Fundamentals of Astronomy

Provides an introductory vision of arguments from spherical astronomy to celestial mechanics to astronomical photometry and spectroscopyPresents the information at an introductory level without sacrificing scientific rigorIncludes worked examples, references, and Web site evaluationsCovers rules for transforming coordinates from one system to anotherDiscusses the diurnal rotation and annual revolution of the Earth to allow understanding of the several definitions of time used in AstronomyGives several operative definitions of time together with the transformations among themExamines the influence of the Earth's atmosphere on the apparent coordinates of the stars and on the shape of their imagesExplains the dynamics of two bodies under their mutual gravitational attraction Providing a broad overview of foundational concepts, Fundamentals of Astronomy covers topics ranging from spherical astronomy to celestial mechanics, closing with two chapters giving elements of astronomical photometry and spectroscopy. Supplementary and explanatory notes at the end of each chapter provide references to material published in scientific journals and solved and unsolved exercises allow you to check your understanding of the material. Broad in coverage, the book presents arguments from classical astronomy, such as spherical astronomy, that form the foundation for future work in the field.