Table of Contents

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.

Promotional Information

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

About the Author

Malcolm Longair is Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.

Reviews

'Longair emphasizes the development of theoretical concepts over the observations that they were based on, and brings the discussion up to date with the emergence of 21st-century precision cosmology.' Physics World 'I can envisage this book being useful to physicists from other areas of specialization, who would like an overview of astrophysics and cosmology, or for workers in one of these areas who want to broaden their horizons. It could also be a text for graduate students in astronomy, astrophysics or astrophysical cosmology, who want a synoptic overview of these areas. ... the book ... clearly separates speculation from well-established theory. ... a sound work that will be well appreciated.' Nature Physics 'Little of astrophysics and cosmology escapes the gaze of Longair ... Readers, especially those already familiar with many of the topics, will enjoy his prose. Certainly all graduate students in the field should read this book. And anyone interested in the history of science would enjoy it as bedside reading if they were willing to skip the equations.' Nature 'It is fresh, authoratitive, thorough, and insightful ... the understanding and appreciation of the scientific methodology leaps from every page ... This book is superbly written, well referenced, fully illustrated, and beautifully produced. It will become a classic. Buy it, read it, and improve yourself.' The Observatory 'In The Cosmic Century: A History of Astrophysics and Cosmology, Malcolm Longair has written a very timely book, directed toward students, researchers, and lecturers; I enjoyed experiencing all three roles while reading it. It is a lucid and in-depth presentation of the subject and introduces topics at various levels of complexity. ... Longair's style very effectively engages the reader ...' Physics Today '...a sweeping overview of our progress in understanding the universe...The style is only moderately technical ...I found this to be an excellent overview.' American Association of Variable Star Observations Bookstore