Download or read book Great Observatories of the World written by Serge Brunier and published by Richmond Hill, Ont. : Firefly Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comprehensive profiles of the 57 most important observatories in the world, including 10 space-based telescopes. Great Observatories of the World is a comprehensive tour of the 57 leading observatories located in the United States, Europe, Chile, Australia, India, Japan and the vast reaches of space. The book begins with a brief and engaging history of the telescope and observatories. It covers 36 Earth-based observatories and their history, mission, type of telescope and other observatory equipment, and significant discoveries. It then features 10 space-based observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Telescope, which have been mounted on space probes to monitor some of the universe's most mysterious events. The final section covers 11 observatories of the future, including both Earth-based and space-based telescopes, and how partnerships between nations and private institutions fund ambitious projects of unprecedented size and responsiveness. The book also provides fascinating information on: Spectroscopy and radio astronomy The effects of atmosphere on astronomy Coronagraphy and solar observation Astronomy careers and training Locations and websites of the world's 100 largest observatories. Great Observatories of the World is profusely illustrated with photographs of the observatories as well as dramatic images of the universe they explore.

Download or read book The Last of the Great Observatories written by George H. Rieke and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Spitzer Space Observatory, originally known as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), is the last of the four “Great Observatories”, which also include the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Developed over twenty years and dubbed the “Infrared Hubble", Spitzer was launched in the summer of 2003 and has since contributed significantly to our understanding of the universe. George Rieke played a key role in Spitzer and now relates the story of how that observatory was built and launched into space. Telling the story of this single mission within the context of NASA space science over two turbulent decades, he describes how, after a tortuous political trail to approval, Spitzer was started at the peak of NASA’s experiment with streamlining and downsizing its mission development process, termed “faster better cheaper.” Up to its official start and even afterward, Spitzer was significant not merely in terms of its scientific value but because it stood at the center of major changes in space science policy and politics. Through interviews with many of the project participants, Rieke reconstructs the political and managerial process by which space missions are conceived, approved, and developed. He reveals that by the time Spitzer had been completed, a number of mission failures had undermined faith in “faster-better-cheaper” and a more conservative approach was imposed. Rieke examines in detail the premises behind “faster better cheaper,” their strengths and weaknesses, and their ultimate impact within the context of NASA’s continuing search for the best way to build future missions. Rieke’s participant’s perspective takes readers inside Congress and NASA to trace the progress of missions prior to the excitement of the launch, revealing the enormously complex and often disheartening political process that needs to be negotiated. He also shares some of the new observations and discoveries made by Spitzer in just its first year of operation. As the only book devoted to the Spitzer mission, The Last of the Great Observatories is a story at the nexus of politics and science, shedding new light on both spheres as it contemplates the future of mankind’s exploration of the universe.

Download or read book Observatories of the Southwest written by Douglas Isbell and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2016-12-15 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With its clear skies and low humidity, the southwestern United States is an astronomer’s paradise where observatories like Kitt Peak have redefined the art of skywatching. The region is unique in its loose federation of like-minded research outposts and in the quantity and diversity of its observatories—places captured in this unique guidebook. Douglas Isbell and Stephen Strom, both intimately involved in southwestern astronomy, have written a practical guide to the major observatories of the region for those eager to learn what modern telescopes are doing, to understand the role each of these often quirky places has played in advancing our understanding of the cosmos, and hopefully to visit and see the tools of the astronomer up close. For each observatory, the authors describe its history, highlights of its contributions to astronomy—with an emphasis on recent results—and information for visitors. Also included are wide-ranging interviews with astronomers closely associated with each site. Observatories covered range from McDonald in Texas to Palomar in California, with significant outposts in between: Arizona’s Kitt Peak National Observatory southwest of Tucson, the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, and the Whipple Observatory outside Amado; and New Mexico’s Very Large Array near Socorro and Sacramento Peak close to Sunspot. In addition to describing these established institutions, they also take a look ahead to the most powerful ground-based telescope in the world just beginning to operate at full power on Mount Graham in Safford, Arizona. With more than three dozen illustrations, Observatories of the Southwest is accessible to amateur astronomers, tourists, students, and teachers—anyone fascinated with the contributions that astronomy has made to deepening our understanding of humanity’s place in the universe, whether exploring the solar system from Lowell Observatory or studying the birth of stars using the army of giant radio telescopes at the Very Large Array. This book aims to inspire visits to these sites by illuminating the major scientific questions being pursued every clear night beneath the dark skies of the Southwest and the amazing machinery that makes these pursuits possible.

Download or read book British University Observatories 1772 1939 written by Roger Hutchins and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-03-02 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book The International Astrophotographic Congress and a Visit to Certain European Observatories and Other Institutions written by Albert Gustavus Winterhalter and published by . This book was released on 1889 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book More Small Astronomical Observatories written by Patrick Moore and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This entertaining text details the methods and techniques employed by non-professional astronomers from all over the world, providing a wonderful resource for anyone wishing to build a small observatory of almost any kind. Its a fun read, too. Almost every amateur astronomer dreams of having a fixed observatory - this provides ideas and constructional details. Ideas from around the world. Written for a broad audience, including non-astronomers.

Download or read book More Small Astronomical Observatories written by Patrick Moore and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2002-06-26 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This entertaining text details the methods and techniques employed by non-professional astronomers from all over the world, providing a wonderful resource for anyone wishing to build a small observatory of almost any kind. Its a fun read, too. Almost every amateur astronomer dreams of having a fixed observatory - this provides ideas and constructional details. Ideas from around the world. Written for a broad audience, including non-astronomers.

Download or read book SEAFLOOR OBSERVATORIES written by Paolo Favali and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 676 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The oceans cover 70% of the terrestrial surface, and exert a pervasive influence on the Earth's environment but their nature is poorly recognized. Knowing the ocean's role deeply and understanding the complex, physical, biological, chemical and geological systems operating within it represent a major challenge to scientists today. Seafloor observatories offer scientists new opportunites to study multiple, interrelated natural phenomena over time scales ranging from seconds to decades, from episodic to global and long-term processes. Seafloor Observatories poses the important and apparently simple question, "How can continuous and reliable monitoring at the seafloor by means of Seafloor Observatories extend exploration and improve knowledge of our planet?" The book leads the reader through: the present scientific challenges to be addressed with seafloor observatories the technical solutions for their architecture an excursus on worldwide ongoing projects and programmes some relevant scientific multidisciplinary results and a presentation of new and interesting long-term perspectives for the coming years. Current results will yield significant improvements and exert a strong impact not only on our present knowledge of our planet but also on human evolution.

Download or read book Geomagnetic Observatories 1978 written by C. Sucksdorff and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bird Observatories of Britain and Ireland written by Bird Observatories Council and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2010-08-18 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive survey of the valuable work undertaken by Britain's network of bird observatories, with summaries and tables of noteworthy events and much historical background. Bird observatories are research stations established mainly for the study of migration, particularly by means of ringing. There are now 18 scattered around the Britain and Ireland at key points on migration routes, on coastal promontories or small islands. Part of their attraction is the regular occurrence of rarities that are found each year at these observatories. Written by wardens and ringers from each location, Bird Observatories of Britain and Ireland is a timely new edition of one of the earliest Poyser titles. It includes detailed coverage of the history, location, habitats and ornithological interest of each observatory, including summaries and tables of noteworthy events.

Download or read book List of Active Professional Observatories written by Marie R. Lukac and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book CLEANER and NSF s Environmental Observatories written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2006-07-19 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Degradation of the nation's water resources threatens the health of humans and the functioning of natural ecosystems. To help better understand the causes of these adverse impacts and how they might be more effectively mitigated, especially in urban and human-stressed aquatic systems, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has proposed the establishment of a Collaborative Large-scale Engineering Analysis Network for Environmental Research (CLEANER). This program would provide a platform for near-real-time and conventional data collection and analysis; improve understanding and prediction of processes controlling large-scale environmental and hydrologic systems; help explain human-induced impacts on the environment; and help identify more effective adaptive management approaches to mitigate adverse impacts of human activities on water and land resources. At NSF's request, the National Academies undertook a review this proposed program. The resultant report recommends that NSF proceed with its planning, implementation, and intra- and interagency coordination activities for the program, as a successful environmental observatory network could transform the environmental engineering profession and increase its already considerable contributions to society.

Download or read book Remote Observatories for Amateur Astronomers written by Gerald R. Hubbell and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-10-23 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amateur astronomers who want to enhance their capabilities to contribute to science need look no farther than this guide to using remote observatories. The contributors cover how to build your own remote observatory as well as the existing infrastructure of commercial networks of remote observatories that are available to the amateur. They provide specific advice on which programs to use based on your project objectives and offer practical project suggestions. Remotely controlled observatories have many advantages—the most obvious that the observer does not have to be physically present to carry out observations. Such an observatory can also be used more fully because its time can be scheduled and usefully shared among several astronomers working on different observing projects. More and more professional-level observatories are open to use by amateurs in this way via the Internet, and more advanced amateur astronomers can even build their own remote observatories for sharing among members of a society or interest group. Endorsements: “Remote Observatories for Amateur Astronomers Using High-Powered Telescopes from Home, by Jerry Hubbell, Rich Williams, and Linda Billard, is a unique contribution centering on computer-controlled private observatories owned by amateur astronomers and commercialized professional–amateur observatories where observing time to collect data can be purchased. Before this book, trying to piece together all of the necessary elements and processes that make up a remotely operated observatory was daunting. The authors and contributors have provided, in this single publication, a wealth of information gained from years of experience that will save you considerable money and countless hours in trying to develop such an observatory. If you follow the methods and processes laid out in this book and choose to build your own remotely operated observatory or decide to become a regular user of one of the commercial networks, you will not only join an elite group of advanced astronomers who make regular submissions to science, but you will become a member of an ancient fraternity. Your high-technology observatory will contain a “high-powered telescope” no matter how large it is, and from the comfort of home, you can actively contribute to the work that started in pre-history to help uncover the secrets of the cosmos.” Scott Roberts Founder and President, Explore Scientific, LLC. “In the past three and a half decades, since I first became involved with remote observatories, the use of remote, unmanned telescopes at fully automated observatories has advanced from a very rare approach for making astronomical observations to an increasingly dominant mode for observation among both professional and amateur astronomers. I am very pleased to see this timely book being published on the topic. I highly recommend this book to readers because it not only covers the knowledge needed to become an informed user of existing remote observatories, but also describes what you need to know to develop your own remote observatory. It draws on more than two decades of remote observatory operation and networking by coauthor Rich Williams as he developed the Sierra Stars Observatory Network (SSON) into the world-class network it is today. This book is the ideal follow-on to coauthor Jerry Hubbell’s book Scientific Astrophotography (Springer 2012). Remote observatories have a bright future, opening up astronomy to a new and much larger generation of professional, amateur, and student observers. Machines and humans can and do work well together. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have and will take advantage of the developments over the past several decades by the many pioneers of remote observatories.” Russ Genet, PhD. California Polytechnic State University Observing Saturn for the first time is a memory that stays with us for the rest of our lives, and for many it is the start of an odyssey--an odyssey into observational astronomy. Remote Observatories for Amateur Astronomers is a book written for observers, beginners, and old hands alike, providing detailed advice to those wishing to improve their observing skills. Many will want to build and operate a remotely controlled observatory, and for those, Part I of this book is an invaluable source of information. If, like me, you choose to avoid the capital outlay of owning your own facility, Part II describes how you can use one of the many professionally run large scopes where, for a few dollars, you can capture spectacular color images of nebulae, galaxies, and comets. My own scientific interest in short period eclipsing binaries has been made possible through the availability of remote telescopes such as those operated by the Sierra Stars Observatory Network (SSON). Whichever route you take, this book is essential reading for all who aspire to serious observing. David Pulley The Local Group (UK)

Download or read book List of Observatories written by Smithsonian Institution and published by . This book was released on 1902 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

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 Reports of Astronomical Observatories for 1880 written by Smithsonian Institution and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book AURA and Its US National Observatories written by Frank K. Edmondson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1997-03-06 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 opportunity to found new observatories. 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 here, seen from the unique perspective of Frank K. Edmondson, a former member of the AURA board of directors.