Download or read book Optimizing the U S Ground Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy System written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-06-26 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New astronomical facilities, such as the under-construction Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and planned 30-meter-class telescopes, and new instrumentation on existing optical and infrared (OIR) telescopes, hold the promise of groundbreaking research and discovery. How can we extract the best science from these and other astronomical facilities in an era of potentially flat federal budgets for both the facilities and the research grants? Optimizing the U.S. Ground-Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy System provides guidance for these new programs that align with the scientific priorities and the conclusions and recommendations of two National Research Council (NRC) decadal surveys, New Worlds, New Horizons for Astronomy and Astrophysics and Vision and Voyages for Planetary Sciences in the Decade 2013-2022, as well as other NRC reports. This report describes a vision for a U.S. OIR System that includes a telescope time exchange designed to enhance science return by broadening access to capabilities for a diverse community, an ongoing planning process to identify and construct next generation capabilities to realize decadal science priorities, and near-term critical coordination, planning, and instrumentation needed to usher in the era of LSST and giant telescopes.
Download or read book Giant Telescopes written by W. Patrick McCray and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2006-04-30 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every night, astronomers use a new generation of giant telescopes at observatories around the world to study phenomena at the forefront of science. By focusing on the history of the Gemini ObservatoryÑtwin 8-meter telescopes located on mountain peaks in Hawaii and ChileÑGiant Telescopes tells the story behind the planning and construction of modern scientific tools, offering a detailed view of the technological and political transformation of astronomy in the postwar era. Drawing on interviews with participants and archival documents, W. Patrick McCray describes the ambitions and machinations of prominent astronomers, engineers, funding patrons, and politicians in their effort to construct a modern facility for cutting-edge scienceÑand to establish a model for international cooperation in the coming era of Òmegascience.Ó His account details the technological, institutional, cultural, and financial challenges that scientists faced while planning and building a new generation of giant telescopes. Besides exploring how and why scientists embraced the promise and potential of new technologies, he considers how these new tools affected what it means to be an astronomer. McCrayÕs book should interest anyone who desires a deeper understanding of the science, technology, and politics behind finding our place in the universe.
Download or read book Integrated Modeling of Telescopes written by Torben Andersen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-06-23 with total page 555 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ground- or space-based telescopes are becoming increasingly more complex and construction budgets are typically in the billion dollar range. Facing costs of this magnitude, availability of engineering tools for prediction of performance and design optimization is imperative. Establishment of simulation models combining different technical disciplines such as Structural Dynamics, Control Engineering, Optics and Thermal Engineering is indispensable. Such models are normally called Integrated Models because they involve many different disciplines. The models will play an increasingly larger role for design of future interdisciplinary optical systems in space or on ground. The book concentrates on integrated modeling of optical and radio telescopes but the techniques presented will be applicable to a large variety of systems. Hence, the book will be of interest to optical and radio telescope designers, designers of spacecrafts that include optical systems, and to designers of various complex defense systems. The book may also find use as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses within the field. "Adaptive Optics" is an exciting and relatively new field, originally dedicated to correction for blurring when imaging through the atmosphere. Although this objective is still of high importance, the concept of Adaptive Optics has recently evolved further. Today, the objective is not only to correct for atmospheric turbulence effects but also for a range of static and dynamical telescope aberrations. The notion of adaptive optics has expanded to the field of "Wavefront Control", correcting for a variety of system aberrations. Wavefront control systems maintain form and position of optical elements with high precision under static and dynamical load. In many ways, such systems replace the steel structures of traditional optical systems, thereby providing much lighter systems with a performance not possible before. Integrated Modeling is the foremost tool for studies of Wavefront Control for telescopes and complex optics and is therefore now of high importance. Springer has recently published two books on telescopes, "Reflecting Telescope Optics" by R. Wilson, and "The Design and Construction of Large Optical Telescopes" by P. Bely. Noting that a new (and expensive) generation of Extremely Large Telescopes with apertures in the 30-100 m range is on the way, the present book on integrated modeling is a good match to the existing books and an appropriate specialization and continuation of some subjects dealt with in those books.
Download or read book Assessment of Options for Extending the Life of the Hubble Space Telescope written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2005-03-28 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has operated continuously since 1990. During that time, four space shuttle-based service missions were launched, three of which added major observational capabilities. A fifth â€" SM-4 â€" was intended to replace key telescope systems and install two new instruments. The loss of the space shuttle Columbia, however, resulted in a decision by NASA not to pursue the SM-4 mission leading to a likely end of Hubble's useful life in 2007-2008. This situation resulted in an unprecedented outcry from scientists and the public. As a result, NASA began to explore and develop a robotic servicing mission; and Congress directed NASA to request a study from the National Research Council (NRC) of the robotic and shuttle servicing options for extending the life of Hubble. This report presents an assessment of those two options. It provides an examination of the contributions made by Hubble and those likely as the result of a servicing mission, and a comparative analysis of the potential risk of the two options for servicing Hubble. The study concludes that the Shuttle option would be the most effective one for prolonging Hubble's productive life.
Download or read book Astronomical Optics written by Daniel J. Schroeder and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2012-12-02 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a recognized expert in the field, this clearly presented, well-illustrated book provides both advanced level students and professionals with an authoritative, thorough presentation of the characteristics, including advantages and limitations, of telescopes and spectrographic instruments used by astronomers of today. - Written by a recognized expert in the field - Provides both advanced level students and professionals with an authoritative, thorough presentation of the characteristics, including advantages and limitations, of telescopes and spectrographic instruments used by astronomers of today
Download or read book Observatories and Telescopes of Modern Times written by David Leverington and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 503 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Radio Observatory and Telescope Index -- General Index
Download or read book The Perfect Machine written by Ronald Florence and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-08-16 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost a half-century after is completion, the 200-inch Palomar telescope remains an unparalleled combination of vast scale and microscope detail. As huge as the Pantheon of Rome and as heavy as the Statue of Liberty, this magnificent instrument is so precisely built that its seventeen-foot mirror was hand-polished to a tolerance of 2/1,000,000 of an inch. The telescope's construction drove some to the brink of madness, made others fearful that mortals might glimpse heaven, and transfixed an entire nation. Ronald Florence weaves into his account of the creation of "the perfect machine" a stirring chronicle of the birth of Big Science and a poignant rendering of an America mired in the depression yet reaching for the stars.
Download or read book Space Telescopes written by Neil English and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Ground based Telescopes written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 632 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Space Telescopes written by Steff Jaywan and published by Dedona Publishing. This book was released on with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Space telescopes are powerful instruments designed to observe astronomical objects and phenomena from outside the Earth's atmosphere. Unlike ground-based telescopes, which suffer from atmospheric distortion, space telescopes provide a clearer and more detailed view of the universe. They have revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos by capturing images and data across various wavelengths of light, from visible to infrared to ultraviolet and beyond. The primary advantage of space telescopes is their ability to operate above the Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere absorbs and scatters light, which limits the capabilities of ground-based observations. By placing telescopes in space, astronomers can avoid these issues and achieve several key benefits. Space telescopes have an unobstructed view, not being affected by weather, daylight, or atmospheric turbulence, allowing for continuous and consistent observations. They also have broader wavelength coverage, as Earth's atmosphere blocks many wavelengths of light, such as ultraviolet and X-rays. This enables space telescopes to detect and study these wavelengths, offering a more comprehensive view of the universe. Moreover, without atmospheric distortion, space telescopes can capture sharper and more detailed images.
Download or read book The Design and Construction of Large Optical Telescopes written by Pierre Bely and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-05-26 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is no dearth of books on telescope optics and, indeed, optics is clearly a keyelementinthedesignandconstructionoftelescopes.Butitisbynomeans the only important element. As telescopes become larger and more costly, other aspects such as structures, pointing, wavefront control, enclosures, and project management become just as critical. Although most of the technical knowledge required for all these ?elds is available in various specialized books, journal articles, and technical reports, they are not necessarily written with application to telescopes in mind. This bookisa?rstattemptatassemblinginasingletextthebasicastronomicaland engineering principles used in the design and construction of large telescopes. Itsaimistobroadlycoverallmajoraspectsofthe?eld,fromthefundamentals ofastronomicalobservationto optics, controlsystems,structural,mechanical, andthermalengineering,aswellasspecializedtopicssuchassiteselectionand program management. This subject is so vast that an in-depth treatment is obviously imprac- cal. Our intent is therefore only to provide a comprehensive introduction to the essential aspects of telescope design and construction. This book will not replace specialized scienti?c and technical texts. But we hope that it will be useful for astronomers, managers, and systems engineers who seek a basic understanding of the underlying principles of telescope making, and for s- cialists who wish to acquaint themselves with the fundamental requirements and approaches of their colleagues in other disciplines.
Download or read book The James Webb Space Telescope written by Charles River and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2022-05-28 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On April 24, 1990, the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on the Space Shuttle Program's 35th mission, but this was no ordinary mission. In its payload bay, Discovery was carrying the Hubble Space Telescope, with the objective of putting the telescope into orbit. Despite the costs and initial defects, the Hubble telescope has been a remarkably successful project, furthering astronomers' understanding of the universe more than any other telescope or instrument in history. During its decades in orbit, the versatile telescope has taken high resolution images of objects billions of light years away, giving astronomers a look at the early universe. Along the way it has also taken the most detailed pictures of the solar system, captured the most striking images of star creation and supernovae, and uncovered evidence of phenomena like gamma-ray bursts and dark energy. What made Hubble so crucial is that by escaping Earth's atmosphere, the telescope's views eliminated limitations and interruptions that are a natural part of land-based telescopes. Land-based telescopes are larger, cheaper, and easier to maintain. They are also not vulnerable to the risk of colliding with space junk or fast-moving small meteoric materials. However, even at 11,000 feet, ground-based installations have historically faced atmospheric distortion. The atmosphere blurs the light when a picture is taken through it, and since the 1960s, science has increasingly leaned toward space-based instruments, at first attaching them to balloons and sending them aloft to "carry them above Earth's lower atmosphere." The atmospheric distortion problem with ground telescopes has been largely ameliorated in recent years by the development of "adaptive optics."[1] A ground-based facility can now produce an image as sharp as that of a space telescope. This makes the division of labor between the two a bit clearer. The space instrument provides a wider field of view in addition to fine optical resolution, and it is no longer necessary to use "visual to near-visual"[2] telescopes operating in space. In fact, optical telescope photos are available in high quality for the general public based on NASA technology. Boston Micromachines claims to provide "clearer pictures of celestial objects in deep space than ever before...with 'deformable' mirrors that compensate for atmospheric disturbances and instrument misalignments."[3] Still, scientists need to build space telescopes, not just for high resolution pictures but also to work in wavelengths one cannot observe from Earth. From space, telescopes that work in parts of the non-visual wavelengths provide the only means of viewing x-rays, gamma rays, and extreme ultraviolet rays. Most importantly, they provide "excellent platforms for observing in the far-infrared"[4] spectrum. The Hubble telescope, working in space less than 400 miles above the Earth's surface, produced photos of galaxies previously unseen as they existed only 500 million years before the "Big Bang." It was fortuitous that Hubble outlived its anticipated lifespan by many years, because the launch of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, was delayed by 15 years. A launch date of 2007 for the James Webb Space Telescope was the original agenda, but two years prior a "major redesign"[5] became necessary. In another instance, "a ripped sunshield during a practice deployment"[6] set the project back, followed by a series of significant cost overruns.
Download or read book Hubble Space Telescope written by and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Star Spotters written by David Jefferis and published by Crabtree Publishing Company. This book was released on 2008-12 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn about telescopes and observatories: the different types and how they work.
Download or read book Large Ground based Telescopes written by Jacobus M. Oschmann (Jr.) and published by SPIE-International Society for Optical Engineering. This book was released on 2003 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ground based Telescopes written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Eyes on the Sky written by Francis Graham-Smith and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-06-23 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Four centuries ago, Galileo first turned a telescope to look up at the night sky. His discoveries opened the cosmos, revealing the geometry and dynamics of the solar system. Today's telescopic equipment, stretching over the whole spectrum from visible light to radio and millimetre astronomy, through infrared to ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays, has again transformed our understanding of the whole Universe. In this book Francis Graham-Smith explains how this technology can be engaged to give us a more in-depth picture of the nature of the universe. Looking at both ground-based telescopes and telescopes on spacecraft, he analyses their major discoveries, from planets and pulsars to cosmology. Large research teams and massive data handling are necessary, but the excitement of discovery is increasingly shared by a growing public, who can even join in some of the analysis by remote computer techniques. Observational astronomy has become international. All major projects are now partnerships; most notably the Square Kilometre Array, which will involve astronomers from over 100 countries and will physically exist in several of them. Covering the history and development of telescopes from Galileo to the present day, Eyes on the Sky traces what happens when humankind looks up.
