Book “Astronomie und Astrophysik – Ein Grundkurs” 6th edition published

Oct. 17, 2024 //

The 6th edition of the classic teaching book “Astronomie und Astrophysik – Ein Grundkurs” is now available. Originally written in 1982 by Alfred Weigert and Heinrich J. Wendker, this standard work has been completely edited and updated by Prof. Dr. Lutz Wisotzki from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP). With over 40 years on the market, the work remains a central resource for students and teachers of astrophysics in German-speaking countries.

Further information

In the now published 6th edition of “Astronomie und Astrophysik - Ein Grundkurs”, Lutz Wisotzki, who has been responsible for the continuous updating since the 4th edition (2004), completely reworked and expanded the book. The extensive content and didactic revisions are particularly notable. Numerous chapters have been completely restructured and texts revised in order to integrate current scientific developments. More than 140 new illustrations based on the latest data visualize the latest findings in astrophysics. Another highlight is the completely rewritten chapter on galaxy evolution, in which the formation and evolution of galaxies is described in an understandable and compact way at university level. Although the book has been extensively modernized, it still retains the same high teaching standards. It provides broad, well-founded knowledge at university level and at the same time is suitable for use in the upper school. The clear, descriptive language and the numerous exercises continue to make it an essential companion in the study of astronomy and astrophysics.

While Lutz Wisotzki has been the single author since the 4th edition, he carries on the names of the founding authors Alfred Weigert and Heinrich J. Wendker. “These two authors established the book as a standard publication in German-language astronomy, and it is important to me that this pioneering work continues to be honored,” says Wisotzki. At the same time, he highlights that the 6th edition is much more than just an update, but the result of many years of intensive work. Over four years, Wisotzki reworked and updated the manuscript in addition to his responsibilities as a researcher at the AIP and lecturer at the University of Potsdam. The AIP supported this work, underlining the close connection between research and teaching.

The sixth edition of “Astronomie und Astrophysik – Ein Grundkurs” is now available in bookstores and online.

Oct. 17, 2024 //

The 6th edition of the classic teaching book “Astronomie und Astrophysik – Ein Grundkurs” is now available. Originally written in 1982 by Alfred Weigert and Heinrich J. Wendker, this standard work has been completely edited and updated by Prof. Dr. Lutz Wisotzki from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP). With over 40 years on the market, the work remains a central resource for students and teachers of astrophysics in German-speaking countries.

Further information

In the now published 6th edition of “Astronomie und Astrophysik - Ein Grundkurs”, Lutz Wisotzki, who has been responsible for the continuous updating since the 4th edition (2004), completely reworked and expanded the book. The extensive content and didactic revisions are particularly notable. Numerous chapters have been completely restructured and texts revised in order to integrate current scientific developments. More than 140 new illustrations based on the latest data visualize the latest findings in astrophysics. Another highlight is the completely rewritten chapter on galaxy evolution, in which the formation and evolution of galaxies is described in an understandable and compact way at university level. Although the book has been extensively modernized, it still retains the same high teaching standards. It provides broad, well-founded knowledge at university level and at the same time is suitable for use in the upper school. The clear, descriptive language and the numerous exercises continue to make it an essential companion in the study of astronomy and astrophysics.

While Lutz Wisotzki has been the single author since the 4th edition, he carries on the names of the founding authors Alfred Weigert and Heinrich J. Wendker. “These two authors established the book as a standard publication in German-language astronomy, and it is important to me that this pioneering work continues to be honored,” says Wisotzki. At the same time, he highlights that the 6th edition is much more than just an update, but the result of many years of intensive work. Over four years, Wisotzki reworked and updated the manuscript in addition to his responsibilities as a researcher at the AIP and lecturer at the University of Potsdam. The AIP supported this work, underlining the close connection between research and teaching.

The sixth edition of “Astronomie und Astrophysik – Ein Grundkurs” is now available in bookstores and online.

The key areas of research at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) are cosmic magnetic fields and extragalactic astrophysics. A considerable part of the institute's efforts aims at the development of research technology in the fields of spectroscopy, robotic telescopes, and E-science. The AIP is the successor of the Berlin Observatory founded in 1700 and of the Astrophysical Observatory of Potsdam founded in 1874. The latter was the world's first observatory to emphasize explicitly the research area of astrophysics. The AIP has been a member of the Leibniz Association since 1992.
Last update: 17. October 2024