A Student's Guide to the Mathematics of Astronomy

This is a great book that covers a surprising amount of astronomy using mathematics that, apart from the use of radians, does not go beyond GCSE level. I was pleasantly surprised that the author showed how to do meaningful calculations about topics like black holes and recession of galaxies without getting into calculus. The explanations of principles are good and clear. For me the explanations of calculations were more detailed than necessary but that’s fine: I skipped over many of them but others will find them helpful. Hints and full solutions are on the accompanying web-site. Those for the end-of-chapter exercises are conveniently grouped in .pdfs. Those for the in-chapter problems are separate and split into parts a, b, c etcetera, which for me, often on a phone in a café with dodgy wifi, seemed to take a long time and a lot of clicks to access. Still, the most important thing is that there are solutions to all the problems, with working not just answers, and none of this “answers to even numbers only” nonsense that some authors inflict on us self-study students. The book, and the solutions, have been carefully proof-read. I found only one mistake in the online solutions, a tiny one, and when I pointed it out to the author he corrected it immediately. Most users of this book will be juggling the book, pencil, paper, calculator and a phone or tablet for looking up astronomical data and checking their answers. Is it too much to ask that the publisher make this easier by providing a spiral binding? I got a lot of pleasure from reading this book and working the problems. It’s inspired me to follow up with a more advanced astronomy book.

This book is amazing! The information is laid out in a way that even newbies like me can relate to. In my mid-forties, I signed up for a Cosmology certificate as a personal challenge, eager to understand how mathematics unlocks the cosmic story. Buying this on Kindle was the perfect move, I’ve been able to highlight, search, and revisit key concepts as I learn. The book starts with the basics and steadily builds toward advanced topics, making the journey feel achievable. Now, when I watch or listen to cosmologists, I’m finally grasping the numbers and ideas they discuss. More importantly, I feel equipped to launch my own cosmological studies with confidence. Kudos to the authors, this is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to learn the Mathematics of Astronomy!

I am taking an online course in introductory astrophysics, and (exactly like this book mentions in the preface!) I was understanding the general principles but struggling with the maths behind them; which is not surprising since I don't have a university education and high school is some years away. This book tackles all the maths you need for this kind of course in astronomy or astrophysics (or even for your own personal interest in understanding matters like gravity for example), and so far I've been able to keep up with the explanations which is great. There are exercises to solve at the end of each chapter; with the solutions on the book's website; which is a great addition, with also video podcasts. I find the book really motivating and I am happy with my purchase.

A well presented and written book that conveys a complex subject in an easy and understandable manner. I managed to get through it cover to cover in a day with all the worked examples and succinct narratives on the concepts. I'm going through it again to further reinforce my understanding and work through the exercises. If one is interested in the astronomy and cosmology and want to understand the maths behind the ideas and concepts this is a highly recommended book. My only slight negative comment is the need for more worked examples per topics before embarking on the exercises at the end of each chapter. Also a summary of the formulas and their variations at the end of each chapter would be very useful. I would throughly recommend the book.

My favourite book of the year so far! The maths isn't difficult ... just basic algebra really and anyone with GCSE should cope with the number crunching. There were no proofs and no advanced mathematical concepts. But what really worked for me was to see the wide range of astronomical problem from Newtons Laws through to the expansion of the Universe via Black Holes.

I looked at this a few months ago and then didn't buy for some reason. With just over a week to go to an Open University End of Module exam, I buy it and now regret not getting this earlier. The first chapter alone was worth the cost as I now understand why ratios are used so much and how to manipulate them as well as using units and getting them correct first time. The book also has a great online facility with all the examples and questions in the book fully work out as well as great video tutorials. It doesn't go into all aspects of astronomy of course, but what it does cover is very well explained... Oh, how I wish I had got this months ago!!!!

I'm just a chap interested in astronomy a bit and wondering about the whats and hows of what we are told. I read the book cover to cover and it really isn't that difficult. Most of the maths is fairly straight forward, and the concepts are described really well, from gravity and light through to parallax, stars and black holes.

Not to bad

Livro muito bom para professores e estudantes terem uma ideia de como se utiliza a matemática nos temas da astronomia.

Excellent book... learnt how to use math to calculate some of the Astronomical data from basics... that I used to just take it on face value

Questo libro è consigliato a chi voglia iniziare ad approfondire la conoscenza dell'astronomia "sporcandosi le mani" per fare qualche conto, anziché limitarsi a osservare al telescopio o leggere libri divulgativi. Il punto di forza di questo libro è che usa, letteralmente, le quattro operazioni (a cui va aggiunta qualche radice quadrata e qualche logaritmo, ma niente di più). Quindi non servono nozioni di calcolo infinitesimale (niente derivate e integrali, per intenderci), e questo lo rende alla portata di chiunque abbia una conoscenza base di matematica da scuola superiore. È abbastanza sorprendente quante cose si possano comprendere usando solo nozioni elementari. Gli argomenti affrontati nel libro sono: unità di misura e loro conversione; le leggi di Keplero e di Newton del moto dei pianeti; ottica; parallasse stellare; cosmologia di base. Le foto allegate mostrano l'indice per chi vuole maggiori dettagli. Ho trovato il libro molto interessante perché sta a metà strada tra i testi divulgativi e quelli universitari; chiunque abbia un minimo di basi matematiche (studenti, semplici appassionati) può imparare a usare "i ferri del mestiere" degli astronomi professionisti. Vengono mostrati e risolti diversi esercizi per fare pratica. Volendo trovare un difetto, le illustrazioni sono abbastanza schematiche e minimali; certo, da testi come questo non ci si aspetta delle opere d'arte, ma da un editore prestigioso come Cambridge University Press mi sarei aspettato un po' più di cura negli schemi e nei diagrammi.

Great book explaining how some of the stuff works up there!

I would like to tell that whoever who is looking to buy this product,, never buy this product as it is the worst book I have ever read in my life as it is just waste of time and money and further if you want to buy any book kindly Flipkart is best for it. Never buy any book from Amazon.....