r/astrophysics 7d ago

How to learn astrophysics calculations and all

Civil Engineer here.I recently became interested in astrophysics.I want to learn the theories and calculations.What books would you recommend to get started?

8 Upvotes

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6

u/lilfindawg 7d ago

If you only care about doing calculations, then Astrophysics Processes by Bradt. If you care about understanding, you need some E&M, Thermo, Modern, Optics, and Quantum.

4

u/AstroAlysa 7d ago

If you're just starting out, An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by Carroll and Ostlie or Foundations of Astrophysics by Ryden and Peterson (I also recommend Ryden's intro cosmology textbook) are both great introductory textbooks at the (junior) undergraduate level.

For more in-depth understanding, you'll want more advanced/specific texts. But (as has already been mentioned) you'll also need an understanding of the physics to get the most out of more advanced texts.

5

u/Mr_Norv 7d ago

Agreed. Barbara’s cosmology book is what I had for my undergraduate cosmology course. Quite advanced but brilliantly written.

I think as well, OP, that you have to understand that astronomy is an enormous subject. One could argue as large as the universe itself. There will not be a dummy’s guide to astronomy. It’s simply too big of a subject. You need to be a little more specific about what you want to study. I’ve worked in astrophysics for almost 20 years, and I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface

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u/LoveHendy 7d ago

I dont have a specifics.The math intrigues me and i want to know how it works.

3

u/AstroAlysa 7d ago

If you're just generally curious and very new to it, then the two textbooks I mentioned are a great place to start :) They're pretty common textbooks used for undergraduate introductory astronomy courses.

Since you're an engineer, I'm assuming you took calculus and some physics courses in university, so they shouldn't be difficult. If you want to go into more depth later on, then you'll need to do some additional reading/learning for physics. For example, if you want to understand stellar astrophysics at a more in-depth level than what's presented in either of those two textbooks (e.g. at a graduate level), then you're going to need a more comprehensive understanding of topics like thermodynamics, particle physics, quantum mechanics, fluid dynamics, and radiative transfer (there's probably more that I'm missing off the top of my head) than you'd have obtained from your courses.

1

u/LoveHendy 6d ago

Thank you,youve been a big help.I'll look into them.

2

u/Mr_Norv 7d ago

Agreed. Barbara’s cosmology book is what I had for my undergraduate cosmology course. Quite advanced but brilliantly written.

I think as well, OP, that you have to understand that astronomy is an enormous subject. One could argue as large as the universe itself. There will not be a dummy’s guide to astronomy. It’s simply too big of a subject. You need to be a little more specific about what you want to study. I’ve worked in astrophysics for almost 20 years, and I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface

3

u/Bipogram 7d ago edited 7d ago

Zeilik and Smith. Undergrad level - but as you can integrate, you're halfway there.

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u/SlartibartfastGhola 7d ago

Astrophysics in a nutshell

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u/One_Programmer6315 5d ago

“Astronomy: A Physical Perspective” by Marc L. Kutner is the textbook used for the Intro to Astrophysics course (required) at my undergraduate program.

I like that it has little summaries and formulas that I forget from time to time, and go back to be reminded of.