteen essays that describe an inspiring journey through the universe and discusses popular science topics that modern physics and cosmology are struggling to deal with. What is our place in the universe and what happens in the magnificent cosmos where we exist for a brief amount of time. In an unique way that incorporates mythological and philosophical perspectives, the essays in this work address the big questions of what the universe is, how it came into being, and where it may be heading. This exciting adventure is a rich scientific history of elegant physics, mathematics, and cosmology as well as a philosophical and spiritual pursuit fueled by the human imagination.

This book presents a collection of focused review papers on the advances in topics in modern astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology and planetary science. The chapters are written by expert members of an EU-funded ERASMUS+ program of strategic partnership between several European institutes. The 13 reviews comprise the topics: Space debris, optical measurements Meteors, light from comets and asteroids Extrasolar enigmas: from disintegrating exoplanets to exo-asteroids Physical conditions and chemical abundances in photoionized nebulae from optical spectra Observational Constraints on the Common Envelope Phase A modern guide to quantitative spectroscopy of massive OB stars Explosion mechanisms of core-collapse supernovae and their observational signatures Low-mass and substellar eclipsing binaries in stellar clusters Globular cluster systems and Galaxy Formation Hot atmospheres of galaxies, groups, and clusters of galaxies The establishment of the Standard Cosmological Model through observations Exploiting solar visible-range observations by inversion techniques: from flows in the solar subsurface to a flaring atmosphere Starburst galaxies The book is intended for the general astronomical community as well as for advanced students who could use it as a guideline, inspiration and overview for their future careers in astronomy.

This book introduces ten equations that transcend the boundaries of time and space. It takes readers through a journey of self-discovery where they will learn the history, science, and significance of these equations in the context of their lives. Moreover, the mathematical beauty of these equations is presented in a profoundly modest fashion to highlight the idea that equations are eternal but humans are transient. Each chapter offers readers a sublime experience and provides insights into the laws of nature that address the ever-expanding intricacy of our universe. The history of humankind, according to Franz Kafka, is the instant between two strides taken by a traveler. Therefore, what remains eternal when we finish our journey on this tiny rocky planet is our deep desire to connect with everything else in this universe. These equations capture the essence of that aspiration and remain everlasting while we continue our trivial human pursuits. These equations change the way we live and view the world and will outlast even the most enduring signs of our civilization. They have the potential to take us from planet to planet and perhaps to make us a cosmic species. They can destroy the last strand of DNA to terminate life as we know it and generate life again from the fundamental laws of nature. While these equations remain intangible, they can create a tangible world yet remain truly eternal.

There are many fundamental issues, whether scientific, cultural, religious, and even philosophical, that we accept as fact or truth, simply because our peers have done so. Our peers have been wrong before. For two thousand years Euclidean geometry and geo-centricity was the absolute truth in scientific and religious communities. Law of some of these issues concern the origins of our domain. Origin of the universe, origin of life on earth, origin of Homo-sapiens, origin of what we categorize as civilization and origin of religion, particularly monotheistic religions. This book has endeavored to investigate these five very fundamental issues, in simple and non-scientific language as far as conceivable. To most people, these subject matters have very little or no consequence in their daily lives, and for this reason they are not explored, nor merit any time contemplating. But they are so innate and engrained in our subconscious that most people must have pondered, reflected, or discussed one or more of these issues at least a few times in their lifetime. The remarkable fact is that despite their vital and elemental relevance, people simply accept and consent to what the authorities propagate. That maybe the most convenient approach, but none of the mainline theories, regardless of where they came from, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, The Pope, Carl Sagan, Steven Hawking or any other scientists, philosophers or religious authorities are simply theories, not proven and thus still mysteries worth investigating. The book does not try to find answers. It simply investigates the flaws, inadequacies, and weaknesses in some of these theories and where possible, to explore other alternatives and options. The only purpose, and indeed hope in writing this book is to create a fertile domain in the mind of the readers, to ask question, albeit “The Right” questions. “Where there is consciousness, there is doubt.”

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. By what miracle can an assortment of seemingly unrelated particles come together and correctly assemble to form a human being? Amazingly, once aggregated, these atoms, molecules, and compounds manage to interact reasonably coherently during our lives but seek to return to their dusty state when death occurs. Of the billions of our species who have existed on earth over the millennia, most have quietly and inexorably returned to ashes and dust when their term of life expired. This book tracks some of the misadventures of selected corpses, including burials that went awry to body snatching, exhumations, human-relic collection, and assorted desecrations. Over the years, it seems that a remarkable number of bodies have failed to enjoy the admonition to “Rest in Peace.” Whether these aberrations in the burial process have disturbed the afterlife of the departed, everyone is dying to discover the answer.

How can we be sure the oppressed do not become oppressors in their turn? How can we create a feminism that doesn't turn into yet another tool for oppression? It has become commonplace to argue that, in order to fight the subjugation of women, we have to unpack the ways different forms of oppression intersect with one another: class, race, gender, sexuality, disability, and ecology, to name only a few. By arguing that there is no single factor, or arche, explaining the oppression of women, Chiara Bottici proposes a radical anarchafeminist philosophy inspired by two major claims: that there is something specific to the oppression of women, and that, in order to fight that, we need to untangle all other forms of oppression and the anthropocentrism they inhabit. Anarchism needs feminism to address the continued subordination of all femina, but feminism needs anarchism if it does not want to become the privilege of a few. Anarchafeminism calls for a decolonial and deimperial position and for a renewed awareness of the somatic communism connecting all different life forms on the planet. In this new revolutionary vision, feminism does not mean the liberation of the lucky few, but liberation for all living creatures from both capitalist exploitation and an androcentric politics of domination. Either all or none of us will be free.

This study of Chinese science fiction will be of interest to students, SF fans, and even to those with a mere passing fancy of science fiction in the Middle Kingdom. The book is split into three main parts; firstly the development of Anglo-American and Chinese SF are compared - mainly for those who are new to the ""genre."" Next, the ""unspoken"" limiting guidelines for authors that no one can / will universally agree on are discussed. Also, historical case studies demonstrate why freedom to create is absolutely vital to the progressive developments of companies and even countries which also rings true for China's role in the 21st century. Finally, a sampling of 12 short stories by three major authors over the last forty years are examined for content that agrees with statements made about SF in China by experts in SF studies as well as authors themselves. All this helps even a novice in the subject to gain important insights into what it means to be an SF author in China.

One of the most vigorous sciences of our time, astrophysics constantly changes under the impact of new discoveries about everything from our own sun to the most distant and exotic of extragalactic phenomena. In chapters written especially for this volume, twelve distinguished scientists actively pursuing astrophysical research offer up-to-date reviews and commentary on new developments in their fields. With a little grounding in astronomy or physics, the reader will find this book an invaluable source of basic information on the most recent work in this field. Frontiers of Astrophysics can be used as classroom reading, either as a main text or as supplementary reading in astronomy or physics courses, and it can be read with profit by anyone who wants current knowledge presented without complex mathematical arguments. Published within months after the contributions were written, this book is the most convenient and contemporary source on these topics: formation of the solar system (W.R. Ward); new developments in solar research (R. W. Noyes); early phases of stellar evolution (S.E. Storm); endpoints of stellar evolution (A.G.W. Cameron); neutron stars, black holes and supernocvae (H. Gursky); infrared astronomy (G.G. Fazio); gaseous nebulae and their interstellar environment (E.K. Chaisson); chemistry of the interstellar medium (A. Dalgarno); radio observations of galactic masers (J.M. Moran): active galaxies (K. Brecher); galaxies and cosmology (M. Davis); the mass of the universe and intergalactic matter (G.B. Field).