Physical Principles of Astronomical Instrumentation Series in Astronomy and Astrophysics Series

Offering practical advice on a range of wavelengths, this highly accessible and self-contained book presents a broad overview of astronomical instrumentation, techniques, and tools.

Drawing on the notes and lessons of the authors? established graduate course, the text reviews basic concepts in astrophysics, spectroscopy, and signal analysis. It includes illustrative problems and case studies and aims to provide readers with a toolbox for observational capabilities across the electromagnetic spectrum and the knowledge to understand which tools are best suited to different observations. It is an ideal guide for undergraduates and graduates studying astronomy.

Features:

• Presents a self-contained account of a highly complex subject.
• Offers practical advice and instruction on a wide range of wavelengths and tools.
• Includes case studies and problems for further learning opportunities.

Solutions Manual available upon qualifying course adoption.

1. Review of Electromagnetic Radiation. 2. Astrophysical Radiation. 3. Interaction of Electromagnetic Radiation with Matter. 4. Telescopes and Optical Systems. 5. Key Concepts in Astronomical Measurement. 6. Sensitivity and Noise in Electromagnetic Detection. 7. Astronomical Spectroscopy. 8. Radio Instrumentation. 9. Far Infrared to Millimetre Wavelength Instrumentation. 10. Infrared to UV Instrumentation. 11 X-ray, -ray and Astro-particle Detection.

Professor Peter A. R. Ade

Professor Peter Ade received his PhD from Queen Mary College, London, in 1973, where he continued to build up a submillimetre wave instrumentation group specialising in producing state-of-the-art instruments for use in both atmospheric and astronomical research. In 2001 he relocated to Cardiff with other colleagues to form a larger instrumentation group. He is a member of the Royal Astronomical Society and is a chartered physicist with the Institute of Physics. He has over forty years' experience in instrumentation design and manufacture whilst pursuing his observational astrophysics and atmospheric science interests. He has been involved with the development and deployment of many astronomical instruments including ISO-LWS, Cassini-CIRS, Mars-PMIRR, SPT-pol, ACT-pol, EBEX, Pilot, BLAST, SCUBA, SCUBA-2, Spitzer, Herschel-SPIRE and Planck-HFI). In 1994 he was awarded a NASA public service medal for his contributions to fundamental advances in far infrared detector and sensor systems, which enabled critical measurements of atmospheric ozone chemistry. In 2009 he was presented with the Royal Astronomical Society Jackson-Gwilt Medal for contributions to astronomical instrumentation.

Professor Matt Griffin

Professor Matt Griffin studied Electrical Engineering at University College Dublin and Astrophysics at Queen Mary College London, receiving his PhD in 1985. His research work has included the development of instruments for both ground-based and space-borne observatories, and their use in the study of planetary atmospheres, star formation, galaxy evolution. He remained at Queen Mary until 2001, and was involved in various ground-based submillimetre instruments and in ESA’s Infrared Space Observatory. Since 2001, he has been with the Astronomy Instrumentation Group at Cardiff University. As well as participating in the SCUBA, SCUBA-2, and Planck-HFI instruments, he was the Principal In