The Cosmic Century
A History of Astrophysics and Cosmology

Reviews the historical development of all the key areas of modern astrophysics.

Malcolm S. Longair (Author)

9781107669369, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 January 2013

562 pages
24.6 x 17.5 x 2.5 cm, 0.93 kg

'The astrophysical equivalent to Gombrich's Story of Art … Written with grace, clarity and formidable knowledge, this is simply a book that every serious student of astrophysics must have.' Astronomy Now

The twentieth century witnessed the development of astrophysics and cosmology from subjects which scarcely existed to two of the most exciting and demanding areas of contemporary scientific inquiry. In this book Malcolm Longair reviews the historical development of the key areas of modern astrophysics, linking the strands together to show how they have led to the extraordinarily rich panorama of modern astrophysics and cosmology. While many of the great discoveries were derived from pioneering observations, the emphasis is upon the development of theoretical concepts and how they came to be accepted. These advances have led astrophysicists and cosmologists to ask some of the deepest questions about the nature of our Universe and have pushed astronomical observations to the very limit. This is a fantastic story, and one which would have defied the imaginations of even the greatest storytellers.

Part I. Stars and Stellar Evolution up to the Second World War: 1. The legacy of the nineteenth century
2. The classification of stellar spectra
3. Stellar structure and evolution
4. The end points of stellar evolution
Part II. The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe, 1900–39: 5. The Galaxy and the nature of spiral nebulae
6. The origins of astrophysical cosmology
Part III. The Opening up of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: 7. The opening up of the electromagnetic spectrum and the new astronomies
Part IV. The Astrophysics of Stars and Galaxies since 1945: 8. Stars and stellar evolution
9. The physics of the interstellar medium
10. The physics of galaxies and clusters of galaxies
11. High-energy astrophysics
Part V. Astrophysical Cosmology since 1945: 12. Astrophysical cosmology
13. The determination of cosmological parameters
14. The evolution of galaxies and active galaxies with cosmic epoch
15. The origin of galaxies and the large-scale structure of the Universe
16. The very early Universe
References
Name index
Object index
Subject index.

Subject Areas: Astronomy, space & time [PG], Mathematics & science [P]