Abstract
M dwarf stars rank among the least spectacular constituents of the local stellar population, yet they represent almost half of the total mass locked up in stars within the Milky Way galaxy. As a result, apart from being interesting in their own right, the global characteristics of these stars have wider implications for studies of Galactic structure and star formation both within our own Galaxy and elsewhere. The main aim of this book is to summarise our current understanding of the physical structure and properties of these stars. That knowledge has been garnered through applying a variety of commonly-used astronomical techniques. This introductory chapter provides an outline of the basic concepts involved, placing a particular emphasis on practical observation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Beckers, J. M., 1993, ARA&A, 31, 13.
Bessell, M. S., 1979, PASP, 91, 589.
Bessell, M. S., 1990, PASP, 102, 1181.
Bessell, M. S., Brett, J. M., 1988, PASP, 100, 1134.
Boksenberg, A., 1972, in Auxiliary Instrumentation for Large Telescopes: Proceedings of the ESO-CERN Conference, eds. S. Lausten and A. Retz, p. 295.
Bowen, I. S., 1962, in Astronomical Techniques, ed. W. A. Hiltner, University of Chicago Press.
Buser, R., Kurucz, R. L., 1978, A&A, 70, 555.
Cousins, A. W. J., 1982, SAAO Circulars, No. 1.
Culhane, J. L., Sanford, P. W., 1981, X-ray Astronomy, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York.
Eccles, M. J., Sim, M. E., Tritton, K. P.,1983, Low Light Level Detectors in Astronomy,Cambridge University Press.
ESA, 1997, The Hipparcos catalogue, ESA SP-1200.
Filippenko, A., 1982, PASP, 94, 715.
Gunn, J. E., Carr, M., Rockosi, C., Sekiguchi, M. et al.,1998, AJ,116 3040.
Hearnshaw, J. B., 1986, The Analysis of Starlight,Cambridge University Press.
Henden, A., Kaitchuck, R. H., 1982, Astronomical Photometry, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
Jenkins, F.A., White, H. E., 1976, Fundamentals of Optics,McGraw-Hill Inc.
Johnson, H. L., 1966, ARA&A, 4, 193.
King, I. R., 1971, PASP, 83, 199.
Kirchhoff, G., Part I: Abhandl. d. Berliner. Akad., p. 63, 1861; p. 227, 1862. Part II: ibid., p. 225, 1863.
Kovalevsky, J., 1998, ARA&A, 36, 99.
Kuhn, J., Hawley, S. L., 1999, PASP, 111, 601.
Labeyrie, A., 1970, A&A, 6, 86.
Landolt, A. U., 1983, AJ, 88, 439.
Landolt, A. U., 1992, AJ, 104, 340.
Lane, A. P., 1979, PASP, 91, 405.
Lang, K. R., 1992, Astrophysical data: Planets and stars, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Leinert, C., Richter, I., Planck, B., 1982, A&A, 110, 111.
Leggett, S. K., Allard, F., Berriman, G., Dahn, C. C., Hauschildt, P. H., 1996, ApJS, 104, 117
Levizzani, V. Prodi, F., 1988, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 5277.
Longair, M. S., 1981, High-Energy Astrophysics, Cambridge University Press.
Monet, D. G., 1988, ARA&A, 26, 413.
Ohlsson, J, 1932, Ann. Lund. Obs.,3.
Oke, J. B., Gunn, J. E., 1982, PASP, 94, 586.
Osterbrock, D. E., 1997, J. Hist. Astr., 25, 1.
Persson, S. E., Murphy, D. C., Krzeminski, W., Roth, M., Rieke, M. J., 1998, AJ, 116, 2475.
Pogson, N., 1854, MNRAS.
Racine, R., 1996, PASP, 108, 699.
Roach, F. E., Gordon, J. L., 1973, The Light of the Night Sky, Geophysics and Astrophysics Monographs, V. 4.
Sekiguchi, M., Iwashita, H., Doi, M., Kashikawa, N., Okamura, S., 1992, PASP, 104, 744.
Smart, W. M., 1971, Spherical Astronomy,5th edition, Cambridge University Press.
Tucker, W., Giacconi, R., 1985, The X-Ray Universe, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
van Leeuwen, F., 1997, Sp. Sci. Rev., 81, 201.
Vasilevskis, S., 1967, AJ, 72, 583.
Whittet, D. C. B., 1992, Dust in the Galactic Environment, the graduate series in astronomy, Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol, Philadelphia, New York.
Wilson, R., 1996, Reflecting Telescope Optics I: Basic Design Theory and its Historical Development, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Reid, I.N., Hawley, S.L. (2000). Astronomical concepts. In: New Light on Dark Stars. Astronomy and Planetary Sciences. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3663-7_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3663-7_1
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-3665-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-3663-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive