Product Description

Introduction to Astronomy & Cosmology is a modern undergraduate textbook, combining both the theory behind astronomy with the very latest developments. Written for science students, this book takes a carefully developed scientific approach to this dynamic subject. Every major concept is accompanied by a worked example with end of chapter problems to improve understanding

• Includes coverage of the very latest developments such as double pulsars and the dark galaxy.
• Beautifully illustrated in full colour throughout
• Supplementary web site with many additional full colour images, content, and latest developments.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28764 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 360 pages

From the Back Cover
Introduction to Astronomy & Cosmology is based on a successful course given by the author to give first year university students a thorough grounding in modern astronomy and to describe the techniques that have given rise to many exciting discoveries. The book also aims to show that astronomy is a wonderful showcase for fundamental physics and how it determines the fabric of the Universe.

The Chapters are Organised as Follows:

• Astronomy, an observational science
• Our Solar System I – the Sun
• Our Solar System II – the Planets
• Extra–solar Planets
• Observing the Universe
• The Properties of Stars
• Stellar Evolution – the life and death of stars
• Galaxies and the Large Scale Structure of the Universe
• Cosmology – the origin and evolution of the universe

Every concept is accompanied by worked examples including problems at the end of each chapters. Complex mathematics are not required to use this book.

This highly illustrated textbook, including numerous colour images, though primarily written for undergraduates, will also be of interest to amateur astronomers and students studying astronomy in senior school.

About the Author
Ian Morison began his love of astronomy when, at the age of 12, he made a telescope out of lenses given to him by his optician. He went on to study Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy at Oxford and in 1970 was appointed to the staff of the University of Manchester where he now teaches astronomy, computing and electronics.

He is a past president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, one of the UK′s largest astronomical societies. He remains on the society′s council and holds the post of instrument advisor helping members with their choice and use of Telescopes.

He lectures wi9dely on astronomy, has co–authored books for amateur astronomers and writes regularly for the two UK astronomy magazines. He also writes a monthly sky guide for the Jodrell Bank Observatory′s web site and produces an audio version as part of the Jodrell Bank Podcast. He has contributed to many television programmes and is a regular astronomy commentator on local and national radio. Another activity he greatly enjoys to take amateur astronomers on observing trips such as those to Lapland to see the Aurora Borealis and on expeditions to Turkey and China to observe total eclipses of the Sun.

In 2003 the Minor Planets Committee of the International Astronomical Union named asteroid 15,727 in his honour, citing his work with MERLIN, the world′s largest linked array of radio telescopes, and that in searching for intelligent life beyond our Solar System in Project Phoenix. In 2007 he was appointed to the post of Gresham Professor of Astronomy. Dating from 1597, this is the oldest astronomy professorship in the world and was once held by Christopher Wren.

Customer Reviews

A fantastic first text
A FANTASTIC introductory text - perfect for first year undergraduates, especially those who do not come from a 'hard' science background. The subject is broken down into manageable chunks and each topic is explained clearly and concisely. The book is littered with colorful illustrations that are likely to be familiar to many students from their own lecturers' presentations.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this text to undergraduates and amateur astronomers with a keen interest in the subject.

Excellent Introductory Text
An excellent and well structured book covering all aspects of Astronomy and Cosmology. Well written and well presented with some excellent diagrams and some of the clearest explanations of the life-cycle of stars I have been able to find anywhere. The lack of maths will appeal to some but not to others but whatever 'maths camp' you fit in this will be a useful reference guide and explanatory text.

One of the best texts going

There's a lot to understand about modern astronomy, and this handily-sized book has a good go at covering pretty much all of it in just 341 pages! It's not the first to embark on a complete introduction to astronomy and cosmology, but it's certainly one of the better offerings.

Morison's text, which originally formed a series of lectures, is printed on superb-quality paper, successfully supplemented with a rich picking of glossy photographs that provide added interest and explanation.

Occasionally sounding a little dry, the text generally runs smoothly, is bang up-to-date, and all cut up into convenient, self-contained sections that can be read in a dip-in, dip-out sort of way. Morison deals with everything from the Big Bang and dark energy, to the different designs of telescope. There are a few bloopers, though; the author claims the Sun would burn for about 1000 years were it made of coal; it's actually more like 5000 years. He then wags a finger at people who use the term 'The Theory of General Relativity', as we should be using 'The General Theory of Relativity'. Amusingly, on the very next page, he uses the wrong version!

What I felt Morison isn't so good at is making the maths, which makes regular and appropriate appearances in the text, as easy to understand as it could be. This is an introductory text, and I did think a gentler leading of hand into the equations might help many readers. Some of the explanatory diagrams are also a bit on the vague side. The diagram of the Sun's proton-proton nuclear reactions, for example, were difficult to grasp, even though I've studied them previously! On the plus side, he has a technicolor Hertzsprung-Russell diagram to be proud of!

Inevitably, a book like this has to end up being compared with what I think are the very best of introductory texts, the Open University's Astronomy & Planetary Science course books. Other than falling a bit flat on the maths explanations, I think there's very little on which to mark Morison down, so he's a close second to the OU; quite an achievement!

Overall, a very well thought-out book that lucidly covers a comprehensive range of topics in an attractive format. It does mean that nothing is covered in great detail, but that's a reasonable trade-off. It's not a cheap book, but if you want to understand astronomy at more than a hobby level, or you're a student of astronomy, then it's certainly worth digging that bit deeper into your pockets for.


This review also appears in Astronomy Now magazine.

(C) John Rowlands 2009.