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In practice, modern astronomical research often involves a substantial amount of work in the realms of [[Theoretical physics|theoretical]] and observational physics. Some areas of study for astrophysicists include their attempts to determine the properties of [[dark matter]], [[dark energy]], [[black holes]], and other [[celestial bodies]]; and the [[Cosmogony|origin]] and [[ultimate fate of the universe]].<ref name="nasa.gov"/> Topics also studied by theoretical astrophysicists include [[Formation and evolution of the Solar System|Solar System formation and evolution]]; [[stellar dynamics]] and [[Stellar evolution|evolution]]; [[galaxy formation and evolution]]; [[magnetohydrodynamics]]; [[large-scale structure of the universe|large-scale structure]] of [[matter]] in the universe; origin of [[cosmic ray]]s; [[general relativity]], [[special relativity]], [[quantum cosmology|quantum]] and [[physical cosmology]], including [[string theory|string]] cosmology and [[astroparticle physics]].
In practice, modern astronomical research often involves a substantial amount of work in the realms of [[Theoretical physics|theoretical]] and observational physics. Some areas of study for astrophysicists include their attempts to determine the properties of [[dark matter]], [[dark energy]], [[black holes]], and other [[celestial bodies]]; and the [[Cosmogony|origin]] and [[ultimate fate of the universe]].<ref name="nasa.gov"/> Topics also studied by theoretical astrophysicists include [[Formation and evolution of the Solar System|Solar System formation and evolution]]; [[stellar dynamics]] and [[Stellar evolution|evolution]]; [[galaxy formation and evolution]]; [[magnetohydrodynamics]]; [[large-scale structure of the universe|large-scale structure]] of [[matter]] in the universe; origin of [[cosmic ray]]s; [[general relativity]], [[special relativity]], [[quantum cosmology|quantum]] and [[physical cosmology]], including [[string theory|string]] cosmology and [[astroparticle physics]].


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==History==
[[Image:NIEdot362.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Early 1900s comparison of elemental, solar, and stellar spectra]]
Astronomy is an ancient science, long separated from the study of terrestrial physics. In the [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] worldview, bodies in the sky appeared to be unchanging [[Celestial spheres|spheres]] whose only motion was uniform motion in a circle, while the earthly world was the realm which underwent [[On Generation and Corruption|growth and decay]] and in which natural motion was in a straight line and ended when the moving object reached its [[Telos|goal]]. Consequently, it was held that the celestial region was made of a fundamentally different kind of matter from that found in the terrestrial sphere; either [[Fire (classical element)|Fire]] as maintained by [[Plato]], or [[Aether (classical element)|Aether]] as maintained by [[Aristotle#Physics|Aristotle]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Lloyd | first = G. E. R. | author-link = G. E. R. Lloyd | title = Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of His Thought | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1968 | location = Cambridge | pages = [https://archive.org/details/aristotlegrowths0000lloy/page/134 134–135] | url =https://archive.org/details/aristotlegrowths0000lloy| url-access = registration | isbn = 978-0-521-09456-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Cornford | first = Francis MacDonald | author-link = F. M. Cornford | title = Plato's Cosmology: The ''Timaeus'' of Plato translated, with a running commentary | publisher = Bobbs Merrill Co | date = c. 1957 | orig-year = 1937 | location = Indianapolis | page = 118}}</ref>
During the 17th century, natural philosophers such as [[Galileo]],<ref>{{Citation | last = Galilei | first = Galileo | author-link = Galileo Galilei | editor-last = Van Helden | editor-first = Albert | publication-date = 1989 | title = Sidereus Nuncius or The Sidereal Messenger | publisher = University of Chicago Press | location = Chicago | pages = 21, 47 | isbn = 978-0-226-27903-9 | date = 1989-04-15 }}</ref> [[Descartes]],<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |author=Edward Slowik |title=Descartes' Physics |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-physics/ |encyclopedia=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]] |date=2013 |orig-year=2005 |access-date=2015-07-18}}</ref> and [[Isaac Newton|Newton]]<ref>{{Citation | last = Westfall | first = Richard S. | author-link = Richard S. Westfall | publication-date = 1980 | title = Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge | pages = [https://archive.org/details/neveratrestbiogr00west/page/731 731–732] | isbn = 978-0-521-27435-7 | date = 1983-04-29 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/neveratrestbiogr00west/page/731 }}</ref> began to maintain that the celestial and terrestrial regions were made of similar kinds of material and were subject to the same [[Physical law|natural laws]].<ref name = Burtt/> Their challenge was that the tools had not yet been invented with which to prove these assertions.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Ladislav Kvasz |title=Galileo, Descartes, and Newton – Founders of the Language of Physics |url=http://www.physics.sk/aps/pubs/2012/aps-12-06/aps-12-06.pdf |publisher=Institute of Philosophy, [[Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic]] |date=2013 |access-date=2015-07-18}}</ref>

For much of the nineteenth century, astronomical research was focused on the routine work of measuring the positions and computing the motions of astronomical objects.<ref>{{Citation | last = Case | first = Stephen | date = 2015 | title = 'Land-marks of the universe': John Herschel against the background of positional astronomy | journal = Annals of Science | volume = 72 | issue = 4 | pages = 417–434 | doi = 10.1080/00033790.2015.1034588 | pmid = 26221834 | quote = The great majority of astronomers working in the early nineteenth century were not interested in stars as physical objects. Far from being bodies with physical properties to be investigated, the stars were seen as markers measured in order to construct an accurate, detailed and precise background against which solar, lunar and planetary motions could be charted, primarily for terrestrial applications.|bibcode = 2015AnSci..72..417C | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Donnelly | first = Kevin | date = September 2014 | title = On the boredom of science: positional astronomy in the nineteenth century | journal = The British Journal for the History of Science | volume = 47 | issue = 3 | pages = 479–503 | doi = 10.1017/S0007087413000915 | url = https://zenodo.org/record/999531 }}</ref> A new astronomy, soon to be called astrophysics, began to emerge when [[William Hyde Wollaston]] and [[Joseph von Fraunhofer]] independently discovered that, when decomposing the light from the Sun, a multitude of [[Fraunhofer lines|dark lines]] (regions where there was less or no light) were observed in the [[Visible spectrum|spectrum]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Hearnshaw|first=J.B. | title=The analysis of starlight | date=1986 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=Cambridge | isbn=978-0-521-39916-6 | pages=23–29}}</ref> By 1860 the physicist, [[Gustav Kirchhoff]], and the chemist, [[Robert Bunsen]], had demonstrated that the [[Absorption spectroscopy#Absorption spectrum|dark lines]] in the solar spectrum corresponded to [[Emission spectrum|bright lines]] in the spectra of known gases, specific lines corresponding to unique [[chemical element]]s.<ref>{{citation | last = Kirchhoff | first = Gustav | author-link = Gustav Kirchhoff |title=Ueber die Fraunhofer'schen Linien | journal=Annalen der Physik | volume=185 |issue=1 | pages=148–150 | date=1860 | bibcode = 1860AnP...185..148K | doi=10.1002/andp.18601850115| url = https://zenodo.org/record/1423666 }}</ref> Kirchhoff deduced that the dark lines in the solar spectrum are caused by [[absorption (optics)|absorption]] by [[chemical elements]] in the Solar atmosphere.<ref>{{citation | last = Kirchhoff | first = Gustav | author-link = Gustav Kirchhoff | title=Ueber das Verhältniss zwischen dem Emissionsvermögen und dem Absorptionsvermögen der Körper für Wärme und Licht |journal=Annalen der Physik |volume=185 | issue=2 | pages=275–301 | date=1860 | bibcode = 1860AnP...185..275K | doi=10.1002/andp.18601850205| url=https://zenodo.org/record/1423668 | doi-access=free }}</ref> In this way it was proved that the chemical elements found in the Sun and stars were also found on Earth.

Among those who extended the study of solar and stellar spectra was [[Norman Lockyer]], who in 1868 detected radiant, as well as dark, lines in solar spectra. Working with chemist [[Edward Frankland]] to investigate the spectra of elements at various temperatures and pressures, he could not associate a yellow line in the solar spectrum with any known elements. He thus claimed the line represented a new element, which was called [[helium]], after the Greek [[Helios]], the Sun personified.<ref>{{citation | last = Cortie | first = A. L. | title = Sir Norman Lockyer, 1836 – 1920 | journal = The Astrophysical Journal | year = 1921 | volume = 53 | pages = 233–248 | bibcode = 1921ApJ....53..233C | doi=10.1086/142602}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Jensen | first = William B. | title = Why Helium Ends in "-ium" | journal = Journal of Chemical Education | volume = 81 | issue = 7 | pages = 944–945 | year = 2004 | url = http://www.che.uc.edu/jensen/W.%20B.%20Jensen/Reprints/115.%20Helium.pdf | doi=10.1021/ed081p944 | bibcode = 2004JChEd..81..944J }}</ref>

In 1885, [[Edward C. Pickering]] undertook an ambitious program of stellar spectral classification at [[Harvard College Observatory]], in which a team of [[Harvard Computers|woman computers]], notably [[Williamina Fleming]], [[Antonia Maury]], and [[Annie Jump Cannon]], classified the spectra recorded on photographic plates. By 1890, a catalog of over 10,000 stars had been prepared that grouped them into thirteen spectral types. Following Pickering's vision, by 1924 Cannon expanded the [[Henry Draper Catalogue|catalog]] to nine volumes and over a quarter of a million stars, developing the [[Stellar classification#Harvard spectral classification|Harvard Classification Scheme]] which was accepted for worldwide use in 1922.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Hetherington |first1=Norriss S. |last2=McCray |first2=W. Patrick |author2-link=W. Patrick McCray |editor-last=Weart |editor-first=Spencer R. |editor-link=Spencer R. Weart |title=Spectroscopy and the Birth of Astrophysics |publisher=American Institute of Physics, Center for the History of Physics |url=https://www.aip.org/history/cosmology/tools/tools-spectroscopy.htm |access-date=July 19, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907133751/https://www.aip.org/history/cosmology/tools/tools-spectroscopy.htm |archive-date=September 7, 2015 }}</ref>

In 1895, [[George Ellery Hale]] and [[James E. Keeler]], along with a group of ten associate editors from Europe and the United States,<ref name = Hale1895>{{Citation | last = Hale | first = George Ellery | title = The Astrophysical Journal | author-link = George Ellery Hale | journal = The Astrophysical Journal | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = 80–84 | bibcode = 1895ApJ.....1...80H | doi = 10.1086/140011| year = 1895 }}</ref> established [[The Astrophysical Journal|''The Astrophysical Journal: An International Review of Spectroscopy and Astronomical Physics'']].<ref>{{List journal | journal = The Astrophysical Journal | volume = 1 | issue = 1 }}</ref> It was intended that the journal would fill the gap between journals in astronomy and physics, providing a venue for publication of articles on astronomical applications of the spectroscope; on laboratory research closely allied to astronomical physics, including wavelength determinations of metallic and gaseous spectra and experiments on radiation and absorption; on theories of the Sun, Moon, planets, comets, meteors, and nebulae; and on instrumentation for telescopes and laboratories.<ref name = Hale1895/>

Around 1920, following the discovery of the [[Hertzsprung–Russell diagram]] still used as the basis for classifying stars and their evolution, [[Arthur Eddington]] anticipated the discovery and mechanism of [[nuclear fusion]] processes in [[star]]s, in his paper ''The Internal Constitution of the Stars''.<ref name=eddington>
{{ Citation | last = Eddington | first = A. S. | author-link = Arthur Eddington | date = October 1920 | title = The Internal Constitution of the Stars | journal = The Scientific Monthly | volume = 11 | issue = 4 | pages = 297–303 | doi = 10.1126/science.52.1341.233 | jstor = 6491 | pmid = 17747682 | bibcode = 1920Sci....52..233E | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1429642 }}</ref><ref name=eddington2>{{cite journal | bibcode = 1916MNRAS..77...16E | title = On the radiative equilibrium of the stars | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume=77 | pages=16–35 | last1=Eddington|first1=A. S. | author-link = Arthur Eddington | year=1916 | doi=10.1093/mnras/77.1.16| doi-access=free }}</ref> At that time, the source of stellar energy was a complete mystery; Eddington correctly speculated that the source was [[nuclear fusion|fusion]] of hydrogen into helium, liberating enormous energy according to Einstein's equation ''E = mc<sup>2</sup>''. This was a particularly remarkable development since at that time fusion and thermonuclear energy, and even that stars are largely composed of [[hydrogen]] (see [[metallicity]]), had not yet been discovered.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Fusion|last1=McCracken|editor-last2=Stott|editor-first2=Peter|editor-last=McCracken|editor-first=Garry|last2=Stott|first2=Peter|first1=Garry|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123846563000027|language=en|doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-384656-3.00002-7|pages=13|isbn=978-0-12-384656-3|location=Boston|date=2013-01-01|publisher=Academic Press|quote=Eddington had realized that there would be a mass loss if four hydrogen atoms combined to form a single helium atom. Einstein’s equivalence of mass and energy led directly to the suggestion that this could be the long-sought process that produces the energy in the stars! It was an inspired guess, all the more remarkable because the structure of the nucleus and the mechanisms of these reactions were not fully understood.|edition=Second}}</ref>

In 1925 Cecilia Helena Payne (later [[Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin]]) wrote an influential doctoral dissertation at [[Radcliffe College]], in which she applied ionization theory to stellar atmospheres to relate the spectral classes to the temperature of stars.<ref>{{citation |last=Payne |first=C. H. |year=1925 |title=Stellar Atmospheres; A Contribution to the Observational Study of High Temperature in the Reversing Layers of Stars |type=PhD Thesis |publisher=[[Radcliffe College]] | location = Cambridge, Massachusetts | publication-date = 1925 |bibcode=1925PhDT.........1P }}</ref> Most significantly, she discovered that hydrogen and helium were the principal components of stars. Despite Eddington's suggestion, this discovery was so unexpected that her dissertation readers convinced her to modify the conclusion before publication. However, later research confirmed her discovery.<ref>{{citation | last = Haramundanis | first = Katherine | editor-last = Hockey | editor-first = Thomas | editor2-last = Trimble | editor2-first = Virginia | editor2-link = Virginia Louise Trimble | editor3-last = Williams | editor3-first = Thomas R. | title = Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers | chapter = Payne-Gaposchkin [Payne], Cecilia Helena | access-date = July 19, 2015 |year=2007 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-BF1CHkc50C | pages=876–878 | publisher = Springer | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-387-30400-7 }}</ref>

By the end of the 20th century, studies of astronomical spectra had expanded to cover wavelengths extending from radio waves through optical, x-ray, and gamma wavelengths.<ref>{{cite conference |mode=cs2 |last1=Biermann |first1=Peter L. |last2=Falcke |first2=Heino |author2-link=Heino Falcke |editor-last=Panvini |editor-first=Robert S. |editor2-last=Weiler |editor2-first=Thomas J. |date=1998 |book-title=Fundamental particles and interactions: Frontiers in contemporary physics an international lecture and workshop series. AIP Conference Proceedings |title=Frontiers of Astrophysics: Workshop Summary |volume=423 |publisher=American Institute of Physics |pages=236–248 |isbn=1-56396-725-1 |bibcode=1998AIPC..423..236B |doi=10.1063/1.55085|arxiv=astro-ph/9711066 }}</ref> In the 21st century it further expanded to include observations based on [[gravitational waves]].


==Observational astrophysics==
==Observational astrophysics==

Revision as of 18:56, 28 May 2021

This article is about the use of physics to determine the nature of astronomical objects. For the use of physics to determine their positions and motions, see Celestial mechanics. For the physical study of the largest-scale structures of the universe, see Physical cosmology. For the journal, see Astrophysics (journal).

Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena.[1][2] Among the subjects studied are the Sun, other stars, galaxies, extrasolar planets, the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background.[3][4] Emissions from these objects are examined across all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition. Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, astrophysicists apply concepts and methods from many disciplines of physics, including classical mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics.

In practice, modern astronomical research often involves a substantial amount of work in the realms of theoretical and observational physics. Some areas of study for astrophysicists include their attempts to determine the properties of dark matter, dark energy, black holes, and other celestial bodies; and the origin and ultimate fate of the universe.[3] Topics also studied by theoretical astrophysicists include Solar System formation and evolution; stellar dynamics and evolution; galaxy formation and evolution; magnetohydrodynamics; large-scale structure of matter in the universe; origin of cosmic rays; general relativity, special relativity, quantum and physical cosmology, including string cosmology and astroparticle physics.

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Observational astrophysics

Supernova remnant LMC N 63A imaged in x-ray (blue), optical (green) and radio (red) wavelengths. The X-ray glow is from material heated to about ten million degrees Celsius by a shock wave generated by the supernova explosion.

Observational astronomy is a division of the astronomical science that is concerned with recording and interpreting data, in contrast with theoretical astrophysics, which is mainly concerned with finding out the measurable implications of physical models. It is the practice of observing celestial objects by using telescopes and other astronomical apparatus.

The majority of astrophysical observations are made using the electromagnetic spectrum.

Other than electromagnetic radiation, few things may be observed from the Earth that originate from great distances. A few gravitational wave observatories have been constructed, but gravitational waves are extremely difficult to detect. Neutrino observatories have also been built, primarily to study our Sun. Cosmic rays consisting of very high energy particles can be observed hitting the Earth's atmosphere.

Observations can also vary in their time scale. Most optical observations take minutes to hours, so phenomena that change faster than this cannot readily be observed. However, historical data on some objects is available, spanning centuries or millennia. On the other hand, radio observations may look at events on a millisecond timescale (millisecond pulsars) or combine years of data (pulsar deceleration studies). The information obtained from these different timescales is very different.

The study of our very own Sun has a special place in observational astrophysics. Due to the tremendous distance of all other stars, the Sun can be observed in a kind of detail unparalleled by any other star. Our understanding of our own Sun serves as a guide to our understanding of other stars.

The topic of how stars change, or stellar evolution, is often modeled by placing the varieties of star types in their respective positions on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, which can be viewed as representing the state of a stellar object, from birth to destruction.

Theoretical astrophysics

See also: Theoretical astronomy

Theoretical astrophysicists use a wide variety of tools which include analytical models (for example, polytropes to approximate the behaviors of a star) and computational numerical simulations. Each has some advantages. Analytical models of a process are generally better for giving insight into the heart of what is going on. Numerical models can reveal the existence of phenomena and effects that would otherwise not be seen.[5][6]

Theorists in astrophysics endeavor to create theoretical models and figure out the observational consequences of those models. This helps allow observers to look for data that can refute a model or help in choosing between several alternate or conflicting models.

Theorists also try to generate or modify models to take into account new data. In the case of an inconsistency, the general tendency is to try to make minimal modifications to the model to fit the data. In some cases, a large amount of inconsistent data over time may lead to total abandonment of a model.

Topics studied by theoretical astrophysicists include stellar dynamics and evolution; galaxy formation and evolution; magnetohydrodynamics; large-scale structure of matter in the universe; origin of cosmic rays; general relativity and physical cosmology, including string cosmology and astroparticle physics. Astrophysical relativity serves as a tool to gauge the properties of large scale structures for which gravitation plays a significant role in physical phenomena investigated and as the basis for black hole (astro)physics and the study of gravitational waves.

Some widely accepted and studied theories and models in astrophysics, now included in the Lambda-CDM model, are the Big Bang, cosmic inflation, dark matter, dark energy and fundamental theories of physics.

Popularization

The roots of astrophysics can be found in the seventeenth century emergence of a unified physics, in which the same laws applied to the celestial and terrestrial realms.[7] There were scientists who were qualified in both physics and astronomy who laid the firm foundation for the current science of astrophysics. In modern times, students continue to be drawn to astrophysics due to its popularization by the Royal Astronomical Society and notable educators such as prominent professors Lawrence Krauss, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Stephen Hawking, Hubert Reeves, Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Patrick Moore. The efforts of the early, late, and present scientists continue to attract young people to study the history and science of astrophysics.[8][9][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Maoz, Dan. Astrophysics in a Nutshell. Princeton University Press. p. 272.
  2. ^ "astrophysics". Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  3. ^ a b "Focus Areas – NASA Science". nasa.gov.
  4. ^ "astronomy". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  5. ^ Roth, H. (1932), "A Slowly Contracting or Expanding Fluid Sphere and its Stability", Physical Review, 39 (3): 525–529, Bibcode:1932PhRv...39..525R, doi:10.1103/PhysRev.39.525
  6. ^ Eddington, A.S. (1988) [1926], Internal Constitution of the Stars, New York: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-33708-3, PMID 17747682
  7. ^ Burtt, Edwin Arthur (2003) [First published 1924], The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science (second revised ed.), Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, pp. 30, 41, 241–2, ISBN 978-0-486-42551-1
  8. ^ D. Mark Manley (2012). "Famous Astronomers and Astrophysicists". Kent State University. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  9. ^ The science.ca team (2015). "Hubert Reeves – Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science". GCS Research Society. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  10. ^ "Neil deGrasse Tyson". Hayden Planetarium. 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-17.

Further reading

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Astrophysics
Library resources about
Astrophysics
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