Observing The Universe

Observing the Universe introduces a range of techniques and skills that will be useful for those wishing to undertake observational work in astronomy and planetary science. Observations have played, and continue to play, a crucial role in developing our understanding of the Universe, and the best way to get a feel for the role of observations is to do some. This comprehensive guide provides a sound basis for tackling astronomy and planetary science observations. It concentrates on generic aspects of observations, including the principles of telescopes and detectors, photometry and spectroscopy, microscopy techniques for analysing samples, teamwork skills, planning for a session at an observatory, keeping records of what you do, estimating uncertainties in measurements, analysing data numerically and graphically, and producing a written report. Including self-assessment questions with full solutions, this self-contained guide is suitable for undergraduate students of astronomy and planetary science, and serious amateur astronomers.

From the internationally acclaimed author of Magnificent Universe, Ken Croswell, comes the definitive story of the golden age in our understanding of the universe -- the age we live in right now. The universe's origin, evolution, and fate have long fascinated humanity, but until recently these subjects resided in astronomy's never-never land. The last ten years, however, have witnessed a stunning turnabout: an avalanche of new cosmological discoveries that illuminate the greatest questions of all. The Universe at Midnight is a platform from which to observe these new deep-space landmarks. Mammoth new telescopes on Earth, such as the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, the Very Large Telescope in Chile, and Japan's Subaru Telescope, as well as the Hubble Space Telescope overhead, are probing the frontiers of the universe with stunning results. In 1996 astronomers pinpointed the center of the elusive "Great Attractor, " a mass of galaxies 250 million light-years away that is trying to tug our Galaxy andthousands of others across the universe. In late 1997, two teams hunting supernovae in galaxies billions of light-years away shocked their colle

Introduces facts about the exploration of the universe, discussing the early theories of the origin of the universe, the recognition of astronomy as a legitimate science, the development of the modern telescope, and subsequent discoveries of distant stars and galaxies.

How would the dinosaurs have evolved if they hadn't been wiped out by a giant meteorite 65 million years ago? Is most of the universe in the form of mysterious 'dark matter' that we cannot see ? How does the sun shine? Can mass be spewed into the universe from white holes- like black holes in reverse? What do supernovae mean to us? In a series of essays collected together for the first time........

The cutting-edge science that is taking the measure of the universe The Little Book of Cosmology provides a breathtaking look at our universe on the grandest scales imaginable. Written by one of the world's leading experimental cosmologists, this short but deeply insightful book describes what scientists are revealing through precise measurements of the faint thermal afterglow of the Big Bang—known as the cosmic microwave background, or CMB—and how their findings are transforming our view of the cosmos. Blending the latest findings in cosmology with essential concepts from physics, Lyman Page first helps readers to grasp the sheer enormity of the universe, explaining how to understand the history of its formation and evolution in space and time. Then he sheds light on how spatial variations in the CMB formed, how they reveal the age, size, and geometry of the universe, and how they offer a blueprint for the formation of cosmic structure. Not only does Page explain current observations and measurements, he describes how they can be woven together into a unified picture to form the Standard Model of Cosmology. Yet much remains unknown, and this incisive book also describes the search for ever deeper knowledge at the field's frontiers—from quests to understand the nature of neutrinos and dark energy to investigations into the physics of the very early universe.

When observing the sky on a very clear, dark night, the soft glow of the Milky Way with its thousands of stars can be seen with the naked eye. Over the centuries since Galileo Galilei first pointed a telescope at the galaxy in 1609, this awe-inspiring yet easily visible panorama was our cosmos, our celestial world. With each new scientific discovery, however, this cosmos has grown dramatically, increasing rapidly over the last several decades. As we look deeper into space, the earlier phases of the cosmos are unveiled to us, but we know that even with the largest telescopes, we will see only a tiny fraction of the vast expanse of the universe. In Astronomy’s Limitless Journey, astrophysicist Günther Hasinger takes the reader on a journey to the far reaches of the universe—an exciting time travel that begins with the incredibly hot fireball of the Big Bang roughly 13.8 billion years ago and ends in distant eons with its cold, dark demise. In between lie the times in which extensive structures, galaxies, stars, and planets form. As the field of astrophysics and cosmology experiences a “golden age” due to larger telescopes, faster computers, and more sophisticated algorithms, fundamental changes are taking place in our understanding of space and time and of the origin and future of our universe. Hasinger thoroughly explains these fascinating revelations and describes the methods utilized in modern astrophysics. He cautions, however, that the boundaries between knowledge and ignorance shift constantly; where our knowledge is so incomplete such that we can only speculate, the journey becomes shaky. Indeed, every new discovery opens a further door to the unknown and with every answered question, we discover more locked doors still to be opened.

An introduction and reference guide to finding and studying 690 of the sky's deep-sky objects using a backyard telescope.