Stories of astronomers and their stars / David E. Falkner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Falkner, David E., author.

Series:

Patrick Moore's practical astronomy series

Patrick Moore practical astronomy series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Astronomers--Biography.

Astronomers.

Stars.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Cham : Springer, [2021]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

This book recounts the stories of the astronomical pioneers who forever changed our views of the cosmos. The chapters delve into their fascinating lives over the centuries, showing how these pivotal minds built upon the work of their predecessors and unlocked the unique properties of specific stars. From ancient astronomy to modern imaging and spectroscopy, each tale at once showcases the pace of scientific discovery and the shared passions that drove these starwatchers. Accompanying the stories are a plethora of constellation and finder charts, stellar coordinates and directions, and suggestions for viewing specific stars, all of which are visible to the naked eye or through a small telescope. In addition, the histories on specific star names and designations are given, along with an overview of the most popular catalogues and online databases that readers can use for reference.

Contents:

Intro

Preface

Acknowledgments

Contents

Part I: The Night Sky

Chapter 1: Observing the Night Sky and the Celestial Sphere

Chapter 2: The Spring/Fall Sky

The Northern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

Reference

Chapter 3: The Summer/Winter Sky

Chapter 4: The Fall/Spring Sky

The Southern Hemisphere

Chapter 5: The Winter/Summer Sky

Part II: The Age Before Telescopes

Chapter 6: Anaxagoras and Hans Albrecht Bethe: The Sun

Anaxagoras

Hans Bethe

The Sun

The Geriatric Sun

Low-Mass Stars

High-Mass Stars

References

Chapter 7: Tycho Brahe: SN 1572

Tycho Brahe

SN 1572 Discovery and Significance

Tycho in Later Years

Chapter 8: Johannes Kepler: SN 1604

The Great Conjunction of 1603 and the Supernova of 1604

The Later Years of Kepler

Part III: Observational Discoveries with Telescopes

Chapter 9: Thomas Henderson: Alpha Centauri

Parallax Measurement of Alpha Centauri

The Alpha Centauri System

Chapter 10: Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel: 61 Cygni

61 Cygni

Chapter 11: Benedetto Castelli and J. B. Liebknecht: Mizar, Alcor, and Sidus Ludoviciana

Benedetto Castelli-Mizar and Alcor

Johann Georg Liebknecht

Sidus Ludoviciana

Chapter 12: John Goodricke: Algol

John Goodricke

Algol

Part IV: Astrophotography and Spectroscopy

Chapter 13: A Brief History of Astrophotography

Chapter 14: The Pioneers of Spectroscopy

Terms and Concepts

Isaac Newton

Sir William Herschel-Discovery of Infrared Light

Thomas Young-Wave Properties of Light

Joseph Fraunhofer-Solar Spectrum

Henry Draper-First Stellar Spectrum Photograph

Gustav Kirchhoff-Spectrum Analysis

Johann Christian Doppler-The Effect of Velocity on Light Waves

Sir William Huggins-Tying Spectrums to Elements

Niels Bohr-Applying Quantum Physics to Spectrums

Summary

Chapter 15: Stellar Spectral Types and the H-R Diagram

Stellar Spectroscopy

Lewis Morris Rutherfurd

Angelo Secchi

Sir William Huggins

Hermann Carl Vogel

Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer

Stellar Spectrum Classifications from the Harvard College Observatory

Yerkes MKK Spectral Classification (W.W. Morgan, Philip Keenan, Edith Kellman)

Morgan-Keenan (MK) Classification

The Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram

Part V: Astrophotography and Spectroscopy Reveal Stellar Secrets

Chapter 16: Edward Charles Pickering: Mizar

Mizar

Chapter 17: Charles Wolf and Georges Rayet: Wolf-Rayet Stars

Charles Joseph Étienne Wolf

Georges Antoine Pons Rayet

Wolf-Rayet (WR) Stars

Notes:

Includes index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed September 15, 2021).

ISBN:

9783030803094

3030803090

OCLC:

1267298877

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.