This book presents an up-to-date detailed description and categorisation of the large range of astronomical objects that fall under the general heading of nebulae, and then instructs the reader in the best ways to successfully observe and record them. Nebulae and How to Observe Them is a comprehensive mine of information for all levels of amateur observers, from the beginner to the experienced.
In this book we will look at what planetary nebulae are, where they come from and where they go. We will discuss what mechanisms cause these beautiful markers of stellar demise as well as what causes them to form their variety of shapes. How we measure various aspects of planetary nebulae such as what they are made of will also be explored. Though we will give some aspects of planetary nebulae mathematical treatment, the main points should be accessible to people with only a limited background in mathematics. A short glossary of some of the more arcane astronomical terms is at the end of the book to help in understanding. Included at the end of each chapter is an extensive bibliography to the peer reviewed research on these objects and I would encourage the reader interested in an even deeper understanding to read these articles.
Planetary Nebulae and How to Observe Them is for amateur astronomers who want to go beyond the Messier objects, concentrating on one of the most beautiful classes of astronomical objects in the sky. Planetary nebulae are not visible to the naked eye, but they are a fascinating group of telescope objects. This guide enables a user equipped with an average-sized amateur telescope to get the best out of observing them. Topics covered include their astrophysical make-up, history of their discovery, classification and description, telescopes to use, filters, and observing techniques - in short everything anyone would need to know to successfully observe planetary nebulae. The book describes the various forms these astronomical objects can take and explains why they are favorite targets for amateur observers. Descriptions of over 100 nebulae personally observed by the author using telescopes of various sizes are included in the book. Readers can create their own observing program or follow the list of these captivating objects, many of which are found within our own Milky Way Galaxy.
No modern astronomer made a more profound contribution to our understanding of the cosmos than did Edwin Hubble, who first conclusively demonstrated that the universe is expanding. Basing his theory on the observation of the change in distanct galaxies, called red shift, Hubble showed that this is a Doppler effect, or alteration in the wavelength of light, resulting from the rapid motion of celestial objects away from Earth. In 1935, Hubble described his principal observations and conclusions in the Silliman lectures at Yale University. These lectures were published the following year as "The Realm of the Nebulae," which quickly became a classic work.
Planetary nebulae are the classic subject of astrophysics. The physical pro cesses occurring in this highly ionized gaseous medium, the formation of emis sion lines in clearly specified conditions, the continuous emission extending from the far ultraviolet up to infrared and radio frequencies, the generation of exotic forms of radiation predicted by atomic physics, along with methods for deciphering the observed spectra and detecting physical and kinematic parameters of the radiating medium, etc. - all these problems form the solid foundations of the physical theory of gaseous nebulae. They are an essential part of the arsenal of powerful tools and concepts without which one cannot imagine understanding and interpreting the enormous diversity of processes taking place in the Universe - in gaseous envelopes surrounding the stars of various classes, from cool dwarfs and flare stars up to hot supergiants, as well as in stellar chromospheres and coronae, in atmospheres of unstable and anomalous stars, in circumstellar clouds and gaseous shells born in nova and supernova explosions, in diffuse nebulae and the interstellar medium, in interacting binary systems, in galaxies with emission lines, in quasars, etc. The last thirty years have seen a turning-point in our knowledge concern ing the very nature of planetary nebulae (PNs). The radio emission of PNs was discovered after it was predicted theoretically. On the other hand, the powerful infrared emission discovered both in the continuum and in emission lines was never expected.
The Orion Nebula is the closest center of massive star formation—a stellar nursery that reproduces the conditions in which our own Sun formed some 4.5 billion years ago. In this book, O’Dell explains what the Nebula is, how it shines, its role in giving birth to stars, and the insights it affords into how common (or rare) planet formation might be.
This brief brings together the theoretical aspects of star formation and ionized regions with the most up-to-date simulations and observations. Beginning with the basic theory of star formation, the physics of expanding HII regions is reviewed in detail and a discussion on how a massive star can give birth to tens or hundreds of other stars follows. The theoretical description of star formation is shown in simplified and state-of-the-art numerical simulations, describing in a more clear way how feedback from massive stars can trigger star and planet formation. This is also combined with spectacular images of nebulae taken by talented amateur astronomers. The latter is very likely to stimulate the reader to observe the structure of nebulae from a different point of view, and better understand the associated star formation therein.
This book is for amateur astronomers who want to go beyond the Messier objects, concentrating on one of the most beautiful classes of astronomical object. It describes over 100 nebulae personally observed by the author using telescopes of various sizes.
The Sun is merely one of some 200 billion stars that make up the Milky Way--and the Milky Way is only one of a billion galaxies in the known universe. Packed with fascinating facts and stunning photography, this book examines the Galaxy humans call home and travels light years away, to the domain of phenomena such as the Oort cloud.
Gaseous nebulae offer outstanding opportunities to atomic physicists, spectroscopists, plasma experts, and to observers and theoreticians alike for the study of attenuated ionized gases. These nebulae are often dusty, heated by radiation fields and by shocks. They are short-lived phenomena on the scale of a stellar lifetime, but their chemical compositions and internal kinematics may give important clues to advanced stages of stellar evolution. The material herein presented is based on lectures given at the University of Michigan, University of Queensland, University of California, Los Angeles, and in more abbreviated form at the Raman Institute, at the Scuola Internazionale di Trieste, and elsewhere. Much of it is derived origionally from the series "Physical Processes in Gaseous Nebulae" initiated at the Harvard College Observatory in the late 1930s. I have tried to emphasize the basic physics of the mechanisms involved and mention some of the uncertainties that underlie calculations of many basic parameters. Emphasis is placed on ionized plasmas with electron temperatures typically in the neighborhood of 10,OOOoK. Dust and other ingredients of the cold component of the interstellar medium are treated briefly from the point of view of their relation to hot plasmas of H II regions and planetaries. Chemical composition determinations for nebulae are discussed in some detail while the last section deals with interpretations of elemental abundances in the framework of stellar evolution and nucleogenesis. Gaseous nebulae offer some particularly engaging opportunities for studies of stellar evolution.
