Where should I begin with Astrophysics?

[Bart]

Hello, I've taken a look around these forums, but I haven't seen such questions.

I'm interested in Astrophysics (I'm even applying to University of Cambridge for this course), but I'm a very beginner in it. The question is: what should I start with? Yes, of course maths - that's not a problem, but I need some essential knowledge for the base to my further education. Can you recommend me any books, sites, magazines?

Thanks!

 

[estel]

Heya

I'm in a not-too different situation to yourself.
I'm about to start my final year of my Astrophysics degree at Adelaide, Australia.
My first 2 years of uni were in a double degree in Maths and Applied Physics, and that gave me a good solid grounding for astro.

I guess it depends if you want to leam more into the theoretical side or the experimental side. Theoretical - plenty of Hawking and things of that ilk will give you a taste. If you're into experimental, there are plenty of good mags and journals about.

As for actual knowledge, you're going to want to know all the basic first year physics junk like dynamics (kinetics/kinematics), thermodynamics etc. Hit maths hard - plenty of calculus, algebra, vector maths, geometry - these will all be very useful. For the physics side, get to know your electrodynamics and particle physics.

This stuff is all good to take a look at. You might want to hit the academic advice subforum here, too.

 

[Bart]

estel, thanks for a fast response.

Actually I'm an undergraduate applicant, and I have all my studies ahead, but I just can't wait to discover everything :)

And for my "leans" - I see myself rather a theoretical Astrophysicist than an experimental one. Thanks for Hawking, I'll try him.

By the way, I've bought a book recently. It's title is "Road to Reality", and it's written by Roger Penrose. Have anybody read it?

Thanks again

 

[Kurdt]

There is a thread about the road to reality elsewhere on the site if you care to take a look: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=125406&highlight=road+to+reality

With regards to books I assume you want some sort of introductory texts to astronomy and astrophysics. I started with the following which are recommended texts for astrophysics courses mainly in the UK.

Universe : Freedman and Kaufmann
Astronomy: Zeilik

Then progressing to more topics such as astrophysics and cosmology.

An Introduction to Modern Cosmology: Liddle
Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics : Battner

Also An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics is a good general beginners text and that's by Carroll and Ostlie.

 

[Bart]

Thanks for your help. I think it would be enough ... for now ;)

 

[Garth]

If you want just one comprehensive book my recommendation would be "An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics" by Carroll and Ostlie.

Garth

 

[nityah]

Hi,

You could try reading 'A Brief history of time'. Its good reading material and also 'Black Holes and Baby Universes'. These are by Stephen Hawking. I am a big fan of his so sorry if I am recommending his books only. :)

Roger Penrose has written two very good books, The Emperors New Mind and the Shadows of the mind. I must admit that I could not complete them. Its has lots of AI related stuff but if you persist then I am sure that you will be amazed at what he wants to convey.

Happy reading.

 

[Daverz]

Is Chandrasekhar's ancient Stellar Structures still viable as an introduction?

I think there are very few areas of physics that astrophysics does not touch on, so at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll recommend the Feynman Lectures again.

 

[nityah]

Hi Daverz,

Won't they be very much advanced in context? If Bart is just looking to further his knowledge before diving into the real stuff then I would suggest something that is more easy to understand without the complexities of the underlying maths n physics. These can easily put off a person. I have not read those books , but judging by their authors, I will not be surprised!

 

[Daverz]

Hi Daverz,
Won't they be very much advanced in context? If Bart is just looking to further his knowledge before diving into the real stuff then I would suggest something that is more easy to understand without the complexities of the underlying maths n physics. These can easily put off a person. I have not read those books , but judging by their authors, I will not be surprised!

You just need calculus for Feynman. Probably easier than some of the astrophysics texts for advanced undergrads recommended above. I was reading and enjoying Feynman in high school, and I was no great student.

For the Chandrasekhar, I'm just curious if people think it holds up.

 

[Bart]

Guys, thanks for your help.
As for my "advanceness" - I am reading Roger Penrose (The Road to Reality), and I'm not having any problems in understanding it. I'm now finishing the 5th chapter.

I think, I'll take some time to make my calculus more perfect, and then start reading. Thanks again for your help, you're awesome ;)

 

[chronon]

If you're looking for something on cosmology that isn't quite a textbook, but goes beyond the superficial treatment of many popular science books, then I woul recommend Cosmology : The Science of the Universe by Edward Harrison. I've written a short review of this book here

 

[chroot]

Won't they be very much advanced in context? If Bart is just looking to further his knowledge before diving into the real stuff then I would suggest something that is more easy to understand without the complexities of the underlying maths n physics. These can easily put off a person. I have not read those books , but judging by their authors, I will not be surprised!

You're not going to further your knowledge of anything with a book by Hawking -- sorry to burst your bubble. The stuff in those pop-sci books is useless for anyone who wishes to pursue a real education in astronomy or physics. In fact, Hawking is best used as fodder for making oneself sound intelligent to other uneducated people at cocktail parties. Reading Hawking to learn physics is like reading Jules Verne to learn about aerodynamics. A student who wishes to actually learn something about astrophysics would find much more of use in a reputable textbook.

- Warren

 

[cristo]

You're not going to further your knowledge of anything with a book by Hawking -- sorry to burst your bubble. The stuff in those pop-sci books is useless for anyone who wishes to pursue a real education in astronomy or physics. In fact, Hawking is best used as fodder for making oneself sound intelligent to other uneducated people at cocktail parties. Reading Hawking to learn physics is like reading Jules Verne to learn about aerodynamics. A student who wishes to actually learn something about astrophysics would find much more of use in a reputable textbook.

- Warren

Could I just clarify that, whilst Hawking has written popular science books, which, as pointed out, would not be of use for anyone studying astronomy or physics, he has still written reputable physics books (e.g The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime, Hawking and Ellis). Whilst this book would not be able to be understood by students starting Astrophysics, a reader of this thread *could* be lead to the opinion that all books written by Hawking are useless to students studying physics, which, of course, is not true!

 

[chroot]

I didn't mean to discount Hawking as a physicist, or to say that nothing he's ever written is worth reading -- my apologies for using such generalized language. It is my belief, however, that everything he's written for the popular market is pretty thoroughly useless.

- Warren

 

[nityah]

Hi,

The reason I suggested Hawking is because his books do not have many big and hard to understand equations. Someone who is just started to learn something would like to read things that are easy to understand.

I will not agree that Hawking's books are completely useless, they have made many people interested in learning physics. Something that was useless would not have been in the bestsellers list.

Anyhow, let's leave the subject of Hawking's books. I think we have had enough discussion on it.

 

[chroot]

nityah,

Have you ever taken an actual university-level course in any kind of astronomy or astrophysics?

- Warren

 

[nityah]

Doing one right now. Finished one before.

 

[chroot]

What topics were covered? What textbooks have you used in your classes? What similarities have you found between the material presented in, e.g. A Brief History of Time and the material presented in your class?

- Warren

 

[nityah]

Well, there might not be similarities, but its better to study a book that is more general rather than studying a textbook before even joining the course.

I do not mean to carry on trying to prove my point Warren, so can we reach to some sort of consensus here?

Thanks

 

[chroot]

nityah,

I don't honestly believe that you're taking any courses in astrophysics, or that you've even really given an astrophysics textbook a good read -- so I am calling you out, and asking you to demonstrate, from your experience of formal astrophysics classes, why Hawking is relevant.

If you actually have taken any astrophysics classes, I can't even begin to imagine why you'd recommend Hawking paperbacks to anyone.

- Warren

 

[nityah]

I am sorry, but I don't have to prove myself to you.

 

[chroot]

In a way, you already have...

- Warren

 

[nityah]

Atleast I have proven something!

 

[chroot]

Anyway, I second the suggestion of Carroll and Ostlie's "Introduction to Modern Astrophysics." It's an excellent book.

If you want something a little easier, you should consider picking up a copy of any undergraduate astronomy text, like Fix. (On amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0073040789/?tag=pfamazon01-20) They're not conceptually difficult, since they're aimed at the liberal arts crowd who have to grudgingly take astronomy to fulfill a science requirement. They're also usually glossy and well-illustrated -- in other words, they make for a nice read. The good news is that they aren't full of useless rambling about imaginary time and white holes, topics you will never see discussed in your classes with a straight face.

- Warren

 

[Daverz]

In a way, you already have...

You might tone down your attack mode a few notches.

 

[George Jones]

Barbara Ryden's http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~ryden/" has some interesting stuff on it.

The notes to Astronomy 292 may be of interest to the OP (and others).

 

[Bart]

To clarify - I asked about sources which could give me a general view into Astrophysics. Perhaps I should start with astronomy such as the origin of stars, galaxies, planets, what are they made of, processes in the universe. Everything which I would call as a book-knowledge. And by this I mean general information around the topic.
I need something light for the beginning. Please, it isn't easy to understand things without knowing their basics.

I've just finished the 5th chapter of Roger Penrose's book 'Road to Reality'. It was about complex numbers. And I think omg, what are complex numbers? So I have thrown myself into deep water and it wasn't good. Perhaps if I had some previous basic knowledge about them (complex numbers), about the number "e" (I haven't had it mentioned in school) then reading this chapter would be much more easier.

I hope this example will be helpful to you. Thank you!

 

[chroot]

I think you'd be fine with an introductory astronomy textbook. Try checking one out from a library so you're not stuck with it if you don't like it.

- Warren

 

[chronon]

I've just finished the 5th chapter of Roger Penrose's book 'Road to Reality'. It was about complex numbers. And I think omg, what are complex numbers? So I have thrown myself into deep water and it wasn't good. Perhaps if I had some previous basic knowledge about them (complex numbers), about the number "e" (I haven't had it mentioned in school) then reading this chapter would be much more easier.

I have to say that if you are currently applying to do astrophysics at Cambridge then I would have expected you to have covered these mathematical topics already, so maybe you need to give the maths some thought. I would have expected chapter 7 of The Road to Reality to be the first one you found challenging.

On the astronomical side, you might try a 'popular' level work by someone who has also written a textbook, such as Narlikar's The lighter side of gravity - this has quite a bit of astrophysics.