The Big Picture

A brief overview of astronomy and cosmology is presented in five different ways, through the lenses of space, time, evolution, process, and structure. Specific topics are chosen for their contribution to a "big picture" understanding of the interconnectedness of knowledge in astronomy and cosmology. Thus, many topics (stellar astronomy for example) are treated in multiple sections, but from different viewpointsfor example, sizes and distances of stars (space); when stars appeared in the history of the universe (time); stellar evolution (evolution); hydrostatic equilibrium and stellar spectra (process); and stellar structure (structure). Some topics traditional to the introductory astronomy curriculumeclipses and lunar phases, for exampleare omitted altogether as they are inessential for the big-picture goals of the book, and excellent summaries are easily available elsewhere. On the other hand, the book treats some topics not usually covered in an introductory astronomy course, forexample the roles played by equilibrium processes and symmetry in our understanding of the universe. The level is for the beginning undergraduate, with only basic skills in rudimentary algebra assumed. But more advanced students and teachers will also find the book useful as both a set of practical tools and a point of departure for taking stock (in five different ways) of the current state of knowledge in astronomy and cosmology.

Autorentext

John Beaver is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the Fox Cities Campus of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where he teaches physics, astronomy, photography, and interdisciplinary courses. He earned his B.S. in physics and astronomy in 1985 from Youngstown State University, and his Ph.D. in astronomy in 1992 from Ohio State University. His published work in astronomy is on the topics of spectrophotometry of cometsand gaseous nebulae, and multi-color photometry of star clusters. Beaver is also a fine-art photographer, having exhibited in many juried competitions, and shared and solo exhibitions in Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, Louisiana, Missouri, Oregon, Minnesota, and Colorado. He has long been involved in art-science collaborations (many with artist Judith Baker Waller) in the classroom, at academic conferences, and in art galleries and plan-etaria. He is the author of The Physics and Art of Photography, published in three volumes by Morgan & Claypool Publishers (San Rafael, CA, 2018, 2019). Some of Johns photography can be seen at www.JohnEBphotography.com.

Inhalt
Preface.- Acknowledgments.- Tools for Understanding Space.- Looking Outward.- Looking Inward.- Tools for Understanding Time.- The Present.- The Past.- The Future.- Evolution of the Solar System.- Stellar Evolution.- The Evolution of Galaxies.- Fields.- Waves.- Equilibrium.- The Structure of Energy and Matter.- The Interior Structure of Stars.- The Structure of Galaxies.- Large-Scale Structure of the Universe.- Author's Biography .