Karl J. Donner – författare

The main purpose of this book is to serve as a university textbook for a first course in astronomy. However, we believe that the audience will also include many serious ama­ teurs, who often find the popular texts too trivial. The lack of a good handbook for am­ ateurs has become a problem lately, as more and more people are buying personal com­ puters and need exact, but comprehensible, mathematical formalism for their programs. The reader of this book is assumed to have only a standard high-school knowledge of mathematics and physics (as they are taught in Finland); everything more advanced is usually derived step by step from simple basic principles. The mathematical background needed includes plane trigonometry, basic differential and integral calculus, and (only in the chapter dealing with celestial mechanics) some vector calculus. Some mathematical concepts the reader may not be familiar with are briefly explained in the appendices or can be understood by studying the numerous exercises and examples. However, most of the book can be read with very little knowledge of mathematics, and even if the reader skips the mathematically more involved sections, (s)he should get a good overview of the field of astronomy. This book has evolved in the course of many years and through the work of several authors and editors. The first version consisted of lecture notes by one of the editors (Oja).

The main purpose of this book is to serve as a university textbook for a first course in astronomy. However, we believe that the audience will also include many serious ama­ teurs, who often find the popular texts too trivial. The lack of a good handbook for am­ ateurs has become a problem lately, as more and more people are buying personal com­ puters and need exact, but comprehensible, mathematical formalism for their programs. The reader of this book is assumed to have only a standard high-school knowledge of mathematics and physics (as they are taught in Finland); everything more advanced is usually derived step by step from simple basic principles. The mathematical background needed includes plane trigonometry, basic differential and integral calculus, and (only in the chapter dealing with celestial mechanics) some vector calculus. Some mathematical concepts the reader may not be familiar with are briefly explained in the appendices or can be understood by studying the numerous exercises and examples. However, most of the book can be read with very little knowledge of mathematics, and even if the reader skips the mathematically more involved sections, (s)he should get a good overview of the field of astronomy. This book has evolved in the course of many years and through the work of several authors and editors. The first version consisted of lecture notes by one of the editors (Oja).

Astronomie gibt eine ausgezeichnete, reich illustrierte Darstellung aller klassischen und modernen Teilgebiete dieser Wissenschaft. Dabei wird ebenso großer Wert auf die faszinierenden Beobachtungsergebnisse und die zugrundeliegenden physikalischen Vorgänge gelegt. Das Buch eignet sich damit gleichermaßen als Begleiter zur Astronomie-Vorlesung wie als Fundgrube und Nachschlagewerk für jede(n) Astronomiebegeisterte(n). "... ein so modernes Buch, wie es kaum ein einzelner Autor vorlegen könnte." #Sterne und Weltraum (2/89)(zur englischen Ausgabe)#1

Fundamental Astronomy gives a well-balanced and comprehensive introduction to the various fields of classical and modern astronomy. While emphasizing both the astronomical concepts and the underlying physical principles, the text provides a sound basis for more profound studies in the astronomical sciences. The present corrected printing of the revised and enlarged third edition of this successful textbook includes a host of new knowledge acquired in recent years. In particular the chapters on observations and on the physics of the Sun have been thoroughly revised.