This volume is, first and foremost, a story of the relations between space, time and navigation, from the rise of the chronometer in the U.S. to the Global Positioning System of satellites, for which the Naval Observatory provides the time to a billionth of a second per day. It is a story of the history of technology, in the form of telescopes, lenses, detectors, calculators, clocks and computers over 170 years. It describes how one scientific institution under government and military patronage has contributed, through all the vagaries of history, to almost two centuries of unparalleled progress in astronomy.

Distant galaxies encapsulate the various stages of galaxy evolution and formation from over 95% of the development of the universe. As early as twenty-five years ago, little was known about them, however since the first systematic survey was completed in the 1990s, increasing amounts of resources have been devoted to their discovery and research. This book summarises for the first time the numerous techniques used for observing, analysing, and understanding the evolution and formation of these distant galaxies.In this rapidly expanding research field, this text is an every-day companion handbook for graduate students and active researchers. It provides guidelines in sample selection, imaging, integrated spectroscopy and 3D spectroscopy, which help to avoid the numerous pitfalls of observational and analysis techniques in use in extragalactic astronomy. It also paves the way for establishing relations between fundamental properties of distant galaxies. At each step, the reader is assisted with numerous practical examples and ready-to-use methodology to help understand and analyse research.Francois Hammer worked initially in general relativity and made the first modelling of gravitational lenses prior to their spectroscopic confirmation. Following this, he became co-leader of the first complete survey of distant galaxies, the Canada-France-Redshift Survey. This led to the discovery of the strong decrease of the cosmic star formation density measured from UV light as z=1, which, alongside Hector Flores, they confirmed as bolometric and dust independent. With Mathieu Puech, they then pioneered the 3D spectroscopy of distant galaxies, leading to a major increase of understanding of the dynamic state of distant galaxies evidenced by the scatter of the Tully-Fisher relation. This led them to propose, with the addition to the team of Myriam Rodrigues, that galactic disks may survive or be rebuilt in gas-rich mergers, a scenario that is consistent with contemporary cosmological simulations. Besides extensive observational experience, the authors have led, or are leading, several instruments implemented or to be implemented at the largest telescopes, including VLT/Giraffe, VLT/X-shooter, VLT/MOONS and E-ELT/MOSAIC. They have also developed several observational techniques in adaptive optics, and in sky subtraction for integral field units and fibre instruments.

Remembrance of Things Past It scarcely seems credible that it was almost exactly thirty years ago that I ?rst met Duccio Macchetto at the ?rst meeting of the newly formed Science Working Group of what was then called the Space Telescope project. We were there in slightly d- ferent roles, Duccio as the project scientist for the Faint Object Camera and I as an interdisciplinary scientist. Henk van de Hulst was also there as the of?cial rep- sentative of ESO. The approval of the project was the end result of a great deal of lobbying and politicking both in the USA and Europe, the European contribution proving essential to the approval process in the USA. Those interested in the nit- gritty of the process should read Robert Smith's outstanding history of the Hubble Space Telescope. We should have realized early on that we were in for a rough time. At that ?rst meeting of the Science Working Group I remember vividly NASA Headquarters telling us that the Space Telescope was a success-oriented programme that would cost M$ 680. Well, we could live with the cost-tag, but we should have had concerns about the expression "success-oriented." This meant that everything should turn out exactly as planned, the project would be carried out within the projected time-scale and budget and the telescope would be launched in 1983. Well, the rest is history. We learned a lot of useful jargon along the way.

The discovery of a gradual acceleration in the moon's mean motion by Edmond Halley in the last decade of the seventeenth century led to a revival of interest in reports of astronomical observations from antiquity. These observations provided the only means to study the moon's 'secular acceleration', as this newly-discovered acceleration became known. This book contains the first detailed study of the use of ancient and medieval astronomical observations in order to investigate the moon's secular acceleration from its discovery by Halley to the establishment of the magnitude of the acceleration by Richard Dunthorne, Tobias Mayer and Jerome Lalande in the 1740s and 1750s. Making extensive use of previously unstudied manuscripts, this work shows how different astronomers used the same small body of preserved ancient observations in different ways in their work on the secular acceleration. In addition, this work looks at the wider context of the study of the moon's secular acceleration, including its use in debates of biblical chronology, whether the heavens were made up of aether, and the use of astronomy in determining geographical longitude. It also discusses wider issues of the perceptions and knowledge of ancient and medieval astronomy in the early-modern period. This book will be of interest to historians of astronomy, astronomers and historians of the ancient world."

Distant galaxies encapsulate the various stages of galaxy evolution and formation from over 95% of the development of the universe. As early as twenty-five years ago, little was known about them, however since the first systematic survey was completed in the 1990s, increasing amounts of resources have been devoted to their discovery and research. This book summarises for the first time the numerous techniques used for observing, analysing, and understanding the evolution and formation of these distant galaxies.In this rapidly expanding research field, this text is an every-day companion handbook for graduate students and active researchers. It provides guidelines in sample selection, imaging, integrated spectroscopy and 3D spectroscopy, which help to avoid the numerous pitfalls of observational and analysis techniques in use in extragalactic astronomy. It also paves the way for establishing relations between fundamental properties of distant galaxies. At each step, the reader is assisted with numerous practical examples and ready-to-use methodology to help understand and analyse research.Francois Hammer worked initially in general relativity and made the first modelling of gravitational lenses prior to their spectroscopic confirmation. Following this, he became co-leader of the first complete survey of distant galaxies, the Canada-France-Redshift Survey. This led to the discovery of the strong decrease of the cosmic star formation density measured from UV light as z=1, which, alongside Hector Flores, they confirmed as bolometric and dust independent. With Mathieu Puech, they then pioneered the 3D spectroscopy of distant galaxies, leading to a major increase of understanding of the dynamic state of distant galaxies evidenced by the scatter of the Tully-Fisher relation. This led them to propose, with the addition to the team of Myriam Rodrigues, that galactic disks may survive or be rebuilt in gas-rich mergers, a scenario that is consistent with contemporary cosmological simulations. Besides extensive observational experience, the authors have led, or are leading, several instruments implemented or to be implemented at the largest telescopes, including VLT/Giraffe, VLT/X-shooter, VLT/MOONS and E-ELT/MOSAIC. They have also developed several observational techniques in adaptive optics, and in sky subtraction for integral field units and fibre instruments.

This 1990 book is the official history of the Anglo-Australian Telescope which started to be built at Coonabarabran in New South Wales in 1968 and came into operation in 1974. The telescope is part of the Anglo-Australian Observatory which provides facilities for research in optical astronomy for scientists from Britain and Australia. The authors of this book were all involved in different capacities throughout the development of the telescope. As such it gives a detailed and personal record of the scientific, administrative and political developments from the moment negotiations began to the present day. The AAT has been, and continues to be, an outstanding success and can lay claim to being the best instrumented telescope in the world, with a very wide capability and high sensitivity. This is a unique and important book.

Astronomy was a popular and important part of Victorian science, and British astronomers carried telescopes and spectroscopes to remote areas of India, the Great Plains of North America, and islands in the Caribbean and Pacific to watch the sun eclipsed by the moon. Examining the rich interplay between science, culture, and British imperial society in the late nineteenth century, this book shows how the organization and conduct of scientific fieldwork was structured by contemporary politics and culture, and how rapid and profound changes in the organization of science, advances in photography, and new printing technology remade the character of scientific observation.
After introducing the field of Victorian science to the nonspecialist, the book examines the long periods of planning necessary for eclipse expeditions, and it recounts the day-to-day work of getting to field sites, setting up camp, and preparing for and observing eclipses. Operating behind the countless decisions made by scientists was a host of large-scale forces, including the professionalization and specialization of disciplines, the growth of service, and public funding for the sciences. Fieldwork also required close coordination with the many institutions and technological systems of British imperialism.
The development of imaging technologies was, of course, crucial to observations of the solar corona. Eclipse observation taxed astronomers and their cameras to their limits, and it raised new questions about the trustworthiness of imaging technologies. In the late nineteenth century, scientists shifted from drawing to photographing natural phenomena, but the shift occurred gradually, unevenly, and against resistance. Victorian astronomers had to weigh carefully the merits of human and mechanical observation, and the difficulties of solar photography highlight the inseparability of images from technologies of observation and printing.

What can emission lines tell us about an astrophysical object? A workshop at the Space Telescope Science Institute was dedicated to address just this question - for a host of objects (including planetary nebulae and active galactic nuclei) across a broad range of wavelengths (from the infrared through to gamma-rays). Thirteen review articles from internationally renowned experts are presented in this volume. They provide an edited and coherent overview of the latest technical data, techniques in and applications of the study of emission lines from a variety of objects. Chapters include the theory of radiative transfer, photoionising shocks, and emission lines from stellar winds, as well as useful summaries of abundance determinations, atomic data, and diagnostics for IR, UV, gamma-ray and molecular lines. Together these review articles provide an overview of the analysis of emission lines. They summarise current knowledge, highlight outstanding problems and provide focus for fruitful future research. In this way they provide an excellent introduction for graduate students and reference for professionals.

Though contemporary sailors generally use electronic systems to orient themselves, the sextant is far from redundant. This purest of all nautical instruments, which allows seafarers to accurately determine their global position alone and without the aid of modern technology, is still required equipment on all commercial trading vessels; should electronic systems fail, a sextant can make the difference between disaster and survival. In this invaluable tutorial for beginning navigators, Pike clearly and efficiently explains the use and care of the sextant.

Reflectance and emittance spectroscopy are increasingly important tools in remote sensing and have been employed in most recent planetary spacecraft missions. They are primarily used to measure properties of disordered materials, especially in the interpretation of remote observations of the surfaces of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. This book gives a quantitative treatment of the physics of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with particulate media, such as powders and soils. Subjects covered include electromagnetic wave propagation, single particle scattering, diffuse reflectance, thermal emittance and polarisation. This new edition has been updated to include a quantitative treatment of the effects of porosity, a detailed discussion of the coherent backscatter opposition effect, a quantitative treatment of simultaneous transport of energy within the medium by conduction and radiation, and lists of relevant databases and software. This is an essential reference for research scientists, engineers and advanced students of planetary remote sensing.

This book is the product of five and a half years of research dedicated to the und- standing of radar interferometry, a relatively new space-geodetic technique for m- suring the earth's topography and its deformation. The main reason for undertaking this work, early 1995, was the fact that this technique proved to be extremely useful for wide-scale, fine-resolution deformation measurements. Especially the interf- ometric products from the ERS-1 satellite provided beautiful first results-several interferometric images appeared as highlights on the cover of journals such as Nature and Science. Accuracies of a few millimeters in the radar line of sight were claimed in semi-continuous image data acquired globally, irrespective of cloud cover or solar illumination. Unfortunately, because of the relative lack of supportive observations at these resolutions and accuracies, validation of the precision and reliability of the results remained an issue of concern. From a geodetic point of view, several survey techniques are commonly available to measure a specific geophysical phenomenon. To make an optimal choice between these techniques it is important to have a uniform and quantitative approach for describing the errors and how these errors propagate to the estimated parameters. In this context, the research described in this book was initiated. It describes issues involved with different types of errors, induced by the sensor, the data processing, satellite positioning accuracy, atmospheric propagation, and scattering character- tics. Nevertheless, as the first item in the subtitle "Data Interpretation and Error Analysis" suggests, data interpretation is not always straightforward.

The perfect gift for anyone with a desire to see the Northern Lights. Discover the incomparable beauty of the Northern Lights with this accessible guide for aspiring astronomers and seasoned night sky observers. Covers the essential equipment needed for observation and photography and full of stunning photographs. Tom Kerss covers the cultural and scientific context for auroras, and offers a comprehensive guide to forecasting and photography, so that readers can fuse their own technical mastery with the infinite creativity of nature. Read about the formation, properties and types of auroras Discover the mythology and history of The Northern Lights Find out about Aurora science from Antiquity to the modern day Learn how to take stunning photographs of the Northern Lights Includes a comprehensive travel and forecasting guide and a glossary of key terms. The Northern Lights will give you a complete understanding of one of the true wonders of the natural world and leave you prepared for the adventure of a lifetime.

These contributions by recognized authorities originate from a Royal Society discussion meeting held to review the most recent results obtained from the current generation of X-ray telescope research. The launch of Chandra and XMM-Newton has revolutionized research in X-ray astronomy over the past few years, and high quality X-ray observations now being made have had a major impact on topics ranging from protostars to cosmology. This book is a valuable reference for research astronomers and graduate students.

This fascinating portrait of an amateur astronomy movement tells the story of how Charles Olivier recruited a hard-working cadre of citizen scientists to rehabilitate the study of meteors. By 1936, Olivier and members of his American Meteor Society had succeeded in disproving an erroneous idea about meteor showers. Using careful observations, they restored the public's trust in predictions about periodic showers and renewed respect for meteor astronomy among professional astronomers in the United States. Charles Olivier and his society of observers who were passionate about watching for meteors in the night sky left a major impact on the field. In addition to describing Olivier's career and describing his struggles with competitive colleagues in a hostile scientific climate, the author provides biographies of some of the scores of women and men of all ages who aided Olivier in making shower observations, from the Leonids and Perseids and others. Half of these amateur volunteers were from 13 to 25 years of age. Their work allowed Olivier and the AMS to contradict the fallacious belief in stationary and long-enduring meteor showers, bringing the theory of their origin into alignment with celestial mechanics. Thanks to Olivier and his collaborators, the study of meteors took a great leap forward in the twentieth century to earn a place as a worthy topic of study among professional astronomers.

This book describes the development of astronomy in the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength range, from the first rocket-based experiments in the late 1960s through to the latest satellite missions. It provides detailed material on the tools of EUV astronomy, dealing with the instrumentation, observational techniques, and modelling tools for the interpretation of data. Prospects for future EUV missions are discussed, and a catalog of known EUV sources is included.

British University Observatories fills a gap in the historiography of British astronomy by offering the histories of observatories identified as a group by their shared characteristics. The first full histories of the Oxford and Cambridge observatories are here central to an explanatory history of each of the six that undertook research before World War II - Oxford, Dunsink, Cambridge, Durham, Glasgow and London. Each struggled to evolve in the middle ground between the royal observatories and those of the 'Grand Amateurs' in the nineteenth century. Fundamental issues are how and why astronomy came into the universities, how research was reconciled with teaching, lack of endowment, and response to the challenge of astrophysics. One organizing theme is the central importance of the individual professor-directors in determining the fortunes of these observatories, the community of assistants, and their role in institutional politics sometimes of the murkiest kind, patronage networks and discipline shaping coteries. The use of many primary sources illustrates personal motivations and experience. This book will intrigue anyone interested in the history of astronomy, of telescopes, of scientific institutions, and of the history of universities. The history of each individual observatory can easily be followed from foundation to 1939, or compared to experience elsewhere across the period. Astronomy is competitive and international, and the British experience is contextualised by comparison for the first time to those in Germany, France, Italy and the USA.

Simultaneously storing both spectral and spatial information, 3D spectroscopy offers a new way to tackle astrophysical problems, and opens up new lines of research. Since its inception in the eighties and early nineties, research in this field has grown enormously. Large telescopes all around the world are now equipped with integral field units, and two instruments of the future James Webb Space Telescope will have integral field spectroscopic capabilities. Nowadays, more effort is dedicated to refining techniques for reducing, analyzing and interpreting the data obtained with 3D spectrographs. Containing lectures from the seventeenth Winter School of the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute, this book explores new 3D spectroscopy techniques and data. A broad and balanced presentation of research in this field, it introduces astronomers to a new generation of instruments, widening the appeal of integral field spectroscopy and helping it become a powerful tool in tackling astrophysical problems.

A valuable reference for students and professionals in the field of deep space navigation

Drawing on fundamental principles and practices developed during decades of deep space exploration at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), this book documents the formation of program Regres of JPL’s Orbit Determination Program (ODP). Program Regres calculates the computed values of observed quantities (e.g., Doppler and range observables) obtained at the tracking stations of the Deep Space Network, and also calculates media corrections for the computed values of the observable and partial derivatives of the computed values of the observables with respect to the solve-for-parameter vector-q. The ODP or any other program which uses its formulation can be used to navigate a spacecraft anywhere in the solar system.

A publication of the JPL Deep Space Communications and Navigation System Center of Excellence (DESCANSO), Formulation for Observed and Computed Values of Deep Space Network Data Types for Navigation is an invaluable resource for graduate students of celestial mechanics or astrodynamics because it:

• features the expertise of today’s top scientists
• places the entire program Regres formulation in an easy-to-access resource
• describes technology which will be used in the next generation of navigation software currently under development

The Deep Space Communications and Navigation Series is authored by scientists and engineers with extensive experience in astronautics, communications, and related fields. It lays the foundation for innovation in the areas of deep space navigation and communications by conveying state-of-the-art knowledge in key technologies.

Interpreting Astronomical Spectra D. Emerson Institute for Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edingurgh "Interpreting Astronomical Spectra" describes how physical conditions such as temperature, density and composition can be obtained from the spectra of a broad range of astronomical environments ranging from the cold interstellar medium to very hot coronal gas and from stellar atmospheres to quasars. In this book the author has succeeded in providing a coherent and integrated approach to the interpretation of astronomical spectroscopy, placing the emphasis on the physical understanding of spectrum formation rather than on instrumental considerations. MKS units and consistent symbols are employed throughout so that the fundamental ideas common to diverse environments are made clear and the importance of different temperature ranges and densities can be seen. Aimed at senior undergraduates and graduates studying physics, astronomy and astrophysics, this book will also appeal to the professional astronomer.

A new source of funding for astronomy stemmed from the creation of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1950. Astronomers were quick to take advantage of the opportunities this provided to found new observatories. In this 1997 book, the science and politics of the establishment, funding, construction and operation of the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) are seen from the unique perspective of Frank K. Edmondson, a former member of the AURA board of directors. AURA was asked to manage the Sacramento Peak Observatory (SPO) in 1976, and in 1983 the National Solar Observatory (NSO) was formed by merging the SPO and the KPNO solar programs. In 1981 NASA chose AURA to establish and operate the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). This is a personal account of a period of major innovation in American optical astronomy.

Since the earliest times one of the brightest lights in the heavens has been that of Jupiter, mythical king of the gods and the largest planet in the solar system. It was only natural that peoples from the dawn of history would be interested in such a planet and, indeed, Jupiter was one of the first objects to be observed with the telescope. Even today Jupiter captures the public interest like no other planet: a vast gaseous world, home to violent storms (larger than the Earth) that have raged for centuries. Galileo's Planet: Observing Jupiter before Photography presents the history of humankind's quest to understand the giant planet in the era before photography, a time when the only way to observe the universe was with the human eye. The book provides a comprehensive and fascinating account of the people involved in this quest, their observations, and the results of their findings. Many of the planetary features studied in detail by today's space probes were once glimpsed by keen-eyed, amateur astronomers. These Earth-bound explorers made up for their modest instruments and viewing conditions with their patience, perseverance, and passion for the night sky. Their greatest challenge was the fifth planet from the Sun and the search for its imagined surface-a revelation of the "real Jupiter." In the process, these part-time observers redefined the meaning of the word "planet." The book recounts their story from the earliest times right up until the invention of the camera.

A concise introduction, Optical Astronomical Spectroscopy appeals to the newcomer of astronomical spectroscopy and assumes no previous specialist knowledge. Beginning from the physical background of spectroscopy with a clear explanation of energy levels and spectroscopic notation, the book proceeds to introduce the main techniques of optical spectroscopy and the range of instrumentation that is available. With clarity and directness, it then describes the applications of spectroscopy in modern astronomy, such as the solar system, stars, nebulae, the interstellar medium, and galaxies, giving an immediate appeal to beginners.

A concise introduction, Optical Astronomical Spectroscopy appeals to the newcomer of astronomical spectroscopy and assumes no previous specialist knowledge. Beginning from the physical background of spectroscopy with a clear explanation of energy levels and spectroscopic notation, the book proceeds to introduce the main techniques of optical spectroscopy and the range of instrumentation that is available. With clarity and directness, it then describes the applications of spectroscopy in modern astronomy, such as the solar system, stars, nebulae, the interstellar medium, and galaxies, giving an immediate appeal to beginners.