The Observation and Analysis of Stellar Photospheres

David F. Gray is a Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, where he has held positions since 1966. He was president of IAU Commission 36, on the Theory of Stellar Atmospheres 1988–1991, and served on the observing-time allocation panels of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Canada–France–Hawaii telescope. He is a member of the Canadian Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union, Sigma Xi Honorary Society, and the American Astronomical Society, and has served on numerous organizing committees for astronomical symposia. He was an invited lecturer at the Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics, the Catania Observatory, and the Beijing Observatory.

'Gray's newest edition has made several key improvements that will render it an important book not only for stellar atmospheres and evolution courses, but also for courses involving modern instrumentation techniques or for anyone working in the field of exoplanets. Each chapter is clearly and logically laid out and extensively referenced, including exercises to support scaffolded learning throughout the undergraduate and graduate curriculum; this makes the book an easy choice for professors teaching both introductory and upper level courses. Gray's new book is destined to become an essential companion for every professional astronomer whose research is impacted by observational effects and the inner workings of stellar photospheres.' Prof. Michelle J. Creech-Eakman, New Mexico Tech

• Preface to the first edition; Preface to the second edition; Preface to the third edition; Preface to the fourth edition; 1. Background; 2. Fourier transforms; 3. Spectroscopic tools; 4. Light detectors; 5. Radiation terms and definitions; 6. The black body and its radiation; 7. Energy transport in stellar photospheres; 8. The continuous absorption coefficient; 9. The model photosphere; 10. Analysis of stellar continua; 11. The line absorption coefficient; 12. The measurement of spectral lines; 13. The behavior of spectral lines; 14. The measurement of stellar radii and temperatures; 15. The measurement of surface gravity; 16. The measurement of chemical composition; 17. Velocity fields in stellar photospheres; 18. Stellar rotation; Appendix A. Useful constants; Appendix B: Approximate physical parameters of stars; Appendix C. Atomic data; Appendix D. The strongest lines in the solar spectrum; Appendix E. Computation of random errors; Index.