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From the Realm of the Nebulae to Populations of Galaxies

Dialogues on a Century of Research

  • In the stylistic tradition of Galileo's "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems"
  • Written as a series of interviews with many leading astronomers who participated in the history of extragalactic astronomy
  • Documents the evolution of understanding of galaxies through the 20th and early 21st century
  • Attractive also for undergraduate students who not only want to learn the state of the art of a field but seek an understanding of astronomical thinking and understanding

Part of the book series: Astrophysics and Space Science Library (ASSL, volume 435)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxix
  2. Extragalactic Astronomy: From Pioneers to Big Science

    • Roberto Rampazzo, Mauro D’Onofrio, Simone Zaggia, James M. Lattis, Martha P. Haynes, Riccardo Giovanelli et al.
    Pages 1-92
  3. The Milky Way and the Local Group

    • Roberto Rampazzo, Mauro D’Onofrio, Simone Zaggia, James M. Lattis, Pieter C. van der Kruit, Antonella Vallenari et al.
    Pages 93-188
  4. Family Traits of Galaxies: From the Tuning Fork to a Physical Classification in a Multi-Wavelength Context

    • Roberto Rampazzo, Mauro D’Onofrio, Simone Zaggia, Debra M. Elmegreen, Eija Laurikainen, Pierre-Alain Duc et al.
    Pages 189-242
  5. The Anatomy of Galaxies

    • Mauro D’Onofrio, Roberto Rampazzo, Simone Zaggia, Malcolm S. Longair, Laura Ferrarese, Paola Marziani et al.
    Pages 243-379
  6. The Impact of Surveys

    • Roberto Rampazzo, Mauro D’Onofrio, Simone Zaggia, George Paturel, Alessandro Boselli, Laura Ferrarese et al.
    Pages 381-477
  7. In Pursuit of High Redshift Galaxies

    • Roberto Rampazzo, Mauro D’Onofrio, Simone Zaggia, Stanislav George Djorgovski, Debra M. Elmegreen, Bianca M. Poggianti et al.
    Pages 479-508
  8. The New Boundaries of the Galaxy Concept

    • Mauro D’Onofrio, Roberto Rampazzo, Simone Zaggia, Curtis Struck, Luciana Bianchi, Bianca M. Poggianti et al.
    Pages 509-583
  9. The Physics of Galaxy Formation and Evolution

    • Mauro D’Onofrio, Roberto Rampazzo, Simone Zaggia, George Lake, Cesare Chiosi, Gabriella De Lucia et al.
    Pages 585-695
  10. New Eyes for Galaxies Investigation

    • Mauro D’Onofrio, Simone Zaggia, Roberto Rampazzo, Antonella Vallenari, Gerald F. Gilmore, Paola Marziani et al.
    Pages 697-737
  11. Lights and Shadows on Galaxies Understanding

    • Mauro D’Onofrio, Roberto Rampazzo, Simone Zaggia
    Pages 739-767
  12. Back Matter

    Pages 769-785

About this book

In order to outline possible future directions in galaxy research, this book wants to be a short stopover, a moment of self-reflection of the past century of achievements in this area.

Since the pioneering years of galaxy research in the early 20th century, the research on galaxies has seen a relentless advance directly connected to the parallel exponential growth of new technologies. 

Through a series of interviews with distinguished astronomers the editors provide a snapshot of the achievements obtained in understanding galaxies. While many initial questions about their nature have been addressed, many are still open and require new efforts to achieve a solution. The discussions may reveal paradigms worthwhile revisiting. With the help of some of those scientists who have contributed to it, the editors sketch the history of this scientific journey and ask them for inspirations for future directions of galaxy research.

Reviews

Selected by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2017

“This is a remarkably detailed, 800-page compendium of information currently known about galaxies, told in an unusual question and answer interview format by dozens of experts in the field. … This 800-page book is well referenced and makes excellent use of diagrams and images, many of which appear in color. It is an essential reference for any individual with a technical interest in galaxies. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals.” (T. D. Oswalt, Choice, Vol. 54 (8), April, 2017)

“The book is well produced, with black-and-white and colour figures within the text. Each chapter has contributions from several authors, with references collected at the end of the chapter. … The book provides a good overview for those with some knowledge of the field.” (Phillip Helbig, The Observatory, Vol. 137, August, 2017)


        

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Mauro D'Onofrio

  • INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Padova, Italy

    Roberto Rampazzo, Simone Zaggia

About the editors

Mauro D'Onofrio is an associate professors at the Department of Physics and Astronomy G. Galilei, University of Padova. He is an expert in the calibration, and setup of astronomical instruments as well as of data reduction and data analysis. His research has focused on galaxies both without and with AGN. He has co-edited two previous volumes  published by Springer(on Cosmology and Quasars) written in the same interview style as this book. dalfkädslfä

Roberto Rampazzo is a staff astronomer at INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova. His research focuses on interacting galaxies and early-type galaxies.

Simone Zaggia is a staff astronomer at INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova. He is specialised in the dynamics of stellar systems and the structure of the Milky Way.     

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access