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Astrophysics in a Nutshell
The ideal one-semester astrophysics introduction for science undergraduates--now expanded and fully updated
Winner of the American Astronomical Society's Chambliss Award, Astrophysics in a Nutshell has become the text of choice in astrophysics courses for science majors at top universities in North America and beyond. In this expanded and fully updated second edition, the book gets even better, with a new chapter on extrasolar planets; a greatly expanded chapter on the interstellar medium; fully updated facts and figures on all subjects, from the observed properties of white dwarfs to the latest results from precision cosmology; and additional instructive problem sets. Throughout, the text features the same focused, concise style and emphasis on physics intuition that have made the book a favorite of students and teachers.
Written by Dan Maoz, a leading active researcher, and designed for advanced undergraduate science majors, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is a brief but thorough introduction to the observational data and theoretical concepts underlying modern astronomy. Generously illustrated, it covers the essentials of modern astrophysics, emphasizing the common physical principles that govern astronomical phenomena, and the interplay between theory and observation, while also introducing subjects at the forefront of modern research, including black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and gravitational lensing.
In addition to serving as a course textbook, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is an ideal review for a qualifying exam and a handy reference for teachers and researchers.
The most concise and current astrophysics textbook for science majors--now expanded and fully updated with the latest research results
Contains a broad and well-balanced selection of traditional and current topics
Uses simple, short, and clear derivations of physical results
Trains students in the essential skills of order-of-magnitude analysis
Features a new chapter on extrasolar planets, including discovery techniques
Includes new and expanded sections and problems on the physics of shocks, supernova remnants, cosmic-ray acceleration, white dwarf properties, baryon acoustic oscillations, and more
Contains instructive problem sets at the end of each chapter
Solutions manual (available only to professors)
Winner of the American Astronomical Society's Chambliss Award, Astrophysics in a Nutshell has become the text of choice in astrophysics courses for science majors at top universities in North America and beyond. In this expanded and fully updated second edition, the book gets even better, with a new chapter on extrasolar planets; a greatly expanded chapter on the interstellar medium; fully updated facts and figures on all subjects, from the observed properties of white dwarfs to the latest results from precision cosmology; and additional instructive problem sets. Throughout, the text features the same focused, concise style and emphasis on physics intuition that have made the book a favorite of students and teachers.
Written by Dan Maoz, a leading active researcher, and designed for advanced undergraduate science majors, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is a brief but thorough introduction to the observational data and theoretical concepts underlying modern astronomy. Generously illustrated, it covers the essentials of modern astrophysics, emphasizing the common physical principles that govern astronomical phenomena, and the interplay between theory and observation, while also introducing subjects at the forefront of modern research, including black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and gravitational lensing.
In addition to serving as a course textbook, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is an ideal review for a qualifying exam and a handy reference for teachers and researchers.
The most concise and current astrophysics textbook for science majors--now expanded and fully updated with the latest research results
Contains a broad and well-balanced selection of traditional and current topics
Uses simple, short, and clear derivations of physical results
Trains students in the essential skills of order-of-magnitude analysis
Features a new chapter on extrasolar planets, including discovery techniques
Includes new and expanded sections and problems on the physics of shocks, supernova remnants, cosmic-ray acceleration, white dwarf properties, baryon acoustic oscillations, and more
Contains instructive problem sets at the end of each chapter
Solutions manual (available only to professors)
312 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2007
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131 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 29, 2022
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
I find it funny that we spend our 20 and 30s accumulating masses of beautiful books and then spend our 40+ trying to downsize. I am in the downsize phase and am reading books one last time before I pass them on and this is one of them.
This one I have had for a while and it was a uni lecturer who said it was a must buy book. This is NOT a mainstream science book. It is also not detailed enough to be a textbook. It is at best a reference book, so not designed to be read cover to cover like a pop-science book. It is not an easy read and really required me to try and recall all it was I learnt long ago. It is very heavily maths based (but then the Trojan horse of physics is maths so that is expected :-)). However, there is not a lot of explanation behind the maths as you would get in a textbook so sometimes you just have to go with it.
This book never tried to be anything other than what it is - but I think the niche audience for this is very narrow. A reference book for astrophysics higher level undergrad. Glad to have revisited it one last time, but I can't say I got a lot out of this without it accompanying a course of study.
I find it funny that we spend our 20 and 30s accumulating masses of beautiful books and then spend our 40+ trying to downsize. I am in the downsize phase and am reading books one last time before I pass them on and this is one of them.
This one I have had for a while and it was a uni lecturer who said it was a must buy book. This is NOT a mainstream science book. It is also not detailed enough to be a textbook. It is at best a reference book, so not designed to be read cover to cover like a pop-science book. It is not an easy read and really required me to try and recall all it was I learnt long ago. It is very heavily maths based (but then the Trojan horse of physics is maths so that is expected :-)). However, there is not a lot of explanation behind the maths as you would get in a textbook so sometimes you just have to go with it.
This book never tried to be anything other than what it is - but I think the niche audience for this is very narrow. A reference book for astrophysics higher level undergrad. Glad to have revisited it one last time, but I can't say I got a lot out of this without it accompanying a course of study.
January 4, 2021
In a nutshell is not too be confused with simple. It is certainly concise but not easy to grasp without a strong background in physics and mathematics.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews