The South African Astronomical Observatory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The geographical position, climate and equipment at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), together with the enthusiasm and efforts of SAAO scientific and technical staff and of visiting scientists, have enabled the Observatory to make a major contribution to the fields of astrophysics and cosmology. During 1987 the SAAO has been involved in studies of the following: supernovae; galaxies, including Seyfert galaxies; celestial x-ray sources; magellanic clouds; pulsating variables; galatic structure; binary star phenomena; nebulae; interstellar matter and stellar astrophysics

South African Astronomical Observatory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

Work at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in recent years, by both staff and visitors, has made major contributions to the fields of astrophysics and astronomy. During 1986 the SAAO has been involved in studies of the following: galaxies; celestial x-ray sources; magellanic clouds; pulsating variables; galactic structure; binary star phenomena; nebulae and interstellar matter; stellar astrophysics; open clusters; globular clusters, and solar systems

An astronomical observatory for Peru

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del Mar, Juan Quintanilla; Sicardy, Bruno; Giraldo, Víctor Ayma; Callo, Víctor Raúl Aguilar

2011-06-01

Peru and France are to conclude an agreement to provide Peru with an astronomical observatory equipped with a 60-cm diameter telescope. The principal aims of this project are to establish and develop research and teaching in astronomy. Since 2004, a team of researchers from Paris Observatory has been working with the University of Cusco (UNSAAC) on the educational, technical and financial aspects of implementing this venture. During an international astronomy conference in Cusco in July 2009, the foundation stone of the future Peruvian Observatory was laid at the top of Pachatusan Mountain. UNSAAC, represented by its Rector, together with the town of Oropesa and the Cusco regional authority, undertook to make the sum of 300,000€ available to the project. An agreement between Paris Observatory and UNSAAC now enables Peruvian students to study astronomy through online teaching.

Multinational History of Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory

CERN Document Server

Heck, André

2005-01-01

Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory is quite an interesting place for historians: several changes of nationality between France and Germany, high-profile scientists having been based there, big projects born or installed in its walls, and so on. Most of the documents circulating on the history of the Observatory and on related matters have however been so far poorly referenced, if at all. This made necessary the compilation of a volume such as this one, offering fully-documented historical facts and references on the first decades of the Observatory history, authored by both French and German specialists. The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy nor in the details of European history. After an introductory chapter by the Editor, contributions by Wolfschmidt and by Duerbeck respectively deal extensively with the German periods and review people and instrumentation, while another paper by Duerbeck is more...

Astronomy Against Terrorism: an Educational Astronomical Observatory Project in Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Ishitsuka, M.; Montes, H.; Kuroda, T.; Morimoto, M.; Ishitsuka, J.

2003-05-01

The Cosmos Coronagraphic Observatory was completely destroyed by terrorists in 1988. In 1995, in coordination with the Minister of Education of Peru, a project to construct a new Educational Astronomical Observatory has been executed. The main purpose of the observatory is to promote an interest in basic space sciences in young students from school to university levels, through basic astronomical studies and observations. The planned observatory will be able to lodge 25 visitors; furthermore an auditorium, a library and a computer room will be constructed to improve the interest of people in astronomy. Two 15-cm refractor telescopes, equipped with a CCD camera and a photometer, will be available for observations. Also a 6-m dome will house a 60-cm class reflector telescope, which will be donated soon, thanks to a fund collected and organized by the Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory in Japan. In addition a new modern planetarium donated by the Government of Japan will be installed in Lima, the capital of Peru. These installations will be widely open to serve the requirements of people interested in science.

From research institution to astronomical museum: a history of the Stockholm Observatory

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Yaskell, Steven Haywood

2008-07-01

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (RSAS) (or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien [KvA] in Swedish) founded 1739, opened its first permanent building, an astronomical and meteorological observatory, on 20 September 1753. This was situated at Brunkebergsåsen (formerly Observatorie Lunden, or Observatory Hill), on a high terrace in a northern quarter of Stockholm. This historic building is still sometimes called Gamla Observatoriet (the Old Observatory) and now is formally the Observatory Museum. This paper reviews the history of the Observatory from its function as a scientific astronomical institution to its relatively-recent relegation to museum status.

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

CERN Document Server

Haubold, Hans J; UN/ESA/NASA Workshop on the International Heliophysical Year 2007 and Basic Space Science, hosted by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

2010-01-01

This book represents Volume II of the Proceedings of the UN/ESA/NASA Workshop on the International Heliophysical Year 2007 and Basic Space Science, hosted by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo, 18 - 22 June, 2007. It covers two programme topics explored in this and past workshops of this nature: (i) non-extensive statistical mechanics as applicable to astrophysics, addressing q-distribution, fractional reaction and diffusion, and the reaction coefficient, as well as the Mittag-Leffler function and (ii) the TRIPOD concept, developed for astronomical telescope facilities. The companion publication, Volume I of the proceedings of this workshop, is a special issue in the journal Earth, Moon, and Planets, Volume 104, Numbers 1-4, April 2009.

The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and Post-war Japanese Optical Astronomy

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Tajima, Toshiyuki

This paper depicts some aspects of the formative process of the Japanese optical and infrared astronomical community in the post-war period, featuring the transition of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan(NAOJ). We take up three cases of telescope construction, examining their background and their contribution to the Japanese astronomical community. Through these cases, the characteristics of traditions and cultures of optical and infrared astronomy in Japan are considered. Although the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory (TAO) of the University of Tokyo, the predecessor of NAOJ, was originally founded as an agency for practical astronomical observation such as time and almanac service, it has become an international centre for all types of astrophysical research. Research and development of telescopes and observational instruments have become an important part of the astronomers' practice. Now, however, a number of Japanese universities are planning to have their own large to middle-sized telescopes, and a new style of astronomical research is emerging involving astrophysical studies utilising data acquired from the Virtual Observatory, so there is a distinct possibility that the status of the NAOJ will change even further in the future.

An Information Retrieval and Recommendation System for Astronomical Observatories

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Mukund, Nikhil; Thakur, Saurabh; Abraham, Sheelu; Aniyan, A. K.; Mitra, Sanjit; Sajeeth Philip, Ninan; Vaghmare, Kaustubh; Acharjya, D. P.

2018-03-01

We present a machine-learning-based information retrieval system for astronomical observatories that tries to address user-defined queries related to an instrument. In the modern instrumentation scenario where heterogeneous systems and talents are simultaneously at work, the ability to supply people with the right information helps speed up the tasks for detector operation, maintenance, and upgradation. The proposed method analyzes existing documented efforts at the site to intelligently group related information to a query and to present it online to the user. The user in response can probe the suggested content and explore previously developed solutions or probable ways to address the present situation optimally. We demonstrate natural language-processing-backed knowledge rediscovery by making use of the open source logbook data from the Laser Interferometric Gravitational Observatory (LIGO). We implement and test a web application that incorporates the above idea for LIGO Livingston, LIGO Hanford, and Virgo observatories.

Suitability assessment of OPC UA as the backbone of ground-based observatory control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pessemier, W.; Raskin, G.; Van Winckel, H.; Deconinck, G.; Saey, P.

2012-01-01

A common requirement of modern observatory control systems is to allow interaction between various heterogeneous subsystems in a transparent way. However, the integration of off-the-shelf (OTS) industrial products - such as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) software - has long been hampered by the lack of an adequate interfacing method. With the advent of the Unified Architecture (UA) version of OPC (Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control), the limitations of the original industry accepted interface are now lifted, and also much more functionality has been defined. In this paper the most important features of OPC UA are matched against the requirements of ground-based observatory control systems in general and in particular of the 1.2 m Mercator Telescope. We investigate the opportunities of the 'information modelling' idea behind OPC UA, which could allow an extensive standardization in the field of astronomical instrumentation, similar to the efforts emerging in several industry domains. Because OPC UA is designed for both horizontal and vertical integration of heterogeneous subsystems, we explore its capabilities to serve as the backbone of a dependable and scalable observatory control system, treating industrial components like PLCs no differently than custom software components. Performance measurements and tests with a sample of OTS OPC UA products are presented. (authors)

Property and instrumental heritage of the Bordeaux Astronomical Observatory; What future?

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de La Noë, J.; Charlot, P.; Grousset, F.

2009-11-01

In the years 1870, the Government of the Third Republic decided to develop scientific and technical research. Such an effort contributed to supporting and creating universities and other institutes such as astronomical observatories. The dual wish of the Bordeaux council and professors at the Faculté des Sciences de Bordeaux led to the foundation of the astronomical Observatory of Bordeaux. It was set up by Georges Rayet in the years 1880's. The observatory owns a property of 12 hectares with a dozen of buildings, five domes housing an instrument, a Würzburg radiotelescope, a 2.5 meter radiotelescope, and a large collection of about 250 instruments, 4 500 photographic plates, drawings, slides for teaching astronomy, maps of the Carte du Ciel and 200 files of archives. In addition, the library contains about a thousand books for the period 1600-1950. The future of the observatory is not clear at the present time, when the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique will leave to the campus in a few years.

The Material Culture of Nineteenth-Century Astrometry, its Circulation and Heritage at the Astronomical Observatory of Lisbon

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Raposo, Pedro

The Astronomical Observatory of Lisbon was founded in 1857 in the sequence of a controversy on stellar parallax measurements involving astronomers from the Observatory of Paris and the Observatory of Pulkovo. The development of this discussion led the contenders to recognize Lisbon as a suitable place to carry out this kind of measurements and to foster the field of stellar astronomy. Some local actors strived to keep up with this wave of international interest and establish a first-rank astronomical institution in the Portuguese capital. In order to fulfil this goal, correspondence was intensively exchanged with leading foreign astronomers and instrument makers. Besides, a Portuguese Navy officer bound to become the first director of the new institution was commissioned to visit several observatories and instrument workshops abroad, and to spend a few years in Pulkovo as a trainee astronomer. Although founded with generous financial support from the Portuguese crown and lavishly equipped and constructed, the Observatory of Lisbon was later affected by limiting budgets and a shortage of qualified personnel. Nevertheless, local efforts to improve instruments as well as observation and calculation techniques enabled its astronomers to yield important contributions to positional astronomy, especially towards the end of the nineteenth century and the beginnings of the twentieth century. The original instruments and spaces of the Observatory of Lisbon, strongly modelled on those of Pulkovo, are very well preserved, constituting an outstanding extant example of a mid-nineteenth century advanced observatory. The history they embody testifies the connectedness of the astronomical heritage worldwide.

Databases of Publications and Observations as a Part of the Crimean Astronomical Virtual Observatory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shlyapnikov A.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We describe the main principles of formation of databases (DBs with information about astronomical objects and their physical characteristics derived from observations obtained at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO and published in the “Izvestiya of the CrAO” and elsewhere. Emphasis is placed on the DBs missing from the most complete global library of catalogs and data tables, VizieR (supported by the Center of Astronomical Data, Strasbourg. We specially consider the problem of forming a digital archive of observational data obtained at the CrAO as an interactive DB related to database objects and publications. We present examples of all our DBs as elements integrated into the Crimean Astronomical Virtual Observatory. We illustrate the work with the CrAO DBs using tools of the International Virtual Observatory: Aladin, VOPlot, VOSpec, in conjunction with the VizieR and Simbad DBs.

Silicon carbide optics for space and ground based astronomical telescopes

Science.gov (United States)

Robichaud, Joseph; Sampath, Deepak; Wainer, Chris; Schwartz, Jay; Peton, Craig; Mix, Steve; Heller, Court

2012-09-01

Silicon Carbide (SiC) optical materials are being applied widely for both space based and ground based optical telescopes. The material provides a superior weight to stiffness ratio, which is an important metric for the design and fabrication of lightweight space telescopes. The material also has superior thermal properties with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and a high thermal conductivity. The thermal properties advantages are important for both space based and ground based systems, which typically need to operate under stressing thermal conditions. The paper will review L-3 Integrated Optical Systems - SSG’s (L-3 SSG) work in developing SiC optics and SiC optical systems for astronomical observing systems. L-3 SSG has been fielding SiC optical components and systems for over 25 years. Space systems described will emphasize the recently launched Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) developed for JHU-APL and NASA-GSFC. Review of ground based applications of SiC will include supporting L-3 IOS-Brashear’s current contract to provide the 0.65 meter diameter, aspheric SiC secondary mirror for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST).

The Role in the Virtual Astronomical Observatory in the Era of Massive Data Sets

Science.gov (United States)

Berriman, G. Bruce; Hanisch, Robert J.; Lazio, T. Joseph W.

2012-01-01

The Virtual Observatory (VO) is realizing global electronic integration of astronomy data. One of the long-term goals of the U.S. VO project, the Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO), is development of services and protocols that respond to the growing size and complexity of astronomy data sets. This paper describes how VAO staff are active in such development efforts, especially in innovative strategies and techniques that recognize the limited operating budgets likely available to astronomers even as demand increases. The project has a program of professional outreach whereby new services and protocols are evaluated.

Providing comprehensive and consistent access to astronomical observatory archive data: the NASA archive model

Science.gov (United States)

McGlynn, Thomas; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Accomazzi, Alberto; Smale, Alan; White, Richard L.; Donaldson, Thomas; Aloisi, Alessandra; Dower, Theresa; Mazzerella, Joseph M.; Ebert, Rick; Pevunova, Olga; Imel, David; Berriman, Graham B.; Teplitz, Harry I.; Groom, Steve L.; Desai, Vandana R.; Landry, Walter

2016-07-01

Since the turn of the millennium a constant concern of astronomical archives have begun providing data to the public through standardized protocols unifying data from disparate physical sources and wavebands across the electromagnetic spectrum into an astronomical virtual observatory (VO). In October 2014, NASA began support for the NASA Astronomical Virtual Observatories (NAVO) program to coordinate the efforts of NASA astronomy archives in providing data to users through implementation of protocols agreed within the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA). A major goal of the NAVO collaboration has been to step back from a piecemeal implementation of IVOA standards and define what the appropriate presence for the US and NASA astronomy archives in the VO should be. This includes evaluating what optional capabilities in the standards need to be supported, the specific versions of standards that should be used, and returning feedback to the IVOA, to support modifications as needed. We discuss a standard archive model developed by the NAVO for data archive presence in the virtual observatory built upon a consistent framework of standards defined by the IVOA. Our standard model provides for discovery of resources through the VO registries, access to observation and object data, downloads of image and spectral data and general access to archival datasets. It defines specific protocol versions, minimum capabilities, and all dependencies. The model will evolve as the capabilities of the virtual observatory and needs of the community change.

Managing distributed software development in the Virtual Astronomical Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Janet D.; Plante, Raymond L.; Boneventura, Nina; Busko, Ivo; Cresitello-Dittmar, Mark; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Doe, Stephen; Ebert, Rick; Laurino, Omar; Pevunova, Olga; Refsdal, Brian; Thomas, Brian

2012-09-01

The U.S. Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO) is a product-driven organization that provides new scientific research capabilities to the astronomical community. Software development for the VAO follows a lightweight framework that guides development of science applications and infrastructure. Challenges to be overcome include distributed development teams, part-time efforts, and highly constrained schedules. We describe the process we followed to conquer these challenges while developing Iris, the VAO application for analysis of 1-D astronomical spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Iris was successfully built and released in less than a year with a team distributed across four institutions. The project followed existing International Virtual Observatory Alliance inter-operability standards for spectral data and contributed a SED library as a by-product of the project. We emphasize lessons learned that will be folded into future development efforts. In our experience, a well-defined process that provides guidelines to ensure the project is cohesive and stays on track is key to success. Internal product deliveries with a planned test and feedback loop are critical. Release candidates are measured against use cases established early in the process, and provide the opportunity to assess priorities and make course corrections during development. Also key is the participation of a stakeholder such as a lead scientist who manages the technical questions, advises on priorities, and is actively involved as a lead tester. Finally, frequent scheduled communications (for example a bi-weekly tele-conference) assure issues are resolved quickly and the team is working toward a common vision.

New Life for Astronomical Instruments of the Past at the Astronomical Observatory of Taras Shevchenko

Science.gov (United States)

Kazantseva, Liliya

2012-09-01

Astronomical instruments of the past are certainly valuable artifacts of the history of science and education. Like other collections of scientific equipment, they also demonstrate i) development of scientific and technical ideas, ii) technological features of the historical period, iii) professional features of artists or companies -- manufacturers, and iv) national and local specificity of production. However, astronomical instruments are also devices made for observations of rare phenomena -- solar eclipses, transits of planets of the solar disk, etc. Instruments used to study these rare events were very different for each event, since the science changed quickly between events. The Astronomical Observatory of Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University has a collection of tools made by leading European and local shops from the early nineteenth century. These include tools for optically observing the first artificial Earth satellites, photography, chronometry, and meteorology. In addition, it has assembled a library of descriptions of astronomical instruments and makers'price-lists. Of particular interest are the large stationary tools that are still active in their pavilions. Almost every instrument has a long interesting history. Museification of astronomical instruments gives them a second life, expanding educational programs and tracing the development of astronomy in general and scientific institution and region in particular. It would be advisable to first create a regional database of these rare astronomical instruments (which is already being done in Ukraine), then a common global database. By combining all the historical information about astronomical instruments with the advantages of the Internet, you can show the full evolution of an astronomical instrument with all its features. Time is relentless, and much is destroyed, badly kept and thrown in the garbage. We need time to protect, capture, and tell about it.

Ground Based Support for Exoplanet Space Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Haukka, H.; Hentunen, V.-P.; Salmi, T.; Aartolahti, H.; Juutilainen, J.; Vilokki, H.; Nissinen, M.

2011-10-01

Taurus Hill Observatory (THO), observatory code A95, is an amateur observatory located in Varkaus, Finland. The observatory is maintained by the local astronomical association Warkauden Kassiopeia. THO research team has observed and measured various stellar objects and phenomena. Observatory has mainly focused to asteroid [1] and exoplanet light curve measurements, observing the gamma rays burst, supernova discoveries and monitoring [2] and long term monitoring projects [3]. In the early 2011 Europlanet NA1 and NA2 organized "Coordinated Observations of Exoplanets from Ground and Space"-workshop in Graz, Austria. The workshop gathered together proam astronomers who have the equipment to measure the light curves of the exoplanets. Also there were professional scientists working in the exoplanet field who attended to the workshop. The result of the workshop was to organize coordinated observation campaign for follow-up observations of exoplanets (e.g. CoRoT planets). Also coordinated observation campaign to observe stellar CME outbreaks was planned. THO has a lot of experience in field of exoplanet light curve measurements and therefore this campaign is very supported by the research team of the observatory. In next coming observing seasons THO will concentrate its efforts for this kind of campaigns.

Cooperation for Common Use of SEE Astronomical Database as a Regional Virtual Observatory in Different Scientific Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Pinigin, Gennady; Protsyuk, Yuri; Shulga, Alexander

The activity of scientific collaborative and co-operative research between South-Eastern European (SEE) observatories is enlarged in the last time. The creation of a common database as a regional virtual observatory is very desirable. The creation of astronomical information resource with a capability of interactive access to databases and telescopes on the base of the general astronomical database of the SEE countries is presented. This resource may be connected with the European network. A short description of the NAO database is presented. The total amount of the NAO information makes about 90 GB, the one obtained from other sources - about 15 GB. The mean diurnal level of the new astronomical information produced with the NAO CCD instruments makes from 300 MB up to 2 GB, depending on the purposes and conditions of observations. The majority of observational data is stored in FITS format. Possibility of using of VO-table format for displaying these data in the Internet is studied. Activities on development and the further refinement of storage, exchange and data processing standards are conducted.

The Organization and Management of the Virtual Astronomical Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Berriman, G. Bruce; Hanisch, Robert J.; Lazio, T. Joseph W.; Szalay, Alexander; Fabbiano, Giussepina

2012-01-01

The U.S. Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO; http://www.us-vao.org/) has been in operation since May 2010. Its goal is to enable new science through efficient integration of distributed multi-wavelength data. This paper describes the management and organization of the VAO, and emphasizes the techniques used to ensure efficiency in a distributed organization. Management methods include using an annual program plan as the basis for establishing contracts with member organizations, regular communication, and monitoring of processes.

TELICS—A Telescope Instrument Control System for Small/Medium Sized Astronomical Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Mudit K.; Ramaprakash, A. N.; Burse, Mahesh P.; Chordia, Pravin A.; Chillal, Kalpesh S.; Mestry, Vilas B.; Das, Hillol K.; Kohok, Abhay A.

2009-10-01

For any modern astronomical observatory, it is essential to have an efficient interface between the telescope and its back-end instruments. However, for small and medium-sized observatories, this requirement is often limited by tight financial constraints. Therefore a simple yet versatile and low-cost control system is required for such observatories to minimize cost and effort. Here we report the development of a modern, multipurpose instrument control system TELICS (Telescope Instrument Control System) to integrate the controls of various instruments and devices mounted on the telescope. TELICS consists of an embedded hardware unit known as a common control unit (CCU) in combination with Linux-based data acquisition and user interface. The hardware of the CCU is built around the ATmega 128 microcontroller (Atmel Corp.) and is designed with a backplane, master-slave architecture. A Qt-based graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed and the back-end application software is based on C/C++. TELICS provides feedback mechanisms that give the operator good visibility and a quick-look display of the status and modes of instruments as well as data. TELICS has been used for regular science observations since 2008 March on the 2 m, f/10 IUCAA Telescope located at Girawali in Pune, India.

The Rare Book Collection of Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory Will be on the Web: Ancient Science Available to Everyone

Science.gov (United States)

Cirella, E. O.; Caprio, G.

2015-04-01

This paper describes a project for the preservation, promotion, and creation of a website for the rare book collection of Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory. The project, promoted by INAF—Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory, was supported by the Campania Region through European funds. The final component of the project was the publication of a bibliographical catalog, Le Cinquecentine dell'Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, which was addressed to specialized users, including historians of science and bibliophiles.

Detection and Implications of Laser-Induced Raman Scattering at Astronomical Observatories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frédéric P. A. Vogt

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Laser guide stars employed at astronomical observatories provide artificial wavefront reference sources to help correct (in part the impact of atmospheric turbulence on astrophysical observations. Following the recent commissioning of the 4 Laser Guide Star Facility (4LGSF on Unit Telescope 4 (UT4 of the Very Large Telescope (VLT, we characterize the spectral signature of the uplink beams from the 22-W lasers to assess the impact of laser scattering from the 4LGSF on science observations. We use the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE optical integral field spectrograph mounted on the Nasmyth B focus of UT4 to acquire spectra at a resolution of R≅3000 of the uplink laser beams over the wavelength range of 4750 Å–9350 Å. We report the first detection of laser-induced Raman scattering by N_{2}, O_{2}, CO_{2}, H_{2}O, and (tentatively CH_{4} molecules in the atmosphere above the astronomical observatory of Cerro Paranal. In particular, our observations reveal the characteristic spectral signature of laser photons—but 480 Å to 2210 Å redder than the original laser wavelength of 5889.959 Å—landing on the 8.2-m primary mirror of UT4 after being Raman-scattered on their way up to the sodium layer. Laser-induced Raman scattering, a phenomenon not usually discussed in the astronomical context, is not unique to the observatory of Cerro Paranal, but it is common to any astronomical telescope employing a laser guide star (LGS system. It is thus essential for any optical spectrograph coupled to a LGS system to thoroughly handle the possibility of a Raman spectral contamination via a proper baffling of the instrument and suitable calibrations procedures. These considerations are particularly applicable for the HARMONI optical spectrograph on the upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT. At sites hosting multiple telescopes, laser-collision-prediction tools should also account for the presence of Raman emission from the uplink laser beam

Enrique Gaviola and the Astronomical Observatory of Cordoba. Its impact in the Argentine science development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernaola, Omar A.

2001-01-01

The history of the Astronomical Observatory of Cordoba (Argentina), opened in 1871, is related. The physicist Enrique Gaviola (1900-1989) has been the director of the Observatory from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1956 to 1957. He was instrumental in the construction of the Observatory's big telescope (inaugurated in 1942, diameter 152 cm). The influence that E. Gaviola exerted upon the development of physics in Argentina, including the nuclear sciences, is also related

Education in Science Centers: Evaluating School Visits to an Astronomical Observatory in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Donizete Colombo Junior

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The present article analyzes the activity “Guided Visit of School Groups” carried out at Astronomical Observatory of the Center for Scientific and Cultural Diffusion (CDCC of University of Sao Paulo (USP with K4 and K5 pupils. The objectives of this research were to identify influences of such activity on learning of astronomical concepts and on pupils’ motivation. The results demonstrate that pupils have difficulties to understand Solar System concepts and the distances involved, on the other hand, the activity motivates the pupils to return with their parents and friends to the Observatory. At last, the success of visits to science centers aiming at the learning of basic concepts and motivation comprises at least three moments: the one that precedes the visit, the visit itself and the return to the classroom.

The Selection and Protection of Optical Astronomical Observing Sites in China

Science.gov (United States)

Wenjing, Jin; Bai, Jinming; Yao, Yongqiang

2015-03-01

Before 1950 there are two observatories, Shanghai and Purple Mountain Astronomical Observatories (SHAO and PMO), and two observing stations, Qingdao and Kunming stations in China. With the requirements of astronomical research, two observatories, Beijing and Shaanxi Astronomical Observatories (BAO and SXAO) and two artificial satellite stations, Urumqi and Changchun, were established about 1960. Based on the current management, now there are 4 observatories, SHAO, PMO, NAOC(National Astronomical Observatories), which was grouped from BAO, YNAO and 2 others, as well as XAO (Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory). The optical 1-2 m class telescopes are being operated at former four observatories. SXAO is changed as National Time Service Center. Because of city expansion as well as the traveling and economic developments, these observatories are suffered severe light pollution. For example, Zo Ce is located at the suburb of Shanghai city. A 40 cm double astrograph was installed in 1900 and a 1.56 m optical reflector have been operated since November 1987. In 1994 the seeing is better than 1 and the night sky brightness in V is about 19 mag/arcsec 2, stars fainter than 20 mag with CCD are visibles. In 2007 a large playground was built in Zô Cè area. The light pollution is severe gradually. The night sky brightness has been increased to 15.8 mag/arcsec 2. The other observatories have similar situation. New site surveys and found new stations to solve the problem. Except the solar and radio stations of each Astronomical Observatory, now there are 3 optical observing sites at PMO (Hong-He, Xu-Yi and Yaoan), 2 at SHAO (Zô Cè and Tian Huang Ping) and 2 at YNAO (Kunming and Gao-Mei-Gu) as well as 1 optical observing site at BAO (Xing-Long). The best observing site is Gao-Mei-Gu, which is selected as the optical observing site of YNAO and where atmospheric turbulence distribution is 0.11 near ground with heights from 6.5m to 2.7m during night. Sky brightness in B and V band

Reengineering observatory operations for the time domain

Science.gov (United States)

Seaman, Robert L.; Vestrand, W. T.; Hessman, Frederic V.

2014-07-01

Observatories are complex scientific and technical institutions serving diverse users and purposes. Their telescopes, instruments, software, and human resources engage in interwoven workflows over a broad range of timescales. These workflows have been tuned to be responsive to concepts of observatory operations that were applicable when various assets were commissioned, years or decades in the past. The astronomical community is entering an era of rapid change increasingly characterized by large time domain surveys, robotic telescopes and automated infrastructures, and - most significantly - of operating modes and scientific consortia that span our individual facilities, joining them into complex network entities. Observatories must adapt and numerous initiatives are in progress that focus on redesigning individual components out of the astronomical toolkit. New instrumentation is both more capable and more complex than ever, and even simple instruments may have powerful observation scripting capabilities. Remote and queue observing modes are now widespread. Data archives are becoming ubiquitous. Virtual observatory standards and protocols and astroinformatics data-mining techniques layered on these are areas of active development. Indeed, new large-aperture ground-based telescopes may be as expensive as space missions and have similarly formal project management processes and large data management requirements. This piecewise approach is not enough. Whatever challenges of funding or politics facing the national and international astronomical communities it will be more efficient - scientifically as well as in the usual figures of merit of cost, schedule, performance, and risks - to explicitly address the systems engineering of the astronomical community as a whole.

Super resolution for astronomical observations

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhan; Peng, Qingyu; Bhanu, Bir; Zhang, Qingfeng; He, Haifeng

2018-05-01

In order to obtain detailed information from multiple telescope observations a general blind super-resolution (SR) reconstruction approach for astronomical images is proposed in this paper. A pixel-reliability-based SR reconstruction algorithm is described and implemented, where the developed process incorporates flat field correction, automatic star searching and centering, iterative star matching, and sub-pixel image registration. Images captured by the 1-m telescope at Yunnan Observatory are used to test the proposed technique. The results of these experiments indicate that, following SR reconstruction, faint stars are more distinct, bright stars have sharper profiles, and the backgrounds have higher details; thus these results benefit from the high-precision star centering and image registration provided by the developed method. Application of the proposed approach not only provides more opportunities for new discoveries from astronomical image sequences, but will also contribute to enhancing the capabilities of most spatial or ground-based telescopes.

Digging up the Earliest Astronomical Observatory in China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wei-Boa; Chen, Jiu-Jin

2007-09-01

At the town of Taosi, county of Xiangfen, Shanxi province the earliest (up to date about 4000 years ago) astronomical observatory and sacrificial altar relic was dug up, which consists of an observing site, some tamped soil columniations and slits between those columniations. This construction was used to observe the variations of the sunrise azimuth and determine the tropical year length in order to constitute the calendar. It is indicated from the simulated observations that the two slits located in the southeast and the northwest could be precisely used to determine the dates of the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice. Between those two slits there are 10 columniations which could indicate that the visual Sun moving from one columniation to another is a solar term. It implies that in the Emperor Yao time the calendar was the solar calendar in which one year was divided into 20 solar terms. The Yin-Yang five-element calendar, a 10-month calendar, in the very ancient time was based on this calendar.

The French Jesuit Mission to Thailand in the 1680s and the Establishment of a Major Astronomical Observatory

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Soonthornthum, Boonrucksar; Orchiston, Wayne; Komonjinda, Siramas

2012-09-01

The first great Thai ruler to encourage the adoption of Western culture and technology was King Narai, and his enlightened attitude led to the rapid development of Thailand. King Narai also had a passion for astronomy, and he pursued this interest by allowing French Jesuit missionaries to set up a large modern well-equipped astronomical observatory in Lopburi Province between AD 1685 and 1687. This was known as the Wat San Paolo Observatory, and King Narai and the missionaries observed a total lunar eclipse on 10 December 1685 and a partial solar eclipse on 30 April 1688. These observations and others made at Wat San Paolo Observatory during the 1680s marked the start of modern scientific astronomy in Thailand. In this paper we discuss King Narai's scientific and other interests, the founding of the Wat San Paolo Observatory, the missionaries who conducted the astronomical programs, their instruments and their observations. We also describe the surviving ruins of the Observatory and their interpretation as a site of national scientific importance in Thailand.

The Architectural and Instrumental Heritage of the Strasbourg University Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Davoigneau, Jean

When, in 1872, Alsace was handed over to Germany, Empperor Wilhelm I decided to make Strasbourg the showcase of his empire, and in particular to build a prestigious university and an observatory. The construction of the observatory was entrusted to the astronomer August Winnecke (1835-1897), former director of the Pulkovo observatory, and to the Baumeister Hermann Eggert. Begun in 1876, the work was completed in 1880. The astronomical instruments, ordered from German makers, were installed during the winter of 1880-1881, and the observatory was inaugurated on September 22, 1881 at the general assembly of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, the international association of astronomers, whose secretary was Winnecke. Marking the south-eastern extremity of the ‘imperial axis’, the architecture of the university observatory harmonizes perfectly with the new German city built on the former French parade grounds. The astronomical heritage operation conducted at the beginning of the present decade provides a richly docurnented and illustrated inventory of both the architecture and instruments of this institution. This work has also highlighted the unique quality of the collection of instruments, befitting the long and complex history of this institution.

Colloid Microthruster Feed System Development for Fine Pointing and Drag-Free Control of Multi-Year Astronomical Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Ziemer, John; Mueller, J.; Spence, D.; Hruby, V.

2014-01-01

A new Colloid Microthruster feed system, including a propellant tank and redundant Microvalves, is being developed for fine pointing and drag-free operations of multi-year astronomical observatories under the PCOS SAT program. Almost all Gravitational Wave Observatory (GWO) concepts require microthrusters to maintain a drag-free environment for the inertial sensor instrument to meet the mission science objectives. The current state-of-the-art microthruster in the US is the Busek Colloid Micro-Newton Thruster (CMNT) originally developed under the New Millennium Program for the Space Technology 7 (ST7) and ESA's LISA Pathfinder (LPF) technology demonstration mission. The ST7 CMNT design includes a bellows propellant storage tank that is sized to provide up to 90 days of maximum thrust (30 µN). The new propellant tank is based on a blow-down, metal-diaphragm spherical tank design with enough capacity for a 5-year GWO mission. The new feed system will also include the third generation of Busek’s Microvalve, currently being developed under a NASA Phase II SBIR. The Microvalve is responsible for the picoliter per second control of the propellant from the tank to the thruster head, demanding parts with micron-level tolerances, critical alignments, and challenging acceptance test protocols. This microthruster system could also be considered for replacement of reaction wheels for slewing and fine pointing of other astronomical observatories, including Exo-Planet Observatory concepts. The goal of the PCOS SAT effort is to raise the new system to TRL 5 with performance and environmental testing within the next two years.

UKRVO Astronomical WEB Services

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Mazhaev, O.E.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Ukraine Virtual Observatory (UkrVO has been a member of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA since 2011. The virtual observatory (VO is not a magic solution to all problems of data storing and processing, but it provides certain standards for building infrastructure of astronomical data center. The astronomical databases help data mining and offer to users an easy access to observation metadata, images within celestial sphere and results of image processing. The astronomical web services (AWS of UkrVO give to users handy tools for data selection from large astronomical catalogues for a relatively small region of interest in the sky. Examples of the AWS usage are showed.

Possible Space-Based Gravitational-Wave Observatory Mission Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Livas, Jeffrey C.

2015-08-01

The existence of gravitational waves was established by the discovery of the Binary Pulsar PSR 1913+16 by Hulse and Taylor in 1974, for which they were awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize. However, it is the exploitation of these gravitational waves for the extraction of the astrophysical parameters of the sources that will open the first new astronomical window since the development of gamma ray telescopes in the 1970’s and enable a new era of discovery and understanding of the Universe. Direct detection is expected in at least two frequency bands from the ground before the end of the decade with Advanced LIGO and Pulsar Timing Arrays. However, many of the most exciting sources will be continuously observable in the band from 0.1-100 mHz, accessible only from space due to seismic noise and gravity gradients in that band that disturb ground-based observatories. This talk will discuss a possible mission concept developed from the original Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) reference mission but updated to reduce risk and cost.

Preventing Rape of the Observatory: Thoughts on the Urgency of Preserving Historic Astronomical Artifacts

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Bell, T. E.

2005-12-01

"What good is this century-old monster refractor? Sell it and use the money to buy a brand new go-to reflector useful for teaching students and advancing astronomy." So argues logic that is endangering an increasing number of university observatories around the U.S. (if not the rest of the world), even up to the Yerkes Observatory and its 40-inch Clark, world's largest refractor by the acknowledged world's best lens-makers. While most non-historians readily accept the value of preserving our cultural heritage in rare and precious documents (such as the Declaration of Independence), artifacts (such as Stradivarius violins), and institutions (such as the birthplaces of U.S. Presidents), they tend not to think of astronomical observatories as part of cultural heritage-with a result that history is crumbling apace to the wrecking ball. In early October, the Antique Telescope Society convened a special 60-minute session discussing philosophical why's and practical how's of preserving astronomical assets (including historically significant telescopes, observatory buildings, auxiliary equipment used to make observations or calculate results, and libraries of books and papers). This paper will summarize the discussion's key insights - including the assessing and assigning of value to old vs. new telescopes, and the roles of politics, funding and fund-raising, publicity (positive and negative), education, use as a form of preservation, innovative solutions by private collectors (including "half-way houses" for homeless instruments), restoration vs. renovation, special problems facing very large telescopes, and lessons learned from both failures and success.

Autonomous Infrastructure for Observatory Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Seaman, R.

This is an era of rapid change from ancient human-mediated modes of astronomical practice to a vision of ever larger time domain surveys, ever bigger "big data", to increasing numbers of robotic telescopes and astronomical automation on every mountaintop. Over the past decades, facets of a new autonomous astronomical toolkit have been prototyped and deployed in support of numerous space missions. Remote and queue observing modes have gained significant market share on the ground. Archives and data-mining are becoming ubiquitous; astroinformatic techniques and virtual observatory standards and protocols are areas of active development. Astronomers and engineers, planetary and solar scientists, and researchers from communities as diverse as particle physics and exobiology are collaborating on a vast range of "multi-messenger" science. What then is missing?

SIRTA, a ground-based atmospheric observatory for cloud and aerosol research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Haeffelin

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Ground-based remote sensing observatories have a crucial role to play in providing data to improve our understanding of atmospheric processes, to test the performance of atmospheric models, and to develop new methods for future space-borne observations. Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, a French research institute in environmental sciences, created the Site Instrumental de Recherche par Télédétection Atmosphérique (SIRTA, an atmospheric observatory with these goals in mind. Today SIRTA, located 20km south of Paris, operates a suite a state-of-the-art active and passive remote sensing instruments dedicated to routine monitoring of cloud and aerosol properties, and key atmospheric parameters. Detailed description of the state of the atmospheric column is progressively archived and made accessible to the scientific community. This paper describes the SIRTA infrastructure and database, and provides an overview of the scientific research associated with the observatory. Researchers using SIRTA data conduct research on atmospheric processes involving complex interactions between clouds, aerosols and radiative and dynamic processes in the atmospheric column. Atmospheric modellers working with SIRTA observations develop new methods to test their models and innovative analyses to improve parametric representations of sub-grid processes that must be accounted for in the model. SIRTA provides the means to develop data interpretation tools for future active remote sensing missions in space (e.g. CloudSat and CALIPSO. SIRTA observation and research activities take place in networks of atmospheric observatories that allow scientists to access consistent data sets from diverse regions on the globe.

The Observatory as Laboratory: Spectral Analysis at Mount Wilson Observatory

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Brashear, Ronald

2018-01-01

This paper will discuss the seminal changes in astronomical research practices made at the Mount Wilson Observatory in the early twentieth century by George Ellery Hale and his staff. Hale’s desire to set the agenda for solar and stellar astronomical research is often described in terms of his new telescopes, primarily the solar tower observatories and the 60- and 100-inch telescopes on Mount Wilson. This paper will focus more on the ancillary but no less critical parts of Hale’s research mission: the establishment of associated “physical” laboratories as part of the observatory complex where observational spectral data could be quickly compared with spectra obtained using specialized laboratory equipment. Hale built a spectroscopic laboratory on the mountain and a more elaborate physical laboratory in Pasadena and staffed it with highly trained physicists, not classically trained astronomers. The success of Hale’s vision for an astronomical observatory quickly made the Carnegie Institution’s Mount Wilson Observatory one of the most important astrophysical research centers in the world.

Austrian-Hungarian Astronomical Observatories Run by the Society of Jesus at the Time of the 18th Century Venus Transits

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Posch, Thomas; Aspaas, Per Pippin; Bazso, Akos; Mueller, Isolde

2013-05-01

The Venus transit in June 1761 was the first one to be observed on a truly international scale: almost 250 astronomers followed this rare celestial event (e.g. Wulff 2012, p. 115), and at least 130 published successful observations of it (Aspaas 2012, p. 423). The present paper deals with the astronomical observatories built by the Society of Jesus in its eighteenth century "Provincia Austriae", at which the 1761 transit could be observed. Five Jesuit observatories are being presented in this context: three in today's Austria, namely, two in Vienna and one in Graz; one in Trnava in today's Slovakia and one in Cluj in today's Romania. Thereafter, we briefly examine which of these observatories submitted any Venus transit observations for publication in the appendix to Maximilian Hell's "Ephemerides astronomicae ad meridianum Vindobonensem" for the year 1762.

Established Designs For Advanced Ground Based Astronomical Telescopes In The 1-meter To 4-meter Domain

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, Anthony B.; Barentine, J.; Legters, S.

2012-01-01

The same technology and analytic approaches that led to cost-effective unmitigated successes for the spaceborne Kepler and WISE telescopes are now being applied to meter-class to 4-meter-class ground telescopes, providing affordable solutions to ground astronomy, with advanced features as needed for the application. The range of optical and mechanical performance standards and features that can be supplied for ground astronomy shall be described. Both classical RC designs, as well as unobscured designs are well represented in the IOS design library, allowing heritage designs for both night time and day time operations, the latter even in the proximity of the sun. In addition to discussing this library of mature features, we will also describe a process for working with astronomers early in the definition process to provide the best-value solution. Solutions can include remote operation and astronomical data acquisition and transmission.

Atmospheres in a Test Tube: state of the art at the Astronomical Observatory of Padova.

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Erculiani, M. S.; Claudi, R.; Cocola, L.; Giro, E.; La Rocca, N.; Morosinotto, T.; Poletto, L.; Barbisan, D.; Billi, D.; Bonato, M.; D'Alessandro, M.; Galletta, G.; Meneghini, M.; Trivellin, N.; Cestelli Guidi, M.; Pace, E.; Schierano, D.; Micela, G.

At the Astronomical observatory of Padova we are trying to answer some questions about the detectability of biosignatures in the exoplanetary atmospheres, working in the framework of the project Atmosphere in a Test Tube. In particular we are investigating how the presence of photosynthetic biota living on the surface of a planet orbiting in the HZ of an M type star may modify the atmospheric gas abundances. This can be achieved in laboratory with an environmental simulator called MINI - LISA. The simulator allows to modify the temperature and the pressure inside a test chamber, where a selected population of photosynthetic bacteria is arranged. We'll focalize our experiments on the following bacteria: Acaryochloris marina, Halomicronema hongdechloris, Leptolyngbya sp.1 and Chlorogloeopsis fritschii. The first two bacteria are naturally provided with NIR light metabolizers, like Chl-d and Chl-f, while the last two can develop such pigments if grown in NIR light. The experiment will lead us to obtain useful data to be compared with the ones expected either by the future space missions (JWST, ARIEL) and ground based new instrumentation (SPHERE@VLT; GPI@GEMINI; PCS@E-ELT). In this talk we discuss the layout of the experiment and its state of art.

The caracol tower at chichen itza: an ancient astronomical observatory?

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Aveni, A F; Gibbs, S L; Hartung, H

1975-06-06

platforms of the Caracol seem to have been laid out deliberately to point to horizon events involving the sun and the planet Venus. Of the lines taken through the windows, the Venus setting points seem most plausible to us in view of both the accuracy with which they fit the architecture and the historical evidence bearing upon the importance of Venus to the Mesoamerican people. A specific connection between the Venus calendar in the Dresden Codex and the sighting of the extreme positions of the planet along the horizon, however, is yet to be established. It is especially significant that alignments in both the base and the top of the tower relate to Venus. The solar equinox alignment in window I remains problematical, although the arrangement probably functioned as an approximate means of determining the first day of spring and the first day of autumn. Lines pointing to individual bright stars undoubtedly should be given lower value. If one is willing to carry the matching game to its ultimate completion, a stellar object can always be found which, although very obscure, will fit an alignment. In our consideration of the problem we have attempted to single out bright stars which appeared or disappeared on significant calendar dates. Other round structures resembling the Caracol exist in Mesoamerica (20), although there are comparatively few built by the Maya. Nearly all can be attributed to the cult of Quetzalcoatl (34). To our knowledge none have been carefully measured and analyzed for astronomical orientations. The ruined tower Q-152 at Mayapan bore distinct similarities to the Caracol, both in shape and structure. It probably contained only a single doorway which faced west. Both structures possessed circular corridors. A circular tower is still standing at Paalmul on the coast of Quintana Roo north of Tulum. Pollock (20, p. 115) states that it has a single room in the turret. A window similar to No. I in the Caracol faces northwest, the same direction as the base of

The Atsa Suborbital Observatory: An Observatory for a Commercial Suborbital Spacecraft

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Vilas, F.; Sollitt, L. S.

2012-12-01

The advantages of astronomical observations made above Earth's atmosphere have long been understood: free access to spectral regions inaccessible from Earth (e.g., UV) or affected by the atmosphere's content (e.g., IR). Most robotic, space-based telescopes maintain large angular separation between the Sun and an observational target in order to avoid accidental damage to instruments from the Sun. For most astronomical targets, this possibility is easily avoided by waiting until objects are visible away from the Sun. For the Solar System objects inside Earth's orbit, this is never the case. Suborbital astronomical observations have over 50 years' history using NASA's sounding rockets and experimental space planes. Commercial suborbital spacecraft are largely expected to go to ~100 km altitude above Earth, providing a limited amount of time for astronomical observations. The unique scientific advantage to these observations is the ability to point close to the Sun: if a suborbital spacecraft accidentally turns too close to the Sun and fries an instrument, it is easy to land the spacecraft and repair the hardware for the next flight. Objects uniquely observed during the short observing window include inner-Earth asteroids, Mercury, Venus, and Sun-grazing comets. Both open-FOV and target-specific observations are possible. Despite many space probes to the inner Solar System, scientific questions remain. These include inner-Earth asteroid size and bulk density informing Solar System evolution studies and efforts to develop methods of mitigation against imminent impactors to Earth; chemistry and dynamics of Venus' atmosphere addressing physical phenomena such as greenhouse effect, atmospheric super-rotation and global resurfacing on Venus. With the Atsa Suborbital Observatory, we combine the strengths of both ground-based observatories and space-based observing to create a facility where a telescope is maintained and used interchangeably with both in-house facility

Knowing the people who come to public astronomical observatories: The case of Akita prefecture, Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Kawamura, N.

2015-03-01

The purpose of this research is to know and gain a better understanding of people who come to astronomical observatories and to find out more about their experiences and thoughts on astronomy. To find some of the issues about science communication in astronomy, the author carried out questionnaire research studies involving high school students and junior high school and elementary school teachers.

Monitoring Biological Damage on Paper-based Documents in the Historical Archive of the Palermo Astronomical Observatory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Di Bella

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Libraries and archives house a wide variety of documents made of materials of vegetal and animal origin: unbound papers and books, manuscripts and printed books, photographs (negative and positive, prints, maps, available to the public for reading needs, study and information. These materials are often subject to fluctuations in environmental and micro-environmental parameters. For this reason, it is essential to implement constant monitoring and control of environmental conditions and potential deteriogens in order to slow down deterioration processes.The monitoring of the microbial degradation of paper documents in the Historical Archives of Palermo Astronomical Observatory has revealed microorganisms (bacteria and fungi that may be considered responsible for damaging the items examined, thus enabling an evaluation of the real risks and the proper methodologies to use to avoid future recolonization.

Brazil to Join the European Southern Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-01

conducted where every aspect of this large project was scrutinised by an international panel of independent experts. The panel found that the E-ELT project is technically ready to enter the construction phase. The go-ahead for E-ELT construction is planned for 2011 and when operations start early in the next decade, European, Brazilian and Chilean astronomers will have access to this giant telescope. The president of ESO's governing body, the Council, Laurent Vigroux, concludes: "Astronomers in Brazil will benefit from collaborating with European colleagues, and naturally from having observing time at ESO's world-class observatories at La Silla and Paranal, as well as on ALMA, which ESO is constructing with its international partners." Notes [1] After ratification of Brazil's membership, the ESO Member States will be Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. More information ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the

Early German plans for southern observatories

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Wolfschmidt, G.

2002-07-01

As early as the 18th and 19th centuries, French and English observers were active in South Africa. Around the beginning of the 20th century, Heidelberg and Potsdam astronomers proposed a southern observatory. Then Göttingen astronomers suggested building an observatory in Windhoek for photographing the sky and measuring the solar constant. In 1910 Karl Schwarzschild (1873-1916), after a visit to observatories in the United States, pointed out the usefulness of an observatory in South West Africa, in a climate superior to that in Germany, giving German astronomers access to the southern sky. Seeing tests were begun in 1910 by Potsdam astronomers, but WW I stopped the plans. In 1928 Erwin Finlay-Freundlich (1885-1964), inspired by the Hamburg astronomer Walter Baade (1893-1960), worked out a detailed plan for a southern observatory with a reflecting telescope, spectrographs and an astrograph with an objective prism. Paul Guthnick (1879-1947), director of the Berlin observatory, in cooperation with APO Potsdam and Hamburg, made a site survey to Africa in 1929 and found the conditions in Windhoek to be ideal. Observations were started in the 1930s by Berlin and Breslau astronomers, but were stopped by WW II. In the 1950s, astronomers from Hamburg and The Netherlands renewed the discussion in the framework of European cooperation, and this led to the founding of ESO in 1963.

Astronomers Make First Images With Space Radio Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

1997-07-01

Marking an important new milestone in radio astronomy history, scientists at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Socorro, New Mexico, have made the first images using a radio telescope antenna in space. The images, more than a million times more detailed than those produced by the human eye, used the new Japanese HALCA satellite, working in conjunction with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and Very Large Array (VLA) ground-based radio telescopes. The landmark images are the result of a long-term NRAO effort supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). "This success means that our ability to make detailed radio images of objects in the universe is no longer limited by the size of the Earth," said NRAO Director Paul Vanden Bout. "Astronomy's vision has just become much sharper." HALCA, launched on Feb. 11 by Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), is the first satellite designed for radio astronomy imaging. It is part of an international collaboration led by ISAS and backed by NRAO; Japan's National Astronomical Observatory; NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); the Canadian Space Agency; the Australia Telescope National Facility; the European VLBI Network and the Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry in Europe. On May 22, HALCA observed a distant active galaxy called PKS 1519-273, while the VLBA and VLA also observed it. Data from the satellite was received by a tracking station at the NRAO facility in Green Bank, West Virginia. Tape-recorded data from the satellite and from the radio telescopes on the ground were sent to NRAO's Array Operations Center (AOC) in Socorro, NM. In Socorro, astronomers and computer scientists used a special-purpose computer to digitally combine the signals from the satellite and the ground telescopes to make them all work together as a single, giant radio telescope. This dedicated machine, the VLBA Correlator, built as

The correspondence of Giovanni Santini and Giuseppe Lorenzoni, directors of the Astronomical Observatory of Padua in the 19th century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luisa Pigatto

2009-06-01

Full Text Available

Giovanni Santini was appointed director of the Astronomical Observatory of Padova from 1817 to 1877. His scientific correspondence covers a period from 1807 to 1874. Most of the letters are from Italian and European astronomers, mainly concerning astronomical subjects. In actual fact, all Santini’s activity was devoted to the classical astronomy, mainly to the new comets and planets orbit calculation, as far as to the compilation of a catalogue of almost ten thousand stars. From 1821 to 1828, he was involved in geodetic observations in order to determine the difference of longitude between Milan-Padua and Padua-Fiume. Giuseppe Lorenzoni was appointed director after Santini’s death, from 1877 to 1913. Since 1873, he took part in the Italian Geodetic Commission to which he devoted almost all his scientific activity. Lorenzoni’s scientific correspondence was partly lost for war reasons. A partial correspondence with Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli and almost the complete correspondence with Pietro Tacchini, were recovered after the second World War. Santini and Lorenzoni correspondence cover a period about a hundred years long. So, it is an important tool of knowledge for the history of Padova Astronomical Observatory in the 19th century, for its scientific activity, and for the relationship among Italian and European astronomers and institutions.

Press Meeting 20 January 2003: First Light for Europe's Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

2002-12-01

introduction The Virtual Observatory is an international astronomical community-based initiative. It aims to allow global electronic access to the available astronomical data archives of space and ground-based observatories, sky survey databases. It also aims to enable data analysis techniques through a coordinating entity that will provide common standards, wide-network bandwidth, and state-of-the-art analysis tools. It is now possible to have powerful and expensive new observing facilities at wavelengths from the radio to the X-ray and gamma-ray regions. Together with advanced instrumentation techniques, a vast new array of astronomical data sets will soon be forthcoming at all wavelengths. These very large databases must be archived and made accessible in a systematic and uniform manner to realise the full potential of the new observing facilities. The Virtual Observatory aims to provide the framework for global access to the various data archives by facilitating the standardisation of archiving and data-mining protocols. The AVO will also take advantage of state-of-the-art advances in data-handling software in astronomy and in other fields. The Virtual Observatory initiative is currently aiming at a global collaboration of the astronomical communities in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia under the auspices of the recently formed International Virtual Observatory Alliance. The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory - An Introduction The breathtaking capabilities and ultrahigh efficiency of new ground and space observatories have led to a 'data explosion' calling for innovative ways to process, explore, and exploit these data. Researchers must now turn to the GRID paradigm of distributed computing and resources to solve complex, front-line research problems. To implement this new IT paradigm, you have to join existing astronomical data centres and archives into an interoperating and single unit. This new astronomical data resource will form a Virtual

Preservation and maintenance of the astronomical sites in Armenia

Science.gov (United States)

Mickaelian, A. M.

2008-01-01

Astronomy in Armenia was popular since ancient times. There are signs of astronomical observations coming from a few thousands years ago. Two ancient observatories, Karahunge and Metzamor are especially well known. Karahunge is the Armenian twin of the Stonehenge and is even older. However, there is no proper attention from the state authorities and efforts are needed for preservation of such historical-astronomical monuments. The Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) is the modern famous Armenian observatory founded in 1946 by the outstanding scientist Victor Ambartsumian. It was one of the world astronomical centres in 1950-s to 1970-s, and at present is the largest observatory in the Middle East area. As the ancient astronomical sites, Byurakan also needs a proper attitude from the state authorities and corresponding international organizations to preserve its values and importance for the present and future astronomical activities in the region, including its rich observational archive, telescopes, and human resources. Despite all the difficulties, the Armenian astronomers keep high international level of research and display various activities organizing international meetings and schools, preparing new young generation for the future research. The Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS) is an affiliated member of EAS. Armenia has its Virtual Observatory project (ArVO) as well. The next Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting (JENAM-2007) will be held in Yerevan, Armenia, in August 2007. There are plans to organize astronomical tours to Armenia for making observations from various sites, including the ancient observatories. The future of astronomy in Armenia strongly depends on all of this activities and the proper attention both from state authorities and society.

Astronomers Break Ground on Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) - World's Largest Millimeter Wavelength Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

2003-11-01

for a spectacular new instrument, " stated Dr. Rita Colwell , director of the U.S. National Science Foundation. " ALMA will expand our vision of the Universe with "eyes" that pierce the shrouded mantles of space through which light cannot penetrate." On the occasion of this groundbreaking, the ALMA logo was unveiled. [ALMA Logo] Science with ALMA ALMA will capture millimetre and sub-millimetre radiation from space and produce images and spectra of celestial objects as they appear at these wavelengths. This particular portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is less energetic than visible and infrared light, yet more energetic than most radio waves, holds the key to understanding a great variety of fundamental processes, e.g., planet and star formation and the formation and evolution of galaxies and galaxy clusters in the early Universe. The possibility to detect emission from organic and other molecules in space is of particularly high interest. The millimetre and sub-millimetre radiation that ALMA will study is able to penetrate the vast clouds of dust and gas that populate interstellar (and intergalactic) space, revealing previously hidden details about astronomical objects. This radiation, however, is blocked by atmospheric moisture (water molecules) in the Earth's atmosphere. To conduct research with ALMA in this critical portion of the spectrum, astronomers thus need an exceptional observation site that is very dry, and at a very high altitude where the atmosphere above is thinner. Extensive tests showed that the sky above the high-altitude Chajnantor plain in the Atacama Desert has the unsurpassed clarity and stability needed to perform efficient observations with ALMA . ALMA operation ALMA will be the highest-altitude, full-time ground-based observatory in the world, at some 250 metres higher than the peak of Mont Blanc, Europe's tallest mountain. Work at this altitude is difficult. To help ensure the safety of the scientists and engineers at ALMA

Early German Plans for a Southern Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfschmidt, Gudrun

As early as the 18th and 19th centuries, French and English observers were active in South Africa. Around the beginning of the 20th century the Heidelberg astronomer Max Wolf (1863-1932) proposed a southern observatory. In 1907 Hermann Carl Vogel (1841-1907), director of the Astrophysical Observatory Potsdam, suggested a southern station in Spain. His ideas for building an observatory in Windhuk for photographing the sky and measuring the solar constant were taken over by the Göttingen astronomers. In 1910 Karl Schwarzschild (1873-1916), after having visited the observatories in America, pointed out the usefulness of an observatory in South West Africa, where it would have better weather than in Germany and also give access to the southern sky. Seeing tests were begun in 1910 by Potsdam astronomers, but WW I stopped the plans. In 1928 Erwin Finlay-Freundlich (1885-1964), inspired by the Hamburg astronomer Walter Baade (1893-1960), worked out a detailed plan for a southern observatory with a reflecting telescope, spectrographs and an astrograph with an objective prism. Paul Guthnick (1879-1947), director of the Berlin observatory, in cooperation with APO Potsdam and Hamburg, made a site survey to Africa in 1929 and found the conditions in Windhuk to be ideal. Observations were started in the 1930s by Berlin and Breslau astronomers, but were stopped by WW II. In the 1950s, astronomers from Hamburg and The Netherlands renewed the discussion in the framework of European cooperation, and this led to the founding of ESO in 1963, as is well described by Blaauw (1991). Blaauw, Adriaan: ESO's Early History. The European Southern Observatory from Concept to Reality. Garching bei München: ESO 1991.

Korean Astronomical Calendar, Chiljeongsan

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Eun Hee

In fifteenth century Korea, there was a grand project for the astronomical calendar and instrument making by the order of King Sejong 世宗 (1418-1450). During this period, many astronomical and calendrical books including Islamic sources in Chinese versions were imported from Ming 明 China, and corrected and researched by the court astronomers of Joseon 朝鮮 (1392-1910). Moreover, the astronomers and technicians of Korea frequently visited China to study astronomy and instrument making, and they brought back useful information in the form of new published books or specifications of instruments. As a result, a royal observatory equipped with 15 types of instrument was completed in 1438. Two types of calendar, Chiljeongsan Naepyeon 七政算內篇 and Chiljeongsan Oepyeon 七政算外篇, based on the Chinese and Islamic calendar systems, respectively, were published in 1444 with a number of calendrical editions such as corrections and example supplements (假令) including calculation methods and results for solar and lunar eclipses.

Highly Adjustable Systems: An Architecture for Future Space Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Arenberg, Jonathan; Conti, Alberto; Redding, David; Lawrence, Charles R.; Hachkowski, Roman; Laskin, Robert; Steeves, John

2017-06-01

Mission costs for ground breaking space astronomical observatories are increasing to the point of unsustainability. We are investigating the use of adjustable or correctable systems as a means to reduce development and therefore mission costs. The poster introduces the promise and possibility of realizing a “net zero CTE” system for the general problem of observatory design and introduces the basic systems architecture we are considering. This poster concludes with an overview of our planned study and demonstrations for proving the value and worth of highly adjustable telescopes and systems ahead of the upcoming decadal survey.

Optical Spectroscopy with the Technology of Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Škoda, P.

The contemporary astronomy is flooded with an exponentially growing petabyte-scaled data volumes produced by powerful ground and space-based instrumentation as well as a product of extensive computer simulations and computations of complex numerical models. The efficient organization and seamless handling of this information avalanche stored in a world-wide spread heterogeneous databases and the facilitation of extraction of new physical knowledge about the Universe is a primary goal of the rapidly evolving astronomical Virtual Observatory (VO). We give an overview of current spectroscopic capabilities of VO and identify the future requirements indispensable for detailed multi-wavelength analysis of huge amounts of spectra in a semi-automatic manner.

Worldwide R&D of Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, C. Z.; Zhao, Y. H.

2008-07-01

Virtual Observatory (VO) is a data intensive online astronomical research and education environment, taking advantages of advanced information technologies to achieve seamless and uniform access to astronomical information. The concept of VO was introduced in the late 1990s to meet the challenges brought up with data avalanche in astronomy. In the paper, current status of International Virtual Observatory Alliance, technical highlights from world wide VO projects are reviewed, a brief introduction of Chinese Virtual Observatory is given.

Search for Best Astronomical Observatory Sites in the MENA Region using Satellite Measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelaziz, G; Guebsi, R; Flamant, C; Guessoum, N

2017-01-01

We perform a systematic search for astronomical observatory sites in the MENA (Middle-East and North Africa) region using space-based data for all the relevant factors, i.e. altitude (DEM), cloud fraction (CF), light pollution (NTL), precipitable water vapor (PWV), aerosol optical depth (AOD), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), Richardson Number (RN), and diurnal temperature range (DTR). We look for the best locations overall even where altitudes are low (the threshold that we normally consider being 1,500 m) or where the combination of the afore-mentioned determining factors had previously excluded all locations in a given country. In this aim, we use the rich data that Earth-observing satellites provide, e.g. the Terra and Aqua multi-national NASA research satellites, with their MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) instruments, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS), and other products from climate diagnostics archives (e.g. MERRA). We present preliminary results on the best locations for the region. (paper)

Search for Best Astronomical Observatory Sites in the MENA Region using Satellite Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelaziz, G.; Guebsi, R.; Guessoum, N.; Flamant, C.

2017-06-01

We perform a systematic search for astronomical observatory sites in the MENA (Middle-East and North Africa) region using space-based data for all the relevant factors, i.e. altitude (DEM), cloud fraction (CF), light pollution (NTL), precipitable water vapor (PWV), aerosol optical depth (AOD), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), Richardson Number (RN), and diurnal temperature range (DTR). We look for the best locations overall even where altitudes are low (the threshold that we normally consider being 1,500 m) or where the combination of the afore-mentioned determining factors had previously excluded all locations in a given country. In this aim, we use the rich data that Earth-observing satellites provide, e.g. the Terra and Aqua multi-national NASA research satellites, with their MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) instruments, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS), and other products from climate diagnostics archives (e.g. MERRA). We present preliminary results on the best locations for the region.

Chicago's Dearborn Observatory: a study in survival

Science.gov (United States)

Bartky, Ian R.

2000-12-01

The Dearborn Observatory, located on the Old University of Chicago campus from 1863 until 1888, was America's most promising astronomical facility when it was founded. Established by the Chicago Astronomical Society and directed by one of the country's most gifted astronomers, it boasted the largest telescope in the world and virtually unlimited operating funds. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed its funding and demolished its research programme. Only via the sale of time signals and the heroic efforts of two amateur astronomers did the Dearborn Observatory survive.

Taurus Hill Observatory Scientific Observations for Pulkova Observatory during the 2016-2017 Season

Science.gov (United States)

Hentunen, V.-P.; Haukka, H.; Heikkinen, E.; Salmi, T.; Juutilainen, J.

2017-09-01

Taurus Hill Observatory (THO), observatory code A95, is an amateur observatory located in Varkaus, Finland. The observatory is maintained by the local astronomical association Warkauden Kassiopeia. THO research team has observed and measured various stellar objects and phenomena. Observatory has mainly focused on exoplanet light curve measurements, observing the gamma rays burst, supernova discoveries and monitoring. We also do long term monitoring projects.

SUMO: operation and maintenance management web tool for astronomical observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Mujica-Alvarez, Emma; Pérez-Calpena, Ana; García-Vargas, María. Luisa

2014-08-01

SUMO is an Operation and Maintenance Management web tool, which allows managing the operation and maintenance activities and resources required for the exploitation of a complex facility. SUMO main capabilities are: information repository, assets and stock control, tasks scheduler, executed tasks archive, configuration and anomalies control and notification and users management. The information needed to operate and maintain the system must be initially stored at the tool database. SUMO shall automatically schedule the periodical tasks and facilitates the searching and programming of the non-periodical tasks. Tasks planning can be visualized in different formats and dynamically edited to be adjusted to the available resources, anomalies, dates and other constrains that can arise during daily operation. SUMO shall provide warnings to the users notifying potential conflicts related to the required personal availability or the spare stock for the scheduled tasks. To conclude, SUMO has been designed as a tool to help during the operation management of a scientific facility, and in particular an astronomical observatory. This is done by controlling all operating parameters: personal, assets, spare and supply stocks, tasks and time constrains.

Exploring the Digital Universe with Europe's Astrophysical Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

2001-12-01

Vast Databanks at the Astronomers' Fingertips Summary A new European initiative called the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) is being launched to provide astronomers with a breathtaking potential for new discoveries. It will enable them to seamlessly combine the data from both ground- and space-based telescopes which are making observations of the Universe across the whole range of wavelengths - from high-energy gamma rays through the ultraviolet and visible to the infrared and radio. The aim of the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) project, which started on 15 November 2001, is to allow astronomers instant access to the vast databanks now being built up by the world's observatories and which are forming what is, in effect, a "digital sky" . Using the AVO, astronomers will, for example, be able to retrieve the elusive traces of the passage of an asteroid as it passes near the Earth and so enable them to predict its future path and perhaps warn of a possible impact. When a giant star comes to the end of its life in a cataclysmic explosion called a supernova, they will be able to access the digital sky and pinpoint the star shortly before it exploded so adding invaluable data to the study of the evolution of stars. Background information on the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory is available in the Appendix. PR Photo 34a/01 : The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory - an artist's impression. The rapidly accumulating database ESO PR Photo 34a/01 ESO PR Photo 34a/01 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 345 pix - 90k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 689 pix - 656k] [Hi-Res - JPEG: 3000 x 2582 pix - 4.3M] ESO PR Photo 34a/01 shows an artist's impression of the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory . Modern observatories observe the sky continuously and data accumulates remorselessly in the digital archives. The growth rate is impressive and many hundreds of terabytes of data - corresponding to many thousands of billions of pixels - are already available to scientists. The real sky is being

TMT in the Astronomical Landscape of the 2020s

Science.gov (United States)

Dickinson, Mark; Inami, Hanae

2014-07-01

Thirty Meter Telescope Observatory and NOAO will host the second TMT Science Forum at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona. The TMT Science Forum is an an annual gathering of astronomers, educators, and observatory staff, who meet to explore TMT science, instrumentation, observatory operations, archiving and data processing, astronomy education, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) issues. It is an opportunity for astronomers from the international TMT partners and from the US-at-large community to learn about the observatory status, discuss and plan cutting-edge science, establish collaborations, and to help shape the future of TMT. One important theme for this year's Forum will be the synergy between TMT and other facilities in the post-2020 astronomical landscape. There will be plenary sessions, an instrumentation workshop, topical science sessions and meetings of the TMT International Science Development Teams (ISDTs).

Spectroscopic characterization of extrasolar planets from ground-, space- and airborne-based observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Angerhausen, Daniel

2010-11-01

This thesis deals with techniques and results of observations of exoplanets from several platforms. In this work I present and then attempt solutions to particular issues and problems connected to ground- and space-based approaches to spectroscopic characterization of extrasolar planets. Furthermore, I present the future prospects of the airborne observatory, SOFIA, in this field of astronomy. The first part of this thesis covers results of an exploratory study to use near-infrared integral-field-spectroscopy to observe transiting extrasolar planets. I demonstrate how adaptive-optics assisted integral field spectroscopy compares with other spectroscopic techniques currently applied, foremost being slit spectroscopy. An advanced reduction method using elements of a spectral-differential decorrelation and optimized observation strategies is discussed. This concept was tested with K-Band time series observations of secondary eclipses of HD 209458b and HD 189733b obtained with the SINFONI at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), at spectral resolution of R~3000. In ground-based near infrared (NIR) observations, there is considerable likelihood of confusion between telluric absorption features and spectral features in the targeted object. I describe a detailed method that can cope with such confusion by a forward modelling approach employing Earth transmission models. In space-based transit spectroscopy with Hubble's NICMOS instrument, the main source of systematic noise is the perturbation in the instrument's configuration due to the near Earth orbital motion of the spacecraft. I present an extension to a pre-existing data analysis sequence that has allowed me to extract a NIR transmission spectrum of the hot-Neptune class planet GJ 436b from a data set that was highly corrupted by the above mentioned effects. Satisfyingly, I was able to obtain statistical consistency in spectra (acquired over a broad wavelength grid) over two distinct observing visits by HST. Earlier

Possible Astronomical meaning of some El Molle findings at the ESO Observatory of La Silla

Science.gov (United States)

Vecchiato, Alberto; Bernardi, Gabriella; Bucciarelli, Beatrice

2015-08-01

The slopes surrounding the buildings of the European Southern Observatory at La Silla are known to house several hundred rock engravings dating back to the pre-Columbian populations that once inhabited this region. Although precise archaeological studies are missing since none of these sites has been excavated, these petroglyphs are attributed to people of the El Molle Culture, who around AD 300 had just abandoned their original lifestyle of hunting and gathering and developed more evolved settlements based on herding and farming.While it is difficult to ascertain precisely the meaning of these ancient rock engravings, it seems that a specific astronomical alignment can be attributed to a simple yet peculiar, man-made stone structure, which can be found in the same site. The archaeoastronomical dating of this alignment coincides to that of the petroglyphs. Moreover it allows to highlight a noticeable and intriguing connection with a practical function which appears quite reasonable for the population to whom this structure is attributed.

University Observatory, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität

Science.gov (United States)

Murdin, P.

2000-11-01

The University Observatory of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität was founded in 1816. Astronomers who worked or graduated at the Munich Observatory include: Fraunhofer, Soldner, Lamont, Seeliger and Karl Schwarzschild. At present four professors and ten staff astronomers work here. Funding comes from the Bavarian Government, the German Science Foundation, and other German and European research progra...

Optical Spectroscopy with the Technology of Virtual Observatory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Škoda P.

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The contemporary astronomy is flooded with an exponentially growing petabyte-scaled data volumes produced by powerful ground and space-based instrumentation as well as a product of extensive computer simulations and computations of complex numerical models. The efficient organization and seamless handling of this information avalanche stored in a world-wide spread heterogeneous databases and the facilitation of extraction of new physical knowledge about the Universe is a primary goal of the rapidly evolving astronomical Virtual Observatory (VO. We give an overview of current spectroscopic capabilities of VO and identify the future requirements indispensable for detailed multi-wavelength analysis of huge amounts of spectra in a semi-automatic manner.

World's fastest and most sensitive astronomical camera

Science.gov (United States)

2009-06-01

; Observatoire Astronomique de Marseille Provence), the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (LAOG/INSU/CNRS, Université Joseph Fourier; Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble), and the Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP/INSU/CNRS; Observatoire Astronomique de Marseille Provence). OCam and the CCD220 are the result of five years work, financed by the European commission, ESO and CNRS-INSU, within the OPTICON project of the 6th Research and Development Framework Programme of the European Union. The development of the CCD220, supervised by ESO, was undertaken by the British company e2v technologies, one of the world leaders in the manufacture of scientific detectors. The corresponding OPTICON activity was led by the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, France. The OCam camera was built by a team of French engineers from the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble and the Observatoire de Haute Provence. In order to secure the continuation of this successful project a new OPTICON project started in June 2009 as part of the 7th Research and Development Framework Programme of the European Union with the same partners, with the aim of developing a detector and camera with even more powerful functionality for use with an artificial laser star. This development is necessary to ensure the image quality of the future 42-metre European Extremely Large Telescope. ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a

Astronomical Data Integration Beyond the Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Lemson, G.; Laurino, O.

2015-09-01

"Data integration" generally refers to the process of combining data from different source data bases into a unified view. Much work has been devoted in this area by the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA), allowing users to discover and access databases through standard protocols. However, different archives present their data through their own schemas and users must still select, filter, and combine data for each archive individually. An important reason for this is that the creation of common data models that satisfy all sub-disciplines is fraught with difficulties. Furthermore it requires a substantial amount of work for data providers to present their data according to some standard representation. We will argue that existing standards allow us to build a data integration framework that works around these problems. The particular framework requires the implementation of the IVOA Table Access Protocol (TAP) only. It uses the newly developed VO data modelling language (VO-DML) specification, which allows one to define extensible object-oriented data models using a subset of UML concepts through a simple XML serialization language. A rich mapping language allows one to describe how instances of VO-DML data models are represented by the TAP service, bridging the possible mismatch between a local archive's schema and some agreed-upon representation of the astronomical domain. In this so called local-as-view approach to data integration, “mediators" use the mapping prescriptions to translate queries phrased in terms of the common schema to the underlying TAP service. This mapping language has a graphical representation, which we expose through a web based graphical “drag-and-drop-and-connect" interface. This service allows any user to map the holdings of any TAP service to the data model(s) of choice. The mappings are defined and stored outside of the data sources themselves, which allows the interface to be used in a kind of crowd-sourcing effort

ESO's Two Observatories Merge

Science.gov (United States)

2005-02-01

astronomical technology and is one of the premier facilities in the world for optical and near-infrared observations. In addition to the state-of-the-art Very Large Telescope and the four Auxiliary Telescopes of 1.8-m diameter which can move to relocate in up to 30 different locations feeding the interferometer, Paranal will also be home to the 2.6-m VLT Survey telescope (VST) and the 4.2-m VISTA IR survey telescope. Both Paranal and La Silla have a proven record of their unique ability to address most current issues in observational astronomy. In 2004 alone, each observatory provided data for the publication of about 350 peer-reviewed journal articles, more than any other ground-based observatory. With the present merging of these top-ranking astronomical observatories, fostering synergies and harmonizing the many diverse activities, ESO and the entire community of European astronomers will profit even more from these highly efficient research facilities. Images of ESO's observatories and telescopes are available in the ESO gallery.

Detection Techniques of Microsecond Gamma-Ray Bursts Using Ground-based Telescopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krennrich, F.; Le Bohec, S.; Weekes, T. C.

2000-01-01

Gamma-ray observations above 200 MeV are conventionally made by satellite-based detectors. The EGRET detector on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory has provided good sensitivity for the detection of bursts lasting for more than 200 ms. Theoretical predictions of high-energy gamma-ray bursts produced by quantum mechanical decay of primordial black holes (Hawking) suggest the emission of bursts on shorter timescales. The final stage of a primordial black hole results in a burst of gamma rays, peaking around 250 MeV and lasting for 1/10 of a microsecond or longer depending on particle physics. In this work we show that there is an observational window using ground-based imaging Cerenkov detectors to measure gamma-ray burst emission at energies E>200 MeV. This technique, with a sensitivity for bursts lasting nanoseconds to several microseconds, is based on the detection of multiphoton-initiated air showers. (c) (c) 2000. The American Astronomical Society

Space astronomical telescopes and instruments; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 1-4, 1991

Science.gov (United States)

Bely, Pierre Y.; Breckinridge, James B.

The present volume on space astronomical telescopes and instruments discusses lessons from the HST, telescopes on the moon, future space missions, and mirror fabrication and active control. Attention is given to the in-flight performance of the Goddard high-resolution spectrograph of the HST, the initial performance of the high-speed photometer, results from HST fine-guidance sensors, and reconstruction of the HST mirror figure from out-of-focus stellar images. Topics addressed include system concepts for a large UV/optical/IR telescope on the moon, optical design considerations for next-generation space and lunar telescopes, the implications of lunar dust for astronomical observatories, and lunar liquid-mirror telescopes. Also discussed are space design considerations for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, the Hubble extrasolar planet interferometer, Si:Ga focal-plane arrays for satellite and ground-based telescopes, microchannel-plate detectors for space-based astronomy, and a method for making ultralight primary mirrors.

The Malaysian Robotic Solar Observatory (P29)

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, M.; Asillam, M. F.; Ismail, M. K. H.

2006-11-01

Robotic observatory with small telescopes can make significant contributions to astronomy observation. They provide an encouraging environment for astronomers to focus on data analysis and research while at the same time reducing time and cost for observation. The observatory will house the primary 50cm robotic telescope in the main dome which will be used for photometry, spectroscopy and astrometry observation activities. The secondary telescope is a robotic multi-apochromatic refractor (maximum diameter: 15 cm) which will be housed in the smaller dome. This telescope set will be used for solar observation mainly in three different wavelengths simultaneously: the Continuum, H-Alpha and Calcium K-line. The observatory is also equipped with an automated weather station, cloud & rain sensor and all-sky camera to monitor the climatic condition, sense the clouds (before raining) as well as to view real time sky view above the observatory. In conjunction with the Langkawi All-Sky Camera, the observatory website will also display images from the Malaysia - Antarctica All-Sky Camera used to monitor the sky at Scott Base Antarctica. Both all-sky images can be displayed simultaneously to show the difference between the equatorial and Antarctica skies. This paper will describe the Malaysian Robotic Observatory including the systems available and method of access by other astronomers. We will also suggest possible collaboration with other observatories in this region.

Scientific Workflows and the Sensor Web for Virtual Environmental Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Simonis, I.; Vahed, A.

2008-12-01

Virtual observatories mature from their original domain and become common practice for earth observation research and policy building. The term Virtual Observatory originally came from the astronomical research community. Here, virtual observatories provide universal access to the available astronomical data archives of space and ground-based observatories. Further on, as those virtual observatories aim at integrating heterogeneous ressources provided by a number of participating organizations, the virtual observatory acts as a coordinating entity that strives for common data analysis techniques and tools based on common standards. The Sensor Web is on its way to become one of the major virtual observatories outside of the astronomical research community. Like the original observatory that consists of a number of telescopes, each observing a specific part of the wave spectrum and with a collection of astronomical instruments, the Sensor Web provides a multi-eyes perspective on the current, past, as well as future situation of our planet and its surrounding spheres. The current view of the Sensor Web is that of a single worldwide collaborative, coherent, consistent and consolidated sensor data collection, fusion and distribution system. The Sensor Web can perform as an extensive monitoring and sensing system that provides timely, comprehensive, continuous and multi-mode observations. This technology is key to monitoring and understanding our natural environment, including key areas such as climate change, biodiversity, or natural disasters on local, regional, and global scales. The Sensor Web concept has been well established with ongoing global research and deployment of Sensor Web middleware and standards and represents the foundation layer of systems like the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The Sensor Web consists of a huge variety of physical and virtual sensors as well as observational data, made available on the Internet at standardized

Anders Celsius’ Contributions to Meridian Arc Measurements and the Establishment of an Astronomical Observatory in Uppsala

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stempels H. C.

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Astronomy has been on the curriculum of Uppsala University from at least the middle of the 15th century. However, since Uppsala also was the ecclesiastical centre of Sweden, the acceptance of new ideas, such as the Copernican heliocentric system, was slow. At the same time, more peripheral universities in the Swedish empire, including Dorpat/Tartu, enjoyed a larger freedom. It was not until the early 18th century that a ‘modern’ astronomy emerged in Uppsala. This effort was to a large extent led by Anders Celsius (1701-1744, who was able to establish good international contacts with astronomers in continental Europe. Celsius participated in De Maupertuis’ expedition to the far north of Sweden, in order to measure the meridian arc and determine the shape of the Earth. This paper explores how Celsius became involved in De Maupertuis’ expedition, and how this effort paved the way to the establishment of a fully equipped astronomical observatory, including an extensive collection of books and instruments, most of which survives up to this day.

Griffith Observatory: Hollywood's Celestial Theater

Science.gov (United States)

Margolis, Emily A.; Dr. Stuart W. Leslie

2018-01-01

The Griffith Observatory, perched atop the Hollywood Hills, is perhaps the most recognizable observatory in the world. Since opening in 1935, this Los Angeles icon has brought millions of visitors closer to the heavens. Through an analysis of planning documentation, internal newsletters, media coverage, programming and exhibition design, I demonstrate how the Observatory’s Southern California location shaped its form and function. The astronomical community at nearby Mt. Wilson Observatory and Caltech informed the selection of instrumentation and programming, especially for presentations with the Observatory’s Zeiss Planetarium, the second installed in the United States. Meanwhile the Observatory staff called upon some of Hollywood’s best artists, model makers, and scriptwriters to translate the latest astronomical discoveries into spectacular audiovisual experiences, which were enhanced with Space Age technological displays on loan from Southern California’s aerospace companies. The influences of these three communities- professional astronomy, entertainment, and aerospace- persist today and continue to make Griffith Observatory one of the premiere sites of public astronomy in the country.

Exploring the Digital Universe with Europe's Astrophysical Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

2001-12-01

N° 73-2001 - Paris, 5 December 2001 The aim of AVO is to give astronomers instant access to the vast databanks now being built up by the world's observatories and forming what is in effect a "digital sky". Using AVO astronomers will be able, for example, to retrieve the elusive traces of the passage of an asteroid as it passes the Earth and so predict its future path and perhaps warn of a possible impact. When a giant star comes to the end of its life in a cataclysmic explosion called a supernova, they will be able to access the digital sky and pinpoint the star shortly before it exploded, adding invaluable data to the study of the evolution of stars. Modern observatories observe the sky continuously and data accumulates remorselessly in the digital archives. The growth rate is impressive and many hundreds of terabytes of data -corresponding to many thousands of billions of pixels - are already available to scientists. The real sky is being digitally reconstructed in the databanks. The volume and complexity of data and information available to astronomers are overwhelming. Hence the problem of how astronomers can possibly manage, distribute and analyse this great wealth of data. The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory will enable them to meet the challenge and "put the Universe online". AVO is a three-year project, funded by the European Commission under its Research and Technological Development (RTD) scheme, to design and implement a virtual observatory for the European astronomical community. The Commission has awarded a contract valued at EUR 4m for the project, starting on 15 November. AVO will provide software tools to enable astronomers to access the multi-wavelength data archives over the Internet and so give them the capability to resolve fundamental questions about the Universe by probing the digital sky. Equivalent searches of the "real" sky would, in comparison, both be prohibitively costly and take far too long. Towards a Global Virtual Observatory The

Possible Space-Based Gravitational-Wave Observatory Mission Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Livas, Jeffrey C.

2015-01-01

The existence of gravitational waves was established by the discovery of the Binary Pulsar PSR 1913+16 by Hulse and Taylor in 1974, for which they were awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize. However, it is the exploitation of these gravitational waves for the extraction of the astrophysical parameters of the sources that will open the first new astronomical window since the development of gamma ray telescopes in the 1970's and enable a new era of discovery and understanding of the Universe. Direct detection is expected in at least two frequency bands from the ground before the end of the decade with Advanced LIGO and Pulsar Timing Arrays. However, many of the most exciting sources will be continuously observable in the band from 0.1-100 mHz, accessible only from space due to seismic noise and gravity gradients in that band that disturb groundbased observatories. This talk will discuss a possible mission concept developed from the original Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) reference mission but updated to reduce risk and cost.

The application of artificial intelligence to astronomical scheduling problems

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Mark D.

1992-01-01

Efficient utilization of expensive space- and ground-based observatories is an important goal for the astronomical community; the cost of modern observing facilities is enormous, and the available observing time is much less than the demand from astronomers around the world. The complexity and variety of scheduling constraints and goals has led several groups to investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) techniques might help solve these kinds of problems. The earliest and most successful of these projects was started at Space Telescope Science Institute in 1987 and has led to the development of the Spike scheduling system to support the scheduling of Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The aim of Spike at STScI is to allocate observations to timescales of days to a week observing all scheduling constraints and maximizing preferences that help ensure that observations are made at optimal times. Spike has been in use operationally for HST since shortly after the observatory was launched in Apr. 1990. Although developed specifically for HST scheduling, Spike was carefully designed to provide a general framework for similar (activity-based) scheduling problems. In particular, the tasks to be scheduled are defined in the system in general terms, and no assumptions about the scheduling timescale are built in. The mechanisms for describing, combining, and propagating temporal and other constraints and preferences are quite general. The success of this approach has been demonstrated by the application of Spike to the scheduling of other satellite observatories: changes to the system are required only in the specific constraints that apply, and not in the framework itself. In particular, the Spike framework is sufficiently flexible to handle both long-term and short-term scheduling, on timescales of years down to minutes or less. This talk will discuss recent progress made in scheduling search techniques, the lessons learned from early HST operations, the application of Spike

Astronomical imaging with a low temperature InSb charge injection device (CID)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouan, D.; Lacombe, F.; Tiphene, D.; Stefanovitch, D.; Phan van, D.

1986-01-01

InSb charge injection device (CID) technology focal plane arrays employ two coupled MIS capacitors which collect and store photon-generated charge carriers. Attention is presently given to two-dimensional arrays for 77 K and 4 K operating temperatures in astronomical applications; two such prototypes for ground observations have been developed for use with a 2-m telescope. A CID InSb array is noted to be a useful candidate for the proposed IR Space Observatory's focal plane camera. 7 references

The possible astronomical function of the El Molle stone circle at the ESO Observatory La Silla. II: The updated measurement campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardi, Gabriella; Vecchiato, Alberto; Bucciarelli, Beatrice

2014-07-01

This paper reviews and updates the accounts of a previous article discussing the possible astronomical significance of a peculiar, man-made circular stone structure, located close to the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile, and attributed to the El Molle culture. Thanks to further, higher-accuracy measurements in situ, we can confirm some of the original hypotheses and dismiss others, upholding the main tenets of the original work.

Division B Commission 6: Astronomical Telegrams

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaoka, H.; Green, D. W. E.; Samus, N. N.; Aksnes, K.; Gilmore, A. C.; Nakano, S.; Sphar, T.; Tichá, J.; Williams, G. V.

2016-04-01

IAU Commission 6 ``Astronomical Telegrams'' had a single business meeting during Honolulu General Assembly of the IAU. It took place on Tuesday, 11 August 2015. The meeting was attended by Hitoshi Yamaoka (President), Daniel Green (Director of the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, CBAT, via Skype), Steven Chesley (JPL), Paul Chodas (JPL), Alan Gilmore (Canterbury University), Shinjiro Kouzuma (Chukyo University), Paolo Mazzali (Co-Chair of the Supernova Working Group), Elena Pian (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa), Marion Schmitz (chair IAU Working Group Designations + NED), David Tholen (University of Hawaii), Jana Ticha (Klet Observatory), Milos Tichy (Klet Observatory), Giovanni Valsecchi (INAF\\slash Italy), Gareth Williams (Minor Planet Center). Apologies: Nikolai Samus (General Catalogue of Variable Stars, GCVS).

Explanatory supplement to the astronomical almanac

CERN Document Server

Urban, Sean E

2013-01-01

The Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac offers explanatory material, supplemental information and detailed descriptions of the computational models and algorithms used to produce The Astronomical Almanac, which is an annual publication prepared jointly by the US Naval Observatory and Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office in the UK. Like The Astronomical Almanac, The Explanatory Supplement provides detailed coverage of modern positional astronomy. Chapters are devoted to the celestial and terrestrial reference frames, orbital ephemerides, precession, nutation, Earth rotation, and coordinate transformations. These topics have undergone substantial revisions since the last edition was published. Astronomical positions are intertwined with timescales and relativity in The Astronomical Almanac, so related chapters are provided in The Explanatory Supplement. The Astronomical Almanac also includes information on lunar and solar eclipses, physical ephemerides of solar system bodies, and calendars, so T...

Interactive 3D visualization for theoretical virtual observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Dykes, T.; Hassan, A.; Gheller, C.; Croton, D.; Krokos, M.

2018-06-01

Virtual observatories (VOs) are online hubs of scientific knowledge. They encompass a collection of platforms dedicated to the storage and dissemination of astronomical data, from simple data archives to e-research platforms offering advanced tools for data exploration and analysis. Whilst the more mature platforms within VOs primarily serve the observational community, there are also services fulfilling a similar role for theoretical data. Scientific visualization can be an effective tool for analysis and exploration of data sets made accessible through web platforms for theoretical data, which often contain spatial dimensions and properties inherently suitable for visualization via e.g. mock imaging in 2D or volume rendering in 3D. We analyse the current state of 3D visualization for big theoretical astronomical data sets through scientific web portals and virtual observatory services. We discuss some of the challenges for interactive 3D visualization and how it can augment the workflow of users in a virtual observatory context. Finally we showcase a lightweight client-server visualization tool for particle-based data sets, allowing quantitative visualization via data filtering, highlighting two example use cases within the Theoretical Astrophysical Observatory.

Interactive 3D Visualization for Theoretical Virtual Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Dykes, Tim; Hassan, A.; Gheller, C.; Croton, D.; Krokos, M.

2018-04-01

Virtual Observatories (VOs) are online hubs of scientific knowledge. They encompass a collection of platforms dedicated to the storage and dissemination of astronomical data, from simple data archives to e-research platforms offering advanced tools for data exploration and analysis. Whilst the more mature platforms within VOs primarily serve the observational community, there are also services fulfilling a similar role for theoretical data. Scientific visualization can be an effective tool for analysis and exploration of datasets made accessible through web platforms for theoretical data, which often contain spatial dimensions and properties inherently suitable for visualization via e.g. mock imaging in 2d or volume rendering in 3d. We analyze the current state of 3d visualization for big theoretical astronomical datasets through scientific web portals and virtual observatory services. We discuss some of the challenges for interactive 3d visualization and how it can augment the workflow of users in a virtual observatory context. Finally we showcase a lightweight client-server visualization tool for particle-based datasets allowing quantitative visualization via data filtering, highlighting two example use cases within the Theoretical Astrophysical Observatory.

Look to the Stars - The APUS Observatory: An Innovative Robotic Telescope for Online Astronomical Education and Research

Science.gov (United States)

Albin, Edward

2018-01-01

We report on the American Public University System’s new robotic telescope, located in Charles Town, WV -- an innovative observatory deployed in an online institution of higher education. The instrument is operated by the Department of Space Studies and is situated atop the university’s new Information Technology building. At the heart of the observatory is a Planewave CDK24 telescope, equipped with a SBIG STX-16803 CCD camera. The telescope is a key technological component in the Department's new undergraduate / graduate astronomy concentration. Since the university is a dedicated online educational institution, the acquisition of a fully remote controlled telescope ties closely into the program's philosophy of quality online instruction. Our robotic observatory is intimately integrated into our astronomy curriculum, with the telescope being utilized for original astronomical education and research purposes. For instance, not only is imagery used in the classroom and for laboratory instruction, graduate students in our MS degree program have an opportunity to collect original telescopic data for research / thesis projects. Examples of ongoing investigations with the telescope include observations of exoplanet transits and variable star photometry. When not in use for specific observing projects, the telescope is scripted to conduct autonomous supernova searches by patrolling dozens of galaxies throughout the night. Our goal is to have the instrument scheduled for continuous observing of the heavens throughout the year on all clear evenings.

FITSManager: Management of Personal Astronomical Data

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Chenzhou; Fan, Dongwei; Zhao, Yongheng; Kembhavi, Ajit; He, Boliang; Cao, Zihuang; Li, Jian; Nandrekar, Deoyani

2011-07-01

With the increase of personal storage capacity, it is easy to find hundreds to thousands of FITS files in the personal computer of an astrophysicist. Because Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) is a professional data format initiated by astronomers and used mainly in the small community, data management toolkits for FITS files are very few. Astronomers need a powerful tool to help them manage their local astronomical data. Although Virtual Observatory (VO) is a network oriented astronomical research environment, its applications and related technologies provide useful solutions to enhance the management and utilization of astronomical data hosted in an astronomer's personal computer. FITSManager is such a tool to provide astronomers an efficient management and utilization of their local data, bringing VO to astronomers in a seamless and transparent way. FITSManager provides fruitful functions for FITS file management, like thumbnail, preview, type dependent icons, header keyword indexing and search, collaborated working with other tools and online services, and so on. The development of the FITSManager is an effort to fill the gap between management and analysis of astronomical data.

Building a roll-off roof or dome observatory a complete guide for design and construction

CERN Document Server

Hicks, John Stephen

2016-01-01

Almost every practical astronomer eventually aspires to have a fixed, permanent observatory for his or her telescope. A roll-off roof or dome observatory is the answer for the most popular home observatory design.  Almost every practical astronomer eventually aspires to have a fixed, permanent observatory for his or her telescope. A roll-off roof or dome observatory is the answer for the most popular home observatory design. Building a Roll-Off or Dome Observatory will help you decide whether to embark on the venture and will certainly increase your enthusiasm for the project. The author, both an amateur astronomer and a professional landscape architect, answers many of the common questions asked about observatory construction, covering the following topics: • Zoning, and by-law requirements common to most states, towns and municipalities • Where to locate the observatory • How to tailor the observatory for your particular needs • Tools and structural components required • Possible variations in de...

Searching the Heavens and the Earth: This History of Jesuit Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Udías, Agustín

2003-10-01

Jesuits established a large number of astronomical, geophysical and meteorological observatories during the 17th and 18th centuries and again during the 19th and 20th centuries throughout the world. The history of these observatories has never been published in a complete form. Many early European astronomical observatories were established in Jesuit colleges. During the 17th and 18th centuries Jesuits were the first western scientists to enter into contact with China and India. It was through them that western astronomy was first introduced in these countries. They made early astronomical observations in India and China and they directed for 150 years the Imperial Observatory of Beijing. In the 19th and 20th centuries a new set of observatories were established. Besides astronomy these now included meteorology and geophysics. Jesuits established some of the earliest observatories in Africa, South America and the Far East. Jesuit observatories constitute an often forgotten chapter of the history of these sciences. This volume is aimed at all scientists and students who do not want to forget the Jesuit contributions to science. Link: http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/1-4020-1189-X

EVALSO: A New High-speed Data Link to Chilean Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-01

, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Building a Roll-Off Roof Observatory A Complete Guide for Design and Construction

CERN Document Server

Hicks, John

2009-01-01

Almost every practical astronomer who takes the pursuit to its second level aspires to a fixed, permanent housing for his telescope, permitting its rapid and comfortable use and avoiding hours of setting-up time for each observing session. A roll-off roof observatory is the simplest and by far the most popular observatory design for today’s practical astronomers. Building a Roll-off Roof Observatory will help you decide whether to embark on the venture and will certainly provoke your enthusiasm for the project. The author, both an amateur astronomer and professional landscape architect, answers many of the common questions asked around observatory construction covering the following topics: Site planning, zoning, and by-law requirements common to most states, towns and municipalities Opportunities for locating the observatory Tailoring the observatory for your particular use Tools and structural components required to build it Variations in footing design to suit your soil conditions Variations possible in ...

Ten years of the Spanish Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Solano, E.

2015-05-01

The main objective of the Virtual Observatory (VO) is to guarantee an easy and efficient access and analysis of the information hosted in astronomical archives. The Spanish Virtual Observatory (SVO) is a project that was born in 2004 with the goal of promoting and coordinating the VO-related activities at national level. SVO is also the national contact point for the international VO initiatives, in particular the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) and the Euro-VO project. The project, led by Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), is structured around four major topics: a) VO compliance of astronomical archives, b) VO-science, c) VO- and data mining-tools, and d) Education and outreach. In this paper I will describe the most important results obtained by the Spanish Virtual Observatory in its first ten years of life as well as the future lines of work.

Instrument Remote Control via the Astronomical Instrument Markup Language

Science.gov (United States)

Sall, Ken; Ames, Troy; Warsaw, Craig; Koons, Lisa; Shafer, Richard

1998-01-01

The Instrument Remote Control (IRC) project ongoing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Information Systems Center (ISC) supports NASA's mission by defining an adaptive intranet-based framework that provides robust interactive and distributed control and monitoring of remote instruments. An astronomical IRC architecture that combines the platform-independent processing capabilities of Java with the power of Extensible Markup Language (XML) to express hierarchical data in an equally platform-independent, as well as human readable manner, has been developed. This architecture is implemented using a variety of XML support tools and Application Programming Interfaces (API) written in Java. IRC will enable trusted astronomers from around the world to easily access infrared instruments (e.g., telescopes, cameras, and spectrometers) located in remote, inhospitable environments, such as the South Pole, a high Chilean mountaintop, or an airborne observatory aboard a Boeing 747. Using IRC's frameworks, an astronomer or other scientist can easily define the type of onboard instrument, control the instrument remotely, and return monitoring data all through the intranet. The Astronomical Instrument Markup Language (AIML) is the first implementation of the more general Instrument Markup Language (IML). The key aspects of our approach to instrument description and control applies to many domains, from medical instruments to machine assembly lines. The concepts behind AIML apply equally well to the description and control of instruments in general. IRC enables us to apply our techniques to several instruments, preferably from different observatories.

Public relations for a national observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Finley, David G.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a government-funded organization providing state-of-the art observational facilities to the astronomical community on a peer-reviewed basis. In this role, the NRAO must address three principal constituencies with its public-relations efforts. These are: the astronomical community; the funding and legislative bodies of the Federal Government; and the general public. To serve each of these constituencies, the Observatory has developed a set of public-relations initiatives supported by public-relations and outreach professionals as well as by management and scientific staff members. The techniques applied and the results achieved in each of these areas are described.

Setting-up a small observatory from concept to construction

CERN Document Server

Arditti, David

2008-01-01

Every amateur astronomer who is considering a purpose-built observatory will find this book absolutely invaluable during both the planning and the construction stages. Drawing on David Arditti’s practical experience and that of many other amateur astronomers, it gives invaluable help in making all the important decisions. To begin with, Setting up a Small Observatory addresses what you really need from an observatory, whether to build or buy, what designs you should consider, and where you should site it. Uniquely, it also considers the aesthetics of an amateur observatory: how to make it fit in with your home, garden, and yard, even disguising it as a more common garden building if necessary. There’s also a wealth of practical details for constructing and equipping your small observatory – everything from satisfying local planning laws and building codes through to making sure that your completed observatory is well-equipped, convenient, and comfortable to use. Whether you are considering a simple low-...

The Legacy of the Georgetown College Observatory (D.C.)

Science.gov (United States)

Caron, Laura; Maglieri, Grace; Seitzer, Patrick

2018-01-01

Founded in 1841 as part of a nascent worldwide network of Jesuit-run astronomical observatories, the Georgetown College Observatory of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. has been home to more than 125 years of astronomical research, from Father Curley’s calculations of the latitude and longitude of D.C. to Father McNally’s award-winning solar eclipse photography. But the impact of the Georgetown astronomy program was not limited to the observatory itself: it reached much further, into the local community and schools, and into the lives of everyone involved. This was never more apparent than under the directorship of Father Francis J Heyden, S.J., who arrived at Georgetown after World War II and stayed for almost three decades. He started a graduate program with over 90 graduates, hosting student researchers from local high schools and colleges, teaching graduate and undergraduate astronomy courses, and speaking at schools in the area, all while simultaneously managing Georgetown’s student radio station and hosting astronomical conferences on campus. Father Heyden’s research focused mainly on solar eclipses for geodetic purposes and planetary spectroscopy. But perhaps even more than research, Father Heyden dedicated his time and energy to the astronomy students, the notable of which include Vera Rubin, John P. Hagen of Project Vanguard, and a generation of Jesuit astronomers including Martin McCarthy, George Coyne, and Richard Boyle. Following the closure of the astronomy department in 1972, Father Heyden returned to Manila, where he had begun his astronomical career, to become Chief of the Solar Division at the Manila Observatory. His dedication to his work and to students serves as an inspiration for academic researchers across fields, and for the Georgetown University Astronomical Society, which, even in the absence of a formal astronomy program at Georgetown, continues his work in education and outreach today. In 1987, almost 150 years after its

Social Media Programs at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Sparks, Robert T.; Walker, Constance Elaine; Pompea, Stephen M.

2015-08-01

Observatories and other science research organizations want to share their research and activities with the public. The last several years, social media has become and increasingly important venue for communicating information about observatory activities, research and education and public outreach.The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) uses a wide variety of social media to communicate with different audiences. NOAO is active on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest. Our social media accounts include those for the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Kitt Peak National Observatory and our dark skies conservation program Globe at Night.Our social media programs have a variety of audiences. NOAO uses social media to announce and promote NOAO sponsored meetings, observatory news and proposal deadlines to the professional astronomical community. Social media accounts are used to disseminate NOAO press releases, images from the observatory and other science using data from NOAO telescopes.Social media is important in our Education and Public Outreach programs (EPO). Globe at Night has very active facebook and twitter accounts encouraging people to become involved in preserving dark skies. Social media plays a role in recruiting teachers for professional development workshops such as Project Astro.NOAO produces monthly podcasts for the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast featuring interviews with NOAO astronomers. Each podcast highlights the science of an NOAO astronomer, an NOAO operated telescope or instrument, or an NOAO program. A separate series of podcasts is produced for NOAO’s Dark Skies Education programs. All the podcasts are archived at 365daysofastronomy.org.

Calculation of Precipitable Water for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy Aircraft (SOFIA): Airplane in the Night Sky

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Pey Chun; Busby, Christopher M.

2011-01-01

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is the new generation airborne observatory station based at NASA s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, Palmdale, CA, to study the universe. Since the observatory detects infrared energy, water vapor is a concern in the atmosphere due to its known capacity to absorb infrared energy emitted by astronomical objects. Although SOFIA is hoping to fly above 99% of water vapor in the atmosphere it is still possible to affect astronomical observation. Water vapor is one of the toughest parameter to measure in the atmosphere, several atmosphere modeling are used to calculate water vapor loading. The water vapor loading, or Precipitable water, is being calculated by Matlab along the planned flight path. Over time, these results will help SOFIA to plan flights to regions of lower water vapor loading and hopefully improve the imagery collection of these astronomical features.

Ground motion measurement at Sefuri and Esashi area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugahara, R.; Takeda, S.; Nozaki, M.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamashita, S.; Nakayama, Y.

2008-02-01

It is indispensable for the construction of the next-generation super high-energy accelerator to investigate the ground fluctuation and to get the information on the characteristics of ground vibration. KEK, ICEPP, and J-Power have cooperatively measured the usual tremor of various grounds. This report describes the results of the measurements carried out at the tunnel in Mise Expressway penetrating the Sefuri Mountains forming the boundary between Fukuoka and Saga prefectures and at the facility of Esashi earth tide measurement, National Astronomical Observatory. The comparison with past measurements on other area and the characteristics of wide band usual tremor of each area are also mentioned. (M.H.)

Invited Review Article: The Chandra X-ray Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Daniel A.

2014-06-01

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is an orbiting x-ray telescope facility. It is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's four "Great Observatories" that collectively have carried out astronomical observations covering the infrared through gamma-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Chandra is used by astronomers world-wide to acquire imaging and spectroscopic data over a nominal 0.1-10 keV (124-1.24 Å) range. We describe the three major parts of the observatory: the telescope, the spacecraft systems, and the science instruments. This article will emphasize features of the design and development driven by some of the experimental considerations unique to x-ray astronomy. We will update the on-orbit performance and present examples of the scientific highlights.

The Pulkovo Observatory in the last 50 years through the eyes of its Learned Secretary Yu. I. Vitinsky.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhukov, V. Yu.; Soboleva, T. V.

A solar physicist, a Pulkovo astronomer, Yury Ivanovich Vitinsky (1926-2003) was the author of 210 scientific papers known in both Russia and abroad. He worked in the Observatory for about half a century (1953-2002) and held the office of the Learned Secretary of the Russian Academy of Sciences Main Astronomical Observatory for 35 years (1965-2000). In the last years of his life, Vitinsky brought his recollections that he titled "My Pulkovo" to the Main Astronomical Observatory Archive. His memoirs narrate about problems of the astronomical science, staff members and deeds of Pulkovo, things he thought of an events he was through. This is the half-a-century history of the Pulkovo Observatory in biographies of persons. The writer of the Recollections mentions the names of fifty persons most of whom are the Main Astronomical Observatory staff members that he worked with side by side. The memoirs provide accurate descriptions that are brief yet rather capacious of the author's Pulkovo colleagues, as well as other astronomers. The language of Vitinsky's recollection is good and clear. His memoirs contain moderate balanced views of people and events and provide objective and trustworthy data. "My Pulkovo" is an indispensable biographical source for the historian of the astronomical science, the Pulkovo Observatory and its scholarly staff members of the most recent decades. It is also just an interesting human document. In 2006, Yury Ivanovich would have been eighty.

Urania in the Marketplace: Observatories as Holiday Destinations

Science.gov (United States)

Rumstay, Kenneth S.

2015-01-01

During the twentieth century astronomical imagery was frequently incorporated, by manufacturers of industrial and consumer goods, into advertisements which appeared in popular magazines in America. The domes and telescopes of major observatories were often featured. In some cases, particularly within the Golden State of California, major astronomical facilities (notably the Lick and Mt. Wilson Observatories) were touted as tourist attractions and were publicized as such by tourist bureaus, railroads, and hotels.A particularly interesting example is provided by the Hotel Vendome in San Jose. With completion of the Lick Observatory (and the 36-inch Great Refractor) in 1887, the local business community felt that the city needed a first-class resort hotel. The architectural firm of Jacob Lenzen & Son was hired to design a grand hotel, comparable to those found in locales such as Monterey and Pasadena. The resulting four-story, 150-room structure cost 250,000, a phenomenal sum in those days. Yet, within just fourteen years, tourist demand led to the construction of a 36-room annex. Of course, a great resort hotel would not be complete without the opportunity for excursion, and the Mt. Hamilton Stage Company offered daily trips to the famous Lick Observatory.Farther south, the Mt. Wilson Observatory began construction of its own hotel in 1905.The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1913, and replaced by a second which was used by visitors until 1966.Early examples of advertisements for these observatories, recalling the heyday of astronomical tourism, are presented. A few more recent ones for Arecibo and Palomar are included for comparison.

Radio Astronomers Get Their First Glimpse of Powerful Solar Storm

Science.gov (United States)

2001-08-01

expanding set of loops similar to the loops seen at visible wavelengths. The radio loops, astronomers believe, indicate regions where electrons are being accelerated to nearly the speed of light at about the time the ejection process is getting started. The same ejection observed by the radio telescope also was observed by orbiting solar telescopes. Depending on what later radio observations show, the solar studies may reveal new insights into the physics of other astronomical phenomena. For example, shocks in the corona and the interplanetary medium accelerate electrons and ions, a process believed to occur in supernova remnants - the expanding debris from stellar explosions. The electrons also may be accelerated by processes associated with magnetic reconnection, a process that occurs in the Earth's magnetosphere. "The Sun is an excellent physics laboratory, and what it teaches us can then help us understand other astrophysical phenomena in the universe," Bastian said. The radio detection of a coronal mass ejection also means that warning of the potentially dangerous effects of these events could come from ground-based radio telescopes, rather than more-expensive orbiting observatories. "With solar radio telescopes strategically placed at three or four locations around the world, coronal mass ejections could be detected 24 hours a day to provide advance warning," Bastian said. The Nancay station for radio astronomy is a facility of the Paris Observatory. The Nancay Radioheliograph is funded by the French Ministry of Education, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and by the Region Centre. This research has also been supported by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Breakthrough! 100 astronomical images that changed the world

CERN Document Server

Gendler, Robert

2015-01-01

This unique volume by two renowned astrophotographers unveils the science and history behind 100 of the most significant astronomical images of all time. The authors have carefully selected their list of images from across time and technology to bring to the reader the most relevant photographic images spanning all eras of modern astronomical history.    Based on scientific evidence today we have a basic notion of how Earth and the universe came to be. The road to this knowledge was paved with 175 years of astronomical images acquired by the coupling of two revolutionary technologies – the camera and telescope. With ingenuity and determination humankind would quickly embrace these technologies to tell the story of the cosmos and unravel its mysteries.   This book presents in pictures and words a photographic chronology of our aspiration to understand the universe. From the first fledgling attempts to photograph the Moon, planets, and stars to the marvels of orbiting observatories that record the cosmos a...

195-Year History of Mykolayiv Observatory: Events and People

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shulga, O.V.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The basic stages of the history of the Mykolaiv Astronomical Observatory are shown. The main results of the Observatory activities are presented by the catalogs of star positions, major and minor planets in the Solar system, space objects in the Earth orbit. The information on the qualitative and quantitative structure of the Observatory, cooperation with the observatories of Ukraine and foreign countries as well as major projects carried out in the Observatory is provided.

Coronagraph for astronomical imaging and spectrophotometry

Science.gov (United States)

Vilas, Faith; Smith, Bradford A.

1987-01-01

A coronagraph designed to minimize scattered light in astronomical observations caused by the structure of the primary mirror, secondary mirror, and secondary support structure of a Cassegrainian telescope is described. Direct (1:1) and reducing (2.7:1) imaging of astronomical fields are possible. High-quality images are produced. The coronagraph can be used with either a two-dimensional charge-coupled device or photographic film camera. The addition of transmission dispersing optics converts the coronagraph into a low-resolution spectrograph. The instrument is modular and portable for transport to different observatories.

Radioecological Observatories - Breeding Grounds for Innovative Research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steiner, Martin; Urso, Laura; Wichterey, Karin; Willrodt, Christine [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz - BfS, Willy-Brandt-Strasse 5, 38226 Salzgitter (Germany); Beresford, Nicholas A.; Howard, Brenda [NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology - CEH, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Av., Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AP (United Kingdom); Bradshaw, Clare; Stark, Karolina [Stockholms Universitet - SU, Universitetsvaegen 10, SE-10691 Stockholm (Sweden); Dowdall, Mark; Liland, Astrid [Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority - NRPA, P.O. Box 55, NO-1332 Oesteraas (Norway); Eyrolle- Boyer, Frederique; Guillevic, Jerome; Hinton, Thomas [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire - IRSN, 31, Avenue de la Division Leclerc, 92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Gashchak, Sergey [Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology - Chornobyl Center, 77th Gvardiiska Dyviiya str.7/1, 07100 Slavutych (Ukraine); Hutri, Kaisa-Leena; Ikaeheimonen, Tarja; Muikku, Maarit; Outola, Iisa [Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority - STUK, P.O. Box 14, 00881 Helsinki (Finland); Michalik, Boguslaw [Glowny Instytut Gornictwa - GIG, Plac Gwarkow 1, 40-166 Katowice (Poland); Mora, Juan Carlos; Real, Almudena; Robles, Beatriz [Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas - CIEMAT, Avenida complutense, 40, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Oughton, Deborah; Salbu, Brit [Norwegian University of Life Sciences - NMBU, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Aas (Norway); Sweeck, Lieve [Studiecentrum voor Kernenergie/Centre d' Etude de l' Energie Nucleaire (SCK.CEN), Avenue Herrmann- Debroux 40, BE-1160 Brussels (Belgium); Yoschenko, Vasyl [National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NUBiP of Ukraine), Herojiv Obrony st., 15, Kyiv-03041 (Ukraine)

2014-07-01

Within the EC-funded (FP7) Network of Excellence STAR (Strategy for Allied Radioecology, www.star-radioecology.org) the concept of Radioecological Observatories is currently being implemented on a European level for the first time. Radioecological Observatories are radioactively (and chemically) contaminated field sites that will provide a focus for joint long-term radioecological research. The benefit of this innovative approach is to create synergistic research collaborations by sharing expertise, ideas, data and resources. Research at the Radioecological Observatories will primarily focus on radioecological challenges outlined in the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). Mechanisms to use these sites will be established under the EC-funded project COMET (Coordination and Implementation of a Pan-European Instrument for Radioecology, www.comet-radioecology.org). The European Radioecological Observatory sites were selected using a structured, progressive approach that was transparent, consistent and objective. A first screening of potential candidate sites was conducted based on the following exclusion criteria: long-term perspective for shared field work and suitability for addressing the radioecological challenges of the SRA. The proposed sites included former uranium mining and milling sites in France and Germany, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) in Ukraine/Belarus and the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) in Poland. All candidate sites were prioritized based on evaluation criteria which comprised scientific issues, available infrastructure, administrative/legal constraints and financial considerations. Multi-criteria decision analysis, group discussions and recommendations provided by external experts were combined to obtain a preference order among the suggested sites. Using this approach, the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) in Poland and the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) were selected as Radioecological Observatories. The two sites have similar multi

International Astronomical Union Sympoisum No.50

CERN Document Server

Westerlund, B

1973-01-01

Dr J. Landi Dessy, Director of the Astronomical Observatory, Cordoba, Argentina, invited the International Astronomical Union to hold a Symposium in Cordoba in connection with the celebration of the Centennial of the Cordoba Observatory; the date of foundation is October 24, 1871. He proposed that the Symposium should deal with Spectral Classification and Multicolour Photometry as seven years had elapsed since the Symposium No. 24 in Saltsj6baden, and much development had occurred in the field. The invitation and the proposal were accepted by the IAU, and the Symposium was held in Villa Carlos Paz, near Cordoba, between October 18 and October 24, 1971. It was attended by about 50 scientists representing Argentina, Canada, Chile, Den­ mark, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., U.S.A., Vatican City State and Venezuela. The Symposium was divided into four sessions: 1. Classification of slit spectra, 2. Classification of objective-prism spectra, 3. Photometric classification, 4. Catalogues ...

Observatory data and the Swarm mission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Macmillan, S.; Olsen, Nils

2013-01-01

products. We describe here the preparation of the data set of ground observatory hourly mean values, including procedures to check and select observatory data spanning the modern magnetic survey satellite era. We discuss other possible combined uses of satellite and observatory data, in particular those......The ESA Swarm mission to identify and measure very accurately the different magnetic signals that arise in the Earth’s core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere, which together form the magnetic field around the Earth, has increased interest in magnetic data collected on the surface...... of the Earth at observatories. The scientific use of Swarm data and Swarm-derived products is greatly enhanced by combination with observatory data and indices. As part of the Swarm Level-2 data activities plans are in place to distribute such ground-based data along with the Swarm data as auxiliary data...

The Hartebeeshoek Radio Astronomy Observatory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicolson, G.D.

1986-01-01

This article briefly discusses the questions, problems and study fields of the modern astronomer. Radioastronomy has made important contributions to the study of the evolution of stars and has given much information on the birth of stars while at the other extreme, studies of neutron stars and the radio emission from the remnants of supernova explosions have given further insight into the death of individual stars. Radio astronomical studies have learned astronomers much about the structure of the Milky way and some twenty years ago, in a search for new radio galaxies, quasars were discovered. Radioastronomy research in South Africa is carried out at the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory

Nikolay N. Donitch - the astronomer

Science.gov (United States)

Gaina, Alex B.; Volyanskaya, M. Yu.

1999-08-01

The article is devoted to milestones of life and scientific activity of the eminent astronomer Nikolay Nikolaevich Donitch (Nicolae N. Donici) (1874-1956), a graduate from the Odessa (Novorossiski) university. He was a wellknown expert in the field of reseacrh of objects of Solar system. A person highly cultured, which built the first in Bessarabia (actually a part of the Republic of Moldova) observatory. He was borne in Kishinev (Chisinau) in a nobles family of notable Moldavian landersmen. N.D. graduated from the Richelieu lyceym in Odessa and afterwards, in 1897, graduated from the Odessa (Novorossiysky) University. A.K. Kononovich (1850-1910)headed the chair of astronomy and the Observatory at that time - a foremost authority in the field of astrophysics and stellar astronomy. Many of his disciples became eminent scientists of their time. N. Donitch was among them. N.D. worked till 1918 at Pulkovo Observatory and became a master in the field of studying of such phenomena as solar and lunar eclipses. To observe the Sun N.D., could afford to design and manufacture a spectroheliograph, the first in Russia, with the assistance of a famous Odessa mechanic J.A. Timchenko. This instrument enabled him to obtain topquality photos of the Sun's surface and prominences. It was mounted together with coelostat in the private observatory of N.D. , built in the village Staryie Doubossary in 1908. Besides the heliograoph, the observatory was equiped with a five inch refractor-equatorial with numerous instruments for various observations. Of the other instruments should be mentioned : "a comet triplet" - an instrument consisting of guiding refractor, a photographic camera and a spectrograph with an objective prism. N.D. was lucky enough to observe rare astronomical phenomena. He observed the transit of Mercury through the disk of the Sun on November 14, 1907 and showed the athmosphere absence around this planet, observed the Halley's comet in 1910, the bright Pons-Winneke comet

Precision engineering for astronomy: historical origins and the future revolution in ground-based astronomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Colin; Russell, Adrian

2012-08-28

Since the dawn of civilization, the human race has pushed technology to the limit to study the heavens in ever-increasing detail. As astronomical instruments have evolved from those built by Tycho Brahe in the sixteenth century, through Galileo and Newton in the seventeenth, to the present day, astronomers have made ever more precise measurements. To do this, they have pushed the art and science of precision engineering to extremes. Some of the critical steps are described in the evolution of precision engineering from the first telescopes to the modern generation telescopes and ultra-sensitive instruments that need a combination of precision manufacturing, metrology and accurate positioning systems. In the future, precision-engineered technologies such as those emerging from the photonics industries may enable future progress in enhancing the capabilities of instruments, while potentially reducing the size and cost. In the modern era, there has been a revolution in astronomy leading to ever-increasing light-gathering capability. Today, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is at the forefront of this revolution, building observatories on the ground that are set to transform our view of the universe. At an elevation of 5000 m in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) is nearing completion. The ALMA is the most powerful radio observatory ever and is being built by a global partnership from Europe, North America and East Asia. In the optical/infrared part of the spectrum, the latest project for ESO is even more ambitious: the European Extremely Large Telescope, a giant 40 m class telescope that will also be located in Chile and which will give the most detailed view of the universe so far.

A Mythological, Philosophical and Astronomical approach of our solar system

Science.gov (United States)

Drivas, Sotirios; Kastanidou, Sofia

2016-04-01

Teaching Geography in the first Class of Gymnasium - secondary education we will focus in Solar System: Astronomical approach: Students will look and find the astronomical data of the planets, they will make comparisons between the sizes of their radius, they will find the distance from the Sun, they will search the relative motion, they will calculate the gravity on each planet, etc. Mythological approach: We will search the names and meanings of the planets based on Greek mythological origin. Philosophical approach: Regarding the philosophical approach of the "solar system" we will look and find: • Why planets are called so? • How did planets get their names? • What are the periods of Greek astronomy? • What were the astronomical instruments of ancient Greeks and who did built them? • What were the Greek philosophers and astronomers? When did they live and what did they discover? • Which method did Eratosthenes of Cyrene apply about 206B.C. to serve a real measurement of the earth's radius? • What was the relationship between science and religion in ancient Greece? Literature approach: At the end of the program students will write their opinion in subject "Having a friend from another planet" based on the book of Antoine de Saint - Exupéry "The little prince". Law approach: A jurist working in Secondary Education will visits our school and engages students in the Space Law. Artistic approach: Students will create their own posters of our planetary system. The best posters will be posted on the school bulletin board to display their work. Visit: Students and teachers will visit the Observatory of Larissa where they will see how observatory works and talk with scientists about their job. They will look through telescopes and observe the sun.

Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory as Cultural Centre

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-07-01

NAS RA V. Ambartsumian Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory is presented as a cultural centre for Armenia and the Armenian nation in general. Besides being scientific and educational centre, the Observatory is famous for its unique architectural ensemble, rich botanical garden and world of birds, as well as it is one of the most frequently visited sightseeing of Armenia. In recent years, the Observatory has also taken the initiative of the coordination of the Cultural Astronomy in Armenia and in this field, unites the astronomers, historians, archaeologists, ethnographers, culturologists, literary critics, linguists, art historians and other experts. Keywords: Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory, architecture, botanic garden, tourism, Cultural Astronomy.

Addressing the social dimensions of citizen observatories: The Ground Truth 2.0 socio-technical approach for sustainable implementation of citizen observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Wehn, Uta; Joshi, Somya; Pfeiffer, Ellen; Anema, Kim; Gharesifard, Mohammad; Momani, Abeer

2017-04-01

Owing to ICT-enabled citizen observatories, citizens can take on new roles in environmental monitoring, decision making and co-operative planning, and environmental stewardship. And yet implementing advanced citizen observatories for data collection, knowledge exchange and interactions to support policy objectives is neither always easy nor successful, given the required commitment, trust, and data reliability concerns. Many efforts are facing problems with the uptake and sustained engagement by citizens, limited scalability, unclear long-term sustainability and limited actual impact on governance processes. Similarly, to sustain the engagement of decision makers in citizen observatories, mechanisms are required from the start of the initiative in order to have them invest in and, hence, commit to and own the entire process. In order to implement sustainable citizen observatories, these social dimensions therefore need to be soundly managed. We provide empirical evidence of how the social dimensions of citizen observatories are being addressed in the Ground Truth 2.0 project, drawing on a range of relevant social science approaches. This project combines the social dimensions of citizen observatories with enabling technologies - via a socio-technical approach - so that their customisation and deployment is tailored to the envisaged societal and economic impacts of the observatories. The projects consists of the demonstration and validation of six scaled up citizen observatories in real operational conditions both in the EU and in Africa, with a specific focus on flora and fauna as well as water availability and water quality for land and natural resources management. The demonstration cases (4 EU and 2 African) cover the full 'spectrum' of citizen-sensed data usage and citizen engagement, and therefore allow testing and validation of the socio-technical concept for citizen observatories under a range of conditions.

The brazilian indigenous planetary-observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Afonso, G. B.

2003-08-01

We have performed observations of the sky alongside with the Indians of all Brazilian regions that made it possible localize many indigenous constellations. Some of these constellations are the same as the other South American Indians and Australian aborigines constellations. The scientific community does not have much of this information, which may be lost in one or two generations. In this work, we present a planetary-observatory that we have made in the Park of Science Newton Freire-Maia of Paraná State, in order to popularize the astronomical knowledge of the Brazilian Indians. The planetary consists, essentially, of a sphere of six meters in diameter and a projection cylinder of indigenous constellations. In this planetary we can identify a lot of constellations that we have gotten from the Brazilian Indians; for instance, the four seasonal constellations: the Tapir (spring), the Old Man (summer), the Deer (autumn) and the Rhea (winter). A two-meter height wooden staff that is posted vertically on the horizontal ground similar to a Gnomon and stones aligned with the cardinal points and the soltices directions constitutes the observatory. A stone circle of ten meters in diameter surrounds the staff and the aligned stones. During the day we observe the Sun apparent motions and at night the indigenous constellations. Due to the great community interest in our work, we are designing an itinerant indigenous planetary-observatory to be used in other cities mainly by indigenous and primary schools teachers.

Astronomical Image and Data Analysis

CERN Document Server

Starck, J.-L

2006-01-01

With information and scale as central themes, this comprehensive survey explains how to handle real problems in astronomical data analysis using a modern arsenal of powerful techniques. It treats those innovative methods of image, signal, and data processing that are proving to be both effective and widely relevant. The authors are leaders in this rapidly developing field and draw upon decades of experience. They have been playing leading roles in international projects such as the Virtual Observatory and the Grid. The book addresses not only students and professional astronomers and astrophysicists, but also serious amateur astronomers and specialists in earth observation, medical imaging, and data mining. The coverage includes chapters or appendices on: detection and filtering; image compression; multichannel, multiscale, and catalog data analytical methods; wavelets transforms, Picard iteration, and software tools. This second edition of Starck and Murtagh's highly appreciated reference again deals with to...

Integrating the IA2 Astronomical Archive in the VO: The VO-Dance Engine

Science.gov (United States)

Molinaro, M.; Laurino, O.; Smareglia, R.

2012-09-01

Virtual Observatory (VO) protocols and standards are getting mature and the astronomical community asks for astrophysical data to be easily reachable. This means data centers have to intensify their efforts to provide the data they manage not only through proprietary portals and services but also through interoperable resources developed on the basis of the IVOA (International Virtual Observatory Alliance) recommendations. Here we present the work and ideas developed at the IA2 (Italian Astronomical Archive) data center hosted by the INAF-OATs (Italian Institute for Astrophysics - Trieste Astronomical Observatory) to reach this goal. The core point is the development of an application that from existing DB and archive structures can translate their content to VO compliant resources: VO-Dance (written in Java). This application, in turn, relies on a database (potentially DBMS independent) to store the translation layer information of each resource and auxiliary content (UCDs, field names, authorizations, policies, etc.). The last token is an administrative interface (currently developed using the Django python framework) to allow the data center administrators to set up and maintain resources. This deployment, platform independent, with database and administrative interface highly customizable, means the package, when stable and easily distributable, can be also used by single astronomers or groups to set up their own resources from their public datasets.

Data standards for the international virtual observatory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R J Hanisch

2006-11-01

Full Text Available A primary goal of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance, which brings together Virtual Observatory Projects from 16 national and international development projects, is to develop, evaluate, test, and agree upon standards for astronomical data formatting, data discovery, and data delivery. In the three years that the IVOA has been in existence, substantial progress has been made on standards for tabular data, imaging data, spectroscopic data, and large-scale databases and on managing the metadata that describe data collections and data access services. In this paper, I describe how the IVOA operates and give my views as to why such a broadly based international collaboration has been able to make such rapid progress.

The MicroObservatory Net

Science.gov (United States)

Brecher, K.; Sadler, P.

1994-12-01

A group of scientists, engineers and educators based at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) has developed a prototype of a small, inexpensive and fully integrated automated astronomical telescope and image processing system. The project team is now building five second generation instruments. The MicroObservatory has been designed to be used for classroom instruction by teachers as well as for original scientific research projects by students. Probably in no other area of frontier science is it possible for a broad spectrum of students (not just the gifted) to have access to state-of-the-art technologies that would allow for original research. The MicroObservatory combines the imaging power of a cooled CCD, with a self contained and weatherized reflecting optical telescope and mount. A microcomputer points the telescope and processes the captured images. The MicroObservatory has also been designed to be used as a valuable new capture and display device for real time astronomical imaging in planetariums and science museums. When the new instruments are completed in the next few months, they will be tried with high school students and teachers, as well as with museum groups. We are now planning to make the MicroObservatories available to students, teachers and other individual users over the Internet. We plan to allow the telescope to be controlled in real time or in batch mode, from a Macintosh or PC compatible computer. In the real-time mode, we hope to give individual access to all of the telescope control functions without the need for an "on-site" operator. Users would sign up for a specific period of time. In the batch mode, users would submit jobs for the telescope. After the MicroObservatory completed a specific job, the images would be e-mailed back to the user. At present, we are interested in gaining answers to the following questions: (1) What are the best approaches to scheduling real-time observations? (2) What criteria should be used

NASA and ESA astronauts visit ESO. Hubble repair team meets European astronomers in Garching.

Science.gov (United States)

1994-02-01

On Wednesday, February 16, 1994, seven NASA and ESA astronauts and their spouses will spend a day at the Headquarters of the European Southern Observatory. They are the members of the STS-61 crew that successfully repaired the Hubble Space Telescope during a Space Shuttle mission in December 1993. This will be the only stop in Germany during their current tour of various European countries. ESO houses the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST/ECF), a joint venture by the European Space Agency and ESO. This group of astronomers and computer specialists provide all services needed by European astronomers for observations with the Space Telescope. Currently, the European share is about 20 of the total time available at this telescope. During this visit, a Press Conference will be held on Wednesday, February 16, 11:45 - 12:30 at the ESO Headquarters Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2 D-85748 Garching bei Munchen. Please note that participation in this Press Conference is by invitation only. Media representatives may obtain invitations from Mrs. E. Volk, ESO Information Service at this address (Tel.: +49-89-32006276; Fax.: +49-89-3202362), until Friday, February 11, 1994. After the Press Conference, between 12:30 - 14:00, a light refreshment will be served at the ESO Headquarters to all participants. >From 14:00 - 15:30, the astronauts will meet with students and teachers from the many scientific institutes in Garching in the course of an open presentation at the large lecture hall of the Physics Department of the Technical University. It is a 10 minute walk from ESO to the hall. Later the same day, the astronauts will be back at ESO for a private discussion of various space astronomy issues with their astronomer colleagues, many of whom are users of the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as ground-based telescopes at the ESO La Silla Observatory and elsewhere. The astronauts continue to Switzerland in the evening.

Mingantu, 18th-Century Mongol Astronomer and Radioheliograph Namesake

Science.gov (United States)

Pasachoff, Jay M.

2013-01-01

The 18th-century Mongol astronomer Mingantu (1692-1765) has been honored with a city named after him and a nearby solar telescope array. During the IAU/Beijing, my wife and I went to the new Chinese solar radioheliograph, the Mingantu Observing Station, in Inner Mongolia, ~400 km northwest of Beijing, a project of the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It currently contains 40 dishes each 4.5 m across, with a correlator from Beijing. Within a year, 60 2-m dishes will be added. We passed by the 12-century ruins of Xanadu (about 20 km north of Zhangbei) about halfway. The radioheliograph is in a plane about 1 km across, forming a three-armed spiral for interferometric solar mapping, something colleagues and I had carried out with the Jansky Very Large Array, taking advantage of the lunar occultation before annularity at the 20 May 2012 solar eclipse. In the central square of Mingantu city, a statue ~10-m high of the Mongol astronomer Mingantu appears. Its base bears a plaque ~1-m high of IAU Minor Planet Circular MPC 45750 announcing the naming in 2002 of asteroid 28242 Mingantu, discovered at a Chinese observatory in 1999. Mingantu carried out orbital calculations, mapping, mathematical work on infinite series, and other scientific research. He is honored by a modern museum behind the statue. The museum's first 40% describes Mingantu and his work, and is followed by some artifacts of the region from thousands of years ago. The final, large room contains a two-meter-square scale model of the radioheliograph, flat-screen televisions running Solar Dynamics Observatory and other contemporary visualizations, orreries and other objects, and large transparencies of NASA and other astronomical imagery. See my post at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/newsblog/ specfically Astro-Sightseeing_in_Inner_Mongolia-167712965.html. We thank Yihua Yan for arranging the visit and Wang Wei (both NAOC) for accompanying us. My solar research

Brightness Variations of Sun-like Stars: The Mystery Deepens - Astronomers facing Socratic "ignorance"

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

Astrophysics, Australia National University), Maria-Rosa L. Cioni (Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, UK) and Igor Soszyński (Warsaw University Observatory). ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Study of the unknown hemisphere of mercury by ground-based astronomical facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Ksanfomality, L. V.

2011-08-01

The short exposure method proved to be very productive in ground-based observations of Mercury. Telescopic observations with short exposures, together with computer codes for the processing of data arrays of many thousands of original electronic photos, make it possible to improve the resolution of images from ground-based instruments to almost the diffraction limit. The resulting composite images are comparable with images from spacecrafts approaching from a distance of about 1 million km. This paper presents images of the hemisphere of Mercury in longitude sectors 90°-180°W, 215°-350°W, and 50°-90°W, including, among others, areas not covered by spacecraft cameras. For the first time a giant S basin was discovered in the sector of longitudes 250°-290°W, which is the largest formation of this type on terrestrial planets. Mercury has a strong phase effects. As a result, the view of the surface changes completely with the change in the planetary phase. But the choice of the phase in the study using spacecrafts is limited by orbital characteristics of the mission. Thus, ground-based observations of the planet provide a valuable support.

Professional- Amateur Astronomer Partnerships in Scientific Research: The Re-emergence of Jupiter's 5-Micron Hot Spots

Science.gov (United States)

Yanamandra-Fisher, P. A.

2012-12-01

absent, an atmospheric state not seen in decades. The ongoing NEB revival indicates nascent 5-μm hot spots as early as April 2012, with corresponding visible dark spots. The South Equatorial Belt (SEB) and NEB revivals began similarly with an instability that developed into a major outbreak, and many similarities in the observed propagation of clear regions. With the active inclusion and use of emerging social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), the near daily communication and updates (via email, Skype, Facebook) between the professional and amateur astronomers is becoming a powerful tool for ground-based remote sensing. The archival of amateur data via global repositories such as Planetary Virtual Observatory and Laboratory (PVOL), The Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) and British Astronomical Association (BAA); and development of data reduction software, independent of professional astronomer community, provides an additional resource and dimension to scientific research. We shall present preliminary results that are the outcomes of the "Pro-Am" collaboration in the case of the re-emergence of Jupiter's 5-micron hot spots and highlight several members of our global amateur astronomer network.

Serbian Astronomers in Science Citation Index in the XX Century

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitrijevic, Milan S.

The book is written paralelly in Serbian and English. The presence of works of Serbian astronomers and works in astronomical journals published by other Serbian scientists, in Science Citation Index within the period from 1945 up to the end of 2000, has been analyzed. Also is presented the list of 38 papers which had some influence on the development of astronomy in the twentieth century. A review of the development of astronomy in Serbia in the last century is given as well. Particular attention is payed to the Astronomical Observatory, the principal astronomical institution in Serbia, where it is one of the oldest scientific organizations and the only autonomous astronomical institute. Its past development forms an important part of the history of science and culture in these regions. In the book is also considered and the history of the university teaching of astronomy in Serbia after the second world war. First of all the development of the Chair of Astronomy at the Faculty of Mathematics in Belgrade, but also the teaching of astronomy at University in Novi Sad, Ni and Kragujevac is discussed. In addition to professional Astronomy, well developed in Serbia is also the amateur Astronomy. In the review is first of all included the largest and the oldest organization of amateur-astronomers in Serbia, founded in 1934. Besides, here are the Astronomical Society "Novi Sad", ADNOS and Research Station "Petnica". In Valjevo, within the framework of the Society of researchers "Vladimir Mandic - Manda", there is active also the Astronomical Group. In Kragujevac, on the roof of the Institute of Physics of the Faculty of Sciences, there is the "Belerofont" Observatory. In Ni, at the close of the sixties and the start of the seventies, there was operating a branch of the Astronomical Society "Rudjer Bokovic", while at the Faculty of Philosophy there existed in the period 1976-1980 the "Astro-Geophysical Society". In the year 1996 there was founded Astronomical Society

Visibility Analysis of Domestic Satellites on Proposed Ground Sites for Optical Surveillance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jung Hyun Jo1

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The objectives of this study are to analyze the satellite visibility at the randomly established ground sites, to determine the five optimal ground sites to perform the optical surveillance and tracking of domestic satellites, and to verify the acquisition of the optical observation time sufficient to maintain the precise ephemeris at optimal ground sites that have been already determined. In order to accomplish these objectives, we analyzed the visibility for sun-synchronous orbit satellites, low earth orbit satellites, middle earth orbit satellites and domestic satellites as well as the continuous visibility along with the fictitious satellite ground track, and calculate the effective visibility. For the analysis, we carried out a series of repetitive process using the satellite tool kit simulation software developed by Analytical Graphics Incorporated. The lighting states of the penumbra and direct sun were set as the key constraints of the optical observation. The minimum of the observation satellite elevation angle was set to be 20 degree, whereas the maximum of the sun elevation angle was set to be -10 degree which is within the range of the nautical twilight. To select the candidates for the optimal optical observation, the entire globe was divided into 84 sectors in a constant interval, the visibility characteristics of the individual sectors were analyzed, and 17 ground sites were arbitrarily selected and analyzed further. Finally, five optimal ground sites (Khurel Togoot Observatory, Assy-Turgen Observatory, Tubitak National Observatory, Bisdee Tier Optical Astronomy Observatory, and South Africa Astronomical Observatory were determined. The total observation period was decided as one year. To examine the seasonal variation, the simulation was performed for the period of three days or less with respect to spring, summer, fall and winter. In conclusion, we decided the optimal ground sites to perform the optical surveillance and tracking

Jovian decametric radiation seen from Juno, Cassini, STEREO A, WIND, and Earth-based radio observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Imai, M.; Kurth, W. S.; Hospodarsky, G. B.; Bolton, S. J.; Connerney, J. E. P.; Levin, S. M.; Lecacheux, A.; Lamy, L.; Zarka, P.; Clarke, T. E.; Higgins, C. A.

2017-09-01

Jupiter's decametric (DAM) radiation is generated very close to the local gyrofrequency by the electron cyclotron maser instability (CMI). The first two-point common detections of Jovian DAM radiation were made using the Voyager spacecraft and ground-based radio observatories in early 1979, but, due to geometrical constraints and limited flyby duration, a full understanding of the latitudinal beaming of Jovian DAM radiation remains elusive. The stereoscopic DAM radiation viewed from Juno, Cassini, STEREO A, WIND, and Earth-based radio observatories provides a unique opportunity to analyze the CMI emission mechanism and beaming properties.

Education and Outreach Opportunities in New Astronomical Facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Mould, J. R.; Pompea, S.

2002-12-01

Astronomy presents extraordinary opportunities for engaging young people in science from an early age. The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), supported by the National Science Foundation, leverages the attraction of astronomy with a suite of formal and informal education programs that engage our scientists and education and public outreach professionals in effective, strategic programs that capitalize on NOAO's role as a leader in science and in the design of new astronomical facilities. The core of the science education group at NOAO in Tucson consists of a group of Ph.D.-level scientists with experience in educational program management, curriculum and instructional materials development, teacher/scientist partnerships, and teacher professional development. This core group of scientist/educators hybrids has a strong background in earth and space science education as well as experience in working with and teaching about the technology that has enabled new astronomical discoveries. NOAO has a vigorous public affairs/media program and a history of effectively working locally, regionally, and nationally with the media, schools, science centers, and, planetaria. In particular, NOAO has created successful programs exploring how research data and tools can be used most effectively in the classroom. For example, the Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education explores how teachers can most effectively integrate astronomical research on novae, active galactic nuclei, and the Sun into classroom-based investigations. With immersive summer workshops at Kitt Peak National Observatory and the National Solar Observatory at Sacramento Peak, teachers learn research and instrumentation skills and how to encourage and maintain research activities in their classrooms. Some of the new facilities proposed in the recent decadal plan, Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium (National Academy Press), can provide extended opportunities for incorporating

ESO takes the public on an astronomical journey "Around the World in 80 Telescopes"

Science.gov (United States)

2009-03-01

A live 24-hour free public video webcast, "Around the World in 80 Telescopes", will take place from 3 April 09:00 UT/GMT to 4 April 09:00 UT/GMT, chasing day and night around the globe to let viewers "visit" some of the most advanced astronomical telescopes on and off the planet. The webcast, organised by ESO for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), is the first time that so many large observatories have been linked together for a public event. ESO PR Photo 13a/09 Map of Participating Observatories ESO PR Photo 13b/09 100 Hours of Astronomy logo Viewers will see new images of the cosmos, find out what observatories in their home countries or on the other side of the planet are discovering, send in questions and messages, and discover what astronomers are doing right now. Participating telescopes include those at observatories in Chile such as ESO's Very Large Telescope and La Silla, the Hawaii-based telescopes Gemini North and Keck, the Anglo-Australian Telescope, telescopes in the Canary Islands, the Southern African Large Telescope, space-based telescopes such as the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, ESA XMM-Newton and Integral, and many more. "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" will take viewers to every continent, including Antarctica! The webcast production will be hosted at ESO's headquarters near Munich, Germany, with live internet streaming by Ustream.tv. Anyone with a web browser supporting Adobe Flash will be able to follow the show, free of charge, from the website www.100hoursofastronomy.org and be a part of the project by sending messages and questions. The video player can be freely embedded on other websites. TV stations, web portals and science centres can also use the high quality feed. Representatives of the media who wish to report from the "front-line" and interview the team should get in touch. "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" is a major component of the 100 Hours of Astronomy (100HA), a Cornerstone project of the International

Pulsating stars and the Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Suárez, Juan Carlos

2017-09-01

Virtual Observatory is one of the most used internet-based protocols in astronomy. It has become somewhat natural to find, manage, compare, visualize and download observations from very different archives of astronomical observations with no effort. The VO technology beyond that is now being a reality for asteroseismology, not only for observations but also for theoretical models. Here I give a brief description of the most important VO tools related with asteroseismology, as well as a rough outline of the current development in this field.

Artificial intelligence approaches to astronomical observation scheduling

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Mark D.; Miller, Glenn

1988-01-01

Automated scheduling will play an increasing role in future ground- and space-based observatory operations. Due to the complexity of the problem, artificial intelligence technology currently offers the greatest potential for the development of scheduling tools with sufficient power and flexibility to handle realistic scheduling situations. Summarized here are the main features of the observatory scheduling problem, how artificial intelligence (AI) techniques can be applied, and recent progress in AI scheduling for Hubble Space Telescope.

A website for astronomical news in Spanish

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz-Gil, A.

2008-06-01

Noticias del Cosmos is a collection of web pages within the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia's website where we publish short daily summaries of astronomical press releases. Most, if not all of, the releases are originally written in English, and often Spanish readers may find them difficult to understand because not many people are familiar with the scientific language employed in these releases. Noticias del Cosmos has two principal aims. First, we want to communicate the latest astronomical news on a daily basis to a wide Spanish-speaking public who would otherwise not be able to read them because of the language barrier. Second, daily news can be used as a tool to introduce the astronomical topics of the school curriculum in a more immediate and relevant way. Most of the students at school have not yet reached a good enough level in their knowledge of English to fully understand a press release, and Noticias del Cosmos offers them and their teachers this news in their mother tongue. During the regular programme of school visits at the Observatory we use the news as a means of showing that there is still a lot to be discovered. So far the visits to the website have been growing steadily. Between June 2003 and June 2007 we had more than 30,000 visits (excluding 2006). More than 50% of the visits come from Spain, followed by visitors from South and Central America. The feedback we have received from teachers so far has been very positive, showing the usefulness of news items in the classroom when teaching astronomy.

Location selection and layout for LB10, a lunar base at the Lunar North Pole with a liquid mirror observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Detsis, Emmanouil; Doule, Ondrej; Ebrahimi, Aliakbar

2013-04-01

We present the site selection process and urban planning of a Lunar Base for a crew of 10 (LB10), with an infrared astronomical telescope, based on the concept of the Lunar LIquid Mirror Telescope. LB10 is a base designated for permanent human presence on the Moon. The base architecture is based on utilization of inflatable, rigid and regolith structures for different purposes. The location for the settlement is identified through a detailed analysis of surface conditions and terrain parameters around the Lunar North and South Poles. A number of selection criteria were defined regarding construction, astronomical observations, landing and illumination conditions. The location suggested for the settlement is in the vicinity of the North Pole, utilizing the geographical morphology of the area. The base habitat is on a highly illuminated and relatively flat plateau. The observatory in the vicinity of the base, approximately 3.5 kilometers from the Lunar North Pole, inside a crater to shield it from Sunlight. An illustration of the final form of the habitat is also depicted, inspired by the baroque architectural form.

Astronomía gamma con telescopios Cherenkov: hacia un observatorio astronómico abierto a la comunidad

Science.gov (United States)

Rovero, A. C.

Gamma-ray astronomy is opening the way to a universe far more energetic than anyone could have imagined half a century ago. The understanding of the processes of nature which carry a large portion of the energy in the universe, has astrophysical and cosmological implications. The next gen- eration of Cherenkov telescopes, an order of magnitude more sensitive and with higher resolution than the current systems, will mean a significant step forward for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. This paper presents the current status of this field as well as the next generation of telescopes in this energy range, which are being designed for the first international observa- tory open to the astronomical community. The Cherenkov Telescope Array project and the Argentine sites proposed for the southern observatory are described in this paper. FULL TEXT IN SPANISH

Pulsating stars and the Virtual Observatory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suárez Juan Carlos

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Virtual Observatory is one of the most used internet-based protocols in astronomy. It has become somewhat natural to find, manage, compare, visualize and download observations from very different archives of astronomical observations with no effort. The VO technology beyond that is now being a reality for asteroseismology, not only for observations but also for theoretical models. Here I give a brief description of the most important VO tools related with asteroseismology, as well as a rough outline of the current development in this field.

Unmanned observatory for auroral physics study on the Antarctic Continent-Multipoint ground-based observations during the IMS period (1976-1978-

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masaru Ayukawa

1999-07-01

Full Text Available The International Magnetospheric Study (IMS was carried out for three years from 1976. The Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE participated in this IMS project. The main purpose of the IMS project in JARE was the synthetic observation of polar magnetic substorms. In order to study polar magnetic substorms, a multipoint ground observation network was planned around Syowa, including unmanned stations. In the construction of an unmanned observatory system in Antarctica, there have been difficulties, such as insuffcient information about enviromental conditions, the construction support capability, power supply and others. During the IMS period, the U. S. A., former Soviet Union, Australia and the United Kingdom also started to develop unmanned observation systems. In this report, we describe the development of a JARE unmanned observatory for upper atmosphere physics and also the scientific results.

Developing a NASA strategy for the verification of large space telescope observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Crooke, Julie A.; Gunderson, Johanna A.; Hagopian, John G.; Levine, Marie

2006-06-01

In July 2005, the Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation (PA&E) at NASA Headquarters was directed to develop a strategy for verification of the performance of large space telescope observatories, which occurs predominantly in a thermal vacuum test facility. A mission model of the expected astronomical observatory missions over the next 20 years was identified along with performance, facility and resource requirements. Ground testing versus alternatives was analyzed to determine the pros, cons and break points in the verification process. Existing facilities and their capabilities were examined across NASA, industry and other government agencies as well as the future demand for these facilities across NASA's Mission Directorates. Options were developed to meet the full suite of mission verification requirements, and performance, cost, risk and other analyses were performed. Findings and recommendations from the study were presented to the NASA Administrator and the NASA Strategic Management Council (SMC) in February 2006. This paper details the analysis, results, and findings from this study.

Co-location satellite GPS and SLR geodetic techniques at the Felix Aguilar Astronomical Observatory of San Juan, Argentina

Science.gov (United States)

Podestá, R.; Pacheco, A. M.; Alvis Rojas, H.; Quinteros, J.; Podestá, F.; Albornoz, E.; Navarro, A.; Luna, M.

2018-01-01

This work shows the strategy followed for the co-location of the Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) ILRS 7406 telescope and the antenna of the permanent Global Positioning System (GPS) station, located at the Félix Aguilar Astronomical Observatory (OAFA) in San Juan, Argentina. The accomplishment of the co-location consisted in the design, construction, measurement, adjustment and compensation of a geodesic net between the stations SLR and GPS, securing support points solidly built in the soil. The co-location allows the coordinates of the station to be obtained by combining the data of both SLR and GPS techniques, achieving a greater degree of accuracy than individually. The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) considers the co-located stations as the most valuable and important points for the maintenance of terrestrial reference systems and their connection with the celestial ones. The 3 mm precision required by the IERS has been successfully achieved.

The Einstein Observatory: A New Public/Private Observatory Complex for Community Education and Scientific Research

Science.gov (United States)

Sowell, J.

1999-12-01

The Development Authority of Cherokee County (Georgia) is leading a public/private partnership of business/industry professionals, educators, and university scientists that seeks to develop a national prototype educational and scientific research facility for grades K-12, as well as college-level research, that will inspire our youth to become literate in science and technology. In particular, the goal is to make this complex a science, math, and engineering magnet learning facility and to raise the average SAT scores of local area students by 100 points. A dark-site mountain, nestled on the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains at the northern-most edge of Atlanta, will become the home for the "Einstein" Observatory. The complex will have four telescopes: one 50-inch, one 24-inch, and two 16-inch telescopes. Each telescope will have digital cameras and an optic-fiber feed to a single, medium-resolution spectroscope. All four telescopes will be electronically accessible from local schools. Professional astronomers will establish suitable observational research projects and will lead K-12 and college students in the acquisition and analysis of data. Astronomers will also assist the local area schoolteachers in methods for nurturing children's scientific inquiry. The observatory mountain will have 100 platform locations for individual viewing by visiting families, school groups, and amateur astronomers. The Atlanta Astronomer Club will provide numerous evening programs and viewing opportunities for the general public. An accompanying Planetarium & Science Center will be located on the nearby campus of Reinhardt College. The Planetarium & Science Center will be integrated with Reinhardt College's theme of learning focused upon studying the past and present as a basis for projecting the future.

Comparison of monthly nighttime cloud fraction products from MODIS and AIRS and ground-based camera over Manila Observatory (14.64N, 121.07E)

Science.gov (United States)

Gacal, G. F. B.; Lagrosas, N.

2017-12-01

Cloud detection nowadays is primarily achieved by the utilization of various sensors aboard satellites. These include MODIS Aqua, MODIS Terra, and AIRS with products that include nighttime cloud fraction. Ground-based instruments are, however, only secondary to these satellites when it comes to cloud detection. Nonetheless, these ground-based instruments (e.g., LIDARs, ceilometers, and sky-cameras) offer significant datasets about a particular region's cloud cover values. For nighttime operations of cloud detection instruments, satellite-based instruments are more reliably and prominently used than ground-based ones. Therefore if a ground-based instrument for nighttime operations is operated, it ought to produce reliable scientific datasets. The objective of this study is to do a comparison between the results of a nighttime ground-based instrument (sky-camera) and that of MODIS Aqua and MODIS Terra. A Canon Powershot A2300 is placed ontop of Manila Observatory (14.64N, 121.07E) and is configured to take images of the night sky at 5min intervals. To detect pixels with clouds, the pictures are converted to grayscale format. Thresholding technique is used to screen pixels with cloud and pixels without clouds. If the pixel value is greater than 17, it is considered as a cloud; otherwise, a noncloud (Gacal et al., 2016). This algorithm is applied to the data gathered from Oct 2015 to Oct 2016. A scatter plot between satellite cloud fraction in the area covering the area 14.2877N, 120.9869E, 14.7711N and 121.4539E and ground cloud cover is graphed to find the monthly correlation. During wet season (June - November), the satellite nighttime cloud fraction vs ground measured cloud cover produce an acceptable R2 (Aqua= 0.74, Terra= 0.71, AIRS= 0.76). However, during dry season, poor R2 values are obtained (AIRS= 0.39, Aqua & Terra = 0.01). The high correlation during wet season can be attributed to a high probability that the camera and satellite see the same clouds

Astroinformation resource of the Ukrainian virtual observatory: Joint observational data archive, scientific tasks, and software

Science.gov (United States)

Vavilova, I. B.; Pakulyak, L. K.; Shlyapnikov, A. A.; Protsyuk, Yu. I.; Savanevich, V. E.; Andronov, I. L.; Andruk, V. N.; Kondrashova, N. N.; Baklanov, A. V.; Golovin, A. V.; Fedorov, P. N.; Akhmetov, V. S.; Isak, I. I.; Mazhaev, A. E.; Golovnya, V. V.; Virun, N. V.; Zolotukhina, A. V.; Kazantseva, L. V.; Virnina, N. A.; Breus, V. V.; Kashuba, S. G.; Chinarova, L. L.; Kudashkina, L. S.; Epishev, V. P.

2012-04-01

The overview of the most important components of the national project - Ukrainian Virtual Observatory (UkrVO) - is presented.Among these components, there is the establishment of a Joint Digital Archive (JDA) of observational data obtained at Ukrainian observatories since 1890, including astronegative's JDA (more than 200 thousand plates). Because of this task requires a VO-oriented software, such issues as software verification of content integrity and JDA administration; compliance of image for mats to IVOA standards; photometric and astrometry calibration of images. Among other developments of local UkrVO software the means of automatic registration of moving celestial objects at the starry sky followed by visual inspection of the results as well as stellar fields image processing software are considered. Research projects that use local UkrVO data archives, namely, an analysis of long observational series of active galactic nuclei, the study of solar flares and solar active regions based on spectral observational archives, research and discovery of variable stars, the study of stellar fields in vicinity gamma-ray bursts are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the CoLiTec program, which allows to increase significantly the number of registered small solar system bodies, and to dis cover new ones, in particular, with the help of this program the comets C/2010 X1 (Elenin) and P/2011 N 01 were discovered in ISON-NM observatory. Development of the UkrVO JDA pro to type is noted which provides access to data bases of MAO NAS of Ukraine, Nikolaev Astronomical Observatory and L'viv Astronomical Observatory.

The Victorian Amateur Astronomer: Independent Astronomical Research in Britain 1820-1920

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Allan

1999-01-01

This is the first book to look in detail at amateur astronomy in Victorian Britain. It deals with the technical issues that were active in Victorian astronomy, and reviews the problems of finance, patronage and the dissemination of scientific ideas. It also examines the relationship between the amateur and professional in Britain. It contains a wealth of previously unpublished biographical and anecdotal material, and an extended bibliography with notes incorporating much new scholarship. In The Victorian Amateur Astronomer, Allan Chapman shows that while on the continent astronomical research was lavishly supported by the state, in Britain such research was paid for out of the pockets of highly educated, wealthy gentlemen the so-called Grand Amateurs . It was these powerful individuals who commissioned the telescopes, built the observatories, ran the learned societies, and often stole discoveries from their state-employed colleagues abroad. In addition to the Grand Amateurs , Victorian Britain also contained many self-taught amateurs. Although they belonged to no learned societies, these people provide a barometer of the popularity of astronomy in that age. In the late 19th century, the comfortable middle classes clergymen, lawyers, physicians and retired military officers took to astronomy as a serious hobby. They formed societies which focused on observation, lectures and discussions, and it was through this medium that women first came to play a significant role in British astronomy. Readership: Undergraduate and postgraduate students studying the history of science or humanities, professional historians of science, engineering and technology, particularly those with an interest in astronomy, the development of astronomical ideas, scientific instrument makers, and amateur astronomers.

New Platforms for Suborbital Astronomical Observations and In Situ Atmospheric Measurements: Spacecraft, Instruments, and Facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Rodway, K.; DeForest, C. E.; Diller, J.; Vilas, F.; Sollitt, L. S.; Reyes, M. F.; Filo, A. S.; Anderson, E.

2014-12-01

Suborbital astronomical observations have over 50 years' history using NASA's sounding rockets and experimental space planes. The new commercial space industry is developing suborbital reusable launch vehicles (sRLV's) to provide low-cost, flexible, and frequent access to space at ~100 km altitude. In the case of XCOR Aerospace's Lynx spacecraft, the vehicle design and capabilities work well for hosting specially designed experiments that can be flown with a human-tended researcher or alone with the pilot on a customized mission. Some of the first-generation instruments and facilities that will conduct solar observations on dedicated Lynx science missions include the SwRI Solar Instrument Pointing Platform (SSIPP) and Atsa Suborbital Observatory, as well as KickSat sprites, which are picosatellites for in situ atmospheric and solar phenomena measurements. The SSIPP is a demonstration two-stage pointed solar observatory that operates inside the Lynx cockpit. The coarse pointing stage includes the pilot in the feedback loop, and the fine stage stabilizes the solar image to achieve arcsecond class pointing. SSIPP is a stepping-stone to future external instruments that can operate with larger apertures and shorter wavelengths in the solar atmosphere. The Planetary Science Institute's Atsa Suborbital Observatory combines the strengths of ground-based observatories and space-based observing to create a facility where a telescope is maintained and used interchangeably with either in-house facility instruments or user-provided instruments. The Atsa prototype is a proof of concept, hand-guided camera that mounts on the interior of the Lynx cockpit to test target acquisition and tracking for human-operated suborbital astronomy. KickSat sprites are mass-producible, one inch printed circuit boards (PCBs) populated by programmable off the shelf microprocessors and radios for real time data transmission. The sprite PCBs can integrate chip-based radiometers, magnetometers

Beyond the Observatory: Reflections on the Centennial

Science.gov (United States)

Devorkin, D. H.

1999-05-01

One of the many unexpected side-benefits of acting as editor of the AAS centennial volume was the chance to take a fresh look at some of the personalities who helped to shape the American Astronomical Society. A common characteristic of these people was their energy, compassion and drive to go "Beyond the Observatory," to borrow a phrase from Harlow Shapley. But what did going `beyond the observatory' mean to Shapley, or to the others who shaped and maintained the Society in its first one hundred years of life? Just as the discipline of astronomy has changed in profound ways in the past century, so has the American Astronomical Society changed, along with the people who have been its leaders and its sustainers and the culture that has fostered it. The Centennial meeting of the Society offers a chance to reflect on the people who have given American astronomy its sense of community identity.

Continuous day-time time series of E-region equatorial electric fields derived from ground magnetic observatory data

Science.gov (United States)

Alken, P.; Chulliat, A.; Maus, S.

2012-12-01

The day-time eastward equatorial electric field (EEF) in the ionospheric E-region plays an important role in equatorial ionospheric dynamics. It is responsible for driving the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) current system, equatorial vertical ion drifts, and the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). Due to its importance, there is much interest in accurately measuring and modeling the EEF. However, there are limited sources of direct EEF measurements with full temporal and spatial coverage of the equatorial ionosphere. In this work, we propose a method of estimating a continuous day-time time series of the EEF at any longitude, provided there is a pair of ground magnetic observatories in the region which can accurately track changes in the strength of the EEJ. First, we derive a climatological unit latitudinal current profile from direct overflights of the CHAMP satellite and use delta H measurements from the ground observatory pair to determine the magnitude of the current. The time series of current profiles is then inverted for the EEF by solving the governing electrodynamic equations. While this method has previously been applied and validated in the Peruvian sector, in this work we demonstrate the method using a pair of magnetometers in Africa (Samogossoni, SAM, 0.18 degrees magnetic latitude and Tamanrasset, TAM, 11.5 degrees magnetic latitude) and validate the resulting EEF values against the CINDI ion velocity meter (IVM) instrument on the C/NOFS satellite. We find a very good 80% correlation with C/NOFS IVM measurements and a root-mean-square difference of 9 m/s in vertical drift velocity. This technique can be extended to any pair of ground observatories which can capture the day-time strength of the EEJ. We plan to apply this work to more observatory pairs around the globe and distribute real-time equatorial electric field values to the community.

Pulkovskij martirolog: sotrudniki i aspiranty GAO - zhertvy vojny i blokady %t Pulkovo book of martyrs: staff members and graduate students of the main observatory as victum of the war and blockade

Science.gov (United States)

Zhukov, V. Yu.; Soboleva, T. V.

The tragedy of war and the blockade of Leningrad did not fail to have its impact on Pulkovo and its inhabitants. Many of the latter did not survive to witness the Victory Day, and the Astronomical Capital of the World - as the Pulkovo Observatory was called in the past - was razed to the ground. To commemorate the staff members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Main (Pulkovo) Observatory that perished in the war, a memorial board has been installed with 13 names engraved on it. Unfortunately, this figure is four times less than the Main Observatory really lost - roughly every third staff member lost his/her life in the war. The paper is the first endeavour to provide the complete and accurate list of losses that the Russian Academy of Sciences Main Observatory bore as a result of the war and blockade. Fifty-three died of hunger during the time of blockade. This mournful list includes astronomers proper as well as graduate students, technical and servicing staff members. It is not the names of Leningrad Pulkovites only that the authors of the above paper mention. Seeking to pay memorial honours to all staff members and graduate students of the Main Observatory who became victims of the war and blockade, the authors also adduce the names of staff members of the Nikolaevsk and Simeiz Branches of the Main Observatory, as well as those who worked in the Observatory before and in the very beginning of the war but were not formally its staff members at the moment they died. Making the names of the perished Pulkovites known is a tribute of commemoration to all Leningraders that were in the city during the blockade. The book of martyrs above is based on the unpublished documents of the Main Observatory Archive and the data extracted from the St. Petersburg Book of Memory, as well as other materials. The names are arranged alphabetically, and the structure of each entry is the same. The paper provides the foreword and comments.

Astronomy and astrophysics communication in the UCM Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Crespo-Chacón, I.; de Castro, E.; Díaz, C.; Gallego, J.; Gálvez, M. C.; Hernán-Obispo, M.; López-Santiago, J.; Montes, D.; Pascual, S.; Verdet, A.; Villar, V.; Zamorano, J.

We present a summary of the last activities of science communication that have taken place in the Observatorio de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM Observatory) on the occasion of the Third Science Week of the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (3-16 November 2003), including guided tours through the observatory facilities, solar observations, and several talks. Moreover the current telescopes, instruments and tools of the UCM Observatory have allowed us to organize other communicating activities such as the live observation, together with its internet broadcast, of total lunar eclipses and other exceptional astronomical events as the Venus transit that took place in 8 June 2004.

Observatories of Sawai Jai Singh II

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson-Roehr, Susan N.

Sawai Jai Singh II, Maharaja of Amber and Jaipur, constructed five observatories in the second quarter of the eighteenth century in the north Indian cities of Shahjahanabad (Delhi), Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura, and Varanasi. Believing the accuracy of his naked-eye observations would improve with larger, more stable instruments, Jai Singh reengineered common brass instruments using stone construction methods. His applied ingenuity led to the invention of several outsize masonry instruments, the majority of which were used to determine the coordinates of celestial objects with reference to the local horizon. During Jai Singh's lifetime, the observatories were used to make observations in order to update existing ephemerides such as the Zīj-i Ulugh Begī. Jai Singh established communications with European astronomers through a number of Jesuits living and working in India. In addition to dispatching ambassadorial parties to Portugal, he invited French and Bavarian Jesuits to visit and make use of the observatories in Shahjahanabad and Jaipur. The observatories were abandoned after Jai Singh's death in 1743 CE. The Mathura observatory was disassembled completely before 1857. The instruments at the remaining observatories were restored extensively during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Study and use of an infrared camera optimized for ground based observations in the 10 micron wavelength range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Remy, Sophie

1991-01-01

Astronomical observations in the 10 micron atmospheric window provide very important information for many of astrophysical topics. But because of the very large terrestrial photon background at that wavelength, ground based observations have been impeded. On the other band, the ground based telescopes offer a greater angular resolution than the spatially based telescopes. The recent development of detector arrays for the mid infrared range made easier the development of infrared cameras with optimized detectors for astronomical observations from the ground. The CAMIRAS infrared camera, built by the 'Service d'Astrophysique' in Saclay is the instrument we have studied and we present its performances. Its sensitivity, given for an integration time of one minute on source and a signal to noise ratio of 3, is 0.15 Jy for punctual sources, and 20 mJy arcs"-"2 for extended sources. But we need to get rid of the enormous photon background so we have to find a better way of observation based on modulation techniques as 'chopping' or 'nodding'. Thus we show that a modulation about 1 Hz is satisfactory with our detectors arrays without perturbing the signal to noise ratio. As we have a good instrument and because we are able to get rid of the photon background, we can study astronomical objects. Results from a comet, dusty stellar disks, and an ultra-luminous galaxy are presented. (author) [fr

Identifying clouds over the Pierre Auger Observatory using infrared satellite data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abreu, Pedro; et al.,

2013-12-01

We describe a new method of identifying night-time clouds over the Pierre Auger Observatory using infrared data from the Imager instruments on the GOES-12 and GOES-13 satellites. We compare cloud identifications resulting from our method to those obtained by the Central Laser Facility of the Auger Observatory. Using our new method we can now develop cloud probability maps for the 3000 km^2 of the Pierre Auger Observatory twice per hour with a spatial resolution of ~2.4 km by ~5.5 km. Our method could also be applied to monitor cloud cover for other ground-based observatories and for space-based observatories.

International lunar observatory / power station: from Hawaii to the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Durst, S.

Astronomy's great advantages from the Moon are well known - stable surface, diffuse atmosphere, long cool nights (14 days), low gravity, far side radio frequency silence. A large variety of astronomical instruments and observations are possible - radio, optical and infrared telescopes and interferometers; interferometry for ultra- violet to sub -millimeter wavelengths and for very long baselines, including Earth- Moon VLBI; X-ray, gamma-ray, cosmic ray and neutrino detection; very low frequency radio observation; and more. Unparalleled advantages of lunar observatories for SETI, as well as for local surveillance, Earth observation, and detection of Earth approaching objects add significant utility to lunar astronomy's superlatives. At least nine major conferences in the USA since 1984 and many elsewhere, as well as ILEWG, IAF, IAA, LEDA and other organizations' astronomy-from-the-Moon research indicate a lunar observatory / power station, robotic at first, will be one of the first mission elements for a permanent lunar base. An international lunar observatory will be a transcending enterprise, highly principled, indispensable, soundly and broadly based, and far- seeing. Via Astra - From Hawaii to the Moon: The astronomy and scie nce communities, national space agencies and aerospace consortia, commercial travel and tourist enterprises and those aspiring to advance humanity's best qualities, such as Aloha, will recognize Hawaii in the 21st century as a new major support area and pan- Pacific port of embarkation to space, the Moon and beyond. Astronomical conditions and facilities on Hawaii's Mauna Kea provide experience for construction and operation of observatories on the Moon. Remote and centrally isolated, with diffuse atmosphere, sub-zero temperature and limited working mobility, the Mauna Kea complex atop the 4,206 meter summit of the largest mountain on the planet hosts the greatest collection of large astronomical telescopes on Earth. Lunar, extraterrestrial

Visits to La Plata Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Feinstein, A.

1985-03-01

La Plata Observatory will welcome visitors to ESO-La Silla that are willing to make a stop at Buenos Aires on their trip to Chile or on their way back. There is a nice guesthouse at the Observatory that can be used, for a couple of days or so, by astronomers interested in visiting the Observatory and delivering talks on their research work to the Argentine colleagues. No payments can, however, be made at present. La Plata is at 60 km from Buenos Aires. In the same area lie the Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica dei Espacio (IAFE), in Buenos Aires proper, and the Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia (IAR). about 40 km from Buenos Aires on the way to La Plata. Those interested should contacl: Sr Decano Prof. Cesar A. Mondinalli, or Dr Alejandro Feinstein, Observatorio Astron6mico, Paseo dei Bosque, 1900 La Plata, Argentina. Telex: 31216 CESLA AR.

Progress on the New York State Observatory: a new 12-meter astronomical telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Sebring, T.; O'Dea, C.; Baum, S.; Teran, J.; Loewen, N.; Stutzki, C.; Egerman, R.; Bonomi, G.

2014-07-01

Over the past two years, the New York Astronomical Corporation (NYAC), the business arm of the Astronomical Society of New York (ASNY), has continued planning and technical studies toward construction of a 12-meter class optical telescope for the use of all New York universities and research institutions. Four significant technical studies have been performed investigating design opportunities for the facility, the dome, the telescope optics, and the telescope mount. The studies were funded by NYAC and performed by companies who have provided these subsystems for large astronomical telescopes in the past. In each case, innovative and cost effective approaches were identified, developed, analyzed, and initial cost estimates developed. As a group, the studies show promise that this telescope could be built at historically low prices. As the project continues forward, NYAC intends to broaden the collaboration, pursue funding, to continue to develop the telescope and instrument designs, and to further define the scientific mission. The vision of a historically large telescope dedicated to all New York institutions continues to grow and find new adherents.

Development and manufacturing of panoramic Stokes polarimeter using the polarization films in the Main Astronomical Observatory of NAS of Ukraine

Science.gov (United States)

Vidmachenko, A. P.; Ivanov, Yu. S.; Syniavskyi, I. I.; Sergeev, A. V.

2015-08-01

In the Main Astronomical Observatory of NAS of Ukraine is proposed and implemented the concept of the imaging Stokes polarimeter [1-5]. This device allows carrying out measurements of the four Stokes vector components at the same time, in a wide field, and without any restrictions on the relative aperture of the optical system. Its scheme is developed so that only by turning wheel with replaceable elements, photopolarimeter could be transformed into a low resolution spectropolarimeter. The device has four film's polarizers with positional angles 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°. The device uses a system of special deflecting prisms in each channel. These prisms were achromatizing in the spectral range of 420-850 nm [2], the distortion of the polarimeter optical system is less than 0.65%. In manufacturing version of spectropolarimeter provided for the possibility of using working on passing the diffraction grating with a frequency up to 100 lines/mm. Has begun the laboratory testing of instrument. References. 1. Sinyavskii I.I., Ivanov Yu. S., Vidmachenko Anatoliy P., Karpov N.V. Panoramic Stokes-polarimeter // Ecological bulettin of research centers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. - 2013. - V. 3, No 4. - P. 123-127. 2. Sinyavskii I. I., Ivanov Yu. S., Vil'machenko A. P. Concept of the construction, of the optical setup of a panoramic Stokes polarimeter for small telescopes // Journal of Optical Technology. - 2013. - V. 80, Issue 9. - P. 545-548. 3. Vidmachenko A. P., Ivanov Yu. S., Morozhenko A. V., Nevodovsky E. P., Syniavskyi I. I., Sosonkin M. G. Spectropolarimeter of ground-based accompanying for the space experiment "Planetary Monitoring" // Kosmichna Nauka i Tekhnologiya. - 2007. - V. 13, No. 1, p. 63 - 70. 4. Yatskiv Ya. S., Vidmachenko A. P., Morozhenko A. V., Sosonkin M. G., Ivanov Yu. S., Syniavskyi I. I. Spectropolarimetric device for overatmospheric investigations of Solar System bodies // Kosmichna Nauka i Tekhnologiya. - 2008. - V. 14, No. 2. - P. 56

Preserving and Archiving Astronomical Photographic Plates

Science.gov (United States)

Castelaz, M. W.; Cline, J. D.

2005-05-01

Astronomical objects change with time. New observations complement past observations recorded on photographic plates. Analyses of changes provide essential routes to information about an object's formation, constitution and evolution. Preserving a century of photographic plate observations is thus of paramount importance. Plate collections are presently widely dispersed; plates may be stored in poor conditions, and are effectively inaccessible to both researchers and historians. We describe a planned project at Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute to preserve the collections of astronomical plates in the United States by gathering them into a single storage location. Collections will be sorted, cleaned, and cataloged on-line so as to provide access to researchers. Full scientific and historic use of the material then requires the observations themselves to be accessible digitally. The project's goal will be the availability of these data as a unique, fully-maintained scientific and educational resource. The new archive will support trans-disciplinary research such as the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere, library information science, trends in local weather patterns, and impacts of urbanization on telescope use, while the hand-written observatory logs will be a valuable resource for science historians and biographers.

Site Protection Efforts at the AURA Observatory in Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, R. Chris; Smith, Malcolm G.; Sanhueza, Pedro

2015-08-01

The AURA Observatory (AURA-O) was the first of the major international observatories to be established in northern Chile to exploit the optimal astronomical conditions available there. The site was originally established in 1962 to host the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). It now hosts more than 20 operational telescopes, including some of the leading U.S. and international astronomical facilities in the southern hemisphere, such as the Blanco 4m telescope on Cerro Tololo and the Gemini-South and SOAR telescopes on Cerro Pachón. Construction of the next generation facility, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), has recently begun on Cerro Pachón, while additional smaller telescopes continue to be added to the complement on Cerro Tololo.While the site has become a major platform for international astronomical facilities over the last 50 years, development in the region has led to an ever-increasing threat of light pollution around the site. AURA-O has worked closely with local, regional, and national authorities and institutions (in particular with the Chilean Ministries of Environment and Foreign Relations) in an effort to protect the site so that future generations of telescopes, as well as future generations of Chileans, can benefit from the dark skies in the region. We will summarize our efforts over the past 15 years to highlight the importance of dark sky protection through education and public outreach as well as through more recent promotion of IDA certifications in the region and support for the World Heritage initiatives described by others in this conference.

Under Connecticut Skies: Exploring 100 Years of Astronomy at Van Vleck Observatory in Middletown, Connecticut

Science.gov (United States)

Kilgard, Roy E.; Williams, Amrys; Erickson, Paul; Herbst, William; Redfield, Seth

2017-01-01

Under Connecticut Skies examines the history of astronomy at Van Vleck Observatory, located on the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Since its dedication in June of 1916, Van Vleck has been an important site of astronomical research, teaching, and public outreach. Over a thousand visitors pass through the observatory each year, and regular public observing nights happen year-round in cooperation with the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford. Our project explores the place-based nature of astronomical research, the scientific instruments, labor, and individuals that have connected places around the world in networks of observation, and the broader history of how observational astronomy has linked local people, amateur observers, professional astronomers, and the tools and objects that have facilitated their work under Connecticut’s skies over the past 100 years. Our research team has produced a historical exhibition to help commemorate the observatory’s centennial that opened to the public in May of 2016. Our work included collecting, documenting, and interpretting this history through objects, archival documents, oral histories, photographs, and more. The result is both a museum and a working history "laboratory" for use by student and professional researchers. In addition to the exhibit itself, we have engaged in new interpretive programs to help bring the history of astronomy to life. Future work will include digitization of documents and teaching slides, further collection of oral histories, and expanding the collection to the web for use by off-site researches.

The Lowell Observatory Predoctoral Scholar Program

Science.gov (United States)

Prato, Lisa; Nofi, Larissa

2018-01-01

Lowell Observatory is pleased to solicit applications for our Predoctoral Scholar Fellowship Program. Now beginning its tenth year, this program is designed to provide unique research opportunities to graduate students in good standing, currently enrolled at Ph.D. granting institutions. Lowell staff research spans a wide range of topics, from astronomical instrumentation, to icy bodies in our solar system, exoplanet science, stellar populations, star formation, and dwarf galaxies. Strong collaborations, the new Ph.D. program at Northern Arizona University, and cooperative links across the greater Flagstaff astronomical community create a powerful multi-institutional locus in northern Arizona. Lowell Observatory's new 4.3 meter Discovery Channel Telescope is operating at full science capacity and boasts some of the most cutting-edge and exciting capabilities available in optical/infrared astronomy. Student research is expected to lead to a thesis dissertation appropriate for graduation at the doctoral level at the student's home institution. For more information, see http://www2.lowell.edu/rsch/predoc.php and links therein. Applications for Fall 2018 are due by May 1, 2018; alternate application dates will be considered on an individual basis.

Polar Motion Studies and NOAA's Legacy of International Scientific Cooperation: Ukiah and Gaithersburg Latitude Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Caccamise, D. J., II; Stone, W. A.

2017-12-01

In 1895, the International Geodetic Association invited the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) to join in an unprecedented international effort to observe and measure the earth's polar motion. This effort was in response to the American astronomer Seth C. Chandler Jr. announcing his 1891 discovery that the earth's axis of rotation—and hence the direction of true north—wobbles within the earth with a period of about 14 months, varying latitude everywhere on the globe. In 1899, two astro-geodetic observatories were built in Gaithersburg, Maryland and Ukiah, California with three others in Caloforte, Italy; Kitab, Russia (now Uzbekistan); and Mizusawa, Japan. (A sixth station was located and operated at an astronomical observatory in Cincinnati, Ohio until 1916 using instruments loaned by USC&GS). All five observatories were located along the same parallel - approximately 35 degrees - 8 minutes. The observatories were decommissioned in 1982, and subsequently, NOAA deeded the two remaining U.S. observatories to the cities of Gaithersburg and Ukiah. The observatories and adjacent property were to be used as parkland. Both cities have restored the observatories and opened public parks. Recently, Gaithersburg (Ukiah in progress) has had its latitude observatory dedicated as a National Historic Landmark. In 2014-15, the National Geodetic Survey (NGS, the present-day NOAA successor to the USC&GS) loaned the original zenith telescopes to the communities, returning the observatories to their original configuration. The contribution of NOAA observers and the data collected is still important to astronomers and geophysicists and has practical applications in spacecraft navigation and geospatial positioning. This poster will bring to fruition this multiyear effort among partners by providing examples of NOAA's mission and contribution to science, service, and stewardship at both geodetic observatories, through programs and historic exhibits for students and the

The University of Montana's Blue Mountain Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Friend, D. B.

2004-12-01

The University of Montana's Department of Physics and Astronomy runs the state of Montana's only professional astronomical observatory. The Observatory, located on nearby Blue Mountain, houses a 16 inch Boller and Chivens Cassegrain reflector (purchased in 1970), in an Ash dome. The Observatory sits just below the summit ridge, at an elevation of approximately 6300 feet. Our instrumentation includes an Op-Tec SSP-5A photoelectric photometer and an SBIG ST-9E CCD camera. We have the only undergraduate astronomy major in the state (technically a physics major with an astronomy option), so our Observatory is an important component of our students' education. Students have recently carried out observing projects on the photometry of variable stars and color photometry of open clusters and OB associations. In my poster I will show some of the data collected by students in their observing projects. The Observatory is also used for public open houses during the summer months, and these have become very popular: at times we have had 300 visitors in a single night.

SCIENTIFIC EFFICIENCY OF GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abt, Helmut A.

2012-01-01

I scanned the six major astronomical journals of 2008 for all 1589 papers that are based on new data obtained from ground-based optical/IR telescopes worldwide. Then I collected data on numbers of papers, citations to them in 3+ years, the most-cited papers, and annual operating costs. These data are assigned to four groups by telescope aperture. For instance, while the papers from telescopes with an aperture >7 m average 1.29 more citations than those with an aperture of 2 to 7 m) telescopes. I wonder why the large telescopes do so relatively poorly and suggest possible reasons. I also found that papers based on archival data, such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, produce 10.6% as many papers and 20.6% as many citations as those based on new data. Also, the 577.2 papers based on radio data produced 36.3% as many papers and 33.6% as many citations as the 1589 papers based on optical/IR telescopes.

The SOAR Telescope Project Southern Observatory for Astronomical Research (SOAR)

Science.gov (United States)

2003-03-21

completed SOAR dome and facility. 2. Dome The preliminary design of the dome was handled by M3 (US). A Brazilian firm, Equatorial Sistemas led the...for the Gemini Telescope during construction, now Project Manager at the National Solar Observatory • Robert Shelton, Provost of the University on

Astronomical random numbers for quantum foundations experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Calvin; Brown, Amy; Nguyen, Hien; Friedman, Andrew S.; Kaiser, David I.; Gallicchio, Jason

2018-04-01

Photons from distant astronomical sources can be used as a classical source of randomness to improve fundamental tests of quantum nonlocality, wave-particle duality, and local realism through Bell's inequality and delayed-choice quantum eraser tests inspired by Wheeler's cosmic-scale Mach-Zehnder interferometer gedanken experiment. Such sources of random numbers may also be useful for information-theoretic applications such as key distribution for quantum cryptography. Building on the design of an astronomical random number generator developed for the recent cosmic Bell experiment [Handsteiner et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 060401 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.060401], in this paper we report on the design and characterization of a device that, with 20-nanosecond latency, outputs a bit based on whether the wavelength of an incoming photon is greater than or less than ≈700 nm. Using the one-meter telescope at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Table Mountain Observatory, we generated random bits from astronomical photons in both color channels from 50 stars of varying color and magnitude, and from 12 quasars with redshifts up to z =3.9 . With stars, we achieved bit rates of ˜1 ×106Hz/m 2 , limited by saturation of our single-photon detectors, and with quasars of magnitudes between 12.9 and 16, we achieved rates between ˜102 and 2 ×103Hz /m2 . For bright quasars, the resulting bitstreams exhibit sufficiently low amounts of statistical predictability as quantified by the mutual information. In addition, a sufficiently high fraction of bits generated are of true astronomical origin in order to address both the locality and freedom-of-choice loopholes when used to set the measurement settings in a test of the Bell-CHSH inequality.

Strasbourg Astronomical Data Center (CDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F Genova

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The Centre de Donnees astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS, created in 1972, has been a pioneer in the dissemination of digital scientific data. Ensuring sustainability for several decades has been a major issue because science and technology evolve continuously and the data flow increases endlessly. The paper briefly describes CDS activities, major services, and its R&D strategy to take advantage of new technologies. The next frontiers for CDS are the new Web 2.0/3.0 paradigm and, at a more general level, global interoperability of astronomical on-line resources in the Virtual Observatory framework.

Peering into space with the Morocco Oukaïmeden Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Benkhaldoun, Zouhair

2018-05-01

Moroccan scientific production in astronomy and astrophysics has shown sustained growth since the late 1980s. This growth is largely due to the dynamism of an increasingly entrepreneurial community and to the creation of an astronomical observatory in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains.

Biographical encyclopedia of astronomers

CERN Document Server

Trimble, Virginia; Williams, Thomas; Bracher, Katherine; Jarrell, Richard; Marché, Jordan; Palmeri, JoAnn; Green, Daniel

2014-01-01

The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers is a unique and valuable resource for historians and astronomers alike. It includes approx. 1850 biographical sketches on astronomers from antiquity to modern times. It is the collective work of 430 authors edited by an editorial board of 8 historians and astronomers. This reference provides biographical information on astronomers and cosmologists by utilizing contemporary historical scholarship. The fully corrected and updated second edition adds approximately 300 biographical sketches. Based on ongoing research and feedback from the community, the new entries will fill gaps and provide expansions. In addition, greater emphasis on Russo phone astronomers and radio astronomers is given. Individual entries vary from 100 to 1500 words, including the likes of the super luminaries such as Newton and Einstein, as well as lesser-known astronomers like Galileo's acolyte, Mario Guiducci.

Proceedings of the VI Serbian-Bulgarian Astronomical Conference, May 7 - 11 2008, Belgrade, Serbia

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitrijević, M. S.; Tsvetkov, M.; Popović, L. C.; Golev, V.

2009-07-01

The Sixth Serbian-Bulgarian Astronomical Conference was organized by Belgrade Astronomical Observatory, and held in Belgrade, in the building of Mathematical Faculty in Jagiceva Street, from 75th to 11th May 2008. Co-organizers were Mathematical Faculty, Astronomical Society "Rudjer Boskovic", Institute of Astronomy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Space Research Institute of BAS and Department of Astronomy of the University of Sofia. Co-chairmen of the Scientific Organizing Committee were Milan Dimitrijevic and Milcho Tsvetkov and Co-vice chairmen Luka C. Popovic and Valeri Golev. Chair of the Local Organizing Committee was Andjelka Kovacevic. The conference [was] attended by 58 participants. From Serbia were 36, from Belgrade Astronomical Observatory, Mathematical Faculty, Faculty of Sciences from Nis, Institute of Physics from Zemum, High School for pedagogues of occupational studies from Aleksinac, Faculty of Sciences from Kragujevac, Mathematical Institute of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Astronomical Society "Rudjer Boskovic" and Astronomical Society "Magellanic Cloud." From Bulgaria were present 17 colleagues: Svetlana Boeva, Ana Borisova, Momchil Dechev, Peter Duchlev, Lostadinka Koleva, Georgi Petrov, Vasil Popov, Konstatin Stavrev, Katya Ysvetkova and Milcho Tsvetkov from Institute of Astronomy of BAS, Rumen Bogdanovski and Krasmimira Ianova from Space Research Institute of BAS, Georgi R. Ivanov, Georgi Petrov and Grigor Nikolov from Department of Astronomy, Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski,", Yavor Chapanov from Central Laboratory for Geodesy of BAS and Petya Pavlova from Technical University of Sofia, Branch Plovdiv. Besides participants from Serbia and Bulgaria the Conference [was] attended [by] Vlado Milicevic from Canada, Jan Vondrak from Czech Republic, Aytap Sezer from Turkey and Tetyana Sergeeva and Alexandr Sergeev from Ukraine. On the Conference were presented 13 invited lectures, 22 short talks and 35 posters, in total

Heber D. Curtis: The Re-entry Graduate Student at UVa Who Became an Outstanding Dynamical Astronomer

Science.gov (United States)

Osterbrock, D. E.

1998-09-01

Heber D. Curtis, the great pioneer of nebular and galactic research, later observatory director at Allegheny and then at the University of Michigan, was a dynamical astronomer in the earliest days of photographic radial-velocity measurements. He did his undergraduate work in classical languages at Michigan, where as a student he showed no apparent interest in astronomy. Curtis's first jobs were teaching Latin and Greek at Napa College, then at the College of the Pacific. Both had small Clark refractors and he began observing, then measuring, visual double stars. He decided to become an astronomer, and spent the summers of 1897 and 1898 as a special student at Lick Observatory, and of 1899 at Ann Arbor. In 1900, at the age of 28, married and with two small children, Curtis entered the University of Virginia as a full-time graduate student. Both Yerkes and Lick Observatories had declined to accept him. At Charlottesville Curtis did his Ph.D. thesis on the orbit of Comet 1898 I, received his degree in 1902, and immediately joined the Lick staff. His work on spectroscopic binaries and high-velocity stars at Mount Hamilton and at the Lick Southern Hemisphere Observatory, will be described in this paper. W. W. Campbell and Curtis published the First Catalogue of Spectroscopic Binaries in 1905; it listed all 140 of these objects then known. In 1909, Curtis was recalled to Lick to take over the Crossley reflector and thus left the field of dynamical astronomy. At Santiago, his assistant was George F. Paddock, a UVa M.A. in astronomy who based his Ph.D. thesis on Chile observational data. When Ormond Stone, UVa professor of astronomy and Leander McCormick Observatory director, retired in 1912, Curtis was the first choice to succeed him, but declined the post to remain at Lick.

Laser Guidestar Satellite for Ground-based Adaptive Optics Imaging of Geosynchronous Satellites and Astronomical Targets

Science.gov (United States)

Marlow, W. A.; Cahoy, K.; Males, J.; Carlton, A.; Yoon, H.

2015-12-01

Real-time observation and monitoring of geostationary (GEO) satellites with ground-based imaging systems would be an attractive alternative to fielding high cost, long lead, space-based imagers, but ground-based observations are inherently limited by atmospheric turbulence. Adaptive optics (AO) systems are used to help ground telescopes achieve diffraction-limited seeing. AO systems have historically relied on the use of bright natural guide stars or laser guide stars projected on a layer of the upper atmosphere by ground laser systems. There are several challenges with this approach such as the sidereal motion of GEO objects relative to natural guide stars and limitations of ground-based laser guide stars; they cannot be used to correct tip-tilt, they are not point sources, and have finite angular sizes when detected at the receiver. There is a difference between the wavefront error measured using the guide star compared with the target due to cone effect, which also makes it difficult to use a distributed aperture system with a larger baseline to improve resolution. Inspired by previous concepts proposed by A.H. Greenaway, we present using a space-based laser guide starprojected from a satellite orbiting the Earth. We show that a nanosatellite-based guide star system meets the needs for imaging GEO objects using a low power laser even from 36,000 km altitude. Satellite guide star (SGS) systemswould be well above atmospheric turbulence and could provide a small angular size reference source. CubeSatsoffer inexpensive, frequent access to space at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems, and are now being deployed to geostationary orbits and on interplanetary trajectories. The fundamental CubeSat bus unit of 10 cm cubed can be combined in multiple units and offers a common form factor allowing for easy integration as secondary payloads on traditional launches and rapid testing of new technologies on-orbit. We describe a 6U CubeSat SGS measuring 10 cm x 20 cm x

CSU's MWV Observatory: A Facility for Research, Education and Outreach

Science.gov (United States)

Hood, John; Carpenter, N. D.; McCarty, C. B.; Samford, J. H.; Johnson, M.; Puckett, A. W.; Williams, R. N.; Cruzen, S. T.

2014-01-01

The Mead Westvaco Observatory (MWVO), located in Columbus State University's Coca-Cola Space Science Center, is dedicated to education and research in astronomy through hands-on engagement and public participation. The MWVO has recently received funding to upgrade from a 16-inch Meade LX-200 telescope to a PlaneWave CDK 24-inch Corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph telescope. This and other technological upgrades will allow this observatory to stream live webcasts for astronomical events, allowing a worldwide public audience to become a part of the growing astronomical community. This poster will explain the upgrades that are currently in progress as well as the results from the current calibrations. The goal of these upgrades is to provide facilities capable of both research-class projects and widespread use in education and public outreach. We will present our initial calibration and tests of the observatory equipment, as well as its use in webcasts of astronomical events, in solar observing through the use of specialized piggy-backed telescopes, and in research into such topics as asteroids, planetary and nebula imaging. We will describe a pilot research project on asteroid orbit refinement and light curves, to be carried out by Columbus State University students. We will also outline many of the K-12 educational and public outreach activities we have designed for these facilities. Support and funding for the acquisition and installation of the new PlaneWave CDK 24 has been provided by the International Museum and Library Services via the Museums for America Award.

Far-infrared spectrophotometer for astronomical observations

Science.gov (United States)

Moseley, H.; Silverberg, R. F.

1981-01-01

A liquid-helium-cooled far infrared spectrophotometer was built and used to make low resolution observations of the continua of several kinds of astronomical objects using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. This instrument fills a gap in both sensitivity to continuum sources and spectral resolution between the broadband photometers with lambda/Delta lambda approximately 1 and spectrometers with lambda/Delta lambda greater than 50. While designed primarily to study planetary nebulae, the instrument permits study of the shape of the continua of many weak sources which cannot easily be observed with high resolution systems.

Le Verrier magnificent and detestable astronomer

CERN Document Server

Lequeux, James

2013-01-01

Le Verrier was a superb scientist. His discovery of Neptune in 1846 made him the most famous astronomer of his time. He produced a complete theory of the motions of the planets which served as a basis for planetary ephemeris for a full century. Doing this, he discovered an anomaly in the motion of Mercury which later became the first proof of General Relativity. He also founded European meteorology. However his arrogance and bad temper created many enemies, and he was even fired from his position of Director of the Paris Observatory.

International astronomical remote present observation on IRC.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Kaifan; Cao, Wenda; Song, Qian

On March 6 - 7, 1997, an international astronomical remote present observation (RPO) was made on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) for the first time. Seven groups in four countries, China, United States, Canada and Great Britain, used the 1 meter telescope of Yunnan observatory together by the way of remote present observation. Within minutes, images were "On-line" by FTP, and every one was able to get them by anonymous ftp and discuss them on IRC from different widely separated sites.

Eighth Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society

CERN Document Server

Diego, Jose M; González-Serrano, J. Ignacio; Gorgas, Javier; Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics V

2010-01-01

This volume collects the invited contributions and plenary sessions presented at the Eighth Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society (Sociedad Española de Astronomía, SEA) held on July 7-11, 2008 in Santander. These contributions cover all fields of astronomy and astrophysics, i.e., the Sun and solar system, the galaxy and its components, galaxies and cosmology, observatories and instrumentation, as well as astronomy teaching and dissemination. Further plenary sessions were devoted to selected hot topics, including the exploration of the solar system, gravitational lensing, exoplanets, X-ray binaries, solar magnetism, gravitational waves, the ALHAMBRA collaboration, and the OSIRIS instrument on the new 10-m GTC. Abstracts of the contributions presented at the parallels sessions and posters are also included in the book. Complete versions of those papers are available online.

Sports Stars: Analyzing the Performance of Astronomers at Visualization-based Discovery

Science.gov (United States)

Fluke, C. J.; Parrington, L.; Hegarty, S.; MacMahon, C.; Morgan, S.; Hassan, A. H.; Kilborn, V. A.

2017-05-01

In this data-rich era of astronomy, there is a growing reliance on automated techniques to discover new knowledge. The role of the astronomer may change from being a discoverer to being a confirmer. But what do astronomers actually look at when they distinguish between “sources” and “noise?” What are the differences between novice and expert astronomers when it comes to visual-based discovery? Can we identify elite talent or coach astronomers to maximize their potential for discovery? By looking to the field of sports performance analysis, we consider an established, domain-wide approach, where the expertise of the viewer (i.e., a member of the coaching team) plays a crucial role in identifying and determining the subtle features of gameplay that provide a winning advantage. As an initial case study, we investigate whether the SportsCode performance analysis software can be used to understand and document how an experienced Hi astronomer makes discoveries in spectral data cubes. We find that the process of timeline-based coding can be applied to spectral cube data by mapping spectral channels to frames within a movie. SportsCode provides a range of easy to use methods for annotation, including feature-based codes and labels, text annotations associated with codes, and image-based drawing. The outputs, including instance movies that are uniquely associated with coded events, provide the basis for a training program or team-based analysis that could be used in unison with discipline specific analysis software. In this coordinated approach to visualization and analysis, SportsCode can act as a visual notebook, recording the insight and decisions in partnership with established analysis methods. Alternatively, in situ annotation and coding of features would be a valuable addition to existing and future visualization and analysis packages.

Astronomer's new guide to the galaxy: largest map of cold dust revealed

Science.gov (United States)

2009-07-01

"pathfinder" for ALMA -- it is based on a prototype antenna constructed for the ALMA project, it is located on the same plateau and will find many targets that ALMA will be able to study in extreme detail. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ESO is the European partner in ALMA. ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence, is a revolutionary telescope, comprising an array of 66 giant 12-metre and 7-metre diameter antennas observing at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths. ALMA will start scientific observations in 2011. ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

AESoP: Astronomical Extinction Spectrophotometer

Science.gov (United States)

Linford, Justin; McGraw, J.; Zimmer, P.; Ackermann, M.; Fitch, J.

2009-01-01

The Earth's atmosphere is a major obstruction to the precision and accuracy of ground-based photometry. The atmosphere removes light from astronomical objects both by absorption and scattering by constituent molecules, aerosols and clouds. These effects can change significantly over short time periods and over modest angles on the sky. To further understand these effects, the UNM Measurement Astrophysics Group has designed, built and recently deployed the Astronomical Extinction Spectrophotometer (AESoP), a 100mm objective grating spectrometer. By monitoring bright stars in sensibly the same direction as a larger photometric telescope is observing, AESoP will measure the wavelength-dependent extinction due to the Earth's atmosphere from 450nm to 900nm on time scales of approximately one minute. The collocated Astronomical LIDAR for Extinction (ALE) provides a high-precision monochromatic extinction measurement at 527nm. Knowing the extinction at a single wavelength allows us to pin the relative spectra generated by AESoP. These extinction spectra can then be integrated over the bandpass of the photometric telescope system to create real time corrections of observations. We present the design and construction of AESoP along with the preliminary results of our first combined observing campaign. This effort is our first step toward breaking the 1% photometry barrier. This project is funded by AFRL Grant FA9451-04-2-0355

Denver's Pioneer Astronomer: Herbert Alonso Howe (1858-1926)

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, H. J.; Stencel, R. E.; Fisher, S.

1999-05-01

Herbert A. Howe arrived at Denver University (DU) to teach autumn 1880 classes, in math, astronomy and surveying. Howe established himself with clever solutions to the Kepler problem for orbit determinations in thesis work at Cincinnati Observatory. Riding the economic expansion of Colorado gold and silver mining in 1888, the University accepted a proposed gift of a major observatory, offered by Denver real estate baron, Humphrey Chamberlin. The result features a 20 inch aperture Alvan Clark refractor, which still ranks among the largest telescopes of the era. With the observatory building ready, the Silver Panic of 1893 -- when the US Congress dropped silver reserves from the currency basis -- burst the Denver economic bubble. Chamberlin was unable to complete payments on the balances due. Clark and G.N.Saegmuller (Fauth and Co.) at personal expense, delivered on the optics and telescope assemblies in 1894, but would wait for repayment. Sadly, this fiscal crisis affected DU for over a decade. Professor Howe, while observatory director, found himself consumed as Dean and Acting Chancellor for a young, struggling university, at the expense of the astronomy future that had looked so bright in 1892. Absent the Silver Panic, Howe would have probably been given an endowed chair in astronomy, as promised by Chamberlin. The complexion of American astronomy at the time of the birth of the American Astronomical Society in 1899 might have been different, in terms of US observing sites, etc. We are fortunate to have extensive Prof.Howe's daily diaries now in the University archives. These describe Howe's view of progress on the observatory, meetings with astronomy notables, plus vignettes of the life and times of Denver and the nation. Grandson, Herbert Julian Howe rediscovered their existence and is summarizing them in the form of a biography entitled: The Pioneer Astronomer. DU archival records contain numerous original letters from late 19th century astronomy luminaries

Early results from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neugebauer, G.; Beichman, C.A.; Soifer, B.T.

1984-01-01

For 10 months the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) provided astronomers with what might be termed their first view of the infrared sky on a clear, dark night. Without IRAS, atmospheric absorption and the thermal emission from both the atmosphere and Earthbound telescopes make the task of the infrared astronomer comparable to what an optical astronomer would face if required to work only on cloudy afternoons. IRAS observations are serving astronomers in the same manner as the photographic plates of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey; just as the optical survey has been used by all astronomers for over three decades, as a source of quantitative information about the sky and as a roadmap for future observations, the results of IRAS will be studied for years to come. IRAS has demonstrated the power of infrared astronomy from space. Already, from a brief look at a miniscule fraction of the data available, we have learned much about the solar system, about nearby stars, about the Galaxy as a whole and about distant extragalactic systems. Comets are much dustier than previously thought. Solid particles, presumably the remnants of the star-formation process, orbit around Vega and other stars and may provide the raw material for planetary systems. Emission from cool interstellar material has been traced throughout the Galaxy all the way to the galactic poles. Both the clumpiness and breadth of the distribution of this material were previously unsuspected. The far-infrared sky away from the galactic plane has been found to be dominate by spiral galaxies, some of which emit more than 50% and as much as 98% of their energy in the infrared - an exciting and surprising revelation. The IRAS mission is clearly the pathfinder for future mission that, to a large extent, will be devoted to the discoveries revealed by IRAS. 8 figures

The Lowell Observatory Predoctoral Fellowship Program

Science.gov (United States)

Prato, Lisa A.; Shkolnik, E.

2014-01-01

Lowell Observatory is pleased to solicit applications for our Predoctoral Fellowship Program. Now beginning its seventh year, this program is designed to provide unique research opportunities to graduate students in good standing, currently enrolled at Ph.D. granting institutions. Lowell staff research spans a wide range of topics, from astronomical instrumentation, to icy bodies in our solar system, exoplanet science, stellar populations, star formation, and dwarf galaxies. The Observatory's new 4.3 meter Discovery Channel Telescope has successfully begun science operations and we anticipate the commissioning of several new instruments in 2014, making this a particularly exciting time to do research at Lowell. Student research is expected to lead to a thesis dissertation appropriate for graduation at the doctoral level at the student's home institution. The Observatory provides competitive compensation and full benefits to student scholars. For more information, see http://www2.lowell.edu/rsch/predoc.php and links therein. Applications for Fall 2014 are due by May 1, 2014.

The Paris Observatory has 350 years

Science.gov (United States)

Lequeux, James

2017-01-01

The Paris Observatory is the oldest astronomical observatory that has worked without interruption since its foundation to the present day. The building due to Claude Perrault is still in existence with few modifications, but of course other buildings have been added all along the centuries for housing new instruments and laboratories. In particular, a large dome has been built on the terrace in 1847, with a 38-cm diameter telescope completed in 1857: both are still visible. The main initial purpose of the Observatory was to determine longitudes. This was achieved by Jean-Dominique Cassini using the eclipses of the satellites of Jupiter: a much better map of France was the produced using this method, which unfortunately does not work at sea. Incidentally, the observation of these eclipses led to the discovery in 1676 of the finite velocity of light by Cassini and Rømer. Cassini also discovered the differential rotation of Jupiter and four satellites of Saturn. Then, geodesy was to be the main activity of the Observatory for more than a century, culminating in the famous Cassini map of France completed around 1790. During the first half of the 19th century, under François Arago, the Observatory was at the centre of French physics, which then developed very rapidly. Arago initiated astrophysics in 1810 by showing that the Sun and stars are made of incandescent gas. In 1854, the new director, Urbain Le Verrier, put emphasis on astrometry and celestial mechanics, discovering in particular the anomalous advance of the perihelion of Mercury, which was later to be a proof of General Relativity. In 1858, Leon Foucault built the first modern reflecting telescopes with their silvered glass mirror. Le Verrier created on his side modern meteorology, including some primitive forecasts. The following period was not so bright, due to the enormous project of the Carte du Ciel, which took much of the forces of the Observatory for half a century with little scientific return. In

The BINA collaboration: science at the Royal Observatory of Belgium

Science.gov (United States)

De Cat, Peter; Cuypers, Jan; Blomme, Ronny; Frémat, Yves; Groenewegen, Martin; Lampens, Patricia; Lobel, Alex; Pauwels, Thierry; Van de Steene, Griet; van Hoof, Peter

2018-04-01

The Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy and Astrophysics (BINA) is a collaboration between Indian and Belgian astronomical institutes with the main aim to optimize the scientific output of the Indo-Belgian telescopes, being the 4.0-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope and the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope. These new facilities are both located at the Devasthal Observatory near Nainital, India. In this contribution, we introduce projects that are of scientific interest for colleagues of the department "Astronomy and Astrophysics" of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB). It serves as an invitation for Indian astronomers to participate. We highlight how these projects could benefit from observations with the Indo-Belgian telescopes by using instruments from the first-generation (currently offered) and/or the next-generation (development or design phase). We show that, from an ROB point-of-view, the BINA would be the most successful if the 3.6-m DOT would be equipped with an efficient optical high-resolution spectrograph.

Education and public engagement in observatory operations

Science.gov (United States)

Gabor, Pavel; Mayo, Louis; Zaritsky, Dennis

2016-07-01

Education and public engagement (EPE) is an essential part of astronomy's mission. New technologies, remote observing and robotic facilities are opening new possibilities for EPE. A number of projects (e.g., Telescopes In Education, MicroObservatory, Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope and UNC's Skynet) have developed new infrastructure, a number of observatories (e.g., University of Arizona's "full-engagement initiative" towards its astronomy majors, Vatican Observatory's collaboration with high-schools) have dedicated their resources to practical instruction and EPE. Some of the facilities are purpose built, others are legacy telescopes upgraded for remote or automated observing. Networking among institutions is most beneficial for EPE, and its implementation ranges from informal agreements between colleagues to advanced software packages with web interfaces. The deliverables range from reduced data to time and hands-on instruction while operating a telescope. EPE represents a set of tasks and challenges which is distinct from research applications of the new astronomical facilities and operation modes. In this paper we examine the experience with several EPE projects, and some lessons and challenges for observatory operation.

SpUpNIC (Spectrograph Upgrade: Newly Improved Cassegrain) on the South African Astronomical Observatory's 74-inch telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Crause, Lisa A.; Carter, Dave; Daniels, Alroy; Evans, Geoff; Fourie, Piet; Gilbank, David; Hendricks, Malcolm; Koorts, Willie; Lategan, Deon; Loubser, Egan; Mouries, Sharon; O'Connor, James E.; O'Donoghue, Darragh E.; Potter, Stephen; Sass, Craig; Sickafoose, Amanda A.; Stoffels, John; Swanevelder, Pieter; Titus, Keegan; van Gend, Carel; Visser, Martin; Worters, Hannah L.

2016-08-01

SpUpNIC (Spectrograph Upgrade: Newly Improved Cassegrain) is the extensively upgraded Cassegrain Spectrograph on the South African Astronomical Observatory's 74-inch (1.9-m) telescope. The inverse-Cassegrain collimator mirrors and woefully inefficient Maksutov-Cassegrain camera optics have been replaced, along with the CCD and SDSU controller. All moving mechanisms are now governed by a programmable logic controller, allowing remote configuration of the instrument via an intuitive new graphical user interface. The new collimator produces a larger beam to match the optically faster Folded-Schmidt camera design and nine surface-relief diffraction gratings offer various wavelength ranges and resolutions across the optical domain. The new camera optics (a fused silica Schmidt plate, a slotted fold flat and a spherically figured primary mirror, both Zerodur, and a fused silica field-flattener lens forming the cryostat window) reduce the camera's central obscuration to increase the instrument throughput. The physically larger and more sensitive CCD extends the available wavelength range; weak arc lines are now detectable down to 325 nm and the red end extends beyond one micron. A rear-of-slit viewing camera has streamlined the observing process by enabling accurate target placement on the slit and facilitating telescope focus optimisation. An interactive quick-look data reduction tool further enhances the user-friendliness of SpUpNI

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Summer Student Programs in La Serena, Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Kaleida, Catherine C.; Smith, C.; Van Der Bliek, N. S.; James, D.

2014-01-01

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) offers positions for U.S. and Chilean student interns during the Chilean summer months of January-March (northern winter semester) at the CTIO offices in La Serena, Chile. CTIO is part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) of the United States, focused on the development of astronomy in the southern hemisphere. Six undergraduate research assistantships are offered for U.S. physics and astronomy undergraduate students through the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. The CTIO-funded Prácticas de Investigación en Astronomía (PIA) program is run concurrently with the REU program, and offers two research assistantships for Chilean undergraduate or 1st or 2nd year masters students, also at the CTIO offices in La Serena, Chile. The CTIO REU and PIA programs provide exceptional opportunities for students considering a career in astronomy to engage in substantive research activities with scientists working at the forefront of contemporary astrophysics. Student participants work on specific research projects in close collaboration with members of the CTIO scientific and technical staff, such as galaxy clusters, gravitational lensing, supernovae, planetary nebulae, stellar populations, star clusters, star formation, variable stars and interstellar medium. The CTIO REU and PIA programs emphasize observational techniques and provide opportunities for direct observational experience using CTIO's state-of-the-art telescopes and instrumentation. The programs run for 10 weeks, from mid-January to the end of March. A two-night observing run on Cerro Tololo and a field trip to another observatory in Chile are included for students of both programs. These positions are full time, and those selected will receive a modest stipend and subsidized housing on the grounds of the offices of CTIO in La Serena, as well as travel costs to and from La Serena. In addition, the students have the

Brazilian Participations in the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Rojas, G. A.; Dalla-Costa, L. J.; Kalmus, A. T.; Kroth, E. C.; Matos, M. F.; Silva, A. L.; Silva, G. G.

2014-10-01

International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) is an international educational project between universities, schools, observatories and research institutions. Its main objective is to enroll high school and college students in the monitoring and discovery of asteroids and Near Earth Objects (NEOs), especially Potentially Hazardous Asteroids. The methodology consists in the analysis of astronomical images obtained in several observatories in North America and Hawaii. The images are distributed throughout the school network and the results must be delivered in a 72-hour timeframe. Since 2010 Brazilian universities and schools have joined IASC, resulting in over a dozen new asteroids found (3 of them NEOs), and hundreds of measurements for already known asteroids. A major event in this collaboration was the All-Brazil Asteroid Search Campaign, which was conducted in September 2012. 2013 marks the fourth year of Brazilian participations in IASC, with one important milestone: the third straight appearance of a Brazilian institution in the Pan-STARRS campaign, which uses the PS1 telescope in Haleakala, Hawaii. We will present a summary of the overall results, as well as the latest news from 2013 campaigns. We will discuss the impact promoted by the past events, such as how the interest in astronomy changed before and after the campaigns, and it has helped the students to choose their future careers.

The Work of John Isaac Plummer at Orwell Park Observatory in the years 1874 to 1890

Science.gov (United States)

Whiting, P. J.

2006-12-01

This paper builds on the unpublished collation by the Orwell Astronomical Society entitled John Isaac Plummer. It takes the form of a chronology and critique of papers published by John Isaac Plummer (1844-1925) in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and Astronomische Nachrichten on work undertaken at the Orwell Park Observatory, Ipswich, in the years 1874 to 1890. This work, mainly, although not exclusively, in England, took the form of measuring the positions and deriving the orbits of as many comets as could be observed from Orwell Park. Plummer also published papers in other journals, such as Nature and The Observatory, but these are to be the subject of future research.

Large antennas for ground-based astronomy above 1 THz

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wild, Wolfgang; Guesten, R.; Holland, W. S.; Ivison, R.; Stacey, G. J.

2006-01-01

In its history astronomy has continuously expanded access to new wavelength regions both from space and on the ground. Today, one of the few unexplored regimes is the terahertz (THz) frequency range, more specifically above 1 THz (< lambda 300 mum). Astronomical observations above 1 THz are

"Slow-scanning" in Ground-based Mid-infrared Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Ohsawa, Ryou; Sako, Shigeyuki; Miyata, Takashi; Kamizuka, Takafumi; Okada, Kazushi; Mori, Kiyoshi; Uchiyama, Masahito S.; Yamaguchi, Junpei; Fujiyoshi, Takuya; Morii, Mikio; Ikeda, Shiro

2018-04-01

Chopping observations with a tip-tilt secondary mirror have conventionally been used in ground-based mid-infrared observations. However, it is not practical for next generation large telescopes to have a large tip-tilt mirror that moves at a frequency larger than a few hertz. We propose an alternative observing method, a "slow-scanning" observation. Images are continuously captured as movie data, while the field of view is slowly moved. The signal from an astronomical object is extracted from the movie data by a low-rank and sparse matrix decomposition. The performance of the "slow-scanning" observation was tested in an experimental observation with Subaru/COMICS. The quality of a resultant image in the "slow-scanning" observation was as good as in a conventional chopping observation with COMICS, at least for a bright point-source object. The observational efficiency in the "slow-scanning" observation was better than that in the chopping observation. The results suggest that the "slow-scanning" observation can be a competitive method for the Subaru telescope and be of potential interest to other ground-based facilities to avoid chopping.

The design of 1-wire net meteorological observatory for 2.4 m telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Gao-Feng; Wei, Ka-Ning; Fan, Yu-Feng; Xu, Jun; Qin, Wei

2005-03-01

The weather is an important factor to affect astronomical observations. The 2.4 m telescope can not work in Robotic Mode without the weather data input. Therefore it is necessary to build a meteorological observatory near the 2.4 m telescope. In this article, the design of the 1-wire net meteorological observatory, which includes hardware and software systems, is introduced. The hardware system is made up of some kinds of sensors and ADC. A suited power station system is also designed. The software system is based on Windows XP operating system and MySQL data management system, and a prototype system of browse/server model is developed by JAVA and JSP. After being tested, the meteorological observatory can register the immediate data of weather, such as raining, snowing, and wind speed. At last, the data will be stored for feature use. The product and the design can work well for the 2.4 m telescope.

Partnerships between Professional and Amateur Astronomers: A Shift in Research Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Yanamandra-Fisher, Padma A.; Orton, G. S.; Casquinha, P.; Coffelt, A.; Delcroix, M.; Go, C.; Hueso, R.; Jaeschke, W.; Kardasis, M.; Kraaikamp, E.; Morales, E.; Peach, D.; Rogers, J.; Wesley, A.; Willems, F.; Wilson, T.

2012-10-01

"Citizen Astronomy" can be thought of as the paradigm shift transforming the nature of observational astronomy. The night sky, with all its delights and mysteries, enthralls professional and amateur astronomers, and students who will form the next generation of scientists and engineers. These students are matriculating in an era of reduced funding for core competencies such as science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) sciences and an ongoing general decline in these sciences. How then do we re-generate their interest and engage students while we perform cutting-edge planetary science in a fiscally constrained environment? One promising solution is to promote the emerging partnerships between professional and dedicated proficient amateur astronomers, that rely on creating a niche for long timeline of multispectral remote sensing. In the past decade, it is the collective observations and their analyses by the ever-increasing global network of amateur astronomers that has discovered interesting phenomena and provided the reference backdrop for observations by professional ground-based professional astronomers and spacecraft missions. We shall focus on our collaboration or "Citizen Astronomy: Jupiter and Saturn" for the past five years and illustrate the strong synergy between the two groups that has produced new scientific results. With the active inclusion and use of emerging social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), the near daily communication and updates (via email, Skype, Facebook) between the two groups is becoming a powerful tool for ground-based remote sensing. However, what is sorely lacking in this paradigm is the inclusion of teachers and students and, therefore, its inclusion in the secondary and tertiary classrooms. We will provide various scenarios to address this issue, and emphasize the various aspects of STEM learning/teaching that is necessary for students and teachers - all that can be performed at low cost; and showcase some of our

Astronomical Image Compression Techniques Based on ACC and KLT Coder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Schindler

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with a compression of image data in applications in astronomy. Astronomical images have typical specific properties — high grayscale bit depth, size, noise occurrence and special processing algorithms. They belong to the class of scientific images. Their processing and compression is quite different from the classical approach of multimedia image processing. The database of images from BOOTES (Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System has been chosen as a source of the testing signal. BOOTES is a Czech-Spanish robotic telescope for observing AGN (active galactic nuclei and the optical transient of GRB (gamma ray bursts searching. This paper discusses an approach based on an analysis of statistical properties of image data. A comparison of two irrelevancy reduction methods is presented from a scientific (astrometric and photometric point of view. The first method is based on a statistical approach, using the Karhunen-Loeve transform (KLT with uniform quantization in the spectral domain. The second technique is derived from wavelet decomposition with adaptive selection of used prediction coefficients. Finally, the comparison of three redundancy reduction methods is discussed. Multimedia format JPEG2000 and HCOMPRESS, designed especially for astronomical images, are compared with the new Astronomical Context Coder (ACC coder based on adaptive median regression.

Metrology of the Solar Spectral Irradiance at the Top Of Atmosphere in the Near Infrared using Ground Based Instruments. Final results of the PYR-ILIOS campaign (Mauna Loa Observatory, June-July 2016).

Science.gov (United States)

Cessateur, G.; Bolsée, D.; Pereira, N.; Sperfeld, P.; Pape, S.

2017-12-01

The availability of reference spectra for the Solar Spectral Irradiance (SSI) is important for the solar physics, the studies of planetary atmospheres and climatology. The near infrared (NIR) part of these spectra is of great interest for its main role for example, in the Earth's radiative budget. Until recently, some large and unsolved discrepancies (up to 10 %) were observed in the 1.6 μm region between space instruments, models and ground-based measurements. We designed a ground-based instrumentation for SSI measurements at the Top Of Atmosphere (TOA) through atmospheric NIR windows using the Bouguer-Langley technique. The main instrument is a double NIR spectroradiometer designed by Bentham (UK), radiometrically characterized at the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy. It was absolute calibrated against a high-temperature blackbody as primary standard for spectral irradiance at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Germany). The PYR-ILIOS campaign was carried out in June to July 2016 at the Mauna Loa Observatory (Hawaii, USA, 3396 m a.s.l.) follows the four-month IRESPERAD campaign which was carried out in the summer 2011 at the Izaña Atmospheric Observatory (Canary Islands, 2367 m a.s.l.). We present here the results of the 3'week PYR-ILIOS campaign and compare them with the ATLAS 3 spectrum as well as from recently reprocessed NIR solar spectra obtained with SOLAR/SOLSPEC on ISS and SCIAMACHY on ENVISAT. The uncertainty budget of the PYR-ILIOS results will be discussed.

An Astronomer In The Classroom: Observatoire de Paris's Partnership Between Teachers and Astronomers

Science.gov (United States)

Doressoundiram, A.; Barban, C.

2006-08-01

The Observatoire de Paris is offering a partnership between teachers and astronomers. The principle is simple: any teacher wishing to undertake a pedagogical project in astronomy, in the classroom or involving the entire school, can request the help of a mentor. An astronomer from the Observatoire de Paris will then follow the teacher's project progress and offer advice and scientific support throughout the school year. The projects may take different forms: construction projects (models, instruments), lectures, posters, exhibitions, etc. The type of assistance offered is as varied as the projects: lecture(s) in class, telephone and e-mail exchanges, visits to the Observatoire; an almost made-to-measure approach that delighted the thirty or so groups that benefited such partnership in the 2005-2006 academic year. And this number is continuously growing. There was a rich variety of projects undertaken, from mounting a show and building a solar clock to visiting a high altitude observatory, or resolving the mystery of Jupiter's great red spot. The Universe and its mysteries fascinate the young (and the not so- young) and provide a multitude of scientific topics that can be exploited in class. Astronomy offers the added advantage of being a multidisciplinary field. Thus, if most projects are generally initiated by a motivated teacher, they are often taken over by teachers in other subjects: Life and Earth Sciences (SVT), history, mathematics, French, and so forth. The project may consist in an astronomy workshop or be part of the school curriculum. Whatever the case, the astronomer's task is not to replace the teacher or the textbooks, but to propose activities or experiments that are easy to implement. Representing the Solar system on a school-yard scale, for instance, is a perfect way to make youngsters realize that the Universe consists mostly of empty space. There is no shortage of topics, and the students' enthusiasm, seldom absent, is the best reward for the

Porters, watchmen, and the crime of William Sayers: the non-scientific staff of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in Victorian times

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Allan

2003-06-01

A careful study of the detailed archives of the Victorian Royal Observatory makes it possible to build up a picture of the employment and working conditions not only of the astronomical staff who worked at Greenwich, but also of the labourers, watchmen, and gate porters. Indeed, the archives open up a window on to how the Observatory was run on a daily basis: how its non-scientific staff were recruited and paid, and what were their terms of employment. They also say a great deal about how Sir George Biddell Airy directed and controlled every aspect of the Observatory's life. Yet while Airy was a strict employer, he emerges as a man who was undoubtedly fair-minded and sometimes even generous to his non-scientific work-force. A study of the Observatory staff files also reveals the relationship between the Observatory labouring staff and the Airy family's domestic servants. And of especial interest is the robbery committed by William Sayers, the Airy family footman in 1868, bringing to light as it does Sir George and Lady Richarda Airy's views on crime and its social causes and consequences, the prison rehabilitation service in 1868, and their opinions on the reform of offenders. Though this paper is not about astronomy as such, it illuminates a fascinating interface where the world of astronomical science met and worked alongside the world of ordinary Victorian people within the walls of one of the nineteenth century's most illustrious astronomical institutions.

Site Protection Program and Progress Report of Ali Observatory, Tibet

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Yongqiang; Zhou, Yunhe; Wang, Xiaohua; He, Jun; Zhou, Shu

2015-08-01

The Ali observatory, Tibet, is a promising new site identified through ten year site survey over west China, and it is of significance to establish rules of site protection during site development. The site protection program is described with five aspects: site monitoring, technical support, local government support, specific organization, and public education. The long-term sky brightness monitoring is ready with site testing instruments and basic for light pollution measurement; the monitoring also includes directions of main light sources, providing periodical reports and suggestions for coordinating meetings. The technical supports with institutes and manufacturers help to publish lighting standards and replace light fixtures; the research pays special attention to the blue-rich sources, which impact the important application of high altitude sites. An official leading group towards development and protection of astronomical resources has been established by Ali government; one of its tasks is to issue regulations against light pollution, including special restrictions of airport, mine, and winter heating, and to supervise lighting inspection and rectification. A site protection office under the official group and local astronomical society are organized by Ali observatory; the office can coordinate in government levels and promote related activities. A specific website operated by the protection office releases activity propaganda, evaluation results, and technical comparison with other observatories. Both the site protection office and Ali observatory take responsibility for public education, including popular science lectures, light pollution and energy conservation education. Ali Night Sky Park has been constructed and opens in 2014, and provides a popular place and observational experience. The establishment of Ali Observatory and Night Sky Park brings unexpected social influence, and the starry sky trip to Ali becomes a new format of culture

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.

Recent geomagnetic secular variation from Swarm and ground observatories as estimated in the CHAOS-6 geomagnetic field model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Finlay, Chris; Olsen, Nils; Kotsiaros, Stavros

2016-01-01

We use more than 2 years of magnetic data from the Swarm mission, and monthly means from 160 ground observatories as available in March 2016, to update the CHAOS time-dependent geomagnetic field model. The new model, CHAOS-6, provides information on time variations of the core-generated part......, jets at low latitudes, for example close to 40 degrees W, that may be responsible for localized SA oscillations. In addition to scalar data from Orsted, CHAMP, SAC-C and Swarm, and vector data from Orsted, CHAMP and Swarm, CHAOS-6 benefits from the inclusion of along-track differences of scalar...... and vector field data from both CHAMP and the three Swarm satellites, as well as east-west differences between the lower pair of Swarm satellites, Alpha and Charlie. Moreover, ground observatory SV estimates are fit to a Huber-weighted rms level of 3.1 nT/year for the eastward components and 3.8 and 3.7 n...

Optical studies of X-ray sources with the MASCOT - a charge-coupled device /CCD/-based astronomical instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ricker, G.R.; Bautz, M.W.; Dewey, D.; Meyer, S.S.

1981-01-01

The performance levels achieved by the MASCOT (MIT Astronomical Spectrometer/Camera for Optical Telescopes) on the 1.3-m telescope at the McGraw-Hill observatory in March 1981 are discussed along with preliminary data obtained in searches for optical counterparts to four 'empty-field' X-ray sources. In the W band (4000-7000 A), the MASCOT achieved a sky-limited sensitivity of +24.4 mag per sq arcsec in an 1800 s integration. The ability to flatten pictures to a level consistent with (sky + source) photon statistics and readout noise was demonstrated. For the four sources observed, an optical counterpart was established for one source (1413+13) based on positional coincidence (better than 1.8 arcsec), four possible candidates were detected in the error box of another source (1009 35) and upper sensitivity limits were established for optical counterparts in the error boxes for the other two sources (0920+39 and 0931-11)

Fundamental and applied aspects of astronomical seeing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coulman, C.E.

1985-01-01

It is pointed out that despite recent advances in the use of spacecraft as observatory platforms, much astronomy is still conducted from the surface of the earth. The literature on astronomical seeing and observatory site selection is widely scattered throughout journals and conference reports concerned with various disciplines. This survey has the objective to represent the state of the subject up to 1982. A description of the history and prospects of the considered subject is presented, and the optics of seeing are examined. The meteorology of seeing is discussed, taking into account aspects of micrometeorology and small-scale turbulence near the surface, the diurnal cycle in the planetary boundary layer, the temperature structure above the planetary boundary layer, and the effects of terrain. Attention is given to the calculation of system performance from microthermal data, optical methods for the measurement of seeing, and techniques for minimizing image-degrading effects of the atmosphere. 279 references

Canada's Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the rise of 20th Century Astrophysics and Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Hesser, James E.; Bohlender, David; Crabtree, Dennis

2015-08-01

Construction of Canada’s Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) commenced in 1914 with first light on 6 May 1918. Its varied, rich contributions to the astronomical heritage of the 20th century continue into the 21st century. The first major research observatory built with public funding on the West Coast of North America, it was Canada’s first ‘big science’ project. DAO welcomed scientists from around the world to use its 1.8m telescope designed by John Stanley Plaskett working in close collaboration with the Warner and Swasey Company of Cleveland, OH. Their original design was copied seven times around the globe, the last occasion being in the 1960s. From Day 1 the DAO welcomed the public for viewing and interaction with the small scientific staff whose early efforts would today be characterized as ‘Key Projects’. Those efforts included measuring the radial velocities of O and B stars that, interpreted through Oort’s ideas of differential rotation, determined the most reliable estimate of the size and mass of the Milky Way available until radio astronomical techniques emerged in the 1950s. The first organic molecule in interstellar space, CH, was discovered by a DAO astronomer. The first, very puzzling estimate of ~3K for the temperature of interstellar space was deduced from interstellar CN observations a year after interstellar CH and CN were discovered. DAO’s heritage of innovative instrumentation continues to the present day where expertise in optically efficient, mechanically stable spectrographs and adaptive optics are much in evidence at Mauna Kea’s CFHT, Gemini and Subaru observatories. In 2009 the DAO was designated a National Historic Site. This presentation will draw links between DAO, developments of Canadian astronomy and the emergence of Mauna Kea as an exceptional global astronomical reserve.

Astrometry and early astrophysics at Kuffner Observatory in the late 19th century

Science.gov (United States)

Habison, Peter

The astronomer and mathematician Norbert Herz encouraged Moriz von Kuffner, owner of the beer brewery in Ottakring, to finance a private scientific observatory in the western parts of Vienna. In the years 1884-87 the Kuffner Observatory was built at the Gallitzinberg in Wien-Ottakring. It was an example of enlighted patronage and noted at the time for its rapid acquisition of new instruments and by increasing international recognition. It contained the largest heliometer in the world and the largest meridian circle in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Of the many scientists who worked here we mention Leo de Ball, Gustav Eberhard, Johannes Hartmann and we should not forget Karl Schwarzschild. Here in Vienna he published papers on celestial mechanics, measuring techniques, optics and his fundamental papers concerning photographic photometry, in particular the quantitative determination of the departure of the reciprocity law. The telescope and the associated camera with which he carried out his measurements are still in existence at the observatory. The observatory houses important astronomical instruments from the 19th century. All telescopes were made by Repsold und Söhne in Hamburg, and Steinheil in Munich. These two German companies were best renowned for quality and precision in high standard astronomical instruments. The Great Refractor (270/3500 mm) is still the third largest refractor in Austria. It was installed at the observatory in 1886 and was used together with the Schwarzschild Refractor for early astrophysical work including photography. It is this double refractor, where Schwarzschild carried out his measurements on photographic photometry. The Meridian Circle (132/1500 mm) was the largest meridian passage instrument of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today it is the largest meridian circle in Austria and still one of the largest in Europe. The telescope is equipped with one of the first impersonal micrometers of that time. First observations were carried

A Case of Racial Discrimination: Azeglio Bemporad, Astronomer Poet

Science.gov (United States)

Mangano, A.

2015-04-01

The stories from our archives do not only speak of scientific progress, tools, and data, but also of the events of the astronomers as men, and how their work is intertwined in their private, political, and social life. In the case of Azeglio Bemporad, who worked at Catania Astrophysical Observatory until 1938, year of purge against Jews in Italy, the painful history of Fascism fully enters our scientific institutions, changing the life of a person who had never dealt with politics.

Goals and strategies in the global control design of the OAJ Robotic Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Yanes-Díaz, A.; Rueda-Teruel, S.; Antón, J. L.; Rueda-Teruel, F.; Moles, M.; Cenarro, A. J.; Marín-Franch, A.; Ederoclite, A.; Gruel, N.; Varela, J.; Cristóbal-Hornillos, D.; Chueca, S.; Díaz-Martín, M. C.; Guillén, L.; Luis-Simoes, R.; Maícas, N.; Lamadrid, J. L.; López-Sainz, A.; Hernández-Fuertes, J.; Valdivielso, L.; Mendes de Oliveira, C.; Penteado, P.; Schoenell, W.; Kanaan, A.

2012-09-01

There are many ways to solve the challenging problem of making a high performance robotic observatory from scratch. The Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ) is a new astronomical facility located in the Sierra de Javalambre (Teruel, Spain) whose primary role will be to conduct all-sky astronomical surveys. The OAJ control system has been designed from a global point of view including astronomical subsystems as well as infrastructures and other facilities. Three main factors have been considered in the design of a global control system for the robotic OAJ: quality, reliability and efficiency. We propose CIA (Control Integrated Architecture) design and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) as a key performance indicator in order to improve operation processes, minimizing resources and obtaining high cost reduction whilst maintaining quality requirements. The OAJ subsystems considered for the control integrated architecture are the following: two wide-field telescopes and their instrumentation, active optics subsystems, facilities for sky quality monitoring (seeing, extinction, sky background, sky brightness, cloud distribution, meteorological station), domes and several infrastructure facilities such as water supply, glycol water, water treatment plant, air conditioning, compressed air, LN2 plant, illumination, surveillance, access control, fire suppression, electrical generators, electrical distribution, electrical consumption, communication network, Uninterruptible Power Supply and two main control rooms, one at the OAJ and the other remotely located in Teruel, 40km from the observatory, connected through a microwave radio-link. This paper presents the OAJ strategy in control design to achieve maximum quality efficiency for the observatory processes and operations, giving practical examples of our approach.

Temperature control system for optical elements in astronomical instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Verducci, Orlando; de Oliveira, Antonio C.; Ribeiro, Flávio F.; Vital de Arruda, Márcio; Gneiding, Clemens D.; Fraga, Luciano

2014-07-01

Extremely low temperatures may damage the optical components assembled inside of an astronomical instrument due to the crack in the resin or glue used to attach lenses and mirrors. The environment, very cold and dry, in most of the astronomical observatories contributes to this problem. This paper describes the solution implemented at SOAR for remotely monitoring and controlling temperatures inside of a spectrograph, in order to prevent a possible damage of the optical parts. The system automatically switches on and off some heat dissipation elements, located near the optics, as the measured temperature reaches a trigger value. This value is set to a temperature at which the instrument is not operational to prevent malfunction and only to protect the optics. The software was developed with LabVIEWTM and based on an object-oriented design that offers flexibility and ease of maintenance. As result, the system is able to keep the internal temperature of the instrument above a chosen limit, except perhaps during the response time, due to inertia of the temperature. This inertia can be controlled and even avoided by choosing the correct amount of heat dissipation and location of the thermal elements. A log file records the measured temperature values by the system for operation analysis.

India-Based Neutrino Observatory (INO)

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

India-Based Neutrino Observatory (INO) · Atmospheric neutrinos – India connection · INO Collaboration · INO Project components · ICAL: The physics goals · Slide 6 · Slide 7 · INO site : Bodi West Hills · Underground Laboratory Layout · Status of activities at INO Site · Slide 11 · Slide 12 · INO-ICAL Detector · ICAL factsheet.

Evaluating a NoSQL Alternative for Chilean Virtual Observatory Services

Science.gov (United States)

Antognini, J.; Araya, M.; Solar, M.; Valenzuela, C.; Lira, F.

2015-09-01

Currently, the standards and protocols for data access in the Virtual Observatory architecture (DAL) are generally implemented with relational databases based on SQL. In particular, the Astronomical Data Query Language (ADQL), language used by IVOA to represent queries to VO services, was created to satisfy the different data access protocols, such as Simple Cone Search. ADQL is based in SQL92, and has extra functionality implemented using PgSphere. An emergent alternative to SQL are the so called NoSQL databases, which can be classified in several categories such as Column, Document, Key-Value, Graph, Object, etc.; each one recommended for different scenarios. Within their notable characteristics we can find: schema-free, easy replication support, simple API, Big Data, etc. The Chilean Virtual Observatory (ChiVO) is developing a functional prototype based on the IVOA architecture, with the following relevant factors: Performance, Scalability, Flexibility, Complexity, and Functionality. Currently, it's very difficult to compare these factors, due to a lack of alternatives. The objective of this paper is to compare NoSQL alternatives with SQL through the implementation of a Web API REST that satisfies ChiVO's needs: a SESAME-style name resolver for the data from ALMA. Therefore, we propose a test scenario by configuring a NoSQL database with data from different sources and evaluating the feasibility of creating a Simple Cone Search service and its performance. This comparison will allow to pave the way for the application of Big Data databases in the Virtual Observatory.

The old Jesuit observatory in Graz. (German Title: Die alte Jesuiten-Sternwarte in Graz)

Science.gov (United States)

Steinmayr, Johann; Müller, Isolde; Posch, Thomas

2011-08-01

We give a brief overview of the development of astronomical research at the University of Graz from the 16th to the 18th century. This period is intimately connected to the activities of the Jesuit Order and to the counter-reformation in Inner Austria (a territory roughly corresponding to today's Styria, Carinthia, Slovenia and the County of Görz in Italy). Since the opening of the University in 1585, several Jesuits achieved distinction as mathematicians, physicists and astronomers in Graz. Among them are Paul Guldin, who corresponded with Johannes Kepler and died in Graz in 1643, as well as Leopold Biwald and Karl Tirnberger. Between 1745 and 1774, the Jesuit University of Graz also had a chair of astronomy and an observatory. The chair and the observatory were well endowed at the beginning, but later on neglected by their former funders and closed down after less than 30 years. Efforts to re-establish an observatory at Graz at the beginning of the 19th century failed. They were successful only towards the end of the 19th century, which is however a period beyond the scope of the present paper.

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.

Dark Sky Collaborators: Arizona (AZ) Observatories, Communities, and Businesses

Science.gov (United States)

Del Castillo, Elizabeth Alvarez; Corbally, Christopher; Falco, Emilio E.; Green, Richard F.; Hall, Jeffrey C.; Williams, G. Grant

2015-03-01

With outdoor lighting ordinances in Arizona first in place around observatories in 1958 and 1972, then throughout the state since 1986, Arizonans have extensive experience working with communities and businesses to preserve our dark skies. Though communities are committed to the astronomy sector in our state, astronomers must collaborate with other stakeholders to implement solutions. Ongoing education and public outreach is necessary to enable ordinance updates as technology changes. Despite significant population increases, sky brightness measurements over the last 20 years show that ordinance updates are worth our efforts as we seek to maintain high quality skies around our observatories. Collaborations are being forged and actions taken to promote astronomy for the longer term in Arizona.

Plans for future on-line access to the historical astronomical literature through the Astrophysics Data System.

Science.gov (United States)

Eichhorn, G.; Kurtz, M. J.; Coletti, D.

1997-09-01

The NASA Astrophysics Data System provides access to about 1 million abstracts and 50,000 journal articles. This service is funded by NASA and is accessible world-wide through the World Wide Web free without restrictions at: http://adswww.harvard.edu We currently have on-line journals starting with 1975. We plan to extend the coverage for the journals and also include scans from observatory publications in our database. Eventually we plan to provide access to scans of the complete journal literature and as much observatory literature as possible. In order to accomplish this, we have started discussions with the preservation group at the Harvard University Library. Harvard University Library, together with the Library at the Center for Astrophysics is in the process of microfilming their collection of observatory publications. We are working together with this project to prepare for scanning the microfilms and make these scans available through the ADS. We are also collecting older journals and preparing them for scanning. We already have the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in hand from Volume 1, and have been promised a large part of the Astronomische Nachrichten prior to 1945. We will start scanning these volumes soon. All volumes that can be fed automatically through the scanning machine should be scanned and put on-line within the next 6 - 12 months. In order to scan volumes that are too brittle, we need additional funding. We hope to obtain additional funding to cover such scanning for 1998. In order to cover more of the astronomical literature, we need donations of astronomical literature. We have a web page that lists the volumes that we need so we can scan them. If you have any of these journals (or other astronomical literature), please contact us. the web page is at: http://adshome.harvard.edu/pubs/missing_journals.html We would appreciate any contributions, even smaller sets, since it will be more and more difficult to find complete sets.

Preparing for TESS: Precision Ground-based Light-curves of Newly Discovered Transiting Exoplanets

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yiting; Stefansson, Gudmundur; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Monson, Andy; Hebb, Leslie; Wisniewski, John; Huehnerhoff, Joseph

2018-01-01

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), to be launched in early 2018, is expected to catalog a myriad of transiting exoplanet candidates ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, orbiting a diverse range of stellar types in the solar neighborhood. In particular, TESS will find small planets orbiting the closest and brightest stars, and will enable detailed atmospheric characterizations of planets with current and future telescopes. In the TESS era, ground-based follow-up resources will play a critical role in validating and confirming the planetary nature of the candidates TESS will discover. Along with confirming the planetary nature of exoplanet transits, high precision ground-based transit observations allow us to put further constraints on exoplanet orbital parameters and transit timing variations. In this talk, we present new observations of transiting exoplanets recently discovered by the K2 mission, using the optical diffuser on the 3.5m ARC Telescope at Apache Point Observatory. These include observations of the mini-Neptunes K2-28b and K2-104b orbiting early-to-mid M-dwarfs. In addition, other recent transit observations performed using the robotic 30cm telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile will be presented.

Current Status of Carl Sagan Observatory in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez-Ibarra, A.

The current status of Observatory "Carl Sagan" (OCS) of University of Sonora is presented. This project was born in 1996 focused to build a small solar-stellar observatory completely operated by remote control. The observatory will be at "Cerro Azul", a 2480 m peak in one of the best regions in the world for astronomical observation, at the Sonora-Arizona desert. The OCS, with three 16 cm solar telescopes and a 55 cm stellar telescope is one of the cheapest observatories, valuated in US200,000 Added to its scientific goals to study solar coronal holes and Supernovae Type 1A, the OCS has a strong educative and cultural program in Astronomy to all levels. At the end of 2001, we started the Program "Constelacion", to build small planetariums through all the countries with a cost of only US80,000. Also, the webcast system for transmission of the solar observations from the prototype OCS at the campus, was expanded to webcast educational programs in Astronomy since July of this year, including courses and diplomats for Latin American people. All of these advances are exposed here.

Space astrophysical observatory 'Orion-2'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurzadyan, G.A.; Jarakyan, A.L.; Krmoyan, M.N.; Kashin, A.L.; Loretsyan, G.M.; Ohanesyan, J.B.

1976-01-01

Ultraviolet spectrograms of a large number of faint stars up to 13sup(m) were obtained in the wavelengths 2000-5000 A by means of the space observatory 'Orion-2' installed in the spaceship 'Soyuz-13' with two spacemen on board. The paper deals with a description of the operation modes of this observatory, the designs and basic schemes of the scientific and auxiliary device and the method of combining the work of the flight engineer and the automation system of the observatory itself. It also treats of the combination of the particular parts of 'Orion-2' observatory on board the spaceship and the measures taken to provide for its normal functioning in terms of the space flight. A detailed description is given of the optical, electrical and mechanical schemes of the devices - meniscus telescope with an objective prism, stellar diffraction spectrographs, single-coordinate and two-coordinate stellar and solar transducers, control panel, control systems, etc. The paper also provides the functional scheme of astronavigation, six-wheel stabilization, the design of mounting (assembling) the stabilized platform carrying the telescopes and the drives used in it. Problems relating to the observation program in orbit, the ballistic provision of initial data, and control of the operation of the observatory are also dealt with. In addition, the paper carries information of the photomaterials used, the methods of their energy calibration, standardization and the like. Matters of pre-start tests of apparatus, the preparation of the spacemen for conducting astronomical observations with the given devices, etc. are likewise dwelt on. The paper ends with a brief survey of the results obtained and the elaboration of the observed material. (Auth.)

NRAO Welcomes Taiwan as a New North American ALMA Partner

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has announced a formal agreement enabling Taiwanese astronomers to participate in the North American component of the international ALMA partnership, alongside American and Canadian astronomers. Taiwan's efforts will be led by the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA). ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, is the most ambitious ground-based astronomical observatory in history. Currently under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert at an altitude of 16,500 feet, it promises to revolutionize our understanding of the formation of planets, stars, and galaxies when it begins full science operations early in the next decade. The agreement, signed by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office and the American Institute in Taiwan, provides for approximately $20 million in ALMA construction funding through the National Science Council (NSC), Taiwan’s equivalent to the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and Canada's National Research Council (NRC), which have jointly funded North America's existing contribution to the international ALMA project. Activities under the agreement will include joint research projects, development projects, collaboration on construction, support of observatory operations and other forms of cooperation. Access to ALMA observing time will be shared, as will membership on advisory committees. “Taiwan is a world-class center for submillimeter-wavelength astronomical research, and we’re delighted that the ALMA project and all its future users will benefit from the resources and expertise that Taiwan’s deepening participation brings to this great, global endeavor,” said Dr. Fred Lo, NRAO's director. This new agreement increases and diversifies Taiwan’s Academia Sinica investment in ALMA beyond the levels achieved through its participation in the East Asian component of the ALMA partnership, which is led by the National Astronomical

How to Make the Dream Come True: The Astronomers' Data Manifesto

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ray P Norris

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Astronomy is one of the most data-intensive of the sciences. Data technology is accelerating the quality and effectiveness of its research, and the rate of astronomical discovery is higher than ever. As a result, many view astronomy as being in a "Golden Age," and projects such as the Virtual Observatory are amongst the most ambitious data projects in any field of science. But these powerful tools will be impotent unless the data on which they operate are of matching quality. Astronomy, like other fields of science, therefore needs to establish and agree on a set of guiding principles for the management of astronomical data. To focus this process, we are constructing a "data manifesto," which proposes guidelines to maximise the rate and cost-effectiveness of scientific discovery.

Orbiting Water Molecules Dance to Tune Of Galaxy's "Central Engine," Astronomers Say

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

A disk of water molecules orbiting a supermassive black hole at the core of a galaxy 60 million light-years away is "reverberating" in response to variations in the energy output from the galaxy's powerful "central engine" close to the black hole, astronomers say. The team of astronomers used the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico and the 100-meter-diameter radio telescope of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy at Effelsberg, Germany, to observe the galaxy NGC 1068 in the constellation Cetus. They announced their findings today at the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Atlanta. The water molecules, in a disk some 5 light-years in diameter, are acting as a set of giant cosmic radio-wave amplifiers, called masers. Using energy radiated by the galaxy's "central engine," the molecules strengthen, or brighten, radio emission at a particular frequency as seen from Earth. "We have seen variations in the radio 'brightness' of these cosmic amplifiers that we believe were caused by variations in the energy output of the central engine," said Jack Gallimore, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, VA. "This could provide us with a valuable new tool for learning about the central engine itself," he added. Gallimore worked with Stefi Baum of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD; Christian Henkel of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany; Ian Glass of the South African Astronomical Observatory; Mark Claussen of the NRAO in Socorro, NM; and Almudena Prieto of the European Southern Observatory in Munich, Germany. "Our observations show that NGC 1068 is the second-known case of a giant disk of water molecules orbiting a supermassive black hole at a galaxy's core," Gallimore said. The first case was the galaxy NGC 4258 (Messier 106), whose disk of radio-amplifying water molecules was measured by the NSF's Very Long Baseline

A Green Robotic Observatory for Astronomy Education

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Vishnu; Archer, K.

2008-09-01

With the development of robotic telescopes and stable remote observing software, it is currently possible for a small institution to have an affordable astronomical facility for astronomy education. However, a faculty member has to deal with the light pollution (observatory location on campus), its nightly operations and regular maintenance apart from his day time teaching and research responsibilities. While building an observatory at a remote location is a solution, the cost of constructing and operating such a facility, not to mention the environmental impact, are beyond the reach of most institutions. In an effort to resolve these issues we have developed a robotic remote observatory that can be operated via the internet from anywhere in the world, has a zero operating carbon footprint and minimum impact on the local environment. The prototype observatory is a clam-shell design that houses an 8-inch telescope with a SBIG ST-10 CCD detector. The brain of the observatory is a low draw 12-volt harsh duty computer that runs the dome, telescope, CCD camera, focuser, and weather monitoring. All equipment runs of a 12-volt AGM-style battery that has low lead content and hence more environmental-friendly to dispose. The total power of 12-14 amp/hrs is generated from a set of solar panels that are large enough to maintain a full battery charge for several cloudy days. This completely eliminates the need for a local power grid for operations. Internet access is accomplished via a high-speed cell phone broadband connection or satellite link eliminating the need for a phone network. An independent observatory monitoring system interfaces with the observatory computer during operation. The observatory converts to a trailer for transportation to the site and is converted to a semi-permanent building without wheels and towing equipment. This ensures minimal disturbance to local environment.

A continued program of planetary study at the University of Texas McDonald Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Trafton, L.

1991-01-01

The program conducts solar system research in support of NASA missions and of general astronomical interest. Investigations of composition, physical characteristics and changes in solar system bodies are conducted primarily using the facilities of McDonald Observatory. Progress, accomplishments, and projected accomplishments are discussed.

Global climate change model natural climate variation: Paleoclimate data base, probabilities and astronomic predictors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kukla, G.; Gavin, J. [Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States). Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory

1994-05-01

This report was prepared at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University at Palisades, New York, under subcontract to Pacific Northwest Laboratory it is a part of a larger project of global climate studies which supports site characterization work required for the selection of a potential high-level nuclear waste repository and forms part of the Performance Assessment Scientific Support (PASS) Program at PNL. The work under the PASS Program is currently focusing on the proposed site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and is under the overall direction of the Yucca Mountain Project Office US Department of Energy, Las Vegas, Nevada. The final results of the PNL project will provide input to global atmospheric models designed to test specific climate scenarios which will be used in the site specific modeling work of others. The primary purpose of the data bases compiled and of the astronomic predictive models is to aid in the estimation of the probabilities of future climate states. The results will be used by two other teams working on the global climate study under contract to PNL. They are located at and the University of Maine in Orono, Maine, and the Applied Research Corporation in College Station, Texas. This report presents the results of the third year`s work on the global climate change models and the data bases describing past climates.

Suppression of Astronomical Sources Using Starshades and the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Novicki, Megan; Warwick, Steve; Smith, Daniel; Richards, Michael; Harness, Anthony

2016-01-01

The external starshade is a method for the direct detection and spectral characterization of terrestrial planets around other stars, a key goal identified in ASTRO2010. Tests of this approach have been and continue to be conducted in the lab and in the field (Samuele et al., 2010, Glassman et al., 2014) using non-collimated light sources with a spherical wavefront. We extend the current approach to performing night-time observations of astronomical objects using small-scale (approximately 1/300th) starshades and the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. We placed a starshade directly in the path of the beam from an astronomical object in front of the main heliostat. Using only flat mirrors, we then directed the light through the observatory path and reflected it off the West heliostat to an external telescope located approximately 270m away, for an effective baseline of 420m.This configuration allowed us to make measurements of flat wavefront sources with a Fresnel number close to those expected in proposed full-scale space configurations. We present the results of our engineering runs conducted in 2015.

Conducting Original, Hands-On Astronomical Research in the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Corneau, M. J.

2009-12-01

Since 2007 I have been a Team Leader for the Tzec Maun Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to providing free, research grade, Internet telescopes to students, teachers and researchers around the world. The name Tzec Maun (pronounced “Teh-Zeck-Moan”) comes from Mayan culture. Tzec Maun was the jovial messenger, laughed at adversity. Based on the challenges students, researchers and professional astronomers face with finances, equipment, and telescope access, the jovial mascot seems to fit. Hundreds of hours performing astronomical outreach as a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador and Astronomical League Master of outreach taught me that the best way to inspirationally teach astronomy and space science (and most subjects) is actually being at the eyepiece. I’m NOT a fan of the traditional planetarium experience as a teaching tool because it inhibits inspiration and the learning experience to a 2-D mat on a faux horizon with artificial representations. Once, a student at my dark sky observatory excitedly commented that the night sky was like a 3-D planetarium. I have hosted several classes at my own personal dark sky observatory, but this resource is impractical for all but a few lucky students. Experience has taught me that the next best thing to being at the eyepiece is to control a remote telescope via the Internet. Tzec Maun’s arsenal of telescopes is all research capable, linked to the Internet and positioned for round-the-clock dark skies. The final conditions described above, mean that I can enter an 8:30am science class, log onto the Tzec Maun telescope Portal and turn over control of an Australian system (where it is night) to a student or teacher. Working as a group, the class can either begin their investigations. My Tzec Maun science team (TARP) is engaged in searching for potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs). PHA work excites student and teacher alike. Teaching from telescopes can unleash powerful attention-getting tools that enable

Global TIE Observatories: Real Time Observational Astronomy Through a Robotic Telescope Network

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, G.; Mayo, L. A.

2001-12-01

Astronomy in grades K-12 is traditionally taught (if at all) using textbooks and a few simple hands-on activities. Teachers are generally not trained in observational astronomy techniques and are unfamiliar with the most basic astronomical concepts. In addition, most students, by High School graduation, will never have even looked through the eyepiece of a telescope. The problem becomes even more challenging in inner cities, remote rural areas and low socioeconomic communities where educational emphasis on topics in astronomy as well as access to observing facilities is limited or non existent. Access to most optical telescope facilities is limited to monthly observing nights that cater to a small percentage of the general public living near the observatory. Even here, the observing experience is a one-time event detached from the process of scientific enquiry and sustained educational application. Additionally, a number of large, "research grade" observatory facilities are largely unused, partially due to the slow creep of light pollution around the facilities as well as the development of newer, more capable telescopes. Though cutting edge science is often no longer possible at these sights, real research opportunities in astronomy remain numerous for these facilities as educational tools. The possibility now exists to establish a network of research grade telescopes, no longer useful to the professional astronomical community, that can be made accessible through classrooms, after school, and community based programs all across the country through existing IT technologies and applications. These telescopes could provide unparalleled research and educational opportunities for a broad spectrum of students and turns underutilized observatory facilities into valuable, state-of-the-art teaching centers. The NASA sponsored Telescopes In Education project has been wildly successful in engaging the K-12 education community in real-time, hands-on, interactive astronomy

Astronomical Site Survey for Mountain Wumingshan Area in Western Sichuan Based on GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, N.; Liu, Y.; Zhao, H. M.

2016-11-01

In the Western-China Astronomical Site Survey project, we utilize the Geographic Information System (GIS) for the collection of long-term data, in order to investigate and study the Wumingshan (WMS) mountain and its surrounding areas for their geography, geology, climate, meteorology, social and demographic trends. Data analysis results show that the WMS mountain is located in the eastern fold belt of the Tibet Plateau--the typical region of the Hengduan Mountains, which leads to its large elevation, gently trended ridge, and stable geological structure. The highest altitude above the sea level at the WMS is more than 5000 m, but there are population settlements nearby with the low altitude of only 2000-3000 m, which are important for realizing low-level cost logistics conditions for the future headquarter or logistic base. Earthquake landslides and other geological disasters were rarely recorded. The other facts are such as the dry and clean atmosphere, the sparse vegetation, the semi-dry-state land, the perennial prevailing southwest wind, the rain-less winter, and the relatively short rainy-season summer, the location in the heartland of the large Shangri-La, no records of dust storms and the other inclement weather, low cloud coverage, the stability of wind direction, the small wind speed, the high possibility of clear sky, the far distance away from the developed areas in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and Tibet Autonomous Region, the sparsely populated people, the slowly developed economy, the peaceful and stable social environment, etc. Specially, in recent years, with the development of the local tourist resources, the traffic conditions in Daocheng have been significantly improved. With high quality highway maintenance and daily air transport capacity, the transportation of land and aviation is rarely interrupted due to snowing, which often happens in high plateau regions. Therefore, the WMS area possesses the potential conditions to establish the future

Asteroids astronomical and geological bodies

CERN Document Server

Burbine, Thomas H

2016-01-01

Asteroid science is a fundamental topic in planetary science and is key to furthering our understanding of planetary formation and the evolution of the Solar System. Ground-based observations and missions have provided a wealth of new data in recent years, and forthcoming missions promise further exciting results. This accessible book presents a comprehensive introduction to asteroid science, summarising the astronomical and geological characteristics of asteroids. The interdisciplinary nature of asteroid science is reflected in the broad range of topics covered, including asteroid and meteorite classification, chemical and physical properties of asteroids, observational techniques, cratering, and the discovery of asteroids and how they are named. Other chapters discuss past, present and future space missions and the threat that these bodies pose for Earth. Based on an upper-level course on asteroids and meteorites taught by the author, this book is ideal for students, researchers and professional scientists ...

Virtual Observatories, Data Mining, and Astroinformatics

Science.gov (United States)

Borne, Kirk

The historical, current, and future trends in knowledge discovery from data in astronomy are presented here. The story begins with a brief history of data gathering and data organization. A description of the development ofnew information science technologies for astronomical discovery is then presented. Among these are e-Science and the virtual observatory, with its data discovery, access, display, and integration protocols; astroinformatics and data mining for exploratory data analysis, information extraction, and knowledge discovery from distributed data collections; new sky surveys' databases, including rich multivariate observational parameter sets for large numbers of objects; and the emerging discipline of data-oriented astronomical research, called astroinformatics. Astroinformatics is described as the fourth paradigm of astronomical research, following the three traditional research methodologies: observation, theory, and computation/modeling. Astroinformatics research areas include machine learning, data mining, visualization, statistics, semantic science, and scientific data management.Each of these areas is now an active research discipline, with significantscience-enabling applications in astronomy. Research challenges and sample research scenarios are presented in these areas, in addition to sample algorithms for data-oriented research. These information science technologies enable scientific knowledge discovery from the increasingly large and complex data collections in astronomy. The education and training of the modern astronomy student must consequently include skill development in these areas, whose practitioners have traditionally been limited to applied mathematicians, computer scientists, and statisticians. Modern astronomical researchers must cross these traditional discipline boundaries, thereby borrowing the best of breed methodologies from multiple disciplines. In the era of large sky surveys and numerous large telescopes, the potential

Improving the Determination of Eastern Elongations of Planetary Satellites in the Astronomical Almanac

Science.gov (United States)

Rura, Christopher; Stollberg, Mark

2018-01-01

The Astronomical Almanac is an annual publication of the US Naval Observatory (USNO) and contains a wide variety of astronomical data used by astronomers worldwide as a general reference or for planning observations. Included in this almanac are the times of greatest eastern and northern elongations of the natural satellites of the planets, accurate to 0.1 hour UT. The production code currently used to determine elongation times generates X and Y coordinates for each satellite (16 total) in 5 second intervals. This consequentially caused very large data files, and resulted in the program devoted to determining the elongation times to be computationally intensive. To make this program more efficient, we wrote a Python program to fit a cubic spline to data generated with a 6-minute time step. This resulted in elongation times that were found to agree with those determined from the 5 second data currently used in a large number of cases and was tested for 16 satellites between 2017 and 2019. The accuracy of this program is being tested for the years past 2019 and, if no problems are found, the code will be considered for production of this section of The Astronomical Almanac.

Astronomical Surveys and Big Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mickaelian Areg M.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Recent all-sky and large-area astronomical surveys and their catalogued data over the whole range of electromagnetic spectrum, from γ-rays to radio waves, are reviewed, including such as Fermi-GLAST and INTEGRAL in γ-ray, ROSAT, XMM and Chandra in X-ray, GALEX in UV, SDSS and several POSS I and POSS II-based catalogues (APM, MAPS, USNO, GSC in the optical range, 2MASS in NIR, WISE and AKARI IRC in MIR, IRAS and AKARI FIS in FIR, NVSS and FIRST in radio range, and many others, as well as the most important surveys giving optical images (DSS I and II, SDSS, etc., proper motions (Tycho, USNO, Gaia, variability (GCVS, NSVS, ASAS, Catalina, Pan-STARRS, and spectroscopic data (FBS, SBS, Case, HQS, HES, SDSS, CALIFA, GAMA. An overall understanding of the coverage along the whole wavelength range and comparisons between various surveys are given: galaxy redshift surveys, QSO/AGN, radio, Galactic structure, and Dark Energy surveys. Astronomy has entered the Big Data era, with Astrophysical Virtual Observatories and Computational Astrophysics playing an important role in using and analyzing big data for new discoveries.

Ground-based Efforts to Support a Space-Based Experiment: the Latest LADEE Results

Science.gov (United States)

Cudnik, Brian; Rahman, Mahmudur

2014-05-01

The much anticipated launch of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer happened flawlessly last October and the satellite has been doing science (and sending a few images) since late November. [the LADEE mission ended with the crash-landing of the spacecraft on the lunar far side on April 17, 2014, capping a successful 140 day mission] .We also have launched our campaign to document lunar meteoroid impact flashes from the ground to supply ground truth to inform of any changes in dust concentration encountered by the spacecraft in orbit around the moon. To date I have received six reports of impact flashes or flash candidates from the group I am coordinating; other groups around the world may have more to add when all is said and done. In addition, plans are underway to prepare a program at Prairie View A&M University to involve our physics majors in lunar meteoroid, asteroid occultation, and other astronomical work through our Center for Astronomical Sciences and Technology. This facility will be a control center to not only involve physics majors, but also to include pre-service teachers and member of the outside community to promote pro-am collaborations.

Ticking Stellar Time Bomb Identified - Astronomers find prime suspect for a Type Ia supernova

Science.gov (United States)

2009-11-01

Facility and the SIRIUS camera at the Sutherland station of the South African Astronomical Observatory. More information This research was presented in a paper to appear in the 20 November 2009 issue of the Astrophysical Journal, vol. 706, p. 738 ("The expanding bipolar shell of the helium nova V445 Puppis", by P. A. Woudt et al.). The team is composed of P. A. Woudt and B. Warner (University of Cape Town, South Africa), D. Steeghs and T. R. Marsh (University of Warwick, UK), M. Karovska and G. H. A. Roelofs (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge MA, USA), P. J. Groot and G. Nelemans (Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands), T. Nagayama (Kyoto University, Japan), D. P. Smits (University of South Africa, South Africa), and T. O'Brien (University of Manchester, UK). ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

POST WWII Astronomy and Rebuilding U.S. Astronomical Institutions--The U.S. Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, W. E.

1993-12-01

A belief that technology contributed substantially to the winning of World War II spurred the formation of ONR, then NSF which was formed in ONR's image. NASA's space support, cold war competition, and ARPA's funding of high risk, high payoff technologies led to state-of-the-art instrumentation in astronomy. Limits on funding for instrumentation at individual institutions led to the concept and growth of national astronomy observatories that made observing time available to the best ideas from astronomers who had no access to big telescopes at home. Success of these major observatories lay also in their treatment of visitors who were made to feel a part of the institution. As federal funding became available, several issues were heavily debated, among which were overhead costs on grant awards, what the breakdown of responsibility should be for institutional vs. federal funding, spreading vs. concentrating the available funding, the role of the AAS and advisory groups, federal vs. researcher specification of the research program, and the roots of the modern debate concerning research relevance. U.S. astronomers are unique because of our eclecticism, our development of a winning system of workplaces, our peer review system, our united front presented by our projective planning and our periodic decade reviews, our international orientation, all in the context of national support that is preeminent in the world. These features operate within an economic system that enables us to communicate and travel easily, and scientific and academic administrations that permit astronomers to concentrate on their research without excess internal or external politics.

Solar activity monitoring and forecasting capabilities at Big Bear Solar Observatory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. T. Gallagher

2002-07-01

Full Text Available The availability of full-disk, high-resolution Ha images from Big Bear Solar Observatory (USA, Kanzelhöhe Solar Observatory (Austria, and Yunnan Astronomical Observatory (China allows for the continual monitoring of solar activity with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. Typically, this Global Ha Network (GHN provides almost uninterrupted Ha images with a cadence of 1 min and an image scale of 1'' per pixel.  Every hour, GHN images are transferred to the web-based BBSO Active Region Monitor (ARM; www.bbso.njit.edu/arm, which includes the most recent EUV, continuum, and magnetogram data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, together with magnetograms from the Global Oscillation Network Group. ARM also includes a variety of active region properties from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Environment Center, such as up-to-date active region positions, GOES 5-min X-ray data, and flare identification. Stokes I, V, Q, and U images are available from the recently operational BBSO Digital Vector Magnetograph and the Vector Magnetograph at the Huairou Solar Observing Station of Beijing Observatory. Vector magnetograms provide complete information on the photospheric magnetic field, and allow for magnetic flux gradients, electric currents, and shear forces to be calculated: these measurements are extremely sensitive to conditions resulting in flaring activity. Furthermore, we have developed a Flare Prediction System which estimates the probability for each region to produce C-, M-, or X-class flares based on nearly eight years of NOAA data from cycle 22. This, in addition to BBSO’s daily solar activity reports, has proven a useful resource for activity forecasting.Key words. Solar physics, astronomy and astrophysics (flares and mass ejections; instruments and techniques; photosphere and chromosphere

Virtual Observatory: From Concept to Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Djorgovski, S. G.; Williams, R.

2005-12-01

We review the origins of the Virtual Observatory (VO) concept, and the current status of the efforts in this field. VO is the response of the astronomical community to the challenges posed by the modern massive and complex data sets. It is a framework in which information technology is harnessed to organize, maintain, and explore the rich information content of the exponentially growing data sets, and to enable a qualitatively new science to be done with them. VO will become a complete, open, distributed, web-based framework for astronomy of the early 21st century. A number of significant efforts worldwide are now striving to convert this vision into reality. The technological and methodological challenges posed by the information-rich astronomy are also common to many other fields. We see a fundamental change in the way all science is done, driven by the information technology revolution.

A SURVEY OF ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH: A BASELINE FOR ASTRONOMICAL DEVELOPMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, V. A. R. M.; Russo, P.; Cárdenas-Avendaño, A.

2013-01-01

Measuring scientific development is a difficult task. Different metrics have been put forward to evaluate scientific development; in this paper we explore a metric that uses the number of peer-reviewed, and when available non-peer-reviewed, research articles as an indicator of development in the field of astronomy. We analyzed the available publication record, using the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory/NASA Astrophysics Database System, by country affiliation in the time span between 1950 and 2011 for countries with a gross national income of less than 14,365 USD in 2010. This represents 149 countries. We propose that this metric identifies countries in ''astronomical development'' with a culture of research publishing. We also propose that for a country to develop in astronomy, it should invest in outside expert visits, send its staff abroad to study, and establish a culture of scientific publishing. Furthermore, we propose that this paper may be used as a baseline to measure the success of major international projects, such as the International Year of Astronomy 2009

TRW Ships NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory To Kennedy Space Center

Science.gov (United States)

1999-04-01

Two U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy transport planes carrying the observatory and its ground support equipment landed at Kennedy's Space Shuttle Landing Facility at 2:40 p.m. EST this afternoon. REDONDO BEACH, CA.--(Business Wire)--Feb. 4, 1999--TRW has shipped NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory ("Chandra") to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, in preparation for a Space Shuttle launch later this year. The 45-foot-tall, 5-ton science satellite will provide astronomers with new information on supernova remnants, the surroundings of black holes, and other celestial phenomena that produce vast quantities of X-rays. Cradled safely in the cargo hold of a tractor-trailer rig called the Space Cargo Transportation System (SCTS), NASA's newest space telescope was ferried on Feb. 4 from Los Angeles International Airport to KSC aboard an Air Force C-5 Galaxy transporter. The SCTS, an Air Force container, closely resembles the size and shape of the Shuttle cargo bay. Over the next few months, Chandra will undergo final tests at KSC and be mated to a Boeing-provided Inertial Upper Stage for launch aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. A launch date for the Space Shuttle STS-93 mission is expected to be announced later this week. The third in NASA's family of Great Observatories that includes the Hubble Space Telescope and the TRW-built Compton Gamma Ray observatory, Chandra will use the world's most powerful X-ray telescope to allow scientists to "see" and monitor cosmic events that are invisible to conventional optical telescopes. Chandra's X-ray images will yield new insight into celestial phenomena such as the temperature and extent of gas clouds that comprise clusters of galaxies and the superheating of gas and dust particles as they swirl into black holes. A TRW-led team that includes the Eastman Kodak Co., Raytheon Optical Systems Inc., and Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. designed and built the Chandra X-ray Observatory for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The

Project Solaris, a Global Network of Autonomous Observatories: Design, Commissioning, and First Science Results

Science.gov (United States)

Kozłowski, S. K.; Sybilski, P. W.; Konacki, M.; Pawłaszek, R. K.; Ratajczak, M.; Hełminiak, K. G.; Litwicki, M.

2017-10-01

We present the design and commissioning of Project Solaris, a global network of autonomous observatories. Solaris is a Polish scientific undertaking aimed at the detection and characterization of circumbinary exoplanets and eclipsing binary stars. To accomplish this, a network of four fully autonomous observatories has been deployed in the Southern Hemisphere: Solaris-1 and Solaris-2 in the South African Astronomical Observatory in South Africa; Solaris-3 in Siding Spring Observatory in Australia; and Solaris-4 in Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito in Argentina. The four stations are nearly identical and are equipped with 0.5-m Ritchey-Crétien (f/15) or Cassegrain (f/9, Solaris-3) optics and high-grade 2 K × 2 K CCD cameras with Johnson and Sloan filter sets. We present the design and implementation of low-level security; data logging and notification systems; weather monitoring components; all-sky vision system, surveillance system; and distributed temperature and humidity sensors. We describe dedicated grounding and lighting protection system design and robust fiber data transfer interfaces in electrically demanding conditions. We discuss the outcomes of our design, as well as the resulting software engineering requirements. We describe our system’s engineering approach to achieve the required level of autonomy, the architecture of the custom high-level industry-grade software that has been designed and implemented specifically for the use of the network. We present the actual status of the project and first photometric results; these include data and models of already studied systems for benchmarking purposes (Wasp-4b, Wasp-64b, and Wasp-98b transits, PG 1663-018, an eclipsing binary with a pulsator) as well J024946-3825.6, an interesting low-mass binary system for which a complete model is provided for the first time.

GAUDI: A Preparatory Archive for the COROT Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Solano, E.; Catala, C.; Garrido, R.; Poretti, E.; Janot-Pacheco, E.; Gutiérrez, R.; González, R.; Mantegazza, L.; Neiner, C.; Fremat, Y.; Charpinet, S.; Weiss, W.; Amado, P. J.; Rainer, M.; Tsymbal, V.; Lyashko, D.; Ballereau, D.; Bouret, J. C.; Hua, T.; Katz, D.; Lignières, F.; Lüftinger, T.; Mittermayer, P.; Nesvacil, N.; Soubiran, C.; van't Veer-Menneret, C.; Goupil, M. J.; Costa, V.; Rolland, A.; Antonello, E.; Bossi, M.; Buzzoni, A.; Rodrigo, C.; Aerts, C.; Butler, C. J.; Guenther, E.; Hatzes, A.

2005-01-01

The GAUDI database (Ground-based Asteroseismology Uniform Database Interface) is a preparatory archive for the COROT (Convection, Rotation, and Planetary Transits) mission developed at the Laboratorio de Astrofísica Espacial y Física Fundamental (Laboratory for Space Astrophysics and Theoretical Physics, Spain). Its intention is to make the ground-based observations obtained in preparation of the asteroseismology program available in a simple and efficient way. It contains spectroscopic and photometric data together with inferred physical parameters for more than 1500 objects gathered since 1998 January 1998 in 6 years of observational campaigns. In this paper, the main functions and characteristics of the system are described. Based on observations collected at La Silla (ESO proposals 67.D-0169, 69.D-0166, and 70.D-0110), Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (proposal 6-20-068), Observatoire de Haute-Provence, the South African Astronomical Observatory, Tautenburg Observatory, and Sierra Nevada Observatory.

Astronomers Find World with Thick, Inhospitable Atmosphere and an Icy Heart

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

, USA). ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

"Zhizneopisanie" astronomia N. N. Pavlova, im samim napisannoe %t Astronomer N. N. Pavlov's autobiography

Science.gov (United States)

Zhukov, V. Yu.

This document called by the author "the life story" is written for the human resources department. It is a document intended for the official departmental purposes. At the same time there is something facinating about this documentary testimony about the epoch and the man. This short autobiography describes the early years of the Pulkovo astronomer N. N. Pavlov that fell on hard times of the Civil War. In the years between the World War I and the World War II he was awarded Mendeleyev Prize. He defended his doctorate dissertation after the evacuation from Leningrad. He was one fo the first Pulkovo astronomers to return to Leningrad in order to start reconstruction of the observatory that had been completely ruined during the war. Astronomer N. N. Pavlov renewed the Time Service in the city. N. N. Pavlov was a successful scientist and an outstanding person, all his life was devoted to science.

Recent results from the Compton Observatory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michelson, P.F.; Hansen, W.W. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

1994-12-01

The Compton Observatory is an orbiting astronomical observatory for gamma-ray astronomy that covers the energy range from about 30 keV to 30 GeV. The Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET), one of four instruments on-board, is capable of detecting and imaging gamma radiation from cosmic sources in the energy range from approximately 20 MeV to 30 GeV. After about one month of tests and calibration following the April 1991 launch, a 15-month all sky survey was begun. This survey is now complete and the Compton Observatory is well into Phase II of its observing program which includes guest investigator observations. Among the highlights from the all-sky survey discussed in this presentation are the following: detection of five pulsars with emission above 100 MeV; detection of more than 24 active galaxies, the most distant at redshift greater than two; detection of many high latitude, unidentified gamma-ray sources, some showing significant time variability; detection of at least two high energy gamma-ray bursts, with emission in one case extending to at least 1 GeV. EGRET has also detected gamma-ray emission from solar flares up to energies of at least 2 GeV and has observed gamma-rays from the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Data Distribution System (DDS) and Solar Dynamic Observatory Ground Station (SDOGS) Integration Manager

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Kim; Bialas, Thomas

2012-01-01

The DDS SDOGS Integration Manager (DSIM) provides translation between native control and status formats for systems within DDS and SDOGS, and the ASIST (Advanced Spacecraft Integration and System Test) control environment in the SDO MOC (Solar Dynamics Observatory Mission Operations Center). This system was created in response for a need to centralize remote monitor and control of SDO Ground Station equipments using ASIST control environment in SDO MOC, and to have configurable table definition for equipment. It provides translation of status and monitoring information from the native systems into ASIST-readable format to display on pages in the MOC. The manager is lightweight, user friendly, and efficient. It allows data trending, correlation, and storing. It allows using ASIST as common interface for remote monitor and control of heterogeneous equipments. It also provides failover capability to back up machines.

An Overview of X-Ray Polarimetry of Astronomical Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin C. Weisskopf

2018-03-01

Full Text Available We review the history of astronomical X-ray polarimetry based on the author’s perspective, beginning with early sounding-rocket experiments by Robert Novick at Columbia University and his team, of which the author was a member. After describing various early techniques for measuring X-ray polarization, we discuss the polarimeter aboard the Orbiting Solar Observatory 8 (OSO-8 and its scientific results. Next, we describe the X-ray polarimeter to have flown aboard the ill-fated original Spectrum-X mission, which provided important lessons on polarimeter design, systematic effects, and the programmatics of a shared focal plane. We conclude with a description of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE and its prospective scientific return. IXPE, a partnership between NASA and ASI, has been selected as a NASA Astrophysics Small Explorers Mission and is currently scheduled to launch in April of 2021.

Astronomical Instrumentation System Markup Language

Science.gov (United States)

Goldbaum, Jesse M.

2016-05-01

The Astronomical Instrumentation System Markup Language (AISML) is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) based file format for maintaining and exchanging information about astronomical instrumentation. The factors behind the need for an AISML are first discussed followed by the reasons why XML was chosen as the format. Next it's shown how XML also provides the framework for a more precise definition of an astronomical instrument and how these instruments can be combined to form an Astronomical Instrumentation System (AIS). AISML files for several instruments as well as one for a sample AIS are provided. The files demonstrate how AISML can be utilized for various tasks from web page generation and programming interface to instrument maintenance and quality management. The advantages of widespread adoption of AISML are discussed.

Amateur Astronomers: Secret Agents of EPO

Science.gov (United States)

Berendsen, M.; White, V.; Devore, E.; Reynolds, M.

2008-06-01

Amateur astronomers prime the public to be more interested, receptive, and excited about space science, missions, and programs. Through recent research and targeted programs, amateur astronomy outreach is being increasingly recognized by professional astronomers, educators, and other amateurs as a valued and important service. The Night Sky Network program, administered by the ASP, is the first nationwide research-based program specifically targeted to support outreach by amateur astronomers. This Network of trained and informed amateur astronomers can provide a stimulating introduction to your EPO programs as Network members share the night sky with families, students, and youth groups.

SkyMouse: A smart interface for astronomical on-line resources and services

OpenAIRE

CUI, Chen-Zhou; SUN, Hua-Ping; ZHAO, Yong-Heng; LUO, Yu; QI, Da-Zhi

2007-01-01

With the development of network and the World Wide Web (WWW), the Internet has been growing and changing dramatically. More and more on-line database systems and different kinds of services are available for astronomy research. How to help users find their way through the jungle of information services becomes an important challenge. Although astronomers have been aware of the importance of interoperability and introduced the concept of Virtual Observatory as a uniform environment for future ...

Ground-based Efforts to Support a Space-based Experiment: the Latest LADEE Results (Abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Cudnik, B.; Rahman, M.

2014-12-01

(Abstract only) The much anticipated launch of NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer happened flawlessly last October and the satellite has been doing science (and sending a few images) since late Novermber. [The LADEE mission ended with the crash-landing of the spacecraft on the lunar far side on April 17, 2014, capping a successful 140-day mission.] We also have launched our campaign to document lunar meteroid impact flashes from the ground to supply ground truth to inform of any changes in dust concentration encountered by the spacecraft in orbit around the moon. To date I have received six reports of impact flashes or flash candidates from the group I am coordinating; other groups around the world may have more to add when all is said and done. In addition, plans are underway to prepare a program at Prairie View A&M University to involve our physics majors in lunar meteoroid, asteroid occultation, and other astronomical work through our Center for Astronomical Sciences and Technology. This facility will be a control center to not only involve physics majors, but also to include pre-service teachers and members of the outside community to promote pro-am collaborations.

Leslie Peltier, Amateur Astronomer and Observer Extraordinaire

Science.gov (United States)

Corbin, B. G.

2003-12-01

Leslie Copus Peltier, (Jan. 2, 1900-May 10, 1980) was called "the world's greatest non-professional astronomer" by none other than Harlow Shapley, and also referred to as the "the world's greatest living amateur astronomer". He began observing variable stars on March 1, 1918 with an observation of R. Leonis and at the time of his death had made a total of 132,123 observations of variable stars. These were reported to the AAVSO on a consecutive monthly basis stretching from 1918 to his death in 1980. As of October 2003, he was still on AAVSO's list of the top 25 observers in its history. Born on a farm near Delphos, Ohio, his parents were well read and their home was filled with books on different subjects, including nature guides. As a young man he studied the flora and fauna of the area and in 1915 began his study of the heavens with Vega being the first star he identified. After the purchase of a 2-inch spyglass, his observations of variable stars began to be noticed by professional astronomers and the AAVSO loaned him a 4-inch Mogey refractor; shortly thereafter Henry Norris Russell of Princeton loaned him via the AAVSO a 6-inch refractor, a comet seeker of short focus. He discovered 12 comets, 10 of which carry his name, and 6 novae or recurring novae. His design of the "Merry-Go-Round Observatory" was a novel approach with the whole observatory revolving around the observer while seated in his observing chair. Miami University (Ohio) later donated to him their 12-inch Clark refractor with its dome. His first book, Starlight Nights: The Adventures of a Star-Gazer, appeared in 1965. This autobiography, an ode to the joys of observing both the night sky and nature, was written in beautifully descriptive language that helped lead countless readers into astronomy. Departing from astronomy, in 1977 he published The Place on Jennings Creek. Written in the style of the 19th century naturalist, the book was devoted to his family's home, Brookhaven, and its natural

Astronomers Get Closest Look Yet At Milky Way's Mysterious Core

Science.gov (United States)

2005-11-01

those in our latest images," said Fred K.Y. Lo, Director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and another member of the research team. "Seeing that shadow would be the final proof that a supermassive black hole is at the center of our Galaxy," Lo added. Many galaxies are believed to have supermassive black holes at their centers, and many of these are much more massive than the Milky Way's black hole. The Milky Way's central black hole is much less active than that of many other galaxies, presumably because it has less nearby material to "eat." Astronomers believe that the radio waves they see coming from Sagittarius A* are either generated by particle jets that have been detected in many more-active galaxies or from accretion flows that are spiraling into the central black hole. By observing the object at higher radio frequencies, scientists have detected a region of radiation ever closer to the black hole. The results announced last year were based on observations at 43 GigaHertz (GHz), and the latest observations were made at 86 GHz. "We believe that if we can double the frequency again, we will see the black-hole shadow produced by effects of Einstein's General Relativity theory," Lo said. In a few years, when the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) comes on line, it may be used in conjunction with other millimeter-wave telescopes to make the higher-frequency observations that will reveal the telltale black-hole shadow. At a distance of 26,000 light-years, the Milky Way's central black hole is the closest such supermassive object. That makes it the most likely one to finally reveal the concrete evidence for a black hole that astronomers have sought for years. Shen and Lo worked with Mao-Chang Liang of Caltech, Paul Ho of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and the Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, and Jun-Hui Zhao of CfA. The astronomers published their findings in the November 3 issue of the

Old Star's "Rebirth" Gives Astronomers Surprises

Science.gov (United States)

2005-04-01

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope are taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch an old star suddenly stir back into new activity after coming to the end of its normal life. Their surprising results have forced them to change their ideas of how such an old, white dwarf star can re-ignite its nuclear furnace for one final blast of energy. Sakurai's Object Radio/Optical Images of Sakurai's Object: Color image shows nebula ejected thousands of years ago. Contours indicate radio emission. Inset is Hubble Space Telescope image, with contours indicating radio emission; this inset shows just the central part of the region. CREDIT: Hajduk et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF, ESO, StSci, NASA Computer simulations had predicted a series of events that would follow such a re-ignition of fusion reactions, but the star didn't follow the script -- events moved 100 times more quickly than the simulations predicted. "We've now produced a new theoretical model of how this process works, and the VLA observations have provided the first evidence supporting our new model," said Albert Zijlstra, of the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. Zijlstra and his colleagues presented their findings in the April 8 issue of the journal Science. The astronomers studied a star known as V4334 Sgr, in the constellation Sagittarius. It is better known as "Sakurai's Object," after Japanese amateur astronomer Yukio Sakurai, who discovered it on February 20, 1996, when it suddenly burst into new brightness. At first, astronomers thought the outburst was a common nova explosion, but further study showed that Sakurai's Object was anything but common. The star is an old white dwarf that had run out of hydrogen fuel for nuclear fusion reactions in its core. Astronomers believe that some such stars can undergo a final burst of fusion in a shell of helium that surrounds a core of heavier nuclei such as carbon and oxygen. However, the

Astronomers Discover Six-Image Gravitational Lens

Science.gov (United States)

2001-08-01

-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). "When we understand this system, we will have a much clearer picture of how galaxies are changed by being part of a bigger cluster of galaxies," he added. B1359+154 was discovered in 1999 by the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey, an international collaboration of astronomers who use radio telescopes to search the sky for gravitational lenses. Images made by the NSF's Very Large Array in New Mexico and by Britain's MERLIN radio telescope showed six objects suspected of being gravitational-lens images, but the results were inconclusive. Rusin and his team used the VLBA and HST in 1999 and 2000 to make more-detailed studies of B1359+154. The combination of data from the VLBA and HST convinced the astronomers that B1359+154 actually consists of six lensed images of a single background galaxy. The VLBA images were made from data collected during observations at a radio frequency of 1.7 GHz. "This is a great example of modern, multi-wavelength astronomy," said Rusin. "We need the radio telescopes to detect the gravitational lenses in the first place, then we need the visible-light information from Hubble to show us additional detail about the structure of the system." Armed with the combined VLBA and HST data about the positions and brightnesses of the six images of the background galaxy as well as the positions of the three intermediate galaxies, the astronomers did computer simulations to show how the gravitation of the three galaxies could produce the lens effect. They were able to design a computer model of the system that, in fact, produces the six images seen in B1359+154. "Our computer model certainly is not perfect, and we need to do more observations of this system to refine it, but we have clearly demonstrated that the three galaxies we see can produce a six-image lens system," said Martin Norbury, a graduate student at Jodrell Bank Observatory in Britain. "We think this work will give us an excellent tool for studying much-denser clusters of

Integration of the Watcher Telescope into the Sierra Stars Observatory Network – Lessons Learned for GLORIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Topinka

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The UCD Watcher robotic telescope is planning to participate in the Sierra Stars Observatory Network (SSON, a US-based organisation that provides astronomical images upon request to subscribing users, who are typically either amateurs or university/college students. Implementing the tasks required for the integration of Watcher to SSON, such as remote scheduling, file transfer, image quality validation and the provision of meteorological information, have provided useful experience for the GLORIA project. It has also become apparent that managing user expectations will be important for GLORIA.

Active remote observing system for the 1-m telescope at Tonantzintla Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Bernal, Abel; Martínez, Luis A.; Hernández, Héctor; Garfias, Fernando; Ángeles, Fernando

2006-06-01

We have designed and installed a new active remote observing system for the 1-m, f/15 telescope at the Tonantzintla Observatory. This remote system is operated in real-time through the Internet, allowing an observer to control the building, the telescope (pointing, guiding and focusing) and the CCD image acquisition at the main and finder telescopes from the Instituto de Astronomia headquarters in Mexico City (150 KM away). The whole system was modeled within the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and the design has proved to be versatile enough for a variety of astronomical instruments. We describe the system architecture and how different subsystems (telescope control, main telescope and finder image acquisition, weather station, videoconference, etc.) that are based on different operative system platforms (Linux, Windows, uIP) have been integrated. We present the first results of an IPv6 over IPv4 tunnel. Recent remote direct imaging and spectroscopic observations have been used to test the astronomical site. We conclude that this remote system is an excellent tool for supporting research and graduated observational astronomy programs.

Authentic Astronomical Discovery in Planetariums: Bringing Data to Domes

Science.gov (United States)

Wyatt, Ryan Jason; Subbarao, Mark; Christensen, Lars; Emmons, Ben; Hurt, Robert

2018-01-01

Planetariums offer a unique opportunity to disseminate astronomical discoveries using data visualization at all levels of complexity: the technical infrastructure to display data and a sizeable cohort of enthusiastic educators to interpret results. “Data to Dome” is an initiative the International Planetarium Society to develop our community’s capacity to integrate data in fulldome planetarium systems—including via open source software platforms such as WorldWide Telescope and OpenSpace. We are cultivating a network of planetarium professionals who integrate data into their presentations and share their content with others. Furthermore, we propose to shorten the delay between discovery and dissemination in planetariums. Currently, the “latest science” is often presented days or weeks after discoveries are announced, and we can shorten this to hours or even minutes. The Data2Dome (D2D) initiative, led by the European Southern Observatory, proposes technical infrastructure and data standards that will streamline content flow from research institutions to planetariums, offering audiences a unique opportunity to access to the latest astronomical data in near real time.

SIP: A Web-Based Astronomical Image Processing Program

Science.gov (United States)

Simonetti, J. H.

1999-12-01

I have written an astronomical image processing and analysis program designed to run over the internet in a Java-compatible web browser. The program, Sky Image Processor (SIP), is accessible at the SIP webpage (http://www.phys.vt.edu/SIP). Since nothing is installed on the user's machine, there is no need to download upgrades; the latest version of the program is always instantly available. Furthermore, the Java programming language is designed to work on any computer platform (any machine and operating system). The program could be used with students in web-based instruction or in a computer laboratory setting; it may also be of use in some research or outreach applications. While SIP is similar to other image processing programs, it is unique in some important respects. For example, SIP can load images from the user's machine or from the Web. An instructor can put images on a web server for students to load and analyze on their own personal computer. Or, the instructor can inform the students of images to load from any other web server. Furthermore, since SIP was written with students in mind, the philosophy is to present the user with the most basic tools necessary to process and analyze astronomical images. Images can be combined (by addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division), multiplied by a constant, smoothed, cropped, flipped, rotated, and so on. Statistics can be gathered for pixels within a box drawn by the user. Basic tools are available for gathering data from an image which can be used for performing simple differential photometry, or astrometry. Therefore, students can learn how astronomical image processing works. Since SIP is not part of a commercial CCD camera package, the program is written to handle the most common denominator image file, the FITS format.

Getting Astronomers Involved in the IYA: Astronomer in the Classroom

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Koenig, Kris

2008-05-01

The Astronomer in the Classroom program provides professional astronomers the opportunity to engage with 3rd-12th grade students across the nation in grade appropriate discussions of their recent research, and provides students with rich STEM content in a personalized forum, bringing greater access to scientific knowledge for underserved populations. 21st Century Learning and Interstellar Studios, the producer of the 400 Years of the Telescope documentary along with their educational partners, will provide the resources necessary to facilitate the Astronomer in the Classroom program, allowing students to interact with astronomers throughout the IYA2009. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION One of hundreds of astronomers will be available to interact with students via live webcast daily during Spring/Fall 2009. The astronomer for the day will conduct three 20-minute discussions (Grades 3-5 /6-8/9-12), beginning with a five-minute PowerPoint on their research or area of interest. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer period. The students will participate in real-time from their school computer(s) with the technology provided by 21st Century Learning. They will see and hear the astronomer on their screen, and pose questions from their keyboard. Teachers will choose from three daily sessions; 11:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. This schedule overlaps all US time zones, and marginalizes bandwidth usage, preventing technological barriers to web access. The educational partners and astronomers will post materials online, providing easy access to information that will prepare teachers and students for the chosen discussion. The astronomers, invited to participate from the AAS and IAU, will receive a web cam shipment with instructions, a brief training and conductivity test, and prepaid postage for shipment of the web cam to the next astronomer on the list. The anticipated astronomer time required is 3-hours, not including the time to develop the PowerPoint.

Status And Performance Of The Virgin Islands Robotic Telescope at Etelman Observatory

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Morris, David C.; Gendre, Bruce; Neff, James E.; Giblin, Timothy W.

2016-01-01

The Virgin Islands Robotic Telescope is an 0.5m robotic telescope located at the easternmost and southernmost optical observatory in the United States at a latitude of 18.5N and longitude of 65W. The observatory is located on the island of St Thomas in the USVI. Astronomers from the College of Charleston, the US Air Force Academy, and the University of the Virgin Islands collaborate to maintain and operate the facility. The primary scientific focus of the facility is the optical follow-up of high-energy transients though a variety of other science interests are also being pursued including follow-up of candidate extra-solar planets, rotation studies of cool stars, and near-Earth asteroid and space situational awareness studies. The facility also supports a wide-reaching education and outreach program dedicated to raising the level of STEAM engagement and enrichment in the USVI. We detail the characteristics, capabilities, and early results from the observatory. The observatory is growing its staff and science activities and potential topics for collaboration will be discussed.

Progresos recientes en Astronomía de Rayos Gamma

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, G. E.

Tras la exitosa misión del Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory durante los años 1990, la astronomía de rayos gamma ha entrado en una etapa de madurez, convirtiéndose en una de las principales herramientas para el estudio de procesos relativistas en el universo. En este reporte, presentaré una revisión de los principales tópicos abordados a través de estudios con rayos gamma en los últimos años, con particular énfasis en los intentos más recientes por establecer la naturaleza de las fuentes de rayos gamma no identificadas, detectadas por el instrumento EGRET.

What Astronomers and the AAS Need to be Doing to Curb Light Pollution

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Green, D. W. E.

2001-12-01

Astronomers and especially the AAS are doing apalling little in the war on light pollution. This is quite surprising, considering that optical groundbased astronomy may become nearly extinct in the 21st century if we don't get more serious about the loss of our night skies to artificial lighting. Part of the blame must be placed on astronomers throughout the 20th century (particularly before 1980), as very few of them seem to have set an example by starting an early crusade against bad outdoor night lighting (save for a handful of important individuals near large U.S. observatories, and a few connected with smaller observatories); this apathy of earlier generations of astronomers fueled the current general apathy within the AAS and aided the opening of the floodgates in terms of the disastrous lighting situation now upon us in terms of drowning out the night sky. There are possible solutions, and they need to be discussed and acted upon quickly. For example, the AAS should require that all members include a useful amount (say, \\$30) in annual membership fees to be directly transmitted to the International Dark Sky Association, and the AAS should make constant visible strides to educate the public and government officials of the absolute need to reduce outdoor lighting levels and to fully shield all outdoor lighting. There are many other areas of research into outdoor lighting that the AAS should fund or officially/strongly support, so that the astronomical community can better be educated (and can better educate the public) on the evils of bad and thoughtless outdoor-lighting practices; such research includes developing a comprehensive database of national statistics on numbers and types of different outdoor lamps, as a function of time (thus, historical), and also a comprehensive database including all local, state, and federal lighting laws and ordinances together with legal court cases (and their outcomes) involving outdoor night lighting. And professional

Citizen Observatories: A Standards Based Architecture

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Simonis, Ingo

2015-04-01

A number of large-scale research projects are currently under way exploring the various components of citizen observatories, e.g. CITI-SENSE (http://www.citi-sense.eu), Citclops (http://citclops.eu), COBWEB (http://cobwebproject.eu), OMNISCIENTIS (http://www.omniscientis.eu), and WeSenseIt (http://www.wesenseit.eu). Common to all projects is the motivation to develop a platform enabling effective participation by citizens in environmental projects, while considering important aspects such as security, privacy, long-term storage and availability, accessibility of raw and processed data and its proper integration into catalogues and international exchange and collaboration systems such as GEOSS or INSPIRE. This paper describes the software architecture implemented for setting up crowdsourcing campaigns using standardized components, interfaces, security features, and distribution capabilities. It illustrates the Citizen Observatory Toolkit, a software suite that allows defining crowdsourcing campaigns, to invite registered and unregistered participants to participate in crowdsourcing campaigns, and to analyze, process, and visualize raw and quality enhanced crowd sourcing data and derived products. The Citizen Observatory Toolkit is not a single software product. Instead, it is a framework of components that are built using internationally adopted standards wherever possible (e.g. OGC standards from Sensor Web Enablement, GeoPackage, and Web Mapping and Processing Services, as well as security and metadata/cataloguing standards), defines profiles of those standards where necessary (e.g. SWE O&M profile, SensorML profile), and implements design decisions based on the motivation to maximize interoperability and reusability of all components. The toolkit contains tools to set up, manage and maintain crowdsourcing campaigns, allows building on-demand apps optimized for the specific sampling focus, supports offline and online sampling modes using modern cell phones with

Aerosol and Cloud Properties during the Cloud Cheju ABC Plume -Asian Monsoon Experiment (CAPMEX) 2008: Linking between Ground-based and UAV Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, S.; Yoon, S.; Venkata Ramana, M.; Ramanathan, V.; Nguyen, H.; Park, S.; Kim, M.

2009-12-01

Cheju Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC) Plume-Monsoon Experiment (CAPMEX), comprehsensive ground-based measurements and a series of data-gathering flights by specially equipped autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (AUAVs) for aerosol and cloud, had conducted at Jeju (formerly, Cheju), South Korea during August-September 2008, to improve our understanding of how the reduction of anthropogenic emissions in China (so-called “great shutdown” ) during and after the Summer Beijing Olympic Games 2008 effcts on the air quliaty and radiation budgets and how atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) influences solar radiation budget off Asian continent. Large numbers of in-situ and remote sensing instruments at the Gosan ABC observatory and miniaturized instruments on the aircraft measure a range of properties such as the quantity of soot, size-segregated aerosol particle numbers, total particle numbers, size-segregated cloud droplet numbers (only AUAV), aerosol scattering properties (only ground), aerosol vertical distribution, column-integrated aerosol properties, and meteorological variables. By integrating ground-level and high-elevation AUAV measurements with NASA-satellite observations (e.g., MODIS, CALIPSO), we investigate the long range transport of aerosols, the impact of ABCs on clouds, and the role of biogenic and anthropogenic aerosols on cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). In this talk, we will present the results from CAPMEX focusing on: (1) the characteristics of aerosol optical, physical and chemical properties at Gosan observatory, (2) aerosol solar heating calculated from the ground-based micro-pulse lidar and AERONET sun/sky radiometer synergy, and comparison with direct measurements from UAV, and (3) aerosol-cloud interactions in conjunction with measurements by satellites and Gosan observatory.

LAGO: The Latin American giant observatory

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Sidelnik, Iván; Asorey, Hernán; LAGO Collaboration

2017-12-01

The Latin American Giant Observatory (LAGO) is an extended cosmic ray observatory composed of a network of water-Cherenkov detectors (WCD) spanning over different sites located at significantly different altitudes (from sea level up to more than 5000 m a.s.l.) and latitudes across Latin America, covering a wide range of geomagnetic rigidity cut-offs and atmospheric absorption/reaction levels. The LAGO WCD is simple and robust, and incorporates several integrated devices to allow time synchronization, autonomous operation, on board data analysis, as well as remote control and automated data transfer. This detection network is designed to make detailed measurements of the temporal evolution of the radiation flux coming from outer space at ground level. LAGO is mainly oriented to perform basic research in three areas: high energy phenomena, space weather and atmospheric radiation at ground level. It is an observatory designed, built and operated by the LAGO Collaboration, a non-centralized collaborative union of more than 30 institutions from ten countries. In this paper we describe the scientific and academic goals of the LAGO project - illustrating its present status with some recent results - and outline its future perspectives.

Atmospheric Extinction Coefficients in the Ic Band for Several Major International Observatories: Results from the BiSON Telescopes, 1984-2016

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, S. J.; Chaplin, W. J.; Davies, G. R.; Elsworth, Y. P.; Howe, R.; Lund, M. N.; Moxon, E. Z.; Thomas, A.; Pallé, P. L.; Rhodes, E. J., Jr.

2017-09-01

Over 30 years of solar data have been acquired by the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON), an international network of telescopes used to study oscillations of the Sun. Five of the six BiSON telescopes are located at major observatories. The observational sites are, in order of increasing longitude: Mount Wilson (Hale) Observatory (MWO), California, USA; Las Campanas Observatory, Chile; Observatorio del Teide, Izaña, Tenerife, Canary Islands; the South African Astronomical Observatory, Sutherland, South Africa; Carnarvon, Western Australia; and the Paul Wild Observatory, Narrabri, New South Wales, Australia. The BiSON data may be used to measure atmospheric extinction coefficients in the {{{I}}}{{c}} band (approximately 700-900 nm), and presented here are the derived atmospheric extinction coefficients from each site over the years 1984-2016.

Local Observations, Global Connections: An Educational Program Using Ocean Networks Canada's Community-Based Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Pelz, M.; Hoeberechts, M.; Ewing, N.; Davidson, E.; Riddell, D. J.

2014-12-01

Schools on Canada's west coast and in the Canadian Arctic are participating in the pilot year of a novel educational program based on analyzing, understanding and sharing ocean data collected by cabled observatories. The core of the program is "local observations, global connections." First, students develop an understanding of ocean conditions at their doorstep through the analysis of community-based observatory data. Then, they connect that knowledge with the health of the global ocean by engaging with students at other schools participating in the educational program and through supplemental educational resources. Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), an initiative of the University of Victoria, operates cabled ocean observatories which supply continuous power and Internet connectivity to a broad suite of subsea instruments from the coast to the deep sea. This Internet connectivity permits researchers, students and members of the public to download freely available data on their computers anywhere around the globe, in near real-time. In addition to the large NEPTUNE and VENUS cabled observatories off the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, ONC has been installing smaller, community-based cabled observatories. Currently two are installed: one in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut and one at Brentwood College School, on Mill Bay in Saanich Inlet, BC. Several more community-based observatories are scheduled for installation within the next year. The observatories support a variety of subsea instruments, such as a video camera, hydrophone and water quality monitor and shore-based equipment including a weather station and a video camera. Schools in communities hosting an observatory are invited to participate in the program, alongside schools located in other coastal and inland communities. Students and teachers access educational material and data through a web portal, and use video conferencing and social media tools to communicate their findings. A series of lesson plans

Astronomy in Research-Based Science Education (A-RBSE): A Review of a Decade of Professional Development Programs in Support of Teacher and Student Research at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Pompea, S. M.; Garmany, C. D.; Walker, C. E.; Croft, S. K.

2006-12-01

We will review the evolution of the Research Based Science Education (RBSE) and Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science (TLRBSE) programs at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory over the last eleven years. The program has evolved from an NSF-funded program in teacher enhancement to an observatory-supported core education initiative. The present manifestation of our program is an umbrella of programs designed to aid teachers in doing research with astronomical data archives, small telescopes, large research-grade telescopes, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The professional development program has addressed basic questions on the nature of research, best techniques to bring it into the classroom, the value of authentic research, and the mix of on-line versus in- person professional development. The current program is used to test new models of teacher professional development that for outreach programs for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope program, the Thirty-Meter Telescope program, and the National Virtual Observatory program. We will describe a variety of lessons learned (and relearned) and try to describe best practices in promoting teacher and student research. The TLRBSE Program has been funded by the National Science Foundation under ESI 0101982, funded through the AURA/NSF Cooperative Agreement AST-9613615. NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.

Study of the Pierre Auger Observatory ground detectors: tests, simulation and calibration; Etude des detecteurs de surface de l'observatoire Pierre Auger: tests, simulation et etalonnage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Creusot, A

2004-10-01

The Pierre Auger Observatory is intended to the ultra high energy cosmic rays study. This study is realized through the particles showers coming from the interaction between the cosmic rays and the atmosphere. The ground detection of these showers requires a comprehensive understanding of the detectors. Several test tanks have been elaborated for this purpose, especially the Orsay one. The first chapter is dedicated to the presentation of the cosmic rays and of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The second one describes the detectors used for the Observatory surface array. The Orsay test tank is then presented and detailed. We study the results we have got with the Orsay test tank in the fourth chapter and compare these results with those of the Observatory detectors in the fifth chapter. The sixth chapter is dedicated to the validation of the results set through the simulation (GEANT4 software). Finally, the first detected particles showers are presented in the seventh chapter. The data acquisition has begun this year. The construction will be finished by end of 2005. From this moment, The Pierre Auger Observatory will allow us to contribute to solving the cosmic rays puzzle. (author)

Space- and Ground-based Coronal Spectro-Polarimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Fineschi, Silvano; Bemporad, Alessandro; Rybak, Jan; Capobianco, Gerardo

This presentation gives an overview of the near-future perspectives of ultraviolet and visible-light spectro-polarimetric instrumentation for probing coronal magnetism from space-based and ground-based observatories. Spectro-polarimetric imaging of coronal emission-lines in the visible-light wavelength-band provides an important diagnostics tool of the coronal magnetism. The interpretation in terms of Hanle and Zeeman effect of the line-polarization in forbidden emission-lines yields information on the direction and strength of the coronal magnetic field. As study case, this presentation will describe the Torino Coronal Magnetograph (CorMag) for the spectro-polarimetric observation of the FeXIV, 530.3 nm, forbidden emission-line. CorMag - consisting of a Liquid Crystal (LC) Lyot filter and a LC linear polarimeter - has been recently installed on the Lomnicky Peak Observatory 20cm Zeiss coronagraph. The preliminary results from CorMag will be presented. The linear polarization by resonance scattering of coronal permitted line-emission in the ultraviolet (UV)can be modified by magnetic fields through the Hanle effect. Space-based UV spectro-polarimeters would provide an additional tool for the disgnostics of coronal magnetism. As a case study of space-borne UV spectro-polarimeters, this presentation will describe the future upgrade of the Sounding-rocket Coronagraphic Experiment (SCORE) to include the capability of imaging polarimetry of the HI Lyman-alpha, 121.6 nm. SCORE is a multi-wavelength imager for the emission-lines, HeII 30.4 nm and HI 121.6 nm, and visible-light broad-band emission of the polarized K-corona. SCORE has flown successfully in 2009. This presentation will describe how in future re-flights SCORE could observe the expected Hanle effect in corona with a HI Lyman-alpha polarimeter.

Operations of and Future Plans for the Pierre Auger Observatory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abraham, : J.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Aguirre, C.; Ahn, E.J.; Allard, D.; Allekotte, I.; Allen, J.; Alvarez-Muniz, J.; Ambrosio, M.; Anchordoqui, L.

2009-06-01

These are presentations to be presented at the 31st International Cosmic Ray Conference, in Lodz, Poland during July 2009. It consists of the following presentations: (1) Performance and operation of the Surface Detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory; (2) Extension of the Pierre Auger Observatory using high-elevation fluorescence telescopes (HEAT); (3) AMIGA - Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory; (4) Radio detection of Cosmic Rays at the southern Auger Observatory; (5) Hardware Developments for the AMIGA enhancement at the Pierre Auger Observatory; (6) A simulation of the fluorescence detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory using GEANT 4; (7) Education and Public Outreach at the Pierre Auger Observatory; (8) BATATA: A device to characterize the punch-through observed in underground muon detectors and to operate as a prototype for AMIGA; and (9) Progress with the Northern Part of the Pierre Auger Observatory.

Astronomers Reveal Extinct Extra-Terrestrial Fusion Reactor

Science.gov (United States)

2004-06-01

An international team of astronomers, studying the left-over remnants of stars like our own Sun, have found a remarkable object where the nuclear reactor that once powered it has only just shut down. This star, the hottest known white dwarf, H1504+65, seems to have been stripped of its entire outer regions during its death throes leaving behind the core that formed its power plant. Scientists from the United Kingdom, Germany and the USA focused two of NASA's space telescopes, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), onto H1504+65 to probe its composition and measure its temperature. The data revealed that the stellar surface is extremely hot, 200,000 degrees, and is virtually free of hydrogen and helium, something never before observed in any star. Instead, the surface is composed mainly of carbon and oxygen, the 'ashes' of the fusion of helium in a nuclear reactor. An important question we must answer is why has this unique star lost the hydrogen and helium, which usually hide the stellar interior from our view? Professor Martin Barstow (University of Leicester) said. 'Studying the nature of the ashes of dead stars give us important clues as to how stars like the Sun live their lives and eventually die. The nuclear waste of carbon and oxygen produced in the process are essential elements for life and are eventually recycled into interstellar space to form new stars, planets and, possibly, living beings.' Professor Klaus Werner (University of Tübingen) said. 'We realized that this star has, on astronomical time scales, only very recently shut down nuclear fusion (about a hundred years ago). We clearly see the bare, now extinct reactor that once powered a bright giant star.' Dr Jeffrey Kruk (Johns Hopkins University) said: 'Astronomers have long predicted that many stars would have carbon-oxygen cores near the end of their lives, but I never expected we would actually be able to see one. This is a wonderful opportunity to

Validation of the IASI operational CH4 and N2O products using ground-based Fourier Transform Spectrometer: preliminary results at the Izaña Observatory (28ºN, 17ºW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omaira García

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Within the project VALIASI (VALidation of IASI level 2 products the validation of the IASI operational atmospheric trace gas products (total column amounts of H2O, O3, CH4, N2O, CO2 and CO as well H2O and O3 profiles will be carried out. Ground-based FTS (Fourier Transform Spectrometer trace gas measurements made in the framework of NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change serve as the validation reference. In this work, we will present the validation methodology developed for this project and show the first intercomparison results obtained for the Izaña Atmospheric Observatory between 2008 and 2012. As example, we will focus on two of the most important greenhouse gases, CH4 and N2O.

Powerful Radio Burst Indicates New Astronomical Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

2007-09-01

Astronomers studying archival data from an Australian radio telescope have discovered a powerful, short-lived burst of radio waves that they say indicates an entirely new type of astronomical phenomenon. Region of Strong Radio Burst Visible-light (negative greyscale) and radio (contours) image of Small Magellanic Cloud and area where burst originated. CREDIT: Lorimer et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF Click on image for high-resolution file ( 114 KB) "This burst appears to have originated from the distant Universe and may have been produced by an exotic event such as the collision of two neutron stars or the death throes of an evaporating black hole," said Duncan Lorimer, Assistant Professor of Physics at West Virginia University (WVU) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The research team led by Lorimer consists of Matthew Bailes of Swinburne University in Australia, Maura McLaughlin of WVU and NRAO, David Narkevic of WVU, and Fronefield Crawford of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The astronomers announced their findings in the September 27 issue of the online journal Science Express. The startling discovery came as WVU undergraduate student David Narkevic re-analyzed data from observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud made by the 210-foot Parkes radio telescope in Australia. The data came from a survey of the Magellanic Clouds that included 480 hours of observations. "This survey had sought to discover new pulsars, and the data already had been searched for the type of pulsating signals they produce," Lorimer said. "We re-examined the data, looking for bursts that, unlike the usual ones from pulsars, are not periodic," he added. The survey had covered the Magellanic Clouds, a pair of small galaxies in orbit around our own Milky Way Galaxy. Some 200,000 light-years from Earth, the Magellanic Clouds are prominent features in the Southern sky. Ironically, the new discovery is not part of these galaxies, but rather is much more distant

An Observatory to Enhance the Preparation of Future California Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Connolly, L.; Lederer, S.

2004-12-01

With a major grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, California State University, San Bernardino is establishing a state-of-the-art teaching astronomical observatory. The Observatory will be fundamental to an innovative undergraduate physics and astronomy curriculum for Physics and Liberal Studies majors and will be integrated into our General Education program. The critical need for a research and educational observatory is linked to changes in California's Science Competencies for teacher certification. Development of the Observatory will also complement a new infusion of NASA funding and equipment support for our growing astronomy education programs and the University's established Strategic Plan for excellence in education and teacher preparation. The Observatory will consist of two domed towers. One tower will house a 20" Ritchey-Chretien telescope equipped with a CCD camera in conjunction with either UBVRI broadband filters or a spectrometer for evening laboratories and student research projects. The second tower will house the university's existing 12" Schmidt-Cassegrain optical telescope coupled with a CCD camera and an array of filters. A small aperture solar telescope will be attached to the 12" for observing solar prominences while a milar filter can be attached to the 12" for sunspot viewing. We have been very fortunate to receive a challenge grant of \\600,000 from the W. M. Keck Foundation to equip the two domed towers; we continue to seek a further \\800,000 to meet our construction needs. Funding also provided by the California State University, San Bernardino.

Astronomical Orientation Method Based on Lunar Observations Utilizing Super Wide Field of View

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PU Junyu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper,astronomical orientation is achieved by observing the moon utilizing camera with super wide field of view,and formulae are deduced in detail.An experiment based on real observations verified the stability of the method.In this experiment,after 15 minutes' tracking shoots,the internal precision could be superior to ±7.5" and the external precision could approximately reach ±20".This camera-based method for astronomical orientation can change the traditional mode (aiming by human eye based on theodolite,thus lowering the requirements for operator's skill to some extent.Furthermore,camera with super wide field of view can realize the function of continuous tracking shoots on the moon without complicated servo control devices.Considering the similar existence of gravity on the moon and the earth's phase change when observed from the moon,once the technology of self-leveling is developed,this method can be extended to orientation for lunar rover by shooting the earth.

The Virtual Solar Observatory: What Are We Up To Now?

Science.gov (United States)

Gurman, J. B.; Hill, F.; Suarez-Sola, F.; Bogart, R.; Amezcua, A.; Martens, P.; Hourcle, J.; Hughitt, K.; Davey, A.

2012-01-01

In the nearly ten years of a functional Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO), http://virtualsolar.org/ we have made it possible to query and access sixty-seven distinct solar data products and several event lists from nine spacecraft and fifteen observatories or observing networks. We have used existing VSO technology, and developed new software, for a distributed network of sites caching and serving SDO HMI and/ or AlA data. We have also developed an application programming interface (API) that has enabled VSO search and data access capabilities in IDL, Python, and Java. We also have quite a bit of work yet to do, including completion of the implementation of access to SDO EVE data, and access to some nineteen other data sets from space- and ground-based observatories. In addition, we have been developing a new graphic user interface that will enable the saving of user interface and search preferences. We solicit advice from the community input prioritizing our task list, and adding to it

KIC 8462852: Maria Mitchell Observatory Photographic Photometry 1930 to 1985

Science.gov (United States)

Castelaz, Michael; Barker, Thurburn

2018-01-01

KIC 8462852 is an F3V star which decreased 20% in visual brightness twice from 5 to 20 days (Boyajian et al., 2016, MNRAS, 457, 3988) in 2011 and again in 2013. New observations show decreases of a few percent in May 2017 (Waagen 2017, AAVSO Alert Notice, 579), and reanalysis of Kepler data shows a variation of 928.25 days and 22 dimming events (Kiefer et al. 2017, accepted). Photometry from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae and the All-Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) indicate two brightening episodes and a steady decrease in magnitude of 6.3 +/- 1.4 mmag/yr (Simon et al 2017, accepted). Photometric studies from photographic plate collections include a light curve from 1338 Harvard College Observatory plates over the period 1890 to 1989 (Schaefer 2016, ApJ, 822, L34) that indicates KIC 8462852 is dimming 0.164 +/- 0.013 magnitudes per century. Hippke et al. (2016, ApJ, 825, 73) present B and V light curves from photometry from the Sonneberg Observatory photographic plate collection (Brauer and Fuhrmann 1992, Die Sterne, 68, 19) covering the period from 1934 to 1995. The light curve suggests less than 3% or 0.03 magnitude per century decrease in brightness, consistent with the ASAS light curve and Kepler data.Another consistent set of astronomical photographic plates with KIC 8462852 are in the Maria Mitchell Observatory (MMO) collection (Strelnitski 2009 in ASP Conference Series Vol. 410 p. 96). This collection is located in the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute. We extracted the photographic magnitudes of KIC 8462852 from 743 plates from 1930 to 1988. We chose 8 nearby comparison stars within one spectral subclass and within 0.05 magnitudes of KIC 8462852, and not identified as variables. The photometry is calibrated to the USNO B filter, closest in bandpass to the emulsion wavelength sensitivity. The light curve of KIC 8462852 suggests a trend of about 0.1 +/- 0.07 magnitudes per century decrease, an

Study of the Pierre Auger Observatory ground detectors: tests, simulation and calibration; Etude des detecteurs de surface de l'observatoire Pierre Auger: tests, simulation et etalonnage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Creusot, A

2004-10-01

The Pierre Auger Observatory is intended to the ultra high energy cosmic rays study. This study is realized through the particles showers coming from the interaction between the cosmic rays and the atmosphere. The ground detection of these showers requires a comprehensive understanding of the detectors. Several test tanks have been elaborated for this purpose, especially the Orsay one. The first chapter is dedicated to the presentation of the cosmic rays and of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The second one describes the detectors used for the Observatory surface array. The Orsay test tank is then presented and detailed. We study the results we have got with the Orsay test tank in the fourth chapter and compare these results with those of the Observatory detectors in the fifth chapter. The sixth chapter is dedicated to the validation of the results set through the simulation (GEANT4 software). Finally, the first detected particles showers are presented in the seventh chapter. The data acquisition has begun this year. The construction will be finished by end of 2005. From this moment, The Pierre Auger Observatory will allow us to contribute to solving the cosmic rays puzzle. (author)

40+ Years of Instrumentation for the La Silla Paranal Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

D'Odorico, S.

2018-03-01

As ESO Period 100 comes to a close, I look back at the development of ESO's instrumentation programme over more than 40 years. Instrumentation and detector activities were initially started by a small group of designers, engineers, technicians and astronomers while ESO was still at CERN in Geneva in the late 1970s. They have since led to the development of a successful suite of optical and infrared instruments for the La Silla Paranal Observatory, as testified by the continuous growth in the number of proposals for observing time and in the publications based on data from ESO telescopes. The instrumentation programme evolved significantly with the VLT and most instruments were developed by national institutes in close cooperation with ESO. This policy was a cornerstone of the VLT programme from the beginning and a key to its success.

Environment Study of AGNs at z = 0.3 to 3.0 Using the Japanese Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Shirasaki, Y.; Ohishi, M.; Mizumoto, Y.; Takata, T.; Tanaka, M.; Yasuda, N.

2010-12-01

We present a science use case of Virtual Observatory, which was achieved to examine an environment of AGN up to redshift of 3.0. We used the Japanese Virtual Observatory (JVO) to obtain Subaru Suprime-Cam images around known AGNs. According to the hierarchical galaxy formation model, AGNs are expected to be found in an environment of higher galaxy density than that of typical galaxies. The current observations, however, indicate that AGNs do not reside in a particularly high density environment. We investigated ˜1000 AGNs, which is about ten times larger samples than the other studies covering the redshifts larger than 0.6. We successfully found significant excess of galaxies around AGNs at redshifts of 0.3 to 1.8. If this work was done in a classical manner, that is, raw data were retrieved from the archive through a form-based web interface in an interactive way, and the data were reduced on a low performance computer, it might take several years to finish it. Since the Virtual Observatory system is accessible through a standard interface, it is easy to query and retrieve data in an automatic way. We constructed a pipeline for retrieving the data and calculating the galaxy number density around a given coordinate. This procedure was executed in parallel on ˜10 quad core PCs, and it took only one day for obtaining the final result. Our result implies that the Virtual Observatory can be a powerful tool to do an astronomical research based on large amount of data.

The Berlin astronomer - Life and works of Johann Elert Bode (1747-1826) (German Title: Der Berliner Astronom - Leben und Werk von Johann Elert Bode (1747-1826) )

Science.gov (United States)

Schwemin, Friedhelm

Johann Elert Bode (1747-1826), long-time director of Berlin Observatory, earned his merits by editing the “Astronomisches Jahrbuch” for many years, for producing a immaculate star atlas, and for writing a series of popular books. Today, astronomers still know the “Titius-Bode law” of planetary distances, which had been publicized by him. The author traces the life of this Hamburg-born scholar. He analyzes his works and tries to determine his place in the history of astronomy. The volume comprises texts of original documents from Bode's life, a bibliography of his works, as well as numerous historical illustrations, often published here for the first time.

The Development of the Classical Observatory: From a Functional Shelter for the Telescope to the Temple of Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tapio Markkanen

2013-11-01

Full Text Available At the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century, observatory buildings underwent a change, because astronomical tools of observation had transformed from light portable equipment into permanently mounted accurate instruments. For positional astronomy, observations were mainly carried out in the meridian or in the prime vertical. A new type of telescope, the equatorially mounted refractor was adopted for the observation of objects such as planets, comets and double stars. The new instruments and methods of observation also required new approaches to observatory design. The new research needs began to determine the exterior, structure and functions of the observatory building. At the beginning of the 19th century, new standards of observatory planning were developed for the construction of the new observatories of Tartu, Helsinki and Pulkovo. Over many decades, the adopted design principles guided the construction and architecture of avant-garde observatories around the world. They also provided for the archetype of the observatory as a universal emblem for science well into the 20th century. The article discusses the development stages of these design principles and their global impacts.

Urban light pollution - The effect of atmospheric aerosols on astronomical observations at night

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Joachim H.; Mekler, Yuri; Kaufman, Yoram J.

1991-01-01

The transfer of diffuse city light from a localized source through a dust-laden atmosphere with optical depth less than 0.5 has been analyzed in the source-observer plane on the basis of an approximate treatment. The effect on several types of astronomical observation at night has been studied, considering different size distributions and amounts as well as particle shapes of the aerosols. The analysis is made in terms of the signal-to-noise ratios for a given amount of aerosol. The model is applied to conditions at the Wise Astronomical Observatory in the Negev desert, and limiting backgrounds for spectroscopy, photometry, and photography of stars and extended objects have been calculated for a variety of signal-to-noise ratios. Applications to observations with different equipment at various distances from an urban area of any size are possible. Due to the use of signal-to-noise ratios, the conclusions are different for the different experimental techniques used in astronomy.

NASA Names Premier X-Ray Observatory and Schedules Launch

Science.gov (United States)

1998-12-01

NASA's Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility has been renamed the Chandra X-ray Observatory in honor of the late Indian-American Nobel laureate, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. The telescope is scheduled to be launched no earlier than April 8, 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-93, commanded by astronaut Eileen Collins. Chandrasekhar, known to the world as Chandra, which means "moon" or "luminous" in Sanskrit, was a popular entry in a recent NASA contest to name the spacecraft. The contest drew more than six thousand entries from fifty states and sixty-one countries. The co-winners were a tenth grade student in Laclede, Idaho, and a high school teacher in Camarillo, CA. The Chandra X-ray Observatory Center (CXC), operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, will control science and flight operations of the Chandra X-ray Observatory for NASA from Cambridge, Mass. "Chandra is a highly appropriate name," said Harvey Tananbaum, Director of the CXC. "Throughout his life Chandra worked tirelessly and with great precision to further our understanding of the universe. These same qualities characterize the many individuals who have devoted much of their careers to building this premier X-ray observatory." "Chandra probably thought longer and deeper about our universe than anyone since Einstein," said Martin Rees, Great Britain's Astronomer Royal. "Chandrasekhar made fundamental contributions to the theory of black holes and other phenomena that the Chandra X-ray Observatory will study. His life and work exemplify the excellence that we can hope to achieve with this great observatory," said NASA Administrator Dan Goldin. Widely regarded as one of the foremost astrophysicists of the 20th century, Chandrasekhar won the Nobel Prize in 1983 for his theoretical studies of physical processes important to the structure and evolution of stars. He and his wife immigrated from India to the U.S. in 1935. Chandrasekhar served on the faculty of the University of

Future-oriented maintenance strategy based on automated processes is finding its way into large astronomical facilities at remote observing sites

Science.gov (United States)

Silber, Armin; Gonzalez, Christian; Pino, Francisco; Escarate, Patricio; Gairing, Stefan

2014-08-01

With expanding sizes and increasing complexity of large astronomical observatories on remote observing sites, the call for an efficient and recourses saving maintenance concept becomes louder. The increasing number of subsystems on telescopes and instruments forces large observatories, like in industries, to rethink conventional maintenance strategies for reaching this demanding goal. The implementation of full-, or semi-automatic processes for standard service activities can help to keep the number of operating staff on an efficient level and to reduce significantly the consumption of valuable consumables or equipment. In this contribution we will demonstrate on the example of the 80 Cryogenic subsystems of the ALMA Front End instrument, how an implemented automatic service process increases the availability of spare parts and Line Replaceable Units. Furthermore how valuable staff recourses can be freed from continuous repetitive maintenance activities, to allow focusing more on system diagnostic tasks, troubleshooting and the interchanging of line replaceable units. The required service activities are decoupled from the day-to-day work, eliminating dependencies on workload peaks or logistic constrains. The automatic refurbishing processes running in parallel to the operational tasks with constant quality and without compromising the performance of the serviced system components. Consequentially that results in an efficiency increase, less down time and keeps the observing schedule on track. Automatic service processes in combination with proactive maintenance concepts are providing the necessary flexibility for the complex operational work structures of large observatories. The gained planning flexibility is allowing an optimization of operational procedures and sequences by considering the required cost efficiency.

Astronomers Win Protection for Key Part of Radio Spectrum

Science.gov (United States)

2000-06-01

International Telecommunication Union meet to painstakingly parcel out the radio frequency spectrum between radio-based applications such as personal communications, satellite broadcasting, GPS and amateur radio, and the sciences of radio astronomy, earth exploration and deep space research. The WRC also coordinates sharing between services in the same radio bands. WRC decisions are incorporated into the Radio Regulations that govern radio services worldwide. The new spectrum allocations for radio astronomy are the first since 1979. Millimeter-wave astronomy was then in its infancy and many of its needs were not yet known. As astronomers began to explore this region of the spectrum they found spectral lines from many interesting molecules in space. Many of those lines had not fallen into the areas originally set aside for astronomy, but most will be under the new allocations. "It's a win for millimeter-wave science," said Dr. John Whiteoak of the Australia Telescope National Facility, Australian delegate to WRC-00. "This secures its future." The protection is a significant step for both existing millimeter-wave telescopes and new ones such as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) now being planned by a U.S.-European consortium. Even at its isolated site in Chile's Atacama desert, ALMA would be vulnerable to interference from satellite emissions. Sensitive radio astronomy receivers are blinded by these emissions, just as an optical telescope would be by a searchlight. "There is more energy at millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths washing through the Universe than there is of light or any other kind of radiation," said ALMA Project Scientist, Dr. Al Wootten of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. "Imaging the sources of this energy can tell us a great deal about the formation of stars and galaxies, and even planets." "But the Earth's atmosphere isn't very kind to us - it has only a few windows at these frequencies, and not very transparent ones at that. They are

The ground based plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

The paper presents a report of ''The Ground Based Plan'' of the United Kingdom Science and Engineering Research Council. The ground based plan is a plan for research in astronomy and planetary science by ground based techniques. The contents of the report contains a description of:- the scientific objectives and technical requirements (the basis for the Plan), the present organisation and funding for the ground based programme, the Plan, the main scientific features and the further objectives of the Plan. (U.K.)

Photometry and position observations of Saturnian satellites during their mutual eclipses and occultations in 1995 performed at the Observatories in Russia and Kazakhstan

Science.gov (United States)

Emelianov, N. V.; Irsmambetova, T. R.; Kiseleva, T. P.; Tejfel, V. G.; Vashkovjak, S. N.; Glushkova, E. A.; Kornilov, V. G.; Charitonova, G. A.

1999-10-01

Photometry of mutual eclipses and occultations of planetary satellites is a powerful technique to explore these bodies. Observations of these rare events are a source of much precise information. In 1995 the Celestial Mechanics Department of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute (SAI) has organized the observations of mutual eclipses and occultations of Saturnian satellites on a number of observatories of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) -- the former Soviet Union (FSU). The ephemerides of satellites and their observing conditions have been computed beforehand and mailed these data to many observatories of CIS. The Crimean laboratory (CL) of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute, two observatories of the Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan (FAI AS RK) in Almaty, and the Main Astronomical Observatory of Russian Academy of Sciences (MAO RAS) in Pulkovo took part in observations. A photoelectric photometer was used in CL of SAI, a CCD was employed to secure satellite images in FAI AS RK, and both CCD and photographic plates were used in MAO RAS. As a result of this observing campaign, photometric data and light curves were obtained for three mutual eclipses and occultations of Saturnian satellites. A number of position observations made allowed us to measure relative coordinates of satellites. Astrometric information has already been derived from photometric data. The mutual apparent positions of satellites were calculated with an accuracy of 0farcs 002 - 0farcs 003. In this paper observations are described and the parameters characterizing the observed phenomena are given. The results of observations are available in electronic form. This work supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, projects Nos. 95-02-05042, 97-02-16551. Results of observations available in electronic form at CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

Operating a wide-area remote observing system for the W. M. Keck Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Wirth, Gregory D.; Kibrick, Robert I.; Goodrich, Robert W.; Lyke, James E.

2008-07-01

For over a decade, the W. M. Keck Observatory's two 10-meter telescopes have been operated remotely from its Waimea headquarters. Over the last 6 years, WMKO remote observing has expanded to allow teams at dedicated sites in California to observe either in collaboration with colleagues in Waimea or entirely from the U.S. mainland. Once an experimental effort, the Observatory's mainland observing capability is now fully operational, supported on all science instruments (except the interferometer) and regularly used by astronomers at eight mainland sites. Establishing a convenient and secure observing capability from those sites required careful planning to ensure that they are properly equipped and configured. It also entailed a significant investment in hardware and software, including both custom scripts to simplify launching the instrument interface at remote sites and automated routers employing ISDN backup lines to ensure continuation of observing during Internet outages. Observers often wait until shortly before their runs to request use of the mainland facilities. Scheduling these requests and ensuring proper system operation prior to observing requires close coordination between personnel at WMKO and the mainland sites. An established protocol for approving requests and carrying out pre-run checkout has proven useful in ensuring success. The Observatory anticipates enhancing and expanding its remote observing system. Future plans include deploying dedicated summit computers for running VNC server software, implementing a web-based tracking system for mainland-based observing requests, expanding the system to additional mainland sites, and converting to full-time VNC operation for all instruments.

Different Categories of Astronomical Heritage: Issues and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Ruggles, Clive

2012-09-01

Since 2008 the AWHWG has, on behalf of the IAU, been working with UNESCO and its advisory bodies to help identify, safeguard and promote cultural properties relating to astronomy and, where possible, to try to facilitate the eventual nomination of key astronomical heritage sites onto the World Heritage List. Unfortunately, the World Heritage Convention only covers fixed sites (i.e., the tangible immovable heritage of astronomy), and a key question for the UNESCO-IAU Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative (AWHI) is the extent to which the tangible moveable and intangible heritage of astronomy (e.g. moveable instruments; ideas and theories) influence the assessment of the tangible immovable heritage. Clearly, in an ideal world we should be concerned not only with tangible immovable heritage but, to quote the AWHWG's own Terms of Reference, ``to help ensure that cultural properties and artefacts significant in the development of astronomy, together with the intangible heritage of astronomy, are duly studied, protected and maintained, both for the greater benefit of humankind and to the potential benefit of future historical research''. With this in mind, the IAU/INAF symposium on ``Astronomy and its Instruments before and after Galileo'' held in Venice in Sep-Oct 2009 recommended that urgent steps should be taken 1. to sensitise astronomers and the general public, and particularly observatory directors and others with direct influence and control over astronomical resources, to the importance of identifying, protecting and preserving the various material products of astronomical research and discovery that already have, or have significant potential to acquire, universal value; (N.B. National or regional interests and concerns have no relevance in the assessment of ``universal value'', which, by definition, extends beyond cultural boundaries and, by reasonable expectation, down the generations into the future. 2. to identify modes of interconnectivity between

Latin American astronomers and the International Astronomical Union

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Peimbert, S.

2017-07-01

Selected aspects of the participation of the Latin American astronomers in the International Astronomical Union are presented: Membership, Governing bodies, IAU meetings, and other activities. The Union was founded in 1919 with 7 initial member states, soon to be followed by Brazil. In 1921 Mexico joined, and in 1928 Argentina also formed part of the Union, while Chile joined in 1947. In 1961 Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela were already member countries. At present (October 2016) 72 countries contribute financially to the Union. The Union lists 12,391 professional astronomers as individual members; of those, 692 astronomers work in Latin America and the Caribbean, from 13 member states (Argentina, Bolivia , Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, Panamá, Perú, Uruguay and Venezuela) as well as from Ecuador and Puerto Rico. This group comprises 5.58% of the total membership, a figure somewhat lower than the fraction of the population in the region, which is 8.6% of the world population. Of the Latin American members, 23.4% are women and 76.6% are men; slightly higher than the whole membership of Union, which is of 16.9%. In the governing bodies it can be mentioned that there have been 2 Presidents of the Union (Jorge Sahade and Silvia Torres-Peimbert), 7 VicePresidents (Guillermo Haro, Jorge Sahade, Manuel Peimbert Claudio Anguita, Silvia Torres-Peimbert, Beatriz Barbuy, and Marta G. Rovira). The IAU meetings held in the region, include 2 General Assemblies (the 1991 XXI GA took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the 2009 XXVIII GA, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 15 Regional Meetings (in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela and Uruguay), 29 Symposia (in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and Mexico), 5 Colloquia (in Argentina and Mexico), 8 International Schools for Young Astronomers (in Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Honduras and Mexico), and 11 projects sponsored by the Office of Astronomy

Project management for complex ground-based instruments: MEGARA plan

Science.gov (United States)

García-Vargas, María. Luisa; Pérez-Calpena, Ana; Gil de Paz, Armando; Gallego, Jesús; Carrasco, Esperanza; Cedazo, Raquel; Iglesias, Jorge

2014-08-01

The project management of complex instruments for ground-based large telescopes is a challenge itself. A good management is a clue for project success in terms of performance, schedule and budget. Being on time has become a strict requirement for two reasons: to assure the arrival at the telescope due to the pressure on demanding new instrumentation for this first world-class telescopes and to not fall in over-costs. The budget and cash-flow is not always the expected one and has to be properly handled from different administrative departments at the funding centers worldwide distributed. The complexity of the organizations, the technological and scientific return to the Consortium partners and the participation in the project of all kind of professional centers working in astronomical instrumentation: universities, research centers, small and large private companies, workshops and providers, etc. make the project management strategy, and the tools and procedures tuned to the project needs, crucial for success. MEGARA (Multi-Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía) is a facility instrument of the 10.4m GTC (La Palma, Spain) working at optical wavelengths that provides both Integral-Field Unit (IFU) and Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) capabilities at resolutions in the range R=6,000-20,000. The project is an initiative led by Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) in collaboration with INAOE (Mexico), IAA-CSIC (Spain) and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). MEGARA is being developed under contract with GRANTECAN.

Operation of the Pierre Auger Observatory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez Martino, Julio

2011-01-01

While the work to make data acquisition fully automatic continues, both the Fluorescence Detectors and the Surface Detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory need some kind of attention from the local staff. In the first case, the telescopes are operated and monitored during the moonless periods. The ground array only needs monitoring, but the larger number of stations implies more variables to consider. AugerAccess (a high speed internet connection) will give the possibility of operating and monitoring the observatory from any place in the world. This arises questions about secure access, better control software and alarms. Solutions are already being tested and improved.

Morro Azul Observatory: A New Center for Teaching and Popularization of Astronomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bretones, Paulo Sergio; Cardoso de Oliveira, Vladimir

2002-08-01

In 1999, the Instituto Superior de Ciências Aplicadas (ISCA Faculdades de Limeira) started a project to build an observatory and initiate several astronomy related activities in the city of Limeira and region (São Paulo state) with the aim of teaching and popularizing astronomy. After contracting teachers, a technician and an intern, the Morro Azul Observatory was inaugurated in March 2000 as a part of the geosciences department of ISCA Faculdades. This poster describes the development phases of the Observatory, the activities initiated by the Observatory, and assesses the impact of the project. Several issues will be discussed such as the criteria for choosing the site, buildings, instruments, group visits, and particularly the goals that were reached. The Observatory, as described here, serves as a model for other centers with the same purpose in the country. The achievements of this project include the creation of two astronomical disciplines for the geography course and liaisons with other courses such as tourism, pedagogy, social communication and engineering. New activities were initiated, educational materials created, and the Observatory is now part of the regions teaching network and is in contact with other Brazilian and foreign centers. This poster presents the results from report analyses, visitor records, the local media, goal strategy assessment, and the current state of the project. It concludes with an evaluation of the social commitment of the Observatory, its initiatives for the constant renewal and growth of the project, its policy of maintaining the activities and interchange with other national and international astronomy centers, and the future perspectives in terms of its contribution for the research in science education.

Methods in Astronomical Image Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Jörsäter, S.

A Brief Introductory Note History of Astronomical Imaging Astronomical Image Data Images in Various Formats Digitized Image Data Digital Image Data Philosophy of Astronomical Image Processing Properties of Digital Astronomical Images Human Image Processing Astronomical vs. Computer Science Image Processing Basic Tools of Astronomical Image Processing Display Applications Calibration of Intensity Scales Calibration of Length Scales Image Re-shaping Feature Enhancement Noise Suppression Noise and Error Analysis Image Processing Packages: Design of AIPS and MIDAS AIPS MIDAS Reduction of CCD Data Bias Subtraction Clipping Preflash Subtraction Dark Subtraction Flat Fielding Sky Subtraction Extinction Correction Deconvolution Methods Rebinning/Combining Summary and Prospects for the Future

Pushing the limits of spatial resolution with the Kuiper Airborne observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Lester, Daniel

1994-01-01

The study of astronomical objects at high spatial resolution in the far-IR is one of the most serious limitations to our work at these wavelengths, which carry information about the luminosity of dusty and obscured sources. At IR wavelengths shorter than 30 microns, ground based telescopes with large apertures at superb sites achieve diffraction-limited performance close to the seeing limit in the optical. At millimeter wavelengths, ground based interferometers achieve resolution that is close to this. The inaccessibility of the far-IR from the ground makes it difficult, however, to achieve complementary resolution in the far-IR. The 1983 IRAS survey, while extraordinarily sensitive, provides us with a sky map at a spatial resolution that is limited by detector size on a spatial scale that is far larger than that available in other wavelengths on the ground. The survey resolution is of order 4 min in the 100 micron bandpass, and 2 min at 60 microns (IRAS Explanatory Supplement, 1988). Information on a scale of 1' is available on some sources from the CPC. Deconvolution and image resolution using this database is one of the subjects of this workshop.

A New Effort for Atmospherical Forecast: Meteorological Image Processing Software (MIPS) for Astronomical Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Shameoni Niaei, M.; Kilic, Y.; Yildiran, B. E.; Yüzlükoglu, F.; Yesilyaprak, C.

2016-12-01

We have described a new software (MIPS) about the analysis and image processing of the meteorological satellite (Meteosat) data for an astronomical observatory. This software will be able to help to make some atmospherical forecast (cloud, humidity, rain) using meteosat data for robotic telescopes. MIPS uses a python library for Eumetsat data that aims to be completely open-source and licenced under GNU/General Public Licence (GPL). MIPS is a platform independent and uses h5py, numpy, and PIL with the general-purpose and high-level programming language Python and the QT framework.

A small Internet controllable observatory for research and education at the University of North Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

Hardersen, P. S.; de Silva, S.; Reddy, V.; Cui, P.; Kumar, S.; Gaffey, M. J.

2006-06-01

One of the challenges in astronomy education today is to introduce college students to the real-world practice and science of observational astronomy. Along with a good theoretical background, college students can gain an earlier, deeper understanding of the astronomy profession through direct observational and data reduction experience. However, building and managing a modest observatory is still too costly for many colleges and universities. Fortunately, advances in commercial astronomical hardware and software now allow universities to build and operate small Internet controllable observatories for a modest investment. The advantages of an Internet observatory include: 1) remote operation from a comfortable location, 2) immediate data access, 3) telescope control via a web browser, and 4) allowing both on-campus and distance education students the ability to conduct a variety of observing projects. Internet capabilities vastly expand the number of students who will be able to use the observatory, thus exposing them to astronomy as a science and as a potential career. In September 2005, the University of North Dakota (UND) Department of Space Studies began operating a small, recently renovated Internet controllable observatory. Housed within a roll-off roof 10 miles west of UND, the observatory includes a Meade 16-inch, f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, an SBIG STL-6303e CCD with broadband filters, ACP observatory control software, focuser, and associated equipment. The observatory cost \\25,000 to build in 1996; 2005 renovation costs total \\28,000. An observatory operator prepares the telescope for use each night. Through remote operation, the roof is opened and the telescope/CCD power is turned on. The telescope is then aligned and focused before allowing students to access the observatory. Students communicate with the observatory operator via an online chat room and via telephone, if necessary, to answer questions and resolve any problems. Additional

GAIA virtual observatory - development and practices

Science.gov (United States)

Syrjäsuo, Mikko; Marple, Steve

2010-05-01

The Global Auroral Imaging Access, or GAIA, is a virtual observatory providing quick access to summary data from satellite and ground-based instruments that remote sense auroral precipitation (http://gaia-vxo.org). This web-based service facilitates locating data relevant to particular events by simultaneously displaying summary images from various data sets around the world. At the moment, there are GAIA server nodes in Canada, Finland, Norway and the UK. The development is an international effort and the software and metadata are freely available. The GAIA system is based on a relational database which is queried by a dedicated software suite that also creates the graphical end-user interface if such is needed. Most commonly, the virtual observatory is used interactively by using a web browser: the user provides the date and the type of data of interest. As the summary data from multiple instruments are displayed simultaneously, the user can conveniently explore the recorded data. The virtual observatory provides essentially instant access to the images originating from all major auroral instrument networks including THEMIS, NORSTAR, GLORIA and MIRACLE. The scientific, educational and outreach use is limited by creativity rather than access. The first version of the GAIA was developed at the University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada) in 2004-2005. This proof-of-concept included mainly THEMIS and MIRACLE data, which comprised of millions of summary plots and thumbnail images. However, it was soon realised that a complete re-design was necessary to increase flexibility. In the presentation, we will discuss the early history and motivation of GAIA as well as how the development continued towards the current version. The emphasis will be on practical problems and their solutions. Relevant design choices will also be highlighted.

Ultrahigh Energy Neutrinos at the Pierre Auger Observatory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Abreu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The observation of ultrahigh energy neutrinos (UHEνs has become a priority in experimental astroparticle physics. UHEνs can be detected with a variety of techniques. In particular, neutrinos can interact in the atmosphere (downward-going ν or in the Earth crust (Earth-skimming ν, producing air showers that can be observed with arrays of detectors at the ground. With the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory we can detect these types of cascades. The distinguishing signature for neutrino events is the presence of very inclined showers produced close to the ground (i.e., after having traversed a large amount of atmosphere. In this work we review the procedure and criteria established to search for UHEνs in the data collected with the ground array of the Pierre Auger Observatory. This includes Earth-skimming as well as downward-going neutrinos. No neutrino candidates have been found, which allows us to place competitive limits to the diffuse flux of UHEνs in the EeV range and above.

The Footprint Database and Web Services of the Herschel Space Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Dobos, László; Varga-Verebélyi, Erika; Verdugo, Eva; Teyssier, David; Exter, Katrina; Valtchanov, Ivan; Budavári, Tamás; Kiss, Csaba

2016-10-01

Data from the Herschel Space Observatory is freely available to the public but no uniformly processed catalogue of the observations has been published so far. To date, the Herschel Science Archive does not contain the exact sky coverage (footprint) of individual observations and supports search for measurements based on bounding circles only. Drawing on previous experience in implementing footprint databases, we built the Herschel Footprint Database and Web Services for the Herschel Space Observatory to provide efficient search capabilities for typical astronomical queries. The database was designed with the following main goals in mind: (a) provide a unified data model for meta-data of all instruments and observational modes, (b) quickly find observations covering a selected object and its neighbourhood, (c) quickly find every observation in a larger area of the sky, (d) allow for finding solar system objects crossing observation fields. As a first step, we developed a unified data model of observations of all three Herschel instruments for all pointing and instrument modes. Then, using telescope pointing information and observational meta-data, we compiled a database of footprints. As opposed to methods using pixellation of the sphere, we represent sky coverage in an exact geometric form allowing for precise area calculations. For easier handling of Herschel observation footprints with rather complex shapes, two algorithms were implemented to reduce the outline. Furthermore, a new visualisation tool to plot footprints with various spherical projections was developed. Indexing of the footprints using Hierarchical Triangular Mesh makes it possible to quickly find observations based on sky coverage, time and meta-data. The database is accessible via a web site http://herschel.vo.elte.hu and also as a set of REST web service functions, which makes it readily usable from programming environments such as Python or IDL. The web service allows downloading footprint data

James Gregory, the University observatory and the early acquisition of scientific instruments at the University of St Andrews

Science.gov (United States)

Rawson, Helen C.

2015-01-01

James Gregory, inventor of the reflecting telescope and Fellow of the Royal Society, was the first Regius Professor of Mathematics of the University of St Andrews, 1668–74. He attempted to establish in St Andrews what would, if completed, have been the first purpose-built observatory in the British Isles. He travelled to London in 1673 to purchase instruments for equipping the observatory and improving the teaching and study of natural philosophy and mathematics in the university, seeking the advice of John Flamsteed, later the first Astronomer Royal. This paper considers the observatory initiative and the early acquisition of instruments at the University of St Andrews, with reference to Gregory's correspondence, inventories made ca. 1699–ca. 1718 and extant instruments themselves, some of which predate Gregory's time. It examines the structure and fate of the university observatory, the legacy of Gregory's teaching and endeavours, and the meridian line laid down in 1748 in the University Library.

Future space missions and ground observatory for measurements of coronal magnetic fields

Science.gov (United States)

Fineschi, Silvano; Gibson, Sarah; Bemporad, Alessandro; Zhukov, Andrei; Damé, Luc; Susino, Roberto; Larruquert, Juan

2016-07-01

This presentation gives an overview of the near-future perspectives for probing coronal magnetism from space missions (i.e., SCORE and ASPIICS) and ground-based observatory (ESCAPE). Spectro-polarimetric imaging of coronal emission-lines in the visible-light wavelength-band provides an important diagnostics tool of the coronal magnetism. The interpretation in terms of Hanle and Zeeman effect of the line-polarization in forbidden emission-lines yields information on the direction and strength of the coronal magnetic field. As study case, this presentation will describe the Torino Coronal Magnetograph (CorMag) for the spectro-polarimetric observation of the FeXIV, 530.3 nm, forbidden emission-line. CorMag - consisting of a Liquid Crystal (LC) Lyot filter and a LC linear polarimeter. The CorMag filter is part of the ESCAPE experiment to be based at the French-Italian Concordia base in Antarctica. The linear polarization by resonance scattering of coronal permitted line-emission in the ultraviolet (UV)can be modified by magnetic fields through the Hanle effect. Space-based UV spectro-polarimeters would provide an additional tool for the disgnostics of coronal magnetism. As a case study of space-borne UV spectro-polarimeters, this presentation will describe the future upgrade of the Sounding-rocket Coronagraphic Experiment (SCORE) to include new generation, high-efficiency UV polarizer with the capability of imaging polarimetry of the HI Lyman-α, 121.6 nm. SCORE is a multi-wavelength imager for the emission-lines, HeII 30.4 nm and HI 121.6 nm, and visible-light broad-band emission of the polarized K-corona. SCORE has flown successfully in 2009. The second lauch is scheduled in 2016. Proba-3 is the other future solar mission that would provide the opportunity of diagnosing the coronal magnetic field. Proba-3 is the first precision formation-flying mission to launched in 2019). A pair of satellites will fly together maintaining a fixed configuration as a 'large rigid

Astronomers Gain Clues About Fundamental Physics

Science.gov (United States)

2005-12-01

An international team of astronomers has looked at something very big -- a distant galaxy -- to study the behavior of things very small -- atoms and molecules -- to gain vital clues about the fundamental nature of our entire Universe. The team used the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to test whether the laws of nature have changed over vast spans of cosmic time. The Green Bank Telescope The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope CREDIT: NRAO/AUI/NSF (Click on image for GBT gallery) "The fundamental constants of physics are expected to remain fixed across space and time; that's why they're called constants! Now, however, new theoretical models for the basic structure of matter indicate that they may change. We're testing these predictions." said Nissim Kanekar, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), in Socorro, New Mexico. So far, the scientists' measurements show no change in the constants. "We've put the most stringent limits yet on some changes in these constants, but that's not the end of the story," said Christopher Carilli, another NRAO astronomer. "This is the exciting frontier where astronomy meets particle physics," Carilli explained. The research can help answer fundamental questions about whether the basic components of matter are tiny particles or tiny vibrating strings, how many dimensions the Universe has, and the nature of "dark energy." The astronomers were looking for changes in two quantities: the ratio of the masses of the electron and the proton, and a number physicists call the fine structure constant, a combination of the electron charge, the speed of light and the Planck constant. These values, considered fundamental physical constants, once were "taken as time independent, with values given once and forever" said German particle physicist Christof Wetterich. However, Wetterich explained, "the viewpoint of modern particle theory has changed in recent years," with ideas such as

The Practical Astronomer

Science.gov (United States)

Koester, Jack

"The Practical Astronomer" by Thomas Dick, LLD, E.C. & J. Biddle, Philadelphia, 1849, is reviewed. Information on telescope makers and astronomers can be found. Mentioned are: Fraunhofer; John Herschel; Lawson; Dollond; Tulley; W. & S. Jones; and S.W. Burnham.

The Virtual Wave Observatory (VWO): A Portal to Heliophysics Wave Data

Science.gov (United States)

Fung, Shing F.

2010-01-01

The Virtual Wave Observatory (VWO) is one of the discipline-oriented virtual observatories that help form the nascent NASA Heliophysics Data environment to support heliophysics research. It focuses on supporting the searching and accessing of distributed heliophysics wave data and information that are available online. Since the occurrence of a natural wave phenomenon often depends on the underlying geophysical -- i.e., context -- conditions under which the waves are generated and propagate, and the observed wave characteristics can also depend on the location of observation, VWO will implement wave-data search-by-context conditions and location, in addition to searching by time and observing platforms (both space-based and ground-based). This paper describes the VWO goals, the basic design objectives, and the key VWO functionality to be expected. Members of the heliophysics community are invited to participate in VWO development in order to ensure its usefulness and success.

Short-course Astronomical Research Seminars for High School and College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Jolyon

2011-05-01

Since 2008, I have helped lead several short-course astronomical research seminars with Russell M. Genet. These seminars have ranged from semester-long courses at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California to long weekends at the University of Oregon's Pine Mountain Observatory. Each seminar is led by an experienced observer or group of observers who guide high school and college students through the scientific process from observations to publication. The students (anywhere from half a dozen to twenty in number) participate in and contribute to every step. Being a coauthor on one or more research papers offers students an advantage on college and scholarship applications. Similarly, graduate schools often prefer students with research experience. Many topics of research are appropriate for these short-courses including variable star, exoplanet, and asteroid photometry. However, the most successful topic has been visual double stars because the observations required are straitforward and the equipment is relatively inexpensive. The Journal of Double Star Observations is also welcoming of student research and provides swift publication. A detailed description of the short-course seminars can be found in the recent Collins Foundation Press volume titled Small Telescopes and Astronomical Research.

The Results of an Era of Teacher Professional Development at McDonald Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Finkelstein, K. D.; Hemenway, M. K.; Preston, S.; Wetzel, M.; Meyer, J.; Rood, M.

2014-07-01

During the past decade, McDonald Observatory has been developing and refining its Teacher Professional Development Workshops, many of which have been supported by NASA. Metrics include attendance, perceived knowledge gain, and readiness to apply what was learned in the classroom. Evaluations show impact through the classroom application at five to six months after the workshops and through consistently high positive workshop results. This paper will show that a) our Teacher Professional Development Workshops are consistently well attended, b) the workshops improve teachers' confidence and their understanding of concepts, c) teachers enjoy unique interactions with astronomers and engineers, d) teachers appreciate hands-on and inquiry-based activities that are modeled and tied to state and national standards, and e) many teachers experience using the activities in their classrooms with good results.

Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics IV Proceedings of the Seventh Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society (SEA), held in Barcelona, Spain, September 12-15, 2006

CERN Document Server

Figueras, Francesca; Hernanz, Margarita; Jordi, Carme

2007-01-01

This volume documents the contributions presented at the Seventh Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society (Sociedad Española de Astronomía, SEA). The event bought together 301 participants who presented 161 contributed talks and 120 posters, the greatest numbers up to now. The fact that most exciting items of the current astronomical research were addressed in the meeting proofs the good health of the SEA, a consolidated organization founded fifteen years ago in Barcelona. Two plenary sessions of the meeting were devoted to the approved entrance of Spain as a full member of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and to the imminent first light of the greatest telescope in the world, the GTC (Gran Telescopio de Canarias), milestones that will certainly lead the Spanish Astronomy in the next future.

Archives at the U.S. Naval Observatory - Recent Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Corbin, B. G.

2004-12-01

In 1874, like many other astronomical institutions, the U.S. Naval Observatory sent eight expeditions to different parts of the globe to observe the Transit of Venus. After all results were in, William Harkness was placed in charge of preparing the results and observations for publication. Page proofs of these observations appeared in 1881, but due to lack of funds and other reasons, these volumes were never published. Recently funds became available to have photocopies made on acid-free paper. The Astrophysics Data System (ADS) agreed to scan the photocopied pages and has made this publication available via the ADS so it now may be seen by anyone with access to the web. The compilation of a historical photograph archive at the USNO is continuing. Photographs and glass plates are being scanned by students and placed on the web. As the Naval Observatory has many thousands of plates and photographs, this project will take quite some time to complete. The images are of instruments, buildings, and staff members. The URL for this collection is http://www.usno.navy.mil/library/search.shtml

A conceptual approach to a citizens' observatory--supporting community-based environmental governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hai-Ying; Kobernus, Mike; Broday, David; Bartonova, Alena

2014-12-12

programme as a system that supports and promotes community-based environmental governance. Next, we discuss some of the challenges involved in developing this approach. This work seeks to initiate a debate and help defining what is the Citizens' Observatory, its potential role in environmental governance, and its validity as a tool for environmental research.

This Month in Astronomical History: Providing Context for the Advancement of Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Teresa

2018-01-01

This Month in Astronomical History is a short (~500 word) illustrated column hosted on the AAS website (https://had.aas.org/resources/astro-history). Its mission is to highlight people and events that have shaped the development of astronomy to convey a historical context to current researchers, to provide a resource for education and public outreach programs seeking to incorporate a historical perspective, and to share the excitement of astronomy with the public. Knowing how the astronomical journey has proceeded thus far allows current professionals to map where to go next and how to get there. The column charts the first part of this journey by celebrating anniversaries of births, discoveries, and deaths, and the technological advances that made discoveries possible. A new “Further Reading” section encourages readers to pursue subjects in greater depth and strengthens the articles as classroom resources.In the months preceding the 21 August 2017 solar eclipse, the column featured astronomical bodies that come between Earth and the Sun: 2004 Venus transit, the 1878 solar eclipse, and the search for the hypothetical planet Vulcan. Venusian transits were an early but technically challenging way to measure the astronomical unit, now easily done with radar-ranging. Like this year’s event, eclipse chasing and citizen science were part of the 1878 experience. Newton’s Laws seemed to require a planet inside Mercury’s orbit, but General Relativity explained the behavior of Mercury without it. Studying each of these transiting bodies has expanded our knowledge and understanding of the universe differently. Transiting extrasolar planets remain to be explored in a future column. In September, an article on the discovery of Neptune followed the discussion of the non-existent Vulcan quite naturally and expanded on the brief mention of this event in relation to the discovery of Pluto. Suggestions for additional topics are always welcome.The Dudley Observatory

Design concepts for the Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA: an advanced facility for ground-based high-energy gamma-ray astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allekotte, I.; Arnaldi, H.; Asorey, H.; Gomez Berisso, M.; Sofo Haro, M.; Cillis, A.; Rovero, A.C.; Supanitsky, A.D.; Actis, M.; Antico, F.; Bottani, A.; Ochoa, I.; Ringegni, P.; Vallejo, G.; De La Vega, G.; Etchegoyen, A.; Videla, M.; Gonzalez, F.; Pallota, J.; Quel, E.; Ristori, P.; Romero, G.E.; Suarez, A.; Papyan, G.; Pogosyan, L.; Sahakian, V.; Bissaldi, E.; Egberts, K.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Shellard, R.C.; Santos, E.M.; De Gouveia Dal Pino, E.M.; Kowal, G.; De Souza, V.; Todero Peixoto, C.J.; Maneva, G.; Temnikov, P.; Vankov, H.; Golev, V.; Ovcharov, E.; Bonev, T.; Dimitrov, D.; Hrupec, D.; Nedbal, D.; Rob, L.; Sillanpaa, A.; Takalo, L.; Beckmann, V.; Benallou, M.; Boutonnet, C.; Corlier, M.; Courty, B.; Djannati-Atai, A.; Dufour, C.; Gabici, S.; Guglielmi, L.; Olivetto, C.; Pita, S.; Punch, M.; Selmane, S.; Terrier, R.; Yoffo, B.; Brun, P.; Carton, P.H.; Cazaux, S.; Corpace, O.; Delagnes, E.; Disset, G.; Durand, D.; Glicenstein, J.F.; Guilloux, F.; Kosack, K.; Medina, C.; Micolon, P.; Mirabel, F.; Moulin, E.; Peyaud, B.; Reymond, J.M.; Veyssiere, C.

2011-01-01

Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has had a major breakthrough with the impressive results obtained using systems of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has a huge potential in astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology. CTA is an international initiative to build the next generation instrument, with a factor of 5-10 improvement in sensitivity in the 100 GeV-10 TeV range and the extension to energies well below 100 GeV and above 100 TeV. CTA will consist of two arrays (one in the north, one in the south) for full sky coverage and will be operated as open observatory. The design of CTA is based on currently available technology. This document reports on the status and presents the major design concepts of CTA. (authors)

The Associate Principal Astronomer for AI Management of Automatic Telescopes

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, Gregory W.

1998-01-01

This research program in scheduling and management of automatic telescopes had the following objectives: 1. To field test the 1993 Automatic Telescope Instruction Set (ATIS93) programming language, which was specifically developed to allow real-time control of an automatic telescope via an artificial intelligence scheduler running on a remote computer. 2. To develop and test the procedures for two-way communication between a telescope controller and remote scheduler via the Internet. 3. To test various concepts in Al scheduling being developed at NASA Ames Research Center on an automatic telescope operated by Tennessee State University at the Fairborn Observatory site in southern Arizona. and 4. To develop a prototype software package, dubbed the Associate Principal Astronomer, for the efficient scheduling and management of automatic telescopes.

VO-KOREL: A Fourier Disentangling Service of the Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Škoda, Petr; Hadrava, Petr; Fuchs, Jan

2012-04-01

VO-KOREL is a web service exploiting the technology of the Virtual Observatory for providing astronomers with the intuitive graphical front-end and distributed computing back-end running the most recent version of the Fourier disentangling code KOREL. The system integrates the ideas of the e-shop basket, conserving the privacy of every user by transfer encryption and access authentication, with features of laboratory notebook, allowing the easy housekeeping of both input parameters and final results, as well as it explores a newly emerging technology of cloud computing. While the web-based front-end allows the user to submit data and parameter files, edit parameters, manage a job list, resubmit or cancel running jobs and mainly watching the text and graphical results of a disentangling process, the main part of the back-end is a simple job queue submission system executing in parallel multiple instances of the FORTRAN code KOREL. This may be easily extended for GRID-based deployment on massively parallel computing clusters. The short introduction into underlying technologies is given, briefly mentioning advantages as well as bottlenecks of the design used.

Improvements in geomagnetic observatory data quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reda, Jan; Fouassier, Danielle; Isac, Anca

2011-01-01

between observatories and the establishment of observatory networks has harmonized standards and practices across the world; improving the quality of the data product available to the user. Nonetheless, operating a highquality geomagnetic observatory is non-trivial. This article gives a record...... of the current state of observatory instrumentation and methods, citing some of the general problems in the complex operation of geomagnetic observatories. It further gives an overview of recent improvements of observatory data quality based on presentation during 11th IAGA Assembly at Sopron and INTERMAGNET...

Thirty years of astronomical discovery with UKIRT

CERN Document Server

Davies, John; Robson, Ian; The Scientific Achievement of the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope

2013-01-01

These are the proceedings of an international meeting hosted by the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the dedication of the UKIRT, the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope. The volume comprises 31 professional level papers. The first part of the book has 10 thorough reviews of the conception, design and build of the telescope, as well as accounts of some its key instruments such as IRCAM (the common-user infrared camera), CGS4 (the fourth Cooled Grating Spectrometer) and the Wide Field Camera. The second part of the book comprises 14 reviews of scientific achievements during its twenty years of visitor mode operations. The final part of the book is a series of 7 reviews of the results from the multiple surveys being done as part of UKIDSS (UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey). The authors are all experts in their respective fields, for example instrument scientists, operations staff and leading astronomers.

Closing remarks: astronomical

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pecker, J.-C.

1990-01-01

During the discussions we have covered many facets of the basic interactions between solar activity and the Earth's climate. Solar activity is not the only astronomical or astrophysical phenomenon to influence physical conditions in the biosphere. Over timescales an order of magnitude less, the location of the Solar System in the Galaxy may have influenced life on Earth. The Sun is a complex generator of radiation, particles and magnetic fields sent far into space. Even if the total radiation emitted is constant, the amount of radiation received by the Earth changes with time: this change is complex and involved with a redistribution of energy emitted at different solar latitudes than to a real change in solar luminosity. These changes in the Earth's illumination may be a function of the wavelength, and have various effects in different layers of the Earth's atmosphere. The Sun also emits particles of all energies. Some of them find their way through the magnetopause, giving rise to auroras, to magnetic storms, to ionospheric disturbances and the like. The possible climatological effects are yet obscure. To understand the solar terrestrial relations better, regular, routine observations from ground-based stations and from space of solar phenomena must be continued. The sensitivity of human life to small changes in climatic conditions is very large. A good knowledge of solar-physics is therefore important and relevant. (author)

New precise astrometric observations of Nereid in 2012-2017

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Y.; Qiao, R. C.; Yan, D.; Cheng, X.; Xi, X. J.; Tang, K.; Luo, H.

2018-03-01

Nereid is one of the most distinctive natural satellites that we know in the Solar system. The orbit of Nereid is highly eccentric and inclined with respect to the equator of its primary, Neptune. Studying Nereid is one of the inspiring ways to acquire better knowledge of the Solar system. Due to its faintness, the ground-based observations of Nereid have been limited and the observation precisions in the past were generally not high. A total of 150 new observed positions of Nereid in the period 2012-2017 were collected by the 0.8 m reflecting telescope at Xinglong station of National Astronomical Observatory and the 2.4 m reflecting telescope at Lijiang station of Yunnan Astronomical Observatory. Thanks to the high-quality reference catalogue Gaia DR1 and suitable processing methods for images, the precision of our new observations of Nereid is 2-3 times higher than those of the previous observations, and the dispersions of our observations are better than 70 mas.

Radio Astronomers Lift "Fog" on Milky Way's Dark Heart: Black Hole Fits Inside Earth's Orbit

Science.gov (United States)

2004-04-01

-emitting object would fit neatly just inside the path of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, the astronomers said. The black hole itself, they calculate, is about 14 million miles across, and would fit easily inside the orbit of Mercury. Black holes are concentrations of matter so dense that not even light can escape their powerful gravity. The new VLBA observations provided astronomers their best look yet at a black hole system. "We are much closer to seeing the effects of a black hole on its environment here than anywhere else," Bower said. The Milky Way's central black hole, like its more-massive cousins in more-active galactic nuclei, is believed to be drawing in material from its surroundings, and in the process powering the emission of the radio waves. While the new VLBA observations have not provided a final answer on the nature of this process, they have helped rule out some theories, Bower said. Based on the latest work, he explained, the top remaining theories for the nature of the radio- emitting object are jets of subatomic particles, similar to those seen in radio galaxies; and some theories involving matter being accelerated near the edge of the black hole. As the astronomers studied Sagittarius A* at higher and higher radio frequencies, the apparent size of the object became smaller. This fact, too, Bower said, helped rule out some ideas of the object's nature. The decrease in observed size with increasing frequency, or shorter wavelength, also gives the astronomers a tantalizing target. "We think we can eventually observe at short enough wavelengths that we will see a cutoff when we reach the size of the black hole itself," Bower said. In addition, he said, "in future observations, we hope to see a 'shadow' cast by a gravitational lensing effect of the very strong gravity of the black hole." In 2000, Falcke and his colleagues proposed such an observation on theoretical grounds, and it now seems feasible. "Imaging the shadow of the black hole's event horizon is now

The TMT International Observatory: A quick overview of future opportunities for planetary science exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Christophe; Dawson, Sandra; Otarola, Angel; Skidmore, Warren; Squires, Gordon; Travouillon, Tony; Greathouse, Thomas K.; Li, Jian-Yang; Lu, Junjun; Marchis, Frank; Meech, Karen J.; Wong, Michael H.

2015-11-01

The construction of the Thirty-Meter-Telescope International Observatory (TIO) is scheduled to take about eight years, with first-light currently planned for the horizon 2023/24, and start of science operations soon after. Its innovative design, the unequalled astronomical quality of its location, and the scientific capabilities that will be offered by its suite of instruments, all contribute to position TIO as a major ground-based facility of the next decade.In this talk, we will review the expected observing performances of the facility, which will combine adaptive-optics corrected wavefronts with powerful imaging and spectroscopic capabilities. TMT will enable ground-based exploration of our solar system - and planetary systems at large - at a dramatically enhanced sensitivity and spatial resolution across the visible and near-/thermal- infrared regimes. This sharpened vision, spanning the study of planetary atmospheres, ring systems, (cryo-)volcanic activity, small body populations (asteroids, comets, trans-Neptunian objects), and exoplanets, will shed new lights on the processes involved in the formation and evolution of our solar system, including the search for life outside the Earth, and will expand our understanding of the physical and chemical properties of extra-solar planets, complementing TIO's direct studies of planetary systems around other stars.TIO operations will meet a wide range of observing needs. Observing support associated with "classical" and "queue" modes will be offered (including some flavors of remote observing). The TIO schedule will integrate observing programs so as to optimize scientific outputs and take into account the stringent observing time constraints often encountered for observations of our solar system such as, for instance, the scheduling of target-of-oportunity observations, the implementation of short observing runs, or the support of long-term "key-science" programmes.Complementary information about TIO, and the

Ground-Based Observations of Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes Associated with Downward-Directed Lightning Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Belz, J.; Abbasi, R.; Krehbiel, P. R.; LeVon, R.; Remington, J.; Rison, W.; Thomas, R. J.

2017-12-01

Terrestrial Gamma Flashes (TGFs) have been observed in satellite-borne gamma ray detectors for several decades, starting with the BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray observatory in 1994. TGFs consist of bursts of upwards of 1018 primary gamma rays, with a duration of up to a few milliseconds, originating in the Earth's atmosphere. More recent observations have shown that satellite-observed TGFs are generated in upward-propagating negative leaders of intracloud lightning, suggesting that they may be sensitive to the processes responsible for the initial lightning breakdown. Here, we present the first evidence that TGFs are also produced at the beginning of negative cloud-to-ground flashes, and that they may provide a new window through which ground-based observatories may contribute to understanding the breakdown process. The Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD) is a 700 square kilometer cosmic ray observatory, an array of 507 3m2 scintillators on a 1.2 km grid. The array is triggered and read out when at least three adjacent detectors observe activity within an 8 μs window. Following the observation of bursts of anomalous TASD triggers, lasting a few hundred microseconds and correlated with local lightning activity, a Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) and slow electric field antenna were installed at the TASD site in order to study the effect. From data obtained between 2014 and 2016, correlated observations were obtained for ten -CG flashes. In 9 out of 10 cases, bursts of up to five anomalous triggers were detected during the first ms of the flash, as negative breakdown was descending into lower positive storm charge. The triggers occurred when the LMA-detected VHF radiation sources were at altitudes between 1.5 to 4.5 km AGL. The tenth flash was initiated by an unusually energetic leader that reached the ground in 2.5 ms and produced increasingly powerful triggers down to about 500 m AGL. While the TASD is not optimized for individual gamma ray detection

Atomic and molecular databases in the context of virtual observatories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubernet, Marie-Lise; Roueff, Evelyne

2006-01-01

Numerical and bibliographic Databases in Atomic and Molecular Physics are essential for both the modelling of various astrophysical media and the interpretation of astrophysical spectra provided by ground or space-based telescopes. We report here on our current project concerning the access to Atomic and Molecular Databases within the Virtual Observatories. This presentation aims at informing people about interoperability matters, in order to put together the efforts which have already started in this domain, to evaluate the needs and requirements of the targeted interrelation between atomic and molecular data bases and VO projects. Collaborations in this domain are welcome. (author)

Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, Third Edition

Science.gov (United States)

Seidelmann, P. Kenneth; Urban, S. E.

2010-01-01

"The Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac" (hereafter "The Explanatory Supplement") is a comprehensive reference book on the topic of positional astronomy, covering the theories and algorithms used to produce "The Astronomical Almanac" (AsA), an annual publication produced jointly by the Nautical Almanac Office of the US Naval Observatory (USNO) and Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO) of the UK Hydrographic Office. The first edition of The Explanatory Supplement appeared in 1961 and was reprinted with amendments during the 1970s. The second edition was printed in 1992 and reprinted until 2006. Since the second edition, several changes have taken place in positional astronomy regarding reference systems and internationally accepted models, data sets, and computational methods; these have been incorporated into the AsA. Additionally, the data presented in the AsA have been modified over the years, with new tables being added and some being discontinued. Given these changes, a new edition of The Explanatory Supplement is appropriate. The third edition has been in development for the last few years and will be available in 2010. The book is organized similarly to the second (1991) edition, with each chapter written by subject matter experts. Authors from USNO and HMNAO contributed to the majority of the book, but there are authors from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Technical University of Dresden, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, University of Texas Austin, and University of Virginia. This paper will discuss this latest edition of the Explanatory Supplement.

Astronomy research via the Internet

Science.gov (United States)

Ratnatunga, Kavan U.

Small developing countries may not have a dark site with good seeing for an astronomical observatory or be able to afford the financial commitment to set up and support such a facility. Much of astronomical research today is however done with remote observations, such as from telescopes in space, or obtained by service observing at large facilities on the ground. Cutting-edge astronomical research can now be done with low-cost computers, with a good Internet connection to get on-line access to astronomical observations, journals and most recent preprints. E-mail allows fast easy collaboration between research scientitists around the world. An international program with some short-term collaborative visits, could mine data and publish results from available astronomical observations for a fraction of the investment and cost of running even a small local observatory. Students who have been trained in the use of computers and software by such a program would also be more employable in the current job market. The Internet can reach you wherever you like to be and give you direct access to whatever you need for astronomical research.

Aerosol concentration measurements and correlations with air mass trajectories at the Pierre Auger Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Micheletti, M. I.; Louedec, K.; Freire, M.; Vitale, P.; Piacentini, R. D.

2017-06-01

Aerosols play an important role in radiative transfer processes involved in different fields of study. In particular, their influence is crucial in the attenuation of light at astronomical and astrophysical observatories, and has to be taken into account in light transfer models employed to reconstruct the signals. The Andean Argentinean region is increasingly being considered as a good candidate to host such facilities, as well as the ones for solar-energy resources, and an adequate knowledge of aerosols characteristics there is needed, but it is not always possible due to the vast area involved and the scarce atmospheric data at ground. The aim of this work is to find correlations between aerosol data and particle trajectories that can give an insight into the origin and behaviour of aerosols in this zone and can be employed in situations in which one does not have local aerosol measurements. For this purpose, an aerosol spectrometer and dust monitor (Grimm 1.109) was installed at the Pierre Auger Observatory of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, to record aerosol concentrations in different size intervals, at surface level. These measurements are analysed and correlated with air mass trajectories obtained from HYSPLIT (NOAA) model calculations. High aerosol concentrations are registered predominantly when air masses have travelled mostly over continental areas, mainly from the NE direction, while low aerosol concentrations are found in correspondence with air masses coming from the Pacific Ocean, from the NW direction. Different size distribution patterns were found for the aerosols depending on their origin: marine or continental. This work shows for the first time the size distribution of aerosols registered at the Pierre Auger Observatory. The correlations found between mass and particle concentrations (total and for different size ranges) and HYSPLIT air mass trajectories, confirm that the latter can be employed as a useful tool to infer the sources, evolution

Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Castillo-Salgado

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo-Salgado, Carlos

2015-11-01

Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

Recent Advances in Observations of Ground-level Auroral Kilometric Radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Labelle, J. W.; Ritter, J.; Pasternak, S.; Anderson, R. R.; Kojima, H.; Frey, H. U.

2011-12-01

Recently LaBelle and Anderson [2011] reported the first definitive observations of AKR at ground level, confirmed through simultaneous measurements on the Geotail spacecraft and at South Pole Station, Antarctica. The initial observations consisted of three examples recorded in 2004. An Antarctic observing site is critical for observing ground level AKR which is obscured by man-made broadcast signals at northern hemisphere locations. Examination of 2008 austral winter radio data from Antarctic Automatic Geophysical Observatories (AGOs) of the Polar Experiment Network for Geospace Upper-atmosphere Investigations (PENGUIn) network and South Pole Station reveals 37 ground level AKR events on 23 different days, 30 of which are confirmed by correlation with AKR observed with the Geotail spacecraft. The location of the Geotail spacecraft appears to be a significant factor enabling coincident measurements. Six of the AKR events are detected at two or three ground-level observatories separated by approximately 500 km, suggesting that the events illuminate an area comparable to a 500-km diameter. For 14 events on ten nights, photometer and all-sky imager data from South Pole and AGOs were examined; in ten cases, locations of auroral arcs could be determined at the times of the events. In eight of those cases, the AKR was detected at observatories poleward of the auroral arcs, and in the other two cases the aurora was approximately overhead at the observatory where AKR was detected. These observations suggest that the AKR signals may be ducted to ground level along magnetic field lines rather than propagating directly from the AKR source region of approximately 5000 km altitude. Correlations between structures in the AKR and intensifications of auroral arcs are occasionally observed but are rare. The ground-level AKR events have a local time distribution similar to that of AKR observed from satellites, peaking in the pre-midnight to midnight sector. This data base of >30

Shedding Light on the Cosmic Skeleton

Science.gov (United States)

2009-11-01

Astronomers have tracked down a gigantic, previously unknown assembly of galaxies located almost seven billion light-years away from us. The discovery, made possible by combining two of the most powerful ground-based telescopes in the world, is the first observation of such a prominent galaxy structure in the distant Universe, providing further insight into the cosmic web and how it formed. "Matter is not distributed uniformly in the Universe," says Masayuki Tanaka from ESO, who led the new study. "In our cosmic vicinity, stars form in galaxies and galaxies usually form groups and clusters of galaxies. The most widely accepted cosmological theories predict that matter also clumps on a larger scale in the so-called 'cosmic web', in which galaxies, embedded in filaments stretching between voids, create a gigantic wispy structure." These filaments are millions of light years long and constitute the skeleton of the Universe: galaxies gather around them, and immense galaxy clusters form at their intersections, lurking like giant spiders waiting for more matter to digest. Scientists are struggling to determine how they swirl into existence. Although massive filamentary structures have been often observed at relatively small distances from us, solid proof of their existence in the more distant Universe has been lacking until now. The team led by Tanaka discovered a large structure around a distant cluster of galaxies in images they obtained earlier. They have now used two major ground-based telescopes to study this structure in greater detail, measuring the distances from Earth of over 150 galaxies, and, hence, obtaining a three-dimensional view of the structure. The spectroscopic observations were performed using the VIMOS instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope and FOCAS on the Subaru Telescope, operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. Thanks to these and other observations, the astronomers were able to make a real demographic study of this structure

The Polarization-Sensitive Bolometers for SPICA and their Potential Use for Ground-Based Application

Science.gov (United States)

Reveret, Vincent

2018-01-01

CEA is leading the development of Safari-POL, an imaging-polarimeter aboard the SPICA space observatory (ESA M5). SPICA will be able to reach unprecedented sensitivities thanks to its cooled telescope and its ultra-sensitive detectors. The detector assembly of Safari-POL holds three arrays that are cooled down to 50 mK and correspond to three spectral bands : 100, 200 and 350 microns. The detectors (silicon bolometers), benefit from the Herschel/PACS legacy and are also a big step forward in term of sensitivity (improved by two orders of magnitude compared to PACS bolometers) and for polarimetry capabilities. Indeed, each pixel is intrinsically sensitive to two polarization components (Horizontal and Vertical). We will present the Safari-POL concept, the first results of measurements made on the detectors, and future plans for possible ground-based instruments using this technology. We will also present the example of the ArTéMiS camera, installed at APEX, that was developped as a ground-based conterpart of the PACS photometer.

Protection of Existing and Potential Astronomical Sites in Chile - an Update.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, M. G.; Sanhueza, P.; Norman, D.; Schwarz, H.; Orellana, D.

2002-12-01

The IAU's Working Group on Controlling Light Pollution (iauwg) has declared Mauna Kea and a wide strip of Northern Chile between Antofagasta and Chajnanator as top priorities for its efforts to protect existing and potential sites in the Northern and Southern hemispheres respectively. This report provides an update on the iauwg's co-ordinated efforts to protect areas around the major international optical observatories in Chile, as well as the "Chilean Special Zone" (CSZ) mentioned above. This zone is of current and potential interest for the installation of extremely large optical telescopes and includes the ALMA radio-astronomy site. The CSZ is potentially vulnerable to adverse effects of mining in the region. Progess has been made in demonstrating to local mining interests within the CSZ the economic advantages of quality lighting. Educational and outreach activities to a variety of target audiences are building on legislation covering dark skies - itself part of work by the Chilean government to protect the natural heritage of Chile. Substantial good will was generated by an international, bilingual conference held last March in Chile. Just in the region around AURA's Observatory in Chile (Gemini South, CTIO and SOAR), a portable planetarium has been used to reach out to over 600 teachers and 65,000 pupils in the RedLaSer schools network within the last three years. This has attracted the direct interest of Chile's Ministry of Education. Videoconferencing over Internet2 is being used for educational purposes between Chile and various sites in the US. The NSF- initiated Mamalluca municipal observatory now receives more visitors than all the international observatories in Chile combined and is the focus of an expanding local industry of astronomical eco-tourism. Most of this work was supported by funding from, or via, the US NSF through CTIO and Gemini, and from ESO, OCIW, CONAMA and the IDA.

Astronomers Discover Fastest-Spinning Pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope have discovered the fastest-spinning neutron star ever found, a 20-mile-diameter superdense pulsar whirling faster than the blades of a kitchen blender. Their work yields important new information about the nature of one of the most exotic forms of matter known in the Universe. Pulsar Graphic Pulsars Are Spinning Neutron Stars CREDIT: Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF (Click on image for larger version) "We believe that the matter in neutron stars is denser than an atomic nucleus, but it is unclear by how much. Our observations of such a rapidly rotating star set a hard upper limit on its size, and hence on how dense the star can be.," said Jason Hessels, a graduate student at McGill University in Montreal. Hessels and his colleagues presented their findings to the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Washington, DC. Pulsars are spinning neutron stars that sling "lighthouse beams" of radio waves or light around as they spin. A neutron star is what is left after a massive star explodes at the end of its "normal" life. With no nuclear fuel left to produce energy to offset the stellar remnant's weight, its material is compressed to extreme densities. The pressure squeezes together most of its protons and electrons to form neutrons; hence, the name "neutron star." "Neutron stars are incredible laboratories for learning about the physics of the fundamental particles of nature, and this pulsar has given us an important new limit," explained Scott Ransom, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and one of Hessels' collaborators on this work. The scientists discovered the pulsar, named PSR J1748-2446ad, in a globular cluster of stars called Terzan 5, located some 28,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. The newly-discovered pulsar is spinning 716 times per second, or at 716 Hertz (Hz), readily beating the previous record of 642 Hz from a pulsar

Structure of matter and the structure of the astronomical universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Layzer, D.

1977-01-01

It is suggested that the central problem of modern cosmology, the origin of astronomical systems, may be closely related to certain problems in solid-state physics. The arguments presented therefore afford some grounds for the claim that cosmology is a province of quantum chemistry--as well as for the opposite claim that quantum chemistry is a province of cosmology. The diameter-mass relation, gravitational clustering, cold universe prehistory, and radiation backgrounds are considered

Working data together: the accountability and reflexivity of digital astronomical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoeppe, Götz

2014-04-01

Drawing on ethnomethodology, this article considers the sequential work of astronomers who combine observations from telescopes at two observatories in making a data set for scientific analyses. By witnessing the induction of a graduate student into this work, it aims at revealing the backgrounded assumptions that enter it. I find that these researchers achieved a consistent data set by engaging diverse evidential contexts as contexts of accountability. Employing graphs that visualize data in conventional representational formats of observational astronomy, experienced practitioners held each other accountable by using an 'implicit cosmology', a shared (but sometimes negotiable) characterization of 'what the universe looks like' through these formats. They oriented to data as malleable, that is, as containing artifacts of the observing situation which are unspecified initially but can be defined and subsequently removed. Alternating between reducing data and deducing astronomical phenomena, they ascribed artifacts to local observing conditions or computational procedures, thus maintaining previously stabilized phenomena reflexively. As researchers in data-intensive sciences are often removed from the instruments that generated the data they use, this example demonstrates how scientists can achieve agreement by engaging stable 'global' data sets and diverse contexts of accountability, allowing them to bypass troubling features and limitations of data generators.

The Virtual Solar Observatory and the Heliophysics Meta-Virtual Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Gurman, Joseph B.

2007-01-01

The Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO) is now able to search for solar data ranging from the radio to gamma rays, obtained from space and groundbased observatories, from 26 sources at 12 data providers, and from 1915 to the present. The solar physics community can use a Web interface or an Application Programming Interface (API) that allows integrating VSO searches into other software, including other Web services. Over the next few years, this integration will be especially obvious as the NASA Heliophysics division sponsors the development of a heliophysics-wide virtual observatory (VO), based on existing VO's in heliospheric, magnetospheric, and ionospheric physics as well as the VSO. We examine some of the challenges and potential of such a "meta-VO."

The Steward Observatory asteroid relational database

Science.gov (United States)

Sykes, Mark V.; Alvarezdelcastillo, Elizabeth M.

1991-01-01

The Steward Observatory Asteroid Relational Database (SOARD) was created as a flexible tool for undertaking studies of asteroid populations and sub-populations, to probe the biases intrinsic to asteroid databases, to ascertain the completeness of data pertaining to specific problems, to aid in the development of observational programs, and to develop pedagogical materials. To date, SOARD has compiled an extensive list of data available on asteroids and made it accessible through a single menu-driven database program. Users may obtain tailored lists of asteroid properties for any subset of asteroids or output files which are suitable for plotting spectral data on individual asteroids. The program has online help as well as user and programmer documentation manuals. The SOARD already has provided data to fulfill requests by members of the astronomical community. The SOARD continues to grow as data is added to the database and new features are added to the program.

Protection of Hawaii's Observatories from Light Pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Wainscoat, Richard J.

2018-01-01

Maunakea Observatory, located on the island of Hawaii, is among the world darkest sites for astronomy. Strong efforts to preserve the dark night sky over the last forty years have proven successful. Artificial light presently adds only approximately 2% to the natural night sky brightness. The techniques being used to protect Maunakea from light pollution will be described, along with the challenges that are now being faced.Haleakala Observatory, located on the island of Maui, is also an excellent observing site, and is among the best sites in the United States. Lighting restrictions in Maui County are much weaker, and consequently, the night sky above Haleakala is less well protected. Haleakala is closer to Honolulu and the island of Oahu (population approximately 1 million), and the glow from Oahu makes the northwestern sky brighter.Much of the lighting across most of the United States, including Hawaii, is presently being converted to LED lighting. This provides an opportunity to replace existing poorly shielded lights with properly shielded LED fixtures, but careful spectral management is essential. It is critically important to only use LED lighting that is deficient in blue and green light. LED lighting also is easy to dim. Dimming of lights later at night, when there is no need for brighter lighting, is an important tool for reducing light pollution.Techniques used to protect astronomical observatories from light pollution are similar to the techniques that must be used to protect animals that are affected by light at night, such as endangered birds and turtles. These same techniques are compatible with recent human health related lighting recommendations from the American Medical Association.

Astronomical Heritage in the National Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Harutyunian, H. A.; Mickaelian, A. M.; Parsamian, E. S.

2014-10-01

The book contains Proceedings of the Archaeoastronomical Meeting "Astronomical Heritage in the National Culture" Dedicated to Anania Shirakatsi's 1400th Anniversary and XI Annual Meeting of the Armenian Astronomical Society. It consists of 3 main sections: "Astronomical Heritage", "Anania Shirakatsi" and "Modern Astronomy", as well as Literature about Anania Shirakatsi is included. The book may be interesting for astronomers, historians, archaeologists, linguists, students and other readers.

Wide-Field Astronomical Surveys in the Next Decade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strauss, Michael A.; /Princeton U.; Tyson, J.Anthony; /UC, Davis; Anderson, Scott F.; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Axelrod, T.S.; /LSST Corp.; Becker, Andrew C.; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Bickerton, Steven J.; /Princeton U.; Blanton, Michael R.; /New York U.; Burke, David L.; /SLAC; Condon, J.J.; /NRAO, Socorro; Connolly, A.J.; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Cooray, Asantha R.; /UC, Irvine; Covey, Kevin R.; /Harvard U.; Csabai, Istvan; /Eotvos U.; Ferguson, Henry C.; /Baltimore, Space Telescope Sci.; Ivezic, Zeljko; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Kantor, Jeffrey; /LSST Corp.; Kent, Stephen M.; /Fermilab; Knapp, G.R.; /Princeton U.; Myers, Steven T.; /NRAO, Socorro; Neilsen, Eric H., Jr.; /Fermilab; Nichol, Robert C.; /Portsmouth U., ICG /Harish-Chandra Res. Inst. /Caltech, IPAC /Potsdam, Max Planck Inst. /Harvard U. /Hawaii U. /UC, Berkeley, Astron. Dept. /Baltimore, Space Telescope Sci. /NOAO, Tucson /Carnegie Mellon U. /Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.

2011-11-14

Wide-angle surveys have been an engine for new discoveries throughout the modern history of astronomy, and have been among the most highly cited and scientifically productive observing facilities in recent years. This trend is likely to continue over the next decade, as many of the most important questions in astrophysics are best tackled with massive surveys, often in synergy with each other and in tandem with the more traditional observatories. We argue that these surveys are most productive and have the greatest impact when the data from the surveys are made public in a timely manner. The rise of the 'survey astronomer' is a substantial change in the demographics of our field; one of the most important challenges of the next decade is to find ways to recognize the intellectual contributions of those who work on the infrastructure of surveys (hardware, software, survey planning and operations, and databases/data distribution), and to make career paths to allow them to thrive.

153rd Colloquium of the International Astronomical Union

CERN Document Server

Kosugi, Takeo; Hudson, Hugh

1996-01-01

These are the Proceedings of Colloquium No. 153 of the International Astro­ nomical Union, held at Makuhari near Tokyo on May 22 - 26, 1995, and hosted by the National Astronomical Observatory. This meeting was intended to be an interdisciplinary meeting between re­ searchers of solar and stellar activity, in order for them to exchange the newest information in each field. While each of these areas has seen remarkable advances in recent years, and while the researchers in each field have felt that information from the other's domain would be extremely useful in their own work, there have not been very many opportunities for intensive exchanges of information between these closely related fields. We therefore expected much from this meeting in pro­ viding stellar researchers with new results of research on the counterparts of their targets of research, spatially and temporarily resolved, as observed on the Sun. Likewise we hoped to provide solar researchers with new results on gigantic ver­ sions of their ...

OGLE-2016-BLG-0168 Binary Microlensing Event: Prediction and Confirmation of the Microlens Parallax Effect from Space-based Observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shin, I.-G.; Yee, J. C.; Jung, Y. K. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Udalski, A.; Skowron, J.; Mróz, P.; Soszyński, I.; Poleski, R.; Szymański, M. K.; Kozłowski, S.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Ulaczyk, K.; Pawlak, M. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4,00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Novati, S. Calchi [IPAC, Mail Code 100-22, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Han, C. [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Albrow, M. D. [University of Canterbury, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8020 (New Zealand); Gould, A. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Chung, S.-J.; Hwang, K.-H.; Ryu, Y.-H. [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 776 Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 34055 (Korea, Republic of); Collaboration: OGLE Collaboration; KMTNet Group; Spitzer Team; and others

2017-11-01

The microlens parallax is a crucial observable for conclusively identifying the nature of lens systems in microlensing events containing or composed of faint (even dark) astronomical objects such as planets, neutron stars, brown dwarfs, and black holes. With the commencement of a new era of microlensing in collaboration with space-based observations, the microlens parallax can be routinely measured. In addition, space-based observations can provide opportunities to verify the microlens parallax measured from ground-only observations and to find a unique solution to the lensing light-curve analysis. Furthermore, since most space-based observations cannot cover the full light curves of lensing events, it is also necessary to verify the reliability of the information extracted from fragmentary space-based light curves. We conduct a test based on the microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-0168, created by a binary lens system consisting of almost equal mass M-dwarf stars, to demonstrate that it is possible to verify the microlens parallax and to resolve degeneracies using the space-based light curve even though the observations are fragmentary. Since space-based observatories will frequently produce fragmentary light curves due to their short observing windows, the methodology of this test will be useful for next-generation microlensing experiments that combine space-based and ground-based collaboration.

Astronomers Detect Powerful Bursting Radio Source Discovery Points to New Class of Astronomical Objects

Science.gov (United States)

2005-03-01

Astronomers at Sweet Briar College and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have detected a powerful new bursting radio source whose unique properties suggest the discovery of a new class of astronomical objects. The researchers have monitored the center of the Milky Way Galaxy for several years and reveal their findings in the March 3, 2005 edition of the journal, “Nature”. This radio image of the central region of the Milky Way Galaxy holds a new radio source, GCRT J1745-3009. The arrow points to an expanding ring of debris expelled by a supernova. CREDIT: N.E. Kassim et al., Naval Research Laboratory, NRAO/AUI/NSF Principal investigator, Dr. Scott Hyman, professor of physics at Sweet Briar College, said the discovery came after analyzing some additional observations from 2002 provided by researchers at Northwestern University. “"We hit the jackpot!” Hyman said referring to the observations. “An image of the Galactic center, made by collecting radio waves of about 1-meter in wavelength, revealed multiple bursts from the source during a seven-hour period from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, 2002 — five bursts in fact, and repeating at remarkably constant intervals.” Hyman, four Sweet Briar students, and his NRL collaborators, Drs. Namir Kassim and Joseph Lazio, happened upon transient emission from two radio sources while studying the Galactic center in 1998. This prompted the team to propose an ongoing monitoring program using the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which operates the VLA, approved the program. The data collected, laid the groundwork for the detection of the new radio source. “Amazingly, even though the sky is known to be full of transient objects emitting at X- and gamma-ray wavelengths,” NRL astronomer Dr. Joseph Lazio pointed out, “very little has been done to look for radio bursts, which are often easier for astronomical objects to produce

Astronomers celebrate a year of new Hubble results

Science.gov (United States)

1995-02-01

"We are beginning to understand that because of these observations we are going to have to change the way we look at the Universe," said ESA's Dr Duccio Macchetto, Associate Director for Science Programs at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The European Space Agency plays a major role in the Hubble Space Telescope programme. The Agency provided one of the telescope's four major instruments, called the Faint Object Camera, and two sets of electricity-generating solar arrays. In addition, 15 ESA scientific and technical staff work at the STScI. In return for this contribution, European astronomers are entitled to 15 percent of the telescope's observing time, although currently they account for 20 percent of all observations. "This is a testimony to the quality of the European science community", said Dr Roger Bonnet, Director of Science at ESA. "We are only guaranteed 15 percent of the telescope's use, but consistently receive much more than that." Astronomers from universities, observatories and research institutes across Europe lead more than 60 investigations planned for the telescope's fifth observing cycle, which begins this summer. Many more Europeans contribute to teams led by other astronomers. Looking back to the very start of time European astronomer Dr Peter Jakobsen used ESA's Faint Object Camera to confirm that helium was present in the early Universe. Astronomers had long predicted that 90 percent of the newly born Universe consisted of hydrogen, with helium making up the remainder. Before the refurbished Hubble came along, it was easy to detect the hydrogen, but the primordial helium remained elusive. The ultraviolet capabilities of the telescope, combined with the improvement in spatial resolution following the repair, made it possible for Dr Jakobsen to obtain an image of a quasar close to the edge of the known Universe. A spectral analysis of this picture revealed the quasar's light, which took 13 billion years

Multi-point ground-based ULF magnetic field observations in Europe during seismic active periods in 2004 and 2005

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Prattes

2008-05-01

Full Text Available We present the results of ground-based Ultra Low Frequency (ULF magnetic field measurements observed from June to August 2004 during the Bovec earthquake on 12 July 2004. Further we give information about the seismic activity in the local observatory region for an extended time span 2004 and 2005. ULF magnetic field data are provided by the South European Geomagnetic Array (SEGMA where the experience and heritage from the CHInese MAGnetometer (CHIMAG fluxgate magnetometer comes to application. The intensities of the horizontal H and vertical Z magnetic field and the polarization ratio R of the vertical and horizontal magnetic field intensity are analyzed taking into consideration three SEGMA observatories located at different close distances and directions from the earthquake epicenter. We observed a significant increase of high polarization ratios during strong seismic activity at the observatory nearest to the Bovec earthquake epicenter. Apart from indirect ionospheric effects electromagnetic noise could be emitted in the lithosphere due to tectonic effects in the earthquake focus region causing anomalies of the vertical magnetic field intensity. Assuming that the measured vertical magnetic field intensities are of lithospheric origin, we roughly estimate the amplitude of electromagnetic noise in the Earths crust considering an average electrical conductivity of <σ>=10⁻³ S/m and a certain distance of the observatory to the earthquake epicenter.

Structures of twilight patrol in the "Churyumov's Unified network" to ensure continuous monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Churyumov, K. I.; Steklov, A. F.; Vidmachenko, A. P.; Dashkiev, G. N.; Steklov, E. A.; Slipchenko, A. S.; Romaniuk, Ya. O.; Nevodovskyi, P. V.

2016-10-01

1. Three types of astronomical observations, and three classes of astronomical observatories. Over 70% of the observer's time in astronomical observatories accounted for the night of observation after the end of astronomical twilight. Prior to 15.02.2013, from the famous invasion of the Chelyabinsk large meteoroid in morning twilight, astronomers practically no carried out the twilight observations. But it is such morning and evening twilight observation, became the main "highlight" of the authors in the past four years [3, 5, 7]. Results were unexpected, and they allowed us to state that in our time the astronomical observatory (AO) should be divided into AO for nighttime astronomical observations (NAO), daily astronomical observations (DAO) and AO for twilight astronomical observations (SAO). 2. The real problem of AO DAO and SAO. We affirm, that in the interest of health and safety the inhabitants of our cities, astronomers are obliged significantly expand a circle and list of observations; need to include in it astrophysical observations and registration of facts and traces of all kinds of hazardous aerospace invasions into the sky over our cities. Society and the state allocate their money on the development of astronomical observatories, and therefore are entitled to demand recoil in the form of constant monitoring to ensure nocturnal, daytime and twilight control, for their safety the realities of modern complex time. And it is, in the conditions of aggravation of ecological problems, at climate evolution and of the increasing amount of harmful technogenic pollutants emissions in conditions of constant asteroid and comet hazard [10, 11], and especially within the present conditions of hybrid wars [8, 9]. That is why it is necessary give off sufficient observational time for the monitoring control on the facts and trail of all sorts of dangerous invasions. All astronomical observatories could create their own sectors, which would provide ground and space

Optimizing hydroxyl airglow retrievals from long-slit astronomical spectroscopic observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Franzen

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Astronomical spectroscopic observations from ground-based telescopes contain background emission lines from the terrestrial atmosphere's airglow. In the near infrared, this background is composed mainly of emission from Meinel bands of hydroxyl (OH, which is produced in highly excited vibrational states by reduction of ozone near 90 km. This emission contains a wealth of information on the chemical and dynamical state of the Earth's atmosphere. However, observation strategies and data reduction processes are usually optimized to minimize the influence of these features on the astronomical spectrum. Here we discuss a measurement technique to optimize the extraction of the OH airglow signal itself from routine J-, H-, and K-band long-slit astronomical spectroscopic observations. As an example, we use data recorded from a point-source observation by the Nordic Optical Telescope's intermediate-resolution spectrograph, which has a spatial resolution of approximately 100 m at the airglow layer. Emission spectra from the OH vibrational manifold from v′  =  9 down to v′  =  3, with signal-to-noise ratios up to 280, have been extracted from 10.8 s integrations. Rotational temperatures representative of the background atmospheric temperature near 90 km, the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region, can be fitted to the OH rotational lines with an accuracy of around 0.7 K. Using this measurement and analysis technique, we derive a rotational temperature distribution with v′ that agrees with atmospheric model conditions and the preponderance of previous work. We discuss the derived rotational temperatures from the different vibrational bands and highlight the potential for both the archived and future observations, which are at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions, to contribute toward the resolution of long-standing problems in atmospheric physics.

OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Hsin-Yu; Holz, Daniel E.; Essick, Reed; Vitale, Salvatore; Katsavounidis, Erik

2017-01-01

Ground-based interferometers are not perfect all-sky instruments, and it is important to account for their behavior when considering the distribution of detected events. In particular, the LIGO detectors are most sensitive to sources above North America and the Indian Ocean, and as the Earth rotates, the sensitive regions are swept across the sky. However, because the detectors do not acquire data uniformly over time, there is a net bias on detectable sources’ right ascensions. Both LIGO detectors preferentially collect data during their local night; it is more than twice as likely to be local midnight than noon when both detectors are operating. We discuss these selection effects and how they impact LIGO’s observations and electromagnetic (EM) follow-up. Beyond galactic foregrounds associated with seasonal variations, we find that equatorial observatories can access over 80% of the localization probability, while mid-latitudes will access closer to 70%. Facilities located near the two LIGO sites can observe sources closer to their zenith than their analogs in the south, but the average observation will still be no closer than 44° from zenith. We also find that observatories in Africa or the South Atlantic will wait systematically longer before they can begin observing compared to the rest of the world; though, there is a preference for longitudes near the LIGOs. These effects, along with knowledge of the LIGO antenna pattern, can inform EM follow-up activities and optimization, including the possibility of directing observations even before gravitational-wave events occur.

OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS WITH GROUND-BASED GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Hsin-Yu; Holz, Daniel E. [University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637 (United States); Essick, Reed; Vitale, Salvatore; Katsavounidis, Erik [LIGO, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

2017-01-20

Ground-based interferometers are not perfect all-sky instruments, and it is important to account for their behavior when considering the distribution of detected events. In particular, the LIGO detectors are most sensitive to sources above North America and the Indian Ocean, and as the Earth rotates, the sensitive regions are swept across the sky. However, because the detectors do not acquire data uniformly over time, there is a net bias on detectable sources’ right ascensions. Both LIGO detectors preferentially collect data during their local night; it is more than twice as likely to be local midnight than noon when both detectors are operating. We discuss these selection effects and how they impact LIGO’s observations and electromagnetic (EM) follow-up. Beyond galactic foregrounds associated with seasonal variations, we find that equatorial observatories can access over 80% of the localization probability, while mid-latitudes will access closer to 70%. Facilities located near the two LIGO sites can observe sources closer to their zenith than their analogs in the south, but the average observation will still be no closer than 44° from zenith. We also find that observatories in Africa or the South Atlantic will wait systematically longer before they can begin observing compared to the rest of the world; though, there is a preference for longitudes near the LIGOs. These effects, along with knowledge of the LIGO antenna pattern, can inform EM follow-up activities and optimization, including the possibility of directing observations even before gravitational-wave events occur.

The Innsbruck/ESO sky models and telluric correction tools*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimeswenger S.

2015-01-01

While the ground based astronomical observatories just have to correct for the line-of-sight integral of these effects, the Čerenkov telescopes use the atmosphere as the primary detector. The measured radiation originates at lower altitudes and does not pass through the entire atmosphere. Thus, a decent knowledge of the profile of the atmosphere at any time is required. The latter cannot be achieved by photometric measurements of stellar sources. We show here the capabilities of our sky background model and data reduction tools for ground-based optical/infrared telescopes. Furthermore, we discuss the feasibility of monitoring the atmosphere above any observing site, and thus, the possible application of the method for Čerenkov telescopes.

Astronomical Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Neuenschwander, D. E.; Finkenbinder, L. R.

2004-05-01

Just as quetzals and jaguars require specific ecological habitats to survive, so too must planets occupy a tightly constrained astronomical habitat to support life as we know it. With this theme in mind we relate the transferable features of our elementary astronomy course, "The Astronomical Basis of Life on Earth." Over the last five years, in a team-taught course that features a spring break field trip to Costa Rica, we have introduced astronomy through "astronomical ecosystems," emphasizing astronomical constraints on the prospects for life on Earth. Life requires energy, chemical elements, and long timescales, and we emphasize how cosmological, astrophysical, and geological realities, through stabilities and catastrophes, create and eliminate niches for biological life. The linkage between astronomy and biology gets immediate and personal: for example, studies in solar energy production are followed by hikes in the forest to examine the light-gathering strategies of photosynthetic organisms; a lesson on tides is conducted while standing up to our necks in one on a Pacific beach. Further linkages between astronomy and the human timescale concerns of biological diversity, cultural diversity, and environmental sustainability are natural and direct. Our experience of teaching "astronomy as habitat" strongly influences our "Astronomy 101" course in Oklahoma as well. This "inverted astrobiology" seems to transform our student's outlook, from the universe being something "out there" into something "we're in!" We thank the SNU Science Alumni support group "The Catalysts," and the SNU Quetzal Education and Research Center, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, for their support.

Taking Charge: Walter Sydney Adams and the Mount Wilson Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Brashear, R.

2004-12-01

The growing preeminence of American observational astronomy in the first half of the 20th century is a well-known story and much credit is given to George Ellery Hale and his skill as an observatory-building entrepreneur. But a key figure who has yet to be discussed in great detail is Walter Sydney Adams (1876-1956), Hale's Assistant Director at Mount Wilson Observatory. Due to Hale's illnesses, Adams was Acting Director for much of Hale's tenure, and he became the second Director of Mount Wilson from 1923 to 1946. Behind his New England reserve Adams was instrumental in the growth of Mount Wilson and thus American astronomy in general. Adams was hand-picked by Hale to take charge of stellar spectroscopy work at Yerkes and Mount Wilson and the younger astronomer showed tremendous loyalty to Hale and Hale's vision throughout his career. As Adams assumed the leadership role at Mount Wilson he concentrated on making the observatory a place where researchers worked with great freedom but maintain a high level of cooperation. This paper will concentrate on Adams's early years and look at his growing relationship with Hale and how he came to be the central figure in the early history of Mount Wilson as both a solar and stellar observatory. His education, his years at Dartmouth and Yerkes (including his unfortunate encounter with epsilon Leonis), and his formative years on Mount Wilson are all important in learning how he shaped the direction of Mount Wilson and the development of American astronomy in the first half of the 20th century. This latter history cannot be complete until we bring Adams into better focus.

Russian Virtual Observatory: Data Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malkov O.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this review is to analyze main directions of creation and functioning of major data sources developed by Russian astronomers or with their participation and to compare them with the worldwide trends in these fields. We discuss astronomical space missions of the past, present, and future (Astron, INTEGRAL, WSO-UV, Spectrum Roentgen Gamma, Lyra-B, high-quality photometric atlases and catalogues, and spectroscopic data sources, primarily VALD and the global VAMDC framework for the maintenance and distribution of atomic and molecular data. We describe collection, analysis, and dissemination of astronomical data on minor bodies of the Solar System and on variable stars. Also described is the project joining data for all observational types of binary and multiple stars, Binary star DataBase (BDB.

Choosing and using astronomical eyepieces

CERN Document Server

Paolini, William

2013-01-01

This valuable reference fills a number of needs in the field of astronomical eyepieces, including that of a buyer's guide, observer's field guide and technical desk reference. It documents the past market for eyepieces and its evolution right up to the present day. In addition to appealing to practical astronomers - and potentially saving them money - it is useful both as a historical reference and as a detailed review of the current market place for this bustling astronomical consumer product. What distinguishes this book from other publications on astronomy is the involvement of observers from all aspects of the astronomical community, and also the major manufacturers of equipment. It not only catalogs the technical aspects of the many modern eyepieces but also documents amateur observer reactions and impressions of their utility over the years, using many different eyepieces. Eyepieces are the most talked-about accessories and collectible items available to the amateur astronomer. No other item of equi...

The astronomer of the duchess -- Life and work of Franz Xaver von Zach 1754-1832. (German Title: Der Astronom der Herzogin -- Leben und Werk von Franz Xaver von Zach 1754-1832)

Science.gov (United States)

Brosche, Peter

The astronomer, geodesist, geographer and historian of science Franz Xaver von Zach (1754-1832) lived and worked in several European countries. Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg appointed him as the founding scientist of his Seeberg Observatory. This was the place of his strongest activity. Why should we have an interest in him today? There is a rational and an emotional answer. First, he has rendered organisational services to his sciences which are equivalent to a great scientific achievement. Second, Zach was a very colourful character, travelled across many states in a time of radical changes and had connections with many colleagues and public figures. Images from his life therefore provide outlooks, insights and relations.

SOFIA: The Next Generation Airborne Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Dunham, Edward; Witteborn, Fred C. (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, will carry a 2.5 meter telescope into the stratosphere on 160 7.5 hour flights per year. At stratospheric altitudes SOFIA will operate above 99% of the water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere, allowing observation of wide regions of the infrared spectrum that are totally obscured from even the best ground-based sites. Its mobility and long range will allow worldwide observation of ephemeral events such as occultations and eclipses. SOFIA will be developed jointly by NASA and DARA, the German space agency. It has been included in the President's budget request to Congress for a development start in FY96 (this October!) and enjoys strong support in Germany. This talk will cover SOFIA's scientific goals, technical characteristics, science operating plan, and political status.

OCO-2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2) mission operations planning and initial operations experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Basilio, Ralph R.; Pollock, H. Randy; Hunyadi-Lay, Sarah L.

2014-10-01

OCO-2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2) is the first NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, specifically to identify sources (emitters) and sinks (absorbers) on a regional (1000 km x 1000 km) scale. The mission is designed to meet a science imperative by providing critical and urgent measurements needed to improve understanding of the carbon cycle and global climate change processes. The single instrument consisting of three grating spectrometers was built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but is based on the design co-developed with Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation for the original OCO mission. The instrument underwent an extensive ground test program. This was generally made possible through the use of a thermal vacuum chamber with a window/port that allowed optical ground support equipment to stimulate the instrument. The instrument was later delivered to Orbital Sciences Corporation for integration and test with the LEOStar-2 spacecraft. During the overall ground test campaign, proper function and performance in simulated launch, ascent, and space environments were verified. The observatory was launched into space on 02 July 2014. Initial indications are that the instrument is meeting functional and performance specifications, and there is every expectation that the spatially-order, geo-located, calibrated spectra of reflected sunlight and the science retrievals will meet the Level 1 science requirements.

Simon Newcomb: America's Unofficial Astronomer Royal

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, John

2007-10-01

Bill Carter and Merri Sue Carter Mantazas; xiii + 213 pp.; ISBN 1-59113-803-5 2006; $26.95 This book introduced me to a commanding figure in American science from the late nineteenth century: Simon Newcomb. Newcomb has been called the nineteenth-century equivalent of Carl Sagan and Albert Einstein. He rose from humble beginnings to be the preeminent American astronomer of his generation. He made basic, far-reaching, and enduring contributions to positional astronomy and planetary dynamics. On the more practical side, he determined a remarkably accurate value for the velocity of light, one within 0.01% of the value accepted today. His work provided an experimental grounding for the special and general theories of relativity to be formulated by Einstein in the coming twentieth century.

Beyond MOS and fibers: Optical Fourier-transform Imaging Unit for Cananea Observatory (OFIUCO)

Science.gov (United States)

Nieto-Suárez, M. A.; Rosales-Ortega, F. F.; Castillo, E.; García, P.; Escobedo, G.; Sánchez, S. F.; González, J.; Iglesias-Páramo, J.; Mollá, M.; Chávez, M.; Bertone, E.; et al.

2017-11-01

Many physical processes in astronomy are still hampered by the lack of spatial and spectral resolution, and also restricted to the field-of-view (FoV) of current 2D spectroscopy instruments available worldwide. It is due to that, many of the ongoing or proposed studies are based on large-scale imaging and/or spectroscopic surveys. Under this philosophy, large aperture telescopes are dedicated to the study of intrinsically faint and/or distance objects, covering small FoVs, with high spatial resolution, while smaller telescopes are devoted to wide-field explorations. However, future astronomical surveys, should be addressed by acquiring un-biases, spatially resolved, high-quality spectroscopic information for a wide FoV. Therefore, and in order to improve the current instrumental offer in the Observatorio Astrofísico Guillermo Haro (OAGH) in Cananea, Mexico (INAOE); and to explore a possible instrument for the future Telescopio San Pedro Mártir (6.5m), we are currently integrating at INAOE an instrument prototype that will provide us with un-biased wide-field (few arcmin) spectroscopic information, and with the flexibility of operating at different spectral resolutions (R 1-20000), with a spatial resolution limited by seeing, and therefore, to be used in a wide range of astronomical problems. This instrument called OFIUCO: Optical Fourier-transform Imaging Unit for Cananea Observatory, will make use of the Fourier Transform Spectroscopic technique, which has been proved to be feasible in the optical wavelength range (350-1000 nm) with designs such as SITELLE (CFHT). We describe here the basic technical description of a Fourier transform spectrograph with important modifications from previous astronomical versions, as well as the technical advantages and weakness, and the science cases in which this instrument can be implemented.

Ground-based photo monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Frederick C. Hall

2000-01-01

Ground-based photo monitoring is repeat photography using ground-based cameras to document change in vegetation or soil. Assume those installing the photo location will not be the ones re-photographing it. This requires a protocol that includes: (1) a map to locate the monitoring area, (2) another map diagramming the photographic layout, (3) type and make of film such...

Decoding the mechanisms of Antikythera astronomical device

CERN Document Server

Lin, Jian-Liang

2016-01-01

This book presents a systematic design methodology for decoding the interior structure of the Antikythera mechanism, an astronomical device from ancient Greece. The historical background, surviving evidence and reconstructions of the mechanism are introduced, and the historical development of astronomical achievements and various astronomical instruments are investigated. Pursuing an approach based on the conceptual design of modern mechanisms and bearing in mind the standards of science and technology at the time, all feasible designs of the six lost/incomplete/unclear subsystems are synthesized as illustrated examples, and 48 feasible designs of the complete interior structure are presented. This approach provides not only a logical tool for applying modern mechanical engineering knowledge to the reconstruction of the Antikythera mechanism, but also an innovative research direction for identifying the original structures of the mechanism in the future. In short, the book offers valuable new insights for all...

The Infrared-Optical Telescope (IRT) of the Exist Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Kutyrev, Alexander; Bloom, Joshua; Gehrels, Neil; Golisano, Craig; Gong, Quan; Grindlay, Jonathan; Moseley, Samuel; Woodgate, Bruce

2010-01-01

The IRT is a 1.1m visible and infrared passively cooled telescope, which can locate, identify and obtain spectra of GRB afterglows at redshifts up to z 20. It will also acquire optical-IR, imaging and spectroscopy of AGN and transients discovered by the EXIST (The Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope). The IRT imaging and spectroscopic capabilities cover a broad spectral range from 0.32.2m in four bands. The identical fields of view in the four instrument bands are each split in three subfields: imaging, objective prism slitless for the field and objective prism single object slit low resolution spectroscopy, and high resolution long slit on single object. This allows the instrument, to do simultaneous broadband photometry or spectroscopy of the same object over the full spectral range, thus greatly improving the efficiency of the observatory and its detection limits. A prompt follow up (within three minutes) of the transient discovered by the EXIST makes IRT a unique tool for detection and study of these events, which is particularly valuable at wavelengths unavailable to the ground based observatories.

ESA innovation rescues Ultraviolet Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

1995-10-01

Astrophysicist Freeman J. Dyson from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton characterizes IUE as "A little half-meter mirror sitting in the sky, unnoticed by the public, pouring out results". By use of the IUE satellite, astronomers obtain access to the ultraviolet radiation of celestial bodies in unique ways not available by any other means, neither from the ground nor by any other spacecraft currently in orbit. IUE serves a wide community of astronomers all over Europe, the United States and many other parts of the world. It allows the acquisition of critical data for fundamental studies of comets and their evaporation when they approach the Sun, of the mechanisms driving the stellar winds which make many stars lose a significant fraction of their mass (before they die slowly as White Dwarfs or in sudden Supernova explosions), as well as in the search to understand the ways in which black holes possibly power the violent nuclei of Active galaxies. One year ago the project was threatened with termination and serious concern was expressed by astronomers about the potential loss of IUE's capabilities, as a result of NASA not continuing to operate the spacecraft. Under the leadership of ESA, the three Agencies involved in the operations of IUE (ESA, NASA and the United Kingdom's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, PPARC), reviewed the operations agreements of the Project. A minor investment allowing the implementation of modern management and engineering techniques as well as a complete revision of the communication infrastructure of the project and continuous improvements in efficiency in the ESA management, also taking advantage of today's technologies, both in computing and communications, have made it possible to continue IUE operations within the financial means available, with ESA taking up most of NASA's share in the operations. According to Dr. Willem Wamsteker, ESA's Dutch IUE Project Scientist, "it was a extremely interesting

Space- and ground-based particle physics meet at CERN

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2012-01-01

The fourth international conference on Particle and Fundamental Physics in Space (SpacePart12) will take place at CERN from 5 to 7 November. The conference will bring together scientists working on particle and fundamental physics in space and on ground, as well as space policy makers from around the world.   One hundred years after Victor Hess discovered cosmic rays using hot air balloons, the experimental study of particle and fundamental physics is still being pursued today with extremely sophisticated techniques: on the ground, with state-of-the-art accelerators like the LHC; and in space, with powerful observatories that probe, with amazing accuracy, the various forms of cosmic radiation, charged and neutral, which are messengers of the most extreme conditions of matter and energy. SpacePart12 will be the opportunity for participants to exchange views on the progress of space-related science and technology programmes in the field of particle and fundamental physics in space. SpacePar...

New design for the UCO/Lick Observatory CCD guide camera

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Mingzhi; Stover, Richard J.

1996-03-01

A new CCD based field acquisition and telescope guiding camera is being designed and built at UCO/Lick Observatory. Our goal is a camera which is fully computer controllable, compact in size, versatile enough to provide a wide variety of image acquisition modes, and able to operate with a wide variety of CCD detectors. The camera will improve our remote-observing capabilities since it will be easy to control the camera and obtain images over the Observatory computer network. To achieve the desired level of operating flexibility, the design incorporates state-of-the-art technologies such as high density, high speed programmable logic devices and non-volatile static memory. Various types of CCDs can be used in this system without major modification of the hardware or software. Though fully computer controllable, the camera can be operated as a stand-alone unit with most operating parameters set locally. A stand-alone display subsystem is also available. A thermoelectric device is used to cool the CCD to about -45c. Integration times can be varied over a range of 0.1 to 1000 seconds. High speed pixel skipping in both horizontal and vertical directions allows us to quickly access a selected subarea of the detector. Three different read out speeds allow the astronomer to select between high-speed/high-noise and low-speed/low-noise operation. On- chip pixel binning and MPP operation are also selectable options. This system can provide automatic sky level measurement and subtraction to accommodate dynamically changing background levels.

Determination of the Telluric Water Vapor Absorption Correction for Astronomical Data Obtained from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, E. F.; Simpson, J. P.; Kuhn, P. M.; Stearns, L. P.

1979-01-01

The amount of telluric water vapor along the line of sight of the Kuiper Airborne Observatory telescope as obtained concommitantly on 23 flights is compared with the NASA-Ames Michelson interferometer and with the NOAA-Boulder radiometer. A strong correlation between the two determinations exists, and a method for computing the atmospheric transmission for a given radiometer reading is established.

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.

Planet Formation in Action? - Astronomers may have found the first object clearing its path in the natal disc surrounding a young star

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-01

, Garching, Germany), G. A. Blake (California Institute of Technology), N. Huélamo (Centro de Astrobiología, ESAC, Spain), P. Tuthill (University of Sydney, Australia), M. Ireland (University of Sydney), A. Kraus (University of Hawaii) and G. Chauvin (Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France). ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Database-Driven Analyses of Astronomical Spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Cami, Jan

2012-03-01

Spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools to study the physical properties and chemical composition of very diverse astrophysical environments. In principle, each nuclide has a unique set of spectral features; thus, establishing the presence of a specific material at astronomical distances requires no more than finding a laboratory spectrum of the right material that perfectly matches the astronomical observations. Once the presence of a substance is established, a careful analysis of the observational characteristics (wavelengths or frequencies, intensities, and line profiles) allows one to determine many physical parameters of the environment in which the substance resides, such as temperature, density, velocity, and so on. Because of this great diagnostic potential, ground-based and space-borne astronomical observatories often include instruments to carry out spectroscopic analyses of various celestial objects and events. Of particular interest is molecular spectroscopy at infrared wavelengths. From the spectroscopic point of view, molecules differ from atoms in their ability to vibrate and rotate, and quantum physics inevitably causes those motions to be quantized. The energies required to excite vibrations or rotations are such that vibrational transitions generally occur at infrared wavelengths, whereas pure rotational transitions typically occur at sub-mm wavelengths. Molecular vibration and rotation are coupled though, and thus at infrared wavelengths, one commonly observes a multitude of ro-vibrational transitions (see Figure 13.1). At lower spectral resolution, all transitions blend into one broad ro-vibrational molecular band. The isotope. Molecular spectroscopy thus allows us to see a difference of one neutron in an atomic nucleus that is located at astronomical distances! Since the detection of the first interstellar molecules (the CH [21] and CN [14] radicals), more than 150 species have been detected in space, ranging in size from diatomic

The Advanced X-ray Spectroscopy and Imaging Observatory (AXSIO)

Science.gov (United States)

White, Nicholas E.; Bookbinder, Jay; Petre, Robert; Smith, Randall; Ptak, Andrew; Tananbaum, Harvey; Garcia, Michael

2012-01-01

Following recommendations from the 2010 "New Worlds, New Horizons" (NWNH) report, the Advanced X-ray Spectroscopy and Imaging Observatory (AXSIO) concept streamlines the International X-ray Observatory (IXO) mission to concentrate on the science objectives that are enabled by high-resolution spectroscopic capabilities. AXSIO will trace orbits close to the event horizon of black holes, measure black hole spin for tens of supermassive black holes (SMBH), use spectroscopy to characterize outflows and the environment of AGN during their peak activity, observe 5MBH out to redshift z=6, map bulk motions and turbulence in galaxy clusters, find the missing baryons in the cosmic web using background quasars, and observe the process of cosmic feedback where black holes and supernovae inject energy on galactic and intergalactic scales. These measurements are enabled by a 0.9 sq m collecting area at 1.25 keV, a micro calorimeter array providing high-resolution spectroscopic imaging and a deployable high efficiency grating spectrometer. AXSIO delivers a 30-fold increase in effective area for high resolution spectroscopy. The key simplifications are guided by recommendations in the NWNH panel report include a reduction in focal length from 20m to 10m, eliminating the extendable optical bench, and a reduction in the instrument complement from six to two, avoiding a movable instrument platform. A focus on spectroscopic science allows the spatial resolution requirement to be relaxed to 10 arc sec (with a 5 arc sec goal). These simplifications decrease the total mission cost to under the $2B cost to NASA recommended by NWNH. AXSIO will be available to the entire astronomical community with observing allocations based on peer-review.

Ad-hoc Content-based Queries and Data Analysis for Virtual Observatories, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Aquilent, Inc. proposes to support ad-hoc, content-based query and data retrieval from virtual observatories (VxO) by developing 1) Higher Order Query Services that...

Space Telescope maintenance and refurbishment

Science.gov (United States)

Trucks, H. F.

1983-01-01

The Space Telescope (ST) represents a new concept regarding spaceborne astronomical observatories. Maintenance crews will be brought to the orbital worksite to make repairs and replace scientific instruments. For major overhauls the telescope can be temporarily returned to earth with the aid of the Shuttle. It will, thus, be possible to conduct astronomical studies with the ST for two decades or more. The five first-generation scientific instruments used with the ST include a wide field/planetary camera, a faint object camera, a faint object spectrograph, a high resolution spectrograph, and a high speed photometer. Attention is given to the optical telescope assembly, the support systems module, aspects of mission and science operations, unscheduled maintenance, contingency orbital maintenance, planned on-orbit maintenance, ground maintenance, ground refurbishment, and ground logistics.

Astronomy in the Netherlands

Science.gov (United States)

Boland, Wilfried; Habing, Harm

2013-01-01

We describe the state of astronomical research in the Netherlands per early 2012. We add some notes on its history of this research and on the strategic choices for the future. Compared to the size of the country (16 million people) the Netherlands is maintaining a high profile in astronomical research over a period of more than one century. The professional research community consists of about 650 people. This includes research staff, postdocs, PhD students, technical staff working on instrumentation projects and people involved in the operations of ground-based telescopes and astronomical space missions. We do not take into account staff working for international organizations based in the Netherlands. Astronomical research in the Netherlands is carried out at four university institutes and two national research institutes that fall under the umbrella of the national funding agency NWO. The Netherlands is the host of two international organizations: ESTEC, the technology division of the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE). The Netherlands are one of the founding members of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and of ESA. This paper will address a number of significant multilateral collaborations.

Exploring the cosmic rays energy frontier with the Auger Observatory

CERN Document Server

CERN. Geneva

2006-01-01

The existence of cosmic rays with energies in excess of 1020 eV represents a longstanding scientific mystery. Unveileing the mechanism and source of production/acceleration of particles of such enormous energies is a challenging experimental task due to their minute flux, roughly one km2 century. The Pierre Auger Observatory, now nearing completion in Malargue, Mendoza Province, Argentina, is spread over an area of 3000 km2. Two techniques are employed to observe the cosmic ray showers: detection of the shower particles on the ground and detection of fluorescence light produced as the shower particles pass through the atmosphere. I will describe the status of the Observatory and its detectors, and early results from the data recorded while the observatory is reaching its completion.Organiser(s): L. Alvarez-Gaume / PH-THNote: * Tea & coffee will be served at 16:00.

Automated cloud classification using a ground based infra-red camera and texture analysis techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Rumi, Emal; Kerr, David; Coupland, Jeremy M.; Sandford, Andrew P.; Brettle, Mike J.

2013-10-01

Clouds play an important role in influencing the dynamics of local and global weather and climate conditions. Continuous monitoring of clouds is vital for weather forecasting and for air-traffic control. Convective clouds such as Towering Cumulus (TCU) and Cumulonimbus clouds (CB) are associated with thunderstorms, turbulence and atmospheric instability. Human observers periodically report the presence of CB and TCU clouds during operational hours at airports and observatories; however such observations are expensive and time limited. Robust, automatic classification of cloud type using infrared ground-based instrumentation offers the advantage of continuous, real-time (24/7) data capture and the representation of cloud structure in the form of a thermal map, which can greatly help to characterise certain cloud formations. The work presented here utilised a ground based infrared (8-14 μm) imaging device mounted on a pan/tilt unit for capturing high spatial resolution sky images. These images were processed to extract 45 separate textural features using statistical and spatial frequency based analytical techniques. These features were used to train a weighted k-nearest neighbour (KNN) classifier in order to determine cloud type. Ground truth data were obtained by inspection of images captured simultaneously from a visible wavelength colour camera at the same installation, with approximately the same field of view as the infrared device. These images were classified by a trained cloud observer. Results from the KNN classifier gave an encouraging success rate. A Probability of Detection (POD) of up to 90% with a Probability of False Alarm (POFA) as low as 16% was achieved.

Astronomy in Inca Empire: a Ceque Based Calendar

Science.gov (United States)

Correa, Nathalia Silva Gomes; de Nader, R. V.

2007-08-01

This work is a brief report about different kinds of arrangements and organization of the Inca astronomical calendar, approaching archaeological vestiges in Cuzco, such as observatories aligned to celestial objects which were observed for the computation of the time. We also analyze the ceques lines that can be associated to these techniques of Inca astronomical observation, according to the chroniclers and the researches in archaeoastronomy.

Automatic astronomical coordinate determination using digital zenith cameras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Farzaneh

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Celestial positioning has been used for navigation purposes for many years. Stars as the extra-terrestrial benchmarks provide unique opportunity in absolute point positioning. However, astronomical field data acquisition and data processing of the collected data is very time-consuming. The advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS nearly made the celestial positioning system obsolete. The new satellite-based positioning system has been very popular since it is very efficient and convenient for many daily life applications. Nevertheless, the celestial positioning method is never replaced by satellite-based positioning in absolute point positioning sense. The invention of electro-optical devices at the beginning of the 21st century was really a rebirth in geodetic astronomy. Today, the digital cameras with relatively high geometric and radiometric accuracy has opened a new insight in satellite attitude determination and the study of the Earth's surface geometry and physics of its interior, i.e., computation of astronomical coordinates and the vertical deflection components. This method or the so-called astrogeodetic vision-based method help us to determine astronomical coordinates with an accuracy better than 0.1 arc second. The theoretical background, an innovative transformation approach and the preliminary numerical results are addressed in this paper.

Combining virtual observatory and equivalent source dipole approaches to describe the geomagnetic field with Swarm measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Saturnino, Diana; Langlais, Benoit; Amit, Hagay; Civet, François; Mandea, Mioara; Beucler, Éric

2018-03-01

A detailed description of the main geomagnetic field and of its temporal variations (i.e., the secular variation or SV) is crucial to understanding the geodynamo. Although the SV is known with high accuracy at ground magnetic observatory locations, the globally uneven distribution of the observatories hampers the determination of a detailed global pattern of the SV. Over the past two decades, satellites have provided global surveys of the geomagnetic field which have been used to derive global spherical harmonic (SH) models through some strict data selection schemes to minimise external field contributions. However, discrepancies remain between ground measurements and field predictions by these models; indeed the global models do not reproduce small spatial scales of the field temporal variations. To overcome this problem we propose to directly extract time series of the field and its temporal variation from satellite measurements as it is done at observatory locations. We follow a Virtual Observatory (VO) approach and define a global mesh of VOs at satellite altitude. For each VO and each given time interval we apply an Equivalent Source Dipole (ESD) technique to reduce all measurements to a unique location. Synthetic data are first used to validate the new VO-ESD approach. Then, we apply our scheme to data from the first two years of the Swarm mission. For the first time, a 2.5° resolution global mesh of VO time series is built. The VO-ESD derived time series are locally compared to ground observations as well as to satellite-based model predictions. Our approach is able to describe detailed temporal variations of the field at local scales. The VO-ESD time series are then used to derive global spherical harmonic models. For a simple SH parametrization the model describes well the secular trend of the magnetic field both at satellite altitude and at the surface. As more data will be made available, longer VO-ESD time series can be derived and consequently used to

Fastest Pulsar Speeding Out of Galaxy, Astronomers Discover

Science.gov (United States)

2005-08-01

A speeding, superdense neutron star somehow got a powerful "kick" that is propelling it completely out of our Milky Way Galaxy into the cold vastness of intergalactic space. Its discovery is puzzling astronomers who used the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) radio telescope to directly measure the fastest speed yet found in a neutron star. Pulsar's Path Across Sky Over about 2.5 million years, Pulsar B1508+55 has moved across about a third of the night sky as seen from Earth. CREDIT: Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF (Click on image for larger version 67 KB) The neutron star is the remnant of a massive star born in the constellation Cygnus that exploded about two and a half million years ago in a titanic explosion known as a supernova. Ultra-precise VLBA measurements of its distance and motion show that it is on course to inevitably leave our Galaxy. "We know that supernova explosions can give a kick to the resulting neutron star, but the tremendous speed of this object pushes the limits of our current understanding," said Shami Chatterjee, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "This discovery is very difficult for the latest models of supernova core collapse to explain," he added. Chatterjee and his colleagues used the VLBA to study the pulsar B1508+55, about 7700 light-years from Earth. With the ultrasharp radio "vision" of the continent-wide VLBA, they were able to precisely measure both the distance and the speed of the pulsar, a spinning neutron star emitting powerful beams of radio waves. Plotting its motion backward pointed to a birthplace among groups of giant stars in the constellation Cygnus -- stars so massive that they inevitably explode as supernovae. "This is the first direct measurement of a neutron star's speed that exceeds 1,000 kilometers per second," said Walter Brisken, an NRAO astronomer. "Most earlier estimates of neutron-star speeds depended on educated

Use of water-Cherenkov detectors to detect Gamma Ray Bursts at the Large Aperture GRB Observatory (LAGO)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allard, D.; Allekotte, I.; Alvarez, C.; Asorey, H.; Barros, H.; Bertou, X.; Burgoa, O.; Gomez Berisso, M.; Martinez, O.; Miranda Loza, P.; Murrieta, T.; Perez, G.; Rivera, H.; Rovero, A.; Saavedra, O.; Salazar, H.; Tello, J.C.; Ticona Peralda, R.; Velarde, A.; Villasenor, L.

2008-01-01

The Large Aperture GRB Observatory (LAGO) project aims at the detection of high energy photons from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) using the single particle technique in ground-based water-Cherenkov detectors (WCD). To reach a reasonable sensitivity, high altitude mountain sites have been selected in Mexico (Sierra Negra, 4550 m a.s.l.), Bolivia (Chacaltaya, 5300 m a.s.l.) and Venezuela (Merida, 4765 m a.s.l.). We report on detector calibration and operation at high altitude, search for bursts in 4 months of preliminary data, as well as search for signal at ground level when satellites report a burst

Use of water-Cherenkov detectors to detect Gamma Ray Bursts at the Large Aperture GRB Observatory (LAGO)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allard, D. [APC, CNRS et Universite Paris 7 (France); Allekotte, I. [Centro Atomico Bariloche, Instituto Balseiro (Argentina); Alvarez, C. [Facultad de Ciencias Fisico-Matematicas de la BUAP (Mexico); Asorey, H. [Centro Atomico Bariloche, Instituto Balseiro (Argentina); Barros, H. [Laboratorio de Fisica Nuclear, Universidad Simon Bolivar, Caracas (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Bertou, X. [Centro Atomico Bariloche, Instituto Balseiro (Argentina)], E-mail: bertou@cab.cnea.gov.ar; Burgoa, O. [Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicas, UMSA (Bolivia); Gomez Berisso, M. [Centro Atomico Bariloche, Instituto Balseiro (Argentina); Martinez, O. [Facultad de Ciencias Fisico-Matematicas de la BUAP (Mexico); Miranda Loza, P. [Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicas, UMSA (Bolivia); Murrieta, T.; Perez, G. [Facultad de Ciencias Fisico-Matematicas de la BUAP (Mexico); Rivera, H. [Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicas, UMSA (Bolivia); Rovero, A. [Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio (Argentina); Saavedra, O. [Dipartimento di Fisica Generale and INFN, Torino (Italy); Salazar, H. [Facultad de Ciencias Fisico-Matematicas de la BUAP (Mexico); Tello, J.C. [Laboratorio de Fisica Nuclear, Universidad Simon Bolivar, Caracas (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Ticona Peralda, R.; Velarde, A. [Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicas, UMSA (Bolivia); Villasenor, L. [Facultad de Ciencias Fisico-Matematicas de la BUAP (Mexico); Instituto de Fisica y Matematicas, Universidad de Michoacan (Mexico)

2008-09-21

The Large Aperture GRB Observatory (LAGO) project aims at the detection of high energy photons from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) using the single particle technique in ground-based water-Cherenkov detectors (WCD). To reach a reasonable sensitivity, high altitude mountain sites have been selected in Mexico (Sierra Negra, 4550 m a.s.l.), Bolivia (Chacaltaya, 5300 m a.s.l.) and Venezuela (Merida, 4765 m a.s.l.). We report on detector calibration and operation at high altitude, search for bursts in 4 months of preliminary data, as well as search for signal at ground level when satellites report a burst.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory: top level use cases

Science.gov (United States)

Bulgarelli, A.; Kosack, K.; Hinton, J.; Tosti, G.; Schwanke, U.; Schwarz, J.; Colomé, P.; Conforti, V.; Khelifi, B.; Goullon, J.; Ong, R.; Markoff, S.; Contreras, J. L.; Lucarelli, F.; Antonelli, L. A.; Bigongiari, C.; Boisson, C.; Bosnjak, Z.; Brau-Nogué, S.; Carosi, A.; Chen, A.; Cotter, G.; Covino, S.; Daniel, M.; De Cesare, G.; de Ona Wilhelmi, E.; Della Volpe, M.; Di Pierro, F.; Fioretti, V.; Füßling, M.; Garczarczyk, M.; Gaug, M.; Glicenstein, J. F.; Goldoni, P.; Götz, D.; Grandi, P.; Heller, M.; Hermann, G.; Inoue, S.; Knödlseder, J.; Lenain, J.-P.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Luque-Escamilla, P.; Maier, G.; Marisaldi, M.; Mundell, C.; Neyroud, N.; Noda, K.; O'Brien, P.; Petrucci, P. O.; Martí Ribas, J.; Ribó, M.; Rodriguez, J.; Romano, P.; Schmid, J.; Serre, N.; Sol, H.; Schussler, F.; Stamerra, A.; Stolarczyk, T.; Vandenbrouck, J.; Vercellone, S.; Vergani, S.; Zech, A.; Zoli, A.

2016-08-01

Today the scientific community is facing an increasing complexity of the scientific projects, from both a technological and a management point of view. The reason for this is in the advance of science itself, where new experiments with unprecedented levels of accuracy, precision and coverage (time and spatial) are realised. Astronomy is one of the fields of the physical sciences where a strong interaction between the scientists, the instrument and software developers is necessary to achieve the goals of any Big Science Project. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the largest ground-based very high-energy gamma-ray observatory of the next decades. To achieve the full potential of the CTA Observatory, the system must be put into place to enable users to operate the telescopes productively. The software will cover all stages of the CTA system, from the preparation of the observing proposals to the final data reduction, and must also fit into the overall system. Scientists, engineers, operators and others will use the system to operate the Observatory, hence they should be involved in the design process from the beginning. We have organised a workgroup and a workflow for the definition of the CTA Top Level Use Cases in the context of the Requirement Management activities of the CTA Observatory. Scientists, instrument and software developers are collaborating and sharing information to provide a common and general understanding of the Observatory from a functional point of view. Scientists that will use the CTA Observatory will provide mainly Science Driven Use Cases, whereas software engineers will subsequently provide more detailed Use Cases, comments and feedbacks. The main purposes are to define observing modes and strategies, and to provide a framework for the flow down of the Use Cases and requirements to check missing requirements and the already developed Use-Case models at CTA sub-system level. Use Cases will also provide the basis for the definition of

Using commercial amateur astronomical spectrographs

CERN Document Server

Hopkins, Jeffrey L

2014-01-01

Amateur astronomers interested in learning more about astronomical spectroscopy now have the guide they need. It provides detailed information about how to get started inexpensively with low-resolution spectroscopy, and then how to move on to more advanced  high-resolution spectroscopy. Uniquely, the instructions concentrate very much on the practical aspects of using commercially-available spectroscopes, rather than simply explaining how spectroscopes work. The book includes a clear explanation of the laboratory theory behind astronomical spectrographs, and goes on to extensively cover the practical application of astronomical spectroscopy in detail. Four popular and reasonably-priced commercially available diffraction grating spectrographs are used as examples. The first is a low-resolution transmission diffraction grating, the Star Analyser spectrograph. The second is an inexpensive fiber optic coupled bench spectrograph that can be used to learn more about spectroscopy. The third is a newcomer, the ALPY ...

Improving geomagnetic observatory data in the South Atlantic Anomaly

Science.gov (United States)

Matzka, Jürgen; Morschhauser, Achim; Brando Soares, Gabriel; Pinheiro, Katia

2016-04-01

The Swarm mission clearly proofs the benefit of coordinated geomagnetic measurements from a well-tailored constellation in order to recover as good as possible the contributions of the various geomagnetic field sources. A similar truth applies to geomagnetic observatories. Their scientific value can be maximised by properly arranging the position of individual observatories with respect to the geometry of the external current systems in the ionosphere and magnetosphere, with respect to regions of particular interest for secular variation, and with respect to regions of anomalous electric conductivity in the ground. Here, we report on our plans and recent efforts to upgrade geomagnetic observatories and to recover unpublished data from geomagnetic observatories at low latitudes in the South Atlantic Anomaly. In particular, we target the magnetic equator with the equatorial electrojet and low latitudes to characterise the Sq- and ring current. The observatory network that we present allows also to study the longitudinal structure of these external current systems. The South Atlantic Anomaly region is very interesting due to its secular variation. We will show newly recovered data and comparisons with existing data sets. On the technical side, we introduce low-power data loggers. In addition, we use mobile phone data transfer, which is rapidly evolving in the region and allows timely data access and quality control at remote sites that previously were not connected to the internet.

NRAO Astronomer Wins Max-Planck Research Award

Science.gov (United States)

2005-04-01

Dr. Christopher Carilli, a National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) astronomer in Socorro, New Mexico, has been chosen to receive the prestigious Max Planck Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Max Planck Society in Germany. Christopher Carilli Dr. Christopher Carilli Click on image for more photos CREDIT: NRAO/AUI/NSF Carilli, a radio astronomer, and German particle physicist Christof Wetterich are the 2005 recipients of the award, conferred on "one researcher working in Germany and one working abroad who have already gained an international reputation and who are expected to produce outstanding achievements in the framework of international collaboration," according to an announcement from the Humboldt Foundation. "This is a great honor for Chris, and we are proud to see him receive such important international recognition for the excellence of his research," said NRAO Director Fred K.Y. Lo. Carilli's research has focused on studying very distant galaxies in the early Universe, and a quest to find the first luminous objects, such as stars or galaxies, to emerge. His most recent interests focus on unveiling the mysteries of what cosmologists call the "Epoch of Reionization," when the first stars and galaxies ionized the neutral hydrogen that pervaded the young Universe. Carilli and his research colleagues have used NRAO's Very Large Array and other radio telescopes to discover that the molecular raw material for star formation already was present in a galaxy seen as it was about 800 million years after the Big Bang, less than 1/16 the current age of the Universe. The Max Planck Research Award provides 750,000 Euros (currently about $900,000), to be used over five years, for research. The funding is provided by the German Ministry of Education and Research. Carilli will use the funding to support young researchers and to build scientific instrumentation, with a focus on fostering radio studies of cosmic reionization and the first

From (under)ground to space

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palumbo, Giorgio G.C. [Dipartimento di Astronomia, Universita degli Studi di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, 40127 Bologna (Italy)

2011-03-15

The first attempt by Italian scientists to carry on Astrophysical observations from Space can be traced back to the early 60's just after the launch of the first satellites. Dominated by Physicists for decades, slowly space astrophysics has become one of the major fields of modern Astronomy. From the first experiments flown on balloons and rockets to the construction of today's sophisticated satellites a historical scenario will be presented in the framework of Italian Science and, more generally, of European and World growth of the field. The first experiments in Universities, the setting of the CNR (National Research Council) labs, later transformed in institutes, to the recent merging of all Astronomical Observatories, will be discussed with mention to historical episodes. Main results and achievements will be outlined. How politics has affected the development of this branch of astronomical research will also be briefly considered within the limits assigned to the present talk. Some of the information contained in this paper comes from original documents, some from interviewing people who played a major role in the events, some from the literature but most of it is from personal reminiscences.

Norwegian Ocean Observatory Network (NOON)

Science.gov (United States)

Ferré, Bénédicte; Mienert, Jürgen; Winther, Svein; Hageberg, Anne; Rune Godoe, Olav; Partners, Noon

2010-05-01

The Norwegian Ocean Observatory Network (NOON) is led by the University of Tromsø and collaborates with the Universities of Oslo and Bergen, UniResearch, Institute of Marine Research, Christian Michelsen Research and SINTEF. It is supported by the Research Council of Norway and oil and gas (O&G) industries like Statoil to develop science, technology and new educational programs. Main topics relate to ocean climate and environment as well as marine resources offshore Norway from the northern North Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean. NOON's vision is to bring Norway to the international forefront in using cable based ocean observatory technology for marine science and management, by establishing an infrastructure that enables real-time and long term monitoring of processes and interactions between hydrosphere, geosphere and biosphere. This activity is in concert with the EU funded European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) roadmap and European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observation (EMSO) project to attract international leading research developments. NOON envisions developing towards a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). Beside, the research community in Norway already possesses a considerable marine infrastructure that can expand towards an international focus for real-time multidisciplinary observations in times of rapid climate change. PIC The presently established cable-based fjord observatory, followed by the establishment of a cable-based ocean observatory network towards the Arctic from an O&G installation, will provide invaluable knowledge and experience necessary to make a successful larger cable-based observatory network at the Norwegian and Arctic margin (figure 1). Access to large quantities of real-time observation from the deep sea, including high definition video, could be used to provide the public and future recruits to science a fascinating insight into an almost unexplored part of the Earth beyond the Arctic Circle

Radio Astronomers Set New Standard for Accurate Cosmic Distance Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

1999-06-01

A team of radio astronomers has used the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to make the most accurate measurement ever made of the distance to a faraway galaxy. Their direct measurement calls into question the precision of distance determinations made by other techniques, including those announced last week by a team using the Hubble Space Telescope. The radio astronomers measured a distance of 23.5 million light-years to a galaxy called NGC 4258 in Ursa Major. "Ours is a direct measurement, using geometry, and is independent of all other methods of determining cosmic distances," said Jim Herrnstein, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Socorro, NM. The team says their measurement is accurate to within less than a million light-years, or four percent. The galaxy is also known as Messier 106 and is visible with amateur telescopes. Herrnstein, along with James Moran and Lincoln Greenhill of the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Phillip Diamond, of the Merlin radio telescope facility at Jodrell Bank and the University of Manchester in England; Makato Inoue and Naomasa Nakai of Japan's Nobeyama Radio Observatory; Mikato Miyoshi of Japan's National Astronomical Observatory; Christian Henkel of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy; and Adam Riess of the University of California at Berkeley, announced their findings at the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Chicago. "This is an incredible achievement to measure the distance to another galaxy with this precision," said Miller Goss, NRAO's Director of VLA/VLBA Operations. "This is the first time such a great distance has been measured this accurately. It took painstaking work on the part of the observing team, and it took a radio telescope the size of the Earth -- the VLBA -- to make it possible," Goss said. "Astronomers have sought to determine the Hubble Constant, the rate of expansion of the universe, for decades. This will in turn lead to an

Storing Astronomical Information on the Romanian Territory

Science.gov (United States)

Stavinschi, M.; Mioc, V.

2004-12-01

Romanian astronomy has a more than 2000-year old tradition, which is, however, little known abroad. The first known archive of astronomical information is the Dacian sanctuary at Sarmizegetusa Regia, erected in the first century AD, having similarities with that of Stonehenge. After a gap of more than 1000 years, more sources of astronomical information become available, mainly records of astronomical events. Monasteries were the safest storage places of these genuine archives. We present a classification of the ways of storing astronomical information, along with characteristic examples.

Early laser operations at the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmer, Gustavo; Lefebvre, Michael; Christou, Julian; Raab, Walfried; Rabien, Sebastian; Ziegleder, Julian; Borelli, José L.; Gässler, Wolfgang

2014-08-01

ARGOS is the GLAO (Ground-Layer Adaptive Optics) Rayleigh-based LGS (Laser Guide Star) facility for the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory (LBTO). It is dedicated for observations with LUCI1 and LUCI2, LBTO's pair of NIR imagers and multi-object spectrographs. The system projects three laser beams from the back of each of the two secondary mirror units, which create two constellations circumscribed on circles of 2 arcmin radius with 120 degree spacing. Each of the six Nd:YAG lasers provides a beam of green (532nm) pulses at a rate of 10kHz with a power of 14W to 18W. We achieved first on-sky propagation on the night of November 5, 2013, and commissioning of the full system will take place during 2014. We present the initial results of laser operations at the observatory, including safety procedures and the required coordination with external agencies (FAA, Space Command, and Military Airspace Manager). We also describe our operational procedures and report on our experiences with aircraft spotters. Future plans for safer and more efficient aircraft monitoring and detection are discussed.

ARNICA, the Arcetri near-infrared camera: Astronomical performance assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, L. K.; Lisi, F.; Testi, L.; Baffa, C.; Borelli, S.; Maiolino, R.; Moriondo, G.; Stanga, R. M.

1996-01-01

The Arcetri near-infrared camera ARNICA was built as a users' instrument for the Infrared Telescope at Gornergrat (TIRGO), and is based on a 256x256 NICMOS 3 detector. In this paper, we discuss ARNICA's optical and astronomical performance at the TIRGO and at the William Herschel Telescope on La Palma. Optical performance is evaluated in terms of plate scale, distortion, point spread function, and ghosting. Astronomical performance is characterized by camera efficiency, sensitivity, and spatial uniformity of the photometry.

Coordinated Ground-Based Observations and the New Horizons Fly-by of Pluto

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Eliot; Young, Leslie; Parker, Joel; Binzel, Richard

2015-04-01

The New Horizons (NH) spacecraft is scheduled to make its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015. NH carries seven scientific instruments, including separate UV and Visible-IR spectrographs, a long-focal-length imager, two plasma-sensing instruments and a dust counter. There are three arenas in particular in which ground-based observations should augment the NH instrument suite in synergistic ways: IR spectra at wavelengths longer than 2.5 µm (i.e., longer than the NH Ralph spectrograph), stellar occultation observations near the time of the fly-by, and thermal surface maps and atmospheric CO abundances based on ALMA observations - we discuss the first two of these. IR spectra in the 3 - 5 µm range cover the CH4 absorption band near 3.3 µm. This band can be an important constraint on the state and areal extent of nitrogen frost on Pluto's surface. If this band depth is close to zero (as was observed by Olkin et al. 2007), it limits the area of nitrogen frost, which is bright at that wavelength. Combined with the NH observations of nitrogen frost at 2.15 µm, the ground-based spectra will determine how much nitrogen frost is diluted with methane, which is a basic constraint on the seasonal cycle of sublimation and condensation that takes place on Pluto (and similar objects like Triton and Eris). There is a fortuitous stellar occultation by Pluto on 29-JUN-2015, only two weeks before the NH closest approach. The occulted star will be the brightest ever observed in a Pluto event, about 2 magnitudes brighter than Pluto itself. The track of the event is predicted to cover parts of Australia and New Zealand. Thanks to HST and ground based campaigns to find a TNO target reachable by NH, the position of the shadow path will be known at the +/-100 km level, allowing SOFIA and mobile ground-based observers to reliably cover the central flash region. Ground-based & SOFIA observations in visible and IR wavelengths will characterize the haze opacity and vertical

Deep Impact as a World Observatory Event: Synergies in Space, Time, and Wavelength

CERN Document Server

Käufl, H.U; ESO/VUB Conference

2009-01-01

In the context of the NASA Deep Impact space mission, comet 9P/Tempel1 has been at the focus of an unprecedented worldwide long-term multi-wavelength observation campaign. The comet was also studied throughout its perihelion passage by various sources including the Deep Impact mission itself, the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer, Rosetta, XMM and all major ground-based observatories in a wavelength band from cm-wave radio astronomy to x-rays. This book includes the proceedings of a meeting that brought together an audience of theoreticians and observers - across the electromagnetic spectrum and from different sites and projects - to make full use of the massive ground-based observing data set. The coherent presentation of all data sets illustrates and examines the various observational constraints on modelling the cometary nucleus, cometary gas, cometary plasma, cometary dust, and the comet's surface and its activity.

Considerations for the Use of STEREO -HI Data for Astronomical Studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tappin, S. J., E-mail: james.tappin@stfc.ac.uk [RAL Space, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxon. OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)

2017-04-01

Recent refinements to the photometric calibrations of the Heliospheric Imagers (HI) on board the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory ( STEREO ) have revealed a number of subtle effects in the measurement of stellar signals with those instruments. These effects need to be considered in the interpretation of STEREO -HI data for astronomy. In this paper we present an analysis of these effects and how to compensate for them when using STEREO -HI data for astronomical studies. We determine how saturation of the HI CCD detectors affects the apparent count rates of stars after the on-board summing of pixels and exposures. Single-exposure calibration images are analyzed and compared with binned and summed science images to determine the influence of saturation on the science images. We also analyze how the on-board cosmic-ray scrubbing algorithm affects stellar images. We determine how this interacts with the variations of instrument pointing to affect measurements of stars. We find that saturation is a significant effect only for the brightest stars, and that its onset is gradual. We also find that degraded pointing stability, whether of the entire spacecraft or of the imagers, leads to reduced stellar count rates and also increased variation thereof through interaction with the on-board cosmic-ray scrubbing algorithm. We suggest ways in which these effects can be mitigated for astronomical studies and also suggest how the situation can be improved for future imagers.

Daily variation characteristics at polar geomagnetic observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Lepidi, S.; Cafarella, L.; Pietrolungo, M.; Di Mauro, D.

2011-08-01

This paper is based on the statistical analysis of the diurnal variation as observed at six polar geomagnetic observatories, three in the Northern and three in the Southern hemisphere. Data are for 2006, a year of low geomagnetic activity. We compared the Italian observatory Mario Zucchelli Station (TNB; corrected geomagnetic latitude: 80.0°S), the French-Italian observatory Dome C (DMC; 88.9°S), the French observatory Dumont D'Urville (DRV; 80.4°S) and the three Canadian observatories, Resolute Bay (RES; 83.0°N), Cambridge Bay (CBB; 77.0°N) and Alert (ALE, 87.2°N). The aim of this work was to highlight analogies and differences in daily variation as observed at the different observatories during low geomagnetic activity year, also considering Interplanetary Magnetic Field conditions and geomagnetic indices.

Artificial intelligence for the CTA Observatory scheduler

Science.gov (United States)

Colomé, Josep; Colomer, Pau; Campreciós, Jordi; Coiffard, Thierry; de Oña, Emma; Pedaletti, Giovanna; Torres, Diego F.; Garcia-Piquer, Alvaro

2014-08-01

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project will be the next generation ground-based very high energy gamma-ray instrument. The success of the precursor projects (i.e., HESS, MAGIC, VERITAS) motivated the construction of this large infrastructure that is included in the roadmap of the ESFRI projects since 2008. CTA is planned to start the construction phase in 2015 and will consist of two arrays of Cherenkov telescopes operated as a proposal-driven open observatory. Two sites are foreseen at the southern and northern hemispheres. The CTA observatory will handle several observation modes and will have to operate tens of telescopes with a highly efficient and reliable control. Thus, the CTA planning tool is a key element in the control layer for the optimization of the observatory time. The main purpose of the scheduler for CTA is the allocation of multiple tasks to one single array or to multiple sub-arrays of telescopes, while maximizing the scientific return of the facility and minimizing the operational costs. The scheduler considers long- and short-term varying conditions to optimize the prioritization of tasks. A short-term scheduler provides the system with the capability to adapt, in almost real-time, the selected task to the varying execution constraints (i.e., Targets of Opportunity, health or status of the system components, environment conditions). The scheduling procedure ensures that long-term planning decisions are correctly transferred to the short-term prioritization process for a suitable selection of the next task to execute on the array. In this contribution we present the constraints to CTA task scheduling that helped classifying it as a Flexible Job-Shop Problem case and finding its optimal solution based on Artificial Intelligence techniques. We describe the scheduler prototype that uses a Guarded Discrete Stochastic Neural Network (GDSN), for an easy representation of the possible long- and short-term planning solutions, and Constraint

Filling the Astronomical Void - A Visual Medium for a Visual Subject

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, J.

1996-12-01

Astronomy is fundamentally a visual subject. The modern science of astronomy has at its foundation the ancient art of observing the sky visually. The visual elements of astronomy are arguably the most important. Every person in the entire world is affected by visually-observed astronomical phenomena such as the seasonal variations in daylight. However, misconceptions abound and the average person cannot recognize the simple signs in the sky that point to the direction, the hour and the season. Educators and astronomy popularizers widely lament that astronomy is not appreciated in our society. Yet, there is a remarkable dearth of popular literature for teaching the visual elements of astronomy. This is what I refer to as *the astronomical void.* Typical works use illustrations sparsely, relying most heavily on text-based descriptions of the visual astronomical phenomena. Such works leave significant inferential gaps to the inexperienced reader, who is unequipped for making astronomical observations. Thus, the astronomical void remains unfilled by much of the currently available literature. I therefore propose the introduction of a visually-oriented medium for teaching the visual elements of Astronomy. To this end, I have prepared a series of astronomy "comic strips" that are intended to fill the astronomical void. By giving the illustrations the central place, the comic strip medium permits the depiction of motion and other sequential activity, thus effectively representing astronomical phenomena. In addition to the practical advantages, the comic strip is a "user friendly" medium that is inviting and entertaining to a reader. At the present time, I am distributing a monthly comic strip entitled *Starman*, which appears in the newsletters of over 120 local astronomy organizations and on the web at http://www.cyberdrive.net/ starman. I hope to eventually publish a series of full-length books and believe that astronomical comic strips will help expand the perimeter of

Reconstruction of inclined air showers detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pierre Auger Collaboration, [No Value; Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Ahlers, M.; Ahn, E. J.; Samarai, I. Al; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allekotte, I.; Allen, J.; Allison, P.; Almela, A.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Alves Batista, R.; Ambrosio, M.; Aminaei, A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andringa, S.; Aramo, C.; Arqueros, F.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Aublin, J.; Ave, M.; Avenier, M.; Avila, G.; Badescu, A. M.; Barber, K. B.; Bäuml, J.; Baus, C.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, K. H.; Bellido, J. A.; Berat, C.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Billoir, P.; Blanco, F.; Blanco, M.; Bleve, C.; Blümer, H.; Boháčová, M.; Boncioli, D.; Bonifazi, C.; Bonino, R.; Borodai, N.; Brack, J.; Brancus, I.; Brogueira, P.; Brown, W. C.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Buscemi, M.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caccianiga, B.; Caccianiga, L.; Candusso, M.; Caramete, L.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Cester, R.; Chavez, A. G.; Cheng, S. H.; Chiavassa, A.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chudoba, J.; Cilmo, M.; Clay, R. W.; Cocciolo, G.; Colalillo, R.; Collica, L.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Contreras, F.; Cooper, M. J.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Criss, A.; Cronin, J.; Curutiu, A.; Dallier, R.; Daniel, B.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; De Domenico, M.; de Jong, S. J.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; De Mitri, I.; de Oliveira, J.; de Souza, V.; del Peral, L.; Deligny, O.; Dembinski, H.; Dhital, N.; Di Giulio, C.; Di Matteo, A.; Diaz, J. C.; D\\'\\iaz Castro, M. L.; Diep, P. N.; Diogo, F.; Dobrigkeit, C.; Docters, W.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dong, P. N.; Dorofeev, A.; Dorosti Hasankiadeh, Q.; Dova, M. T.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Erfani, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Espadanal, J.; Etchegoyen, A.; Facal San Luis, P.; Falcke, H.; Fang, K.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Ferguson, A. P.; Fernandes, M.; Fick, B.; Figueira, J. M.; Filevich, A.; Filipčič, A.; Fox, B. D.; Fratu, O.; Fröhlich, U.; Fuchs, B.; Fuji, T.; Gaior, R.; Garc\\'\\ia, B.; Garcia Roca, S. T.; Garcia-Gamez, D.; Garcia-Pinto, D.; Garilli, G.; Gascon Bravo, A.; Gate, F.; Gemmeke, H.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giammarchi, M.; Giller, M.; Glaser, C.; Glass, H.; Gomez Albarracin, F.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gómez Vitale, P. F.; Gonçalves, P.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Gookin, B.; Gorgi, A.; Gorham, P.; Gouffon, P.; Grebe, S.; Griffith, N.; Grillo, A. F.; Grubb, T. D.; Guardincerri, Y.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harrison, T. A.; Harton, J. L.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Heimann, P.; Herve, A. E.; Hill, G. C.; Hojvat, C.; Hollon, N.; Holt, E.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horvath, P.; Hrabovský, M.; Huber, D.; Huege, T.; Insolia, A.; Isar, P. G.; Islo, K.; Jandt, I.; Jansen, S.; Jarne, C.; Josebachuili, M.; Kääpä, A.; Kambeitz, O.; Kampert, K. H.; Kasper, P.; Katkov, I.; Kégl, B.; Keilhauer, B.; Keivani, A.; Kemp, E.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Krause, R.; Krohm, N.; Krömer, O.; Kruppke-Hansen, D.; Kuempel, D.; Kunka, N.; La Rosa, G.; LaHurd, D.; Latronico, L.; Lauer, R.; Lauscher, M.; Lautridou, P.; Le Coz, S.; Leão, M. S. A. B.; Lebrun, D.; Lebrun, P.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; López, R.; Lopez Agëra, A.; Louedec, K.; Lozano Bahilo, J.; Lu, L.; Lucero, A.; Ludwig, M.; Lyberis, H.; Maccarone, M. C.; Malacari, M.; Maldera, S.; Maller, J.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Marin, V.; Mariş, I. C.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martin, L.; Martinez, H.; Mart\\'\\inez Bravo, O.; Martraire, D.; Mas\\'\\ias Meza, J. J.; Mathes, H. J.; Mathys, S.; Matthews, A. J.; Matthews, J.; Matthiae, G.; Maurel, D.; Maurizio, D.; Mayotte, E.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina, C.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melissas, M.; Melo, D.; Menichetti, E.; Menshikov, A.; Messina, S.; Meyhandan, R.; Mićanović, S.; Micheletti, M. I.; Middendorf, L.; Minaya, I. A.; Miramonti, L.; Mitrica, B.; Molina-Bueno, L.; Mollerach, S.; Monasor, M.; Monnier Ragaigne, D.; Montanet, F.; Morello, C.; Moreno, J. C.; Mostafá, M.; Moura, C. A.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, G.; Münchmeyer, M.; Mussa, R.; Navarra, G.; Navas, S.; Necesal, P.; Nellen, L.; Nelles, A.; Neuser, J.; Newton, D.; Niechciol, M.; Niemietz, L.; Niggemann, T.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Novotny, V.; Nožka, L.; Ochilo, L.; Olinto, A.; Oliveira, M.; Olmos-Gilbaja, V. M.; Ortiz, M.; Pacheco, N.; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Palmieri, N.; Papenbreer, P.; Parente, G.; Parra, A.; Pastor, S.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Pȩkala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Pepe, I. M.; Perrone, L.; Pesce, R.; Petermann, E.; Peters, C.; Petrera, S.; Petrolini, A.; Petrov, Y.; Piegaia, R.; Pierog, T.; Pieroni, P.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Plum, M.; Porcelli, A.; Porowski, C.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Purrello, V.; Quel, E. J.; Querchfeld, S.; Quinn, S.; Rautenberg, J.; Ravel, O.; Ravignani, D.; Revenu, B.; Ridky, J.; Riggi, S.; Risse, M.; Ristori, P.; Rizi, V.; Roberts, J.; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W.; Rodriguez Cabo, I.; Rodriguez Fernandez, G.; Rodriguez Rojo, J.; Rodr\\'\\iguez-Fr\\'\\ias, M. D.; Ros, G.; Rosado, J.; Rossler, T.; Roth, M.; Roulet, E.; Rovero, A. C.; Rühle, C.; Saffi, S. J.; Saftoiu, A.; Salamida, F.; Salazar, H.; Salesa Greus, F.; Salina, G.; Sánchez, F.; Sanchez-Lucas, P.; Santo, C. E.; Santos, E.; Santos, E. M.; Sarazin, F.; Sarkar, B.; Sarmento, R.; Sato, R.; Scharf, N.; Scherini, V.; Schieler, H.; Schiffer, P.; Schmidt, A.; Scholten, O.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Schovánek, P.; Schulz, A.; Schulz, J.; Sciutto, S. J.; Segreto, A.; Settimo, M.; Shadkam, A.; Shellard, R. C.; Sidelnik, I.; Sigl, G.; Sima, O.; Śmiał kowski, A.; Šm\\'\\ida, R.; Snow, G. R.; Sommers, P.; Sorokin, J.; Squartini, R.; Srivastava, Y. N.; Stanič, S.; Stapleton, J.; Stasielak, J.; Stephan, M.; Stutz, A.; Suarez, F.; Suomijärvi, T.; Supanitsky, A. D.; Sutherland, M. S.; Swain, J.; Szadkowski, Z.; Szuba, M.; Taborda, O. A.; Tapia, A.; Tartare, M.; Thao, N. T.; Theodoro, V. M.; Tiffenberg, J.; Timmermans, C.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Toma, G.; Tomankova, L.; Tomé, B.; Tonachini, A.; Torralba Elipe, G.; Torres Machado, D.; Travnicek, P.; Trovato, E.; Tueros, M.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Urban, M.; Valdés Galicia, J. F.; Valiño, I.; Valore, L.; van Aar, G.; van den Berg, A. M.; van Velzen, S.; van Vliet, A.; Varela, E.; Vargas Cárdenas, B.; Varner, G.; Vázquez, J. R.; Vázquez, R. A.; Veberič, D.; Verzi, V.; Vicha, J.; Videla, M.; Villaseñor, L.; Vlcek, B.; Vorobiov, S.; Wahlberg, H.; Wainberg, O.; Walz, D.; Watson, A. A.; Weber, M.; Weidenhaupt, K.; Weindl, A.; Werner, F.; Whelan, B. J.; Widom, A.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyńska, B.; Wilczyński, H.; Will, M.; Williams, C.; Winchen, T.; Wittkowski, D.; Wundheiler, B.; Wykes, S.; Yamamoto, T.; Yapici, T.; Younk, P.; Yuan, G.; Yushkov, A.; Zamorano, B.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zaw, I.; Zepeda, A.; Zhou, J.; Zhu, Y.; Zimbres Silva, M.; Ziolkowski, M.

2014-01-01

We describe the method devised to reconstruct inclined cosmic-ray air showers with zenith angles greater than 60° detected with the surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The measured signals at the ground level are fitted to muon density distributions predicted with atmospheric cascade

Young Star May Be Belching Spheres of Gas, Astronomers Say

Science.gov (United States)

2001-05-01

National Radio Astronomy Observatory. It consists of ten radio-telescope antennas, each 82 feet (25 meters) in diameter, spread across the U.S. from Hawaii to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Operated from Socorro, New Mexico, the VLBA provides astronomers with the greatest angular resolution, or ability to see fine detail, of any telescope on Earth or in space. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. The Center for Astrophysics combines the resources and research facilities of the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory under a single director to pursue studies of those basic physical processes that determine the nature and evolution of the universe. Some 300 Smithsonian and Harvard scientists cooperate in broad programs of astrophysical research supported by Federal appropriations and University funds as well as contracts and grants from government agencies.

What Lies Behind NSF Astronomer Demographics? Subjectivities of Women, Minorities and Foreign-born Astronomers within Meshworks of Big Science Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Guillen, Reynal; Gu, D.; Holbrook, J.; Murillo, L. F.; Traweek, S.

2011-01-01

Our current research focuses on the trajectory of scientists working with large-scale databases in astronomy, following them as they strategically build their careers, digital infrastructures, and make their epistemological commitments. We look specifically at how gender, ethnicity, nationality intersect in the process of subject formation in astronomy, as well as in the process of enrolling partners for the construction of instruments, design and implementation of large-scale databases. Work once figured as merely technical support, such assembling data catalogs, or as graphic design, generating pleasing images for public support, has been repositioned at the core of the field. Some have argued that such databases enable a new kind of scientific inquiry based on data exploration, such as the "fourth paradigm" or "data-driven" science. Our preliminary findings based on oral history interviews and ethnography provide insights into meshworks of women, African-American, "Hispanic," Asian-American and foreign-born astronomers. Our preliminary data suggest African-American men are more successful in sustaining astronomy careers than Chicano and Asian-American men. A distinctive theme in our data is the glocal character of meshworks available to and created by foreign-born women astronomers working at US facilities. Other data show that the proportion of Asian to Asian American and foreign-born Latina/o to Chicana/o astronomers is approximately equal. Futhermore, Asians and Latinas/os are represented in significantly greater numbers than Asian Americans and Chicanas/os. Among professional astronomers in the US, each ethnic minority group is numbered on the order of tens, not hundreds. Project support is provided by the NSF EAGER program to University of California, Los Angeles under award 0956589.

Astrobiology: An astronomer's perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergin, Edwin A.

2014-01-01

In this review we explore aspects of the field of astrobiology from an astronomical viewpoint. We therefore focus on the origin of life in the context of planetary formation, with additional emphasis on tracing the most abundant volatile elements, C, H, O, and N that are used by life on Earth. We first explore the history of life on our planet and outline the current state of our knowledge regarding the delivery of the C, H, O, N elements to the Earth. We then discuss how astronomers track the gaseous and solid molecular carriers of these volatiles throughout the process of star and planet formation. It is now clear that the early stages of star formation fosters the creation of water and simple organic molecules with enrichments of heavy isotopes. These molecules are found as ice coatings on the solid materials that represent microscopic beginnings of terrestrial worlds. Based on the meteoritic and cometary record, the process of planet formation, and the local environment, lead to additional increases in organic complexity. The astronomical connections towards this stage are only now being directly made. Although the exact details are uncertain, it is likely that the birth process of star and planets likely leads to terrestrial worlds being born with abundant water and organics on the surface

Astrobiology: An astronomer's perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergin, Edwin A. [University of Michigan, Department of Astronomy, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2014-12-08

In this review we explore aspects of the field of astrobiology from an astronomical viewpoint. We therefore focus on the origin of life in the context of planetary formation, with additional emphasis on tracing the most abundant volatile elements, C, H, O, and N that are used by life on Earth. We first explore the history of life on our planet and outline the current state of our knowledge regarding the delivery of the C, H, O, N elements to the Earth. We then discuss how astronomers track the gaseous and solid molecular carriers of these volatiles throughout the process of star and planet formation. It is now clear that the early stages of star formation fosters the creation of water and simple organic molecules with enrichments of heavy isotopes. These molecules are found as ice coatings on the solid materials that represent microscopic beginnings of terrestrial worlds. Based on the meteoritic and cometary record, the process of planet formation, and the local environment, lead to additional increases in organic complexity. The astronomical connections towards this stage are only now being directly made. Although the exact details are uncertain, it is likely that the birth process of star and planets likely leads to terrestrial worlds being born with abundant water and organics on the surface.

Private Observatories in South Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Rijsdijk, C.

2016-12-01

Descriptions of private observatories in South Africa, written by their owners. Positions, equipment descriptions and observing programmes are given. Included are: Klein Karoo Observatory (B. Monard), Cederberg Observatory (various), Centurion Planetary and Lunar Observatory (C. Foster), Le Marischel Observatory (L. Ferreira), Sterkastaaing Observatory (M. Streicher), Henley on Klip (B. Fraser), Archer Observatory (B. Dumas), Overbeek Observatory (A. Overbeek), Overberg Observatory (A. van Staden), St Cyprian's School Observatory, Fisherhaven Small Telescope Observatory (J. Retief), COSPAR 0433 (G. Roberts), COSPAR 0434 (I. Roberts), Weltevreden Karoo Observatory (D. Bullis), Winobs (M. Shafer)

International Lunar Observatory Association Advancing 21st Century Astronomy from the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Durst, Steve

2015-08-01

Long considered a prime location to conduct astronomical observations, the Moon is beginning to prove its value in 21st Century astronomy through the Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope aboard China’s Chang’e-3 Moon lander and through the developing missions of the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA). With 24 hours / Earth day of potential operability facilitating long-duration observations, the stable platform of the lunar surface and extremely thin exosphere guaranteeing superior observation conditions, zones of radio-quiet for radio astronomy, and the resources and thermal stability at the lunar South Pole, the Moon provides several pioneering advantages for astronomy. ILOA, through MOUs with NAOC and CNSA, has been collaborating with China to make historic Galaxy observations with the Chang’e-3 LUT, including imaging Galaxy M101 in December 2014. LUT has an aperture of 150mm, covers a wavelength range of 245 to 340 nanometers and is capable of detecting objects at a brightness down to 14 mag. The success of China’s mission has provided support and momentum for ILOA’s mission to place a 2-meter dish, multifunctional observatory at the South Pole of the Moon NET 2017. ILOA also has plans to send a precursor observatory instrument (ILO-X) on the inaugural mission of GLXP contestant Moon Express. Advancing astronomy and astrophysics from the Moon through public-private and International partnerships will provide many valuable research opportunities while also helping to secure humanity’s position as multi world species.

Astronomical Cybersketching

CERN Document Server

Grego, Peter

2009-01-01

Outlines the techniques involved in making observational sketches and more detailed 'scientific' drawings of a wide variety of astronomical subjects using modern digital equipment; primarily PDAs and tablet PCs. This book also discusses about choosing hardware and software

Application of Compressive Sensing to Gravitational Microlensing Data and Implications for Miniaturized Space Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Korde-Patel, Asmita (Inventor); Barry, Richard K.; Mohsenin, Tinoosh

2016-01-01

Compressive Sensing is a technique for simultaneous acquisition and compression of data that is sparse or can be made sparse in some domain. It is currently under intense development and has been profitably employed for industrial and medical applications. We here describe the use of this technique for the processing of astronomical data. We outline the procedure as applied to exoplanet gravitational microlensing and analyze measurement results and uncertainty values. We describe implications for on-spacecraft data processing for space observatories. Our findings suggest that application of these techniques may yield significant, enabling benefits especially for power and volume-limited space applications such as miniaturized or micro-constellation satellites.

Astronomical Symbolism in Australian Aboriginal Rock Art

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Ray P.; Hamacher, Duane W.

2011-05-01

Traditional Aboriginal Australian cultures include a significant astronomical component, perpetuated through oral tradition and ceremony. This knowledge has practical navigational and calendrical functions, and sometimes extends to a deep understanding of the motion of objects in the sky. Here we explore whether this astronomical tradition is reflected in the rock art of Aboriginal Australians. We find several plausible examples of depictions of astronomical figures and symbols, and also evidence that astronomical observations were used to set out stone arrangements. However, we recognise that the case is not yet strong enough to make an unequivocal statement, and describe our plans for further research.

Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders From Novice to Master Observer

CERN Document Server

Thompson, Robert

2011-01-01

With the advent of inexpensive, high-power telescopes priced at under 250, amateur astronomy is now within the reach of anyone, and this is the ideal book to get you started. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders offers you a guide to the equipment you need, and shows you how and where to find hundreds of spectacular objects in the deep sky -- double and multiple stars as well as spectacular star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. You get a solid grounding in the fundamental concepts and terminology of astronomy, and specific advice about choosing, buying, using, and maintaining the eq

High-Level Location Based Search Services That Improve Discoverability of Geophysical Data in the Virtual ITM Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, R. K.; Morrison, D.; Potter, M.; Barnes, R. J.; Nylund, S. R.; Patrone, D.; Aiello, J.; Talaat, E. R.; Sarris, T.

2015-12-01

The great promise of Virtual Observatories is the ability to perform complex search operations across the metadata of a large variety of different data sets. This allows the researcher to isolate and select the relevant measurements for their topic of study. The Virtual ITM Observatory (VITMO) has many diverse geophysical datasets that cover a large temporal and spatial range that present a unique search problem. VITMO provides many methods by which the user can search for and select data of interest including restricting selections based on geophysical conditions (solar wind speed, Kp, etc) as well as finding those datasets that overlap in time. One of the key challenges in improving discoverability is the ability to identify portions of datasets that overlap in time and in location. The difficulty is that location data is not contained in the metadata for datasets produced by satellites and would be extremely large in volume if it were available, making searching for overlapping data very time consuming. To solve this problem we have developed a series of light-weight web services that can provide a new data search capability for VITMO and others. The services consist of a database of spacecraft ephemerides and instrument fields of view; an overlap calculator to find times when the fields of view of different instruments intersect; and a magnetic field line tracing service that maps in situ and ground based measurements to the equatorial plane in magnetic coordinates for a number of field models and geophysical conditions. These services run in real-time when the user queries for data. These services will allow the non-specialist user to select data that they were previously unable to locate, opening up analysis opportunities beyond the instrument teams and specialists, making it easier for future students who come into the field.

Lewis Swift celebrated comet hunter and the people's astronomer

CERN Document Server

Kronk, Gary W

2017-01-01

This biography covers the life of Lewis Swift (1820-1913), who discovered 13 comets and nearly 1,200 other deep sky objects. All 13 comets found by Swift now bear his name, including three periodic comets with periods of 6 years (11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR), 9 years (64P/Swift-Gehrels), and 133 years (109P/Swift-Tuttle). Swift's enthusiasm and success as an amateur astronomer helped make him famous in the United States. With the help of others, Swift was able to buy a 16-inch refractor, the third largest telescope in the United States at the time. Hulbert Harrington Warner built "Warner Observatory" to house this telescope. As a prolific writer and lecturer, Swift's stories appeared in newspapers and magazines, while his lectures showed that he was able to explain anything in a way that everyone could understand.  When Warner went broke during the "Panic of 1893," Swift was forced to leave his home. Almost two dozen invitations arrived from around the United States asking him to bring his telescope to their ci...

Database retrieval systems for nuclear and astronomical data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suda, Takuma; Korennov, Sergei; Otuka, Naohiko; Yamada, Shimako; Katsuta, Yutaka; Ohnishi, Akira; Kato, Kiyoshi; Fujimoto, Masayuki Y.

2006-01-01

Data retrieval and plot systems of nuclear and astronomical data are constructed on a common platform. Web-based systems will soon be opened to the users of both fields of nuclear physics and astronomy. (author)

Calibration of the surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aglietta, M.; Alision, P.S.; Arneodo, F.; Barnhill, D.; Bauleo, P.; Beatty, J.J.; Bertou, X.; Bonifazi, C.; Busca, N.; Creusot, A.; Dornic, D.; Etchegoyen, A.; Filevitch, A.; Ghia, P.L.; Grunfeld, C.M.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Medina, M.C.; Moreno, E.; Navarra, G.; Nitz, D.; Ohnuki, T.

2005-01-01

The ground array of the Pierre Auger Observatory will consist of 1600 water Cherenkov detectors, deployed over 3000 km 2 . The remoteness and large number of detectors required a simple, automatic remote calibration procedure. The primary physics calibration is based on the average charge deposited by a vertical and central throughgoing muon, determined with good precision at the detector via a novel rate-based technique and later with higher precision via charge histograms. This value is named the vertical-equivalent muon (VEM). The VEM and the other parameters needed to maintain this calibration over the full energy range and to assess the quality of the detector are measured every minute. This allows an accurate determination of the energy deposited in each detector when an atmospheric cosmic ray shower occurs

The astronomical tables of Giovanni Bianchini

CERN Document Server

Chabas, Jose

2009-01-01

This book describes and analyses, for the first time, the astronomical tables of Giovanni Bianchini of Ferrara (d. after 1469), explains their context, inserts them into an astronomical tradition that began in Toledo, and addresses their diffusion.

Karl Friedrich Zollner and the historical dimension of astronomical photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Sterken, C.; Staubermann, K. B.

This book results from presentations and discussions of a group of astronomers and historians during a one-day workshop held at Archenhold Observatory, Berlin-Treptow, on April 4, 1997. This meeting was the first forum in a series dedicated to historical aspects of observational astrophysics in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The basic principle of these meetings is to reflect during one or more days on the work and personality of a single individual or of a group of persons, at the same time avoiding the really dominant figures that typify the age. By focusing on key people who epitomize a way of thinking and working that has formed many of the ideas by which we do astrophysical research today, we also attempt to evoke the scientific spirit of the era under consideration. In 1858, the German physicist Karl Friedrich Zoellner introduced a new type of astronomical photometer which became a bestseller in the second half of the nineteenth century and which led him to the first German professorship in astrophysics. His type of photometer allowed most accurate photometric measurements and was used at several observatories for almost half a century. This book outlines four major themes. The first part describes the observing instruments that were used by Zoellner and his contemporaries: photometers and spectrographs that complemented his original design, but also competed with his most versatile prototype photometer. The description also includes an account of technical aspects associated with the replication of such a photometer today. The second part analyses the astrophysical data that were obtained with Zoellner's tools, and extracts information hidden in the published data --- scientific information as well as diverse aspects related to the observer himself. These nineteenth-century data are now published for the first time on a modern magnitude scale and are directly accessible in tabular form, and are thus fully applicable to archeophotometric studies

The Soviet center of astronomical data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dluzhnevskaya, O.B.

1982-01-01

On the basis of the current French-Soviet cooperation in science and technology, the Astronomical Council of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences and the Strasbourg Center signed in 1977 an agreement on setting up the Soviet Center of Astronomical Data as its filial branch. The Soviet Center was created on the basis of a computation center at the Zvenigorod station of the Astronomical Council of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, which had already had considerable experience of working with stellar catalogues. In 1979 the Center was equipped with a EC-1033 computer. In 1978-1979 the Soviet Center of Astronomical Data (C.A.D.) received from Strasbourg 96 of the most important catalogues. By September 1981 the list of catalogues available at the Soviet Center has reached 140 catalogues some of which are described. (Auth.)

Atlas of Astronomical Discoveries

CERN Document Server

Schilling, Govert

2011-01-01

Four hundred years ago in Middelburg, in the Netherlands, the telescope was invented. The invention unleashed a revolution in the exploration of the universe. Galileo Galilei discovered mountains on the Moon, spots on the Sun, and moons around Jupiter. Christiaan Huygens saw details on Mars and rings around Saturn. William Herschel discovered a new planet and mapped binary stars and nebulae. Other astronomers determined the distances to stars, unraveled the structure of the Milky Way, and discovered the expansion of the universe. And, as telescopes became bigger and more powerful, astronomers delved deeper into the mysteries of the cosmos. In his Atlas of Astronomical Discoveries, astronomy journalist Govert Schilling tells the story of 400 years of telescopic astronomy. He looks at the 100 most important discoveries since the invention of the telescope. In his direct and accessible style, the author takes his readers on an exciting journey encompassing the highlights of four centuries of astronomy. Spectacul...

America's First Carl Sagan: Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, Pre-Civil War Astronomer and Lecturer on the Cosmos

Science.gov (United States)

Osterbrock, D. E.

2002-12-01

In the years before television, videos, radio. movies, or even loudspeakers, Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel (1809-1862) was the best-known popularizer of astronomy and the scientific study of the universe in nineteenth-century America. Each winter he traveled the country by railroad, steamer, and stagecoach, speaking to large paying crowds in principal cities from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia through Cincinnati to New Orleans on the cosmos and our place in it, with special attention to possible inhabitants of planers orbiting other stars. Mitchel had much the same attraction as Sagan did in our time, and awakened many people's interest in astronomy through the human angle, as Carl did. His argument was simple, and according to Frank Triplett goes back thousands of years: other stars are suns, our sun has planets with people on one of them, why should not other stars also have populated planets? But first Mitchel, like Sagan, always explained clearly the discoveries of astronomy that fleshed out this argument with facts. He emphasized the ``clockwork universe", governed by gravity, that Newton, Herschel, and Laplace had investigated and found to be stable. There were many other similarities between these two great popularizers. Mitchel's base was the Cincinnati Observatory, which he had founded, raising the funds for it himself in small contributions from hundreds of ``members", which he publicised as far more democratic than support from European kings and lords. He went abroad to get a telescope, and finally found his ``Great [12-inch] Refractor" in Munich, with help from John Quincy Adams, Astronomer Royal George Biddle Airy, and Paris Observatory Director Fracois Arago, in spite of a rebuff by President John Tyler. These episodes have similarities in Sagan's lobbying NASA for close-up images of Mars. Views of other American professional astronomers on life on other worlds will also be described briefly, from Denison Olmsted, Elias Loomis, Charles A. Young (who

Collaboration Between Astronomers at UT Austin and K-12 Teachers: Connecting the Experience of Observing and Research with the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Finkelstein, Keely D.; Sneden, Christopher; Hemenway, Mary Kay; Preston, Sandra; EXES Teachers Associate Program

2015-01-01

McDonald Observatory has a long history of providing teacher professional development (PD), and recently we have developed a new workshop model for more advanced participants. By choosing a select group of middle and high school teachers from those previously involved in our past PD programs, we have created a joint workshop / observing run program for them. After traveling to the observatory, the teachers participate in an actual observing run with a research astronomer. The teachers are trained first-hand how to take observations, operate the telescope, set up the instrument, and monitor observing conditions. The teachers are fully put in the role of observer. They are also given background information before and during the workshop related to the science and data they are helping to collect. The teachers work in teams to both perform the nightly observations with an astronomer, but to also perform new interactive classroom activities with education staff, and use other telescopes on the mountain. This is a unique experience for teachers since it allows them to take the resources and experiences directly back to their classrooms and students. They can directly relate to their students what skills for specific careers in STEM fields are needed. Evaluation from these workshops shows that there is: increased content knowledge among participants, greater impact that will be passed on to their students, and an authentic research experience that can't be replicated in other PD settings. In addition, not only is this program beneficial to the teachers, but this group is benefit to the education program of McDonald Observatory. Building on an existing PD program (with a 16 year history) we have the opportunity to test out new products and new education endeavors with this devoted group of well-trained teachers before bringing them to wider teacher and student audiences. This program is currently supported by the NSF grant AST-1211585 (PI Sneden).

Care of astronomical telescopes and accessories a manual for the astronomical observer and amateur telescope maker

CERN Document Server

Pepin, M Barlow

2005-01-01

Commercially-made astronomical telescopes are better and less expensive than ever before, and their optical and mechanical performance can be superb. When a good-quality telescope fails to perform as well as it might, the reason is quite probably that it needs a little care and attention! Here is a complete guide for anyone who wants to understand more than just the basics of astronomical telescopes and accessories, and how to maintain them in the peak of condition. The latest on safely adjusting, cleaning, and maintaining your equipment is combined with thoroughly updated methods from the old masters. Here, too, are details of choosing new and used optics and accessories, along with enhancements you can make to extend their versatility and useful lifetime. This book is for you. Really. Looking after an astronomical telescope isn't only for the experts - although there are some things that only an expert should attempt - and every serious amateur astronomer will find invaluable information here, gleaned from ...

Education and Public Outreach for MSFC's Ground-Based Observations in Support of the HESSI Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Mitzi L.; Hagyard, Mona J.; Newton, Elizabeth K.

1999-01-01

A primary focus of NASA is the advancement of science and the communication of these advances to a number of audiences, both within the science research community and outside it. The upcoming High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) mission and the MSFC ground-based observing program, provide an excellent opportunity to communicate our knowledge of the Sun, its cycle of activity, the role of magnetic fields in that activity, and its effect on our planet. In addition to ground-based support of the HESSI mission, MSFC's Solar Observatory, located in North Alabama, will involve students and the local education community in its day-to-day operations, an experience which is more immediate, personal, and challenging than their everyday educational experience. Further, by taking advantage of the Internet, our program can reach beyond the immediate community. By joining with Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta, Georgia, we will leverage their almost 30 years'experience in science program delivery in diverse situations to a distance learning opportunity which can encompass the entire Southeast and beyond. This poster will outline our education and public outreach plans in support of the HESSI mission in which we will target middle and high school students and their teachers.

VEGAS: VErsatile GBT Astronomical Spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Bussa, Srikanth; VEGAS Development Team

2012-01-01

The National Science Foundation Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation (NSF-ATI) program is funding a new spectrometer backend for the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). This spectrometer is being built by the CICADA collaboration - collaboration between the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and the Center for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER) at the University of California Berkeley.The backend is named as VErsatile GBT Astronomical Spectrometer (VEGAS) and will replace the capabilities of the existing spectrometers. This backend supports data processing from focal plane array systems. The spectrometer will be capable of processing up to 1.25 GHz bandwidth from 8 dual polarized beams or a bandwidth up to 10 GHz from a dual polarized beam.The spectrometer will be using 8-bit analog to digital converters (ADC), which gives a better dynamic range than existing GBT spectrometers. There will be 8 tunable digital sub-bands within the 1.25 GHz bandwidth, which will enhance the capability of simultaneous observation of multiple spectral transitions. The maximum spectral dump rate to disk will be about 0.5 msec. The vastly enhanced backend capabilities will support several science projects with the GBT. The projects include mapping temperature and density structure of molecular clouds; searches for organic molecules in the interstellar medium; determination of the fundamental constants of our evolving Universe; red-shifted spectral features from galaxies across cosmic time and survey for pulsars in the extreme gravitational environment of the Galactic Center.

Reporting Astronomical Discoveries: Past, Now, and Future

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaoka, Hitoshi; Green, Daniel W. E.; Samus, Nikolai N.; West, Richard

2015-08-01

Many new astronomical objects have been discovered over the years by amateur astronomers, and this continues to be the case. They have traditionally reported them (as have professional astronomers) to the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT), which was established in the 19th century. This procedure has worked very well throughout the 20th century, moving under the umbrella of the newly established IAU in 1920. The discoverers have been honored by the formal announcement of their discoveries in the publications of the CBAT.In recent years, some professional research groups have established other ways of announcing their discoveries of explosive objects such as novae and supernovae; some do not now report their discoveries or spectroscopic confirmations of the transients to the CBAT, including often spectroscopic reports of objects posted to the CBAT "Transient Objects Confirmation Page" -- the highly successful TOCP webpage, which assigns official positional designations to new transients posted there by approved, registered users. This leads to a delay in formal announcements of discoveries by amateur astronomers in many cases, as well as inconsistent designations being put into use by individual groups. Amateur astronomers are feeling frustrated about this situation, and they hope that the IAU will help to settle the situation.We have proposed the new IAU commission NC-52, which will treat these phenomena in a continuation of Commission 6, through the CBAT. We hope to continuously support the reporting of the discoveries by amateur astronomers, as well as professional astronomers, who all deserve and desire proper recognition. Our strategy will maintain the firm trust between the amateur and professional astronomers, which is necessary for true collaboration. The plan is for the CBAT to work with collaborators to assure that discoveries posted on the TOCP are promptly designated and announced by the CBAT, even when confirmations are made elsewhere

Possible astronomical meanings of some El Molle relics near the ESO Observatory at La Silla

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardi, Gabriella; Vecchiato, Alberto; Bucciarelli, Beatrice

2012-07-01

This paper describes a peculiar, man-made circular stone structure, associated with the ancient rock engravings that are around the site of La Silla in Chile close to the European Southern Observatory, and are attributed to the El Molle Culture. Three stones of the circle, different from all the others, were likely to pinpoint the alignment of three bright stars close to the horizon, as seen from a specific vantage point inside the structure. The El Molle was the only period in which this alignment occurred significantly close to the horizon, moreover it was only in this epoch that it could also be associated with the transition from the warm to the cold season, a period of the year which was quite important for a society that supported itself by herding and farming.

Undergraduate Research and Education at MIT Haystack Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Pratap, P.; Salah, J.

2000-05-01

The MIT Haystack Observatory Undergraduate Research Initiative is an NSF- funded program aimed at involving undergraduate students in active radio astronomical research. The project has two major thrusts - students get hands-on experience using a small radio telescope that has been developed at Haystack and which will be provided as a low cost kit early next year. Beta versions of this telescope are being built for a select group of institutions. The second component is a research experience with the Haystack 37-m telescope. Use of the 37-m telescope has ranged from classroom demonstrations to original research projects. The Small Radio Telescope (SRT) project consists of a 2m dish with a 1420 MHz receiver. The antenna has a two axis mount that provides full sky coverage. The telescope is intended to provide students and faculty with an introduction to radio astronomy and instrument calibration. Observations of the sun and the galactic HI line are possible with the current version of this telescope. The 37-m telescope program is aimed at providing students with a research experience that can result in publishable results. The telescope has also been used in providing students with an introduction to the scope of radio astronomical data including continuum and spectral line observations. Classroom demonstrations have also been tested with non-science majors. Extensive supporting materials for the project have been developed on the world wide web. These include a radio astronomy tutorial, hardware and software information about both telescopes and project descriptions. We also provide curriculum suggestions to aid faculty incorporate radio astronomy into their courses.

The Millimeter Wave Observatory antenna now at INAOE-Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Luna, A.

2017-07-01

The antenna of 5 meters in diameter of the legendary "Millimeter Wave Observatory" is now installed in the INAOE-Mexico. This historic antenna was reinstalled and was equipped with a control system and basic primary focus receivers that enabled it in teaching activities. We work on the characterization of its surface and on the development of receivers and spectrometers to allow it to do research Solar and astronomical masers. The historical contributions of this antenna to science and technology in radio astronomy, serve as the guiding force and the inspiration of the students and technicians of our postgrade in Astrophysics. It is enough to remember that it was with this antenna, that the first molecular outflow was discovered, several lines of molecular emission were discovered and it was the first antenna whose surface was characterized by holography; among many other technological and scientific contributions.

Astronomers Get New Tools for Gravitational-Wave Detection

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Teamwork between gamma-ray and radio astronomers has produced a breakthrough in finding natural cosmic tools needed to make the first direct detections of the long-elusive gravitational waves predicted by Albert Einstein nearly a century ago. An orbiting gamma-ray telescope has pointed radio astronomers to specific locations in the sky where they can discover new millisecond pulsars. Millisecond pulsars, rapidly-spinning superdense neutron stars, can serve as extremely precise and stable natural clocks. Astronomers hope to detect gravitational waves by measuring tiny changes in the pulsars' rotation caused by the passage of the gravitational waves. To do this, they need a multitude of millisecond pulsars dispersed widely throughout the sky. However, nearly three decades after the discovery of the first millisecond pulsar, only about 150 of them had been found, some 90 of those clumped tightly in globular star clusters and thus unusable for detecting gravitational waves. The problem was that millisecond pulsars could only be discovered through arduous, computing-intensive searches of small portions of sky. "We've probably found far less than one percent of the millisecond pulsars in the Milky Way Galaxy," said Scott Ransom of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The breakthrough came when an instrument aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope began surveying the sky in 2008. This instrument located hundreds of gamma-ray-emitting objects throughout our Galaxy, and astronomers suspected many of these could be millisecond pulsars. Paul Ray of the Naval Research Laboratory initiated an international collaboration to use radio telescopes to confirm the identity of these objects as millisecond pulsars. "The data from Fermi were like a buried-treasure map," Ransom said. "Using our radio telescopes to study the objects located by Fermi, we found 17 millisecond pulsars in three months. Large-scale searches had taken 10-15 years to find that many," Ransom

AWOB: A Collaborative Workbench for Astronomers

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J. W.; Lemson, G.; Bulatovic, N.; Makarenko, V.; Vogler, A.; Voges, W.; Yao, Y.; Kiefl, R.; Koychev, S.

2015-09-01

We present the Astronomers Workbench (AWOB1), a web-based collaboration and publication platform for a scientific project of any size, developed in collaboration between the Max-Planck institutes of Astrophysics (MPA) and Extra-terrestrial Physics (MPE) and the Max-Planck Digital Library (MPDL). AWOB facilitates the collaboration between geographically distributed astronomers working on a common project throughout its whole scientific life cycle. AWOB does so by making it very easy for scientists to set up and manage a collaborative workspace for individual projects, where data can be uploaded and shared. It supports inviting project collaborators, provides wikis, automated mailing lists, calendars and event notification and has a built in chat facility. It allows the definition and tracking of tasks within projects and supports easy creation of e-publications for the dissemination of data and images and other resources that cannot be added to submitted papers. AWOB extends the project concept to larger scale consortia, within which it is possible to manage working groups and sub-projects. The existing AWOB instance has so far been limited to Max-Planck members and their collaborators, but will be opened to the whole astronomical community. AWOB is an open-source project and its source code is available upon request. We intend to extend AWOB's functionality also to other disciplines, and would greatly appreciate contributions from the community.