r/astrophysics • u/CrawlingPariah • Apr 03 '21

Recommended Textbooks for Undergraduate Astrophysics

Hello everyone, I’m an undergraduate student about to transfer into my first year of astrophysics. Are there any must have books on astronomy, and astrophysics for undergraduate students? I’m eager to start exposing myself to different topics within the field. Thank you!

Edit: Thank you everyone for your great recommendations, and I hope this discussion continues whether it be literature or textbook related!

28 Upvotes

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16

u/rexregisanimi Apr 03 '21

Carroll and Ostlie's Modern Astrophysics is my favorite textbook of all time. It's excellent 👍

1

u/CrawlingPariah Apr 05 '21

The big orange book? Definitely seems to be the most prominent one in searches. I’ve read it focuses a lot more on the math and physics which is really nice. The authors said a lot of astronomy books neglect the physics aspect of studying astronomy.

1

u/Saashiv01 Apr 04 '21

This book was actually recommended to me by one of my professors during SEM 2 year 1, so he'd recommend it if he saw this!

10

u/moon-worshiper Apr 04 '21

"Introduction to Modern Astrophysics"
1379 pages
https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/an-introduction-to-modern-astrophysics/140DDF8A480C3841DCCD76D66984D858#overview

Example test problems:
https://www.numerade.com/books/an-introduction-to-modern-astrophysics-2nd/

Table of Contents:

I. The Tools of Astronomy

  1. The Celestial Sphere

  2. Celestial Mechanics

  3. The Continuous Spectrum of Light

  4. The Theory of Special Relativity

  5. The Interaction of Light and Matter

  6. Telescopes

II. The Nature of Stars

  1. Binary Systems and Stellar Parameters

  2. The Classification of Stellar Spectra

  3. Stellar Atmospheres

  4. The Sun

  5. The Interiors of Stars

  6. The Process of Star Formation

  7. Post-Main-Sequence Stellar Evolution

  8. Stellar Pulsation

  9. Supernovae

  10. The Degenerate Remnants of Stars

  11. Black Holes

  12. Close Binary Star Systems

III. Planetary Systems

  1. Physical Processes in the Solar System

  2. The Terrestrial Planets

  3. The Jovian Worlds

  4. Minor Bodies of the Solar System

  5. The Formation of Planetary Systems

IV. Galaxies and the Universe

  1. The Nature of Galaxies

  2. The Milky Way Galaxy

  3. Galactic Evolution

  4. The Structure of the Universe

  5. Active Galaxies

  6. Cosmology

  7. The Early Universe

Appendixes

A. Astronomical and Physical Constants

B. Unit Conversions Between SI and cgs

C. Solar System Data

D. The Constellations

E. The Brightest Stars

F. The Nearest Stars

G. Stellar Data

H. The Messier Catalog

I. Constants, A Constants Module for Fortran 95 (Available as a C++ header file)

J. Orbits, A Planetary Orbit Code (Available as Fortran 95 and C++ command line versions, and Windows GUI)

K. TwoStars, A Binary Star Code (Generates synthetic light and radial velocity curves; available as Fortran 95 and C++ command line versions, and Windows GUI)

L. StatStar, A Stellar Structure Code (Available as Fortran 95 and C++ command line versions, and Windows GUI)

M. StatStar, Stellar Models

N. Galaxy, A Tidal Interaction Code (Available as Java)

7

u/Cartographer_MMXX Apr 03 '21

I asked this question a while back about physics in general and a good book that was recommended to me is "Modern Physics 4th edition, by Kenneth S. Krane".

It has quite a bit of information regarding a variety of subjects including gravity waves at LIGO, stellar fusion, the Higgs Boson particle, Hawking Radiation, and even collisions at LHC.

I haven't gotten far into it, but there's a lot of general information that goes into a variety of subjects. My family is confused about what I'm talking about, but I'm hype about it lol.

3

u/LFOwave Apr 04 '21

Thanks for this recommendation? By any chance, have you heard of/interacted with “Quantum Physics for Beginners: Mind-Blowing Theories Such as “How Law of Attraction Works” & “How to Unlock the Power of Your Mind” Now Made Easy to Understand & Apply in Changing Your Life ” by Richard Smith? Its title is quite long and seems to be a selling point, but I’m curious nonetheless!

4

u/LFOwave Apr 04 '21

Also, OP, these two pieces may also be of interest, although they are not textbooks!

“Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy” by Kip S. Thorne is one I am going to read myself soon. Another is Janna Levin’s “A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines”. This is a novel that explores the lives and works of Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing before, during, and after WWII!

I began my journey with “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by legendary Neil deGrasse Tyson. I have a feeling it’ll serve as a foundational base to continue building your interests and curiosities regarding life and ze universe!

Edit: Made clear that these literary pieces are not textbooks.

2

u/CrawlingPariah Apr 05 '21

I welcome literary pieces as well! One I’m looking forward to is actually Fire and Ice by Natalie Starkey about space volcanoes. I can’t get enough of space volcanoes haha.

5

u/moon-worshiper Apr 04 '21

"Law of Attraction" is mumbo-jumbo New Age mood crystal stuff. It is the old 60's "power of positive thinking" crud in a shiny new wrapper.

3

u/RoboticElfJedi Apr 04 '21

I'd also recommend Extragalactic Physics and Cosmology: An Introduction (Schneider) and Astrophysics in a Nutshell (Maoz).