Guide to the Sun

by Kenneth J. H. Phillips

Overview

The sun has been an object of fascination and scientific interest to humans since the time of the ancient Greeks. With minimum technical language, this book gives an account of what we now know about the sun's interior, its surface and atmosphere, its role in our solar system, and its relation to other stars. The ways that solar power is being converted to useful forms of energy are also explained. The book is aimed at anyone interested in learning about the latest developments in solar studies, from those at high-school level to the nonspecialist professional.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521397889
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/30/1995
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	404
Product dimensions:	6.85(w) x 9.72(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Professor Kenneth Phillips is Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, and specialises in solar physics and X-ray and ultraviolet spectroscopy. He is co-author of Ultraviolet and X-ray Spectroscopy of the Solar Atmosphere (2008) and has authored over 300 research papers. In 2010, he was awarded the Copernicus Medal of the Polish Academy of Sciences and in 2009, the Gold Medal of the University of Wroclaw, Poland, for collaborative projects with the solar group there. From 2002 to 2005, he held a National Research Council Senior Research Associateship at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and he worked for twenty-five years in the Space Science Department of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire. He has held honorary or visiting professorships at Queen's University, Belfast and University College London.

Table of Contents

1. History of solar observation: from sun worship to the space age; 2. Solar interior; 3. The solar photosphere; 4. The solar chromosphere; 5. The solar corona; 6. The active Sun; 7. The Sun and the solar system; 8. The Sun and other stars; 9. Solar energy; 10. Observing the Sun; Epilogue; Glossary; Appendices: physical and astronomical constants finding the heliographic co-ordinates of a sunspot; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

"The book is well written...it contains so much material that even professionals may find it a valuable summary...I can therefore recommmend it highly to both the interested outsider and the professional." Stephen M. White, Physics Today

"I have not seen a more complete work at this level." Gordon Bond, The Practical Observer

"Guide to the Sun does not get bogged down in the technical details of astrophysics but always reminds the reader of the grand view. As a guide and reference work, this book is quite good." Richard Hill, Sky & Telescope

"Overall, this book is a well-written and easily readable history of the development of knowledge about the sun, as well as a comprehensive reference work." George J. Flynn, Science Books & Films

"An excellent introduction to the sun that can easily be understood by anyone who is able to read Scientific American. It is more complete than most recent books on the subject, and includes a number of interesting topics not seen elsewhere. One of the best books on the subject in recent years, and a good choice for anyone wanting to learn about the sun." B.R. Parker, Choice

"...will be a helpful tool for high school students faced with the need to do research about the sun but unable to understand advanced astronomy textbooks." Book Report

"...as a general guide for those with a technical interest in solar astrophysics it has much to recommend it." John Gribbin, New Scientist

"The end result, accessible to a wide range of reader, is an excellent genreal account of the Sun, its properties and relationship to other stars, and the solar-terrestrial environment that it supports. Bernard Roberts, The Times Higher Education Supplement

"As a guide and reference work, this book is quite good." Richard Hill, Sky and Telescope

From the Publisher