Challenges of Astronomy: Hands-on Experiments for the Sky and Laboratory / Edition 1

by W. Schlosser, T. Schmidt-Kaler, E.F. Milone

Overview

A unique collection of thirty experiments ranging from ancient astronomy to cosmology, each containing one or more challenges for the reader. The progression here is from the Earth outward through the solar system to the stellar and galactic realm. Topics include the shape of the sky; Stonehenge as a stone-age abacus; determining the size of the Earth; the distance of the moon, stars and planets; planetary mass, density, temperature and atmosphere; the speed of light; the nature of the quiet and active sun; photometry and spectroscopy; star clusters and variable stars; and fundamental properties of stars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461287698
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	12/23/2011
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1991
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.02(d)

Table of Contents

1. The Vault of Heaven.- 2. Astronomy of the Spheres.- 3. Early Astronomy.- 4. The Earth’s Radius.- 5. The Distance of the Moon.- 6. Measuring Lunar Mountains.- 7. The Phases of Venus.- 8. Saturn’s Parallax and Motion.- 9. The Astronomical Unit.- 10. The Moon’s Orbit.- 11. The Galilean Moons of Jupiter.- 12. Planetary Packaging: Mean Densities.- 13. Earth Satellites.- 14. Orbits and Space Travel.- 15. Photography of the Sun and Stars.- 16. The Speed and Color of Light.- 17. Planetary Surface Temperatures.- 18. Planetary Atmospheres.- 19. Atmospheric Effects on Starlight and Sunlight.- 20. Sources of Cosmic Radiation.- 21. Optical Aids and Their Limitations.- 22. Laser Light and Speckle Interferometry.- 23. Photometry.- 24. Spectral Analysis.- 25. The Doppler Effect.- 26. Binary Star Systems.- 27. Fundamental Properties of Stars.- 28. The Face of a Star: The Sun.- 29. Star Clusters.- 30. Olbers’s Paradox: Cosmology and the Night Sky.- Appendices.- A — Coordinate Systems and Spherical Astronomy.- B — A Brief Summary of Error Analysis.- C — Constructing a Cross-Staff.- D — Julian Day Number Table.- E — Planetary Position Tables.- F — Photographic Targets.- G — Topics Guide.

Editorial Reviews

A collection of thirty astronomy experiments progressing from an advanced high-school to a professional level, from ancient astronomy to cosmology, and from the earth through the solar system to the stellar and galactic realm. First published in German in 1989. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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