Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees: Results from the 2012 Survey of Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees. Focus On

Science.gov (United States)

Mulvey, Patrick; Nicholson, Starr

2014-01-01

Interest in astronomy degrees in the U.S. remains strong, with astronomy enrollments at or near all-time highs for the 2012-13 academic year. The total number of students taking an introductory astronomy course at a degree-granting physics or astronomy department is approaching 200,000. Enrollments in introductory astronomy courses have been…

Astronomy at the frontiers of science

CERN Document Server

2011-01-01

Astronomy is by nature an interdisciplinary activity: it involves mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. Astronomers use (and often develop) the latest technology, the fastest computers and the most refined software.  In this book twenty-two leading scientists from nine countries talk about how astronomy interacts with these other sciences. They describe modern instruments used in astronomy and the relations between astronomy and technology, industry, politics and philosophy. They also discuss what it means to be an astronomer, the history of astronomy, and the place of astronomy in society today.   The book contains twenty chapters grouped in four parts: ASTRONOMY AND PHYSICS discusses the place of astronomy among various branches of (mostly high-energy) physics. ASTRONOMY IN SOCIETY describes not only the historical context of astronomy, but issues facing astronomers today, including funding, planning, worldwide collaboration and links with industry. THE TOOLS OF OBSERVATION AND THE PROFESSION OF AS...

The Future of Space Astronomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Field, George B.

1984-01-01

Discusses various aspects of space astronomy, considering advantages, the space telescope and ground-based astronomy, an orbiting astrophysics facility, solar physics, and other areas. Indicates that earth-based astronomy will continue to be carried out there and space astronomy will be limited to observations that can be carried out only from…

School-Based Extracurricular Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Stanger, Jeffrey J.

2010-01-01

The International Year of Astronomy in 2009 focused considerable public attention on Astronomy and generated valuable resources for educators. These activities are an effective vehicle for promoting Science to students and to the wider school community. The most engaging practical astronomy activities are best delivered with sustained support from…

Highschool astronomy research workshop in Thailand and how it transforms Thai astronomy education

Science.gov (United States)

Tangmatitham, Matipon

2017-01-01

The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) have launched the program "Advance Teacher Training Workshop" that aims to introduce both the students and astronomy teacher alike to the nature of critical thinking in science via hands on experience in astronomy projects. Students and accompanying teachers are participated in 5 days workshop in which each of them must select an individual astronomy research project. The project is then carried out on their own for the next 6 months, after which their works are presented in a conference. Progress is monitored and extra aid is delivered as needed via the use of social media. Over a hundred projects have been completed under this program. Follow up study have suggests that this workshop has shown to be quite successful at improving critical thinking skills in participants. As the program became more popular, other schools began to follow. To support the growing interest, we have also launched the "Thai Astronomical Society: student session", a highschool astronomy conference for anyone who participated or interested in astronomy related projects. Via these stages we are able to secure a permanent foothold in Thai astronomy education and inspire new generations to participate in astronomy projects.

Astronomy Landscape in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Nemaungani, Takalani

2015-01-01

The vision for astronomy in Africa is embedded in the African Space Policy of the African Union in early 2014. The vision is about positioning Africa as an emerging hub for astronomy sciences and facilities. Africa recognized the need to take advantage of its natural resource, the geographical advantage of the clear southern skies and pristine sites for astronomy. The Pan African University (PAU) initiative also presents an opportunity as a post-graduate training and research network of university nodes in five regions of Africa and supported by the African Union. The Southern African node based in South Africa concentrates on space sciences which also includes astronomy. The PAU aims to provide the opportunity for advanced graduate training and postgraduate research to high-performing African students. Objectives also include promoting mobility of students and teachers and harmonizing programs and degrees.A number of astronomy initiatives have burgeoned in the Southern African region and these include the Southern Africa Largest Optical Telescope (SALT), HESS (High Energy Stereoscopic System), the SKA (Square Kilometre Array) and the AVN (African Very Long Baseline Interferometer Network). There is a growing appetite for astronomy sciences in Africa. In East Africa, the astronomy community is well organized and is growing - the East African Astronomical society (EAAS) held its successful fourth annual conference since 2010 on 30 June to 04 July 2014 at the University of Rwanda. Centred around the 'Role of Astronomy in Socio-Economic Transformation,' this conference aimed at strengthening capacity building in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science in general, while providing a forum for astronomers from the region to train young and upcoming scientists.

Astronomy from the chair - the application of the Internet in promoting of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Tomic, Zoran

2014-05-01

Internet and modern communication technologies are an indispensable part of modern life. The use of the Internet makes it possible to enhance the education and expand opportunities for acquiring new knowledge. One example is Astronomy, where today thanks to the Internet, we can control telescopes that are distant from us and listen to lectures from Universities in other countries. "Astronomy from the chair" is the name for a concept where amateur astronomers can deal with astronomy from their homes using the Internet. The concept can be divided into four sections depending on the content being offered: Robotic Observatory, Virtual Observatory, Online astronomy broadcasting and Online courses. Robotic observatory is defined as an astronomical instrument and detection system that enables efficient observation without the need of a person's physical intervention. Virtual Observatory is defined as a collection of databases and software tools that use the Internet as a platform for scientific research. Online astronomy broadcasting is part of concept "Astronomy from the chair" which gives users the opportunity to get directly involved in astronomical observation organized by an amateur astronomer from somewhere in the world. Online courses are groups of sites and organizations that provide the opportunity to amateur astronomers to attend lectures, save and watch video materials from lectures, do homework, communicate with other seminar participants and in that way become familiar with the various areas of Astronomy. This paper discusses a new concept that describes how the Internet can be applied in modern education. In this paper will be described projects that allows a large number of astronomy lovers to do their own research without the need to own a large and expensive set of astronomical equipment (Virtual Telescope from Italy, Observatory "Night Hawk" from Serbia and project "Astronomy from an armchair" at Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics in Nis), to help

Teaching Astronomy with Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Carmen; Impey, Chris David; Wenger, Matthew

2015-01-01

Students today are expected to have access to computers and the Internet. Students young and old, in school and out of school, are interested in learning about astronomy, and have computers to use for this. Teach Astronomy is a website with a comprehensive digital astronomy textbook freely available to students and educators. In addition to the textbook, there are astronomy Wikipedia articles, image archives from Astronomy Picture of the Day and AstroPix, and video lectures covering all topics of astronomy. Teach Astronomy has a unique search tool called the wikimap that can be used to search through all of the resources on the site. Astronomy: State of the Art (ASOTA) is a massive, open, online course (MOOC). Over 18,000 students have enrolled over the past year and half. This MOOC has been presented in various forms. First, only to students on the web, with content released weekly on host site Udemy. Then to university students who met formally in the classroom for educational activities, but were also expected to watch lectures online on their own time. Presently, it is available online for students to go at their own pace. In the future it will be available in an extended format on a new host site, Coursera. ASOTA instructors use social media to interact with students. Students ask questions via the course host site, Udemy. Live question and answer sessions are conducted using Google Hangouts on Air, and interesting and relevant astronomy news, or supplementary educational content is shared via the ASOTA Facebook page. Teaching on the Internet may seem impersonal and impractical, but by learning to use all of these tools, instructors have the ability to interact with students, and keep them engaged.

Astronomy and culture

CERN Document Server

Hetherington, Edith

2009-01-01

While astronomy is a burgeoning science, with tremendous increases in knowledge every year, it also has a tremendous past, one that has altered humanity's understanding of our place in the universe. The impact of astronomy on culture - whether through myths and stories, or through challenges to the intellectual status quo - is incalculable. This volume in the Greenwood Guides to the Universe series examines how human cultures, in all regions and time periods, have tried to make sense of the wonders of the universe. Astronomy and Culture shows students how people throughout time have struggled

Radio astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parijskij, Y.N.; Gossachinskij, I.V.; Zuckerman, B.; Khersonsky, V.K.; Pustilnik, S.; Robinson, B.J.

1976-01-01

A critical review of major developments and discoveries in the field of radioastronomy during the period 1973-1975 is presented. The report is presented under the following headings:(1) Continuum radiation from the Galaxy; (2) Neutral hydrogen, 21 cm (galactic and extragalactic) and recombination lines; (3) Radioastronomy investigations of interstellar molecules; (4) Extragalactic radio astronomy and (6) Development in radio astronomy instruments. (B.R.H.)

Galactic radio astronomy

CERN Document Server

Sofue, Yoshiaki

2017-01-01

This book is a concise primer on galactic radio astronomy for undergraduate and graduate students, and provides wide coverage of galactic astronomy and astrophysics such as the physics of interstellar matter and the dynamics and structure of the Milky Way Galaxy and galaxies. Radio astronomy and its technological development have led to significant progress in galactic astronomy and contributed to understanding interstellar matter and galactic structures. The book begins with the fundamental physics of radio-wave radiation, i.e., black body radiation, thermal emission, synchrotron radiation, and HI and molecular line emissions. The author then gives overviews of ingredients of galactic physics, including interstellar matter such as the neutral (HI), molecular hydrogen, and ionized gases, as well as magnetic fields in galaxies. In addition, more advanced topics relevant to the Galaxy and galaxies are also contained here: star formation, supernova remnants, the Galactic Center and black holes, galactic dynamics...

Women in Astronomy Workshop Report

OpenAIRE

Brough, Sarah; Bauer, Amanda E.; Brooks, Kate; Hopkins, Andrew; Maddison, Sarah

2011-01-01

Here we report on the Women in Astronomy Workshop (http://asawomeninastronomy.org/meetings/wia2011/), which was held on 13 May 2011 in Sydney, Australia. The workshop was organised by the Astronomical Society of Australia's Chapter on Women in Astronomy, to discuss some of the issues that face women in astronomy and make recommendations to help support the success of women in Australian astronomy but came to broader conclusions that have value for the whole astronomical community. The worksho...

The purpose of astronomy

OpenAIRE

Davoust, Emmanuel

1995-01-01

This is a presentation of the purpose of astronomy in the context of modern society. After exposing two misconceptions about astronomy, I detail its role in five domains, certified knowledge, incorporated abilities, innovations, collective goods, and popular science; with each domain is associated an institution, an incentive, and a method of evaluation. Finally, I point out the role of astronomy as a source of inspiration in other fields than science.

Stamping through astronomy

CERN Document Server

Dicati, Renato

2013-01-01

Stamps and other postal documents are an attractive vehicle for presenting astronomy and its development. Written with expertise and great enthusiasm, this unique book offers a historical and philatelic survey of astronomy and some related topics on space exploration. It contains more than 1300 color reproductions of stamps relating to the history of astronomy, ranging from the earliest observations of the sky to modern research conducted with satellites and space probes. Featured are the astronomers and astrophysicists who contributed to this marvelous story – not only Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, Herschel, and Einstein but also hundreds of other minor protagonists who played an important role in the development of this, the most ancient yet the most modern of all the sciences. The book also examines in depth the diverse areas which have contributed to the history of astronomy, including the instrumentation, the theories, and the observations. Many stamps illustrate the beauty and the mystery of ce...

Improving Astronomy Achievement and Attitude through Astronomy Summer Project: A Design, Implementation and Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Türk, Cumhur; Kalkan, Hüseyin; Iskeleli', Nazan Ocak; Kiroglu, Kasim

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of an astronomy summer project implemented in different learning activities on elementary school students, pre-service elementary teachers and in-service teachers' astronomy achievement and their attitudes to astronomy field. This study is the result of a five-day, three-stage, science school,…

Astronomy in Iraq

Science.gov (United States)

Alsabti, A. W.

2006-08-01

The history of modern Iraqi astronomy is reviewed. During the early 1970's Iraqi astronomy witnessed significant growth through the introduction of the subject at university level and extensively within the school curriculum. In addition, astronomy was popularised in the media, a large planetarium was built in Baghdad, plus a smaller one in Basra. Late 1970 witnessed the construction of the Iraqi National Observatory at Mount Korek in Iraqi Kurdistan. The core facilities of the Observatory included 3.5-meter and 1.25-meter optical telescopes, and a 30-meter radio telescope for millimetre wavelength astronomy. The Iraqi Astronomical Society was founded and Iraq joined the IAU in 1976. During the regime of Saddam Hussain in the 1980's, the Observatory was attacked by Iranian artillery during the Iraq-Iran war, and then again during the second Gulf war by the US air force. Years of sanctions during the 1990's left Iraq cut off from the rest of the international scientific community. Subscriptions to astronomical journals were halted and travel to conferences abroad was virtually non-existent. Most senior astronomers left the country for one reason or another. Support from expatriate Iraqi astronomers existed (and still exists) however, this is not sufficient. Recent changes in Iraq, and the fall of Saddam's regime, has meant that scientific communication with the outside world has resumed to a limited degree. The Ministry of Higher Education in Baghdad, Baghdad University and the Iraqi National Academy of Science, have all played active roles in re-establishing Iraqi astronomy and re-building the damaged Observatory at Mount Korek. More importantly the University of Sallahudin in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, has taken particular interest in astronomy and the Observatory. Organized visits to the universities, and also to the Observatory, have given us a first-hand assessment of the scale of the damage to the Observatory, as well as the needs of astronomy teaching

The Cambridge encyclopaedia of astronomy

CERN Document Server

1977-01-01

Astronomy has been transformed in the last two decades by a series of dramatic discoveries that have left most reference books completely out of date. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy presents a broadly based survey of the whole of astronomy which places emphasis on these critical new findings.

Astronomy in Everyday Life

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, M.; Bladon, G.; Russo, P.; Christensen, L. L.

2014-01-01

For a long time astronomers and other scientists believed that the importance of their work was evident to society. But in these difficult days of financial austerity, even the most obvious benefits of science have to undergo careful scrutiny. So, now more than ever is the time to highlight the importance of astronomy as a field in terms of its contributions to our technology, our mind sets and our lives. Here we will outline both the tangible and intangible reasons why astronomy is an important part of society. Whilst considerable attention will be given to technology and knowledge transfer from astronomy, perhaps the most important contribution outlined is the awareness that astronomy gives us of the vastness of the Universe and our place within it.

How Create an Astronomy Outreach Program to Bring Astronomy to Thousands of People at Outdoor Concerts Astronomy Festivals, or Tourist Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Lubowich, Donald

2015-08-01

I describe how to create an astronomy program for thousands of people at outdoor concerts based on my $308,000 NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars (MAUS) program (60 events 2009 - 2013), and the Astronomy Festival on the National Mall (AFNM, 10,000 people/yr).MAUS reached 50,000 music lovers at local parks and at the Central Park Jazz, Newport Folk, Ravinia, or Tanglewood Music Festivals with classical, folk, pop/rock, opera, Caribbean, or county-western concerts assisted by astronomy clubs. Yo-Yo-Ma, the Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, Phish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Deep Purple, Tony Orlando, and Wilco performed at these events. AFNM was started in 2010 with co-sponsorship by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. MAUS and AFMN combine solar, optical, and radio telescope observations; large posters/banners; hands-on activities, imaging with a cell phone mount; citizen science activities; hand-outs; and teacher info packet. Representatives from scientific institutions participated. Tyco Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Caroline Herschel made guest appearances.MAUS reached underserved groups and attracted large crowds. Young kids participated in this family learning experience-often the first time they looked through a telescope. While < 50% of the participants took part in a science activity in the past year, they found MAUS enjoyable and understandable; learned about astronomy; wanted to learn more; and increased their interest in science (ave. rating 3.6/4). MAUS is effective in promoting science education!Lessons learned: plan early; create partnerships with parks, concert organizers, and astronomy clubs; test equipment; have backup equipment; create professional displays; select the best location to obtain a largest number of participants; use social media/www sites to promote the events; use many telescopes for multiple targets; project a live image or video; select equipment that is easy to

Quickly Creating Interactive Astronomy Illustrations

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Timothy F.

2015-01-01

An innate advantage for astronomy teachers is having numerous breathtaking images of the cosmos available to capture students' curiosity, imagination, and wonder. Internet-based astronomy image libraries are numerous and easy to navigate. The Astronomy Picture of the Day, the Hubble Space Telescope image archive, and the NASA Planetary…

Music Inspired by Astronomy: A Selected Listing for the International Year of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Fraknoi, A.

2008-11-01

Part of the aim of the International Year of Astronomy is to show the connections between astronomy and other areas of human culture. Such connections are easily found in music, where astronomical ideas have found a wide range of expression. This is not a comprehensive listing, but a sampling of some of the pieces that are available on CD's, and that may be of particular interest to educators and astronomy enthusiasts. To qualify for the list, a piece (or the composer's vision for it) has to include some real science and not just an astronomical term in the title or in a few lyrics. For example, we do not list The Planets, by Gustav Holst, since it treats the astrological view of the planets. And we regret that Philip Glass' opera Galileo is not available on CD and therefore cannot be listed. Nor do we include the thousands of popular songs that use the moon or the stars for an easy rhyme or a quick romantic image. And, while many jazz pieces have astronomy in the title, it is often hard to know just how the piece and the astronomy go together; so we've sadly omitted jazz too. For those with old-fashioned ears, like the author, we note that no warranty is made that all these pieces are easy to listen to, but each takes some key idea from astronomy and makes music out of it. A more comprehensive discussion can be found in my article in Astronomy Education Review: http://aer.noao.edu/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=193

Astronomy Explained

Science.gov (United States)

North, Gerald

Every year large numbers of people take up the study of astronomy, mostly at amateur level. There are plenty of elementary books on the market, full of colourful photographs, but lacking in proper explanations of how and why things are as they are. Many people eventually wish to go beyond the 'coffee-table book' stage and study this fascinating subject in greater depth. This book is written for them. In addition, many people sit for public examinations in this subject each year and this book is also intended to be of use to them. All the topics from the GCSE syllabus are covered here, with sample questions at the end of each chapter. Astronomy Explained provides a comprehensive treatment of the subject in more depth than is usually found in elementary works, and will be of interest to both amateur astronomers and students of astronomy.

Teaching Astronomy in UK Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, Paul; Roberts, Sarah; Newsam, Andy; Barclay, Charles

2012-01-01

This article attempts to summarise the good, bad and (occasionally) ugly aspects of teaching astronomy in UK schools. It covers the most common problems reported by teachers when asked about covering the astronomy/space topics in school. Particular focus is given to the GCSE Astronomy qualification offered by Edexcel (which is currently the…

Extragalactic infrared astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gondhalekar, P.M.

1985-05-01

The paper concerns the field of Extragalactic Infrared Astronomy, discussed at the Fourth RAL Workshop on Astronomy and Astrophysics. Fifteen papers were presented on infrared emission from extragalactic objects. Both ground-(and aircraft-) based and IRAS infrared data were reviewed. The topics covered star formation in galaxies, active galactic nuclei and cosmology. (U.K.)

Astronomy all the time for everybody

Science.gov (United States)

Grigore, Valentin

2015-08-01

General contextCommunicating astronomy with the public must be done all year and with all community members using all the available methods to promote the all aspects of astronomy: education, science, research, new technologies, dark-sky protection, astrophotography, mythology, astropoetry, astro arts and music.An annual calendarTwo aspect must be taken in consideration when create a calendar of activity:- astronomical events (eclipses, meteor showers, comets, etc.)- international and local astronomical events: Global Astronomy Months, Astronomy Day, Globe at Night, ISAN, public activitiesCommunicating astronomy with the whole communityA description of the experience of the author organizing over 500 events in 30 years of activity including all the community members: general public, students, teachers, artists, authorities, people with disabilities, minor and adult prisoners, etc.An experience of seven years as TV producer of the astronomy TV show “Ùs and the Sky” is presented.Promotion of the activityThe relation with the mass-media is an important aspect communicating astronomy with the public.Mass-media between rating and correct information of the public.The role of the cooperation with the community in astronomy projectsA successful model: EURONEAR project

Astronomy, Astrology, and Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Greenbaum, Dorian Gieseler

Astronomy and astrology were combined with medicine for thousands of years. Beginning in Mesopotamia in the second millennium BCE and continuing into the eighteenth century, medical practitioners used astronomy/astrology as an important part of diagnosis and prescription. Throughout this time frame, scientists cited the similarities between medicine and astrology, in addition to combining the two in practice. Hippocrates and Galen based medical theories on the relationship between heavenly bodies and human bodies. In an enduring cultural phenomenon, parts of the body as well as diseases were linked to zodiac signs and planets. In Renaissance universities, astronomy and astrology were studied by students of medicine. History records a long tradition of astrologer-physicians. This chapter covers the topic of astronomy, astrology, and medicine from the Old Babylonian period to the Enlightenment.

Armenian Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Mickaelian, Areg M.; Farmanyan, Sona V.

2016-12-01

A review is given on archaeoastronomy in Armenia and astronomical knowledge reflected in the Armenian culture. Astronomy in Armenia was popular since ancient times and Armenia is rich in its astronomical heritage, such as the names of the constellations, ancient observatories, Armenian rock art (numerous petroglyphs of astronomical content), ancient and medieval Armenian calendars, astronomical terms and names used in Armenian language since II-I millennia B.C., records of astronomical events by ancient Armenians (e.g. Halley's comet in 87 B.C., supernovae explosion in 1054), the astronomical heritage of the Armenian medieval great thinker Anania Shirakatsi's (612-685), medieval sky maps and astronomical devices by Ghukas (Luca) Vanandetsi (XVII-XVIII centuries) and Mkhitar Sebastatsi (1676-1749), etc. For systemization and further regular studies, we have created a webpage devoted to Armenian archaeoastronomical matters at Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS) website. Issues on astronomy in culture include astronomy in ancient Armenian cultures, ethnoastronomy, astronomy in Armenian religion and mythology, astronomy and astrology, astronomy in folklore and poetry, astronomy in arts, astrolinguistics and astroheraldry. A similar webpage for Astronomy in Armenian Culture is being created at ArAS website and a permanent section "Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture" has been created in ArAS Electronic Newsletter. Several meetings on this topic have been organized in Armenia during 2007-2014, including the archaeoastronomical meetings in 2012 and 2014, and a number of books have been published. Several institutions are related to these studies coordinated by Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) and researchers from the fields of astronomy, history, archaeology, literature, linguistics, etc. are involved.

Astronomy, Indigenous Knowledge and Interpretation: Advancing studies of Cultural Astronomy in South Africa

OpenAIRE

Holbrook, Jarita

2016-01-01

The International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture (ISAAC) Oxford X conference came to Africa for the first time in 2014. Oxford X exposed South African students and researchers to cultural astronomy data collection and analysis methods, as well as to potential mentors to further the goal of advancing the field. Cultural Astronomy studies in South Africa, however, remain in a nascent stage, which in some ways can be said for the entire field, but especially when it comes ...

Fundamental astronomy

CERN Document Server

Kröger, Pekka; Oja, Heikki; Poutanen, Markku; Donner, Karl

2017-01-01

Now in its sixth edition this successful undergraduate textbook gives a well-balanced and comprehensive introduction to the topics of 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. The chapters on galactic and extragalactic astronomy as well as cosmology were extensively modernized in the previous edition. In this new edition they have been further revised to include more recent results. The long chapter on the solar system has been split into two parts: the first one deals with the general properties, and the other one describes individual objects. A new chapter on exoplanets has been added to the end of the book next to the chapter on astrobiology. In response to the fact that astronomy has evolved enormously over the last few years, only a few chapters of this book have been left unmodified. Long considered a standard text for physical science maj...

Bad Astronomy Goes Hollywood

Science.gov (United States)

Plait, P.

2003-05-01

It can be argued that astronomy is the oldest of all the sciences, so you'd think that after all this time people would have a pretty good understanding of it. In reality, however, misconceptions about astronomy abound, and even basic concepts are misunderstood. There are many sources of these cosmic misconceptions, including incorrect textbooks, parents and/or teachers who don't understand astronomy and therefore spread misinformation, urban legends, and so on. Perhaps the most pervasive source of bad astronomy is Hollywood. Science fiction movies are enormously popular, but are commonly written and directed by people who don't have even a passing familiarity with astronomy. The smash hit "Armageddon" (the number one box office movie of 1998), for example, used vast quantities of incorrect astronomy in the plot. It reinforced such popular misconceptions as huge asteroids impacting the Earth with little warning, small meteorites being hot when they impact, air existing in space, and that a simple bomb can blow up an asteroid the size of a small moon (even when the bomb is buried only 800 feet deep!). However, movie scenes can be used as a hook that engages the student, helping them learn and remember the correct science. In this talk, I will light-heartedly discuss specific examples of common misinformation, using movie clips, diagrams, and a splash of common sense to show just where Hollywood gets it wrong, and what you can do to help students and the public get it right.

The physics-astronomy frontier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoyle, F.; Narlikar, K.

1980-01-01

Spacetime diagrams and the structure of matter are considered, and aspects of electrical interaction are investigated. Attention is given to radiation, quantum mechanics, spectrum lines, black bodies, stellar spectra, the H-R diagram, radio astronomy, millimeter-wave astronomy, interstellar grains and infrared astronomy, and X-ray astronomy. The strong and weak interactions are examined, taking into account atoms, nuclei, the evolution of stars, and the measurement of astronomical distances. A description of gravitational interaction is also presented. The laws of motion and gravitation are considered along with black holes, the significance of cosmology, Hubble's law, the expanding universe, the symmetries of the universe, Olbers' paradox, the big-bang universe, Mach's principle, the meaning of the expansion of the system of galaxies, the redshift-magnitude relation of Hubble and Humason, the early universe, and the geometry of special relativity

The Relationship between Preservice Science Teachers' Attitude toward Astronomy and Their Understanding of Basic Astronomy Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Bektasli, Behzat

2016-01-01

Turkish preservice science teachers have been taking a two-credit astronomy class during the last semester of their undergraduate program since 2010. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between preservice science teachers' astronomy misconceptions and their attitudes toward astronomy. Preservice science teachers were given an…

White supremacism and Islamic astronomy in history of astronomy texts from the eighteenth century to the present day

Science.gov (United States)

Lockard, Joe

2018-04-01

This paper reviews manifestations of racism in European and American histories of Arab and Persian astronomy from the eighteenth century to the present day. Its first section discusses representation of Islamic astronomy from Adam Smith to late Victorian writers, particularly tracing ideas of Arab unoriginality and scientific incapacity. The second section first relates the appearance of scientific racism in the early twentieth-century historiography of astronomy, then how the rise of scientifically and linguistically competent scholarship in the latter twentieth century provided much-improved information on Islamic achievements in astronomy. The paper’s conclusion underlines the importance of avoiding ethnic supremacism and integrating research on Islamic astronomy into teaching and publishing on the history of astronomy.

Astronomy essentials

CERN Document Server

Brass, Charles O

2012-01-01

REA's Essentials provide quick and easy access to critical information in a variety of different fields, ranging from the most basic to the most advanced. As its name implies, these concise, comprehensive study guides summarize the essentials of the field covered. Essentials are helpful when preparing for exams, doing homework and will remain a lasting reference source for students, teachers, and professionals. Astronomy includes the historical perspective of astronomy, sky basics and the celestial coordinate systems, a model and the origin of the solar system, the sun, the planets, Kepler'

The Correlation between Pre-Service Science Teachers' Astronomy Achievement, Attitudes towards Astronomy and Spatial Thinking Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Türk, Cumhur

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in pre-service Science teachers' astronomy achievement, attitudes towards astronomy and skills for spatial thinking in terms of their years of study. Another purpose of the study was to find out whether there was correlation between pre-service teachers' astronomy achievement, attitudes towards…

Division B Commission 40: Radio Astronomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chapman, Jessica M.; Giovaninni, Gabriele; Taylor, Russell; Carilli, Christopher; Hills, Richard; Hirabayashi, Hisashi; Jonas, Justin L.; Lazio, Joseph; Morganti, Raffaella; Nan, Rendong; Rubio, Monica; Shastri, Prjaval; Kellermann, Ken; Ekers, Ronald; Ohishi, Masatoshi

2016-01-01

IAU Commission 40 for Radio Astronomy (hereafter C40) brought together scientists and engineers who carry out observational and theoretical research in radio astronomy and who develop and operate the ground and space-based radio astronomy facilities and instrumentation. As of June 2015, the

Astronomy in Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, F.; Couch, W.

2017-12-01

Australians have watched the sky for tens of thousands of years. The nineteenth century saw the foundation of government observatories in capital cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. While early twentieth-century astronomy focused largely on solar physics, the advent of radio astronomy at the end of the Second World War enabled Australia to take a leading role in the new science, with particular emphasis on low-frequency studies. Today, the radio quietness of its outback interior provides an excellent location for the Australian core of the Square Kilometre Array. Australian optical astronomy has flourished since the 1960s, with the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope becoming the principal national facility in 1974. Access to ESO’s facilities at the La Silla Paranal Observatory is warmly welcomed by all Australian astronomers.

Research on teaching astronomy in the planetarium

CERN Document Server

Slater, Timothy F

2017-01-01

From a noted specialist in astronomy education and outreach, this Brief provides an overview of the most influential discipline-based science education research literature now guiding contemporary astronomy teaching. In recent years, systematic studies of effective and efficient teaching strategies have provided a solid foundation for enhancing college-level students’ learning in astronomy. Teaching astronomy and planetary science at the college-level was once best characterized as professor-centered, information-download lectures. Today, astronomy faculty are striving to drastically improve the learning environment by using innovative teaching approaches.  Uniquely, the authors have organized this book around strands of commonly employed astronomy teaching strategies to help readers, professors, and scholars quickly access the most relevant work while, simultaneously, avoiding the highly specialized, technical vocabulary of constructivist educational pedagogies unfamiliar to most astronomy professors. F...

Astronomy adventures and vacations how to get the most out of astronomy in your leisure time

CERN Document Server

Treadwell, Timothy

2017-01-01

This astronomy travel guide examines the many wonderful opportunities for experiencing the observing hobby. Amateur astronomy is often consigned to observing from home or from a local park, yet it can be much more. Tim Treadwell explores all the possibilities of astronomical and space-related activities that are available on day trips and longer vacations. These activities range from observatory visits and other simple ways to build an astronomy event into a holiday, to full blown specialized astronomy travel. Many trips give the opportunity to visit some of the world’s famous attractions. On most vacations it can be a matter of just taking a day (or night) out of your schedule to fit in an astronomy event, but larger, dedicated pilgrimages are also possible. How to make the most of astronomy potential on a holiday, whether observing on the beach in Hawaii with the Telescope Guy or visiting Star City in Russia, is covered in detail. Go to a star party, explore the national parks or see the northern lights! ...

Tools of radio astronomy

CERN Document Server

Wilson, Thomas L; Hüttemeister, Susanne

2013-01-01

This 6th edition of “Tools of Radio Astronomy”, the most used introductory text in radio astronomy, has been revised to reflect the current state of this important branch of astronomy. This includes the use of satellites, low radio frequencies, the millimeter/sub-mm universe, the Cosmic Microwave Background and the increased importance of mm/sub-mm dust emission. Several derivations and presentations of technical aspects of radio astronomy and receivers, such as receiver noise, the Hertz dipole and  beam forming have been updated, expanded, re-worked or complemented by alternative derivations. These reflect advances in technology. The wider bandwidths of the Jansky-VLA and long wave arrays such as LOFAR and mm/sub-mm arrays such as ALMA required an expansion of the discussion of interferometers and aperture synthesis. Developments in data reduction algorithms have been included. As a result of the large amount of data collected in the past 20 years, the discussion of solar system radio astronomy, dust em...

Mathematical Astronomy in India

Science.gov (United States)

Plofker, Kim

Astronomy in South Asia's Sanskrit tradition, apparently originating in simple calendric computations regulating the timing of ancient ritual practices, expanded over the course of two or three millennia to include detailed spherical models, an endless variety of astrological systems, and academic mathematics in general. Assimilating various technical models, methods, and genres from the astronomy of neighboring cultures, Indian astronomers created new forms that were in turn borrowed by their foreign counterparts. Always recognizably related to the main themes of Eurasian geocentric mathematical astronomy, Indian astral science nonetheless maintained its culturally distinct character until Keplerian heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics replaced it in colonial South Asia's academic mainstream.

Discovering Astronomy Through Poetry

Science.gov (United States)

Mannone, John C.

2011-05-01

The literature is replete with astronomical references. And much of that literature is poetry. Using this fact, not only can the teacher infuse a new appreciation of astronomy, but also, the student has the opportunity to rediscover history through astronomy. Poetry can be an effective icebreaker in the introduction of new topics in physics and astronomy, as well as a point of conclusion to a lecture. This presentation will give examples of these things from the ancient literature (sacred Hebraic texts), classical literature (Homer's Iliad and Odyssey), traditional poetry (Longfellow, Tennyson and Poe) and modern literature (Frost, Kooser, and others, including the contemporary work of this author).

Transmission of Babylonian Astronomy to Other Cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Alexander

Babylonian astronomy and astrology were extensively transmitted to other civilizations in the second and first millennia BC. Greek astronomy in particular was largely shaped by knowledge of Babylonian observations and mathematical astronomy.

EVALUATION OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS IN ASTRONOMY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Pundak

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Even though astronomy is the oldest science, it is still an open question how to evaluate students’ understanding in astronomy. In spite of the fact that some methods and evaluation tools have been developed for that purpose, the sources of students' difficulties in astronomy are still unclear. This paper presents an investigation of the changes in conceptual frameworks in astronomy among 50 engineering students as a result of learning a general course in astronomy. A special tool called Conceptual Frameworks in Astronomy (CFA, which was initially used in 1989, was adopted to gather data for the present research. In its new version, the tool includes 23 questions and five to six optional answers to each question. Each of the answers characterizes one of the four conceptual frameworks: pre-scientific, geocentric, heliocentric and sidereal. These four conceptual frameworks act as a taxonomical system that enables us to evaluate astronomical understanding. The paper describes the background of the CFA, its development, and discusses its validity and reliability. Using the CFA we were able to: (1 identify the students’ conceptual frameworks at the beginning of the course and at its end, (2 to evaluate the students’ paradigmatic change following the course. It was found that the measure of the students’ improvement (gain index was g = 0.37. Approximately 45% of the students in the course improved their conceptual frameworks in astronomy and 26% deepened their understanding of the heliocentric or sidereal conceptual frameworks. The CFA can also be applied as an evaluation tool in all schools and institutions that teach astronomy.

Europe's Astronomy Teachers Meet at ESO

Science.gov (United States)

1994-12-01

European Association for Astronomy Education Formed A joint EU/ESO Workshop (1) on the Teaching of Astronomy in Europe was held at the ESO Headquarters from November 25-30, 1994, under the auspices of the 1994 European Week for Scientific Culture. More than 100 teachers from secondary schools in 17 European countries participated together with representatives of national ministries and local authorities, as well as professional astronomers. This meeting was the first of its kind ever held and was very successful. As a most visible and immediate outcome, the participants agreed to form the "European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE)", uniting astronomy educators all over Europe into one network. A provisional Executive Committee of the EAAE was elected which will work towards the organisation of a constitutional conference within the next year. The participants unanimously adopted a "Declaration on the Teaching of Astronomy in Europe", specifying the overall aims and initial actions needed to achieve them. Astronomy: Science, Technology and Culture At the beginning of the Workshop the participants listened to lectures by several specialists about some of the most active fields of astronomy. The scientific sessions included topics as diverse as minor bodies in the solar system, nucleosynthesis, interstellar chemistry and cosmology. Then followed overviews of various recent advances in astronomical technology, some of which are already having direct impact on highly specialized sectors of European industry. They included the advanced use of computers in astronomy, for instance within image processing and data archiving, as well as a demonstration of remote observing. Discussing the cultural aspects, Nigel Calder (UK) and Hubert Reeves (France) emphasized the important role of astronomy in modern society, in particular its continuing influence on our perceptions of mankind's unique location in time and space. Teaching of Astronomy in European Countries

Demographics in Astronomy and Astrophysics

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Ulvestad, James S.

2011-05-01

Astronomy has been undergoing a significant demographic shift over the last several decades, as shown by data presented in the 2000 National Research Council (NRC) report "Federal Funding of Astronomical Research," and the 2010 NRC report, "New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics." For example, the number of advertised postdoctoral positions in astronomy has increased much more rapldly than the number of faculty positions, contributing to a holding pattern of early-career astronomers in multiple postdoctoral positions. This talk will summarize some of the current demographic trends in astronomy, including information about gender and ethnic diversity, and describe some of the possible implications for the future. I thank the members of the Astro2010 Demographics Study Group, as well as numerous white-paper contributors to Astro2010, for providing data and analyses.

Ancient Indian Astronomy in Introductory Texts

Science.gov (United States)

Narahari Achar, B. N.

1997-10-01

It is customary in introductory survey courses in astronomy to devote some time to the history of astronomy. In the available text books only the Greek contribution receives any attention. Apart from Stonehenge and Chichenitza pictures, contributions from Babylon and China are some times mentioned. Hardly any account is given of ancient Indian astronomy. Even when something is mentioned it is incomplete or incorrect or both. Examples are given from several text books currently available. An attempt is made to correct this situation by sketching the contributions from the earliest astronomy of India, namely Vedaanga Jyotisha.

Submillimetre-wave astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beckman, J.E.; Phillips, J.P.

1982-01-01

Observations in the 100-1000-micron band and the instruments used to obtain them are discussed in contributions to the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Conference held at Queen Mary College, London, in September 1981. The major subject areas covered are large-scale structure and radiative transfer within interstellar clouds, spectroscopic observations of molecular sources, interstellar chemistry, and submillimeter (SM) instrumentation. Reports are included on the formation of giant cloud complexes, cool molecular clouds, models for hot-centered and externally heated clouds, dust in Bok globules, airborne FIR and SM spectroscopy, rotational transitions of CH3OH and NH2 near 1.2 mm, high-velocity flows and molecular jets, FIR emissions from late-type galaxies, ion-grain collisions as a source of interstellar molecules, bandpass filters for SM astronomy, the SM receiver of the future, HF techniques in heterodyne astronomy, and the mm-wave cosmic background

The Cost of Astronomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dorch, Bertil F.

Using Scopus and national sources, I have investigated the evolution of the cost of publishing in Danish astronomy on a fine scale over a number of years. I find that the number of publications per year from Danish astronomers increased by a factor of four during 15 years: naturally, the correspo......Using Scopus and national sources, I have investigated the evolution of the cost of publishing in Danish astronomy on a fine scale over a number of years. I find that the number of publications per year from Danish astronomers increased by a factor of four during 15 years: naturally......, the corresponding potential cost of publishing must have increased similarly. The actual realized cost of publishing in core journals are investigated for a high profile Danish astronomy research institutions. I argue that the situation is highly unstable if the current cost scenario continues, and I speculate...... that Danish astronomy is risking a scholarly communication collapse due to the combination of increasing subscription cost, increased research output, and increased direct publishing costs related to Open access and other page charges....

Music and Astronomy Under the Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Lubowich, D.

2008-11-01

Bring telescope to where the people are! Music and Astronomy Under the Stars is a public astronomy outreach program at community parks during and after free summer music concerts and outdoor movie nights. This project also includes daytime activities because there are some afternoon concerts and daylight children's concerts, and observations using remotely operated telescopes in cloudy weather. While there have been many astronomy outreach activities and telescope observations at city sidewalks and parks, this program targets a completely different audience---music lovers who are attending free summer concerts held in community parks. The music lovers who may never have visited a science museum, planetarium, or star party will be exposed to telescope observations and astronomy information with no additional travel costs. This program will permit the entire community to participate in telescope observations and view astronomical video information to enhance the public appreciation of astronomy. This program will also reach underrepresented and underserved groups (women, minorities, older adults). The population base for the initial target audience (Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York) is 2,500,000. My partners are the Amateur Observers' Society of New York (AOS) and the Towns of Oyster Bay, Hempstead, North Hempstead, and Huntington. Music and Astronomy Under the Stars is program that should continue beyond the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) and can be expanded into a national program.

Rescuing Middle School Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo, L. A.; Janney, D.

2010-12-01

There is a crisis in education at the middle school level (Spellings, 2006). Recent studies point to large disparities in middle school performance in schools with high minority populations. The largest disparities exist in areas of math and science. Astronomy has a universal appeal for K-12 students but is rarely taught at the middle school level. When it is taught at all it is usually taught in isolation with few references in other classes such as other sciences (e.g. physics, biology, and chemistry), math, history, geography, music, art, or English. The problem is greatest in our most challenged school districts. With scores in reading and math below national averages in these schools and with most state achievement tests ignoring subjects like astronomy, there is little room in the school day to teach about the world outside our atmosphere. Add to this the exceedingly minimal training and education in astronomy that most middle school teachers have and it is a rare school that includes any astronomy teaching at all. In this presentation, we show how to develop and offer an astronomy education training program for middle school teachers encompassing a wide range of educational disciplines that are frequently taught at the middle school level. The prototype for this program was developed and launched in two of the most challenged and diverse school systems in the country; D.C. Public Schools, and Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools.

Future Professional Communication in Astronomy II

Science.gov (United States)

Accomazzi, Alberto

The present volume gathers together the talks presented at the second colloquium on the Future Professional Communication in Astronomy (FPCAII), held at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (Cambridge, MA) on 13-14 April 2010. This meeting provided a forum for editors, publishers, scientists, librarians and officers of learned societies to discuss the future of the field. The program included talks from leading researchers and practitioners and drew a crowd of approximately 50 attendees from 10 countries. These proceedings contain contributions from invited and contributed talks from leaders in the field, touching on a number of topics. Among them: The role of disciplinary repositories such as ADS and arXiv in astronomy and the physical sciences; Current status and future of Open Access Publishing models and their impact on astronomy and astrophysics publishing; Emerging trends in scientific article publishing: semantic annotations, multimedia content, links to data products hosted by astrophysics archives; Novel approaches to the evaluation of facilities and projects based on bibliometric indicators; Impact of Government mandates, Privacy laws, and Intellectual Property Rights on the evolving digital publishing environment in astronomy; Communicating astronomy to the public: the experience of the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

Music and Astronomy Under the Stars 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Lubowich, D.

2010-08-01

Bring telescopes to where the people are! Music and Astronomy Under the Stars is a three-year NASA-funded astronomy outreach program at community parks during and after music concerts and outdoor family events—such as a Halloween Stars-Spooky Garden Walk. While there have been many astronomy outreach activities and telescope observations at city sidewalks and parks, this program targets a completely different audience: music lovers who are attending summer concerts held in community parks. These music lovers who may never have visited a science museum, planetarium, or star party are exposed to telescope observations and astronomy information with no additional travel costs. Music and Astronomy Under the Stars increased awareness, engagement, and interest in astronomy at classical, pop, rock, and ethnic music concerts. This program includes solar observing before the concerts, telescope observations including a live image projection system, an astronomical video presentation, and astronomy banners/posters. Approximately 500-16,000 people attended each event and 25% to 50% of the people at each event participated in the astronomy program. This program also reached underrepresented and underserved groups (women, minorities, older adults). The target audience (Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York) is 2,900,000 people, which is larger than combined population of Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. Although eleven events were planned in 2009, two were canceled due to rain and our largest event, the NY Philharmonic in the Park (attended by 67,000 people in 2008), was cancelled for financial reasons. Our largest event in 2009 was the Tanglewood Music Festival, Lenox MA, attended by 16,000 people where over 5000 people participated in astronomy activities. The Amateur Observers' Society of New York assisted with the NY concerts and the Springfield STARS astronomy club assisted at Tanglewood. In 2009 over 15,000 people participated in astronomy

Overview of lunar-based astronomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, H. J.

The Moon offers both significant advantages and drawbacks for astronomy. Recognition of these characteristics can clarify the objectives toward which developments should be directed and can help to inhibit premature or excessive selling of lunar developments on the basis of astronomy.

Chaco astronomies

Science.gov (United States)

Martín López, Alejandro

2015-08-01

This presentation discusses the result of 18 years of ethnographic and ethnohistorical studies on Chaco astronomies. The main features of the systems of astronomical knowledge of the Chaco Aboriginal groups will be discussed. In particular we will discuss the relevance of the Milky Way, the role of the visibility of the Pleiades, the ways in which the celestial space is represented, the constitution of astronomical orientations in geographic space, etc. We also address a key feature of their vision of the cosmos: the universe is seen by these groups as a socio-cosmos, where humans and non-humans are related. These are therefore actually socio-cosmologies. We will link this to the theories of Chaco Aboriginal groups about power and political relations.We will discuss how the study of Aboriginal astronomies must be performed along with the studies about astronomies of Creole people and European migrants, as well as anthropological studies about the science teaching in the formal education system and by the mass media. In this form we will discuss the relevance of a very complex system of interethnic relations for the conformation of these astronomical representations and practices.We will also discuss the general methodological implications of this case for the ethnoastronomy studies. In particular we will talk about the advantages of a study of regional scope and about the key importance of put in contact the ethnoastronomy with contemporary issues in social sciences.We also analyze the importance of ethnoastronomy studies in relation to studies of sociology of science, especially astronomy. We also study the potential impact on improving formal and informal science curricula and in shaping effective policies to protect the tangible and intangible astronomical heritage in a context of respect for the rights of Aboriginal groups.

Multi-Institutional Collaborative Astronomy Education Research

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, T. F.; Slater, S. J.

2011-09-01

ASP, AAS, APS, and AAPT advocate that scientists should be engaged and acknowledged for successfully engaging in astronomy and physics education research and the scholarship of teaching because these efforts serve to improve pedagogical techniques and the evaluation of teaching. However, scientists have had the opportunity to pursue formal training in how to meaningfully engage in astronomy education research as an important scholarly endeavor. This special interest session for college and university physics and astronomy faculty, post-docs, and graduate students provided a forum to discuss the motivations, strategies, methodology, and publication routes for improving astronomy education through conducting rigorous science education research. Topics for discussion targeted the value of various education research questions, strengths and weaknesses of several different research design methodologies, strategies to successfully obtain Institutional Review Board approval to conduct education research on human subjects, and become more aware of how education research articles are created for publication in journals such as the Astronomy Education Review.

Highlighting the History of Astronomy in the Asia-Pacific Region

CERN Document Server

Nakamura, Tsuko; Strom, Richard G; ICOA-6 Conference

2011-01-01

This book provides readers with the results of recent research from some of the world's leading historians of astronomy on aspects of Arabic, Australian, Chinese, Japanese, and North and South American astronomy and astrophysics. It contains peer-reviewed papers gathered from the International Conferences on Oriental Astronomy 6 (ICO-6) with the chosen theme of "Highlighting the History of Astronomy in the Asia-Pacific Region." Of particular note are the sections on Arabic astronomy, Asian applied astronomy and the history of Australian radio astronomy, and the chapter on Peruvian astronomy. This title is a valuable complement for those with research interests in applied historical astronomy; archaeoastronomy; calendars, manuscripts, and star charts; historical instruments and observatories, and the history of radio astronomy.

Astronomy Week in Madeira, Portugal

Science.gov (United States)

Augusto, P.; Sobrinho, J. L.

2012-05-01

The outreach programme Semanas da Astronomia (Astronomy Weeks) is held in late spring or summer on the island of Madeira, Portugal. This programme has been attracting enough interest to be mentioned in the regional press/TV/radio every year and is now, without doubt, the astronomical highlight of the year on Madeira. We believe that this programme is a good case study for showing how to attract the general public to astronomy in a small (population 250 000, area 900 km2) and fairly isolated place such as Madeira. Our Astronomy Weeks have been different each year and have so far included exhibitions, courses, talks, a forum, documentaries, observing sessions (some with blackouts), music and an astro party. These efforts may contribute towards putting Madeira on the map with respect to observational astronomy, and have also contributed to the planned installation of two observatories in the island.

Lunar based gamma ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haymes, R.C.

1985-01-01

Gamma ray astronomy represents the study of the universe on the basis of the electromagnetic radiation with the highest energy. Gamma ray astronomy provides a crucial tool for the understanding of astronomical phenomena, taking into account nucleosynthesis in supernovae, black holes, active galaxies, quasars, the sources of cosmic rays, neutron stars, and matter-antimatter annihilation. Difficulties concerning the conduction of studies by gamma ray astronomy are related to the necessity to perform such studies far from earth because the atmosphere is a source of gamma rays. Studies involving the use of gamma ray instruments in earth orbit have been conducted, and more gamma ray astronomy observations are planned for the future. Imperfections of studies conducted in low earth orbit could be overcome by estalishing an observatory on the moon which represents a satellite orbiting at 60 earth radii. Details concerning such an observatory are discussed. 5 references

Blazing the Trail for Astronomy Education Research

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Janelle M.; Lombardi, Doug

2015-01-01

Education research has long considered student learning of topics in astronomy and the space sciences, but astronomy education research as a sub-field of discipline-based education research is relatively new. Driven by a growing interest among higher education astronomy educators in improving the general education, introductory science survey…

Indian Astronomy: History of

Science.gov (United States)

Mercier, R.; Murdin, P.

2002-01-01

From the time of A macronryabhat under dota (ca AD 500) there appeared in India a series of Sanskrit treatises on astronomy. Written always in verse, and normally accompanied by prose commentaries, these served to create an Indian tradition of mathematical astronomy which continued into the 18th century. There are as well texts from earlier centuries, grouped under the name Jyotishaveda macronn d...

Astronomy for teachers: A South African Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

de Witt, Aletha; West, Marion; Leeuw, Lerothodi; Gouws, Eldrie

2015-08-01

South Africa has nominated Astronomy as a “flagship science” and aims to be an international Astronomy hub through projects such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the South African Large Telescope (SALT). These projects open up career opportunities in maths, science and engineering and therefore offers a very real door for learners to enter into careers in science and technology through Astronomy. However, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS), the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) and Annual National Assessment (ANA) have highlighted that South Africa’s Science and Mathematics education is in a critical condition and that South African learners score amongst the worst in the world in both these subjects. In South Africa Astronomy is generally regarded as the worst taught and most avoided Natural Science knowledge strand, and most teachers that specialised in Natural Sciences, never covered Astronomy in their training.In order to address these issues a collaborative project between the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) was initiated, which aims to assist teachers to gain more knowledge and skills so that they can teach Astronomy with confidence. By collaborating we aim to ensure that the level of astronomy development will be raised in both South Africa and the rest of Africa.With the focus on Teaching and Learning, the research was conducted within a quantitative paradigm and 600 structured questionnaires were administered to Natural Science teachers in Public primary schools in Gauteng, South Africa. This paper reports the findings of this research and makes recommendations on how to assist teachers to teach Astronomy with confidence.

Cultural Astronomy in the Armenian Highland

Science.gov (United States)

Farmanyan, S. V.; Suvaryan, Yu. M.; Mickaelian, A. M. (Eds.)

2016-12-01

The book contains 29 articles of the Proceedings of the Young Scientists Conference "Cultural Astronomy in the Armenian Highland" held at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences on 20-23 June 2016. It consists of 4 main sections: "Introductory", "Cultural Astronomy", "Archaeoastronomy", "Scientific Tourism and Journalism, Astronomical Education and Amateur Astronomy". The book may be interesting to astronomers, culturologists, philologists, linguists, historians, archaeologists, art historians, ethnographers and to other specialists, as well as to students.

Visual lunar and planetary astronomy

CERN Document Server

Abel, Paul G

2013-01-01

With the advent of CCDs and webcams, the focus of amateur astronomy has to some extent shifted from science to art. The object of many amateur astronomers is now to produce “stunning images” that, although beautiful, are not intended to have scientific merit. Paul Abel has been addressing this issue by promoting visual astronomy wherever possible – at talks to astronomical societies, in articles for popular science magazines, and on BBC TV’s The Sky at Night.   Visual Lunar and Planetary Astronomy is a comprehensive modern treatment of visual lunar and planetary astronomy, showing that even in the age of space telescopes and interplanetary probes it is still possible to contribute scientifically with no more than a moderately priced commercially made astronomical telescope.   It is believed that imaging and photography is somehow more objective and more accurate than the eye, and this has led to a peculiar “crisis of faith” in the human visual system and its amazing processing power. But by anal...

Gamma astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cesarsky, C.; Cesarsky, J.P.

1986-01-01

This article overviews the gamma astronomy research. Sources already observed, and what causes to give to them; the galactic radiation and its interpretation; techniques already used and current projects [fr

Astronomy in Second Life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gauthier, A.

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Second Life (SL is a multi-user virtual environment that is not limited to adult social entertainment. SL is also a 3D playground for innovative instructors and education/outreach professionals in the sciences. Astronomy and space science have a presence in SL, but it could be so much more. This paper describes some of the current astronomy themed spaces in SL and briefly discusses future innovations.

Extragalactic astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sersic, J.L.

1982-01-01

This book condenses the author's yearly semester lectures on 'Extra galactic Astronomy' held almost without interruption over two decades at Cordoba University for students of Astronomy. After a first chapter on Morphology and Classification of galaxies, the second gives most of the basic information about normal galaxies as individuals. Active galaxies are described in chapter III whilst chapter IV deals with the mutual relationship between galaxies and their environment. The Scale of distance is considered in chapter V. Distance indicators are introduced and several conflicting viewpoints of different schools are presented. Chapter VI deals with Cosmology, just to give the necessary elements for chapter VII where the relation between gravitational instability and galaxy formation is discussed. Chapter VIII is an appendix containing additional notes. (Auth.)

Multimedia Astronomy Communication: Effectively Communicate Astronomy to the Desired Audience

Science.gov (United States)

Star Cartier, Kimberly Michelle; Wright, Jason

2017-01-01

A fundamental aspect of our jobs as scientists is communicating our work to others. In this, the field of astronomy holds the double-edged sword of ubiquitous fascination: the topic has been of interest to nearly the entire global population at some point in their lives, yet the learning curve is steep within any subfield and rife with difficult-to-synthesize details. Compounding this issue is the ever-expanding array of methods to reach people in today's Communications Era. Each communication medium has its own strengths and weaknesses, is appropriate in different situations, and requires its own specific skillset in order to maximize its functionality. Despite this, little attention is given to training astronomers in effective communication techniques, often relying on newcomers to simply pick up the ability by mimicking others and assuming that a firm grasp on the subject matter will make up for deficiencies in communication theory. This can restrict astronomers to a narrow set of communication methods, harming both the communicators and the audience who may struggle to access the information through those media.Whether writing a research paper to academic peers or giving an astronomy talk to a pubic audience, successfully communicating a scientific message requires more than just an expert grasp on the topic. A communicator must understand the makeup and prior knowledge of the desired audience, be able to break down the salient points of the topic into pieces that audience can digest, select and maximize upon a medium to deliver the message, and frame the message in a way that hooks the audience and compels further interest. In this work we synthesize the requirements of effective astronomy communication into a few key questions that every communicator needs to answer. We then discuss some of the most common media currently used to communicate astronomy, give both effective and poor examples of utilizing these media to communicate astronomy, and provide key

The Explorer program for astronomy and astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savage, B.D.; Becklin, E.E.; Cassinelli, J.P.; Dupree, A.K.; Elliot, J.L.; Hoffmann, W.F.; Hudson, H.S.; Jura, M.; Kurfess, J.; Murray, S.S.

1986-01-01

This report was prepared to provide NASA with a strategy for proceeding with Explorer-class programs for research in space astronomy and astrophysics. The role of Explorers in astronomy and astrophysics and their past accomplishments are discussed, as are current and future astronomy and astrophysics Explorers. Specific cost needs for an effective Explorer program are considered

International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Soonthornthum, B.; Kunjaya, C.

2011-01-01

The International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics, an annual astronomy and astrophysics competition for high school students, is described. Examples of problems and solutions from the competition are also given. (Contains 3 figures.)

Archaeo- and Cultural Astronomy in Armenia

Science.gov (United States)

Farmanyan, Sona V.; Mickaelian, Areg M.

2015-08-01

We present a general overview on Armenian Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture to mention and summarize some activities and related organizations involved. Armenia is rather rich in archaeoastronomy and culture, including calendars, rock art, mythology, etc. Archaeoastronomical issues in Armenia include: Zodiac Constellations (believed to be introduced for the first time in the Armenian Highland); Ancient Observatories; Armenian Rock Art; Ancient Armenian Calendar and other (medieval) calendars; Astronomical Terms and Names; Records of Astronomical Events by ancient Armenians; Anania Shirakatsi’s (612-685) Astronomical Heritage; Medieval Sky Maps and Astronomical Devices. During the recent years, we have organized a number of meetings, where archaeoastronomy was involved: Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting (JENAM-2007), Special Session #6: “Archaeoastronomy” (2007), ArAS VIII Annual Meeting “Astronomy and Society”, Session “Archaeoastronomy” (2009), Archaeoastronomical meeting “Astronomical Heritage in the National Culture” dedicated to Anania Shirakatsi’s 1400th anniversary (2012), Meeting “Relation of Astronomy to other Sciences, Culture and Society” (RASCS), Sessions“Archaeoastronomy” and “Astronomy in Culture” (2014). Along with Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO), there are several other institutions related to Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture: Institute of History, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Institute of Literature, Institute of Language, Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscripts). We have introduced a section “Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture” in the newsletter of Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS). This is to strengthen ArAS activities and to widen our knowledge in this area, to encourage and establish collaborations with other scientists related to these subjects; historians, archaeologists, ethnographers, philologists, linguists, artists and other

Astronomy education through interactive materials

Science.gov (United States)

Voelzke, Marcos Rincon; Antunes de Macêdo, Josué

2015-08-01

This study presents results of a survey conducted at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (IFNMG), and aimed to investigate the potentialities of the use of interactive materials in the teaching of astronomy. An advanced training course with involved learning activities about basic concepts of astronomy was offered to thirty-two Licenciate students in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences, using the mixed methodology, combined with the three pedagogical moments. Among other aspects, the viability of the use of resources was noticed, involving digital technologies and interactive materials on teaching of astronomy, which may contribute to the broadening of methodological options for future teachers and meet their training needs.

Exploring Metacogntive Visual Literacy Tasks for Teaching Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Timothy F.; Slater, S.; Dwyer, W.

2010-01-01

Undoubtedly, astronomy is a scientific enterprise which often results in colorful and inspirational images of the cosmos that naturally capture our attention. Students encountering astronomy in the college classroom are often bombarded with images, movies, simulations, conceptual cartoons, graphs, and charts intended to convey the substance and technological advancement inherent in astronomy. For students who self-identify themselves as visual learners, this aspect can make the science of astronomy come alive. For students who naturally attend to visual aesthetics, this aspect can make astronomy seem relevant. In other words, the visual nature that accompanies much of the scientific realm of astronomy has the ability to connect a wide range of students to science, not just those few who have great abilities and inclinations toward the mathematical analysis world. Indeed, this is fortunate for teachers of astronomy, who actively try to find ways to connect and build astronomical understanding with a broad range of student interests, motivations, and abilities. In the context of learning science, metacognition describes students’ self-monitoring, -regulation, and -awareness when thinking about learning. As such, metacognition is one of the foundational pillars supporting what we know about how people learn. Yet, the astronomy teaching and learning community knows very little about how to operationalize and support students’ metacognition in the classroom. In response, the Conceptual Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team is developing and pilot-testing metacogntive tasks in the context of astronomy that focus on visual literacy of astronomical phenomena. In the initial versions, students are presented with a scientifically inaccurate narrative supposedly describing visual information, including images and graphical information, and asked to assess and correct the narrative, in the form of peer evaluation. To guide student thinking, students

What next for astronomy?

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Robert

2009-12-01

"Astronomy is in the midst of a golden age," wrote Catherine Cesarsky, my predecessor as president of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), earlier this year in Physics World (March pp22-24). I believe that is certainly true and it is an opportunity that we must take full advantage of. Astronomy is one of the great ways to bring science to the public - the images of the universe obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope, for example, are full of beauty. Astronomy is all about us. Indeed, the Earth and the life on it have developed from the cosmos, and the sky is the one laboratory that all humanity shares equally and that is accessible to all. There is little about the subject that appeals to fear - except, perhaps, the occasional killer asteroid. So what better science to inspire and educate people that what we do not know is definitely worth knowing?

Strategies for Teaching Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, J.

2000-12-01

No matter whether you are teaching school children, undergraduates, or colleagues, a few key strategies are always useful. I will present and give examples for the following five key strategies for teaching astronomy. 1. Provide a Contextual Framework: It is much easier to learn new facts or concepts if they can be ``binned" into some kind of pre-existing mental framework. Unless your listeners are already familiar with the basic ideas of modern astronomy (such as the hierarchy of structure in the universe, the scale of the universe, and the origin of the universe), you must provide this before going into the details of how we've developed this modern picture through history. 2. Create Conditions for Conceptual Change: Many people hold misconceptions about astronomical ideas. Therefore we cannot teach them the correct ideas unless we first help them unlearn their prior misconceptions. 3. Make the Material Relevant: It's human nature to be more interested in subjects that seem relevant to our lives. Therefore we must always show students the many connections between astronomy and their personal concerns, such as emphasizing how we are ``star stuff" (in the words of Carl Sagan), how studying other planets helps us understand our own, and so on. 4. Limit Use of Jargon: The number of new terms in many introductory astronomy books is larger than the number of words taught in many first courses in foreign language. This means the books are essentially teaching astronomy in a foreign language, which is a clear recipe for failure. We must find ways to replace jargon with plain language. 5. Challenge Your Students: Don't dumb your teaching down; by and large, students will rise to meet your expectations, as long as you follow the other strategies and practice good teaching.

Women's and Men's Career Choices in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Ivie, Rachel; White, Susan; Chu, Raymond Y.

2016-01-01

The Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students (LSAGS) arose from the 2003 Women in Astronomy Conference, where it was noted that a majority of young members of the American Astronomical Society were women. The astronomy community wishes to make every effort to retain young women in astronomy, so they commissioned a longitudinal study to be…

Making Space for Specialized Astronomy Resources

Science.gov (United States)

MacMillan, D.

2007-10-01

With the growth of both free and subscription-based resources, articles on astronomy have never been easier to find. Locating the best and most current materials for any given search, however, now requires multiple tools and strategies dependent on the query. An analysis of the tools currently available shows that while astronomy is well-served by Google Scholar, Scopus and Inspec, its literature is best accessed through specialized resources such as ADS (Astrophysics Data System). While no surprise to astronomers, this has major implications for those of us who teach information literacy skills to astronomy students and work in academic settings where astronomy is just one of many subjects for which our non-specialist colleagues at the reference desk provide assistance. This paper will examine some of the implications of this analysis for library instruction, reference assistance and training, and library webpage development.

Astronomy in the Big Data Era

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanxia Zhang

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The fields of Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics are vital for dealing with the big data issues now faced by astronomy. Like other disciplines in the big data era, astronomy has many V characteristics. In this paper, we list the different data mining algorithms used in astronomy, along with data mining software and tools related to astronomical applications. We present SDSS, a project often referred to by other astronomical projects, as the most successful sky survey in the history of astronomy and describe the factors influencing its success. We also discuss the success of Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics organizations and the conferences and summer schools on these issues that are held annually. All the above indicates that astronomers and scientists from other areas are ready to face the challenges and opportunities provided by massive data volume.

Developing Astronomy Research and Education in the Philippines

Science.gov (United States)

Sese, R. M. D.; Kouwenhoven, M. B. N. Thijs

2015-03-01

In the past few years, the Philippines has been gradually developing its research and educational capabilities in astronomy and astrophysics. In terms of astronomy development, it is still lagging behind several neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, while it is advanced with respect to several others. One of the main issues hampering progress is the scarcity of trained professional Filipino astronomers, as well as long-term visions for astronomy development. Here, we will be presenting an overview of astronomy education and research in the country. We will discuss the history and current status of astronomy in the Philippines, including all levels of education, outreach and awareness activities, as well as potential areas for research and collaborations. We also discuss issues that need to be addressed to ensure sustainable astronomy development in the Philippines. Finally, we discuss several ongoing and future programs aimed at promoting astronomy research and education. In essence, the work is a precursor of a possible white paper which we envision to submit to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in the near future, with which we aim to further convince the authorities of the importance of astrophysics. With the support of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), this may eventually lead to the creation of a separate astronomy agency in the Philippines.

2011 Astronomy Day at McDonald Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Preston, Sandra; Hemeway, M.; Wetzel, M.

2012-01-01

Our philosophy is that everyday is Astronomy Day because the McDonald Observatory's Frank N. Bash Visitors Center is open 362 days a year. So, how did we create a special celebration for the "Astronomy Day” declared by the Astronomical League? During September 26-29 we conducted 20 videoconferences and served 12,559 students with "Astronomy Day” programming. Connect2Texas provides bridging for a network of Texas-based museums and cultural, historical, and scientific organizations that offer educational content to schools throughout the state via videoconferencing. Connect2Texas connected McDonald Observatory to 334 schools; most of these schools were in Texas, but schools in a dozen other states also participated. While most schools had a "view-only" connection, at least 20 of the schools had interactive connections, whereby the students could ask questions of the presenter. Connect2Texas also collects evaluation information from the participating schools that we will use to produce a report for our funders and make modifications to future programs as need be. The videoconferences were offered free of charge. The theme for the 2011 Astronomy Day program was the Year of the Solar System, which aligns with NASA's theme for 2011 and 2012. By aligning with this NASA theme, we could leverage NASA artwork and materials to both advertise and enrich the learning experience. Videoconference materials also included pre- and post-videoconference assessment sheets, an inquiry based activity, and pre- and post-videoconference activities, all of which were made available online. One of the lessons learned from past Astronomy Day videoconferences is that the days the Astronomical League declares as "Astronomy Day” are not always good days for Texas schools to participate. So, we choose an Astronomy Day that meets the needs of Texas schools and our schedule - so any day can be Astronomy Day. 2011 Astronomy Day was made possible by The Meyer-Levy Charitable Trust.

Reflections on the astronomy of Glasgow

CERN Document Server

Clarke, David

2013-01-01

How Astronomy contributed to the educational enlightenment of Glasgow, to its society and to its commerce. The words 'Astronomy' and 'Glasgow' seem an incongruous juxtaposition, and yet the two are closely linked over 500 years of history. This is a tale of enlightenment and scientific progress at both institutional and public levels. Combined with the ambitions of civic commerce, it is a story populated with noteworthy personalities and intense rivalries.It is remarkable to realise that the first Astronomy teaching in the Glasgow 'Colledge' presented an Earth-centred Universe, prior to the Co

Advances in astronomy and astrophysics 9

CERN Document Server

Kopal, Zdenek

1972-01-01

Advances in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 9 covers reviews on the advances in astronomy and astrophysics. The book presents reviews on the Roche model and its applications to close binary systems. The text then describes the part played by lunar eclipses in the evolution of astronomy; the classical theory of lunar eclipses; deviations from geometrical theory; and the methods of photometric observations of eclipses. The problems of other phenomena related in one way or another to lunar eclipses are also considered. The book further tackles the infrared observation on the eclipsed moon, as

Interactive Materials In The Teaching Of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Macêdo, J. A.; Voelzke, M. R.

2014-10-01

This study presents results of a survey conducted at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (IFNMG), and aimed to investigate the potentialities of the use of interactive materials in the teaching of astronomy. An advanced training course with involved learning activities about basic concepts of astronomy was offered to thirty-two Licenciate students in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Science. The following steps were to be taken: i) analysis of the pedagogical projects (PPC) of the licenciates at the IFNMG, research locus of its Campus Januária; ii) analysis of students' preconceptions about astronomy and digital technologies, identified by the application of an initial questionnaire; iii) preparation of the course taking into account the students' previous knowledge; iv) application of the education proposal developed under part-time presence modality, using various interactive tools; v) application and analysis of the final questionnaire. The test was conducted with the qualitative and quantitative methodology, combined with a content analysis. The results indicated that in the IFNMG only the licenciate-course in physics includes astronomy content diluted in various subjects of the curriculum; the rates of students prior knowledge in relation to astronomy was low; an evidence of meaningful learning of the concepts related to astronomy, and of viability of resource use involving digital technologies in the Teaching of astronomy, which may contribute to the broadening of methodological options of future teachers and meet their training needs.

47 CFR 2.107 - Radio astronomy station notification.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Radio astronomy station notification. 2.107....107 Radio astronomy station notification. (a) Pursuant to No. 1492 of Article 13 and Section F of Appendix 3 to the international Radio Regulations (Geneva, 1982), operators of radio astronomy stations...

Cultural Astronomy in Armenia and in the World

Science.gov (United States)

Farmanyan, S. V.; Mickaelian, A. M.

2016-12-01

Cultural Astronomy is the reflection of sky events in various fields of nations' culture. In foreign literature, this field is also called "Astronomy in Culture" or "Astronomy and Culture". Cultural astronomy is the set of interdisciplinary fields studying the astronomical systems of current or ancient societies and cultures. It is manifested in Religion, Mythology, Folklore, Poetry, Art, Linguistics and other fields. In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to this sphere, particularly international organizations were established, conferences are held and journals are published. Armenia is also rich in cultural astronomy. The present paper focuses on Armenian archaeoastronomy and cultural astronomy, including many creations related to astronomical knowledge; calendars, rock art, mythology, etc. On the other hand, this subject is rather poorly developed in Armenia; there are only individual studies on various related issues (especially many studies related to Anania Shirakatsi) but not coordinated actions to manage this important field of investigation.

Gamma ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fichtel, C.E.

1975-01-01

The first certain detection of celestial high energy gamma rays came from a satellite experiment flown on the third Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO-111). A Gamma ray spark chamber telescope with substantively greater sensitivity and angular resolution (a few degrees) flown on the second Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS-II) has now provided a better picture of the gamma ray sky, and particularly the galactic plane and pulsars. This paper will summarize the present picture of gamma ray astronomy as it has developed at this conference from measurements made with experiments carried out on balloons, those remaining on the ground, and ones flown on satellites. (orig.) [de

Astronomers Without Borders: A Global Astronomy Community

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, M.

2011-10-01

Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) brings together astronomy enthusiasts of all types - amateur astronomers, educators, professionals and "armchair" astronomers for a variety of online and physicalworld programs. The AWB web site provides social networking and a base for online programs that engage people worldwide in astronomy activities that transcend geopolitical and cultural borders. There is universal interest in astronomy, which has been present in all cultures throughout recorded history. Astronomy is also among the most accessible of sciences with the natural laboratory of the sky being available to people worldwide. There are few other interests for which people widely separated geographically can engage in activities involving the same objects. AWB builds on those advantages to bring people together. AWB also provides a platform where projects can reach a global audience. AWB also provides unique opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration in EPO programs. Several programs including The World at Night, Global Astronomy Month and others will be described along with lessons learned.

Communicating astronomy with the public in Cuba

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, O.

2008-06-01

Communicating astronomy with the public to produce attractive materials for a broad audience on TV is a difficult job in a third world country. One way of developing effective communication in fields like astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology whilst connecting the professional astronomer with a majority of the people is to combine the knowledge of the scientist with the most spectacular TV production methods of first world countries: integrating, through commentary and analysis, astronomy and science into the public debate of lay citizens. Here I present my ten years of experience of presenting a TV programme devoted to general science outreach. I also comment on the progress of the construction of the new planetarium, a cultural centre for science and technology, to be opened as part of the commemoration activities for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy. It is hoped to guide the interest of the people of Cuba towards basic science and astronomy in the most populated and frequented area of the country.

Humanising Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, S.

2008-06-01

Universe Awareness (UNAWE) is an international programme that aims to expose underprivileged children (in the age group 4-10) to the inspirational aspects of astronomy. We are currently at the stage of developing materials that will be utilised in a diverse range of environments. This paper explores UNAWE's particular approach to developing tools which includes not only indigenous and folkloric astronomical knowledge, but also the culture of transmission of such knowledge. A specific understanding and explanation of the Universe, the Sun, Moon and stars is present in every culture and can be found contained in its history, legends and belief systems. By consciously embracing different ways of knowing the Universe and not uniquely the rational model, UNAWE places the humanising potential of astronomy at the centre of its purpose. Whilst inspiring curiosity, pride and a sense of ownership in one's own cultural identity, such an approach also exposes children to the diversity of other peoples and their cultures as well as the unifying aspects of our common scientific heritage. The means of creating and delivering the astronomy programme are as relevant to the desired educational outcomes as the content. The challenge in the design of materials is to communicate this stimulating message to the very young. Respect for alternative values systems, the need for dialogue and community participation, and where possible the production of materials using local resources is emphasised. This paper touches recent experiences liaising with communities in India, South Africa, Tunisia, Venezuela and Colombia.

Accessible Astronomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Glickstein, Neil

1994-01-01

Describes the development of a theme-based, multidisciplinary course. The article partitions into the following sections: (1) Constructing the Course; (2) Putting the Ideas to Work; (3) Connecting Science and Society; and (4) The Arts and Astronomy. (ZWH)

The Effect of Media on Preservice Science Teachers' Attitudes toward Astronomy and Achievement in Astronomy Class

Science.gov (United States)

Bektasli, Behzat

2013-01-01

Studies show that it is hard to change students' attitudes toward science. This study specifically explored if media affect preservice science teachers' attitudes toward astronomy and their astronomy achievement. The sample for the pilot study consisted of 196 preservice science and mathematics teachers for attitude assessment and 230 preservice…

Science and Mathematics in Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Woolack, Edward

2009-01-01

A brief historical introduction to the development of observational astronomy will be presented. The close historical relationship between the successful application of mathematical concepts and advances in astronomy will be presented. A variety of simple physical demonstrations, hands-on group activities, and puzzles will be used to understand how the properties of light can be used to understand the contents of our universe.

Handbook Of X-ray Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Arnaud, Keith A.; Smith, R. K.; Siemiginowska, A.; Edgar, R. J.; Grant, C. E.; Kuntz, K. D.; Schwartz, D. A.

2011-09-01

This poster advertises a book to be published in September 2011 by Cambridge University Press. Written for graduate students, professional astronomers and researchers who want to start working in this field, this book is a practical guide to x-ray astronomy. The handbook begins with x-ray optics, basic detector physics and CCDs, before focussing on data analysis. It introduces the reduction and calibration of x-ray data, scientific analysis, archives, statistical issues and the particular problems of highly extended sources. The book describes the main hardware used in x-ray astronomy, emphasizing the implications for data analysis. The concepts behind common x-ray astronomy data analysis software are explained. The appendices present reference material often required during data analysis.

Extragalactic astronomy and cosmology an introduction

CERN Document Server

Schneider, Peter

2015-01-01

Accounting for the astonishing developments in the field of Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology, this second edition has been updated and substantially expanded. Starting with the description of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, this cogently written textbook introduces the reader to the astronomy of galaxies, their structure, active galactic nuclei, evolution and large scale distribution in the Universe. After an extensive and thorough introduction to modern observational and theoretical cosmology, the focus turns to the formation of structures and astronomical objects in the early Universe. The basics of classical astronomy and stellar astrophysics needed for extragalactic astronomy are provided in the appendix. The new edition incorporates some of the most spectacular results from new observatories like the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, Herschel, ALMA, WMAP and Planck, as well as new instruments and multi-wavelength campaigns which have expanded our understanding of the Universe and the objects populating it....

Methodological pluralism in the teaching of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

de Macedo, Josué Antunes; Voelzke, Marcos Rincon

2015-04-01

This paper discusses the feasibility of using a teaching strategy called methodological pluralism, consisting of the use of various methodological resources in order to provide a meaningful learning. It is part of a doctoral thesis, which aims to investigate contributions to the use of traditional resources combined with digital technologies, in order to create autonomy for future teachers of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in relation to themes in Astronomy. It was offered an extension course at the "Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology" in the North of Minas Gerais (FINMG), Campus Januaria, for thirty-two students of licentiate courses in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences, involving themes of Astronomy, in order to search and contribute to improving the training of future teachers. The following aspects are used: the mixed methodology, with pre-experimental design, combined with content analysis. The results indicate the rates of students' prior knowledge in relation to Astronomy was low; meaningful learning indications of concepts related to Astronomy, and the feasibility of using digital resources Involving technologies, articulated with traditional materials in the teaching of Astronomy. This research sought to contribute to the initial teacher training, especially in relation to Astronomy Teaching, proposing new alternatives to promote the teaching of this area of knowledge, extending the methodological options of future teachers.

A New Online Astronomy Resource for Education and Outreach

Science.gov (United States)

Impey, C. D.; Hardegree-Ullman, K. K.; Patikkal, A.; Srinathan, A.; Austin, C. L.; Ganesan, N. K.; Guvenen, B. C.

2013-01-01

A new web site called "Teach Astronomy" (http://www.teachastronomy.com) has been created to serve astronomy instructors and their students, amateur astronomers, and members of the public interested in astronomy. The

Network for Astronomy School Education

Science.gov (United States)

Deustua, Susana E.; Ros, R. M.; Garcia, B.

2014-01-01

The Network for Astronomy School Education Project (NASE) was developed in response to the IAU's most recent 10 Years Strategic Plan to increase the efforts of the IAU in schools. NASE's mission is to stimulate teaching astronomy in schools, through professional development of primary and secondary school science teachers in developing and emerging countries. NASE's organizational principle is to build capacity by providing courses for three years in cooperation with a Local Organizing Committee (Local NASE Group). The Local NASE Group consists of 6-8 local university professors and education professional who will promote astronomy activities and organize future courses in subsequent years in their region of their country. NASE philosophy is to introduce low-tech astronomy, and has thus developed an a suite of activities that can be carried out with inexpensive, quotidian materials. Supporting these activities is a text for teachers, plus a complete set of instructional materials for each topic. These materials are available in English and Spanish, with future editions available in Chinese and Portuguese. We describe and discuss NASE activities in Central and South America from 2009 to the present.

Multiverso: Rock'n'Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Caballero, J. A.

2012-05-01

In the last few years, there have been several projects involving astronomy and classical music. But have a rock band ever appeared at a science conference or an astronomer at a rock concert? We present a project, Multiverso, in which we mix rock and astronomy, together with poetry and video art (Caballero, 2010). The project started in late 2009 and has already reached tens of thousands people in Spain through the release of an album, several concert-talks, television, radio, newspapers and the internet.

Covering the Standards: Astronomy Teachers' Preparation and Beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Plummer, Julia D.; Zahm, Valerie M.

2010-01-01

An online survey of science teachers and interviews with curriculum directors were used to investigate the coverage of astronomy in middle and high schools in the greater Philadelphia region. Our analysis looked beyond astronomy elective courses to uncover all sources of astronomy education in secondary schools. We focused on coverage of state…

Highlights of Astronomy, Vol. 16

Science.gov (United States)

Montmerle, Thierry

2015-04-01

Part I. Invited Discourses: 1. The Herschel view of star formation; 2. Past, present and future of Chinese astronomy; 3. The zoo of galaxies; 4. Supernovae, the accelerating cosmos, and dark energy; Part II. Joint Discussion: 5. Very massive stars in the local universe; 6. 3-D views of the cycling Sun in stellar context; 7. Ultraviolet emission in early-type galaxies; 8. From meteors and meteorites to their parent bodies: current status and future developments; 9. The connection between radio properties and high-energy emission in AGNs; 10. Space-time reference systems for future research; Part III. Special Sessions: 11. Origin and complexity of massive star clusters; 12. Cosmic evolution of groups and clusters of galaxies; 13. Galaxy evolution through secular processes; 14. New era for studying interstellar and intergalactic magnetic fields; 15. The IR view of massive stars: the main sequence and beyond; 16. Science with large solar telescopes; 17. The impact hazard: current activities and future plans; 18. Calibration of star-formation rate measurements across the electromagnetic spectrum; 19. Future large scale facilities; 20. Dynamics of the star-planet relations strategic plan and the Global Office of Astronomy for Development; 21. Strategic plan and the Global Office of Astronomy for Development; 22. Modern views of the interstellar medium; 23. High-precision tests of stellar physics from high-precision photometry; 24. Communicating astronomy with the public for scientists; 25. Data intensive astronomy; 26. Unexplained spectral phenomena in the interstellar medium; 27. Light pollution: protecting astronomical sites and increasing global awareness through education.

News clippings for introductory astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Bobrowsky, Matthew

1999-09-01

Most students entering our introductory astronomy course for nonscience majors arrive not merely lacking scientific facts-they also have misconceptions about the nature of science, and many have a handicapping ``science anxiety'' (in addition to math anxiety). So I have added a ``current science'' requirement to our introductory course. Each student must compile a file of five astronomy news articles taken from readily available sources.

“Astronomy for a Better World”: IAU/OAD Task Force One Activities to Develop Astronomy Education and Research at Universities in the Developing World

Science.gov (United States)

Guinan, Edward Francis; Kolenberg, Katrien

2015-08-01

The Task Force (1) on Astronomy for Universities & Research (TF-1) was established in 2012 as part of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD). This Task Force drives activities related to astronomy education and research at universities mainly in the developing world. Astronomy is used to stimulate research and education in STEM fields and to develop and promote astronomy in regions of the world where there is little or no astronomy. There is also potential for developing research in the historical and cultural aspects of astronomy which may prove important for stimulating an interest in the subject in communities where there is yet no established interest in the science.Since the establishment of the OAD, over 25 TF-1 programs have been funded (or partially funded) to support a wide variety of interesting and innovative astronomy programs in Africa, Asia, South-East Asia, Middle-East, and in South & Central America. Nearly every aspect of development has been supported. These programs include supporting: regional astronomy training schools, specialized workshops, research visits, university twinning programs, distance learning projects, university astronomy curriculum development, as well as small telescope and equipment grants. In addition, a large new program - Astrolab - was introduced (by J-P De Greve and Michele Gerbaldi) to bring starlight” into the class room. In the Astrolab program students carry out and reduce CCD photometry secured by them using remotely controlled telescopes. Results from pilot programs will be discussed.OAD TF-1 programs will be discussed along with future plans for improving and expanding these programs to bring astronomy education and research to a greater number of people and indeed to use Astronomy for a Better World. Information and advice will also be provided about applying for support in the future.

Astronomy and astrology

Science.gov (United States)

Zarka, Philippe

2011-06-01

Astrology meets a large success in our societies, from the private to the political sphere as well as in the media, in spite of the demonstrated inaccuracy of its psychological as well as operational predictions. We analyse here the relations between astrology and astronomy, as well as the criticisms opposed by the latter to the former. We show that most of these criticisms are weak. Much stronger ones emerge from the analysis of the astrological practice compared to the scientific method, leading us to conclude to the non-scientificity of astrology. Then we return to the success of astrology, and from its analysis we propose a renewed (and prophylactic) rôle for astronomy in society.

X-ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giacconi, R.; Setti, G.

1980-01-01

This book contains the lectures, and the most important seminars held at the NATO meeting on X-Ray astronomy in Erice, July 1979. The meeting was an opportune forum to discuss the results of the first 8-months of operation of the X-ray satellite, HEAO-2 (Einstein Observatory) which was launched at the end of 1978. Besides surveying these results, the meeting covered extragalactic astronomy, including the relevant observations obtained in other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum (ultra-violet, optical, infrared and radio). The discussion on galactic X-ray sources essentially covered classical binaries, globular clusters and bursters and its significance to extragalactic sources and to high energy astrophysics was borne in mind. (orig.)

High-energy astronomy in the U.K

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pounds, K.A.

1976-01-01

Highlights of British research on radio galaxies, x-ray astronomy, and hot black holes are described. The prospects for international collaboration on space projects, in particular x-ray astronomy, are discussed

L'astronomie et son histoire

CERN Document Server

Roy, Jean-René

1982-01-01

Le livre de Jean-René Roy nous présente une vaste synthèse des connaissances présentes en astronomie. Le grand mérite du livre est de dérouler son sujet en parallèle avec une histoire de l'astronomie. Le côté historique est ici beaucoup plus qu'un luxe. Il redonne leurs dimensions vraies aux réponses qu'apporte l'astronomie. Pour bien sentir la nature d'une étape franchie, il faut aussi avoir vécu la situation telle qu'elle se présentait avant. Et les fiches personnelles incluses dans le livre ont l'intérêt de nous rapprocher encore plus du "" feu de l'action "". Écrit dans un style direct et

No Child Left Behind and High School Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Krumenaker, Larry

2009-01-01

Astronomy was a required subject in the first American secondary level schools, the academies of the 18th century. When these were supplanted a century later by public high schools, astronomy still was often required, subsumed into courses of Natural Philosophy. Reasons given at that time to support astronomy as a part of general education include…

Bibliographic Resources for the Historian of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Corbin, B. G.

1999-12-01

Many large library collections now have online bibliographic catalogs on the web. These provide many hidden resources for the historian of astronomy. Special searching techniques will allow the historian to scan bibliographic records of hundreds of entries relating to biographies of astronomers, collected works of astronomers, ancient and medieval astronomy and many other historical subjects. Abstract databases such as the Astrophysics Data System and ARIBIB are also adding much historical bibliographic information. ARIBIB will eventually contain scanned images of the Astronomischer Jahresbericht containing bibliographic entries for all literature of astronomy from 1899 to 1968 and Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts from 1969 to present. Commercial services such as UnCover and FirstSearch provide a means of reaching bibliographic entries for journal and book literature in the history of astronomy which were not easily located in the past. A broad overview of these collections and services will be given, and searching techniques for finding ``hidden" bibliographic data will be presented. Web page addresses will be given for all sources covered.

Identification and Support of Outstanding Astronomy Students

Science.gov (United States)

Stoev, A. D.; Bozhurova, E. S.

2006-08-01

The aims, organizational plan and syllabus of a specialized Astronomy School with a subject of training students for participation in the International Astronomy Olympiad, are presented. Thematic frame includes basic educational activities during the preparation and self-preparation of the students and their participation in astronomical Olympiads. A model of identification and selection of outstanding students for astronomical Olympiads has been developed. Examples of didactic systems of problems for development of mathematical, physical and astronomical skills are shown. The programme ends with individual training for solving problems on astronomy and astrophysics. Possibilities, which the characteristic, non-standard astronomical problems give for stimulating the creative and original thinking, are specified. Basic psychological condition for development of the students' creative potential - transformation of the cognitive content in emotional one - is demonstrated. The programme of identification and support of outstanding students on astronomy is realized in collaboration with The Ministry of Education and Science, Public Astronomical Observatories and Planetaria, Institute of Astronomy - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and The Union of Astronomers in Bulgaria.

The future of astronomy in Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Sadler, Elaine M.

2017-09-01

Australian astronomy has a bright future, thanks largely to recent government investments in major new telescopes, instruments and research centres. There are some short-term challenges as Australia's focus continues to shift from the current (mainly) national facilities for radio and optical astronomy to new multinational and global facilities.

Astronomy Research Seminars

Science.gov (United States)

Genet, Russell M.

2018-06-01

Astronomy Research Seminars are offered by a rapidly growing number of community colleges and universities. Over the past decade some 120 student team research papers have been published with approximately 500 coauthors. Each team manages their own research, obtains and analyzes original data, writes a team paper, obtains an external review, submits their paper for publication, and gives a public PowerPoint presentation. The student teams are supported by: (1) an extensive community-of-practice which consists of professional and amateur astronomers, educators, and Seminar graduates; (2) the Institute for Student Astronomical Research (www.in4star.org); (3) the Small Telescope Astronomy Research Handbook and (4) an in-person/online, open-source Canvas learning management system with videos, quizzes, and other, extensive supporting material. Team research projects are completed in a semester or less and are managed by the students themselves. The Seminars have expanded from double star astronomy to asteroid astrometry, eclipsing binary times of minima, and exoplanet transits. Conducting authentic research inspires students, provides them with important skills in teamwork, project management and scientific literacy, and gives them confidence in their abilities to participate in scientific research. Being coauthors of published papers boosts student educational careers with respect to admissions and scholarships.

Relation of Astronomy to other Sciences, Culture and Society

Science.gov (United States)

Harutyunian, H. A.; Mickaelian, A. M.; Farmanyan, S. V.

2015-07-01

The book contains the Proceedings of XIII Annual Meeting of the Armenian Astronomical Society "Relation of Astronomy to other Sciences, Culture and Society". It consists of 9 main sections: "Introductory", "Astronomy and Philosophy", "Astrobiology", "Space-Earth Connections", "Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics", "Astronomy and Culture, Astrolinguistics", "Archaeoastronomy", "Scientific Tourism and Scientific Journalism", and "Armenian Astronomy". The book may be interesting to astronomers, philosophers, biologists, culturologists, linguists, historians, archaeologists and to other specialists, as well as to students.

Radio astronomy on the moon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burns, J.O.; Asbell, J.

1987-01-01

The advantages and opportunities for radio astronomy on the moon during the early to mid 21st century are reviewed. In particular, it is argued that the lack of atmosphere, the extremely low seismic activity, the low RF background, and the natural cryogenic environment make the moon (particularly the far side and the poles) a nearly ideal locale for submillimeter/FIR to VLF (below 10 MHz) radio astronomy. 22 references

Historic Radio Astronomy Working Group

Science.gov (United States)

2007-06-01

This special issue of Astronomische Nachrichten contains the proceedings of a session of the Historic Radio Astronomy Working Group of the International Astronomical Union that took place during the 26th General Assembly of the IAU in Prague on 17th August 2006. In addition to the talks presented in Prague some contributions were solicited to give a more complete overview of `The Early History of European Radio Astronomy'.

The astronomy education through interactive materials

Science.gov (United States)

de Macedo, Josué Antunes; Voelzke, Marcos Rincon

2014-11-01

This study presents results of a survey conducted at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (IFNMG), and aimed to investigate the potentialities of the use of interactive materials in the teaching of astronomy. An advanced training course with involved learning activities about basic concepts of astronomy was offered to thirty-two Licenciate students in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences, using three pedagogical moments. Among other aspects, the viability of the use of resources was noticed, involving digital technologies and interactive materials on teaching of astronomy, which may contribute to the broadening of methodological options for future teachers and meet their training needs

Some innovative programmes in Astronomy education

Science.gov (United States)

Babu, G. S. D.; Sujatha, S.

In order to inculcate a systematic scientific awareness of the subject of Astronomy among the students and to motivate them to pursue careers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, various innovative educational programmes have been designed at MPBIFR. Among them, the main programme is termed as the ``100-hour Certificate Course in Astronomy and Astrophysics'' which has been designed basically for the students of the undergraduate level of B.Sc. and B.E. streams. The time duration of the 100 hours in this course is partitioned as 36 hours of classroom lectures, 34 hours of practicals and field trips and the remaining 30 hours being dedicated to dissertation writing and seminar presentations by the students. In addition, after the 100-hour course, the students have the option to take up specialized advance courses in the topics of Astrobiology, Astrochemistry, Radio Astronomy, Solar Astronomy and Cosmology as week-end classes. These courses are at the post graduate level and are covered in a span of 18 to 20 hours spread over a period of 9 to 10 weeks. As a preparatory programme, short-term introductory courses in the same subject are conducted for the high school students during the summer vacation period. Along with this, a three-week programme in basic Astronomy is also designed as an educational package for the general public. The students of these courses have the opportunity of being taken on field trips to various astronomical centers as well as the Radio, Solar and the Optical Observatories as part of their curriculum. The guided trips to the ISRO’s Satellite Centre at Bangalore and the Satellite Launching Station at SHAR provide high degree of motivation apart from giving thrilling experiences to the students. Further, the motivated students are encouraged to involve themselves in regular research programmes in Astronomy at MPBIFR for publishing research papers in national and international journals. The teaching and mentoring faculty for all these programmes

Problems facing promotion of astronomy in Arab countries

Science.gov (United States)

Osman, Anas M. I.

Promotion of astronomy in Arab countries is facing many scientific and technical problems. Teaching astronomy starts very late in schools, with very simple and limited courses. Many teachers lack a suitable astronomical background, which can lead to incorrect understanding by students of many astronomical ideas and phenomena. Teaching astronomy at higher levels is also very limited, for example: among the 16 universities in Egypt, astronomy is taught in only two faculties of science, just for two years. Graduate students find many difficulties in obtaining jobs related to astronomical activities and this is a serious limitation on the attraction of the study of astronomy. On the other hand, astronomical institutions are suffering from a serious lack of the new sophisticated equipment, while the budget allotted for maintenance is very small, and there is a serious shortage of technical staff. The training of astronomers and technicians is badly needed, since good research work depends on modern technological equipment and the complicated software used in controlling such equipment and in data analysis. Good libraries are needed for promotion of astronomy especially, the Internet facilities available for the staff is very limited. The effects of culture are very clear; many authorities in developing countries believe that astronomy is a luxury. Finally, most of astronomers are engaged with a lot of administration for all matters, so the free time left for science is very limited.

HF Radio Astronomy from a Small Satellite

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-15

SSC16-XI-03 HF Radio Astronomy from a Small Satellite Frank C. Robey1, Mary Knapp2, Alan J. Fenn1, Mark Silver1, Kerry Johnson1 Frank J. Lind3...frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum (below 15 MHz) is one of the least explored windows in observational astronomy . Observations at these...pdf. [Accessed: 17-Oct-2015]. 3. G. Hallinan, “The Owens Valley LWA,” in Exascale Radio Astronomy , 2014, vol. 2. 4. C. J. Lonsdale, R. J. Cappallo

Some Daytime Activities in Solar Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Burin, Michael J.

2016-01-01

This century's transits of Venus (2004, 2012) captured significant public attention, reminding us that the wonders of astronomy need not be confined to the night. And while nighttime telescope viewing gatherings (a.k.a. "star parties") are perennially popular, astronomy classes are typically held in the daytime. The logistics of…

Student Comprehension of Mathematics through Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Search, Robert

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine how knowledge of astronomy can enhance college-level learning situations involving mathematics. The fundamental symbiosis between mathematics and astronomy was established early in the 17th century when Johannes Kepler deduced the 3 basic laws of planetary motion. This mutually harmonious relationship…

A Brief History of Publishing Papers on Astronomy Education Research

Science.gov (United States)

Fraknoi, Andrew

2014-01-01

While some research had been done on K-12 and planetarium astronomy teaching from the 1930's to the 1980's, the growth of research on college physics education offered astronomy education researchers a model for examining techniques for teaching introductory college astronomy survey "Astronomy 101" courses as well. This early research…

Teach Astronomy: An Educational Resource for Formal and Informal Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Impey, Chris David

2018-01-01

Teach Astronomy is an educational resource, available in the form of a user-friendly, platform-agnostic website. Ideal for college-level, introductory astronomy courses, Teach Astronomy can be a valuable reference for astronomers at all levels, especially informal learners. Over the past year, multiple changes have been made to the infrastructure behind Teach Astronomy to provide high availability to our tens of thousands of monthly, unique users, as well as fostering in new features. Teach Astronomy contains interactive tools which supplement the free textbook, such as a Quiz Tool with real-time feedback. The site also provides a searchable collection of Chris Impey’s responses to questions frequently asked by our users. The developers and educators behind Teach Astronomy are working to create an environment which encourages astronomy students of all levels to continue to increase their knowledge and help others learn.

The decade of discovery in astronomy and astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1991-01-01

The conference presents papers on recommended ground- and space-based initiatives for the 1990s. The need to restore the research infrastructure at the university level is addressed as well as ways of achieving a balanced space program. Consideration is also given to science opportunities, astronomy and the computer revolution, lunar astronomy, policy opportunities, and astronomy as a national asset

Astronomy in the streets

Science.gov (United States)

Kebe, Fatoumata

2015-08-01

The Ephemerides Association was founded last year by a PhD student in Astronomy. The association is devoted to the promotion and advancement of knowledge of the universe through research and education.The main activities of the association are scientific meetings, the planning and realization of scientific projects, the support of the scientific activities of its members, and the dissemination of related information among members and other interested persons.The association targets the disadvantaged zones of the Paris suburbs.The main issue was how to bring astronomy in those places. In the suburbs, since most of the youth are poor, most leisure activities like cinema are out of your reach. Thus, mostly of them will play football or basketball outside.We decided to go to meet young people who find themselves together in the evening. We prepare the telescope as well as the fasicules to start the observation of the planets. The discussion finally lead to their career plans and aspirations. Astronomy has become a tool to address societal issues. We present our results after one year of activity.

The National Astronomy Consortium (NAC)

Science.gov (United States)

Von Schill, Lyndele; Ivory, Joyce

2017-01-01

The National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) program is designed to increase the number of underrepresented minority students into STEM and STEM careers by providing unique summer research experiences followed by long-term mentoring and cohort support. Hallmarks of the NAC program include: research or internship opportunities at one of the NAC partner sites, a framework to continue research over the academic year, peer and faculty mentoring, monthly virtual hangouts, and much more. NAC students also participate in two professional travel opportunities each year: the annual NAC conference at Howard University and poster presentation at the annual AAS winter meeting following their summer internship.The National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) is a program led by the National Radio Astronomy Consortium (NRAO) and Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), in partnership with the National Society of Black Physicist (NSBP), along with a number of minority and majority universities.

Astronomy in Primary and Secondary Education in Slovenia

Science.gov (United States)

Gomboc, Andreja

2015-08-01

I will present the status of astronomy in educational system in Slovenia. In primary schools astronomy is offered as an optional course in the last 3 grades (12-15 yrs old), while in secondary schools a few astronomical topics are present only as part of other subjects (e.g. physics, geography). I will describe a pilot project of an astronomy course in secondary schools, which was carried out in the school year 2013/14. The main focus of my presentation will be the experience gained with organisation of the Slovenian National Astronomy Competition. It is organised by the Slovenian Society of Mathematicians, Physicists and Astronomers since 2009, building on an extensive network of over 200 primary and secondary school teachers who participated in IYA2009 activities, and who now represent majority of mentors for the competition. In 2013, only 5 years after the start of competition, our pupils attended the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics for the first time and with great success. Supporting activities include the Slovenian version of the Portal to the Universe (www.portalvvesolje.si) and translation of Space Scoop astronomy news for children.

A Website for Astronomy Education and Outreach

Science.gov (United States)

Impey, C.; Danehy, A.

2017-09-01

Teach Astronomy is a free, open access website designed for formal and informal learners of astronomy. The site features: an online textbook complete with quiz questions and a glossary; over ten thousand images; a curated collection of the astronomy articles in Wikipedia; a complete video lecture course; a video Frequently Asked Questions tool; and other materials provided by content partners. Clustering algorithms and an interactive visual interface allow users to browse related content. This article reviews the features of the website and how it can be used.

Astronomy on Tap: science engagement in the pub

Science.gov (United States)

Livermore, Rachael C.; Silverman, Jeffrey Michael

2015-08-01

Astronomy on Tap is a series of free lectures by astronomers in the pub, aimed at disseminating the latest research to the public in an informal setting. Started in New York City in 2013, Astronomy on Tap has now expanded to seven cities across North and South America. Organized by local astronomers, each event features talks by astronomers from local institutions or visitors, or others whose professions or hobbies intersect with astronomy, along with games and opportunities for the public to interact with professional astronomers. The largest Astronomy on Tap events are in Austin, Texas, attracting over 150 people each month, which consists of populations outside of the self-selected groups that might be reached by more formal EPO activities. The organisers of Astronomy on Tap in Austin (AoTATX) will discuss the impact of and feedback from all of the locations, and present information on setting up new satellite locations.

How, precisely, can astronomy be of benefit to anyone?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jones, Bernard J. T.; VallsGabaud, D; Boksenberg, A

Astronomy as an observational science is technology driven both from the point of view of data, acquisition and of data processing and visualisation. Astronomy exploits a very wide base of technologies which are developed, enhanced and extended by users. Consequently, astronomy can return new and

The history of astronomy a very short introduction

CERN Document Server

Hoskin, Michael

2003-01-01

The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction traces the history of Western astronomy, from prehistoric times to the origins of astrophysics in the mid-nineteenth century and the technical developments since the Second World War. Astronomy, perhaps the first of the sciences, was already well developed by the time of Christ — the arithmetical astronomy of the Babylonians was merged with the Greek geometrical approach. This legacy was transmitted to the West via Islam and led to the Copernican revolution, which in turn led to Kepler and Newton, who provided the principles on which the exploration of the solar system and the stars continued in the eighteenth- and nineteenth centuries.

Infrared Astronomy Satellite

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrera, G. A.

1981-09-01

In 1982, the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) will be launched into a 900-km sun-synchronous (twilight) orbit to perform an unbiased, all-sky survey of the far-infrared spectrum from 8 to 120 microns. Observations telemetered to ground stations will be compiled into an IR astronomy catalog. Attention is given the cryogenically cooled, 60-cm Ritchey-Chretien telescope carried by the satellite, whose primary and secondary mirrors are fabricated from beryllium by means of 'Cryo-Null Figuring'. This technique anticipates the mirror distortions that will result from cryogenic cooling of the telescope and introduces dimensional compensations for them during machining and polishing. Consideration is also given to the interferometric characterization of telescope performance and Cryo/Thermal/Vacuum simulated space environment testing.

Astronomically speaking a dictionary of quotations on astronomy and physics

CERN Document Server

Gaither, CC

2003-01-01

To understand the history, accomplishments, failures, and meanings of astronomy requires a knowledge of what has been said about astronomy by philosophers, novelists, playwrights, poets, scientists, and laymen. With this in mind, Astronomically Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations on Astronomy and Physics serves as a guide to what has been said about astronomy through the ages. Containing approximately 1,550 quotations and numerous illustrations, this resource is the largest compilation of astronomy and astrophysics quotations published to date.Devoted to astronomy and the closely related areas of mathematics and physics, this resource helps form an accurate picture of these interconnected disciplines. It is designed as an aid for general readers with little knowledge of astronomy who are interested in astronomical topics. Students can use the book to increase their understanding of the complexity and richness that exists in scientific disciplines. In addition, experienced scientists will find it as a handy s...

Gravity wave astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinheiro, R.

1979-01-01

The properties and production of gravitational radiation are described. The prospects for their detection are considered including the Weber apparatus and gravity-wave telescopes. Possibilities of gravity-wave astronomy are noted

iSTAR: The International STudy on Astronomy Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Tatge, Coty B.; Slater, Timothy F.; Slater, Stephanie J.

2015-08-01

This paper reports the first steps taken in the International STudy on Astronomy Reasoning (iSTAR). The iSTAR Project is an attempt to look beyond traditional wisdom and practices in astronomy education, to discover the ways in which cognitive abilities and human culture interact to impact individuals’ understanding of and relationship to astronomy content knowledge. In contrast to many international studies that seek to rank nations by student performance on standardized tests, the iSTAR Project seeks to find ways that culture may unexpectedly enhance performance in astronomy. Using the Test of Astronomy Standards (TOAST) as a reasonable, initial proxy for the content knowledge a well educated person might know in astronomy, the iSTAR team then defined culture as a construct with five components: practices, traditional knowledge, historical and genealogical relationships, place-based knowledge, and language. Given the complexity of this construct, Stage 1 of the project focuses on the cultural component of language, and assumed that prior to the collection of data from students, the process of translating the TOAST could provide valuable expert-based information on the impact of language on astronomy knowledge. As such, the work began with a study of the translation process. For each of the languages used in the testing phase of the iSTAR protocol, a succession of translators and analysts were engaged, including two educated, non-astronomer native speakers, a native speaking astronomer, and a native speaking linguistics expert. Multiple translations were analyzed in order to make relevant meaning of differences in the translations, and provide commentary on the ways in which metaphor, idiom, cultural history are embedded in the language, providing potential advantages in the learning of astronomy. The first test languages were German, Hawaiian, and American Sign Language, and initial findings suggest that each of these languages provide specific advantages

A Pilot Astronomy Outreach Project in Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, Dipen; Mridha, Shahjahan; Afroz, Maqsuda

2015-08-01

In its strategic planning for the "Astronomy for Development Project," the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has ecognized, among other important missions, the role of astronomy in understanding the far-reaching possibilities for promoting global tolerance and citizenship. Furthermore, astronomy is deemed inspirational for careers in science and technology. The "Pilot Astronomy Outreach Project in Bangladesh"--the first of its kind in the country--aspires to fulfill these missions. As Bangladesh lacks resources to promote astronomy education in universities and schools, the role of disseminating astronomy education to the greater community falls on citizen science organizations. One such group, Anushandhitshu Chokro (AChokro) Science Organization, has been carrying out a successful public outreach program since 1975. Among its documented public events, AChokro organized a total solar eclipse campaign in Bangladesh in 2009, at which 15,000 people were assembled in a single open venue for the eclipse observation. The organization has actively pursued astronomy outreach to dispel public misconceptions about astronomical phenomena and to promote science. AChokro is currently working to build an observatory and Science Outreach Center around a recently-acquired 14-inch Scmidt-Cassegrain telescope and a soon-to-be-acquired new 16-inch reflector, all funded by private donations. The telescopes will be fitted with photometers, spectrometers, and digital and CCD cameras to pursue observations that would include sun spot and solar magnetic fields, planetary surfaces, asteroid search, variable stars and supernovae. The Center will be integrated with schools, colleges, and community groups for regular observation and small-scale research. Special educational and observing sessions for adults will also be organized. Updates on the development of the Center, which is expected to be functioning by the end of 2015, will be shared and feedback invited on the fostering of

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Astronomy is a very interesting subject for undergraduate students studying physics. In this paper, we report astronomy education for undergraduate students in the Physics Department of Guangzhou University, and how we are teaching astronomy to the students. Astrophysics has been rapidly developing ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Subhashis Roy. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 30 Review. Explosive and Radio-Selected Transients: Transient Astronomy with Square Kilometre Array and its Precursors · Poonam Chandra G. C. ...

Students Across Texas Celebrate Astronomy Day

Science.gov (United States)

Preston, S.; Wetzel, M.; Hemenway, M. K.

2010-08-01

Over the past three years, McDonald Observatory has offered special Astronomy Day videoconference programs to students across Texas—the second largest state in the U.S. (Only Alaska is larger). Videoconferencing allows many students and teachers access to our Observatory, which is remotely located 180 miles (290 kilometers) from any major city. McDonald Observatory partners with Connect2Texas to advertise the Astronomy Day event. Connect2Texas provides the electronic bridge between schools and the Observatory. They also provide an online evaluation for teachers to complete. In 2009 the Astronomy Day videoconference celebrated the International Year of Astronomy and the historic observations made by Galileo Galilei. During the videoconference, the classes explore the Moon or Venus by making real-time telescopic observations. Students also receive an introduction to the Observatory, an opportunity to perform an activity relating to Galileo's observations, and an interview with an astronomer. A website provides teachers pre-and post-video conference materials, instructions, and a certificate of completion that can be customized for each student. The website also lists content alignment with state science education standards.

ORGANIZATIONS AND STRATEGIES IN ASTRONOMY VOLUME 7

CERN Document Server

HECK, ANDRÉ

2006-01-01

This book is the seventh volume under the title Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy (OSA). The OSA series covers a large range of fields and themes: in practice, one could say that all aspects of astronomy-related life and environment are considered in the spirit of sharing specific expertise and lessons learned. The chapters of this book are dealing with socio-dynamical aspects of the astronomy (and related space sciences) community: characteristics of organizations, strategies for development, operational techniques, observing practicalities, journal and magazine profiles, public outreach, publication studies, relationships with the media, research communication, series of conferences, evaluation and selection procedures, research indicators, national specificities, contemporary history, and so on. The experts contributing to this volume have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy while providing specific detailed information and somet...

Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy Volume 6

CERN Document Server

Heck, André

2006-01-01

This book is the sixth volume under the title Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy (OSA). The OSA series is intended to cover a large range of fields and themes. In practice, one could say that all aspects of astronomy-related life and environment are considered in the spirit of sharing specific expertise and lessons learned. The chapters of this book are dealing with socio-dynamical aspects of the astronomy (and related space sciences) community: characteristics of organizations, strategies for development, legal issues, operational techniques, observing practicalities, educational policies, journal and magazine profiles, public outreach, publication studies, relationships with the media, research communication, evaluation and selection procedures, research indicators, national specificities, contemporary history, and so on. The experts contributing to this volume have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy while providing specific detai...

Introducing AstroGen: the Astronomy Genealogy Project

Science.gov (United States)

Tenn, Joseph S.

2016-12-01

The Astronomy Genealogy Project (AstroGen), a project of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), will soon appear on the AAS website. Ultimately, it will list the world's astronomers with their highest degrees, theses for those who wrote them, academic advisors (supervisors), universities, and links to the astronomers or their obituaries, their theses when online, and more. At present the AstroGen team is working on those who earned doctorates with astronomy-related theses. We show what can be learned already, with just ten countries essentially completed.

Radio astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

It is shown how some of the main areas of current CSIRO radioastronomy research are contributing to increasing our knowledge of the universe. The survey includes background astronomy, interstellar gas, the Sun, exploding stars and pulsars, galaxies and quasars. The Australia Telescope and other CSIRO research programs are described

Upsurge of X-ray astronomy 230-

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hudec, D.R.

1978-01-01

Instruments are described used for X-ray astronomy, namely X-ray detectors and X-ray telescopes. Unlike telescopes, the detectors do not comprise X-ray optics. A survey is given of the results obtained in solar and stellar X-ray astronomy and hypotheses are submitted on the origin of X radiation in the interstellar space. (J.B.)

The Development of Astronomy and Emergence of Astrophysics in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Tsuko

This chapter overviews the emergence and development phases of modern astronomy and astrophysics in Japan, mainly before WWII. In the beginning of the nineteenth century under the samurai regime of the Tokugawa Shogunate, shogunal astronomers started to learn Western astronomy through a Dutch translation of the book Astronomie by J.J. Lalande. After the Meiji Restoration (1868) the new government founded the University of Tokyo (1877), the first modern university in Japan, in which Tokyo Astronomical Observatory (TAO) also started in 1888. Terao Hisashi, who had gone to Paris to study the modern astronomy, became the first Director of TAO in 1888. The astronomy introduced by Terao into Japan was so-called classical astronomy. Two of Terao's early students made Japan's first internationally recognized achievements in astronomy, the discovery of the Z-term in the polar motion of the Earth by Kimura (Astronomische Nachrichten, 158, 234-240, 1902) and the discovery of asteroid families by Hirayama (Astronomical Journal, 31, 185-188, 1918).

Astronomy for older eyes a guide for aging backyard astronomers

CERN Document Server

Chen, James L

2017-01-01

This book is for the aging amateur astronomy population, including newcomers to astronomy in their retirement and hobbyists who loved peering through a telescope as a child. Whether a novice or an experienced observer, the practice of astronomy differs over the years. This guide will extend the enjoyment of astronomy well into the Golden Years by addressing topics such as eye and overall health issues, recommendations on telescope equipment, and astronomy-related social activities especially suited for seniors. Many Baby-Boomers reaching retirement age are seeking new activities, and amateur astronomy is a perfect fit as a leisure time activity. Established backyard astronomers who began their love of astronomy in their youth , meanwhile, may face many physical and mental challenges in continuing their lifelong hobby as they age beyond their 55th birthdays. That perfect telescope purchased when they were thirty years old now suddenly at sixty years old feels like an immovable object in the living room. The 20...

Teach Astronomy: An Online Resource for General Education and Informal Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Hardegree-Ullman, Kevin; Impey, C.; Patikkal, A.; Srinathan, A.; Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars CATS

2012-01-01

Teach Astronomy is a website developed for students and informal learners who would like to learn more general astronomy knowledge. This learning tool aggregates content from a myriad of sources, including: an introductory astronomy text book by C. D. Impey and W. K. Hartmann, astronomy related articles on Wikipedia, images from the Astronomy Picture of the Day, two to three minute video clips by C. D. Impey, podcasts from 365 Days of Astronomy, and news from Science Daily. In addition, Teach Astronomy utilizes a novel technology to cluster and display search results called a Wikimap. We present an overview of the website's features and suggestions for making the best use of Teach Astronomy in the classroom or at home. This material is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0715517, a CCLI Phase III Grant for the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Music and Astronomy Under the Stars - 2009 Update

Science.gov (United States)

Lubowich, Donald A.

2010-01-01

Bring telescope to where the people are! Music and Astronomy Under the Stars is a three-year NASA-funded outreach program at parks during and after concerts and family events - a Halloween Spooky Garden Walk. While there have been many outreach activities and telescope observations at city sidewalks and parks, this program targets a completely different audience - music lovers who attend summer concerts held in community parks. These music lovers who may never have visited a science museum, planetarium, or star party are exposed to telescope observations and astronomy information with no additional travel costs. Music and Astronomy Under the Stars increased awareness, engagement, and interest in astronomy at classical, pop, rock, and ethnic music concerts. This program includes solar observing before the concerts, telescope observations including a live image projection system, an astronomical video presentation, and astronomy banners/posters. Approximately 500 - 16,000 people attended each event and 25% to 50% of the people at each event participated in the astronomy program. This program also reached underrepresented and underserved groups (women, minorities, older adults). The target audience is 2,900,000 people, which is larger than combined population of Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. Although eleven events were planned in 2009, two were canceled due to rain and our largest event, the NY Philharmonic in the Park (attended by 67,000 people in 2008), was cancelled for financial reasons. Our largest event in 2009 was the Tanglewood Music Festival, Lenox MA, attended by 16,000 people where 5000 people participated in astronomy activities. The Amateur Observers' Society of NY assisted with the NY concerts and the Springfield STARS club assisted at Tanglewood. 1500 people looked through telescopes at the Halloween program (6000 saw the posters). In 2009 over 15,000 people participated in these astronomy activities which were attended by

Bibliometric evaluation of Finnish astronomy

OpenAIRE

Isaksson, Eva

2007-01-01

Finnish astronomy publishing provides us with an interesting data sample. It is small but not too small: approximately one thousand articles have been published in a decade. There are only four astronomy institutes to be compared. An interesting paradox also emerges in the field: while Finnish science assessments usually value highly the impact of scientific publishing, no serious evaluations using real bibliometric data have been made. To remedy this, a comprehensive ten-year database of ref...

Astronomie spatiale infrarouge, aujourd’hui et demain = Infrared space astronomy, today and tomorrow

CERN Document Server

Lequeux, J; David, F

2000-01-01

This book brings together the lectures given at the Les Houches summer school "Infrared space astronomy, today and tomorrow". It gives a wide overview of infrared astronomy, a wavelength domain crucial for studies of the solar system, stars at the beginning and end of their lives, interstellar matter and galaxies at all distances. Recent developments in observational techniques have been tremendous. The first contributions give an introduction to the basic physical processes and methods of detection and data processing. They are followed by a series of lectures dealing with the wide variety of astronomical objects that can be seen in the infrared.

History of Astronomy in Portugal: Theories, Institutions and Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Saraiva, Luis

2014-01-01

In Portugal, throughout its history, astronomy was developed in the context of the mathematical sciences. During the times of Portugal's Maritime Discoveries, astronomical navigation was based on spherical trigonometry, and therefore it was the mathematicians who taught astronomy to the pilots. During the 17th century, basic notions of astronomy were taught in mathematical courses in the University and in the main Jesuit colleges. This tradition continued in the 18th century, so it is no wonder that one of the most influent Portuguese astronomers during this period was the mathematician José Monteiro da Rocha. During the 19th century the new centres of science teaching, as the Polytechnic School in Lisbon, or the Polytechnic Academy in Oporto, developed astronomy teaching and research in the context of the mathematics subjects. The inheritors of these 19th century institutions, respectively the Faculties of Sciences of Lisbon and Oporto, upheld this tradition until the final decades of 20th century and continued to consider astronomy as a subject to be taught in their mathematics departments. This Meeting aims at outlining several perspectives on the history of astronomy in Portugal, particularly analysing its ties with mathematical sciences and astronomy applications. The Meeting is organised by the Museum of Science of the University of Lisbon (MCUL) with CMAF, CMUC, CMUP and the CIUHCT, and is included in CIM events. It is integrated in the commemorations of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009).

Introduction to solar radio astronomy and radio physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krueger, A.

1979-01-01

A systematic summary is presented of the work done during the last thirty years in the field of solar radio astronomy from the standpoint of general solar physics. Instrumental aspects, observations and theory are covered. A brief introduction is given to the matter consisting of the history of solar radio astronomy and some fundamentals of astronomy and solar physics are outlined. Some topics of the instrumental background of solar radio astronomy and the main results of observations are presented. The elements of a theoretical interpretation of solar radio observations are reported and a synthesis of both observation and theory contributing to a general picture of solar and solar-terrestrial physics is outlined. (C.F./Auth)

To See the Unseen: A History of Planetary Radar Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Butrica, Andrew J.

1996-01-01

This book relates the history of planetary radar astronomy from its origins in radar to the present day and secondarily to bring to light that history as a case of 'Big Equipment but not Big Science'. Chapter One sketches the emergence of radar astronomy as an ongoing scientific activity at Jodrell Bank, where radar research revealed that meteors were part of the solar system. The chief Big Science driving early radar astronomy experiments was ionospheric research. Chapter Two links the Cold War and the Space Race to the first radar experiments attempted on planetary targets, while recounting the initial achievements of planetary radar, namely, the refinement of the astronomical unit and the rotational rate and direction of Venus. Chapter Three discusses early attempts to organize radar astronomy and the efforts at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, in conjunction with Harvard radio astronomers, to acquire antenna time unfettered by military priorities. Here, the chief Big Science influencing the development of planetary radar astronomy was radio astronomy. Chapter Four spotlights the evolution of planetary radar astronomy at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA facility, at Cornell University's Arecibo Observatory, and at Jodrell Bank. A congeries of funding from the military, the National Science Foundation, and finally NASA marked that evolution, which culminated in planetary radar astronomy finding a single Big Science patron, NASA. Chapter Five analyzes planetary radar astronomy as a science using the theoretical framework provided by philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn. Chapter Six explores the shift in planetary radar astronomy beginning in the 1970s that resulted from its financial and institutional relationship with NASA Big Science. Chapter Seven addresses the Magellan mission and its relation to the evolution of planetary radar astronomy from a ground-based to a space-based activity. Chapters Eight and Nine discuss the research carried out at ground

Motivational Differences between MOOC and Undergraduate Astronomy Students

Science.gov (United States)

Formanek, Martin; Wenger, Matthew; Buxner, Sanlyn; Impey, Chris David

2018-01-01

It is vital for the instructors and designers of the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to understand the motivation of its users for enrolling in the class and their reasons to engage with the material. This is particularly important for MOOCs focusing on scientific topics such as our MOOC on Astronomy (Astronomy: Exploring time and space) whose audience is less motivated by a desire to advance their careers compared to other MOOCs. In order to learn more about the motivation of our learners we deployed in our Astronomy MOOC a survey based on the Science Motivation Questionnaire II developed by Glynn et. al (2011). We specifically asked for reasons to sign up for the course and the overall motivation and attitude towards astronomy and science courses. We compare results of 3360 participants of this survey with a similar instrument administered to 638 students in undergraduate Astronomy classes for non Astronomy majors at the University of Arizona. Our comparison not only looks at the demographic differences, but also at reasons for signing up for the course and scores in motivational categories such as self-determination, self-efficacy, grade motivation, career motivation, hobby motivation, social motivation, and intrinsic motivation showing, that these populations of learners are fundamentally different.

The astronomy spacelab payloads study: executive volume. Interim report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-07-01

The progress of the Astronomy Spacelab Payloads Project at the Goddard Space Flight Center is reported. Astronomical research in space, using the Spacelab in conjunction with the Space Shuttle, is described. The various fields of solar astronomy or solar physics, ultraviolet and optical astronomy, and high energy astrophysics are among the topics discussed. These fields include scientific studies of the Sun and its dynamical processes, of the stars in wavelength regions not accessible to ground based observations, and the exciting new fields of X-ray, gamma ray, and particle astronomy

Selected topics on data analysis in astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarsi, L.

1987-01-01

The contents of this book are: General Lectures Given at the Erice II Workshop on Data Analysis in Astronomy: Fundamentals in Data Analysis in Astronomy; Computational Techniques; Evolution of Architectures for Data Processing; Hardware for Graphics and Image Display; and Data Analysis Systems

Ten Years of "Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education" RELEA: Achievements and Challenges for International Astronomy Education Development

Science.gov (United States)

Bretones, Paulo S.; Jafelice, Luiz C.; Horvath, Jorge E.

2016-01-01

This study reviews 10 years of "Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education" (RELEA), showing that the journal has become a valuable resource for publishing and highlights its pathway as scholarly journal. Furthermore, it is also a call to astronomy education specialists to consolidate their efforts considering similar journals…

47 CFR 5.91 - Notification of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notification of the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory. In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box NZ2, Green Bank, West Virginia, 24944, in writing, of the technical...

Improving Teach Astronomy: A Survey of Instructors

Science.gov (United States)

Wenger, Matthew; Riabokin, Malanka; Impey, Chris David

2018-01-01

Teach Astronomy is a website that provides educational resources for introductory astronomy. The motivation behind constructing this site was to provide quality online educational tools for use as a primary or supplementary instructional resource for teachers and students. The website provides an online textbook, glossary, podcasts and video summaries of concepts. As the popularity of online courses steadily increases, so does the demand for robust online educational resources. In order to cater to our users, our team conducted a survey of the instructors that use Teach Astronomy site for feedback for use in updating and streamlining the website content. The survey collected feedback regarding functionality of each of the website tools, in which courses the site was being used, and the motivation of the instructors use of our site. The overwhelming majority of responses indicate that instructors use the website as a class textbook in introductory astronomy courses for non-science majors, and instructors also generally tended to agree that the site content was comprehensive and lucid. One interesting result of the survey is to cluster topics in a way that is consistent with different levels of instruction (i.e. grouping middle-school level content and university level content distinctly). Our team will use this feedback to improve the Teach Astronomy website and maintain it as a high-quality, free online resource. We will also continue to gather feedback from instructors to ensure that the Teach Astronomy website stays current and remains a valuable online resource for instructors around the country.

Astronomy on a Landfill

Science.gov (United States)

Venner, Laura

2008-09-01

Engaging "K-to-Gray” audiences (children, families, and older adults) in astronomical activities is one of the main goals of the NJMC Center for Environmental and Scientific Education and the William D. McDowell Observatory located in Lyndhurst, NJ. Perched atop a closed and reclaimed municipal solid waste landfill, our new LEED - certified building (certification pending) and William D. McDowell observatory will assist in bringing the goals of IYA 2009 to the approximately 25,000 students and 15,000 adults that visit our site from the NY/NJ region each year. Diversifying our traditional environmental science offerings, we have incorporated astronomy into our repertoire with "The Sun Through Time” module, which includes storytelling, cultural astronomy, telescope anatomy, and other activities that are based on the electromagnetic spectrum and our current knowledge of the sun. These lessons have also been modified to bring astronomy to underserved communities, specifically those individuals that have dexterity or cognitive ability differences. The program is conducted in a classroom setting and is designed to meet New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. With the installation of our new 20” telescope, students and amateur astronomers will be given the opportunity to perform rudimentary research. In addition, a program is in development that will allow individuals to measure local sky brightness and understand the effects of light pollution on astronomical viewing. Teaching astronomy in an urban setting presents many challenges. All individuals, regardless of ability level or location, should be given the opportunity to be exposed to the wonders of the universe and the MEC/CESE has been successful in providing those opportunities.

The Development and Validation of the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST)

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Stephanie J.

2014-01-01

The Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) is a comprehensive assessment instrument designed to measure students' general astronomy content knowledge. Built upon the research embedded within a generation of astronomy assessments designed to measure single concepts, the TOAST is appropriate to measure across an entire astronomy course. The TOAST's…

Grote Reber, Radio Astronomy Pioneer, Dies

Science.gov (United States)

2002-12-01

Grote Reber, one of the earliest pioneers of radio astronomy, died in Tasmania on December 20, just two days shy of his 91st birthday. Reber was the first person to build a radio telescope dedicated to astronomy, opening up a whole new "window" on the Universe that eventually produced such landmark discoveries as quasars, pulsars and the remnant "afterglow" of the Big Bang. His self- financed experiments laid the foundation for today's advanced radio-astronomy facilities. Grote Reber Grote Reber NRAO/AUI photo "Radio astronomy has changed profoundly our understanding of the Universe and has earned the Nobel Prize for several major contributions. All radio astronomers who have followed him owe Grote Reber a deep debt for his pioneering work," said Dr. Fred Lo, director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). "Reber was the first to systematically study the sky by observing something other than visible light. This gave astronomy a whole new view of the Universe. The continuing importance of new ways of looking at the Universe is emphasized by this year's Nobel Prizes in physics, which recognized scientists who pioneered X-ray and neutrino observations," Lo added. Reber was a radio engineer and avid amateur "ham" radio operator in Wheaton, Illinois, in the 1930s when he read about Karl Jansky's 1932 discovery of natural radio emissions coming from outer space. As an amateur operator, Reber had won awards and communicated with other amateurs around the world, and later wrote that he had concluded "there were no more worlds to conquer" in radio. Learning of Jansky's discovery gave Reber a whole new challenge that he attacked with vigor. Analyzing the problem as an engineer, Reber concluded that what he needed was a parabolic-dish antenna, something quite uncommon in the 1930s. In 1937, using his own funds, he constructed a 31.4-foot-diameter dish antenna in his back yard. The strange contraption attracted curious attention from his neighbors and became

Marriage of x-ray and optical astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClintock, J.E.

1975-01-01

An historical discussion of the relation of x-ray and optical astronomy is given including distances within our galaxy, the optical identification of x-ray sources, the binary x-ray stars, neutron stars and black holes, a program in x-ray astronomy, and future missions

Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees: Results from the 2009 & 2010 Surveys of Physics & Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees. Focus On

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholson, Starr; Mulvey, Patrick

2011-01-01

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics conducts an annual census from October through February of all departments that offer degrees in astronomy (78) in the United States. Astronomy departments consist of stand-alone degree-granting departments (39) and departments that are administered along with a physics program…

Astronomy and Poetry (overview)

Science.gov (United States)

Samvelyan, David

2016-12-01

Through this work we have tried to show how astronomy penetrates into the poetry of different periods in time and in various poets' works all over the world. The following work has significant cognitive value, demonstrates and reveals the general nature of certain poets' astronomical ideas and provides a brief analysis in some cases. As a result, we have come to the conclusion that astronomy with all its components such as the sky, our solar system and phenomena such as these have always been a source of inspiration for those who create works of art, moreover some of them have even gained actual astronomical knowledge.

Astronomy 3.0 Style

Science.gov (United States)

Accomazzi, A.

2010-10-01

Over the next decade, we will witness the development of a new infrastructure in support of data-intensive scientific research, which includes Astronomy. This new networked environment will offer both challenges and opportunities to our community and has the potential to transform the way data are described, curated and preserved. Based on the lessons learned during the development and management of the ADS, a case is made for adopting the emerging technologies and practices of the Semantic Web to support the way Astronomy research will be conducted. Examples of how small, incremental steps can, in the aggregate, make a significant difference in the provision and repurposing of astronomical data are provided.

Astronomy from Olbers to Schwarzschild. (German Title: Astronomie von Olbers bis Schwarzschild)

Science.gov (United States)

Dick, Wolfgang R.; Hamel, Jürgen

This issue comprises talks presented 2000 September 18 at the colloquium ``International relations in astronomy'' it is supplemented by additional articles about this topic. The foundation of the international ``Vereinigte Astronomische Gesellschaft'', which took place in 1800 in Bremen, prompted us to investigate the development of astronomy in German-speaking regions, and its international relations during the 19th century. We investigate the activities of famous astronomers like W. Olbers, J.E. Bode, F.X. von Zach, J.H. Schroeter, H.C. Schumacher and K. Schwarzschild, as well as those of their less famous professional colleagues like J.G. Schrader and L. de Ball. The geographical spectrum extends from Bremen and Lilienthal over Kiel, Gotha and Dresden to Copenhagen, Vienna and Chile. Among the topics are: telescope construction, including telescopes made by Herschel, the rediscovery of the minor planet Ceres 1801/02, the Berlin ``Astronomisches Jahrbuch'', the foundation of the ``Astronomische Nachrichten'', the evolution from the ``Vereinigte Astronomische Gesellschaft'' to the present-day ``Astronomische Gesellschaft'', the research at the Kuffner Observatory in Vienna, the professionalization in astronomy, and the attempts of many countries to establish a southern observatory in Chile. A listing of astronomical monuments in Lilienthal and Bremen concludes the book. All papers are written in German with English abstracts.

Astronomy and astrophysics for the 1970's. Volume 2. Reports of the panels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1973-01-01

Specific panel reports include: radio astronomy, optical astronomy, infrared astronomy, space astronomy, solar astronomy, theoretical astrophysics, dynamical astronomy, astrophysics and relativity, and statistics. These provide guidance as to the major trends anticipated in astronomical and astrophysical research. They also list instrumental facilities, auxiliary equipment, and programs of theoretical research and offer numerous recommendations

2004 ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

user

This publication of the Academy on Astronomy and Astrophysics is unique in ... bring out position papers on societal issues where science plays a major ..... funding agencies, the Astronomical Society of ..... orbit very close to the parent star.

Participant Perspectives on the ESO Astronomy Camp Programme

Science.gov (United States)

Olivotto, C.; Cenadelli, D.; Gamal, M.; Grossmann, D.; Teller, L. A. I.; Marta, A. S.; Matoni, C. L.; Taillard, A.

2015-09-01

This article describes the experience of attending the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Astronomy Camp from the perspective of its participants - students aged between 16 and 18 years old from around the world. The students shared a week together during the winter of 2014 in the Alpine village of Saint-Barthelemy, Italy. The camp was organised by ESO in collaboration with Sterrenlab and the Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley and offered a rich programme of astronomy and leisure activities. This article focuses on the concept of astronomy camps, and their role as a unique tool to complement formal classroom education, rather than on the astronomy activities and the scientific programme. Thus, it is not an academic review of the implemented methodologies, but rather a reflection on the overall experience. The article was brought together from collaborative accounts by some of the participants who were asked to reflect on the experience. The participants who contributed to this article represent the diversity of the ESO Astronomy Camp's alumni community.

Radio Astronomy at TIFR, some highlights and reminiscences

Science.gov (United States)

Swarup, G.

Radio astronomy research was initiated at TIFR fifty years ago. In this historical article, I firstly trace my initiation in the field of radio astronomy during 1953-55 in the Radio Physics Laboratory of CSIRO in Australia and later during 1956-63 in USA. In September 1961, four radio astronomers working abroad wrote to a number of scientific organizations in India with their desire to start radio astronomy research in India. Soon thereafter Dr. Homi Bhabha, the founder Director of TIFR, approved the formation of a radio astronomy group therein. I joined TIFR in April 1963. During the last 50 years, TIFR has built two of the world's largest radio telescopes, namely the 530m long and 30 m wide parabolic cylinder equatorially mounted on a hill at Ooty in South India during 1960s and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope near Pune, consisting of 30 nos. of fully steerable parabolic dishes of 45 m diameters during 1990s. Fifty years of radio astronomy research at TIFR is briefly highlighted here.

The Eternal Role of Astronomy in History and Civilization

Science.gov (United States)

Theodossiou, E.; Manimanis, V. N.

2010-07-01

Astronomy is the most ancient of all natural sciences. From its roots in ancient Babylonian and Egyptian stellar observations, and through its formulation into a science from the Greek natural philosophers, it defined the measurement of time. The stellar eras and the applications of Astronomy were incorporated in temples, paintings, sculptures and in art in general. Today, the value of Astronomy on practical matters, timekeeping or the navigation, has diminished. However, the eternal questions connected with Astronomy remain: Who are we and where did we come from? How and why was the Universe born? The greatest step to answer this kind of questions came with the so-called Copernican revolution, mostly in the 17th Century. The progress of Astronomy in the 400 years since then answered questions and gave an end to all kinds of superstitions, one more contribution to human civilization.

Vistas in astronomy. Volume 16

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beer, A.

1974-01-01

A series of papers dealing with theoretical and experimental work in solar, planetary, and stellar astronomy, including stellar spectroscopy, photometry, and radio astronomy. The topics covered include: solar flares, the historical development of solar theories, the intrinsic light variation and the reflection effect in very close eclipsing binary systems with distorted components, spectroscopic binaries, early-type stars with abnormal spectra, photometric classification of the O-B stars, the nova DQ Herculis, emission nebulas at radio wavelengths, and the planetary nebulas as radio sources. (IAA)

Practical astronomy with your calculator

CERN Document Server

Duffett-Smith, Peter

1989-01-01

Practical Astronomy with your Calculator, first published in 1979, has enjoyed immense success. The author's clear and easy to follow routines enable you to solve a variety of practical and recreational problems in astronomy using a scientific calculator. Mathematical complexity is kept firmly in the background, leaving just the elements necessary for swiftly making calculations. The major topics are: time, coordinate systems, the Sun, the planetary system, binary stars, the Moon, and eclipses. In the third edition there are entirely new sections on generalised coordinate transformations, nutr

Women's and men's career choices in astronomy and astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Ivie, Rachel

2017-01-01

In order to understand gender differences in persistence and attrition from astronomy and physics, the Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students follows a cohort of people who were graduate students in astronomy or astrophysics during 2006-07. The first survey was conducted during 2007-08 and the second during 2012-13, when many of the respondents had left graduate school and were working. For respondents who had completed PhDs and were not postdocs, we tested the effects of four major concepts on attrition from physics and astronomy. These concepts included: the imposter syndrome, mentoring and advising during graduate school, work-family balance, and being female. We hypothesized that women would be more likely than men to work outside of astronomy and physics. However, results from the study show that there is no direct independent effect of being female on attrition. Rather, women are more likely to leave astronomy because they are more likely than men to (1) experience difficulties related to the need to find a job for a spouse or partner in the same geographical area, and (2) report less than satisfactory advising during graduate school. This research identifies specific areas of concern that can be addressed by the scientific community to increase the retention of all people, but especially women, in astronomy, physics, and related fields. Funded by National Science Foundation AST-1347723.

Elementary astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Fierro, J.

2006-08-01

In developing nations such as Mexico, basic science education has scarcely improved. There are multiple reasons for this problem; they include poor teacher training and curricula that are not challenging for students. I shall suggest ways in which astronomy can be used to improve basic education, it is so attractive that it can be employed to teach how to read and write, learn a second language, mathematics, physics, as well as geography. If third world nations do not teach science in an adequate way, they will be in serious problems when they will try to achieve a better standard of living for their population. I shall also address informal education, it is by this means that most adults learn and keep up to date with subjects that are not their specialty. If we provide good outreach programs in developing nations we can aid adult training; astronomy is ideal since it is particularly multidisciplinary. In particular radio and television programs are useful for popularization since they reach such wide audiences.

The Astronomy Workshop

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, D. P.

2005-05-01

The Astronomy Workshop (http://janus.astro.umd.edu) is a collection of interactive online educational tools developed for use by students, educators, and the general public. The more than 20 tools in the Astronomy Workshop are rated for ease-of-use, and have been extensively tested in large university survey courses, classes for undergraduate majors, and High Schools. Here we briefly describe a few of the more popular tools. The Life of the Sun (New!): The history of the Sun is animated as a movie, showing students how the size and color of our star has evolved and will evolve in time. Animated Orbits of Planets and Moons: The orbital motions of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets are animated at their correct relative speeds in accurate to-scale drawings. Solar System Collisions: This most popular of our applications shows what happens when an asteroid or comet with user-defined size and speed impacts a given planet. The program calculates many effects, including the country of impact (if Earth is the target), energy of explosion, crater size, and magnitude of the ``planetquake'' generated. It also displays a relevant image (e.g. terrestrial crater, lunar crater, etc.). Astronomical Distances: Travel away from the Earth at a chosen speed and see how long it takes to reach other planets, stars and galaxies. This tool helps students visualize astronomical distances in an intuitive way. Funding for the Astronomy Workshop is provided by a NASA EPO grant.

Preservice Science Teachers' Beliefs about Astronomy Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Ozkan, Gulbin; Akcay, Hakan

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate preservice science teachers' conceptual understanding of astronomy concepts. Qualitative research methods were used. The sample consists of 118 preservice science teachers (40 freshmen, 31 sophomores, and 47 juniors). The data were collected with Astronomy Conceptual Questionnaire (ACQ) that includes 13…

A Partnership in Observational and Computational Astronomy (POCA)

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Donald K.; Brittain, S. D.; Cash, J. L.; Hartmann, D. H.; Howell, S. B.; King, J. R.; Leising, M. D.; Mayo, E. A.; Mighell, K. J.; Smith, D. M., Jr.

2009-01-01

A partnership has been established between South Carolina State University (SCSU, a Historically Black College/University), the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) and Clemson University (CU) under an award from NSF's "Partnerships in Astronomy and Astrophysics Research and Education (PAARE)" program. The mission of POCA is to develop an effective, long-term partnership that combines the strengths of the three institutions to increase the scientific and educational output of all the partners with special emphasis on enhancing diversity in the field of astronomy. Components of the program include enhancing faculty and student research in astronomy at SCSU, recruiting and retaining underrepresented minority students into the field, outreach through planetarium programs and museum exhibits and developing web based resources in astronomy education. Activities in the first year of the program are discussed. We have begun developing and testing several new astronomy laboratory exercises. Our first summer internship program has concluded successfully. With PAARE scholarship money, we are now supporting four physics majors at SCSU who have chosen the astronomy option (concentration) for their degree. SCSU undergraduates have acquired observing experience on the KPNO Mayall 4-meter telescope under the guidance of faculty and graduate students from CU. NOAO astronomers have collaborated with SCSU faculty to begin a research program that studies RV Tauri stars. Funds from PAARE are supporting follow-up research to a just-completed doctoral dissertation by E. A. Mayo described elsewhere in these proceedings. Future plans for graduate fellowships and related activities are discussed in addition to summer internships for POCA undergraduates at CU and NOAO. Support for this work was provided by the NSF PAARE program to South Carolina State University under award AST-0750814.

Astronomy Outreach for Large, Unique, and Unusual Audiences

Science.gov (United States)

Lubowich, Donald

2015-08-01

My successful outreach program venues include: outdoor concerts and festivals; the US National Mall; churches, synagogues, seminaries, or clergy conferences; the Ronald McDonald Houses of Long Island and Chicago; the Winthrop U. Hospital Children’s Medical Center the Fresh Air Fund summer camps (low-income and special needs); a Halloween star party (costumed kids look through telescopes); a Super Bowl Star Party (targeting women); Science Festivals (World, NYC; Princeton U.; the USA Science and Engineering Festival); and the NYC Columbus Day Parade. Information was also provided about local science museums, citizen science projects, astronomy educational sites, and astronomy clubs to encourage lifelong learning. In 2010 I created Astronomy Festival on the National Mall (co-sponsored by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy) with the participation of astronomy clubs, scientific institutions and with Tyco Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Caroline Herschel making guest appearances. My programs include solar, optical, and radio telescope observations, hands-on activities, a live image projection system; large outdoor posters and banners; videos; hands-on activities, and edible astronomy demonstrations.My NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars (MAUS) program (60 events 2009 - 2013) reached 50,000 music lovers at local parks and the Central Park Jazz, Newport Folk, Ravinia, or Tanglewood Music Festivals with classical, folk, pop/rock, opera, Caribbean, or county-western concerts assisted by astronomy clubs. Yo-Yo-Ma, the Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, Phish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Deep Purple, Tony Orlando, and Wilco performed at these events. MAUS reached underserved groups and attracted large crowds. Young kids participated in this family learning experience - often the first time they looked through a telescope. While < 50% of the participants took part in a science activity in the past year, they

The Legends of Vasistha - A Note on the Vedanga Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Ôhashi, Y.

The author discusses some topics about the Vedanga astronomy, which is a kind of ancient Indian astronomy. The Vedanga (limb of the Veda) is a class of works regarded as auxiliary to the Veda. It consists of six divisions, one of which is astronomy.

γ astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolfendale, A.W.

1987-01-01

Some problems of gamma astronomy are discussed in the popular form. The most interesting research directions are considered:e + e - pair annihilation, 100 MeV gamma quanta sources, Cherenkov radiation gamma quanta recording and cosmic ray anisotropy. Special attention is paid to unique gamma quanta source - Cygnus X-3. The source possesses the highest luminosity in the gamma range

Evolving Perspectives on Astronomy Education and Public Outreach in Hawai'i

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Ka'iu; Slater, T.; Hamilton, J.; Takata, V.

2012-01-01

For the last several decades, well meaning astronomers and educators have worked diligently to provide astronomy education experiences to Native Hawaiians and visitors across all the islands. Much of the early education and public outreach (EPO) work was based on a philosophical perspective based on the notion of, "if we just make them aware of how wonderful astronomy is, then everyone will naturally support the development of astronomy in the islands.” In support of this goal, numerous teacher workshops were delivered and the first generation of the Maunakea Observatories Visitors’ Center was developed and funded. These projects were most frequently developed using Mainland thinking, in a Mainland style, with a Mainland agenda. Consequently, these efforts often failed to create even moderate impacts, whether in educational settings, or in terms of public outreach. In recent years, our understanding of effective EPO has evolved. This evolution has led to a shift in the locus of control, from the Mainland to the Islands; and in content, from "astronomy only” to "astronomy as part of the whole.” We have come to understand that successfully transformative EPO requires intertwining astronomy with teaching about culture, language and context. In response, the `Imiloa Astronomy Center was expanded to convolve historical and modern astronomy with Hawaiian culture and language. Moreover, the most successful astronomy EPO programs in the islands have been redesigned to reflect meaningful collaborations of schools, businesses, and the larger community that situate astronomy as part of a larger educational work of honoring the traditions of the past while simultaneously transforming the future. This evolution in thinking may serve as a model for the astronomy community's interaction with other regional communities.

Advances in astronomy and astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Kopal, Zdenek

1962-01-01

Advances in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 1 brings together numerous research works on different aspects of astronomy and astrophysics. This book is divided into five chapters and begins with an observational summary of the shock-wave theory of novae. The subsequent chapter provides the properties and problems of T tauri stars and related objects. These topics are followed by discussions on the structure and origin of meteorites and cosmic dust, as well as the models for evaluation of mass distribution in oblate stellar systems. The final chapter describes the methods of polarization mea

Advances in astronomy and astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Kopal, Zdenek

1963-01-01

Advances in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 2 brings together numerous research works on different aspects of astronomy and astrophysics. This volume is composed of six chapters and begins with a summary of observational record on twilight extensions of the Venus cusps. The next chapter deals with the common and related properties of binary stars, with emphasis on the evaluation of their cataclysmic variables. Cataclysmic variables refer to an object in one of three classes: dwarf nova, nova, or supernova. These topics are followed by discussions on the eclipse phenomena and the eclipses i

Advances in astronomy and astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Kopal, Zdenek

1966-01-01

Advances in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 4 brings together numerous research works on different aspects of astronomy and astrophysics. This volume is composed of five chapters, and starts with a description of objective prism and its application in space observations. The next chapter deals with the possibilities of deriving reliable models of the figure, density distribution, and gravity field of the Moon based on data obtained through Earth-bound telescopes. These topics are followed by a discussion on the ideal partially relativistic, partially degenerate gas in an exact manner. A ch

Advances in astronomy and astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Kopal, Zdenek

1968-01-01

Advances in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 6 brings together numerous research works on different aspects of astronomy and astrophysics. This volume is composed of five chapters, and starts with the description of improved methods for analyzing and classifying families of periodic orbits in a conservative dynamical system with two degrees of freedom. The next chapter describes the variation of fractional luminosity of distorted components of close binary systems in the course of their revolution, or the accompanying changes in radial velocity. This topic is followed by discussions on vari

Indian Astronomy: The Missing Link in Eurocentric History of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Haque, Shirin; Sharma, Deva

2016-01-01

A comprehensive history of Astronomy should show in reasonable chronological order, the contributions from wherever they arise in the world, once they are reliably documented. However, the authors note that consistently, the extremely rich contributions from Ancient Indian scholars like Aryabatha and Bhramagupta are omitted in Eurocentric…

Teaching Astronomy with Podcasts of the APOD

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Robert M.

2017-01-01

The APOD website provides many excellent astronomy photos that are used to enhance introductory astronomy classes. For nearly six years, podcasts have been used to enhance learning in introductory astronomy classes at Harrisburg Area Community College. Daily 3-5 minute podcasts have been created and made available through iTunes to students in these classes at no charge. Students are asked to subscribe to the podcast collections and are quizzed on the images discussed throughout the semester. Because the images often focus on current findings in astronomy, the students are given instruction on findings that will not appear in their textbooks for several years. The students also receive a taste of some topics that may not be covered or that are just touched upon because of time limits in the classes. The podcasts have been used successfully with both traditional and fully online classes. The use of the podcasts enhances mobile learning as students can download and listen to the podcasts on their smartphones or tablets at their convenience. The student response to the podcasts has been excellent with some students noting that they continue to follow the website and podcasts even after they have completed the class. With mobile learning expanding, this is an excellent way to reach students and encourage them to further research the various topics in astronomy that are covered in the APOD images.

An Online Tutor for Astronomy: The GEAS Self-Review Library

Science.gov (United States)

Vogt, Nicole P.; Muise, Amy Smith

2015-01-01

We introduce an interactive online resource for use by students and college instructors in introductory astronomy courses. The General Education Astronomy Source (GEAS) online tutor guides students developing mastery of core astronomical concepts and mathematical applications of general astronomy material. It contains over 12,000 questions, with…

Differences between US Women’s and Men’s Careers in Astronomy: Results from the Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

Ivie, Rachel; White, Susan; Chu, Raymond Y.

2015-08-01

The Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students (LSAGS), a joint project of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the American Institute of Physics (AIP), emerged from the Women in Astronomy II conference held in Pasadena, CA, USA in 2003. At the conference, concern about possible differential attrition for women arose from the relatively high percentage of female junior (student) AAS members compared to the lower representation of women among astronomy faculty members.The Committee for the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA) and the AAS Council concluded that a longitudinal study was needed to collect data about which variables affect career choices in astronomy and to determine whether any of these variables exert a disproportionate force on either sex. In 2007-08, the project team, under the direction of Rachel Ivie, Associate Director of AIP’s Statistical Research Center (SRC), asked all graduate students in astronomy and astrophysics in the US (~1500) to complete the first survey. The LSAGS follows this same group of students as they leave graduate school and enter their careers. In 2012-13, more than 800 responded to the second survey, and most had completed PhDs. We plan a third round of data collection in 2015.Results from the study show that there are statistically significant differences between women and men in dissertation research methods, PhD subfield, and ratings of graduate school advisors. We found that after graduate school, women were more likely than men to take a break from work of six months or longer and to have made accommodations for a partner’s career opportunities (the “two-body problem”). In turn, women were more likely to work outside the field of astronomy because they were more likely to have experienced the “two-body problem.” In addition, we found women were more likely than men to have experienced harassment or discrimination at school or work. Finally, even while controlling for employment sector and years

Division X, XII / Commission 40, 41 / Working Group Radio Astronomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kellermann, Kenneth; Orchiston, Wayne; Davies, Rod; Gurvits, Leonid; Ishiguro, Masato; Lequeux, James; Swarup, Govind; Wall, Jasper; Wielebinski, Richard; van Woerden, Hugo

The IAU Working Group on Historical Radio Astronomy (WGHRA) was formed at the 2003 General Assembly of the IAU as a Joint Working Group of Commissions 40 (Radio Astronomy) and 41 (History of Astronomy), in order to: a) assemble a master list of surviving historically-significant radio telescopes and

Online Scholarly Conversations in General Education Astronomy Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Qijie; Wong, Ka-Wah

2018-01-01

In general education astronomy courses, many students are struggling with understanding the foundational concepts and theories in astronomy. One of the possible reasons is that, due the large class size, many of the courses are taught using a lecture mode, where human interactions and active learning are limited (Freeman et al., 2014). To address this challenge, we have applied the knowledge building framework (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006) to design an online collaborative learning component, called Scholarly Conversations, to be integrated into a general education astronomy course at a public, comprehensive university.During Scholarly Conversations, students are treated as scholars to advance knowledge frontiers (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006). The whole process involves the creation of new ideas and requires discourse and collective work for the advancement and creation of artifacts, such as theories and models (van Aalst, 2009). Based on the knowledge building principles (Scardamalia, 2002; Zhang, Scardamalia, Reeve, & Messina, 2009), several features have been built into Scholarly Conversations so that students are guided to deepen understanding of the astronomy concepts through three phases: knowledge sharing, knowledge construction and knowledge building, and reflections on learning growth (van Aalst, 2009; Cai, 2017). The online Scholarly Conversation is an extension of the lecture component of the general education astronomy course. It promotes student interactions and collaborative learning, and provides scaffolds for students to construct meanings of the essential concepts in astronomy through social learning and online technology. In this presentation, we will explain the specific design principles of the online Scholarly Conversation, and share the artifacts created to facilitate the online conversations in an general education astronomy course.Note: This project has been supported by the College of Education Research Grant Program at Minnesota State

The Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Hoskin, Michael

Expertly written and lavishly illustrated, The Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy offers a unique account of astronomical theory and practice from antiquity to the present day. How did Moslems of the Middle Ages use astronomy to calculate the direction of Mecca from far-flung corners of the Islamic world? Who was the only ancient Greek to suspect that the earth might revolve around the sun? How did Christopher Columbus abuse his knowledge of a lunar eclipse predicted by an astronomical almanac? Packed with anecdotes and intriguing detail, this book describes how we observed the sky and interpreted what we saw at different periods of history; how this influenced our beliefs and mythology; and how great astronomers contributed to what we now know. The result is a lively and highly visual history of astronomy - a compelling read for specialists and non-specialists alike.

Gamma ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broomhead, Laurent.

1980-01-01

The nuclear gamma astronomy is presented, in particular the Gamma Ray Observatory, an enormous eight tonnes machine fitted with gamma telescopes, scheduled for launching around 1985. It is thereby hoped to study the natural nuclear reactions which occur when stars explode [fr

Physics and astronomy

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Moraal, H

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The chapter is about physics and astronomy. The chapter gives a background about the origins of physics in South Africa. After the CSIR was founded in 1945, physics emerged as a nationwide and unified discipline. The authors show how physics...

Expectations of Students about Astronomy in High School

Science.gov (United States)

Peixoto, Denis Eduardo; Kleinke, Maurício Urban

2016-12-01

Current literature reports that the astronomy education is motivating and interesting for basic education, but the content suggested by the national curriculum guidelines do not seem to attract students and teachers in order to transcend the discipline of Science in the elementary School or Physics in High School. By applying a questionnaire to 80 students of High School and participants of Brazilian Olympiad of Astronomy and Astronautics of two schools of São Paulo state, we obtained results that indicate that astronomy topics that really motivate students are topics linked to science fiction and current research, which are the subject of extensive media release and have a strong interdisciplinary character. At the end of the work we suggest a new context for astronomy education, by inserting topics combined with other areas of knowledge to what we call “interdisciplinary astrophysics teaching”.

What types of astronomy images are most popular?

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Alice; Bonnell, Jerry T.; Connelly, Paul; Haring, Ralf; Lowe, Stuart R.; Nemiroff, Robert J.

2015-01-01

Stunning imagery helps make astronomy one of the most popular sciences -- but what types of astronomy images are most popular? To help answer this question, public response to images posted to various public venues of the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) are investigated. APOD portals queried included the main NASA website and the social media mirrors on Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter. Popularity measures include polls, downloads, page views, likes, shares, and retweets; these measures are used to assess how image popularity varies in relation to various image attributes including topic and topicality.

Southern Africa Regional Office of Astronomy for Development: A New Hub for Astronomy for Development

Science.gov (United States)

Siseho Mutondo, Moola

2015-08-01

A new Astronomy for Development hub needs innovative tools and programs. SAROAD is developing exciting tools integrating Raspberry Pi® technology to bring cost-effective astronomy content to learning centres. SAROAD would also like to report achievements in realising the IAU's strategic plan. In order to manage, evaluate and coordinate regional IAU capacity building programmes, including the recruitment and mobilisation of volunteers, SAROAD has built an intranet that is accessible to regional members upon request. Using this resource, regional members can see and participate in regional activities. This resource also forms the foundation for closer collaboration between SAROAD member countries. SAROAD has commenced with projects in the three Task Force areas of Universities and Research, Children and Schools and Public Outreach. Under the three Task Force areas, a total of seven projects have commenced in Zambia. A further two projects involve the collaboration of Zambia and other regional member countries in order to foster engagement with important regional astronomy facilities (e.g. SKA). SAROAD has identified the IAU’s International Year of Light and a starting point for offering regional support for IAU-endorsed global activities. SAROAD has set up a hub dedicated to regional events and activities about the International Year of Light. SAROAD has a database of regional authorities to enable contact with the region's decision makers and experts. SAROAD will hold an annual event which brings forum for astronomy for development. The creation of the database and the SAROAD Road show is a first step towards this goal. The SAROAD website has helped to advertise upcoming events for astronomy development and education; it is used to provide advice, guidance and information for astronomers in all countries in the Southern Africa. Fundraising is the primary goal for SAROAD in 2015 towards financial self-sufficiency by 2020. We report on the methods that work best

A Grand Vision for European Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

2007-09-01

Today, and for the first time, astronomers share their global Science Vision for European Astronomy in the next two decades. This two-year long effort by the ASTRONET network of funding agencies, sponsored by the European Commission and coordinated by INSU-CNRS, underscores Europe's ascension to world leadership in astronomy and its will to maintain that position. It will be followed in just over a year by a prioritised roadmap for the observational facilities needed to implement the Vision. Implementation of these plans will ensure that Europe fully contributes to Mankind's ever deeper understanding of the wonders of our Universe. astronet logo "This is a great opportunity to help create a vibrant long-term future for astronomy and science" says Tim de Zeeuw (Leiden Observatory, The Netherlands) who led this community-wide effort. The ASTRONET Science Vision provides a comprehensive overview of the most important scientific questions that European astronomy should address in the next twenty years. The four key questions are the extremes of the Universe, from the nature of the dark matter and dark energy that comprise over 95% of the Universe to the physics of extreme objects such as black holes, neutron stars, and gamma-ray bursts; the formation of galaxies from the first seeds to our Milky Way; the formation of stars and planets and the origin of life; and the crucial question of how do we (and our Solar System) fit in the global picture. These themes reach well beyond the realm of traditional astronomy into the frontiers of physics and biology. The Vision identifies the major new facilities that will be needed to achieve these goals, but also stresses the need for parallel developments in theory and numerical simulations, high-performance computing resources, efficient astronomical data archiving and the European Virtual Observatory, as well as in laboratory astrophysics. "This report is a key input for the even more challenging task of developing a prioritised

Lithuanian Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Sudzius, J.; Murdin, P.

2002-01-01

Lithuanian folklore, archaic calendars and terminology show that Lithuanians were interested in astronomy from ancient times. A lot of celestial bodies have names of Lithuanian origin that are not related to widely accepted ancient Greek mythology. For example, the Milky Way is named `Pauksciu Takas' (literally the way of birds), the constellation of the Great Bear `Didieji Grizulo Ratai' (literal...

Astronomy Education: a Challenge for Contemporary Education

Science.gov (United States)

Metaxa, M.

2010-07-01

Tales around the World give visibility to local, national and international fundamental connection that always existed between people and the night sky that means Astronomy. In this paper we discuss and analyze further the role of Astronomy Education for achieving an integrated concept of education, one that enables individuals to adapt to a rapidly changing social, economic and cultural environment, and to continue to learn throughout life. It is no longer enough to learn how to read, write and count. We also discuss and present initiatives undertaken in the context of various national, and international educational projects in Greece as best practices on how Astronomy Education can actually reinforce the Contemporary Education.

Contribution to the popularization of the astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Markishki, Pencho

The purpose of this report is the representation of a WEB-book, related to astronomy, astro-photography, optics and some additional areas that have direct practice for the amateur astronomers. The popularization of astronomy worldwide is the purpose of many amateur astronomers. It is interesting and maybe fascinated, requires often innovative solutions from the hobby star observers. Today it is possible to share the science information by different methods, using the modern information technologies - a possibility used by the amateur astronomers too. In Internet existing currently thousands of WEB- sites, related to astronomy, completed training programs developed by amateur astronomers are included. They are addressed often to the schools, to the hobby beginners or to the wide audience.

Preservice elementary teachers learning of astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Fidler, Chuck Gary

The dissertation presents a new approach for the study of preservice elementary teacher astronomy education. The approach suggests that learning astronomical concepts are facilitated by greater sophistication in scale perception and spatial-aptitude. This dissertation is underscored by the national call for elementary science education reform efforts and suggests certain strategies shown more effective for the development of accurate astronomical comprehension. The present research study describes how preservice elementary teachers conceptualize and communicate ideas about Space. Instead of assuming a universal mental conception of cosmic orientations and relationships, the dissertation claims that the perception of Space related dimensions vary among preservice elementary teachers. Furthermore, the dissertation suggests individual perceptions of the scale sizes and orientations of celestial systems have direct influences on mental models used to organize and communicate astronomical information. The development of inaccurate mental models of the scaled dimensions of Space may perpetuate the teacher-student cycle of misconception and naive-theory generation among children in elementary education settings. The ability to conceptualize the vast cosmos is facilitated by the minds ability to think about vast scales and orientations of celestial objects. The Earth-based perspective of astronomy education compels the learner to think about astronomical principles within imaginary frames of reference and across unfamiliar scaled dimensions. Therefore, mental astronomical model building is underscored by the perception of scale and cosmic spatiality. This study suggests these cognitive skill sets are interconnected and facilitate the learning of accurate astronomy principles; as well as play an important role when designing an astronomy education program for preservice elementary teachers. This research study is comprised of three separate standalone articles designed and

Changes in Preservice Teacher Attitudes toward Astronomy within a Semester-Long Astronomy Instruction and Four-Year-Long Teacher Training Programme

Science.gov (United States)

Ucar, Sedat; Demircioglu, Tuba

2011-01-01

Teachers' attitudes toward science, especially toward astronomy, are considered to be an important aspect of teaching and learning astronomy in school. Research findings to date remain inconclusive as to whether attitudes toward science change with the science courses taken or with increasing achievement. Therefore, preservice teacher attitudes…

Encouraging Student Participation in Large Astronomy Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Willoughby, Shannon D.

2012-01-01

Introductory astronomy is one of the most widely taught classes in the country and the majority of the students who take these classes are non-science majors. Because this demographic of students makes up the majority of astronomy enrollments, it is especially important as instructors that we do our best to make sure these students don't finish…

Julia and Python in Astronomy: Better Together

OpenAIRE

Barbary, Kyle

2016-01-01

Astronomers love Python because it is open source, easy to learn, and has a tremendous ecosystem for scientific computing. The Julia programming language has many of those same characteristics. In this talk, I discuss Julia, its use in astronomy and the growing ecosystem of astronomy packages, particularly those managed by the JuliaAstro organization (http://JuliaAstro.github.io).

The cost of publishing in Danish astronomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dorch, Bertil F.

I investigate the cost of publishing in Danish astronomy on a fine scale, including all direct publication costs: The figures show how the annual number of publications with authors from Denmark in astronomy journals increased by a factor approximately four during 15 years (Elsevier’s Scopus...... database), and the increase of the corresponding potential (maximum) cost of publishing....

NASE Training Courses in Astronomy for Teachers throughout the World

Science.gov (United States)

Ros, Rosa M.

2012-01-01

Network for Astronomy School Education, NASE, is a project that is organizing courses for teachers throughout the entire world. The main objective of the project is to prepare secondary and primary school teachers in astronomy. Students love to know more about astronomy and teachers have the opportunity to observe the sky that every school has…

Synthesis imaging in radio astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perley, R.A.; Schwab, F.R.; Bridle, A.H.

1989-01-01

Recent advances in techniques and instrumentation for radio synthesis imaging in astronomy are discussed in a collection of review essays. Topics addressed include coherence in radio astronomy, the interferometer in practice, primary antenna elements, cross correlators, calibration and editing, sensitivity, deconvolution, self-calibration, error recognition, and image analysis. Consideration is given to wide-field imaging (bandwidth and time-average smearing, noncoplanar arrays, and mosaicking), high-dynamic-range imaging, spectral-line imaging, VLBI, solar imaging with a synthesis telescope, synthesis imaging of spatially coherent objects, noise in images of very bright sources, synthesis observing strategies, and the design of aperture-synthesis arrays

Informal Education: Slacker Astronomy Podcasts

Science.gov (United States)

Price, A.

2005-12-01

Slacker Astronomy is a weekly podcast about astronomy begun in February, 2005. Each week we cover a recent astronomical news event. We present it with humor and silliness, yet we respect the intelligence of the audience and do not ``dumb it down." Since we are professional astronomers we often cover items ignored by traditional press. We currently have around 10,000 loyal weekly listeners. All our shows are rated for content and available to the public under the Creative Commons license. Both scripts and audio are also used as source material by parents, teachers and planetarium directors.

ACDA Thirty Years of Popularization of Astronomy in Colombia

Science.gov (United States)

Ocampo, W.; Higuera-G., Mario A.

2017-07-01

The Colombian Association of Astronomical Studies (ACDA) is a Non Profit Organization with thirty years of permanent efforts for the popularization of astronomy and related sciences in Colombia. ACDA put together amateur and profesional astronomers, as well as interested people. We surely had left a footprint on uncountable number of attending people to our activities, members and former members, and have supported the process of building a new society, with more awareness on the importance of science. We devote our efforts to our members and general people, to keep them motivated, support them and follow each member own interests in order to expand and spread their knowledge. In order to achieve our goals we have develop several strategies as: acquire of didactic material and optical instruments, video projections and discussion, astronomical observations, visits to observatories and planetariums, attending conferences and events, and mainly a weekly Saturday morning talk at the Bogotá Planetarium. ACDA has had different study teams on several fields including: Planetary Systems, Astrobiology, Space Exploration, Cosmology, History of Astronomy and Radioastronomy. ACDA has a national brandname on Astronomy due to seriousness and quality of its projects. A good list of members have become profesional astronomers. From our experience we can say: astronomy is a fertile field to teach science, in general there is an absence of astronomy culture in the public, our best communication experience are astronomical observations, explained astronomy movies and colloquiums, our best public are kids and aged people and finally, social networks gave dynamics to our astronomy spreading initiative.

Very high energy gamma-ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weekes, T.C.

1988-01-01

Current interest in gamma-ray astronomy at energies above 100 GeV comes from the identification of Cygnus X-3 and other X-ray binaries as sources. In addition there are reports of emission from radio pulsars and a variety of other objects. The statistical significance of many of the observations is not high and many reported effects await confirmation, but there are a sufficient number of independent reports that very high energy gamma-ray astronomy must now be considered to have an observational basis. The observations are summarized with particular emphasis on those reported since 1980. The techniques used - the detection of small air showers using the secondary photons and particles at ground level - are unusual and are described. Future prospects for the field are discussed in relation to new ground-based experiments, satellite gamma-ray studies and proposed neutrino astronomy experiments. (orig.) With 296 refs

Citizen Astronomy in China: An Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Quan-Zhi

2018-01-01

Citizen astronomers have benefited from technological advancements in the recent decades as they fill the scientific gaps left by professional astronomers, in the areas such as time domain observations, visual classification and data mining. Here I present an overview of the current status of citizen astronomy in China. Chinese citizen astronomers have made a visible contribution in the discoveries of new objects; however, comparing to their counterparts in the western world, they appear to be less interested in researches that do not involve making new discovery, such as visual classification, long-term monitoring of objects, and data mining. From a questionnaire survey that aimed to investigate the motivation of Chinese citizen astronomers, we find that this population is predominantly male (92%) who mostly reside in economically developed provinces. A large fraction (69%) of the respondents are students and young professionals younger than the age of 25, which differs significantly from the occupation and age distribution of typical Chinese Internet users as well as the user distribution of large international citizen science projects such as the Galaxy Zoo. This suggests that youth generation in China is more willing to participate citizen astronomy research than average generation. Additionally, we find that interests in astronomy, desire to learn new knowledges, have a fun experience and meet new friends in the community are all important driving factors for Chinese citizen astronomers to participate research. This also differs from their counterparts in western countries. With a large youth population that is interested in astronomy as well as a number of large astronomical facilities that are being planned or built, we believe that citizen astronomy in China has a vast potential. Timely and proper guidance from the professionals will be essential to help citizen astronomers to fulfill this potential.

Astronomy Courses which Emphasize Communication Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Dinerstein, H. L.

1998-12-01

The ability to communicate effectively, both in oral and written form, is crucial for success in almost any career path. Furthermore, being able to effectively communicate information requires a high level of conceptual mastery of the material. For these reasons, I have incorporated practice in communication into courses at a variety of levels, ranging from non-science-major undergraduate courses to graduate courses. I briefly describe the content of these courses, particularly the communication-related component. The first, Ast 309N, ``Astronomy Bizarre: Stars and Stellar Evolution," is an elective which follows one semester of general introductory astronomy for non-majors. Instead of homework problems, the students complete a sequence of writing assignments of graduated complexity, beginning with simple tasks such as writing abstracts and critiques of assigned readings, and moving on to writing term papers which require literature research and a short science fiction story incorporating accurate depictions of relativistic effects. In Ast 175/275, a ``Journal Club" course for upper-division astronomy majors, students read articles in the professional literature and give short oral presentations to the rest of the class. To build up their understanding of a topic, we work through the ``paper trail" of key papers on topics with exciting recent developments, such as extrasolar planets, gravitational lenses, or gamma-ray bursts. Finally, in a seminar course for first-semester astronomy graduate students (Ast 185C) that broadly addresses professional development issues, I include a practice AAS oral session, with the students giving 5-minute presentations on a journal paper of their choice. This seminar course also examines career paths and employment trends, the peer review process for papers and proposals, professional norms and ethics, and other topics. Syllabi for these and other courses I teach regularly can be found from my home page (http://www.as.utexas.edu/astronomy/people/dinerstein).

Student comprehension of mathematics through astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Search, Robert

The purpose of this study is to examine how knowledge of astronomy can enhance college-level learning situations involving mathematics. The fundamental symbiosis between mathematics and astronomy was established early in the 17th century when Johannes Kepler deduced the 3 basic laws of planetary motion. This mutually harmonious relationship between these sciences has been reinforced repeatedly in history. In the early 20th century, for example, astronomer Arthur Eddington used photographic evidence from a 1919 solar eclipse to verify Einstein's mathematical theory of relativity. This study was conducted in 5 undergraduate mathematics classes over the course of 2 years. An introductory course in ordinary differential equations, taught in Spring Semester 2013, involved 4 students. A similar course in Spring Semester 2014 involved 6 students, a Summer Semester 2014 Calculus II course involved 2 students, and a Summer 2015 Astronomy course involved 8 students. The students were asked to use Kepler's astronomical evidence to deduce mathematical laws normally encountered on an undergraduate level. They were also asked to examine the elementary mathematical aspects involved in a theoretical trajectory to the planet Neptune. The summer astronomy class was asked to draw mathematical conclusions about large numbers from the recent discoveries concerning the dwarf planet Pluto. The evidence consists primarily of videotaped PowerPoint presentations conducted by the students in both differential equations classes, along with interviews and tests given in all the classes. All presentations were transcribed and examined to determine the effect of astronomy as a generator of student understanding of mathematics. An analysis of the data indicated two findings: definite student interest in a subject previously unknown to most of them and a desire to make the mathematical connection to celestial phenomena.

76 FR 7882 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-11

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting In... Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883... of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to the agencies. Agenda: To...

78 FR 2450 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-11

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting In... Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883...) on issues within the field of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to...

77 FR 8288 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-14

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting In... Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883... of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to the agencies. Agenda: To...

OLFAR - Orbiting low frequency antennas for radio astronomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bentum, Marinus Jan

2013-01-01

One of the last unexplored frequency ranges in radio astronomy is the frequency band below 30 MHz. New interesting astronomical science drivers for low frequency radio astronomy have emerged, ranging from studies of the astronomical dark ages, the epoch of reionization, exoplanets, to ultra-high

Making Astronomy Accessible

Science.gov (United States)

Grice, Noreen A.

2011-05-01

A new semester begins, and your students enter the classroom for the first time. You notice a student sitting in a wheelchair or walking with assistance from a cane. Maybe you see a student with a guide dog or carrying a Braille computer. Another student gestures "hello” but then continues hand motions, and you realize the person is actually signing. You wonder why another student is using an electronic device to speak. Think this can't happen in your class? According to the U.S. Census, one out of every five Americans has a disability. And some disabilities, such as autism, dyslexia and arthritis, are considered "invisible” disabilities. This means you have a high probability that one of your students will have a disability. As an astronomy instructor, you have the opportunity to reach a wide variety of learners by using creative teaching strategies. I will share some suggestions on how to make astronomy and your part of the universe more accessible for everyone.

Infrared astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setti, G.; Fazio, G.

1978-01-01

This volume contains lectures describing the important achievements in infrared astronomy. The topics included are galactic infrared sources and their role in star formation, the nature of the interstellar medium and galactic structure, the interpretation of infrared, optical and radio observations of extra-galactic sources and their role in the origin and structure of the universe, instrumental techniques and a review of future space observations. (C.F.)

First data from X-ray astronomy satellite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, J.

1984-01-01

EXOSAT, the European Space Agency's first x-ray astronomy satellite which was launched last year, has sent back information on x-ray sources. The article briefly discusses the observations made by the satellite concerning Cygnus x-1 and the galactic supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. EXOSAT is the first x-ray astronomy satellite to be operated in a deep space orbit

Resources for Teaching Astronomy in UK Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, Paul; Newsam, Andy; Roberts, Sarah; Mason, Tom; Baruch, John

2012-01-01

This article looks at a selection of resources currently available for use in the teaching of astronomy in UK schools. It is by no means an exhaustive list but it highlights a variety of free resources that can be used in the classroom to help engage students of all ages with astronomy and space science. It also lists several facilities with a…

IAU Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion Working Group

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz-Gil, A.; García, B.; WG3 of Commission C1 Division C of the IAU

2017-03-01

In this talk we present the aims, goals and activities that have been started by the working group on Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion. This working group is part of Commission 1 ''Astronomy Education and Development'' of Division C ''Education, Outreach and Heritage'' of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The working group was born with the aim of developing new strategies and resources to promote the access to Astronomy, both at the profesional and outreach levels, for persons with special needs or for those who could be excluded because of race or sexual orientation (among other reasons). It is composed of astronomers affiliated with the IAU and other volunteers who work in astronomy, education and special needs, as well as partner organizations like the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), Astronomers without Borders (AWB), the Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP) or Universe Awareness (UNAWE). To reach those goals we have started different initiatives which are outlined at the working group’s website, like a repository of resources or the creation of a document about good practices, and the establishment of a tight collaboration with the Working Group about Accessibility of the American Astronomical Society, which was formed recently too.

The sociology of innovation in modern astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edge, D.

1977-01-01

This paper describes some of the main features of the development of astronomy since 1945, stressing sociological factors, and drawing examples mainly from the history of radio astronomy. Particular attention is given to aspects which appear to distinguish astronomy from other recently-studied sciences - notably, the prevalence of serendipitous discoveries, and the lack of any general resistance from the 'parent' discipline. The work of Kuhn and Hagstrom is used to illuminate these features, and also to indicate how a sociological analysis can be advanced of individual research decisions, and of the nature of disputes within science. Common misconceptions about the nature and scope of sociology are briefly discussed; in particular, it is emphasized that the kind of sociology of science under discussion cannot be normative. (author)

Innovative technology for optical and infrared astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Colin R.; Evans, Christopher J.; Molster, Frank; Kendrew, Sarah; Kenworthy, Matthew A.; Snik, Frans

2012-09-01

Advances in astronomy are often enabled by adoption of new technology. In some instances this is where the technology has been invented specifically for astronomy, but more usually it is adopted from another scientific or industrial area of application. The adoption of new technology typically occurs via one of two processes. The more usual is incremental progress by a series of small improvements, but occasionally this process is disruptive, where a new technology completely replaces an older one. One of the activities of the OPTICON Key Technology Network over the past few years has been a technology forecasting exercise. Here we report on a recent event which focused on the more radical, potentially disruptive technologies for ground-based, optical and infrared astronomy.

Training in Astronomy for Physics Students J. H. Fan1,2

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2Astronomy Science and Technology Research Laboratory, Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510006, ... to astronomy training for physics students. More and more students are ... We, astronomy staff give popular science talks for undergraduate students, middle school students, primary school ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Astronomy Education Project for Guangdong High Schools ... Astronomy education; high school; science popularization. ... This means that each accepted article is being published immediately online with DOI and article ...

The Importance of Site Selection for Radio Astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umar, Roslan; Abidin, Zamri Zainal; Ibrahim, Zainol Abidin

2014-01-01

Radio sources are very weak since this object travel very far from outer space. Radio astronomy studies are limited due to radio frequency interference (RFI) that is made by man. If the harassment is not stopped, it will provide critical problems in their radio astronomy scientists research. The purpose of this study is to provide RFI map Peninsular Malaysia with a minimum mapping techniques RFI interference. RFI mapping technique using GIS is proposed as a tool in mapping techniques. Decision-making process for the selection requires gathering information from a variety of parameters. These factors affecting the selection process are also taken account. In this study, various factors or parameters involved such as availability of telecommunications transmission (including radio and television), rainfall, water line and human activity. This study will benefit radio astronomy research especially in the RFI profile in Malaysia. Keywords: Radio Astronomy, Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), RFI mapping technique : GIS

Astronomy Education Programs at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Science.gov (United States)

Nagy, Katie; de Messieres, G.; Edson, S.

2014-01-01

Astronomy educators present the range of astronomy education programming available at the National Air and Space Museum, including the following. In the Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory, visitors use telescopes and other scientific equipment to observe and discuss the Sun, Venus, and other celestial sights in an unstructured, inquiry-based environment. At Discovery Stations throughout the Museum, staff and volunteers engage visitors in hands-on exploration of a wide range of artifacts and teaching materials. Astronomy-related Discovery Stations include Cosmic Survey, an exploration of gravitational lensing using a rubber sheet, spectroscopy using discharge tubes, and several others. Astronomy lectures in the planetarium or IMAX theater, featuring researchers as the speakers, include a full evening of activities: a custom pre-lecture Discovery Station, a handout to help visitors explore the topic in more depth, and evening stargazing at the Public Observatory. Astronomy educators present planetarium shows, including star tours and explorations of recent science news. During Astronomy Chat, an astronomy researcher engages visitors in an informal conversation about science. The goal is to make the public feel welcome in the environment of professional research and to give busy scientists a convenient outreach opportunity. Astronomy educators also recruit, train, and coordinate a corps of volunteers who contribute their efforts to the programming above. The volunteer program has grown significantly since the Public Observatory was built in 2009.

Astronomy and astrophysics in the new millennium: Panel reports

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Space Studies Board, National Research Council

2001-01-01

In preparing the report, Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millenium , the AASC made use of a series of panel reports that address various aspects of ground- and space-based astronomy and astrophysic...

Critical Issues in the Philosophy of Astronomy and Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Dick, Steven J.

2016-01-01

Although the philosophy of science and of specific sciences such as physics, chemistry, and biology are well-developed fields with their own books and journals, the philosophy of astronomy and cosmology have received little systematic attention. At least six categories of problems may be identified in the astronomical context: 1) the nature of reasoning, including the roles of observation, theory, simulation, and analogy, as well as the limits of reasoning, starkly evident in the anthropic principle, fine-tuning, and multiverse controversies; 2) the often problematic nature of evidence and inference, especially since the objects of astronomical interest are for the most part beyond experiment and experience;3) the influence of metaphysical preconceptions and non-scientific worldviews on astronomy, evidenced, for example in the work of Arthur S. Eddington and many other astronomers; 4) the epistemological status of astronomy and its central concepts, including the process of discovery, the problems of classification, and the pitfalls of definition (as in planets); 5) the role of technology in shaping the discipline of astronomy and our view of the universe; and 6) the mutual interactions of astronomy and cosmology with society over time. Discussion of these issues should draw heavily on the history of astronomy as well as current research, and may reveal an evolution in approaches, techniques, and goals, perhaps with policy relevance. This endeavor should also utilize and synergize approaches and results from philosophy of science and of related sciences such as physics (e.g. discussions on the nature of space and time). Philosophers, historians and scientists should join this new endeavor. A Journal of the Philosophy of Astronomy and Cosmology (JPAC) could help focus attention on their studies.

Astronomy Exercises for the Artist: van Gogh the Observer

Science.gov (United States)

Lawlor, Timothy M.

2013-01-01

We present a set of exercises designed to be used in a survey astronomy course, an introductory astronomy laboratory course, or in secondary education. The exercises use the great works of Vincent van Gogh but could

African Americans & Hispanics among Physics & Astronomy Faculty: Results from the 2012 Survey of Physics & Astronomy Degree-Granting Departments. Focus On

Science.gov (United States)

Ivie, Rachel; Anderson, Garrett; White, Susan

2014-01-01

The United States is becoming more and more diverse, but the representation of some minority groups in physics and astronomy lags behind. Although 13% of the US population is African American or black, and 17% is Hispanic (US Census), the representation of these two groups in physics and astronomy is much lower. For this reason, African Americans…

Energy, The Environment And Astronomy: Education And Action

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, Bernadette; Doppmann, G.; Kalas, P.; Lacy, J.; Beck, T.; Marshall, P. J.

2010-01-01

The specter of global climate change is arguably the most pressing scientific, social and ethical issue of our time. Although the relatively small field of astronomy represents only a fraction of the total human carbon emissions, astronomers have a great potential, and therefore perhaps a great responsibility, to educate themselves and the public on this issue. In addition, the average per capita carbon emissions of professional astronomers are not small, and our profession can do much to reduce its energy consumption and maximize the cost-benefit ratio of our work. At the January AAS meeting, we are organizing a half-day splinter meeting titled "Energy, the Environment and Astronomy: Education and Action". The focus will be on energy conservation and education as it relates to professional astronomy. Education focuses on informing ourselves, our students and the general public with which we interact, about the real issues, the necessary actions, and the likely consequences of various energy consumption and carbon emission scenarios. Action focuses on effective energy conservation and renewable energy initiatives within professional astronomy. Air travel, solar energy at ground-based observatories, and Gemini's "Green Initiative” are among the topics that will be discussed. The splinter meeting will be open to all and will include expert speakers from outside astronomy, contributed talks by astronomers, and a discussion session.

Global projects and Astronomy awareness activities in Nepal

Science.gov (United States)

Gautam, Suman

2015-08-01

Modern astronomy is a crowning achievement of human civilization which inspires teenagers to choose career in science and technology and is a stable of adult education. It is a unique and cost effective tool for furthering sustainable global development because of its technological, scientific and cultural dimensions which allow us to reach with the large portion of the community interact with children and inspire with our wonderful cosmos.Using astronomy to stimulate quality and inspiring education for disadvantaged children is an important goal of Nepal Astronomical Society (NASO) since its inception. NASO is carrying out various awareness activities on its own and in collaboration with national and international organizations like Central Department of Physics Tribhuvan University (TU), International astronomical Union (IAU), Department of Physics Prithvi Narayan Campus Pokhara, Nepal academy of science and technology (NAST), Global Hands on Universe (GHOU), EU- UNAWE and Pokhara Astronomical Society (PAS) to disseminate those activities for the school children and teachers in Nepal. Our experiences working with kids, students, teachers and public in the field of universe Awareness Activities for the school children to minimize the abstruse concept of astronomy through some practical approach and the project like Astronomy for the visually impaired students, Galileo Teacher Training program and International School for young astronomers (ISYA) outskirts will be explained which is believed to play vital role in promoting astronomy and space science activities in Nepal.

Gamma ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hillier, R.

1984-01-01

The book reviews the development of gamma ray astronomy over the past twenty five years. A large section of the book is devoted to the problems of background radiation and the design of detectors. Gamma rays from the sun, the galactic disc, the galaxy, and extra galactic sources; are also discussed. (U.K.)

Astronomy and Creationism.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, David

1982-01-01

Discusses the effects on astronomy courses/curriculum if equal time were given to the concept that the universe was created in its present form about ten thousand years ago. Includes the full text on a resolution concerning creationism passed by the Board of Directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. (Author/JN)

Explorers of the Southern Sky: A History of Australian Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Haynes, Raymond; Haynes, Roslynn D.; Malin, David; McGee, Richard

1996-06-01

This well-illustrated volume is the most comprehensive account of Australian astronomy to date. It is both an indispensable reference book on the history of astronomy in Australia, and a highly readable study of a scientific discipline in the context of emerging nationhood. It covers not only the science, but the individuals involved and the social and economic climate in which they worked. Starting from the ancient Aboriginal beliefs about the Sky World - the earliest known astronomy, anywhere in the world - we are led through to the most exciting high-tech current and projected research being carried out at Australia's world-class national astronomy facilities, and by groups in Australian universities. All branches of astronomy are covered - optical, infrared, X-ray, gamma-ray, microwave, gravitational wave and theoretical - including the contribution of amateur astronomers. The non-technical language, many illustrations, and explanatory figures, ensure that this guide will appeal to a wide range of readers - including professional astronomers, historians of science, students, amateur astronomers and general readers.

International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009): Selected Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Taha, Mandy; Kraus, Joseph R.

2009-01-01

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) is a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture initiated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO. Through local, national and international events, the organization wants to help the citizens of the world connect with the universe through the day…

Special Session 4: Astronomy Education between Past and Future

Science.gov (United States)

de Greve, Jean-Pierre

2010-11-01

The special session aims at discussing an integrated approach of the different efforts to increase and promote the teaching and learning of astronomy in the world, with emphasis on developing countries. To this end, attention will be given to research on education, specifically in the field of physics, to best practices of the use of astronomy in educational systems (specifically in developing countries), and to innovative learning initiatives other than formal education. The Special Session aims also at creating a universal perspective wherein modern (post-Copernican) astronomy will presented as an intellectual cumulus. The objective of the session is to disseminate best practices in teaching and learning activities of astronomy and to give an opportunity to learn about initiatives in different cultural and socio-economic settings. The special session also wants to give food-for-thought and proposals for reflection for an integrative approach, and for optimization processes, to enhance the interest in astronomy and its role as a trigger towards science education in the educational systems, with emphasis on the developing countries. The outcome should be a sensitization of teachers and students alike to the concept of a universal history of astronomy and creation of some reliable source material which can be used as a teaching aid in a culture-specific context. The outcome could be a set of recommendations for future integrated actions, and eventually recommendations on new initiatives, framed into the new decadal policy plan.

SEKOLAH TINGGI ASTRONOMI DI KOTA PARE-PARE TEMA ARSITEKTUR METAFORA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahibuddin Juddah

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Abstrak— Kota Pare-Pare sebagai kota yang layak memiliki suatu fasilitas ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi yang diperuntukkan bagi generasi-generasi muda penerus bangsa di kota Pare-Pare dalam hal ini fasilitas ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi yang berkaitan dengan astronomi yakni Sekolah Tinggi Astronomi (Ilmu Perbintangan di Kota Pare-pare dengan tema Arsitektur Metafora. Pada bidang astronomi terdapat berbagai macam bentuk-bentuk fantastis yang dapat dijadikan lambang bentuk dalam arsitektur seperti bentuk rasi bintang, bentuk lintasan orbit planet dan bentuk-bentuk benda langit lainnya, begitu juga dengan bentuk-bentuk fenomena yang dihasilkannya. Dengan perwujudan bentuk-bentuk ini sebagai simbol pada gaya bangunan, baik bentuk bangunan, fungsi maupun penataan ruang di dalamnya, diharapkan pelaku kegiatan dalam bangunan merasakan maksud dan ekspresi dari bangunan. Kata Kunci : Sekolah Tinggi, Astronomi, Arsitektur Metafora Abstract—Pare- Pare as a city that deserves to have a facility of science and technology that is intended for younger generations in Pare - Pare in this case the facilities of science and technology relates to astronomy namely the College of Astronomy (Science Astrology in Pare- pare the theme of Architecture Metaphor. In the field of astronomy there are various kinds of fantastic shapes that can be used as the epitome of form in architecture such as the shape of constellations, planets orbit trajectory shapes and forms of other celestial bodies, as well as the forms of the phenomenon produces. The realization of these forms as a symbol on the style of the building, both buildings form, function and arrangement of space in it, it is hoped the perpetrators of activity in the building feel the intention and expression of the building Key word : High School, Astronomy, Metaphor Architecture

Women’s and men’s career choices in astronomy and astrophysics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Ivie

2016-08-01

Full Text Available [This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] The Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students (LSAGS arose from the 2003 Women in Astronomy Conference, where it was noted that a majority of young members of the American Astronomical Society were women. The astronomy community wishes to make every effort to retain young women in astronomy, so they commissioned a longitudinal study to be conducted that would pinpoint the factors that contribute to retention in general, with a focus on differences between women and men. The LSAGS follows a cohort of people who were graduate students in astronomy or astrophysics during 2006–07. The first survey was conducted during 2007–08 and the second during 2012–13. The analysis presented in this paper used a subset of the respondents, all of whom had Ph.D.s in astronomy, astrophysics, or a related field at the time of the second survey. We tested the effects of four major concepts on two measures of attrition from physics and astronomy. These concepts included the imposter syndrome, mentoring and advising during graduate school, the “two-body problem” that occurs when a couple needs to find two jobs in the same geographic area, and the sex of the respondent. While the imposter syndrome and mentoring affected the likelihood of respondents’ thinking about leaving the field, they did not directly contribute to actually working in a field that was not physics or astronomy. Relationship with graduate advisors and the two-body problem both had significant effects on working in physics or astronomy, as did completing a postdoc. The sex of the respondent had no direct effect on our measures of attrition, but indirectly affected attrition because women were less likely to report positive relationships with graduate advisors and more likely to report two-body problems. This research identifies specific areas of concern that can be addressed by the scientific community to increase

Kepler's Philosophy and the New Astronomy

CERN Document Server

Martens, Rhonda

2009-01-01

Johannes Kepler contributed importantly to every field he addressed. He changed the face of astronomy by abandoning principles that had been in place for two millennia, made important discoveries in optics and mathematics, and was an uncommonly good philosopher. Generally, however, Kepler's philosophical ideas have been dismissed as irrelevant and even detrimental to his legacy of scientific accomplishment. Here, Rhonda Martens offers the first extended study of Kepler's philosophical views and shows how those views helped him construct and justify the new astronomy.Martens notes that since Ke

The Development of Astronomy and Emergence of Astrophysics in New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Hearnshaw, John; Orchiston, Wayne

The development of astronomy and astrophysics in New Zealand from the earliest European exploration and settlement to the present day is discussed. The major contributions to astronomy by amateur astronomers are covered, as is the later development of astronomy and astrophysics in New Zealand's universities. The account includes the founding of professional observatories for optical astronomy at Mt. John (belonging to the University of Canterbury) and for radio astronomy at Warkworth (belonging to the Auckland University of Technology). Several major international collaborations in which New Zealand is participating (or has participated) are described, including SALT, MOA, IceCube and SKA. The founding and history of the Carter Observatory in Wellington, of the Stardome Observatory in Auckland (both engaged in astronomical education and outreach) and of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand are briefly covered.

ASTRONET: Strategic Planning for European Astronomy 2005-2025

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Johannes; Mourard, Denis

2015-08-01

European astronomy, with ESO and ESA, is supported by a wide variety of independent national agencies or similar bodies, which jointly provide ~98% of the total funding (with ~2% EU grants). In 2005 these agencies concluded that common strategic planning would be a more cost-effective approach, so they founded a consortium, ASTRONET (http://www.astronet-eu.org/), to prototype such an effort for all of Europe, with EU support. A bottom-up process resulted in a Science Vision (2007) and Infrastructure Roadmap (2008) for European astronomy, with recent updates (2014).These ASTRONET reports cover all branches of astronomy; infrastructures at all electromagnetic wavelengths as well as particles etc., on the ground and in space; laboratory work, software and archiving; and training, recruitment and public outreach. In short, they are agreed blueprints for what Europe plans to accomplish in the next 1-2 decades.Subsequently, a systematic and sustained pragmatic effort has been made to implement the strategy laid out in the Roadmap, including a common European participation in projects and facilities of global dimensions. Decisions on the organisation and construction of several major research facilities have been taken as foreseen (E-ELT, SKA, CTA,…), and they are on track for completion around 2025. The task for global astronomy is now to optimise the overall scientific returns and cost-effectiveness of these investments across wavelength domains, scientific disciplines, and political and financial borders. Accordingly, ASTRONET is currently transforming itself into a permanent, self-sustaining activity reaching out to the world.The ideal of a fully integrated global astronomy may not be reached until ~2050, but no science is better suited than astronomy to set such an example: One Universe surrounds us all, and one Earth is our platform. The IAU General Assembly is a springboard towards this goal.

Tools of radio astronomy

CERN Document Server

Wilson, Thomas L; Hüttemeister, Susanne

2009-01-01

The recent years have seen breathtaking progress in technology, especially in the receiver and digital technologies relevant for radio astronomy, which has at the same time advanced to shorter wavelengths. This is the updated and completely revised 5th edition of the most used introductory text in radio astronomy. It presents a unified treatment of the entire field from centimeter to sub-millimeter wavelengths. Topics covered include instruments, sensitivity considerations, observational methods and interpretations of the data recorded with both single dishes and interferometers. This text is useful to both students and experienced practicing astronomers. Besides making major updates and additions throughout the book, the authors have re-organized a number of chapters to more clearly separate basic theory from rapidly evolving practical aspects. Further, problem sets have been added at the end of each chapter.

3D Virtual Reality for Teaching Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Speck, Angela; Ruzhitskaya, L.; Laffey, J.; Ding, N.

2012-01-01

We are developing 3D virtual learning environments (VLEs) as learning materials for an undergraduate astronomy course, in which will utilize advances both in technologies available and in our understanding of the social nature of learning. These learning materials will be used to test whether such VLEs can indeed augment science learning so that it is more engaging, active, visual and effective. Our project focuses on the challenges and requirements of introductory college astronomy classes. Here we present our virtual world of the Jupiter system and how we plan to implement it to allow students to learn course material - physical laws and concepts in astronomy - while engaging them into exploration of the Jupiter's system, encouraging their imagination, curiosity, and motivation. The VLE can allow students to work individually or collaboratively. The 3D world also provides an opportunity for research in astronomy education to investigate impact of social interaction, gaming features, and use of manipulatives offered by a learning tool on students’ motivation and learning outcomes. Use of this VLE is also a valuable source for exploration of how the learners’ spatial awareness can be enhanced by working in 3D environment. We will present the Jupiter-system environment along with a preliminary study of the efficacy and usability of our Jupiter 3D VLE.

Peer-review Platform for Astronomy Education Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Heenatigala, Thilina; Russo, Pedro; Gomez, Edward; Strubbe, Linda

2015-08-01

Astronomy educators and teachers worldwide commonly request and search for high-quality astronomy activities to do with their students. Hundreds of astronomy education activities exist, as well as many resource repositories to find them. However, the quality of such resources is highly variable as they are not updated regularly or limited with content review. Since its launch in 2013, astroEDU has been addressing these issues and more by following a peer-review process. Each activity submitted is reviewed by an educator and a professional astronomer, balancing both the scientific and educational value of the content. Moreover, the majority of the reviewers are invited from IAU commissions related to the field of the activity, as an effort to get IAU members actively involved in the project. The website code, activities and layout design are open-access in order to make them accessible and adoptable for educators around the world. Furthermore the platform harnesses the OAD volunteer database to develop existing astronomy education activities into the astroEDU activity format. Published activities are also pushed to partner repositories and each activity is registered for DOI, allowing authors to cite their work. To further test the activities and improve the platform, astroEDU editorial team organises workshops.

Naming asteroids for the popularisation of astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Naranjo, O. A.

2008-06-01

We give a detailed description of how the naming of asteroids was used as a prize in competitions run by educational institutions and museums. There were two events, one in Venezuela and one in Brazil, which used this as an attractive alternative method for the popularisation of astronomy. The first competition, named Bautizo Espacial (Space Baptism), consisted of scientific stories written by high school students. The second, called Grande Desafio (Big Challenge), was a competition where teams of students were challenged to design and build prototype equipment to fight forest fires. Nationally, both events received wide publicity through newspapers, radio, TV and web pages, reaching many people in both countries. As part of both the events, several activities promoting the public knowledge of astronomy were held. The asteroids that were named in these competitions are just some of the many discovered in a search programme developed by the Group of Theoretical Astrophysics of University of Los Andes in Mérida, Venezuela (Grupo de Astrofisica Teórica de la Universidad de Los Andes) as a mainstream research programme. Finally, Asteroids for the Popularisation of Astronomy has been formally proposed to the IAU as a worldwide programme during the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy in 2009 (IYA2009).

Dyslexia and Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Schneps, Matthew H.; Greenhill, L. J.; Rose, L. T.

2007-12-01

Dyslexia is a hereditary neurological disability that impairs reading. It is believed that anywhere from 5% to 20% of all people in the US may have dyslexia to a greater or lesser degree. Though dyslexia is common, it is a "silent disability" in the sense that it is not easy to tell which individuals suffer from dyslexia and which do not. There is a substantial body of evidence to suggest that people with dyslexia tend to do well in science. For example, Baruj Benacerraf, a Nobel laureate in medicine, is among those whose impairments have been documented and studied. Given that dyslexia was not diagnosed in schools prior to the late 1970's, many established science researchers may have dyslexia and be unaware of their impairment. Therefore, it would not be surprising to find that substantial numbers of scientists working in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics have dyslexia, and yet be unaware of the effects this disability has had on their research. A recently proposed theory by the authors suggests that there may be specific neurological reasons why those with dyslexia may be predisposed to science, and predicts that dyslexia may be associated with enhanced abilities for certain types of visual processing, with special implications for image processing. Our study, funded by the NSF, investigates this hypothesis in the context of astronomy and astrophysics. We expect this work will uncover and document challenges faced by scientists with dyslexia, but perhaps more importantly, lead to an understanding of the strengths these scientists bring to research. The program will serve as a clearing-house of information for scientists and students with dyslexia, and begin to provide mentoring for young people with dyslexia interested in astronomy. Scientists who have reason to believe they may have dyslexia are encouraged to contact the authors.

A Community - Centered Astronomy Research Program

Science.gov (United States)

Boyce, Pat; Boyce, Grady

2017-06-01

The Boyce Research Initiatives and Education Foundation (BRIEF) is providing semester-long, hands-on, astronomy research experiences for students of all ages that results in their publishing peer-reviewed papers. The course in astronomy and double star research has evolved from a face-to-face learning experience with two instructors to an online - hybrid course that simultaneously supports classroom instruction at a variety of schools in the San Diego area. Currently, there are over 65 students enrolled in three community colleges, seven high schools, and one university as well as individual adult learners. Instructional experience, courseware, and supporting systems were developed and refined through experience gained in classroom settings from 2014 through 2016. Topics of instruction include Kepler's Laws, basic astrometry, properties of light, CCD imaging, use of filters for varying stellar spectral types, and how to perform research, scientific writing, and proposal preparation. Volunteer instructors were trained by taking the course and producing their own research papers. An expanded program was launched in the fall semester of 2016. Twelve papers from seven schools were produced; eight have been accepted for publication by the Journal of Double Observations (JDSO) and the remainder are in peer review. Three additional papers have been accepted by the JDSO and two more are in process papers. Three college professors and five advanced amateur astronomers are now qualified volunteer instructors. Supporting tools are provided by a BRIEF server and other online services. The server-based tools range from Microsoft Office and planetarium software to top-notch imaging programs and computational software for data reduction for each student team. Observations are performed by robotic telescopes worldwide supported by BRIEF. With this success, student demand has increased significantly. Many of the graduates of the first semester course wanted to expand their

Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide, 6th Edition

Science.gov (United States)

Moché, Dinah L.

2004-02-01

"A lively, up-to-date account of the basic principles of astronomy and exciting current field of research."-Science Digest For a quarter of a century, Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide has been making students and amateur stargazers alike feel at home among the stars. From stars, planets and galaxies, to black holes, the Big Bang and life in space, this title has been making it easy for beginners to quickly grasp the basic concepts of astronomy for over 25 years. Updated with the latest discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics, this newest edition of Dinah Moché's classic guide now includes many Web site addresses for spectacular images and news. And like all previous editions, it is packed with valuable tables, charts, star and moon maps and features simple activities that reinforce readers' grasp of basic concepts at their own pace, as well as objectives, reviews, and self-tests to monitor their progress. Dinah L. Moché, PhD (Rye, NY), is an award-winning author, educator, and lecturer. Her books have sold over nine million copies in seven languages.

The East Asian Office of Astronomy for Development

Science.gov (United States)

de Grijs, Richard; Zhang, Ziping

2015-08-01

At the 2012 General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) programme announced a number of exciting new partnerships to assist with the IAU's decadal strategic plan (2010-2020). These landmark decisions included establishing a new coordinating centre that aims at using astronomy as a tool for development in East Asia. The agreement covers two important functions. One is known as a Regional Node, which entails the coordination of astronomy-for-development activities in countries within the general geographical region of East Asia (in first instance China, Mongolia and the DPRK, but without placing firm geographical limits on the region). The other is known as a Language Expertise Centre which will deal with all aspects relating to (mainly) the Chinese language and culture. The impact of the latter may obviously spread well beyond the geographical region to other parts of the world. At this next General Assembly, we aim at updating the community of the achievements and aims of the East Asian Office of Astronomy for Development.

Astronomy Teaching through the Humanities: Literature, the Visual Arts and More

Science.gov (United States)

Fraknoi, A.; Greenstein, George

2004-12-01

We will examine how the humanities -- the visual arts, science fiction, poetry, music, etc. -- can be used in teaching introductory astronomy courses for non-science majors. A number of instructors have found innovative ways to show how astronomy has a deep influence on other areas of human culture and how the humanities can illuminate our students' understanding of the universe. A few astronomers are also making original contributions at the interface of astronomy and the humanities. The panel of speakers for the session will consists of: Gregory Benford (U. of California, Irvine): Using Science Fiction to Teach Astronomy: Promise and Pitfalls William Hartmann (Planetary Science Institute): Science and Art in the Classroom Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College & A.S.P.): The Humanities in the Astronomy Classroom: Activities and Projects George Greenstein (Amherst College) will be the session moderator. Time will be set aside for brief summaries of the poster papers associated with this session and for discussion. Participants will receive a resource guide to using the humanities for astronomy teaching.

Time analysis in astronomy: Tools for periodicity searches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buccheri, R.; Sacco, B.

1985-01-01

The authors discuss periodicity searches in radio and gamma-ray astronomy with special considerations for pulsar searches. The basic methodologies of fast Fourier transform, Rayleigh test, and epoch folding are reviewed with the main objective to compare cost and sensitivities in different applications. It is found that FFT procedures are convenient in unbiased searches for periodicity in radio astronomy, while in spark chamber gamma-ray astronomy, where the measurements are spread over a long integration time, unbiased searches are very difficult with the existing computing facilities and analyses with a-priori knowledge on the period values to look for are better done using the Rayleigh test with harmonics folding (Z /sub n/ test)

77 FR 54615 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-05

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883) meeting... on issues within the field of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to...

78 FR 61400 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-03

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883) meeting...) on issues within the field of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to...

78 FR 22346 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-15

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee... of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to the agencies. Agenda: To...

75 FR 7295 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-18

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee... within the field of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to the agencies...

78 FR 11685 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-19

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee... of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to the agencies. Agenda: To...

77 FR 22614 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-16

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee... of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to the agencies. Agenda: To...

76 FR 5214 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-28

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883) meeting... within the field of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to the agencies...

Design of the iSTAR International STudy on Astronomy Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Tatge, Coty B.; Slater, Stephanie J.

2015-01-01

Beginning in 2013, a small international collaborative of discipline-based astronomy education researchers began to build the foundation to start the International STudy on Astronomy Reasoning Project, known simply as iSTAR. The project was a direct result of the inability of existing large international investigations into the learning of science, such as the TIMSS and PISA studies, to provide actionable intelligence on either strengths or weaknesses of astronomy teaching across the world. This is not because those studies were flawed; rather, they focused on the general characteristics of teaching and learning across all sciences. Prior to the iSTAR effort, there has been no systematic effort to measure individual's conceptual astronomy understanding across the globe. The goal of studying a widely dispersed international sample is to identify cultural subpopulations that do not conform to our existing knowledge of student misconceptions, highlighting unexpected cultural or educational practices that hint at alternative, and perhaps more effective, means of instruction. As a first step, we are carefully translating the Test Of Astronomy STandards - TOAST multiple-choice assessment instrument and carefully attending to nuances that occur during the translation process as cultural clues to differences in the teaching and learning of astronomy. We are actively welcoming and seeking international partners in this work through the CAPERteam.com website and at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/iSTAR-Registration . This project is sponsored and managed by the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research in collaboration with members of the International Astronomical Union-Commission 46.

Prospective Pre-School Teachers' Attitudes towards Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Türk, Cumhur; Demir, Esra

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in prospective pre-school teachers' attitudes towards astronomy in terms of their grades. The study was conducted with 205 prospective teachers (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th graders) studying in the education faculty of a university in Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. Astronomy Attitude Scale (AAS) was…

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Sagar Sethi. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 41 Review. Tracking Galaxy Evolution Through Low-Frequency Radio Continuum Observations using SKA and Citizen-Science Research using ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Author Affiliations. X. Chen1 G. Fossati1 E. Liang1 M. Böttcher2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Astrophysical Institute, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, USA.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Sravani Vaddi. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 41 Review. Tracking Galaxy Evolution Through Low-Frequency Radio Continuum Observations using SKA and Citizen-Science Research using ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Abudusaimaitijiang Yisikandeer. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 3 September 2016 pp 22 Research Article. Velocity Distributions of Runaway Stars Produced by Supernovae in the Galaxy · Abudusaimaitijiang Yisikandeer ...

The Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) and Our NSF Funded CCLI Phase III Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS) Program: Updates to Our New Community-Based Model for Astronomy Education Research

Science.gov (United States)

Brissenden, Gina; Impey, C.; Prather, E. E.; Lee, K. M.; CATS

2010-01-01

The Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) has been devoted to improving teaching & learning in Astro 101 by creating research-validated curriculum & assessment instruments for use in Astro 101 & by providing Astro 101 instructors professional development opportunities to increase their pedagogical content knowledge & instructional skills at implementing these curricula & assessment materials. To create sustainability and further expand this work, CAE, in collaboration with other national leaders in astronomy education & research, developed the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS) Program. The primary goals of CATS are to: 1) increase the number of Astro 101 instructors conducting fundamental research in astronomy education 2) increase the amount of research-validated curriculum & assessment instruments available for use in Astro 101 3) increase the number of people prepared to develop & conduct their own CAE Teaching Excellence Workshops In our second year we have concluded a national study assessing the contribution students’ personal characteristics make to student learning gains and the effectiveness of interactive learning strategies. We have results from our classroom research validation study on the use of the "ClassAction” electronic learning system. We have begun creation of an assessment instrument designed specifically for Astro 101 to evaluate the effectiveness of our instruction in improving students’ attitudes & beliefs about science, and which is being informed by several of our studies and community input. We have also begun field-testing of our Solar System Concept Inventory. Additionally research into students’ beliefs and reasoning difficulties on topics in Cosmology is underway. We acknowledge the NSF for funding under Award No. 0715517, a CCLI Phase III Grant for the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS) Program.

The East Asian Regional Office of Astronomy for Development

Science.gov (United States)

de Grijs, Richard; Zhang, Ziping; He, Jinhua

2016-10-01

At the 2012 General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Office of Astronomy for Development announced a number of exciting new partnerships to assist with the IAU's decadal strategic plan (2010-2020). These landmark decisions included establishing a new coordinating centre that aims at using astronomy as a tool for development in East Asia. The agreement covers two important functions. One is known as a Regional Node, which entails the coordination of astronomy-for-development activities in countries within the general geographical region of East Asia. The other is known as a Language Expertise Centre which deals with all aspects relating to (mainly) the Chinese language and culture. The impact of the latter may obviously spread well beyond the geographical region to other parts of the world. Here we provide an update of the achievements and aims of the East Asian Office of Astronomy for Development.

75 FR 1087 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-08

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883) meeting... Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on issues within the field of astronomy and [[Page...

75 FR 22863 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-30

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee... Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on issues within the field of astronomy and...

77 FR 2095 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-13

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883) meeting... Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on issues within the field of astronomy and...

76 FR 58049 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-19

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883) meeting... Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on issues within the field of astronomy and...

The California-Arizona Minority Partnership for Astronomy Research and Education (CAMPARE): an Educational Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Arizona Alumni Association's Astronomy Camp.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemon, Courtney; McCarthy, D.; Rudolph, A.

2011-01-01

The California-Arizona Minority Partnership for Astronomy Research and Education (CAMPARE) is an NSF-funded partnership between the Astronomy Program at Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) and the University of Arizona Steward Observatory designed to promote participation of underrepresented minorities (including women) in astronomy research and education. As part of the education component of the program, CPP undergraduate physics majors and minors are eligible to work as a counselor at the University of Arizona's Astronomy Camp, one of the premier astronomy outreach opportunities in the world. CAMPARE students have the opportunity to work in this learn-by-doing environment with a wide range of students to gain first hand experience of teaching astronomy to students of a wide variety of ages in highly structured educational setting. Cal Poly Pomona students who are interested in education, both formal and informal, work in a variety of camps, from Girl Scout camps to camps for advanced high school students, to further their understanding of what it means to be a professional in the field of education. The CAMPARE student who participated in this program during summer 2010 had the opportunity to work under Dr. Don McCarthy, camp director of University of Arizona's Astronomy Camps for 20 years, and observe the interpersonal relations between campers and staff that is so vital to the learning the students receive. Through these observations, the CAMPARE student was able to learn to gauge students' interest in the material, and experience real life teaching and learning scenarios in the informal education realm.

The Effect of Solar Radiation on Radio Signal for Radio Astronomy Purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nor Hazmin Sabri; Atiq Wahidah Azlan; Roslan Umar; Roslan Umar; Shahirah Syafa Sulan; Zainol Abidin Ibrahim; Wan Zul Adli Wan Mokhtar

2015-01-01

Radio astronomy is a subfields of astronomy which is discovers the celestial objects at radio frequencies. Observation in radio astronomy is conducted using single antenna or array of antennas, known as radio telescope. Other than that, radio astronomy also holds an advantage over other alternatives to optical astronomy due to its capability of observing from the ground level. In this study, the effect of solar radiation that contributes the Radio Frequency Interferences (RFI) is reviewed. The low RFI level is required to set up the radio telescope for radio astronomy observation. The effect of solar radiation on radio signal was investigated by determining the RFI pattern using spectrum analyzer. The solar radiation data was obtained from weather station located at KUSZA Observatory, East Coast Environmental Research Institute (ESERI), UniSZA. We can conclude that the solar radiation factor give the minimum significant effect to radio signal. (author)

UC Berkeley's Celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, B. E.; Croft, S.; Silverman, J. M.; Klein, C.; Modjaz, M.

2010-08-01

We present the astronomy outreach efforts undertaken for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 at the University of California, Berkeley. Our department-wide endeavors included a monthly public lecture series by UC Berkeley astronomers and a major astronomy outreach event during a campus-wide university "open house," which included solar observing and a Starlab Planetarium. In addition to sharing our outreach techniques and outcomes, we discuss some of our unique strategies for advertising our events to the local community.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Gerard Vauclair. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 319-322 Session VII – Magnetoconvection & Stellar Activity. The Space Stellar Photometry Mission COROT: Asteroseismology and Search ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Abhishek Shukla. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 1 March 2017 pp 7 Research Article. Benford's Distribution in Extrasolar World: Do the Exoplanets Follow Benford's Distribution? Abhishek Shukla Ankit Kumar Pandey ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Siddhartha Bhattacharyya. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 37 Review. Fast Transients with the Square Kilometre Array and its Pathfinders: An Indian Perspective · Yashwant Gupta Poonam Chandra ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Stefano Ciroi. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 36 Issue 4 December 2015 pp 447-455 Review. Optical Counterparts of Undetermined Type -Ray Active Galactic Nuclei with Blazar-Like Spectral Energy Distributions.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Annie Baglin. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 319-322 Session VII – Magnetoconvection & Stellar Activity. The Space Stellar Photometry Mission COROT: Asteroseismology and Search ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Corot team. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 319-322 Session VII – Magnetoconvection & Stellar Activity. The Space Stellar Photometry Mission COROT: Asteroseismology and Search for ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Jordan Vannitsen. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 4 December 2017 pp 70 Research Article. A Satellite Data Analysis and CubeSat Instrument Simulator Tool for Simultaneous Multi-spacecraft Measurements of Solar ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Ankit Kumar Pandey. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 1 March 2017 pp 7 Research Article. Benford's Distribution in Extrasolar World: Do the Exoplanets Follow Benford's Distribution? Abhishek Shukla Ankit Kumar Pandey ...

Inuit Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, John

Inuit live mainly in the treeless Arctic regions of North America, Greenland, and parts of northeastern Siberia. Their cosmology, based on shamanistic belief, constructed a view of the sky and its contents distinctively suited to their spiritual and pragmatic needs. Their astronomy, particularly for those groups living far above the Arctic Circle, reflects the unique appearance of the celestial sphere at high northerly latitudes, demonstrated most noticeably in the annual disappearance of the sun during midwinter months.

Writing an Electronic Astronomy Book with Interactive Curricular Material

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Kristen L.; Belloni, Mario; Christian, Wolfgang

2015-01-01

With the rise of tablets, the past few years have seen an increase in the demand for quality electronic textbooks. Unfortunately, most of the current offerings do not exploit the accessibility and interactivity that electronic books can deliver. In this poster, we discuss how we are merging our curriculum development projects (Physlets, Easy Java/JavaScript Simulations, and Open Source Physics) with the EPUB electronic book format to develop an interactive textbook for use in a one-semester introductory astronomy course. The book, Astronomy: An Interactive Introduction, combines the narrative, equations, and images of a traditional astronomy text with new JavaScript simulations.

Monitoring and evaluating astronomy outreach programmes: Challenges and solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Chapman

2015-05-01

Full Text Available A number of tools exist to guide the monitoring and evaluation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM education and outreach programmes. Fewer tools exist for evaluating astronomy outreach programmes. In this paper we try to overcome this limitation by presenting a monitoring and evaluation framework developed for the International Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD. The mandate of the OAD is to stimulate sustainable development at an international level and to expand astronomy education and outreach globally. The broad assumptions of this programme are that astronomy has the potential to contribute to human development by means of the transferable nature of its science discoveries, as well as its potential to activate feelings of wonderment, inspiration and awareness of the universe. As a result, the programme potentially embodies a far broader mix of outcomes than conventionally considered in STEM evaluation approaches. Towards this aim, we operationalise our monitoring and evaluation approach by first outlining programme theories for three key OAD programmes: a programme for universities and research, another one for schools, and one for public outreach. We then identify outcomes, indicators and measures for each one of these programmes. We conclude with suggestions for evaluating the global impact of astronomy for development.

Intelligent Cognitive Radio Models for Enhancing Future Radio Astronomy Observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayodele Abiola Periola

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Radio astronomy organisations desire to optimise the terrestrial radio astronomy observations by mitigating against interference and enhancing angular resolution. Ground telescopes (GTs experience interference from intersatellite links (ISLs. Astronomy source radio signals received by GTs are analysed at the high performance computing (HPC infrastructure. Furthermore, observation limitation conditions prevent GTs from conducting radio astronomy observations all the time, thereby causing low HPC utilisation. This paper proposes mechanisms that protect GTs from ISL interference without permanent prevention of ISL data transmission and enhance angular resolution. The ISL transmits data by taking advantage of similarities in the sequence of observed astronomy sources to increase ISL connection duration. In addition, the paper proposes a mechanism that enhances angular resolution by using reconfigurable earth stations. Furthermore, the paper presents the opportunistic computing scheme (OCS to enhance HPC utilisation. OCS enables the underutilised HPC to be used to train learning algorithms of a cognitive base station. The performances of the three mechanisms are evaluated. Simulations show that the proposed mechanisms protect GTs from ISL interference, enhance angular resolution, and improve HPC utilisation.

An online tutor for astronomy: The GEAS self-review library

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole P. Vogt

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We introduce an interactive online resource for use by students and college instructors in introductory astronomy courses. The General Education Astronomy Source (GEAS online tutor guides students developing mastery of core astronomical concepts and mathematical applications of general astronomy material. It contains over 12,000 questions, with linked hints and solutions. Students who master the material quickly can advance through the topics, while underprepared or hesitant students can focus on questions on a certain topic for as long as needed, with minimal repetition. Students receive individual accounts for study and course instructors are provided with overview tracking information, by time and by topic, for entire cohorts of students. Diagnostic tools support self-evaluation and close collaboration between instructor and student, even for distance learners. An initial usage study shows clear trends in performance which increase with study time, and indicates that distance learners using these materials perform as well as or better than a comparison cohort of on-campus astronomy students. We are actively seeking new collaborators to use this resource in astronomy courses and other educational venues.

Introducing AstroGen: The Astronomy Genealogy Project

OpenAIRE

Tenn, Joseph S.

2016-01-01

The Astronomy Genealogy Project ("AstroGen"), a project of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), will soon appear on the AAS website. Ultimately, it will list the world's astronomers with their highest degrees, theses for those who wrote them, academic advisors (supervisors), universities, and links to the astronomers or their obituaries, their theses when on-line, and more. At present the AstroGen team is working on those who earned doctorates with ast...

The Astronomy Genealogy Project: A Progress Report

Science.gov (United States)

Tenn, Joseph S.

2016-01-01

Although it is not yet visible, much progress has been made on the Astronomy Genealogy Project (AstroGen) since it was accepted as a project of the Historical Astronomy Division (HAD) three years ago. AstroGen will list the world's astronomers with information about their highest degrees and advisors. (In academic genealogy, your thesis advisor is your parent.) A small group (the AstroGen Team) has compiled a database of approximately 12,000 individuals who have earned doctorates with theses (dissertations) on topics in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, or planetary science. These include nearly all those submitted in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, and most of those in the United States (all through 2014 for most universities and all through 1990 for all). We are compiling more information than is maintained by the Mathematics Genealogy Project (MGP). In addition to name, degree, university, year of degree, and thesis advisor(s), all provided by MGP as well, we are including years of birth and death when available, mentors in addition to advisors, and links to the thesis when it is online and to the person's web page or obituary, when we can find it. We are still struggling with some questions, such as the boundaries of inclusion and whether or not to include subfields of astronomy. We believe that AstroGen will be a valuable resource for historians of science as well as a source of entertainment for those who like to look up their academic family trees. A dedicated researcher following links from AstroGen will be able to learn quite a lot about the careers of astronomy graduates of a particular university, country, or era. We are still seeking volunteers to enter the graduates of one or more universities.

First Contact: Expectations of Beginning Astronomy Students

Science.gov (United States)

Lacey, T. L.; Slater, T. F.

1999-05-01

Three hundred seven undergraduate students enrolled in Introductory Astronomy were surveyed at the beginning of class to determine their expectations for course content. The course serves as a survey of astronomy for non-science majors and is a distribution course for general education core requirements. The course has no prerequisites, meets three times each week for 50 minutes, and represents three semester credit hours. The university catalog describes the course with the title "PHYSICS 101 - Mysteries of the Sky" and the official course description is: a survey of the struggle to understand the Universe and our place therein. The structure, growth, methods, and limitations of science will be illustrated using the development of astronomy as a vehicle. Present day views of the Universe are presented. Two questions were asked as open response items: What made you decide to take this course? and What do you expect to learn in this course? The reasons that students cited to take the course, in order of frequency, were: interested in astronomy, interesting or fun sounding course, required general education fulfillment, recommendation by peer. Secondary reasons cited were required for major or minor, general interest in science, and was available in the schedule. Tertiary reasons listed were recommendation by advisor or orientation leader, inflate grade point average, and heard good things about the teacher. The students' expectations about what they would learn in the course were numerous. The most common objects listed, in order of frequency, were: stars, constellations, planets, galaxies, black holes, solar system, comets, galaxies, asteroids, moon, and Sun. More interesting were the aspects not specifically related to astronomy. These were weather, atmosphere, UFOs and the unexplained, generally things in the sky. A mid-course survey suggests that students expected to learn more constellations and that the topics would be less in-depth.

Imaging X-ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elvis, M.

1990-01-01

The launch of the High Energy Astrophysical Observatory, more appealingly called the Einstein Observatory, marked one of the most revolutionary steps taken in astrophysics this century. Its greater sensitivity compared with earlier satellites and its ability to make high spacial and spectral resolution observations transformed X-ray astronomy. This book is based on a Symposium held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to celebrate a decade of Einstein Observatory's achievements. It discusses the contributions that this satellite has made to each area of modern astrophysics and the diversity of the ongoing work based on Einstein data. There is a guide to each of the main data bases now coming on-line to increase the availability and to preserve this valuable archive for the future. A review of NASA's next big X-ray mission, AXAF, and a visionary program for novel X-ray astronomy satellites by Riccardo Giacconi conclude this wide-ranging volume. (author)

Gamma ray astronomy and the COS-B satellite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cesarsky, C.J.; Paul, J.A.

1984-01-01

The European satellite COS-B, operating in space for almost seven years, has produced a full chart of the sky in gamma radiation. This chart is discussed in detail, as well as gamma astronomy, high energy photons, gamma photons, strange stars, young pulsars, stars seething with activity and quasar 3C273. Other gamma astronomy programmes are briefly mentioned. (U.K.)

Advances in astronomy and astrophysics 7

CERN Document Server

Kopal, Zdenek

2013-01-01

Advances in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 7 covers reviews about the advances in astronomy and astrophysics. The book presents reviews on the scattering of electrons by diatomic molecules and on Babcock's theory of the 22-year solar cycle and the latitude drift of the sunspot zone. The text then describes reviews on the structures of the terrestrial planets (Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury) and on type III solar radio bursts. The compact and dispersed cosmic matter is also considered with regard to the search for new cosmic objects and phenomena and on the nature of the ref shift from compact

'Land-marks of the universe': John Herschel against the background of positional astronomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Case, Stephen

2015-01-01

John Herschel (1792-1871) was the leading British natural philosopher of the nineteenth century, widely known and regarded for his work in philosophy, optics and chemistry as well as his important research and popular publications on astronomy. To date, however, there exists no extended treatment of his astronomical career. This paper, part of a larger study exploring Herschel's contributions to astronomy, examines his work in the context of positional astronomy, the dominant form of astronomical practice throughout his lifetime. Herschel, who did not himself practice positional astronomy and who was known for his non-meridional observations of specific stellar objects, was nonetheless a strong advocate for positional astronomy-but for very different reasons than the terrestrial applications to which it was most often put. For Herschel, the star catalogues of positional astronomy were the necessary observational foundation upon which information about the stars as physical objects could be constructed. Positional astronomy practiced in the great national observatories was not about navigation or timekeeping; it was a way to standardize stellar observations and make them useful data for constructing theories of the stars themselves. For Herschel, the seeds of the new astronomy emerged from the practices of the old.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. N. Kameswara Rao. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 26 Issue 2-3 June-September 2005 pp 331-338. High Resolution Stellar Spectroscopy with VBT Echelle Spectrometer · N. Kameswara Rao S. Sriram K. Jayakumar F. Gabriel.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. A. Gopakumar. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 36 Review. Neutron Star Physics in the Square Kilometre Array Era: An Indian Perspective · Sushan Konar Manjari Bagchi Debades Bandyopadhyay ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. K. M. Hiremath. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 263-264 Session V – Vector Magnetic Fields, Prominences, CMEs & Flares. Emergence of Twisted Magnetic Flux Related Sigmoidal ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Pantea Davoudifar. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 3 September 2011 pp 359-370. Extragalactic Gamma Ray Excess from Coma Supercluster Direction · Pantea Davoudifar S. Jalil Fatemi · More Details Abstract Fulltext ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Liu Zhong-Bao. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 2 June 2016 pp 12. Stellar Spectral Classification with Locality Preserving Projections and Support Vector Machine · Liu Zhong-bao · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Niruj M. Ramanujam. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 37 Review. Fast Transients with the Square Kilometre Array and its Pathfinders: An Indian Perspective · Yashwant Gupta Poonam Chandra Manjari ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Sushan Konar. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 36 Review. Neutron Star Physics in the Square Kilometre Array Era: An Indian Perspective · Sushan Konar Manjari Bagchi Debades Bandyopadhyay ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Nathalie Degenaar. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 3 September 2017 pp 49 Review Article. Cooling of Accretion-Heated Neutron Stars · Rudy Wijnands Nathalie Degenaar Dany Page · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. NAGENDRA KUMAR. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 29 Issue 1-2 March-June 2008 pp 243-248. Damping of Slow Magnetoacoustic Waves in an Inhomogeneous Coronal Plasma · Nagendra Kumar Pradeep ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Kalpana Duorah. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 30 Issue 3-4 September-December 2009 pp 165-175. Rapid Neutron Capture Process in Supernovae and Chemical Element Formation · Rulee Baruah Kalpana ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. H. L. Duorah. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 30 Issue 3-4 September-December 2009 pp 165-175. Rapid Neutron Capture Process in Supernovae and Chemical Element Formation · Rulee Baruah Kalpana Duorah H. L. Duorah.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Avinash A. Deshpande. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 37 Review. Fast Transients with the Square Kilometre Array and its Pathfinders: An Indian Perspective · Yashwant Gupta ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... ... Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy; Volume 21; Issue 3-4. Remote Sensing of the Heliospheric Solar Wind using Radio Astronomy Methods and Numerical Simulations. S. Ananthakrishnan. Session XI – Solar Wind & Interplanetary Magnetic Fields Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp ...

Adaptive Optics, LLLFT Interferometry, Astronomy

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2002-01-01

We propose to build a three telescope Michelson optical interferometer equipped with wavefront compensation technology as a demonstration and test bed for high resolution Deep Space Surveillance (DSS) and Astronomy...

The Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) Ushers in a New Community-Based Model for Astronomy Education Research with the NSF Funded CCLI Phase III Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS) Program

Science.gov (United States)

Brissenden, Gina; Impey, C.; Prather, E.; Lee, K.; Duncan, D.

2009-01-01

The Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) has been devoted to improving teaching & learning in Astro 101 by creating research-validated curriculum & assessment instruments for use in Astro 101 & by providing Astro 101 instructors professional development opportunities to increase their pedagogical content knowledge & instructional skills at implementing these curricula & assessment materials. To create sustainability and further expand this work, CAE, in collaboration with other national leaders in astronomy education & research, developed the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS) Program. The primary goals of CATS are to: 1) increase the number of Astro 101 instructors conducting fundamental research in astronomy education 2) increase the amount of research-validated curriculum & assessment instruments available for use in Astro 101 3) increase the number of people prepared to develop & conduct their own CAE Teaching Excellence Workshops In our first year we have concluded a national study assessing the teaching & learning of Astro 101 & the effect of interactive instruction. We have begun the initial analysis of the demographics data of this study. We have begun a classroom research validation study on the use of the "ClassAction” electronic learning system. We have begun to analyze data from two different studies on students’ attitudes & understanding of science to inform the creation of an assessment instrument designed specifically for Astro 101 to evaluate the effectiveness of our instruction in improving students’ attitudes & beliefs about science. We have also begun the development of a Solar System Concept Inventory. Additionally the development of the Solar System Concept Inventory and research into students’ beliefs and reasoning difficulties on topics in Cosmology are well underway. We acknowledge the NSF for funding under Award No. 0715517, a CCLI Phase III Grant for the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS) Program.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. K. Anilkumar. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 30 Review Article. Large Area X-Ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) Instrument on AstroSat and Some Preliminary Results from its Performance in the Orbit.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. ABHILASH R. SARWADE. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 39 Issue 1 February 2018 pp 11 Review. Study of X-ray transients with Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) onboard AstroSat · M. C. RAMADEVI B. T. RAVISHANKAR ABHILASH R.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. BLESSY ELIZABETH BABY. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 39 Issue 1 February 2018 pp 11 Review. Study of X-ray transients with Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) onboard AstroSat · M. C. RAMADEVI B. T. RAVISHANKAR ABHILASH ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Monica Trasatti. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 4 December 2011 pp 589-598. LOFAR: Recent Imaging Results and Future Prospects · George Heald Michael R. Bell Andreas Horneffer André R. Offringa ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. SANTABRATA DAS. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 23 Issue 1-2 March-June 2002 pp 143-147. Standing Shocks around Black Holes and Estimation of Outflow Rates · Santabrata Das Sandip K. Chakrabarti · More Details Abstract ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. G. Maheswar. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 38 Review. Interstellar Medium and Star Formation Studies with the Square Kilometre Array · P. Manoj S. Vig G. Maheswar U. S. Kamath A. Tej.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Gireesh C. Joshi. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 4 December 2017 pp 72 Research Article. Identification of Stellar Sequences in Various Stellar Systems: ESO65-SC03, Teutsch 106, Turner 6 · Gireesh C. Joshi.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Rajesh Mondal. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 29 Review. Modelling the 21-cm Signal from the Epoch of Reionization and Cosmic Dawn · T. Roy Choudhury Kanan Datta Suman Majumdar ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Surya Ratna Prakash Dumpa. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 35 Review Article. Planning and Scheduling of Payloads of AstroSat During Initial and Normal Phase Observations · R. Pandiyan S. V. ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Surajit Paul. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 4 December 2011 pp 533-536. Double Relics in the Outskirts of A3376: Accretion Flows Meet Merger Shocks? Ruta Kale K. S. Dwarakanath Joydeep Bagchi Surajit Paul.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. T. Roy Choudhury. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 27 Review. Probing Individual Sources during Reionization and Cosmic Dawn using Square Kilometre Array HI 21-cm Observations · Kanan K. Datta ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Anjan A. Sen. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 33 Review. Cosmology and Astrophysics using the Post-Reionization HI · Tapomoy Guha Sarkar Anjan A. Sen · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. C. R. Subrahmanya. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 1 March 2017 pp 10 Review Article. The Ooty Wide Field Array · C. R. Subrahmanya P. K. Manoharan Jayaram N. Chengalur · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. MOHAMMED HASAN. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 39 Issue 1 February 2018 pp 11 Review. Study of X-ray transients with Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) onboard AstroSat · M. C. RAMADEVI B. T. RAVISHANKAR ABHILASH R.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Samir Choudhuri. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 35 Review. Prospects of Measuring the Angular Power Spectrum of the Diffuse Galactic Synchrotron Emission with SKA1 Low · Sk. Saiyad Ali Somnath ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. PATRICK DAS GUPTA. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 39 Issue 1 February 2018 pp 14 Review. Collapsing supra-massive magnetars: FRBs, the repeating FRB121102 and GRBs · PATRICK DAS GUPTA NIDHI SAINI · More Details ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. G. C. Anupama. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 34 Issue 2 June 2013 pp 175-192. Generation of a Near Infra-Red Guide Star Catalog for Thirty-Meter Telescope Observations · Smitha Subramanian Annapurni Subramaniam Luc ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Sujan Sengupta. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 34 Issue 2 June 2013 pp 151-155. Spectro-Polarimetry of Self-Luminous Extrasolar Planets · Sujan Sengupta · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. Planets which are ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. VIVEK KUMAR AGARWAL. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 32 Review Article. Early In-orbit Performance of Scanning Sky Monitor Onboard AstroSat · M. C. Ramadevi B. T. Ravishankar N. Sitaramamurthy G.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. N. Kumar. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 3 September 2017 pp 57. Classical Orbital Paramagnetism in Non-equilibrium Steady State · Avinash A. Deshpande N. Kumar · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Prateek Sharma. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 31 Review. Clusters of Galaxies and the Cosmic Web with Square Kilometre Array · Ruta Kale K. S. Dwarakanath Dharam Vir Lal Joydeep Bagchi ...

Laboratory Experiments in Physics for Modern Astronomy With Comprehensive Development of the Physical Principles

CERN Document Server

Golden, Leslie

2013-01-01

This book presents experiments which will teach physics relevant to astronomy. The astronomer, as instructor, frequently faces this need when his college or university has no astronomy department and any astronomy course is taught in the physics department. The physicist, as instructor, will find this intellectually appealing when faced with teaching an introductory astronomy course. From these experiments, the student will acquire important analytical tools, learn physics appropriate to astronomy, and experience instrument calibration and the direct gathering and analysis of data. Experiments that can be performed in one laboratory session as well as semester-long observation projects are included. This textbook is aimed at undergraduate astronomy students.

2009 International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009)

Science.gov (United States)

Wiseman, Jennifer

2009-01-01

400 years ago, Galileo first turned a telescope to the sky, and to honor that historic moment, 2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009). This session will feature two scientists who have used the telescope to understand our solar system and well beyond to yield fantastic new discoveries. Jennifer Wiseman will share the work she does with NASA, presenting beautiful and tantalizing images from the Hubble Space Telescope and discussing how space astronomy can inspire all ages.

The Spectrum Landscape: Prospects for Terrestrial Radio Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Liszt, Harvey Steven

2018-01-01

Radio astronomers work within broad constraints imposed by commercial and other non-astronomical uses of the radio spectrum, somewhat modified to accommodate astronomy’s particular needs through the provision of radio quiet zones, radio frequency allocations, coordination agreements and other devices of spectrum management. As radio astronomers increase the instantaneous bandwidth, frequency coverage and sensitivity of their instruments, these external constraints, and not the limitations of their own instruments, will increasingly be the greatest obstacles to radio astronomy’s ability to observe the cosmos from the surface of the Earth. Therefore, prospects for future radio astronomy operations are contingent on situational awareness and planning for the impact of non-astronomical uses of the radio frequency spectrum. New radio astronomy instruments will have to incorporate adaptive reactions to external developments, and radio astronomers should be encouraged to think in untraditional ways. Increased attention to spectrum management is one of these. In this talk I’ll recap some recent developments such as the proliferation of 76 – 81 GHz car radar and orbiting earth-mapping radars, either of which can burn out a radio astronomy receiver. I’ll summarize present trends for non-astronomical radio spectrum use that will be coming to fruition in the next decade or so, categorized into terrestrial fixed and mobile, airborne and space-borne uses, sub-divided by waveband from the cm to the sub-mm. I’ll discuss how they will impact terrestrial radio astronomy and the various ways in which radio astronomy should be prepared to react. Protective developments must occur both within radio astronomy’s own domain – designing, siting and constructing its instruments and mitigating unavoidable RFI – and facing outward toward the community of other spectrum users. Engagement with spectrum management is no panacea but it is an important means, and perhaps the only

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. U. S. Kamath. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 38 Review. Interstellar Medium and Star Formation Studies with the Square Kilometre Array · P. Manoj S. Vig G. Maheswar U. S. Kamath A. Tej.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. A. K. Singh. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 29 Review Article. Soft X-ray Focusing Telescope Aboard AstroSat: Design, Characteristics and Performance · K. P. Singh G. C. Stewart N. J. Westergaard S.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. J. O. Stenflo. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 451-457 Session XII – Conclusion. Summary Lecture · J. O. Stenflo · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. This summary ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. P. Kharb. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 34 Review. From Nearby Low Luminosity AGN to High Redshift Radio Galaxies: Science Interests with Square Kilometre Array · P. Kharb D. V. Lal V. Singh J.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. John McKean. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 4 December 2011 pp 557-566. LOFAR and APERTIF Surveys of the Radio Sky: Probing Shocks and Magnetic Fields in Galaxy Clusters · Huub Röttgering ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Zhao Wen-juan. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 21 Research Article. Classification of Stellar Spectra with Fuzzy Minimum Within-Class Support Vector Machine · Liu Zhong-bao Song Wen-ai Zhang Jing ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. V. Navalkar. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 29 Review Article. Soft X-ray Focusing Telescope Aboard AstroSat: Design, Characteristics and Performance · K. P. Singh G. C. Stewart N. J. Westergaard S.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. B. N. Dwivedi. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 397-401 Session X – Cycle Variation in the Quiet Corona & Coronal Holes. The EUV Spectrum of Sunspot Plumes ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. K. H. Navalgund. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 29 Review Article. Soft X-ray Focusing Telescope Aboard AstroSat: Design, Characteristics and Performance · K. P. Singh G. C. Stewart N. J. Westergaard S.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. G. Srinivasan. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 25 Issue 3-4 September-December 2004 pp 143-183. A High Galactic Latitude HI 21 cm-line Absorption Survey using the GMRT: I. Observations and Spectra · Rekhesh Mohan K. S. ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Viral Parekh. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 4 December 2016 pp 31 Review. Clusters of Galaxies and the Cosmic Web with Square Kilometre Array · Ruta Kale K. S. Dwarakanath Dharam Vir Lal Joydeep Bagchi Surajit ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Siddharth S. Malu. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 4 December 2011 pp 541-544. 18 GHz SZ Measurements of the Bullet Cluster · Siddharth S. Malu Ravi Subrahmanyan · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Developing a diverse and inclusive workforce in astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Lisa; McConnell, Nicholas; Seagroves, Scott; Barnes, Austin; Smith, Sonya; Palomino, Rafael

2018-06-01

Workforce development -- the preparation and advancement of a diverse and effective workforce -- in astronomy demands attention to a range of different career pathways, such as scientific users, telescope operations, and instrument builders. We will discuss the resources, expertise, and leadership needed to address workforce development challenges in astronomy, and the potential of one or more white papers to be prepared for the 2020 Decadal Survey. Potential white paper topics include (1) mentoring, training, and workplace practices to support diversity and inclusion; (2) enabling the next generation of astronomy faculty to teach effectively and inclusively; (3) supporting telescopes’ needs for local engineering and technologist talent, while telescope collaborations grow in scale and global extent; and (4) equipping early-career astronomers and instrumentalists with strategies and tools that are necessary for collaborating effectively on international teams.

X-ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Culhane, J.L.; Sanford, P.W.

1981-01-01

X-ray astronomy has been established as a powerful means of observing matter in its most extreme form. The energy liberated by sources discovered in our Galaxy has confirmed that collapsed stars of great density, and with intense gravitational fields, can be studied by making observations in the X-ray part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The astronomical objects which emit detectable X-rays include our own Sun and extend to quasars at the edge of the Universe. This book describes the history, techniques and results obtained in the first twenty-five years of exploration. Space rockets and satellites are essential for carrying the instruments above the Earth's atmosphere where it becomes possible to view the X-rays from stars and nebulae. The subject is covered in chapters, entitled: the birth of X-ray astronomy; the nature of X-radiation; X-rays from the Sun; solar-flare X-rays; X-rays from beyond the solar system; supernovae and their remnants; X-rays from binary stars; white dwarfs and neutron stars; black holes; X-rays from galaxies and quasars; clusters of galaxies; the observatories of the future. (author)

The Astronomy Genealogy Project

Science.gov (United States)

Tenn, Joseph S.

2014-01-01

The Astronomy Genealogy Project, to be known as AstroGen, will list as many as possible of the world's astronomers with their academic parents (aka thesis advisors) and enable the reader to trace both academic ancestors and descendants. It will be very similar to the highly successful Mathematics Genealogy Project (MGP), available at http://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu. The MGP, which has been in operation since 1996, now contains the names of about 170,000 "mathematicians." These include many physicists and astronomers, as well as practitioners of related sciences. Mitchel Keller, the director of the MGP, has generously shared the software used in that project, and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) will host AstroGen, a project of the Historical Astronomy Division, on its website. We expect to start seeking entries soon, depending on the availability of computational assistance from the AAS IT department. We are seeking volunteers to help run the project. If you are interested, please contact me at joe.tenn@sonoma.edu.

Christoph Rothmann's compendium of astronomy of 1589. (German Title: Christoph Rothmanns Handbuch der Astronomie von 1589)

Science.gov (United States)

Granada, Miguel A.; Hamel, Jürgen; von Mackensen, Ludolf

Around 1560, landgrave William IV. founded on his Cassel castle the first permanent observatory of modern times in Europe, and started to occupy himself with systematic sky observations. From the beginning, the main interest was focussed on the fixed stars, since William had recognized that exact position determinations were a prerequisite for further progress in astronomy. The observatory personnel was enlarged, in 1579, by the mathematician, clock-maker and instrument-maker Jost Bürgi, and in 1584 by the practical astronomer Christoph Rothmann. Since that time, intense work was carried out by creating a catalogue of fixed stars, based on own observations, which was completed in 1589. The accuracy of its stellar positions had not been reached in the past, and even superseded that of the almost contemporary catalogue by Tycho Brahe. Research in theoretical astronomy and cosmology at the landgrave's court in Cassel was also revolutionary: the acceptance of the heliocentric world system, investigations on refraction, the dismissal of the concept of solid planetary spheres and even that of a world ether, the nature of cometary tails, etc. Christoph Rothmann's work, edited here for the first time on the basis of the original manuscript, had been drafted as a commentary or introduction to his catalogue of fixed stars. He describes the construction and use of astronomical instruments, he unfolds his concepts of the system of the world on a heliocentric basis without solid planetary spheres to which he was lead by his research on refraction, he discusses the relation between astronomy and theology, and describes his revolutionary work on the Cassel star catalogue. This work constitutes a compendium of theoretical and practical astronomy of the late 16th century whose major scientific importance lies in the fact that it achieves scientific excellence in its time both because of the multitude of topics and because of the high level of discussion.

Practical astronomy in Indo-Persian sources

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, S. M. R.

In the classical survey of zij literature (by E. Kennedy, 1956), out of 220 listed zijes only three zijes compiled in India are mentioned. They are: Zij-i Jami', ca 1461/62 (Kennedy serial No. X220); Zij-i Shahjahani, ca 1610 (X204); Zij-i Muhammad Shahi, ca 1730 (X203). However, since that classical survey, a number of Indian zijes have been found to be extant. They are: Zij-i Nasiri (ca 1260), Zij-i Nizami (ca 1780), Zij-i Hindi (1805), Zij-i 'Alami (ca 1808), Zij-i Ashki (1816), Zij-i Safdari (1819), Zij-i Sulayman Jahi (1830) and Zij-i Bahadur Khani (1838). It is well known that a zij comprises astronomical-mathematical and also astrological tables for use in practical or observational astronomy. From the standpoint of applied astronomy, it consists of particularly eclipse tables, visibility tables - for lunar crescent, apparitions and disappearances of planets - geographical and star tables. Evidently, this tabulated material can be used for the studies in applied astronomy. Besides zijes, we find also other classes of literature in which are treated the observations of comets, fireballs and meteorites. They are treatises on atmospheric phenomena (Athar-i 'Ulawi), chronicles and histories of Medieval India in Persian. For instance, we have histories by Abul Fadl and 'Arif Qandhari (16-17th c.), al-Husayni (18th c.), to name just a few. In this paper, we describe briefly the above-mentioned Indo-Persian sources, list the various celestial phenomena along with their short account as given in these sources, particularly in the Indian zijes. Finally, we make some remarks about their use in applied astronomy.

The new Andean Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (ROAD)

Science.gov (United States)

Char, Farid; Forero-Romero, Jaime

2015-08-01

The Andean Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (ROAD) is a new effort in South America to serve several goals in astronomical development. Six countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Perú and Venezuela) will work together, representing a common language block in the Andean region and focusing on develop strategies to strengthen the professional research, education and popularization of astronomy. Our current Working Structure comprises a ROAD Coordinator and Coordinators per Task Force, as well as Organizing Committees, Collaborators and Volunteers.The participating institutions of this new ROAD have been involved in many projects involving each of the current OAD’s Task Forces: research, schools and children and public, exploring educational activities/material to be shared among the Andean countries, standardizing the knowledge and creating inspirational experiences. We expect to generate many efforts in order to bring a more homogeneous activity in each Andean country, taking into account the special role of Chile in global astronomy, due to its great conditions for astronomy and the involvement of many professional observatories, universities and astronomy institutions.Our current (and upcoming) most relevant activities includes: Andean Schools on Astronomy, Andean Graduate Program and Massive Open Online Courses (TF1); Virtual Training Sessions and Teaching material for the visually impaired students; Annual TF2 meeting to gather all the collaborators (TF2); Development for planetariums and Communicating Astronomy with the Public (TF3). The Andean region, in the other hand, will also be involved in at least two important events: the CAP Meeting in May 2016 and the XV LARIM in October 2016 (both in Colombia); and Chile will bid to host the XXXI IAU GA in 2021, with the aim of show the great advances in astronomical development from the Andean region and South America.

Optics Developments for X-Ray Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsey, Brian

2014-01-01

X-ray optics has revolutionized x-ray astronomy. The degree of background suppression that these afford, have led to a tremendous increase in sensitivity. The current Chandra observatory has the same collecting area (approx. 10(exp 3)sq cm) as the non-imaging UHURU observatory, the first x-ray observatory which launched in 1970, but has 5 orders of magnitude more sensitivity due to its focusing optics. In addition, its 0.5 arcsec angular resolution has revealed a wealth of structure in many cosmic x-ray sources. The Chandra observatory achieved its resolution by using relatively thick pieces of Zerodur glass, which were meticulously figured and polished to form the four-shell nested array. The resulting optical assembly weighed around 1600 kg, and cost approximately $0.5B. The challenge for future x-ray astronomy missions is to greatly increase the collecting area (by one or more orders of magnitude) while maintaining high angular resolution, and all within realistic mass and budget constraints. A review of the current status of US optics for x-ray astronomy will be provided along with the challenges for future developments.

Freshman Seminars: Interdisciplinary Engagements in Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Hemenway, M. K.

2006-08-01

The Freshman Seminar program at the University of Texas is designed to allow groups of fifteen students an engaging introduction to the University. The seminars introduce students to the resources of the university and allow them to identify interesting subjects for further research or future careers. An emphasis on oral and written communication by the students provides these first-year students a transition to college-level writing and thinking. Seminar activities include field trips to an art museum, a research library, and the Humanities Research Center rare book collection. This paper will report on two seminars, each fifteen weeks in length. In "The Galileo Scandal" students examine Galileo's struggle with the church (including a mock trial). They perform activities that connect his use of the telescope and observations to astronomical concepts. In "Astronomy and the Humanities" students analyze various forms of human expression that have astronomical connections (art, drama, literature, music, poetry, and science fiction); they perform hands-on activities to reinforce the related astronomy concepts. Evaluation of the seminars indicates student engagement and improvement in communication skills. Many of the activities could be used independently to engage students enrolled in standard introductory astronomy classes.

The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy

CERN Document Server

Evans, James

1998-01-01

The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy combines new scholarship with hands-on science to bring readers into direct contact with the work of ancient astronomers. While tracing ideas from ancient Babylon to sixteenth-century Europe, the book places its greatest emphasis on the Greek period, when astronomers developed the geometric and philosophical ideas that have determined the subsequent character of Western astronomy. The author approaches this history through the concrete details of ancient astronomical practice. Carefully organized and generously illustrated, the book can teach reade

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Siddharth Malu. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 4 December 2011 pp 529-532. Discovery of a Giant Radio Halo in a Massive Merging Cluster at = 0.443 · K. S. Dwarakanath Siddharth Malu Ruta Kale · More Details ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Essy Samuel. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 31 Review Article. The Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager on AstroSat · V. Bhalerao D. Bhattacharya A. Vibhute P. Pawar A. R. Rao M. K. Hingar Rakesh Khanna ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Ruta Kale. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 4 December 2011 pp 529-532. Discovery of a Giant Radio Halo in a Massive Merging Cluster at = 0.443 · K. S. Dwarakanath Siddharth Malu Ruta Kale · More Details Abstract ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. C. Konar. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 4 December 2011 pp 471-474. A Multifrequency Study of Five Large Radio Galaxies · A. Pirya S. Nandi D. J. Saikia C. Konar M. Singh · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. V. Girish. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 26 Issue 2-3 June-September 2005 pp 203-211. HD 12098 and Other Results from Nainital–Cape Survey · V. Girish · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. Nainital;Cape Survey was started ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. H. M. Antia. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 353-356 Session VIII – Helioseismology. Temporal Variation of Large Scale Flows in the Solar Interior · Sarbani Basu H. M. ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. N. Vagshette. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 31 Review Article. The Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager on AstroSat · V. Bhalerao D. Bhattacharya A. Vibhute P. Pawar A. R. Rao M. K. Hingar Rakesh Khanna ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Biswajit Paul. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 28 Issue 4 December 2007 pp 175-184. Search for Orbital Motion of the Pulsar 4U 1626-67: Candidate for a Neutron Star with a Supernova Fall-back Accretion Disk.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. M. Ferricha-Alami. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 36 Issue 2 June 2015 pp 269-280. Tree Level Potential on Brane after Planck and BICEP2 · M. Ferricha-Alami A. Safsafi L. Lahlou H. Chakir M. Bennai.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Sergey V. Ershkov. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 1 March 2017 pp 5 Research Article. Forbidden Zones for Circular Regular Orbits of the Moons in Solar System, R3BP · Sergey V. Ershkov · More Details Abstract Fulltext ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. T. Sivarani. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 34 Issue 1 March 2013 pp 5-17 Review Articles. Stellar Relics from the Early Galaxy · T. Sivarani · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. We reviewed the recent progress in ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Visweshwar Ram Marthi. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 1 March 2017 pp 12 Review Article. Prowess – A Software Model for the Ooty Wide Field Array · Visweshwar Ram Marthi · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. One of ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Chetana Jain. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 28 Issue 4 December 2007 pp 175-184. Search for Orbital Motion of the Pulsar 4U 1626-67: Candidate for a Neutron Star with a Supernova Fall-back Accretion Disk.

Essays on medieval computational astronomy

CERN Document Server

Bergón, José Chabás

2014-01-01

In Essays on Medieval Computational Astronomy the authors provide examples of original and intelligent approaches and solutions given by medieval astronomers to the problems of their discipline, mostly presented in the form of astronomical tables.

History of the modern astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrmann, D.B.

1984-01-01

The book treats the following topics: structure and motion of the sky - classical astronomy, origin of astrophysics, macrocosm - microcosm, and techniques and organization of research. 86 black-and-white and 15 color plates are included

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. A. A. Hakobyan. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 37 Issue 1 March 2016 pp 1. H α Velocity Fields and Galaxy Interaction in the Quartet of Galaxies NGC 7769, 7770, 7771 and 7771A · A. A. Yeghiazaryan T. A. ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. K. S. Dwarakanath. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 24 Issue 1-2 March-June 2003 pp 37-43. GMRT Detection of HI 21cm Associated Absorption towards the = 1.2 Red Quasar 3C 190 · C. H. Ishwara-Chandra K. S. Dwarakanath ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Blazar Observations in Infrared and Optical. Methods for the Quasi-Periodic Variability Analysis in Blazars ... Astronomy Education for Physics Students · J. H. Fan J. S. Zhang J. Y. Zhang Y. Liu H. G. Wang .... Training in Astronomy for Physics Students · J. H. Fan · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. M. M. Lame'e. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 31 Issue 2 June 2010 pp 97-104. Photometric Observation and Light Curve Analysis of Binary System ER-Orionis · M. M. Lame'e B. Javanmardi N. Riazi · More Details ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Author Affiliations. J. B. Su1 Z.-Q. Shen1 X. Chen1 Jiyune Yi2 D. R. Jiang1 Y. J. Yun3. Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China. Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon 305-348, South Korea. Department of Physics and Astronomy, ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. S. V. Vadawale. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 31 Review Article. The Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager on AstroSat · V. Bhalerao D. Bhattacharya A. Vibhute P. Pawar A. R. Rao M. K. Hingar Rakesh Khanna ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. K. Duorah. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 36 Issue 3 September 2015 pp 375-383. A Comparative Study on SN II Progenitors for the Synthesis of Li and B with the help of Neutrinos · N. Lahkar S. Kalita H. L. Duorah K. Duorah.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. D. J. Saikia. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 4 December 2011 pp 471-474. A Multifrequency Study of Five Large Radio Galaxies · A. Pirya S. Nandi D. J. Saikia C. Konar M. Singh · More Details Abstract ...

Teaching of Science Through the Seedbed of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno Pedraza, L. A.; Salinas Barreto, L. F.

2017-07-01

This astronomy seedbed seeks for different methodologies for the development of lifelong learning; this seedbed works through three lines of field that are: rocketry (work different models to reach an advanced machinery), paper models of probes and space vehicles (looking for the representation of the mechanism and its operation), comets (the study of movement in our solar system). In light of the above this seedbed will achieve a breakthrough in science thanks to this learning based on field projects, with different methodologies of study. For this reason we took into account the design and modeling of structures for the explanation of astronomical trends. Taking into account a school curriculum with research activities in astronomy, astrophysics and aerospace science-oriented from the basic knowledge of astronomy, such as the modeling of the motion of the planets, the model of an immediately propulsion rocket and the representation of the functioning of a black hole. The advances were: in rocketry on February 18 2012, in the municipality of "Villa de Leyva", in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founder of the Dominicans of St Catherine of Siena, was launched a pilot of solid fuel rocket with a payload that reached a height of a thousand meters. The modeling on paper in 2015, in the seedbed of astronomy were different models of rockets, spacecraft and satellites. In order to be able to explain in a simple and didactic way the advances in astronomy of these technological mechanism. Since 2015 the observation camp has taken place using telescopes Smith Cassegrain type. This equipment allow investigators to get photos using color filters, which demonstrate the process of this great event.

Gravitational-wave astronomy: delivering on the promises

Science.gov (United States)

Schutz, B. F.

2018-05-01

Now that LIGO and Virgo have begun to detect gravitational-wave events with regularity, the field of gravitational-wave astronomy is beginning to realize its promise. Binary black holes and, very recently, binary neutron stars have been observed, and we are already learning much from them. The future, with improved sensitivity, more detectors and detectors like LISA in different frequency bands, has even more promise to open a completely hidden side of the Universe to our exploration. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue `The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy'.

XUV astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beuermann, K.P.; Technische Univ. Berlin

1980-01-01

A review is presented of the young field of extreme-ultraviolet astronomy at wavelengths from 50 Angstroem to 912 Angstroem. In recent years, it was realized that observations in this wavelength band could be performed due to the lucky circumstance that the sun is located in an extended region of extremely low interstellar gas density. Hence, the horizon for observations at 100 Angstroem due to the photoelectric opacity of the interstellar medium is typically at a distance of about 200 pc. Since 1975 a series of rocket and satellite observations have yielded the first positive results. Sources which radiate primarily in the extreme ultraviolet have been detected and even the small list of currently observed objects has had immediate impact on the studies of both stellar evolution and the interstellar medium. Diffuse emission from the interstellar medium results from a hot 10 5 to 10 6 K component of the interstellar gas. Prime stellar candidates for extreme-ultraviolet observations are (1) hot low-luminosity stars at the blue end of the HR diagram as, e.g., white dwarfs at the beginning of the cooling sequence, (2) atmospheric emission from stars surrounded by a hot corona or with flaring activity, (3) mass-exchanging binary systems as, e.g., main-sequence close binaries or catalysmic variables. The article discusses the prospects of extreme-ultraviolet astronomy and reviews the existing observations of extreme-ultraviolet emission from the interstellar medium and from stellar sources of the different categories. (orig.)

The Cost of Astronomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dorch, Bertil F.

Using Scopus and national sources, I have investigated the evolution of the cost of publishing in Danish astronomy on a fine scale over a number of years. I find that the number of publications per year from Danish astronomers increased by a factor of four during 15 years: naturally, the correspo...

Social Representations of the Integrated High School Students about Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, Jose Isnaldo de Lima; Voelzke, Marcos Rincon

2017-07-01

Astronomy issues are not always adequately handled in the formal education system, as well as, their dissemination in the media is often loaded with sensationalism. However, in this context the students are forming their explanations about it. Therefore, this work has the objective of identifying the possible social representations of students from the Integrated High School on the inductor term Astronomy. It is basically a descriptive research, therefore, a quali-qualitative approach was adopted. The procedures for obtaining the data occurred in the form of a survey, and they involved 653 subjects students from the Integrated High School. The results indicate that the surveyed students have social representations of the object Astronomy, which are based on elements from the formal education space, and also disclosed in the media. In addition, they demonstrate that the students have information about Astronomy, and a value judgment in relation to this science.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. S. Seetha. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 1-2 June 2000 pp 29-38. X-ray Observation of XTE J2012+381 during the 1998 Outburst · S. Naik P. C. Agrawal B. Paul A. R. Rao S. Seetha Κ. Kasturirangan · More Details Abstract ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. P. Priya. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 38 Issue 2 June 2017 pp 31 Review Article. The Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager on AstroSat · V. Bhalerao D. Bhattacharya A. Vibhute P. Pawar A. R. Rao M. K. Hingar Rakesh Khanna A. P. K. ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. J. Tao. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 32 Issue 1-2 March-June 2011 pp 67-71 Part 2. Blazar Observations in Infrared and Optical. Variability of Blazars · J. H. Fan Y. Liu Y. Li Q. F. Zhang J. Tao O. Kurtanidze.

Commission 41 Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage

Science.gov (United States)

Ruggles, Clive; Wolfschmidt, Gudrun; Badolati, Ennio; Batten, Alan; Belmonte, Juan; Bhathal, Ragbir; Brosche, Peter; Dbarbat, Suzanne; DeVorkin, David; Duerbeck, Hilmar W.; Epifania, Priscilla; Ferlet, Roger; Funes, Jos; Glass, Ian S.; Griffin, Elizabeth; Gurshtein, Alexander; Hearnshaw, John; Helou, George; Hidayat, Bambang; Hockey, Thomas; Holbrook, Jarita; Incerti, Manuela; Kepler, S. O.; Kochhar, Rajesh; Krupp, Edwin C.; Locher, Kurt; Maglova-Stoeva, Penka; Mickaelian, Areg; Pettersen, Bjorn R.; Pineda de Caras, Mara Cristina; Pinigin, Gennadiy; Pompeia, Luciana; Pozhalova, Zhanna; Yun-li, Shi; Simonia, Irakli; Le Guet Tully, Francoise; Wainscoat, Richard

2010-05-01

What follows is a short report on the Business Meeting of the Astronomy and World Heritage Working Group held on Thursday August 6, 2009. This was the first formal Business Meeting of the Working Group since its formation following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the IAU and UNESCO on Astronomy and World Heritage in October 2008.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. S. Kalita. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 36 Issue 3 September 2015 pp 375-383. A Comparative Study on SN II Progenitors for the Synthesis of Li and B with the help of Neutrinos · N. Lahkar S. Kalita H. L. Duorah ...

Refocusing International Astronomy Education Research Using a Cognitive Focus

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Timothy F.; Slater, Stephanie J.

2015-08-01

For over 40 years, the international astronomy education community has given its attention to cataloging the substantial body of "misconceptions" in individual's thinking about astronomy, and to addressing the consequences of those misconceptions in the science classroom. Despite the tremendous amount of effort given to researching and disseminating information related to misconceptions, and the development of a theory of conceptual change to mitigate misconceptions, progress continues to be less than satisfying. An analysis of the literature and our own research has motivated the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research to advance a new model that allowing us to operate on students' astronomical learning difficulties in a more fruitful manner. Previously, much of the field's work binned erroneous student thinking into a single construct, and from that basis, curriculum developers and instructors addressed student misconceptions with a single instructional strategy. In contrast this model suggests that "misconceptions" are a mixture of at least four learning barriers: incorrect factual information, inappropriately applied mental algorithms (e.g., phenomenological primitives), insufficient cognitive structures (e.g., spatial reasoning), and affective/emotional difficulties. Each of these types of barriers should be addressed with an appropriately designed instructional strategy. Initial applications of this model to learning problems in astronomy and the space sciences have been fruitful, suggesting that an effort towards categorizing persistent learning difficulties in astronomy beyond the level of "misconceptions" may allow our community to craft tailored and more effective learning experiences for our students and the general public.

Radio astronomy

CERN Document Server

Alder, Berni

1975-01-01

Methods in Computational Physics, Volume 14: Radio Astronomy is devoted to the role of the digital computer both as a control device and as a calculator in addressing problems related to galactic radio noise. This volume contains four chapters and begins with a technical description of the hardware and the special data-handling problems of using radioheliography, with an emphasis on a selection of observational results obtained with the Culgoora radioheliograph and their significance to solar physics and to astrophysics in general. The subsequent chapter examines interstellar dispersion, i

Archaeology and astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

2009-10-01

MEETING REPORT The interaction between archaeology and astronomy has a long, tangled and not entirely creditable history, marred by misunderstandings on both sides. But statistics and cultural awareness are bringing a better picture of how and why lasting monuments such as Stonehenge were built. Sue Bowler reports on a joint meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Prehistoric Society, held at Jodrell Bank on 17 July 2009.

TeV gamma-ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui Wei

2009-01-01

The field of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years. As an increasing number of sources are detected at TeV energies, the field has matured and become a viable branch of modern astronomy. Lying at the uppermost end of the electromagnetic rainbow, TeV photons are always preciously few in number but carry essential information about the particle acceleration and radiative processes involved in extreme astronomical settings. Together with observations at longer wavelengths, TeV gamma-ray observations have drastically improved our view of the universe. In this review, we briefly describe recent progress in the field. We will conclude by providing a personal perspective on the future of the field, in particular, on the significant roles that China could play in advancing this young but exciting field. (invited reviews)

Inter-Division IV-V-IX / Working Group Historic Radio Astronomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Orchiston, Wayne; Kellermann, Kenneth I.; Davies, Rodney D.; Débarbat, Suzanne V.; Morimoto, Masaki; Slysh, Slava; Swarup, Govind; van Woerden, Hugo; Wall, Jasper V.; Wielebinski, Richard

2009-01-01

The Working Group was formed at the IAU XXV General Assembly in Sydney, 2003, as a joint initiative of Commissions 40 Radio Astronomy and Commission 41 History of Astronomy, in order to assemble a master list of surviving historically-significant radio telescopes and associated instrumentation found

From astronomy to data science

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez Zaurín, Javier

2018-01-01

After almost ten years in academia I took one of the best decisions of my life: to leave it. This is my experience transitioning from astronomy to data science in search of a more open, fast-paced working environment.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. D. Anish Roshi. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 28 Issue 1 March 2007 pp 41-53. GMRT and VLA Observations at 49 cm and 20 cm of the HII Region near = 24.8°, = 0.1° · N. G. Kantharia W. M. Goss D. Anish ...

The Beginnings of Australian Radio Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Woodruff T.

The early stages of Australian radio astronomy, especially the first decade after World War II, are described in detail. These include the transition of the CSIRO Radiophysics Laboratory, under the leadership of Joseph Pawsey and Taffy Bowen, from a wartime laboratory in 1945 to, by 1950, the largest and one of the two most important radio astronomy groups in the world (with the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University). The initial solar investigations are described, including discovery of the hot corona and development of the sea-cliff interferometer. During this same period painstaking `radio star' observations by John Bolton and colleagues led to the first suggested optical identifications of Taurus-A (the Crab Nebula), Centaurus-A (NGC 5128), and Virgo-A (M87). The factors that led to the extraordinary early success of the Radiophysics Laboratory are analyzed in detail, followed by discussion of how the situation changed significantly in the second decade of 1955-1965. Finally, the development of major Australian instruments, from the Parkes Radio Telescope (1961) to the Australia Telescope (1988), is briefly presented. This chapter is a direct reprint of the following research paper: Sullivan, W., 2005. The beginnings of Australian radio astronomy. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 8, 11-32.

The Popularization of Astronomy in Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Trudel, J.-L.

1996-12-01

In Canada, astronomy has a longer history than most other sciences. The European settlers had to master the rudiments of astronomical practice, while the natural setting promoted geophysical observations of all kinds. In the nineteenth century, astronomy was part of natural theology and a resource for timekeepers and cartographers, but was increasingly pursued for its own sake by laymen. The creation of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada marks a turning point. Though it appeared to unite professionals and amateurs, it became early on a conduit for the knowledge of the former to flow to the latter, supplementing the purely academic stream. It followed upon the success of new publications meant to acquaint readers with the facts of astronomy, for the hitherto unsuspected pleasures they might bring. In fact, some Canadian works of this kind reached a wide audience, in Canada and abroad, and the post-WWII period saw an almost complete disjunction between the formerly utilitarian aspects of popularization a nd the catering to interested laypeople, distinct from the professionals. By 1976, the transformation was complete. The science mastered by explorers and appealed to by believers had become both a field for professional investigations and a widely popularized corpus of star lore

The Network for Astronomy in Education in Southwest New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Neely, B.

1998-12-01

The Network for Astronomy in Education was organized to use astronomy as a motivational tool to teach science methods and principles in the public schools. NFO is a small private research observatory, associated with the local University, Western New Mexico. We started our program in 1996 with an IDEA grant by introducing local teachers to the Internet, funding a portable planetarium (Starlab) for the students, and upgrading our local radio linked computer network. Grant County is a rural mining and ranching county in Southwest New Mexico. It is ethnically diverse and has a large portion of the population below the poverty line. It's dryness and 6000' foot elevation, along with dark skies, suite it to the appreciation of astronomy. We now have 8 local schools involved in astronomy at some level. Our main programs are the Starlab and Project Astro, and we will soon install a Sidewalk Solar System in the center of Silver City.

Exploring Ancient Skies A Survey of Ancient and Cultural Astronomy

CERN Document Server

Kelley, David H

2011-01-01

Exploring Ancient Skies brings together the methods of archaeology and the insights of modern astronomy to explore the science of astronomy as it was practiced in various cultures prior to the invention of the telescope. The book reviews an enormous and growing body of literature on the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, the Far East, and the New World (particularly Mesoamerica), putting the ancient astronomical materials into their archaeological and cultural contexts. The authors begin with an overview of the field and proceed to essential aspects of naked-eye astronomy, followed by an examination of specific cultures. The book concludes by taking into account the purposes of ancient astronomy: astrology, navigation, calendar regulation, and (not least) the understanding of our place and role in the universe. Skies are recreated to display critical events as they would have appeared to ancient observers—events such as the supernova of 1054 A.D., the "lion horoscope," and the Star of Bethlehem. Explori...

A new international agenda for astronomy education research

Science.gov (United States)

Bretones, Paulo Sergio

2015-08-01

A great deal can be learned about astronomy education research by conducting comprehensive summary reviews of scholarly production revealing trends and gaps in the area. Motivated by the recent IAU Commission Reform, we are proposing projects related to the Commission 46 and more specifically to the Working Group on Theory and Methods in Astronomy Education. The goal of this work is to present a new international agenda for research on astronomy education. In a general way we intend to encourage efforts to increase the scholarly production in the area and encourage surveys of what has been published in several regions of the globe. These surveys refer to the various forms of production, published in theses dissertations, conference proceedings and journal articles. We believe that there exists considerable scholarly effort around the world, but that much of it is “hidden” and systematic surveys need to be conducted internationally to collect and synthesize this material to guide future work. Much of the work in these venues is certainly not known by researchers in Astronomy, not only because they belong to a different area of theoretical and methodological framework, but also because they are related to teaching in Physics and general sciences, rather than Astronomy specifically. This kind of research is largely invisible because it occurs in very specific different contexts of production, culture, curriculum, materials and application in schools with local teachers and the general public. To improve the present situation, international events are proposed in various continents seeking to encourage surveys of already published materials, their studies and seeking also new key lines of research. As concrete examples, surveys, scholarly reviews and studies conducted in Brazil and other countries are shown. We believe that such actions should raise the visibility of authors and institutions and enable studies of state-of-the-art showing trends and gaps, allowing

An Update on the AAS Astronomy Ambassadors Program

Science.gov (United States)

Fienberg, Richard T.; Gurton, S.; Fraknoi, A.; Prather, E. E.; Hurst, A.; Schatz, D. L.

2013-06-01

The American Astronomical Society, partnering with organizations active in science education and public outreach (EPO), has launched a series of professional-development workshops and a community of practice designed to help improve early-career astronomers’ ability to effectively communicate with students and the public. Called Astronomy Ambassadors, the program provides mentoring and training experiences for young astronomers, from advanced undergraduates to beginning faculty; it also provides access to resources and a network of contacts within the astronomy EPO community. By learning how to implement effective education and outreach strategies, Astronomy Ambassadors become better teachers, better presenters at meetings, and better representatives of our science to the public and to government. And because young astronomers are a more diverse group than those who currently do the majority of outreach, they help the astronomical community present a more multicultural and gender-balanced face to the public, enabling members of underserved groups to see themselves as scientists. Ambassadors are provided with a large library of outreach activities and materials that are suitable for a range of venues and audiences and that will grow with time. For much of this library we are using resources developed by organizations such as the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the Pacific Science Center, and the Center for Astronomy Education for other outreach programs, though some resources have been created by one of us (AF) specifically for this program. The first Astronomy Ambassadors workshop was held at the 221st meeting of the AAS in January 2013 and served 30 young astronomers chosen from more than 75 applicants. Incorporating feedback from workshop participants and lessons learned from the reports they’ve submitted after conducting their own outreach events, we are now planning the second annual workshop to be held 4-5 January 2014 at the 223rd AAS meeting in

Third-World Astronomy Network

Science.gov (United States)

Narlikar, Jayant V.

Several developing countries of the Third World have been actively interested in astronomy, as is evidenced by the membership of the IAU. The enthusiasm of individual astronomers from these countries is, however, not matched by the resources available to them to pursue their interest in astronomy, in teaching as well as research, at an above-threshold level. Major problems requiring solutions are (I) isolation from the mainstream work, which leads to research work which is not quite relevant or realistic, and to teaching based on outdated knowledge; (II) lack of financial resources, leading to shortage of books and journals in the library, insufficient computing power, out-of-date instruments, as well as inability to participate in essential activities like schools, workshops, and major international conferences and symposia; and (III) lack of handson experience with state-of-the-art instrumentation that often leads to good scientists being turned away from astronomical observations towards abstract theories. Experience of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics at Trieste, Italy and of the inter-university centres in India, like the IUCAA at Pune, has shown that limited resources can be made to go a long way by sharing, networking and intelligent use of communications technology. Based on the above experience, this proposal envisages setting up a Third World Astronomy Network (TWAN) under the auspices of the IAU, within the wider ICSU-umbrella with support from the UNESCO as well as participating nations. The TWAN will operate with a few key institutions as local nodal points of a wide network. The objectives of the proposed TWAN and the role of the Nodal Institutions (NIs) are spelled out in this proposal, along with the budgetary support required.

Teaching Astronomy Using Tracker

Science.gov (United States)

Belloni, Mario; Christian, Wolfgang; Brown, Douglas

2013-01-01

A recent paper in this journal presented a set of innovative uses of video analysis for introductory physics using Tracker. In addition, numerous other papers have described how video analysis can be a meaningful part of introductory courses. Yet despite this, there are few resources for using video analysis in introductory astronomy classes. In…

A New Resource for College Distance Education Astronomy Laboratory Exercises

Science.gov (United States)

Vogt, Nicole P.; Cook, Stephen P.; Muise, Amy Smith

2013-01-01

This article introduces a set of distance education astronomy laboratory exercises for use by college students and instructors and discusses first usage results. This General Astronomy Education Source exercise set contains eight two-week projects designed to guide students through both core content and mathematical applications of general…

Classics in radio astronomy

CERN Document Server

Sullivan, Woodruff Turner

1982-01-01

Radio techniques were the nrst to lead astronomy away from the quiescent and limited Universe revealed by traditional observations at optical wave­ lengths. In the earliest days of radio astronomy, a handful of radio physicists and engineers made one startling discovery after another as they opened up the radio sky. With this collection of classic papers and the extensive intro­ ductory material, the reader can experience these exciting discoveries, as well as understand the developing techniques and follow the motivations which prompted the various lines of inquiry. For instance he or she will follow in detail the several attempts to detect radio waves from the sun at the turn of the century; the unravelling by Jansky of a "steady hiss type static"; the incredible story of Reber who built a 9 meter dish in his backyard in 1937 and then mapped the Milky Way; the vital discoveries by Hey and colleagues of radio bursts from the Sun and of a discrete source in the constellation of Cygnus; the development of re...

Drevnyaya astronomiya Yuzhnoj Ameriki %t Ancient astronomy of the South America

Science.gov (United States)

Yurevich, V. A.

The article portrays our knowledge of the astronomy of the South America before its discovery by European. The archeoastronomical monuments display that the astronomy was the basis for the calendar, and its probable reconstruction is proposed. The author demonstrated that all solar and moon directions of the horizon astronomy were used in it. First chronicles and ethnographic data give information about the cosmological ideas of native-Americans, their worships of the celestial objects (the Sun, Moon), implication of astronomical phenomena in their religious rituals and feasts.

Gravitational-wave astronomy: delivering on the promises.

Science.gov (United States)

Schutz, B F

2018-05-28

Now that LIGO and Virgo have begun to detect gravitational-wave events with regularity, the field of gravitational-wave astronomy is beginning to realize its promise. Binary black holes and, very recently, binary neutron stars have been observed, and we are already learning much from them. The future, with improved sensitivity, more detectors and detectors like LISA in different frequency bands, has even more promise to open a completely hidden side of the Universe to our exploration.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy'. © 2018 The Author(s).

An Introduction to Distance Measurement in Astronomy

CERN Document Server

de Grijs, Richard

2011-01-01

Distance determination is an essential technique in astronomy, and is briefly covered in most textbooks on astrophysics and cosmology. It is rarely covered as a coherent topic in its own right. When it is discussed the approach is frequently very dry, splitting the teaching into, for example, stars, galaxies and cosmologies, and as a consequence, books lack depth and are rarely comprehensive. Adopting a unique and engaging approach to the subject An Introduction to distance Measurement in Astronomy will take the reader on a journey from the solar neighbourhood to the edge of the Universe, dis

Active Galactic Videos: A YouTube Channel for Astronomy Education and Outreach

Science.gov (United States)

Calahan, Jenny; Gibbs, Aidan; Hardegree-Ullman, Melody; Hardegree-Ullman, Michael; Impey, Chris David; Kevis, Charlotte; Lewter, Austin; Mauldin, Emmalee; McKee, Carolyn; Olmedo, Alejandro; Pereira, Victoria; Thomas, Melissa; Wenger, Matthew

2018-01-01

Active Galactic Videos is an astronomy-focused YouTube channel run by a team at the University of Arizona. The channel both produces astronomy-focused educational content for public audiences and opens a window into the world of professional astronomy by showcasing the work done at Steward Observatory and in Southern Arizona. The channel is mainly run by undergraduate students from a variety of backgrounds including: astronomy, education, film, music, english, and writing. In addition to providing educational content for public audiences, this project provides opportunities for undergraduate students to learn about astronomy content, general astronomy pedagogy, as well as science communication. This is done through developing the practical skills needed to take on the challenge of creating effective and engaging videos. Students write, film, score, direct, and edit each video while conscious of how each piece can affect the teaching/storytelling of the concept at hand. The team has produced various styles of video: presentational, interviews, musical/poetic, tours, and documentaries. In addition to YouTube, the Active Galactic Videos team maintains a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These help to widely distribute the content as well as to publicize the main Youtube channel. In addition to providing an overview of our educational work, we present 51 videos, or two year's, worth of online analytics that we are using to better understand our audience, to examine what videos have been popular and successful, and how people are accessing our content. We will present our experience in order to help others learn about improving astronomy education online, as well as astronomy communication and outreach in general.We acknowledge the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for grant support of this and related education initiatives

Skynet Junior Scholars: Bringing Astronomy to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Meredith, Kate; Williamson, Kathryn; Gartner, Constance; Hoette, Vivian L.; Heatherly, Sue Ann

2016-01-01

Skynet Junior Scholars (SJS), funded by the National Science Foundation, aims to engage middle school youth from diverse audiences in investigating the universe with research quality robotic telescopes. SJS project development goals include: 1) Online access to optical and radio telescopes, data analysis tools, and professional astronomers, 2) An age-appropriate web-based interface for controlling remote telescopes, 3) Inquiry-based standards-aligned instructional modules. From an accessibility perspective, the goal of the Skynet Junior Scholars project is to facilitate independent access to the project by all youth including those with blindness or low vision and those who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students have long been an underserved population within STEM fields, including astronomy. Two main barriers include: (1) insufficient corpus of American Sign Language (ASL) for astronomy terminology, and (2) DHH education professionals who lack astronomy background. A suite of vocabulary, accessible hands-on activities, and interaction with trained professionals, are critical for enhancing the background experiences of DHH youth, as they may come to an astronomy lesson lacking the basic "incidental learning" that is often taken for granted with hearing peers (for example, from astronomy in the media).A collaboration between the Skynet Junior Scholars (SJS) project and the Wisconsin School for the Deaf is bringing astronomy to the DHH community in an accessible way for the first time. We follow a group of seven DHH youth over one semester as they interact with the SJS tools and curriculum to understand how they assimilate astronomy experiences and benefit from access to telescopes both directly (on school campus and at Yerkes Observatory) and through Skynet's robotic telescope network (optical and radio telescopes, inquiry-based modules, data analysis tools, and professional astronomers). We report on our first findings of resources and

“Big Data” Teen Astronomy Cafes at NOAO

Science.gov (United States)

Pompea, Stephen; Walker, Constance E.

2018-01-01

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory has designed and implemented a prototype educational program designed to test and understand best practices with high school students to promote an understanding of modern astronomy research with its emphasis on large data sets, data tools, and visualization tools. This program, designed to cultivate the interest of talented youth in astronomy, is based on a teen science café model developed at Los Alamos as the Café Scientifique New Mexico. In our program, we provide a free, fun way for teens to explore current research topics in astronomy on Saturday mornings at the NOAO headquarters. The program encourages stimulating conversations with astronomers in an informal and relaxed setting, with free food of course. The café is organized through a leadership team of local high school students and recruits students from all parts of the greater Tucson area. The high school students who attend have the opportunity to interact with expert astronomers working with large astronomical data sets on topics such as killer asteroids, the birth and death of stars, colliding galaxies, the structure of the universe, gravitational waves, gravitational lensing, dark energy, and dark matter. The students also have the opportunity to explore astronomical data sets and data tools using computers provided by the program. The program may serve as a model for educational outreach for the 40+ institutions involved in the LSST.

76 FR 19793 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting via Teleconference

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-08

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting...), the National Science Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics... of astronomy and astrophysics that are of mutual interest and concern to the agencies. Agenda: To...

Cosmic Noise: The Pioneers of Early Radio Astronomy and Their Discoveries

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Woodruff T., III

2012-01-01

Extraterrestrial radio waves (the galactic background), often referred to as "cosmic noise", were first detected accidentally by Karl Jansky at a frequency of 20 MHz in 1932, with significant followup by Grote Reber. Yet after World War II it was England and Australia that dominated the field. An entirely different sky from that of visual astronomy was revealed by the discoveries of solar noise, "radio stars” (discrete sources such as Cas A, Tau A, Cyg A, Cen A and Vir A), galactic noise, lunar and meteor radar experiments, the detection of the 21 cm hydrogen line, and eventually optical identifications such as the Crab Nebula and M87. Key players included wartime radar experts such as Stanley Hey (the British Army's Operational Research Group), Martin Ryle (Cambridge University), Bernard Lovell (Jodrell Bank) and Joe Pawsey (Radiophysics Lab, Sydney). Younger leaders also emerged such as Graham Smith, Tony Hewish, John Davies, "Chris" Christiansen, Bernie Mills, Paul Wild, and John Bolton. Some optical astronomers (Jan Oort, Henk van de Hulst, Jesse Greenstein, Rudolph Minkowski, and Walter Baade) were also extremely supportive. By the end of the postwar decade, radio astronomy was firmly established within the gamut of astronomy, although very few of its practitioners had been trained as astronomers. I will also trace the technical and social aspects of this wholly new type of astronomy, with special attention on military and national influences. I argue that radio astronomy represents one of the key developments in twentieth century astronomy not only because of its own discoveries, but also its pathfinding for the further opening the electromagnetic spectrum. This study is based on exhaustive archival research and over one hundred interviews with pioneering radio astronomers. Full details are available in the book "Cosmic Noise: A History of Early Radio Astronomy" (Cambridge Univ. Pr.).

Big Data as catalyst for change in Astronomy Libraries - Indian Scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Birdie, Christina

2015-08-01

Research in Astronomy fosters exciting missions and encourages libraries to engage themselves in big budget astronomy programs which are the flagship projects for most of the astronomers. The scholarly communication resulting from analyzing Big Data has led to new opportunities for Astronomy librarians to become involved in the management of publications more intelligently. In India the astronomers have committed their participation in the mega ‘TMT’ (Thirty Meter Telescope) project, which is an international partnership science program between Caltech, University of California, Canada, Japan, China and India. Participation in the TMT project will provide Indian astronomers an opportunity to carryout frontline research in astronomy. Within India, there are three major astronomy research institutes, namely, Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Inter-University center for Astronomy & Astrophysics (IUCAA), & Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational sciences (ARIES) are stake holders in this program along with Indian Government as veuture capitalist. This study will examine the potential publishing pattern of those astronomers and technologists within India, with special focus to those three institutes. The indications of already existing collaborations among them, the expertise in instrument building, display of software development skills and cutting edge research capability etc. can be derived from analyzing their publications for the last ten years. Attempt also will be made to examine the in-house technical reports, newsletters,conference presentations etc. from these three institutes with a view to highlight the hidden potential skills and the possible collaboration among the Indian astronomers expressed from the grey literature.The incentive to make the astronomy libraries network stronger within India, may evolve from the findings and future requirements. As this project is deemed to be the national project with the financial support from science

Utrecht and Galactic Radio Astronomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Woerden, H.

Important roles in early Dutch Galactic radio astronomy were played by several Utrecht astronomers: Van de Hulst, Minnaert and Houtgast. The poster announcing the conference contained a number of pictures referring to scientific achievements of the Astronomical Institute Utrecht. One of these

Astronomy in the United States: Workforce Development and Public Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Impey, Chris

2012-08-01

Astronomy workforce development and public engagement in the United States are described. The number of professional astronomers has grown by about a third in the past 25 years, to about 4000. Only one in four are faculty in an academic setting; the rest work in a wide range of public and private research institutes. PhD production has remained steady at about 200 per year. Women account for roughly half of BSc degrees and a third of PhD degrees, but their participation declines to about 10% at the level of full professor. Minorities are underrepresented by a substantial factor at all levels of the profession. In terms of public engagement, astronomy has unique advantages associated with its visual appeal and the large and active amateur astronomy community. The are 1400 public planetaria in the US, with another 110 in schools and universities. Astronomers have made good use of new media such as blogs and podcasts and social networks, but the biggest impact has been in the area of citizen science, where people with no technical background contribute directly to a research project by, for example, classifying galaxies. The International Year of Astronomy and the remarkable success of the Galileoscope have inspired large numbers of people to appreciate astronomy, contributing indirectly to the professional vitality of the field.

A Brief History of Radio Astronomy in the USSR A Collection of Scientific Essays

CERN Document Server

Salomonovich, A; Samanian, V; Shklovskii, I; Sorochenko, R; Troitskii, V; Kellermann, K; Dubinskii, B; Kaidanovskii, N; Kardashev, N; Kobrin, M; Kuzmin, A; Molchanov, A; Pariiskii, Yu; Rzhiga, O

2012-01-01

This translation from Russian makes the history of radio astronomy in the USSR available in the English language for the first time. The book includes descriptions of the antennas and instrumentation used in the USSR, the astronomical discoveries, as well as interesting personal backgrounds of many of the early key players in Soviet radio astronomy. A Brief History of Radio Astronomy in the USSR is a collection of memoirs recounting an interesting but largely still dark era of Soviet astronomy. The arrangement of the essays is determined primarily by the time when radio astronomy studies began at the institutions involved. These include the Lebedev Physical Institute (FIAN), Gorkii State University and the affiliated Physical-Technical Institute (GIFTI), Moscow State University Sternberg Astronomical institute (GAISH) and Space Research Institute (IKI), the Department of Radio Astronomy of the Main Astronomical Observatory in Pulkovo (GAO), Special Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), Byurakan Astrophysical Obse...

Status of astronomy in Rwanda and volunteer work at Kigali Institute of Education (KIE)

Science.gov (United States)

Pović, M.; Nkundabakura, P.; Uwamahoro, J.

2015-03-01

Until 2009, astronomy was undeveloped in Rwanda, without astronomy courses at universities and schools, astronomical facilities, or any outreach programmes. With the international year of astronomy in 2009, Dr. Pheneas Nkundabakura and Dr. Jean Uwamahoro from the KIE Maths-Physics department, both graduates from the South African NASSP Programme (http://www.star.ac.za), started a program of implementing the astronomical knowledge at schools and universities. During the same year 2009, IAU donated 100 galileoscopes for the secondary schools, and several astronomy workshops were organised for the teachers. IAU donated also 5 laptops to help students and lecturers to learn and use astronomy software. With this, KIE students have now a possibility to choose astronomy/space science for their undergraduate final year research projects. Moreover, there is an ongoing effort to look for further collaboration towards establishing the first astronomical facility (observatory) in the country.

Tangible Things of American Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Schechner, Sara Jane

2018-01-01

As a science that studies celestial objects situated at vast distances from us, astronomy deals with few things that can be touched directly. And yet, astronomy has many tangible things—scientific instruments, observatories, and log books, for example—which link the past to the present. There is little question about maintaining things still valuable for scientific research purposes, but why should we care about documenting and preserving the old and obsolete? One answer is that material things, when closely examined, enhance our knowledge of astronomy’s history in ways that written texts alone cannot do. A second answer is that learning about the past helps us live critically in the present. In brief case studies, this talk will find meaning in objects that are extraordinary or commonplace. These will include a sundial, an almanac, telescopes, clocks, a rotating desk, photographic plates, and fly spankers.

Gravitational Waves and Time Domain Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Centrella, Joan; Nissanke, Samaya; Williams, Roy

2012-01-01

The gravitational wave window onto the universe will open in roughly five years, when Advanced LIGO and Virgo achieve the first detections of high frequency gravitational waves, most likely coming from compact binary mergers. Electromagnetic follow-up of these triggers, using radio, optical, and high energy telescopes, promises exciting opportunities in multi-messenger time domain astronomy. In the decade, space-based observations of low frequency gravitational waves from massive black hole mergers, and their electromagnetic counterparts, will open up further vistas for discovery. This two-part workshop featured brief presentations and stimulating discussions on the challenges and opportunities presented by gravitational wave astronomy. Highlights from the workshop, with the emphasis on strategies for electromagnetic follow-up, are presented in this report.

77 FR 67677 - Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee #13883; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-13

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13883; Notice of Meeting... Science Foundation announces the following Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee ( 13883) meeting...) on issues [[Page 67678

Astronomy and "Azulejo" Panels in Portuguese Jesuit Colleges

Science.gov (United States)

de Carvalho, Rosário Salema; Gessner, Samuel; Tirapicos, Luís

2015-05-01

In Portugal the Jesuits used tiles (azulejos) for parietal decoration of various areas of their colleges, especially in the second quarter of the 18th century. Various tile panels are still conserved in the important colleges of Lisbon and Évora. The iconographies address a variety of philosophical, historical and mathematical topics and scenes evoking the gentry's life; but they are to some extent illustrative of the subject matters taught by the different chairs. Astronomy is a major subject in the Aula da Esfera of the Santo Antão College in Lisbon, which was not destroyed during the great earthquake of 1755. In the Espirito Santo College in Évora there is also a hall preserved with astronomy and geometry topics. In this paper we will analyze the iconographical program for these parietal decorations in the context of the Jesuits' activities of teaching and practical astronomy. In particular, we will identify various printed sources from which the compositions on these panels derive.

Electronic publications, a useful technique for astronomy outreach

Science.gov (United States)

Stavinschi, M.; Mosoia, C.

2012-09-01

Thanks to modern technology, astronomy can be communicated to the public through a variety of techniques, from classic conferences (also upgraded to the video projectors, etc.) to TV, print media and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, MySpace, etc. We are going to present advantages of electronic publishing, starting from informing the public with latest astronomy news, to providing a place for public debate. In an era of global crisis e-publishing is a must do, be it seen from the financially perspective, or the desired impact to the public. We are going to present a constant example of year electronic publication dedicated to promoting science and communication; also, the Science Communicators Network Interested in spreading the word of astronomy. The aim is to establish connections with all OEP participants with a view to know each other and try to work in common for the better message transmission to the public. Together, we might build a single platform with multiple educational results.

SOFIA's Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors: An External Evaluation of Cycle 1

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Michelle

2015-01-01

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) represents a partnership between NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The observatory itself is a Boeing 747 SP that has been modified to serve as the world's largest airborne research observatory. The SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA) program is a component of SOFIA's…

Gravitational Wave Astronomy

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2006-01-01

Gravitational wave astronomy is expected to become an observational field within the next decade. First direct detection of gravitational waves is possible with existing terrestrial-based detectors, and highly probable with proposed upgrades. In this three-part lecture series, we give an overview of the field, including material on gravitional wave sources, detection methods, some details of interferometric detectors, data analysis methods, and current results from observational data-taking runs of the LIGO and GEO projects.

COMMUNICATING ASTRONOMY IN EUROPE: Strategies and Challenges in International Organisations

Science.gov (United States)

Barrosa, Mariana

2007-08-01

How much do Europeans really know about science and technology? What do they think about it? For more than a decade, the European Union (EU) has carried out regular surveys to measure public opinion and knowledge on a variety of themes across its member states. One survey carried out in early 2005 is of particular interest to science communication - "Europeans, Science and Technology". It's easy to see that science and technology are racing along faster than ever and you would think that people's knowledge and interest of science and technology would be keeping pace. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Over the past few years, Europeans' overall interest in science and technology has decreased. Astronomy plays a special role within public science communication. It serves as a general science "catcher", not only for young people. Astronomy embraces core sciences such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and geology as well as technical disciplines including optics, observational techniques and data analysis. Astronomy reaches wide into the realm of philosophy; it rubs shoulders with religion and is at the core of many science fiction stories. In short, astronomy attracts a wide spectrum of people and may serve as a powerful vehicle for improving the public awareness and understanding of science. Several key International Organisations like the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), Europlanet and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) work in Astronomy and Space Sciences in Europe. As well as a general overview of the outreach and communication actions of some of these Organisations, focus will be made in specific cases and examples in the context of these organisations. 2009 will be the International Year of Astronomy. It will be interesting to see how these European Organisations are getting ready for this ultimate science communication challenge.

Modern Publishing Approach of Journal of Astronomy & Earth Sciences Education

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Timothy F.

2015-01-01

Filling a needed scholarly publishing avenue for astronomy education researchers and earth science education researchers, the Journal of Astronomy & Earth Sciences Education - JAESE published its first volume and issue in 2014. The Journal of Astronomy & Earth Sciences Education - JAESE is a scholarly, peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original discipline-based education research and evaluation, with an emphasis of significant scientific results derived from ethical observations and systematic experimentation in science education and evaluation. International in scope, JAESE aims to publish the highest quality and timely articles from discipline-based education research that advance understanding of astronomy and earth sciences education and are likely to have a significant impact on the discipline or on policy. Articles are solicited describing both (i) systematic science education research and (ii) evaluated teaching innovations across the broadly defined Earth & space sciences education, including the disciplines of astronomy, climate education, energy resource science, environmental science, geology, geography, agriculture, meteorology, planetary sciences, and oceanography education. The publishing model adopted for this new journal is open-access and articles appear online in GoogleScholar, ERIC, and are searchable in catalogs of 440,000 libraries that index online journals of its type. Rather than paid for by library subscriptions or by society membership dues, the annual budget is covered by page-charges paid by individual authors, their institutions, grants or donors: This approach is common in scientific journals, but is relatively uncommon in education journals. Authors retain their own copyright. The journal is owned by the Clute Institute of Denver, which owns and operates 17 scholarly journals and currently edited by former American Astronomical Society Education Officer Tim Slater, who is an endowed professor at the University of Wyoming and

C46 `ASTRONOMY Education and Development': a Peculiar Commission

Science.gov (United States)

de Greve, Jean-Pierre; García, Beatriz; Gerbaldi, Michèle; Ferlet, Roger; Guinan, Edward; Hearnshaw, John; Jones, Barrie; Marschall, Laurence; Miley, George; Pasachoff, Jay; Ros, Rosa; Stavinschi, Magda; Torres-Peimbert, Silvia

2016-04-01

C46 was a Commission of the Executive Committee of the IAU under Division XII (Union-Wide Activities), then after 2012 under Division C (Education, Outreach, and Heritage). It was the only commission dealing exclusively with astronomy education; a previous Commission 38 (Exchange of Astronomers), which allocated travel grants to astronomers who needed them, and a Working Group on the Worldwide Development of Astronomy, have been absorbed by Commission 46.

ESASky: a new Astronomy Multi-Mission Interface

Science.gov (United States)

Baines, D.; Merin, B.; Salgado, J.; Giordano, F.; Sarmiento, M.; Lopez Marti, B.; Racero, E.; Gutierrez, R.; De Teodoro, P.; Nieto, S.

2016-06-01

ESA is working on a science-driven discovery portal for all its astronomy missions at ESAC called ESASky. The first public release of this service will be shown, featuring interfaces for sky exploration and for single and multiple targets. It requires no operational knowledge of any of the missions involved. A first public beta release took place in October 2015 and gives users world-wide simplified access to high-level science-ready data products from ESA Astronomy missions plus a number of ESA-produced source catalogues. XMM-Newton data, metadata and products were some of the first to be accessible through ESASky. In the next decade, ESASky aims to include not only ESA missions but also access to data from other space and ground-based astronomy missions and observatories. From a technical point of view, ESASky is a web application that offers all-sky projections of full mission datasets using a new-generation HEALPix projection called HiPS; detailed geometrical footprints to connect all-sky mosaics to individual observations; direct access to the underlying mission-specific science archives and catalogues. The poster will be accompanied by a demo booth at the conference.

Audiovisual Aids for Astronomy and Space Physics at an Urban College

Science.gov (United States)

Moche, Dinah L.

1973-01-01

Discusses the use of easily available audiovisual aids to teach a one semester course in astronomy and space physics to liberal arts students of both sexes at Queensborough Community College. Included is a list of teaching aids for use in astronomy instruction. (CC)

Space instrumentation for gamma-ray astronomy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teegarden, B.J

1999-02-11

The decade of the 1990s has witnessed a renaissance in the field of gamma-ray astronomy. The seminal event was the launch of the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) in April 1991. There have been a flood of major discoveries from CGRO including breakthroughs in gamma-ray bursts, annihilation radiation, and blazars. The Italian SAX satellite was launched in April 1996. Although not primarily a gamma-ray mission, it has added a new dimension to our understanding of gamma-ray bursts. Along with these new discoveries a firm groundwork has been laid for missions and new technology development that should maintain a healthy and vigorous field throughout most of the next decade. These include the ESA INTEGRAL mission (INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, to be launched in mid-2001) and the NASA GLAST mission (Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope) with a likely launch in the middle of the next decade. These two missions will extend the observational capabilities well beyond those of CGRO. New technologies (to gamma-ray astronomy), such as cooled germanium detectors, silicon strip detectors, and CdTe detectors are planned for these new missions. Additional promising new technologies such as CdZnTe strip detectors, scintillator fibers, and a gamma-ray lens for future gamma-ray astronomy missions are under development in laboratories around the world.

Space instrumentation for gamma-ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teegarden, B.J.

1999-01-01

The decade of the 1990s has witnessed a renaissance in the field of gamma-ray astronomy. The seminal event was the launch of the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) in April 1991. There have been a flood of major discoveries from CGRO including breakthroughs in gamma-ray bursts, annihilation radiation, and blazars. The Italian SAX satellite was launched in April 1996. Although not primarily a gamma-ray mission, it has added a new dimension to our understanding of gamma-ray bursts. Along with these new discoveries a firm groundwork has been laid for missions and new technology development that should maintain a healthy and vigorous field throughout most of the next decade. These include the ESA INTEGRAL mission (INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, to be launched in mid-2001) and the NASA GLAST mission (Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope) with a likely launch in the middle of the next decade. These two missions will extend the observational capabilities well beyond those of CGRO. New technologies (to gamma-ray astronomy), such as cooled germanium detectors, silicon strip detectors, and CdTe detectors are planned for these new missions. Additional promising new technologies such as CdZnTe strip detectors, scintillator fibers, and a gamma-ray lens for future gamma-ray astronomy missions are under development in laboratories around the world

Communicating astronomy with the public for scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Girola, R.

2015-03-01

This article intends to convey the improvement regarding the knowledge exchange in the astronomical field through an improvement in the quality of professional communication between researchers, teachers and the like whose job is to broadcast astronomical concepts. It has been a couple of years since the difficulty of communicating astronomical concepts decreased due to institutional projects, schools and education systems. Inside the education system, the need to include astronomy as an innovative element in curricula has become obvious. Outside, an informal public interested in astronomy became greater in number and began to be fostered by different organizations which spread their astronomical knowledge via workshops and demonstrations.

Emergence of radio astronomy-the Indian scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das Gupta, M.K.

1990-01-01

Professor S.K. Mitra, the initiator of post graduate studies in radio-electronics and the pioneer of radio research in India realized the far-reaching importance of the then emerging science of radio astronomy, as early as mid-forties. The exposition of the subject has been dedicated to the memory of esteemed Professor S.K. Mitra. The article is divided into three broad heads, namely (i)the emergence of radioastronomy-achievements made so far, (ii)some major contributions made by the Indian scientists working abroad in the fifties, and (iii) the emergence of radio astronomy in India and its present status. (author). 55 refs

An Assessment of Slacker Astronomy Outreach Results

Science.gov (United States)

Price, A.; Gay, P. L.; Searle, T.; Brissenden, G.

2005-12-01

Slacker Astronomy is a weekly podcast covering recent astronomical news in a humorous, irreverent manner while respecting the intelligence of the audience. This is a new approach to astronomical outreach both technically and stylistically. Using the Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG) and the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) needs analysis survey system, we have have conducted an in-depth project to determine whether this new style is effective and what audience needs are outstanding. Slacker Astronomy currently has around 11,000 weekly listeners and was founded in February, 2005. Recordings and scripts are available to the public under the Creative Commons license at www.slackerastronomy.org.

Studies in the History of Astronomy. Issue 32 %t Istoriko-Astronomicheskie Issledovaniya. Vypusk XXXII

Science.gov (United States)

Idlis, G. M.

This collection contains papers covering a wide scope of problems in the history of astronomy. Its basic headlines are: Cosmology and cosmogony of the 20th century; History of observations and astronomical organizations; Scientists and their works; Astronomy and society; Publications and memoirs; Astronomy and astrology; Memory of scientists

First Results from the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) Assessment Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Stephanie

2009-01-01

Considerable effort in the astronomy education research over the past several years has focused on developing assessment tools in the form of multiple-choice conceptual diagnostics and content knowledge surveys. This has been critically important in advancing astronomy as a sub-discipline of physics education research, allowing researchers to establish the initial knowledge state of students as well as to attempt to measure some of the impacts of innovative instructional interventions. Before now, few of the existing instruments were constructed upon a solid list of clearly articulated and widely agreed upon learning objectives. Moving beyond the 10-year old Astronomy Diagnostics Test, we have developed and validated a new assessment instrument that is tightly aligned to the consensus learning goals stated by the American Astronomical Society - Chair's Conference on ASTRO 101, the American Association of the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 Benchmarks, and the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. Researchers from the Cognition in Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team at the University of Wyoming's Science and Math Teaching Center (UWYO SMTC) designed a criterion-referenced assessment tool, called the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST). Through iterative development, this multiple-choice instrument has a high degree of reliability and validity for instructors and researchers needing information on students’ initial knowledge state at the beginning of a course and can be used, in aggregate, to help measure the impact of course-length duration instructional strategies for undergraduate science survey courses with learning goals tightly aligned to the consensus goals of the astronomy education community.

Astronomy for Astronomical Numbers: A Worldwide Massive Open Online Class

Science.gov (United States)

Impey, Chris D.; Wenger, Matthew C.; Austin, Carmen L.

2015-01-01

Astronomy: State of the Art is a massive, open, online class (MOOC) offered through Udemy by an instructional team at the University of Arizona. With nearly 24,000 enrolled as of early 2015, it is the largest astronomy MOOC available. The astronomical numbers enrolled do not translate into a similar level of engagement. The content consists of 14…

Astronomy LITE Demonstrations

Science.gov (United States)

Brecher, Kenneth

2006-12-01

Project LITE (Light Inquiry Through Experiments) is a materials, software, and curriculum development project. It focuses on light, optics, color and visual perception. According to two recent surveys of college astronomy faculty members, these are among the topics most often included in the large introductory astronomy courses. The project has aimed largely at the design and implementation of hands-on experiences for students. However, it has also included the development of lecture demonstrations that employ novel light sources and materials. In this presentation, we will show some of our new lecture demonstrations concerning geometrical and physical optics, fluorescence, phosphorescence and polarization. We have developed over 200 Flash and Java applets that can be used either by teachers in lecture settings or by students at home. They are all posted on the web at http://lite.bu.edu. For either purpose they can be downloaded directly to the user's computer or run off line. In lecture demonstrations, some of these applets can be used to control the light emitted by video projectors to produce physical effects in materials (e.g. fluorescence). Other applets can be used, for example, to demonstrate that the human percept of color does not have a simple relationship with the physical frequency of the stimulating source of light. Project LITE is supported by Grant #DUE-0125992 from the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education.

Development Programs and Activities for Southeast Asia Regional Office of Astronomy for Development

Science.gov (United States)

Insiri, Wichan

2015-08-01

In recent years, since the establishment of SEA-ROAD in 2012, the office has seen an exponential progress as it has proved to be one of the prominent regional hubs for IAU-OAD. Recent activities over the past years ranging from Winter and Summer Schools Trainings to Astronomy Technology Transfer Camp for high school students to Internship at NARIT are some examples of what promises to be a good sign of progressive leap in astronomy for the entire region. SEA-ROAD will continue to make an impact on astronomy education, popularization and public outreach as the office is vital and imperative to the capacity building of astronomy of the entire region.

Beyond Astro 101 -- Examining Lower Division Astronomy Curriculum For The 21 St Century

Science.gov (United States)

Kao, Lancelot L.; Umurhan, O. M.; Summer, T. J.

2009-01-01

So-called "ASTRO 101” survey courses in general astronomy are offered to non-science majors in colleges and universities across the United States, to fulfill general-education requirements in the physical sciences. At least two of the common Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) for these courses are critical thinking and understanding astronomy as a scientific discipline. We argue that a comprehensive lower-division astronomy program surpassing ASTRO 101 would increase science literacy for non-science majors, STEM students, and the general public. The program would include diverse astronomy course offerings, interdisciplinary science courses (e.g. astrobiology), service-learning and peer-mentoring activities, and internship opportunities.

From Conceptual Frameworks to Mental Models for Astronomy: Students' Perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Pundak, David; Liberman, Ido; Shacham, Miri

2017-01-01

Considerable debate exists among discipline-based astronomy education researchers about how students change their perceptions in science and astronomy. The study questioned the development of astronomical models among students in institutions of higher education by examining how college students change their initial conceptual frameworks and…

Astronomy with a home computer

CERN Document Server

Monks, Neale

2005-01-01

Here is a one-volume guide to just about everything computer-related for amateur astronomers! Today's amateur astronomy is inextricably linked to personal computers. Computer-controlled "go-to" telescopes are inexpensive. CCD and webcam imaging make intensive use of the technology for capturing and processing images. Planetarium software provides information and an easy interface for telescopes. The Internet offers links to other astronomers, information, and software. The list goes on and on. Find out here how to choose the best planetarium program: are commercial versions really better than freeware? Learn how to optimise a go-to telescope, or connect it to a lap-top. Discover how to choose the best webcam and use it with your telescope. Create a mosaic of the Moon, or high-resolution images of the planets... Astronomy with a Home Computer is designed for every amateur astronomer who owns a home computer, whether it is running Microsoft Windows, Mac O/S or Linux. It doesn't matter what kind of telescope you...

Academic Training: Gravitational Waves Astronomy

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

2006-2007 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 16, 17, 18 October from 11:00 to 12:00 - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500 Gravitational Waves Astronomy M. LANDRY, LIGO Hanford Observatory, Richland, USA Gravitational wave astronomy is expected to become an observational field within the next decade. First direct detection of gravitational waves is possible with existing terrestrial-based detectors, and highly probable with proposed upgrades. In this three-part lecture series, we give an overview of the field, including material on gravitional wave sources, detection methods, some details of interferometric detectors, data analysis methods, and current results from observational data-taking runs of the LIGO and GEO projects. ENSEIGNEMENT ACADEMIQUE ACADEMIC TRAINING Françoise Benz 73127 academic.training@cern.ch If you wish to participate in one of the following courses, please tell to your supervisor and apply electronically from the course description pages that can be found on the Web at: http://www...

Academic Training: Gravitational Waves Astronomy

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

2006-2007 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 16, 17, 18 October from 11:00 to 12:00 - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500 Gravitational Waves Astronomy M. LANDRY, LIGO Hanford Observatory, Richland, USA Gravitational wave astronomy is expected to become an observational field within the next decade. First direct detection of gravitational waves is possible with existing terrestrial-based detectors, and highly probable with proposed upgrades. In this three-part lecture series, we give an overview of the field, including material on gravitional wave sources, detection methods, some details of interferometric detectors, data analysis methods, and current results from observational data-taking runs of the LIGO and GEO projects.ENSEIGNEMENT ACADEMIQUE ACADEMIC TRAINING Françoise Benz 73127 academic.training@cern.ch If you wish to participate in one of the following courses, please tell to your supervisor and apply electronically from the course description pages that can be found on the Web at: http://www.cern...

Planets in Inuit Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, John

2018-02-01

Inuit are an indigenous people traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and parts of Russia's Chukchi Peninsula. Across this vast region, Inuit society, while not entirely homogeneous either culturally or linguistically, nevertheless shares a fundamental cosmology, in part based on a common understanding of the sky and its contents. Traditionally, Inuit used prominent celestial objects—the sun, moon, and major circumpolar asterisms—as markers for estimating the passage of time, as wayfinding and directional aids, and, importantly, as the basis of several of the foundational myths and legends underpinning their society's social order and mores. Random inquiries on Inuit astronomy made by European visitors after initial contact through the mid-18th and early 20th centuries were characteristically haphazard and usually peripheral to some other line of ethnological enquiry, such as folklore or mythology. In addition, the early accounts of Inuit star lore were often prone to misrepresentation due to several factors, including European cultural bias, translation inadequacies, a deficiency of general astronomical knowledge on the part of most commentators, and, most significantly, a failure—sometimes due to lack of opportunity—to conduct systematic observations of the sky in the presence of Inuit knowledge holders. Early accounts therefore tended to diminish the cultural significance of Inuit astronomy, almost to the point of insignificance. Unfortunately, by the time systematic fieldwork began on the topic, in the mid-1980s, unalloyed information on Inuit astronomical knowledge was already elusive, more and more compromised by European acculturation and substitution and, notably, by light pollution—a consequence of the increasing urbanization of Inuit communities beginning in the late 1950s. For the residents of most Arctic settlements, street lights reflecting off the snow have virtually eliminated the evocative

Dark Skies Awareness Programs for the International Year of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, C. E.; Pompea, S. M.

2008-12-01

The loss of a dark night sky as a natural resource is a growing concern. It impacts not only astronomical research, but also our environment in terms of ecology, health, safety, economics and energy conservation. For this reason, "Dark Skies are a Universal Resource" is a cornerstone project for the U.S. International Year of Astronomy (IYA) program in 2009. Its goal is to raise public awareness of the impact of artificial lighting on local environments by getting people involved in a variety of dark skies-related programs. These programs focus on citizen-scientist sky-brightness monitoring programs, a planetarium show, podcasting, social networking, a digital photography contest, the Good Neighbor Lighting Program, Earth Hour, National Dark Skies Week, a traveling exhibit, a video tutorial, Dark Skies Discovery Sites, Astronomy Nights in the (National) Parks, Sidewalk Astronomy, and a Quiet Skies program. Many similar programs are available internationally through the "Dark Skies Awareness" Global Cornerstone Project. Working groups for both the national and international dark skies cornerstone projects are being chaired by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). The presenters from NOAO will provide the "know-how" and the means for session participants to become community advocates in promoting Dark Skies programs as public events at their home institutions. Participants will be able to get information on jump-starting their education programs through the use of well-developed instructional materials and kits. For more information, visit http://astronomy2009.us/darkskies/ and http://www.darkskiesawareness.org/.

Kantian epistemology as an alternative to heroic astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, W. I.

Theoretical and observational methods in astronomy have advanced to a point where certain of their outcomes are difficult to comprehend with the traditional categories of human knowledge. The philosophical discipline of epistemology, the theory of knowledge, is used here to address four current problems in observational astronomy, exobiology, cosmology, and quantum mechanics. The problems are united by an epistemological content which, when unrecognized, has resulted in some heroic solutions of an ad hoc nature. Immanuel Kant's critical philosophy is employed because his work is consistent with basic attitudes in present-day physics and biology.

Robert Nemiroff: Communicating Astronomy 365 Days a Year

Science.gov (United States)

Pullen, L.; Russo, P.

2010-06-01

Few astronomy communication projects are as well known or as widely disseminated as the Astronomy Picture of the Day (or APOD for short). Since its creation in 1995, it has popularised thousands of images and helped to explain the cosmos through informative captions. Impressively, the site shows no signs of slowing down and has amassed many loyal supporters. This success can be attributed to the two astronomers behind the project: Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell. CAPjournal has interviewed Robert to discover his view of APOD, and the lesser known issues that surround it.

Kantian epistemology as an alternative to heroic astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Mclaughlin, W. I.

1985-01-01

Theoretical and observational methods in astronomy have advanced to a point where certain of their outcomes are difficult to comprehend with the traditional categories of human knowledge. The philosophical discipline of epistemology, the theory of knowledge, is used here to address four current problems in observational astronomy, exobiology, cosmology, and quantum mechanics. The problems are united by an epistemological content which, when unrecognized, has resulted in some heroic solutions of an ad hoc nature. Kant's critical philosophy is employed because his work is consistent with basic attitudes in present-day physics and biology.

The IAU Office of Astronomy Development

Science.gov (United States)

Mauduit, Jean-Christophe; Govender, K.

2014-01-01

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the largest body of professional astronomers in the world, has set up the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) in partnership with the South African National Research Foundation (NRF). The OAD is located at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town. Its mission is to realise the IAU's Strategic Plan, which aims to use astronomy as a tool for development. It focuses on the following three main areas: "Universities and Research", "Children and Schools" and "Public Outreach". Eighteen projects worldwide have been funded for 2013 and are currently under way. More will be starting in 2014. The OAD is also setting up regional nodes and language expertise centres around the world. This presentation will describe the ongoing activities of the OAD and plans for the future.

High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-2

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

This artist's concept depicts the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-2 in orbit. The HEAO-2, the first imaging and largest x-ray telescope built to date, was capable of producing actual photographs of x-ray objects. Shortly after launch, the HEAO-2 was nicknamed the Einstein Observatory by its scientific experimenters in honor of the centernial of the birth of Albert Einstein, whose concepts of relativity and gravitation have influenced much of modern astrophysics, particularly x-ray astronomy. The HEAO-2, designed and developed by TRW, Inc. under the project management of the Marshall Space Flight Center, was launched aboard an Atlas/Centaur launch vehicle on November 13, 1978. The HEAO-2 was originally identified as HEAO-B but the designation was changed once the spacecraft achieved orbit.

Conceptual Change in Introductory-Level Astronomy Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeilik, Michael; Bisard, Walter

2000-01-01

Reports on students' preexisting knowledge and examines misconceptions among nonscience major undergraduate students. Focuses on evaluating results of misconceptions in selected astronomy courses. (YDS)

The Unified Astronomy Thesaurus: Semantic Metadata for Astronomy and Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Frey, Katie; Accomazzi, Alberto

2018-05-01

Several controlled vocabularies have been developed and used by the astronomical community, each designed to serve a specific need and a specific group. The Unified Astronomy Thesaurus (UAT) attempts to provide a highly structured controlled vocabulary that will be relevant and useful across the entire discipline, regardless of content or platform. Because classifying articles and data will be the two major functions of the UAT, we examine the UAT in comparison with the Astronomical Subject Keywords used by major publications and the JWST Science Keywords used by STScI’s Astronomer’s Proposal Tool.

Astronomy and Computing: A new journal for the astronomical computing community

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Accomazzi, A.; Budavári, T.; Fluke, C.; Gray, N.; Mann, R.G.; O'Mullane, W.; Wicenec, A.; Wise, M.

2013-01-01

We introduce Astronomy and Computing, a new journal for the growing population of people working in the domain where astronomy overlaps with computer science and information technology. The journal aims to provide a new communication channel within that community, which is not well served by current

Challenges of astronomy hands-on experiments for the sky and laboratory

CERN Document Server

Schlosser, W; Milone, E F

1991-01-01

Challenges of Astronomy in a unique collection of thirty astronomy experiments ranging from ancient astronomy to cosmology. Each of the experiments contains one or more challenges for the reader. The progression is from the Earth outward through the solar system to the stellar and galactic realm. Topics include the shape of the sky, Stonehenge as a stoneage abacus, determination of the size of the Earth, the distance of the Moon and planets, Kepler's laws, planetary mass and density, the temperatures and atmospheres of planets, the speed of light, the distances of stars, the nature of the quiet and active Sun, photometry and spectroscopy, stars clusters and variable stars, fundamental properties of stars, and Olber's paradox. Challenges of Astronomy is a translation and extensive revision of a German-language resource book for secondary school teachers of science. Physical science teachers will find this edition too a rich resource of experiments to their own milieus, but it is suitable for many other English...

Astronomy: Social Representations of the Integrated High School Students and Graduates in Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, J. I. L.

The topics related to Astronomy are spread through almost all levels of basic education in Brazil and are also disseminated through the mass media, activities that do not always occur in the proper way. However, their students form their explanations about the phenomena studied by Astronomy, that is, they begin to construct their opinions, their beliefs and their attitudes regarding this object or this situation. In this sense, this work was divided in two fronts, which have the following objectives: (1) To identify the social representations of Astronomy elaborated by students of Integrated secondary education and undergraduate students in Physics; (2) To verify to what extent the social representations developed by the investigated students are equivalent; (3) To Investigate if the social representations designed per undergraduate students in Physics about Astronomy undergo changes after these participate in a course on basic subjects of Astronomy, in comparison with those exposed before the mentioned event. On the first front there is a research of a basic nature, where the data were obtained through of survey, and analysed in accordance with the methodologies pertinent to Central Nucleus Theory, the second front deals with an investigation of an applied nature, and the data obtained were explored through statistical analyses. The results indicate that the researchers have been involved in social representations of the object Astronomy, which are based on elements of the formal education space, and also disclosed in the media, in addition, demonstrate that the students have information about Astronomy and a valuation position in relation to this Science. On the second front, the results indicate that there were changes in the social representations of the undergraduate students in Physics about the term inductor Astronomy, after the course, that is, several elements evoked before the course were replaced by others, which were worked during the event.

Astronomy stories

Science.gov (United States)

Berenson, Rhoda

2015-03-01

For many years I have taught physics and astronomy courses to liberal arts students. I have found most of my students to be intelligent and diligent, but not anxious to study science. They typically take the class only because their degree requires a science course. Many arrive having already decided they will not be able to do the math or understand the scientific concepts, and have essentially built a wall between themselves and science. In the 1990s, in an effort to help break down that wall, as part of an NSF-supported course, "The Evolution of the Universe, Earth and Life," I began using creative writing assignments.

Artificial Intelligence in Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Devinney, E. J.; Prša, A.; Guinan, E. F.; Degeorge, M.

2010-12-01

From the perspective (and bias) as Eclipsing Binary researchers, we give a brief overview of the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, describe major application areas of AI in astronomy, and illustrate the power of an AI approach in an application developed under the EBAI (Eclipsing Binaries via Artificial Intelligence) project, which employs Artificial Neural Network technology for estimating light curve solution parameters of eclipsing binary systems.

Astronomy and Computing: A New Journal for the Astronomical Computing Community

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mann, R.G.; Accomazzi, A.; Budavári, T.; Fluke, C.; Gray, N.; O'Mullane, W.; Wicenec, A.; Wise, M.

2013-01-01

We introduce Astronomy and Computing (A&C), a new, peer-reviewed journal for the expanding community of people whose work focuses on the application of computer science and information technology within astronomy, rather than on astronomical research per se. A&C arose from a BoF discussion at the

Highlights of Astronomy, Vol. 15

Science.gov (United States)

Corbett, Ian

2010-11-01

Preface; Part I. Gruber Cosmology Prize Lecture; Part II. Invited Discourses; Part III. Joint Discussions: 1. Dark matter in early-type galaxies Léon V. E. Koopmans and Tommaso Treu; 2. Diffuse light in galaxy clusters Magda Arnaboldi and Ortwin Gerhard; 3. Neutron stars - timing in extreme environments Tomaso Belloni, Mariano Méndez and Chengmin Zhang; 4. Progress in understanding the physics of Ap and related stars Margarida Cunha; 5. Modelling the Milky Way in the age of Gaia Annie C. Robin; 6. Time and astronomy Pascale Defraigne; 7. Astrophysical outflows and associated accretion phenomena Elisabete M. de Gouveia Dal Pino and Alex C. Raga; 8. Hot interstellar matter in elliptical galaxies Dong-Woo Kim and Silvia Pellegrini; 9. Are the fundamental constants varying with time? Paolo Molaro and Elisabeth Vangioni; 10. 3D views on cool stellar atmospheres - theory meets observation K. N. Nagendra, P. Bonifacio and H. G. Ludwig; 11. New advances in helio- and astero-seismology; 12. The first galaxies - theoretical predictions and observational clues; 13. Eta Carinae in the context of the most massive stars Theodore R. Gull and Augusto Damineli; 14. The ISM of galaxies in the far-infrared and sub-millimetre; 15. Magnetic fields in diffuse media Elisabete M. de Gouveia Dal Pino and Alex Lazarian; 16. IHY global campaign - whole heliosphere interval; Part IV. Special Sessions: SpS 1. IR and sub-mm spectroscopy - a new tool for studying stellar evolution Glenn Wahlgren, Hans Käufl and Florian Kerber; SpS 2. The international year of astronomy Pedro Russo, Catherine Cesarsky and Lars Lindberg Christensen; SpS 3. Astronomy in Antarctica in 2009 Michael G. Burton; SpS 4. Astronomy education between past and future J. P. De Greve; SpS 5. Accelerating the rate of astronomical discovery Ray P. Norris; SpS 6. Planetary systems as potential sites for life Régis Courtin, Alan Boss and Michel Mayor; SpS 7. Young stars, brown dwarfs, and protoplanetary disks Jane Gregorio

Uncovering Student Ideas in Astronomy 45 Formative Assessment Probes

CERN Document Server

Keeley, Page

2012-01-01

What do your students know-or think they know-about what causes night and day, why days are shorter in winter, and how to tell a planet from a star? Find out with this book on astronomy, the latest in NSTA's popular Uncovering Student Ideas in Science series. The 45 astronomy probes provide situations that will pique your students' interest while helping you understand how your students think about key ideas related to the universe and how it operates.

A Status Report on the AAS Astronomy Ambassadors Program

Science.gov (United States)

Fienberg, Richard Tresch; Fraknoi, Andrew; Gurton, Suzanne; Hurst, Anna; Schatz, Dennis L.

2014-06-01

The American Astronomical Society, in partnership with the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), has launched a series of professional-development workshops and a community of practice designed to improve early-career astronomers’ ability to communicate effectively with students and the public. Called AAS Astronomy Ambassadors, the program provides training and mentoring for young astronomers, from advanced undergraduates to beginning faculty; it also provides them access to resources and a network of contacts within the astronomy education and public outreach (EPO) community. Ambassadors are provided with a library of outreach activities and resource materials suitable for a range of venues and audiences. For much of this library we are using resources developed by organizations such as the ASP, the Pacific Science Center, and the Center for Astronomy Education for other outreach programs, though some resources have been created by one of us (AF) specifically for this program. After a period of evaluation and revision, the program’s “Menu of Outreach Opportunities for Science Education” (MOOSE) is now posted on the AAS website at http://aas.org/outreach/moose-menu-outreach-opportunities-science-education.The first two Astronomy Ambassadors workshops were held at AAS meetings in January 2013 and January 2014; each served 30 young astronomers chosen from about twice that many applicants. Web-based follow-up activities are being provided through a website at the ASP designed to keep cohorts of educators trained in their programs in touch with one another. The AAS is exploring ways to fund additional workshops at future winter meetings; suggestions are most welcome. Meanwhile, the Astronomy Ambassadors trained to date have logged more than 150 outreach events, reaching many thousands of children and adults across the U.S. and Canada.

Techniques in X-ray Astronomy

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Kulinder Pal Singh is in the Department of. Astronomy and Astro- physics of the Tata. Institute of Fundamental. Research, Mumbai. His primary fields of research are X-ray studies of hot plasmas in stars, super- nova remnants, galaxies, intergalactic medium in clusters of galaxies, active galactic nuclei, cataclys- mic variables ...

Techniques in X-ray Astronomy

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

This knowledge, or energy spectrum, helps astronomers to look for and determine the. Kulinder Pal Singh is in the Department of. Astronomy and Astro- physics of the Tata. Institute of Fundamental. Research, Mumbai. His primary fields of research are X-ray studies of hot plasmas in stars, super- nova remnants, galaxies,.

Managing Astronomy Research Data: Case Studies of Big and Small Research Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Sands, Ashley E.

2015-01-01

Astronomy data management refers to all actions taken upon data over the course of the entire research process. It includes activities involving the collection, organization, analysis, release, storage, archiving, preservation, and curation of research data. Astronomers have cultivated data management tools, infrastructures, and local practices to ensure the use and future reuse of their data. However, new sky surveys will soon amass petabytes of data requiring new data management strategies.The goal of this dissertation, to be completed in 2015, is to identify and understand data management practices and the infrastructure and expertise required to support best practices. This will benefit the astronomy community in efforts toward an integrated scholarly communication framework.This dissertation employs qualitative, social science research methods (including interviews, observations, and document analysis) to conduct case studies of data management practices, covering the entire data lifecycle, amongst three populations: Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) collaboration team members; Individual and small-group users of SDSS data; and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) collaboration team members. I have been observing the collection, release, and archiving of data by the SDSS collaboration, the data practices of individuals and small groups using SDSS data in journal articles, and the LSST collaboration's planning and building of infrastructure to produce data.Preliminary results demonstrate that current data management practices in astronomy are complex, situational, and heterogeneous. Astronomers often have different management repertoires for working on sky surveys and for their own data collections, varying their data practices as they move between projects. The multitude of practices complicates coordinated efforts to maintain data.While astronomy expertise proves critical to managing astronomy data in the short, medium, and long term, the larger astronomy

Under the Radar: The First Woman in Radio Astronomy, Ruby Payne-Scott

Science.gov (United States)

Miller Goss, W.

2012-05-01

Under the Radar, the First Woman in Radio Astronomy, Ruby Payne-Scott W. Miller Goss, NRAO Socorro NM Ruby Payne-Scott (1912-1981) was an eminent Australian scientist who made major contributions to the WWII radar effort (CSIR) from 1941 to 1945. In late 1945, she pioneered radio astronomy efforts at Dover Heights in Sydney, Australia at a beautiful cliff top overlooking the Tasman Sea. Again at Dover Heights, Payne-Scott carried out the first interferometry in radio astronomy using an Australian Army radar antenna as a radio telescope at sun-rise, 26 January 1946. She continued these ground breaking activities until 1951. Ruby Payne-Scott played a major role in discovering and elucidating the properties of Type III bursts from the sun, the most common of the five classes of transient phenomena from the solar corona. These bursts are one of the most intensively studied forms of radio emission in all of astronomy. She is also one of the inventors of aperture synthesis in radio astronomy. I examine her career at the University of Sydney and her conflicts with the CSIR hierarchy concerning the rights of women in the work place, specifically equal wages and the lack of permanent status for married women. I also explore her membership in the Communist Party of Australia as well as her partially released Australian Scientific Intelligence Organization file. Payne-Scott’s role as a major participant in the flourishing radio astronomy research of the post war era remains a remarkable story. She had a number of strong collaborations with the pioneers of early radio astronomy in Australia: Pawsey, Mills, Christiansen, Bolton and Little. I am currently working on a popular version of the Payne-Scott story; “Making Waves, The Story of Ruby Payne-Scott: Australian Pioneer Radio Astronomer” will be published in 2013 by Springer in the Astronomers’ Universe Series.

Opportunity to learn: Investigating possible predictors for pre-course Test Of Astronomy STandards TOAST scores

Science.gov (United States)

Berryhill, Katie J.

As astronomy education researchers become more interested in experimentally testing innovative teaching strategies to enhance learning in introductory astronomy survey courses ("ASTRO 101"), scholars are placing increased attention toward better understanding factors impacting student gain scores on the widely used Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST). Usually used in a pre-test and post-test research design, one might naturally assume that the pre-course differences observed between high- and low-scoring college students might be due in large part to their pre-existing motivation, interest, experience in science, and attitudes about astronomy. To explore this notion, 11 non-science majoring undergraduates taking ASTRO 101 at west coast community colleges were interviewed in the first few weeks of the course to better understand students' pre-existing affect toward learning astronomy with an eye toward predicting student success. In answering this question, we hope to contribute to our understanding of the incoming knowledge of students taking undergraduate introductory astronomy classes, but also gain insight into how faculty can best meet those students' needs and assist them in achieving success. Perhaps surprisingly, there was only weak correlation between students' motivation toward learning astronomy and their pre-test scores. Instead, the most fruitful predictor of TOAST pre-test scores was the quantity of pre-existing, informal, self-directed astronomy learning experiences.

Islamic Mathematical Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Montelle, Clemency

A short survey on Islamic mathematical astronomy practiced during the period running from the eight century until the fifteenth is presented. Various pertinent themes, such as the translation of foreign scientific works and their impact on the tradition; the introduction, assimilation, and critique of the Ptolemaic model; and the role of observations, will be covered. In addition, the zīj, the dominant format for astronomical works, will be briefly explained as well as the legacy of the Islamic tradition of astral sciences to other cultures.

Women in the History of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Álvarez, M. Álvarez; Díaz, Ángeles I.

1998-06-01

We think about the History of Astronomy as the History of men. As the History of a few men: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton,...- men who have changed our way of looking at the sky. But the History of Astronomy is more than that, it is the History of thousand of people whose daily work has allowed the development of knowledge and scientific theories at the time they lived. This, sometimes, "tedious work" permitted the big steps. Many of these people were women, as Theano who married Pythagoras and taught mathematics and astronomy in his school, Hypatia who managed the Library of Alexandria and wrote several astronomical treatises, Hildegard of Bingen who developed a theory on the origin and structure of the Universe in the 12th century, or Sofie Brahe who, worked with her famous brother. And so many privileged women who after a long process of study, were able to develop their scientific interests in spite of been excluded from most of the educational installations and formal and informal groups of men scientist. Most of the works done by these women have been ignored, or wrongly attributed to men throughout History. It often happens that although they have been recognized as good scientists in their own times, women have been discredited by posterior historians who refused to believe that important women scientist ever existed. Here we intend to make a short summary on the lives of some of these women and their astronomical works.

The Lowell Observatory Navajo-Hopi Astronomy Outreach Program

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann, K. A.; Hunter, D. A.; Bosh, A. S.; Johnson, M.; Schindler, K.

2012-08-01

We present an overview of the Lowell Observatory Navajo-Hopi Astronomy Outreach Program, which is modeled after the ASP's Project ASTRO (Richter & Fraknoi 1994). Since 1996, our missions have been (1) to use the inherent excitement about the night sky to help teachers get Navajo and Hopi students excited about science and education, and (2) to help teachers of Navajo and Hopi students learn about astronomy and hands-on activities so that they will be better able to incorporate astronomy in their classrooms. Lowell astronomers pair up for a school year with an elementary or middle school (5th-8th grade) teacher and make numerous visits to their teachers' classes, partnering with the educators in leading discussions linked with hands-on activities. Lowell staff also work with educators and amateur astronomers to offer evening star parties that involve the family members of the students as well as the general community. Toward the end of the school year, teachers bring their classes to Lowell Observatory. The classes spend some time exploring the Steele Visitor Center and participating in tours and programs. They also voyage to Lowell's research facility in the evening to observe at two of Lowell's research telescopes. Furthermore, we offer biennial teacher workshops in Flagstaff to provide teachers with tools, curricula materials, and personalized training so that they are able to include astronomy in their classrooms. We also work with tribal educators to incorporate traditional astronomical knowledge. Funding for the program comes from many different sources.

Use of astronomy filters in fluorescence microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Piper, Jörg

2012-02-01

Monochrome astronomy filters are well suited for use as excitation or suppression filters in fluorescence microscopy. Because of their particular optical design, such filters can be combined with standard halogen light sources for excitation in many fluorescent probes. In this "low energy excitation," photobleaching (fading) or other irritations of native specimens are avoided. Photomicrographs can be taken from living motile fluorescent specimens also with a flash so that fluorescence images can be created free from indistinctness caused by movement. Special filter cubes or dichroic mirrors are not needed for our method. By use of suitable astronomy filters, fluorescence microscopy can be carried out with standard laboratory microscopes equipped with condensers for bright-field (BF) and dark-field (DF) illumination in transmitted light. In BF excitation, the background brightness can be modulated in tiny steps up to dark or black. Moreover, standard industry microscopes fitted with a vertical illuminator for examinations of opaque probes in DF or BF illumination based on incident light (wafer inspections, for instance) can also be used for excitation in epi-illumination when adequate astronomy filters are inserted as excitatory and suppression filters in the illuminating and imaging light path. In all variants, transmission bands can be modulated by transmission shift.

Gamma ray astronomy from satellites and balloons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoenfelder, V.

1986-01-01

A survey is given of gamma ray astronomy topics presented at the Cosmic Ray Conference. The major conclusions at the Cosmic Ray Conference in the field of gamma ray astronomy are given. (1) MeV-emission of gamma-ray bursts is a common feature. Variations in duration and energy spectra from burst to burst may explain the discrepancy between the measured log N - log S dependence and the observed isotropy of bursts. (2) The gamma-ray line at 1.809 MeV from Al(26) is the first detected line from a radioactive nucleosynthesis product. In order to understand its origin it will be necessary to measure its longitude distribution in the Milky Way. (3) The indications of a gamma-ray excess found from the direction of Loop I is consistent with the picture that the bulk of cosmic rays below 100 GeV is produced in galactic supernova remnants. (4) The interpretation of the large scale distribution of gamma rays in the Milky Way is controversial. At present an extragalactic origin of the cosmic ray nuclei in the GeV-range cannot be excluded from the gamma ray data. (5) The detection of MeV-emission from Cen A is a promising step towards the interesting field of extragalactic gamma ray astronomy

High energy neutrino astronomy and its telescopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halzen, F.

1995-01-01

Doing astronomy with photons of energies in excess of a GeV has turned out to be extremely challenging. Efforts are underway to develop instruments that may push astronomy to wavelengths smaller than 10 -14 cm by mapping the sky using high energy neutrinos instead. Neutrino astronomy, born with the identification of thermonuclear fusion in the sun and the particle processes controlling the fate of a nearby supernova, will reach outside the galaxy and make measurements relevant to cosmology. The field is immersed in technology in the domains of particle physics to which many of its research goals are intellectually connected. To mind come the search for neutrino mass, cold dark matter (supersymmetric particles?) and the monopoles of the Standard Model. While a variety of collaborations are pioneering complementary methods by building telescopes with effective area in excess of 0.01 km 2 , we show here that the natural scale of a high energy neutrino telescope is 1 km 2 . With several thousand optical modules and a price tag unlikely to exceed 100 million dollars, the scope of a kilometer-scale instrument is similar to that of experiments presently being commissioned such as the SNO neutrino observatory in Canada and the Superkamiokande experiment in Japan

Light and lightened mirrors for astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Fappani, Denis

2008-07-01

For ground-based astronomy, more and more large telescopes are emerging all around the world. Similarly to space borne telescopes, for which the use of lightened optics has always been a baseline for purpose of mass reduction of payloads, same kinds of lightened/light mirrors are then now more and more intensively used also for ground-based instrumentation for astronomy, requiring larger and larger components. Through several examples of typical past realizations (class 0.5m-1m) for different astronomical projects requiring light or lightened mirrors for different reasons (optimisation of mass and stiffness, reduction of thermal inertia, increasing of dynamic performance for fast scanning purpose,....), the presentation will point out issues for lightening design, manufacturing and control of such parts, as well as brief overview of the corresponding existing "state of the art" for these technologies in SESO.

Revolutions in astronomy, physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Idlis, G.M.

1985-01-01

As consecutive turning-points in the development of natural science four global natural science revolutions (Aristotelian, Newton, Einstein and post-Einstein) are marked out and briefly outlined. Each of them simultaneously occurred in astronomy, physics and cosmology and was accompanied by radical changes of cosmological representations. These changes had quite a regular consecutive character and represented necessary steps in turn along the natural way of further elimination of ego centrism from cosmology. The first (Aristotelian) revolution turnes out a peculiar prototype of all three subsequent revolutions in astronomy, physics and cosmology. The special more detailed analysis of this revolution in this monograph allows one to tie together antique and modern phases of the science development including corresponding representations on fundamental structural elements of the matter. Besides the review of literature data the monograph comprises a series of author's scientific results

A Model for Establishing an Astronomy Education Discussion Group

Science.gov (United States)

Deming, Grace; Hayes-Gehrke, M.; Zauderer, B. A.; Bovill, M. S.; DeCesar, M.

2010-01-01

In October 2005, a group of astronomy faculty and graduate students met to establish departmental support for participants in the UM Center for Teaching Excellence University Teaching and Learning Program. This program seeks to increase graduate students’ understanding of effective teaching methods, awareness of student learning, and appreciation of education as a scholarly pursuit. Our group has facilitated the submission of successful graduate student educational development grant proposals to the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). Completion of the CTE program results in a notation on the graduate student's transcript. Our discussion group met monthly during the first two years. The Astronomy Education Review, The Physics Teacher, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and National Research Council publications were used to provide background for discussion. Beginning in 2007, the group began sponsoring monthly astronomy education lunches during the academic year to which the entire department was invited. Over the past two years, speakers have included graduate students, faculty, and guests, such as Jay Labov from the National Research Council. Topics have included the Astronomy Diagnostic Test, intelligent design versus evolution, active learning techniques, introducing the use of lecture tutorials, using effective demonstrations, confronting student misconceptions, engagement through clickers (or cards), and fostering critical thinking with ranking tasks. The results of an informal evaluation will be presented.