This comprehensive Encyclopedia covers the full history of astronomy from its ancient origins in Africa, South America, the Middle East and China to the latest developments in astrophysics and space-based research.

Table of Contents

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Part 1 General astronomy
• 1 Ancient (pre-telescopic) astronomy
• Ancient astronomy overview
• Ancient (pre-telescopic) instruments
• Australian Aborigines
• Babylonian astronomy
• Central Mexico and the Aztecs
• Chinese astronomy
• Egyptian astronomy
• European astronomy in the Middle Ages
• Greek astronomy
• Indian astronomy
• Islamic astronomy
• Japanese astronomy
• Mayan astronomy
• Megalithic astronomy
• North America
• Polynesian and Maori astronomy
• South America and the Incas
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• 2 Period overviews
• Seventeenth century
• Eighteenth century
• Nineteenth century
• Twentieth century prior to the Space Age
• Astronomy in the Space Age
• 3 International Astronomical Union
• Part 2 The solar system
• 1 Overview – The solar system
• Structure and size of the solar system
• Origin of the solar system
• 2 Sun, Earth and Moon
• Sun and solar wind
• Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere
• Earth
• Moon
• Origin of the Moon
• 3 Inner solar system
• Vulcan
• Mercury
• Venus
• Mars
• 4 Giant planets
• Atmospheric constituents of the outer planets
• Internal structures of the outer planets
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune
• 5 Smaller objects
• Asteroids
• Comets
• Meteorites
• Meteors
• Pluto
• Trans-Neptunian Objects and Centaurs
• 6 Exoplanets
• Part 3 Stars
• 1 Stars considered individually
• Star atmospheres
• Star distances
• Star magnetic fields
• Star masses
• Star rotations
• Star temperatures
• 2 Stars considered as a group
• Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
• Internal structure of stars
• Sources of stellar energy
• Spectral classification of stars
• Star catalogues
• Stellar evolution
• 3 Types of stars
• Binary stars
• Black holes
• Brown dwarfs
• Cataclysmic variables
• Eruptive variables
• Gamma-ray bursts
• Neutron stars
• Planetary nebulae
• Pulsars
• Pulsating variables
• Soft gamma repeaters, magnetars and anomalous X-ray pulsars
• Supernovae
• Supernova remnants
• White dwarfs
• X-ray bursters
• X-ray transients
• Part 4 Galaxies and cosmology
• 1 Milky Way
• Overview – Milky Way
• Globular clusters
• Interstellar absorption
• Magellanic Clouds
• 2 Other galaxies and cosmology
• Active galaxies
• Andromeda nebula (M31)
• Cosmic rays
• Cosmology: Origin, age and development of the universe
• Extraterrestrial life
• Galaxy classification
• Interacting galaxies, starburst galaxies and the large-scale structure of the universe
• Nature and distance of spiral nebulae
• X-ray background radiation
• Part 5 General Astronomical Tools and Techniques (Post-1600)
• General astronomical tools and techniques
• Adaptive optics
• Charge-coupled devices
• Helioseismology
• Optical interferometry
• Photography
• Photometry
• Radiometry
• Spectroheliograph
• Spectroscopy
• Part 6 Optical Telescopes and Observatories
• 1 Overview – Optical telescopes and observatories
• Modern optical interferometers
• Modern optical solar observatories
• Reflecting telescopes
• Refracting telescopes
• 2 Optical observatories
• Apache Point Observatory
• Argentine National Observatory, Cordoba
• Asiago Observatory
• Australian optical observatories
• Berlin and Potsdam Observatories
• BTA-6 Optical Telescope, Zelenchukskaya
• Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory
• Calar Alto
• Canadian optical observatories
• Canary Islands optical observatories
• Carnegie Southern Observatory (Las Campanas)
• Chinese optical observatories
• Crimean Astrophysical Observatory
• European Southern Observatory
• Greenwich Observatory
• Harvard College Observatory
• Haute-Provence Observatory
• Karl Schwarzschild Observatory, Tautenburg
• Kitt Peak and Cerro Tololo Observatories
• Lick Observatory
• Mauna Kea Observatory
• McDonald Observatory
• Mount Graham International Optical Observatory
• Mount Hopkins’ Whipple Observatory and the MMT
• Mount Wilson Observatory
• National New Technology Telescope and Gemini
• Palomar Mountain Observatory
• Paris and Meudon Observatories
• Pic du Midi Observatory
• Pulkovo Optical Observatory
• SOAR
• South African observatories
• Tokyo Astronomical Observatory
• Tycho Brahe's observatories
• United States Naval Observatory
• Yerkes Observatory
• Part 7 Radio telescopes, observatories and radar
• 1 Overview – Radio telescopes and observatories
• 2 Early radio astronomy and observatories
• Karl Jansky's radio astronomy
• Grote Reber's radio astronomy
• James Hey and the Sun
• Early Australian radio astronomy
• Early Cambridge radio astronomy
• Later Cambridge radio telescopes
• Early Jodrell Bank radio astronomy
• Later Jodrell Bank radio telescopes
• MERLIN
• Early Soviet radio astronomy
• Early French radio astronomy
• Early Dutch radio telescopes
• Early American radio astronomy
• 3 Later radio observatories
• Algonquin Radio Observatory
• Arecibo Radio Telescope
• Culgoora, Fleurs and the Australia Telescope
• Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory
• Effelsberg Radio Telescope
• European VLBI Network
• Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory
• Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope
• Indian radio telescopes
• IRAM radio telescopes
• Japanese terrestrial radio telescopes
• JPL/NASA's Deep Space Network
• MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Haystack
• Ohio Transit Radio Telescope
• Owens Valley Radio Observatory
• Parkes Radio Telescope
• South Pole radio telescopes
• Submillimetre radio telescopes on Mauna Kea
• United States National Radio Astronomy Observatory
• United States Naval Research Laboratory radio telescopes
• Vermilion River Observatory, University of Illinois
• Very Large Array
• Very Long Baseline Array
• Part 8 Other ground-based observatories
• Other ground-based observatories
• Gravity wave detectors and observatories
• Ground-based cosmic-ray observatories
• Ground-based gamma-ray observatories
• Neutrino observatories
• Part 9 Solar System Exploration Spacecraft
• 1 Overview – Solar system exploration spacecraft
• 2 Individual solar system exploration spacecraft
• ACE
• Apollo
• Cassini–Huygens
• Chandrayaan–1
• Clementine
• Cluster
• Deep Impact
• Double Star
• Early Explorer magnetospheric spacecraft
• Early sounding rocket experiments
• FAST
• Galileo
• Genesis
• Geotail
• Halley's comet intercepts
• Hayabusa
• Helios
• Hinode
• IMAGE
• IMP-1
• ISEE
• Luna
• Lunar Orbiter
• Lunar Prospector
• Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/LCROSS
• Magellan
• Mariners to Mars
• Mariners to Venus and Mercury
• Mars Exploration Rovers
• Mars Express
• Mars Global Surveyor
• Mars Odyssey
• Mars Pathfinder
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
• MESSENGER
• NEAR Shoemaker
• Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) Spacecraft
• Phoenix Mars Lander
• Pioneer 10 and 11
• Pioneer lunar spacecraft
• Pioneer-Venus
• POLAR
• Ranger
• RHESSI
• SAMPEX
• Skylab
• SOHO
• Solar Dynamics Observatory
• Solar irradiance missions
• Solar Max
• Soviet Mars Programme
• Sputniks 1–3
• Stardust
• STEREO
• Surveyor
• THEMIS
• TIMED
• TRACE
• Ulysses
• Vega
• Venera programme
• Venus Express
• Viking
• Voyager
• WIND
• Yohkoh
• Part 10 Observatory Spacecraft
• 1 Overview – Spacecraft observatories
• 2 Individual spacecraft observatories
• Akari
• ANS
• Ariel 5
• Astron
• BeppoSAX
• Chandra X-ray Observatory
• COBE
• Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
• COS-B
• EUVE
• Exosat
• Explorer 11
• Fermi
• FUSE
• GALEX
• Granat
• HALCA
• Herschel Space Observatory
• HETE-2
• High Energy Astronomy Observatories (HEAOs)
• Hipparcos
• Hubble Space Telescope
• INTEGRAL
• IRAS
• ISO
• IUE
• Japanese X-Ray astrophysical spacecraft
• Orbiting Astronomical Observatories (OAOs)
• Planck
• Rosat
• RXTE
• SAS-2 and 3
• Spitzer Space Telescope
• SWAS
• Swift
• TD–1A
• Uhuru
• Vela
• WMAP
• XMM-Newton