![]() |
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
||
|
Books > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy, space & time > Observatories, equipment & methods
A beautiful gift for beginner and seasoned stargazers alike From the number one Astronomy publisher, a beautiful astrophotography book, showcasing the most spectacular space photography, taken from locations across the globe. Marvel at the wonders of the universe captured by the most talented astrophotographers. A perfect gift for all interested in exploring the mysteries of our solar system and beyond. Be captivated by 140 winning and shortlisted images from the 2020 Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, hosted by the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. These awe-inspiring images are submitted in several categories: aurorae, galaxies, our Moon, our Sun, people and space, planets, comets and asteroids, skyscapes, stars and nebulae and a young competitor category. Each image is accompanied by caption, photographer, location and technical details. There is also a location map showing the origin of all images and a visual appendix of all images. The judges are from an expert panel of distinguished astronomy experts. The Exhibition The National Maritime Museum hosts an exhibition of the winners of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, showcasing these incredible images of the sky. www.rmg.co.uk/astrophoto
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.
High time-resolution astrophysics (HTRA) involves measuring and studying astronomical phenomena on timescales of seconds to milliseconds. Although many areas of astronomy, such as X-ray astronomy and pulsar observations, have traditionally required high time-resolution studies, HTRA techniques are now being applied to optical, infrared and gamma-ray wavelength regimes, due to the development of high efficiency detectors and larger telescopes that can gather photons at a higher rate. With lectures from eminent scientists aimed at young researchers and postdoctorate students in observational astronomy and astrophysics, this volume gives a practical overview and introduction to the tools and techniques of HTRA. Just as multi-spectral observations of astrophysical phenomena are already yielding new scientific results, many astronomers are optimistic that exploring the time domain will open up an important new frontier in observational astronomy over the next decade.
This book acts as a manual for the ancient methods of navigating by the stars, which continue to provide the sailor or pilot with a timeless means of determining location. Despite the prevalence of GPS, a comprehensive set of formulae that can be evaluated on any inexpensive scientific calculator in the event of a catastrophic software or systems failure is a vital failsafe. It also serves as a living link to centuries of explorers from centuries past. Beginning with the basics of positional astronomy, this guide moves on to the more complex math necessary to understand the ephemerides, tables showing the future positions of the stars and planets. These astronomical almanacs were the satellite navigation of their day. The objective of this book is twofold: to provide the reader with a concise, comprehensible manual on positional astronomy as it applies to astro-navigation and to furnish the concise algorithms for finding the position of the Sun and various navigational stars at any given instant. In a world where too many mariners and aeronauts rely solely on technology and are vulnerable to solar flares, electrical issues, and the like, this knowledge can be a life-saving backup, not to mention a fascinating study in its own rights. Included is an exact mathematical way to determine your position in the air or on the sea far more quickly and accurately than by using the old celestial navigational method, without even needing to know or understand the underlying mathematics. There is even a section that teaches how to measure the azimuth of a star using an analog wrist watch so if a sextant gets damaged, locating position is still possible. This book offers mathematicians and adventurers a way to determine position when the skies go dark. The U.S. Navy has recently realized that their electronic navigation systems are vulnerable to cyberattack, and as a result has instructed the Naval Academy to begin teaching celestial navigation again.
This accessible guide presents the astrophysical concepts behind astronomical spectroscopy, covering both the theory and the practical elements of recording, processing, analysing and interpreting your spectra. It covers astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, nebulae, novae, supernovae, and events such as eclipses and comet passages. Suitable for anyone with only a little background knowledge and access to amateur-level equipment, the guide's many illustrations, sketches and figures will help you understand and practise this scientifically important and growing field of amateur astronomy, up to the level of Pro-Am collaborations. Accessible to non-academics, it benefits many groups from novices and learners in astronomy clubs, to advanced students and teachers of astrophysics. This volume is the perfect companion to the Spectral Atlas for Amateur Astronomers, which provides detailed commented spectral profiles of more than 100 astronomical objects.
Ken M. Harrison's latest book is a complete guide for amateur astronomers who want to obtain detailed narrowband images of the Sun using a digital spectroheliograph (SHG). The SHG allows the safe imaging of the Sun without the expense of commercial 'etalon' solar filters. As the supporting software continues to be refined, the use of the digital spectroheliograph will become more and more mainstream and has the potential to replace the expensive solar filters currently in use. The early chapters briefly explain the concept of the SHG and how it can produce an image from the solar spectrum. A comparison of the currently available narrow band solar filters is followed by a detailed analysis of the critical design, construction and assembly features of the SHG. The design and optimum layout of the instrument is discussed to allow evaluation of performance. This information explains how to assemble a fully functional SHG using readily available components. The software required to process the images is explained and step by step examples provided, with various digital instruments around the world highlighted based on input from many experienced amateurs who have shared their experience in building and using their spectroheliographs. The final chapters provide a historical overview of the traditional spectroheliograph and the later spectrohelioscope, from the initial G.E.Hale and Deslandres concepts of the 1890's through to the later work by Veio and others. The construction and performance of various instruments is covered in detail, and provides a unique opportunity to record and appreciate the groundbreaking researches carried out by amateurs in the 20th century. This is an absolutely up to date book which fully addresses the watershed, game changing influence of the digital imaging revolution on the traditional spectroheliograph.
Space telescopes are among humankind's greatest scientific achievements of the last fifty years. This book describes the instruments themselves and what they were designed to discover about the Solar System and distant stars. Exactly how these telescopes were built and launched and the data they provided is explored. Only certain kinds of radiation can penetrate our planet's atmosphere, which limits what we can observe. But with space telescopes all this changed. We now have the means to "see" beyond Earth using ultraviolet, microwave, and infrared rays, X-rays and gamma rays. In this book we meet the pioneers and the telescopes that were built around their ideas. This book looks at space telescopes not simply chronologically but also in order of the electromagnetic spectrum, making it possible to understand better why they were made.
The second edition of this popular text provides undergraduates with a quantitative yet accessible introduction to the physical principles underlying the collection and analysis of observational data in contemporary optical and infrared astronomy. The text clearly links recent developments in ground- and space-based telescopes, observatory and instrument design, adaptive optics, and detector technologies to the more modest telescopes and detectors that students may use themselves. Beginning with reviews of the most relevant physical concepts and an introduction to elementary statistics, students are given the firm theoretical foundation they need. New topics, including an expanded treatment of spectroscopy, Gaia, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, and photometry at large redshifts bring the text up to date. Historical development of topics and quotations emphasize that astronomy is both a scientific and a human endeavour, while extensive end-of-chapter exercises facilitate the students' practical learning experience.
In 2004, it became obvious that Henry Hatfield's original atlas wasn't suitable for all current commercially-made amateur telescopes. Newtonian telescopes and astronomical refractors - for many years the only choice for amateurs - invert the observed image. The standard Hatfield Atlas therefore follows the IAU (International Astronomical Union) convention of having maps (and photographs) with South at the top and West on the left: an inverted image. However, the current ranges of Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov telescopes - that's most of those manufactured by Meade, Celestron, and many others - don't invert the observed image but instead reverse it left-for-right. That's with North at the top and East on the left. Because of the way the human visual system works, it is almost impossible to mentally 'mirror-image' a map to compare it with the view through the eyepiece , so even turning an IAU-standard atlas upside-down doesn't help! This new SCT version of the Atlas solves this problem for observers. Identification of lunar features is made quick and easy. The new, digitally re-mastered second edition vastly improves the clarity and definition of the original photographs - significantly beyond the resolution limits of the photographic grains present in earlier atlas versions - whilst preserving the layout and style of the original publications. This has been achieved by merging computer-visualized Earth-based views of the lunar surface, derived from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data, with scanned copies of Commander Hatfield's photographic plates, using the author's own software. The result is a The Hatfield SCT Lunar Atlas for 21st century amateur telescopes up to and beyond 12-inch aperture. It contains all the features that made the original so widely used: a combination of an index of all International Astronomical Union named primary lunar features, and twelve chart areas help to locate any named lunar features of interest that can each be examined under typically five different states of illumination. Close ups of interesting features are also included. The new Atlas is supplemented by an introduction to its use, a short description of the digital re-mastering technique, and a completely new section describing lunar observing techniques. At the end of the atlas there is an index of all named features and crater diameters, along with a summary table of the dates and times that the original Hatfield images represent.
"If you buy just one guide...you won't do better than this" BBC Sky at Night Magazine "I will continue to enjoy 'Philip's Stargazing' as the months go by" Helen Sharman, Astronaut "Very useful indeed" Chris Lintott, Sky at Night presenter Now including the top astronomical places to visit, star festivals and the latest on star parties in Britain and Ireland, the new 2023 edition is totally up-to-date for exploring the wonder of the night skies, month-by-month and day-by-day. Whether you're a seasoned astronomer or just starting out, Philip's Stargazing 2023 is the only book you'll need. Compiled by experts and specially designed for easy and daily use, Stargazing 2023 acts as a handily illustrated and comprehensive companion. - 12 updated sky charts for year-round astronomical discovery - Month-to-Month information. Daily Moon Phase Calendar, highlighting special lunar events throughout the year - Planet Watch for ideal viewing days in 2023 - The best places to experience Dark Skies, along with the latest on Star Festivals and Star Parties - Top places to visit for astronomical insights - Expert advice and insight throughout from internationally renowned Prof Nigel Henbest - The latest on electronic telescopes from expert Robin Scagell - Complete calendar of major astronomical events, including the Top 20 Sky Sights of 2023 - Jargon Buster, explaining common or confusing terms - The planets' movements explained from solar and lunar eclipses to meteor showers and comets
Astronomer Peter Linde takes the reader through the story of the search for extraterrestrial life in a captivating and thought-provoking way, specifically addressing the new research that is currently devoted towards discovering other planets with life. He discusses the methods used to detect possible signals from other civilizations and the ways that the space sciences are changing as a result of this new field. "Are we alone?" is a mystery that has forever fascinated mankind, gaining momentum by scientists since the 1995 discovery of the existence of exoplanets began to inspire new ways of thinking in astronomy. Here, Linde tries to answer many philosophical questions that derive from this area of research: Is humanity facing a change of paradigm, that we are not unique as intelligent beings? Is it possible to communicate with others out there, and even if we can-should we?
Radio astronomers have developed techniques of calibration of large reflector antennas with radio astronomical methods, but these have not been comprehensively described. This text aims to fill this gap, taking a practical approach to the characterisation of antennas. All calculations and results in the form of tables and figures have been made with Mathematica by Wolfram Research. The reader can use the procedures for the implementation of his own input data.
This Ph.D. thesis from the University of Birmingham UK opens new research avenues in the use of Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs) to study populations of super-massive black hole binaries through gravitational-wave observations. Chiara Mingarelli's work has shown for the first time that PTAs can yield information about the non-linear dynamics of the gravitational field. This is possible because PTAs capture, at the same time, radiation from the same source emitted at stages of its binary evolution that are separated by thousands of years. Dr. Mingarelli, who is the recipient of a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship, has also been amongst the pioneers of the technique that will allow us to probe the level of anisotropy of the diffuse gravitational-wave background radiation from the whole population of super-massive black hole binaries in the Universe. Indeed, future observations will provide us with hints about the distribution of galaxies harboring massive black holes and insights into end products of hierarchical mergers of galaxies.
This translation of"A Brief History of Radio Astronomy in the USSR"makes descriptions of the antennas and instrumentation used in the USSR, the astronomical discoveries, as well as interesting personal backgrounds of many of the early key players in Soviet radio astronomy available in the English language for the first time. This book is a collection of memoirs recounting an interesting but largely still dark era of Soviet astronomy. The arrangement of the essays is determined primarily by the time when radio astronomy studies began at the institutions involved. These include the Lebedev Physical Institute (FIAN), Gorkii State University and the affiliated Physical-Technical Institute (GIFTI), Moscow State University Sternberg Astronomical institute (GAISH) and Space Research Institute (IKI), the Department of Radio Astronomy of the Main Astronomical Observatory in Pulkovo (GAO), Special Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO), Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine (SSR), Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics of the USSR Academy of Sciences (IRE), Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, the Ionosphere and Radio-Wave Propagation Institute (IZMIRAN), Siberian Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, the Ionosphere and Radio-Wave Propagation (SibIZMIRAN), the Radio Astrophysical Observatory of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and Leningrad State University. "A Brief History of Radio Astronomy in the USSR"is a fascinating source of information on a past era of scientific culture and fields of research including the Soviet SETI activities. Anyone interested in the recent history of science will enjoy reading this volume. "
Constituting the first holistic overview including practical remedies, this handbook provides the background needed by anyone grappling with the complex issue of outdoor lighting and its effects. It describes not only the problems that astronomers and other night sky observers face in reducing the problems of information loss due to light pollution, as well as the problems lighting technologists face in optimising outdoor lighting installations that cause little or no light pollution. The first part is directed to decision makers and managers of outdoor space and covers the areas of general interest, culminating in recommendations to reduce the impact of light pollution. The second part is directed primarily to scientists and engineers, as a support to the design and maintenance of outdoor lighting installations, with special reference to astronomical observations. Elaborating issues from the first part, these contributions include examples that refer to specific outdoor lighting projects and to more general policy and educational measures. Written for designers of lighting equipment and managers of astronomical observatories, but also aimed at the authorities and decision makers responsible for the organization and maintenance of the public space, it will serve a good purpose in graduate or postgraduate curricula for scientists, engineers, economists and law students. This handbook fills the gap that exists between astronomical textbooks, engineering texts and popular brochures about light pollution.
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will provide more than one
order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity compared with any
existing radio telescope over a wavelength range of several hundred
to one, from decametric to microwave wavelengths. It will
revolutionize the study of the most abundant element in the
Universe, hydrogen, from the epoch of reionisation to the
present-day, probing the onset formation period of the very first
stars, will closely scan proto-planets and, through the precision
timing of pulsars, will detect the distortions of space-time due to
gravitational radiation. The SKA is a sensing network spanning 3000
km from its centre and with a collecting area of more than 1 square
kilometre, using technologies of the 21st century. The SKA will
make the study of a wide range of phenomena initially studied at
other wavelengths possible at radio wavelengths, as well as opening
a new discovery window on new phenomena at radio wavelengths.
Hidden from human view, accessible only to sensitive receivers attached to huge radio telescopes, the invisible universe beyond our senses continues to fascinate and intrigue our imaginations. Closer to home, in the Milky Way galaxy, radio astronomers listen patiently to the ticking of pulsars that tell of star death and states of matter of awesome densities. All of this happens out there in the universe hidden from our eyes, even when aided by the Hubble Space Telescope. This is the story of radio astronomy, of how radio waves are generated by stars, supernova, quasars, colliding galaxies and by the very beginnings of the universe itself. The author discusses what radio astronomers are doing in the New Mexico desert, in a remote valley in Puerto Rico, and in the green Pocahontas Valley in West Virginia, as well as dozens of other remote sites around the world. With each of these observatories, the scientists collect and analyze their data, "listening" to the radio signals from space in order to learn what, or perhaps who, is out there as well. The author specifically highlights enormous changes that have occurred in the field over the past 50 years, including the political reality of radio astronomy and what that could mean for the future.
IAU Symposium 97, Extragalactic Radio Sources, was held at Albuquerque, New Mexico August 3-7, 1981. It was co-sponsored by IAU Commissions 28, 40, 47 and 48 and by URSI Commission J. Financial and organizational support were provided by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the University of New Mexico, and the National Science Foundation. A wide variety of interesting objects and phenomena can be covered under the heading "Extragalactic Radio Sources," and a diverse set of topics was in fact discussed at the symposium. Radio galaxies, quasars, Seyfert galaxies and BL Lacertids received the most attention, but normal galaxies, the galactic center, and even SS433 were also discussed. While the unifying theme of the symposium was radio emission, studies at all wave1engths--X-ray, UV, optical, IR, and radio--were included. In general, the emphasis was on individual objects and the physical processes associated with them, but there were also papers on statistical studies and cosmology. The symposium was attended by 209 scientists from 18 countries.
TheideaforthisbookoriginatedintheLaSillaobservatorywheretwoofthe editorsweredoingphase-resolvedspectroscopyofsomecataclysmicvariable starsusingtheNTT. Werealizedthatalthoughindirectimagingtechniques suchaseclipsemappingandDopplertomographyhadbeenaroundformore thanadecadeandhadprovidedsomeofthemostinterestingdiscoveries,no bookexistedwhichcoveredthesetechniques. Moreover,nocolloquiumhadever beenorganizedspeci?callyonthesetopics. Theimplementationoftomographic methodsinastrophysics,inordertoprobestructuresonangularscalesofmic- arcseconds,startedabout15yearsagowiththedevelopmentoftheeclipsem- pingmethod. Thismethodisabletoreconstructlightdistributionsineclipsing binariesbyexploitingtheregularobscurationofthelightsourcebyoneofthe binarycomponents. Asimilarapproachtoregulariseddata?ttingleadtoa- rietyofrelatedmethodsinordertoresolvelightdistributionsoftheaccretion ?owsinbinaries,thesurfacestructuresofstarsandtheinnerregionsofactive galaxies. Thescienti?coutputofthesemethodsisconsiderableandtheyare increasinglybecomingversatiletoolsforawidecommunityofresearchers. Aspecialisedworkshopseemedhighlydesirable,sowedecidedtoorganise the?rstinternationalworkshoponastrotomography. Theideaofthemeeting, whichtookplaceinBrusselsinearlyJuly2000,wastobringtogetherresearchers sharinganinterestinapplyingindirectimagingmethodsinastronomy,andto comparethemethodsusedindi?erent?elds. Duringthemeeting,alargeamount oftimewasdevotedtoextensivereviewsofthevariousreconstructiontechniques. Inconjunctionwiththereviews,shortcontributedtalkshighlightedrecent- sultsanddevelopments. Duetothesmallnumberofparticipants,60,therewas plentyofopportunityfordiscussionandinteraction. Moreover,wewantedthat theproceedingsofthismeetingcouldbeusedasahandbookonthesemethods. Thereviewerswerethereforeaskedtoprovideextensiveaccountsoftheir?eld. Theproceedingsthusconsistof13reviewsofabout25pageseachaswellas 15contributedtalksof6?8pages. Awiderangeoftopicsarediscussed,mostly onthepropertiesofaccretion?owsinsemi-detachedbinarysystemsconta- ingacompactstellarremnant. Othertopicsincludethesurfaceandmagnetic ?eldstructureofsinglestars,theshockwavesofMirastars,theaccretion?ows aroundblackholesinbinariesandactivegalacticnucleiandthestructureof Algolsystems. Thelargevarietyofsubjectscoveredisaclearillustrationofthe importancethatindirectimagingtechniqueshavegainedinastrophysics. Anew VI generationofopticaltelescopesandspectrographsiscomingon-linewhichwill pushthepossibilitiesofindirectimagingevenfurther. Inconjunctionwiththat, specialisedinstrumentsandprojectsonexistingtelescopeswilldeliverdatasets withhightimeandwavelengthresolutionstailoredforaccuratemapping- periments. Wehopethattheseproceedingswillprovideahelpfuloverviewfor anyresearcherinterestedinsuchtechniques. Withthesamespiritofproducing morethanjustproceedings,wealsoincludealistofsomeusefulresourceson theInternet. Wealsohopethatthewebpageoftheworkshopwillbekeptalive andbecomeausefulreferenceonastrotomography. Wewouldliketothankalltheparticipantsformakingthisworkshopas- cess,andinparticularallthecontributingreviewauthorsforhavinggenerously agreedtocometothemeetingattheirownexpense,andfortheire?ortsin providingabalancedsetofreviewpapers. Manythankstoallthemembersof thelocalorganisingcommitteeforthehardworkbefore,duringandafterthe workshop. TheBrusselsPlanetariumisthankedforprovidinguswithameeting venueandexcellentsupport. WealsowishtothanktheDirectoroftheRoyal ObservatoryofBelgium,Prof. PaulPaquet,forhise?orts. RobHynesprovided uswithasuperb'scienti?cimpression'ofaninteractingbinarythatfeaturedon theworkshopposterandvariousotherlocations. Finally,wearegratefulfo- nancialsupportfromprojectG. 0265. 97oftheResearchProgrammeoftheFund forScienti?cResearch-Flanders(F. W. O. -Vlaanderen). Brussels,Southampton, HenriBo?n, November2000 DannySteeghs, JanCuypers Workshopwebpage:http://www. astro. oma. be/DopplerWorkshop/ Contents DopplerTomography T. R. Marsh...1 MappingthePeculiarBinaryGPCom L. Morales-Rueda,T. R. Marsh,R. C. North...27 H?-EmissionDopplerTomography ofLong-PeriodCataclysmicVariableStars R. C. North,T. R. Marsh,C. K. J. Moran,U. Kolb,R. C. Smith,R. Stehle. . 33 DopplerTomographyoftheDwarfNovaIYUMa duringQuiescence D. J. Rolfe,T. M. C. Abbott,C. A. Haswell...39 SpiralWavesinAccretionDiscs-Observations D. Steeghs...45 SpiralWavesinAccretionDiscs-Vlaanderen). Brussels,Southampton, HenriBo?n, November2000 DannySteeghs, JanCuypers Workshopwebpage:http://www. astro. oma. be/DopplerWorkshop/ Contents DopplerTomography T. R. Marsh...1 MappingthePeculiarBinaryGPCom L. Morales-Rueda,T. R. Marsh,R. C. North...27 H?-EmissionDopplerTomography ofLong-PeriodCataclysmicVariableStars R. C. North,T. R. Marsh,C. K. J. Moran,U. Kolb,R. C. Smith,R. Stehle. . 33 DopplerTomographyoftheDwarfNovaIYUMa duringQuiescence D. J. Rolfe,T. M. C. Abbott,C. A. Haswell...39 SpiralWavesinAccretionDiscs-Observations D. Steeghs...45 SpiralWavesinAccretionDiscs-TheideaforthisbookoriginatedintheLaSillaobservatorywheretwoofthe editorsweredoingphase-resolvedspectroscopyofsomecataclysmicvariable starsusingtheNTT. Werealizedthatalthoughindirectimagingtechniques suchaseclipsemappingandDopplertomographyhadbeenaroundformore thanadecadeandhadprovidedsomeofthemostinterestingdiscoveries,no bookexistedwhichcoveredthesetechniques. Moreover,nocolloquiumhadever beenorganizedspeci?callyonthesetopics. Theimplementationoftomographic methodsinastrophysics,inordertoprobestructuresonangularscalesofmic- arcseconds,startedabout15yearsagowiththedevelopmentoftheeclipsem- pingmethod. Thismethodisabletoreconstructlightdistributionsineclipsing binariesbyexploitingtheregularobscurationofthelightsourcebyoneofthe binarycomponents. Asimilarapproachtoregulariseddata?ttingleadtoa- rietyofrelatedmethodsinordertoresolvelightdistributionsoftheaccretion ?owsinbinaries,thesurfacestructuresofstarsandtheinnerregionsofactive galaxies. Thescienti?coutputofthesemethodsisconsiderableandtheyare increasinglybecomingversatiletoolsforawidecommunityofresearchers. Aspecialisedworkshopseemedhighlydesirable,sowedecidedtoorganise the?rstinternationalworkshoponastrotomography. Theideaofthemeeting, whichtookplaceinBrusselsinearlyJuly2000,wastobringtogetherresearchers sharinganinterestinapplyingindirectimagingmethodsinastronomy,andto comparethemethodsusedindi?erent?elds. Duringthemeeting,alargeamount oftimewasdevotedtoextensivereviewsofthevariousreconstructiontechniques. Inconjunctionwiththereviews,shortcontributedtalkshighlightedrecent- sultsanddevelopments. Duetothesmallnumberofparticipants,60,therewas plentyofopportunityfordiscussionandinteraction. Moreover,wewantedthat theproceedingsofthismeetingcouldbeusedasahandbookonthesemethods. Thereviewerswerethereforeaskedtoprovideextensiveaccountsoftheir?eld. Theproceedingsthusconsistof13reviewsofabout25pageseachaswellas 15contributedtalksof6?8pages. Awiderangeoftopicsarediscussed,mostly onthepropertiesofaccretion?owsinsemi-detachedbinarysystemsconta- ingacompactstellarremnant. Othertopicsincludethesurfaceandmagnetic ?eldstructureofsinglestars,theshockwavesofMirastars,theaccretion?ows aroundblackholesinbinariesandactivegalacticnucleiandthestructureof Algolsystems. Thelargevarietyofsubjectscoveredisaclearillustrationofthe importancethatindirectimagingtechniqueshavegainedinastrophysics. Anew VI generationofopticaltelescopesandspectrographsiscomingon-linewhichwill pushthepossibilitiesofindirectimagingevenfurther. Inconjunctionwiththat, specialisedinstrumentsandprojectsonexistingtelescopeswilldeliverdatasets withhightimeandwavelengthresolutionstailoredforaccuratemapping- periments. Wehopethattheseproceedingswillprovideahelpfuloverviewfor anyresearcherinterestedinsuchtechniques. Withthesamespiritofproducing morethanjustproceedings,wealsoincludealistofsomeusefulresourceson theInternet. Wealsohopethatthewebpageoftheworkshopwillbekeptalive andbecomeausefulreferenceonastrotomography. Wewouldliketothankalltheparticipantsformakingthisworkshopas- cess,andinparticularallthecontributingreviewauthorsforhavinggenerously agreedtocometothemeetingattheirownexpense,andfortheire?ortsin providingabalancedsetofreviewpapers. Manythankstoallthemembersof thelocalorganisingcommitteeforthehardworkbefore,duringandafterthe workshop. TheBrusselsPlanetariumisthankedforprovidinguswithameeting venueandexcellentsupport. WealsowishtothanktheDirectoroftheRoyal ObservatoryofBelgium,Prof. PaulPaquet,forhise?orts. RobHynesprovided uswithasuperb'scienti?cimpression'ofaninteractingbinarythatfeaturedon theworkshopposterandvariousotherlocations. Finally,wearegratefulfo- nancialsupportfromprojectG. 0265. 97oftheResearchProgrammeoftheFund forScienti?cResearch-Flanders(F. W. O. -Vlaanderen). Brussels,Southampton, HenriBo?n, November2000 DannySteeghs, JanCuypers Workshopwebpage:http://www. astro. oma. be/DopplerWorkshop/ Contents DopplerTomography T. R. Marsh...1 MappingthePeculiarBinaryGPCom L. Morales-Rueda,T. R. Marsh,R. C. North...27 H?-EmissionDopplerTomography ofLong-PeriodCataclysmicVariableStars R. C. North,T. R. Marsh,C. K. J. Moran,U. Kolb,R. C. Smith,R. Stehle. . 33 DopplerTomographyoftheDwarfNovaIYUMa duringQuiescence D. J. Rolfe,T. M. C. Abbott,C. A. Haswell...39 SpiralWavesinAccretionDiscs-Observations D. Steeghs...45 SpiralWavesinAccretionDiscs-Theory H. M. J. Bo?n...69 SpiralShocksinanInviscidSimulationofAccretionFlow inaCloseBinarySystem M. Makita,H. Fujiwara,T. Matsuda,H. M. J. Bo?n...88 ImagingtheSecondaryStarsinCataclysmicVariables V. S. Dhillon,C. A. Watson...9 4 StatisticsofIsolatedEmissionSourcesinCataclysmicVariables C. Tappert,R. Hanuschik...119 TomographyofPolars A. Schwope...127 TomographyofMagneticAccretionFlows G. Wynn...155 VIII Contents TheGeometricalCon?gurationofPolars andPossibleReconstructionArtefacts ofEclipseMappingMethods J. Kube...175 SpotMappinginCoolStars A. CollierCameron...183 ImagingtheMagneticTopologiesofCoolActiveStars J. -F. Donati...207 Di?erentialRotationofCloseBinaryStars: ApplicationtoHR1099 P. Petit, J. -F. Donati, G. A. Wade, J. D. Landstreet, J. M. Oliveira, S. L. S. Shorlin,T. A. A. Sigut,A. C. Cameron...232 MagneticDopplerImagingofChemicallyPeculiarStars N. Piskunov,O. Kochukhov...238 StokesImagingoftheAccretionRegion inMagneticCataclysmicVariables S. Potter,E. Romero-Colmenero,D. A. H. Buckley,M. Cropper, P. Hakala...244 DopplerImagesoftheMDwarfRE1816+541 J. R. Barnes,A. CollierCameron...252 TheMethodofSpectraDisentangling andItsLinkstoDopplerTomography P. Hadrava...
Until Karl Jansky's 1933 discovery of radio noise from the Milky Way, astronomy was limited to observation by visible light. Radio astronomy opened a new window on the Universe, leading to the discovery of quasars, pulsars, the cosmic microwave background, electrical storms on Jupiter, the first extrasolar planets, and many other unexpected and unanticipated phenomena. Theory generally played little or no role – or even pointed in the wrong direction. Some discoveries came as a result of military or industrial activities, some from academic research intended for other purposes, some from simply looking with a new technique. Often it was the right person, in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing – or sometimes the wrong thing. Star Noise tells the story of these discoveries, the men and women who made them, the circumstances which enabled them, and the surprising ways in which real-life scientific research works.
This book covers the use and development of software for astronomy. It describes the control systems used to point the telescope and operate its cameras and spectrographs, as well as the web-based tools used to plan those observations. In addition, the book also covers the analysis and archiving of astronomical data once it has been acquired. Readers will learn about existing software tools and packages, develop their own software tools, and analyze real data sets.
With the advent of CCDs and webcams, the focus of amateur astronomy has to some extent shifted from science to art. Visual work in astronomy has a rich history. Today, imaging is now more prominent. However there is still much for the visual amateur astronomer to do, and visual work is still a valid component of amateur astronomy. Paul Abel has been addressing this issue by promoting visual astronomy wherever possible - at talks to astronomical societies, in articles for popular science magazines, and on BBC TV's The Sky at Night. Visual Lunar and Planetary Astronomy is a comprehensive modern treatment of visual lunar and planetary astronomy, showing that even in the age of space telescopes and interplanetary probes it is still possible to contribute scientifically with no more than a moderately-priced commercially made astronomical telescope. It is believed that imaging and photography is somehow more objective and more accurate than the eye, and this has led to a peculiar "crisis of faith" in the human visual system and its amazing processing power. But by analyzing observations from the past, we can see how accurate visual astronomy really is! Measuring the rotational period of Mars and making accurate lunar charts for American astronauts were all done by eye. The book includes sections on how the human visual system works, how to view an object through an eyepiece, and how to record observations and keep a scientific notebook. The book also looks at how to make an astronomical, rather than an artistic, drawing. Finally, everything here will also be of interest to those imagers who wish to make their images more scientifically applicable by combining the methods and practices of visual astronomy with imaging. Riccardo Giacconi Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics The meeting of the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society, held in Cambridge, Massachusetts on January 28- 30, 1980, marks the coming of age of X-ray astronomy. In the 18 years since the discovery of the first extrasolar X-ray source, Sco X-l, the field has experienced an extremely rapid instrumentation development culminating with the launch on November 13, 1978 of the Einstein Ob servatory (HEAO-2) which first introduced the use of high resolution imaging telescopes to the study of galactic and extragalactic X-ray sources. The Einstein Observatory instruments can detect sources as faint as 10-7 Sco X-lor about 17 magnitudes fainter. The technological developments in the field have been paralleled by a host of new discoveries: in the early 1960's the detection of 9 "X-ray stars," objects 10 times more luminous in X-rays than the Sun and among the brightest stellar objects at all wavelengths; in the late 1960's and early 1970's the discovery of the nature of such systems which were identified as collapsed stars (neutron stars and black holes) in mass exchange binary systems, and the detection of the first few extragalactic sources."
Algol is a triple system containing a 70 hr eclipsing binary (K IV and B8 V) in a 694 day orbit with an A V star. The X-ray emission from this system (Schnopper et al 1976) is thought to be associated with a corona surrounding the lobe filling and synchron ously rotating K IV star. This is based on the similarity of the X-ray spectrum and luminosity of this system to that of the RS CVn binaries which also contain K sub-giants with similar rotation periods and the fact that the luminosity of any coronae surrounding the B8 V and AV companion stars should not be enhanced by rapid rotation (Pallavicini et al 1980, White et al 1980). The Einstein SSS measurement showed the X-ray spectrum to be two component with 6 7 temperatures of 7. 10 K and 3. 10 K (White et al. 1980). As dis cussed by Swank et al. (1981), the problem in understanding stellar coronae in general is how to scale up the solar model to account for the enhanced luminosities. The close to 900 inclination and similar sizes for the Band K stars of 3. 6 and 3. 8 R0 respectively make Algol an ideal candidate for an X-ray eclipse measurement wherein the size of the X-ray emitting coronal structures can be directly measured. In this paper we report a continuous observation through the secondary eclipse of Algol using the EXOSAT Observatory. 2." |
You may like...
Low Frequency Radio Astronomy and the…
George Heald, John McKean, …
Hardcover
R3,355
Discovery Miles 33 550
The Square Kilometre Array: Paving the…
Domingos Barbosa, Sonia Anton, …
Hardcover
R3,995
Discovery Miles 39 950
Enchantment Of Urania, The: 25 Centuries…
Massimo Capaccioli
Paperback
R1,524
Discovery Miles 15 240
Enchantment Of Urania, The: 25 Centuries…
Massimo Capaccioli
Hardcover
R3,561
Discovery Miles 35 610
Analyzing the Physics of Radio…
Kim Ho Yeap, Kazuhiro Hirasawa
Hardcover
R6,199
Discovery Miles 61 990
Space Has No Frontier - The Terrestrial…
John Bromely-Davenport
Hardcover
(1)R617 Discovery Miles 6 170
|