Astronomy Olympiad Textbooks

Theoretical Textbooks

Astronomy: Principles and Practice 
by A.E. Roy and D. Clarke.
 

The book provides several straightforward mathematical tools, and discusses some simple physical processes that are either involved in the astronomer's tools of trade or concerned in the mechanisms associated with astronomical bodies.
The first six chapters introduce the simple observations that can be made by the eye as well as discuss how such observations were interpreted by previous civilizations. The next several chapters examine the interpretation of positional measurements and the basic principles of celestial mechanics. The authors then explore radiation, optical telescopes, and radio and high-energy technologies.

To download the book, Click here.

An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics 

by Bradley W. Carroll, Dale A. Ostlie.
 

An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics reflects the dramatic changes and advancements in astrophysics that have occurred over the past decade. This is an excellent text book introducing all the essentials of modern astrophysics, in a clear and systematic way. The book is much more theoretical, and full to the brim with useful equations, facts, theorems, definitions, lots of worked examples, plenty of problems to challenge you.  An excellent book to prepare for the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA). 

To download the book, Click here.

Fundamental Astronomy 

by H. Karttunen, P. Kröger, H. Oja, M. Poutanen, K. Donner. 

Fundamental Astronomy is a well-balanced, comprehensive introduction to classical and modern astronomy. While emphasizing both the astronomical concepts and the underlying physical principles, the text provides a sound basis for more profound studies in the astronomical sciences. Long considered a standard text for physical science majors, Fundamental Astronomy is also an excellent reference work for dedicated amateur astronomers. The exercises of this book are really helpful for astronomy olympiad.

To download the book, Click here.

Schaum's Outline of Astronomy 

by Stacey Palen.

This book is for the beginners of astronomy, but it will give you hundreds of examples, solved problems, and practice exercises to test your skills. I'll suggest this book to those kids who are really interested to take part in the Astronomy Olympiad but haven't read any astronomy textbook before. Although the difficulty level of the problems is easy, it'll help you to have a good starting.

To download the book, Click here. 

A Problem Book in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Editor: Aniket Sule.

This book contains a compilation of problems and solutions from International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (2007-2012). The problems are decorated topic wise, i.e. Celestial Mechanics, Optics and Detectors, Galactic Astrophysics, etc. This book is highly recommended for those who are aspiring to participate in the National Astronomy Olympiad or IOAA. You need to have a clear idea about the astrophysical concepts, then this book will come in handy. 

Astronomy: A Physical Perspective

by Marc L. Kutner

Starting with the simplest objects, Astronomy: A Physical Perspective contains explanations of how and why astronomical phenomena occur, and how astronomers collect and interpret information about stars, galaxies and the solar system. The text looks at the properties of stars, star formation and evolution; neutron stars and black holes; the nature of galaxies; and the structure of the universe. It examines the past, present and future states of the universe; and final chapters use the concepts that have been developed to study the solar system, its formation; the possibility of finding other planetary systems; and the search for extraterrestrial life. This comprehensive text contains useful equations, chapter summaries, worked examples and end-of-chapter problem sets.

To download the book, Click here.

Astrophysical Concepts

by Martin Harwit

This classic text presents a quantitative understanding of a range of astrophysical concepts. Emphasizing physical concepts, the book outlines cosmic events but does not portray them in detail. Instead, it provides a series of astrophysical sketches showing how to obtain quantitative insights into the structure and evolution of stars, the dynamics of cosmic gases, the large-scale behavior of the universe, and the origins of life. This book strikes a nice balance between mathematical sophistication and generality, but it can be a little difficult to read in places, particularly for someone without a strong physics background. 

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Astronomy: Structure of the Universe

by A. E. Roy and D. Clarke

Astronomy: Structure of the Universe is the second textbook written by Roy and Clarke. The introductory companion volume of this book is Astronomy: Principles and Practice. This volume, Astronomy: Structure of the Universe describes the observable features of the universe. The first part describes our Solar System and its members, giving special attention to the Sun, Earth and Moon. The second part treats the nature of matter and its behavior in stellar bodies and interstellar matter under a wide range of physical conditions. The third part discusses our Galaxy in detail before considering external galaxies and ending with questions of cosmology and cosmogony. 

To buy the book, click here.  

An Introduction to Mechanics
by Daniel Kleppner and Robert Kolenkow

This is a classic text on the principles of classical mechanics. The explanations are clear, concise and the examples are illuminating. For 40 years, Kleppner and Kolenkow's text has introduced students to the principles of mechanics.

To download the book, click here. 

A Student's Guide to the Mathematics of Astronomy

by Daniel Fleisch and Julia Kregenow

This is another book for the the beginners of Astronomy.  The authors address topics that students find most troublesome, on subjects ranging from stars and light to gravity and black holes. Dozens of fully worked examples and over 150 exercises and homework problems help readers get to grips with the concepts in each chapter. An accompanying website features a host of supporting materials, including interactive solutions for every exercise and problem in the text and a series of video podcasts in which the authors explain the important concepts of every section of the book.

To download the book, click here. 



Observational Textbooks

Sky and Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas

by Roger W. Sinnott

Perfect for experienced stargazers and beginners alike, Sky & Telescope’s Pocket Sky Atlas will have you exploring the heavens in no time. Sky & Telescope’s celestial atlases are the standard by which all other star atlases have been judged for a half century. This is the handiest detailed atlas around.
 
To download the book, click here. 
 
To get more Astronomy Olympiad preparatory materials, CLICK HERE. 

Course Notes

Introduction to Astronomy

by Professor Ronen Plesser

Introduction to Astronomy is an amazing astronomy course by Professor Ronen Plesser of Duke University. The course is offered through Coursera, an online learning platform. This is an ideal course for the students who are preparing for astronomy Olympiad. 

Here are the notes from Olivier Henry (henry@alumni.caltech.edu), based on Introduction to Astronomy course. These notes cover most of the topics needed to learn for astronomy olympiad. I hope it'll help most of you.

P.S Coursera isn't offering the course at the moment. Still you can sign up for future sessions. Click here to sign up for future offerings of "Introduction to Astronomy" course. 

Introduction to Astronomy Note by ScienceOlympiadBlog

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