Accelerated technology transfer: the UK quantum initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Simon D.

2016-10-01

A new generation of quantum technology based systems, exploiting effects such as superposition and entanglement, will enable widespread, highly disruptive applications which are expected to be of great economic significance. However, the technology is only just emerging from the physics laboratory and generally remains at low TRLs. The question is: where, and when, will this impact be first manifest? The UK, with substantial Government backing, has embarked on an ambitious national program to accelerate the process of technology transfer with the objective of seizing a significant and sustainable share of the future economic benefit for the UK. Many challenges and uncertainties remain but the combined and co-ordinated efforts of Government, Industry and Academia are making great progress. The level of collaboration is unusually high and the goal of embedding a "QT Ecosystem" in the UK looks to be attainable. This paper describes the UK national programme, its key players, and their respective roles. It will illustrate some of the likely first commercial applications and provide a status update. Some of the challenges that might prevent realisation of the goal will be highlighted.

Philippine Astronomy Convention 2009 Abstract: Program Offerings in Astronomy in the Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres, J. R. F.

2009-03-01

The formal academic programs in Astronomy of the Rizal Technological University are the first such programs in the Philippines. The Master of Science in Astronomy program is envisioned to provide the student with a wide range of knowledge in many areas of Astronomy, leaning towards the descriptive aspects of knowledge. The student will choose the field or research most suitable to his or her interests. Three of these researches done while enrolled in the program, and even researches completed before the student actually enrolled in the program, may be considered as his or her thesis. The program suits professionals in all persuasions who wish to study Astronomy either for professional advancement or plainly for the love of the science or for intellectual satisfaction. Non-science majors can enroll. In 2008, the RTU Graduate School decided to ladderize the MS program and the Graduate Diploma in Astronomy was designed. This program is suited for science educators, astronomy lecturers and entrepreneurs, members of astronomical societies, and plain astronomy enthusiasts who like to gain in-depth knowledge in the most important aspects of astronomy. A bachelor's degree in any field is required. The program can be finished in two semesters and one summer. If the student opts to continue in the MS in Astronomy program, all the courses he or she has earned in the Diploma will be credited. The Bachelor of Science in Astronomy Technology is an intensive baccalaureate degree program designed to prepare students to become future research scientists and technologists in the field of Astronomy. The BS in Astronomy Technology is a cross-fertilized program, integrating interrelated sciences, such as engineering, geology, remote sensing, physics, atmospheric and environmental science, biology and biochemistry, and even philosophy and entrepreneurship into the study. Thus, the B.S. in Astronomy Technology program gives the student excellent job opportunities in many fields.

Overview of diffraction gratings technologies for space-flight satellites and astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cotel, Arnaud; Liard, Audrey; Desserouer, Frédéric; Bonnemason, Francis; Pichon, Pierre

2014-09-01

The diffraction gratings are widely used in Space-flight satellites for spectrograph instruments or in ground-based telescopes in astronomy. The diffraction gratings are one of the key optical components of such systems and have to exhibit very high optical performances. HORIBA Jobin Yvon S.A.S. (part of HORIBA Group) is in the forefront of such gratings development for more than 40 years. During the past decades, HORIBA Jobin Yvon (HJY) has developed a unique expertise in diffraction grating design and manufacturing processes for holographic, ruled or etched gratings. We will present in this paper an overview of diffraction grating technologies especially designed for space and astronomy applications. We will firstly review the heritage of the company in this field with the space qualification of different grating types. Then, we will describe several key grating technologies developed for specific space or astronomy projects: ruled blazed low groove density plane reflection grating, holographic blazed replica plane grating, high-groove density holographic toroidal and spherical grating and transmission Fused Silica Etched (FSE) grismassembled grating.

Technology Needs for Gamma Ray Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehrels, Neil

2011-01-01

Gamma ray astronomy is currently in an exciting period of multiple missions and a wealth of data. Results from INTEGRAL, Fermi, AGILE, Suzaku and Swift are making large contributions to our knowledge of high energy processes in the universe. The advances are due to new detector and imaging technologies. The steps to date have been from scintillators to solid state detectors for sensors and from light buckets to coded aperture masks and pair telescopes for imagers. A key direction for the future is toward focusing telescopes pushing into the hard X-ray regime and Compton telescopes and pair telescopes with fine spatial resolution for medium and high energy gamma rays. These technologies will provide finer imaging of gamma-ray sources. Importantly, they will also enable large steps forward in sensitivity by reducing background.

Teach Astronomy: An Online Textbook for Introductory Astronomy Courses and Resources for Informal Learners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardegree-Ullman, Kevin; Impey, C. D.; Patikkal, A.

2012-05-01

This year we implemented Teach Astronomy (www.teachastronomy.com) as a free online resource to be used as a teaching tool for non-science major astronomy courses and for a general audience interested in the subject. The comprehensive content includes: an introductory astronomy text book by Chris Impey, astronomy articles on Wikipedia, images from the Astronomy Picture of the Day, two to three minute topical video clips by Chris Impey, podcasts from 365 Days of Astronomy, and astronomy news from Science Daily. Teach Astronomy utilizes a novel technology to cluster, display, and navigate search results, called a Wikimap. Steep increases in textbook prices and the unique capabilities of emerging web technology motivated the development of this free online resource. Recent additions to Teach Astronomy include: images and diagrams for the textbook articles, mobile device implementation, and suggested homework assignments for instructors that utilize recent discoveries in astronomy. We present an overview of how Teach Astronomy has been implemented for use in the classroom and informal settings, and suggestions for utilizing the rich content and features of the web site.

Teach Astronomy: An Online Resource for Introductory Astronomy Courses and Informal Learners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, Carmen; Impey, C. D.; Hardegree-Ullman, K.; Patikkal, A.; Ganesan, N.

2013-01-01

Teach Astronomy (www.teachastronomy.com) is a new, free online resource—a teaching tool for non-science major astronomy courses and a reference guide for lifelong learners interested in the subject. Digital content available includes: a comprehensive introductory astronomy textbook by Chris Impey, Wikipedia astronomy articles, images from Astronomy Picture of the Day archives and AstroPix database, two to three minute topical video clips by Chris Impey, podcasts from 365 Days of Astronomy archives, and an RSS feed of astronomy news from Science Daily. Teach Astronomy features an original technology called the Wikimap to cluster, display, and navigate site search results. Motivation behind the development of Teach Astronomy includes steep increases in textbook prices, the rapid adoption by students and the public of digital resources, and the modern capabilities of digital technology. Recent additions to Teach Astronomy include: AstroPix images—from some of the most advanced observatories and complete with metadata, mobile device functionality, links to WikiSky where users can see the location of astronomical objects in the sky, and end of chapter textbook review questions. Next in line for development are assignments for classroom use. We present suggestions for utilizing the rich content and features of the web site.

Imagine Astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rapson, Valerie; Almeyda, T.; Freeman, M.; Lena, D.; Principe, D.; Punzi, K.; Sargent, B. A.; Vaddi, S.; Vazquez, B.; Vorobiev, D.

2014-01-01

The Imagine RIT Innovation and Creativity Festival is an annual free event held each year on the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The purpose of the festival is to showcase the work and research conducted by students and faculty at RIT, and get the public excited about science and technology. For the past three years, graduate students, post-docs and faculty in the Astrophysical Sciences and Technology graduate program at RIT have participated in the festival by showcasing their astronomy research in a fun, interactive and hands on way. We have presented work conducted with various telescopes in the fields of star formation and galaxy evolution. Here, we present our three unique exhibits and the public’s reception to each exhibit. We found that interactive games such as astro-trivia, and hands on activities such as building a scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope were the most exciting for visitors. Interactive pieces of the exhibit in general acquired the most attention, whereas posters and videos, despite their pictorial nature, were not as well received. The most successful piece of our exhibit each year has been solar observing through eclipse glasses and telescopes. Most people who observed the sun at our exhibit were left awe-struck because this was their first experience viewing an astronomical object through a telescope. We plan to improve upon our exhibit by introducing more hands-on activities that will engage the public in current astronomy research at RIT.

Making an International Impact: A Joint International Astronomy Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Robert; Shen, Xinrong; Mulley, Ian

2012-01-01

Early in 2010, a group of year 11 students (age 15-16) studying GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) Astronomy at The Radclyffe School, Oldham, in the UK, teamed up with a similar age group from Tianyi High School, Wuxi City, in China, to undertake a joint astronomy investigation. This article outlines the outcome of the first stage…

Using the Teach Astronomy Website to Enrich Introductory Astronomy Classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardegree-Ullman, K. K.; Impey, C. D.; Patikkal, A.; Austin, C. L.

2013-04-01

This year we implemented Teach Astronomy as a free online resource to be used as a teaching tool for non-science major astronomy courses and for a general audience interested in the subject. The comprehensive astronomy content of the website includes: an introductory text book, encyclopedia articles, images, two to three minute topical video clips, podcasts, and news articles. Teach Astronomy utilizes a novel technology to cluster, display, and navigate search results, called a Wikimap. We will present an overview of how Teach Astronomy works and how instructors can use it as an effective teaching tool in the classroom. Additionally, we will gather feedback from science instructors on how to improve the features and functionality of the website, as well as develop new assignment ideas using Teach Astronomy.

Radio astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kellermann, Kenneth I.; Heeschen, David; Backer, Donald C.; Cohen, Marshall H.; Davis, Michael; Depater, Imke; Deyoung, David; Dulk, George A.; Fisher, J. R.; Goss, W. Miller

1991-01-01

The following subject areas are covered: (1) scientific opportunities (millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength astronomy; meter to hectometer astronomy; the Sun, stars, pulsars, interstellar masers, and extrasolar planets; the planets, asteroids, and comets; radio galaxies, quasars, and cosmology; and challenges for radio astronomy in the 1990's); (2) recommendations for new facilities (the millimeter arrays, medium scale instruments, and small-scale projects); (3) continuing activities and maintenance, upgrading of telescopes and instrumentation; (4) long range programs and technology development; and (5) social, political, and organizational considerations.

STS-Astro: Astronomy in the focus of Science, Technology and Society and Case Study in Education Distance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, O. R.

2014-02-01

The dissertation addresses the focus of Astronomy in Science, Technology and Society [STS}, which the author calls the STS-Astro. Observes the International Year of the Astronomy 2009 [IYA 2009] as one of the greatest experiences STS worldwide, causing unprecedented integration between science, technology and humanities, with positive impacts in many sectors of society and are still worthy of study, specially in Brazil due to the implementation of the International Year of Astronomy, Brazil 2009 [IYABrazil-2009}. Astronomy is also investigated in the area of Education, based mainly on theoretical aspects of educational socio-interacionist of Lev Semenovich Vygotsky (Vygotsky, 1991, 2008 and 2012, p. 103-117) and socio-historical cultural of Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (1979, 1982 and 1996), but when necessary and still keeping the field of constructivism, properly taking advantage of the interactionism and transdisciplinarity of Jean William Fritz Piaget (1983). Concerning Distance Education [DE], it is noted significant growth at the graduate and postgraduate courses. New challenges arise, with the establishment of an increasingly accustomed to Information and Communication Technologies [ICT] and the teaching methodologies to be used and developed, with Astronomy becoming an important instrument in the teaching-learning process associated technologies. Using the methodology of action research, we proceeded with a case study involving 26 students of the discipline of Astronomy Topics applied to Education, between November 1 and December 17, 2012, of the postgraduation courses in Distance Education at the Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul [Southern Cross University]. The results obtained permit statistical surveys therefore quantitative, but also qualitative information about the teaching-learning Astronomy by DE. Analyses of performance and progress of each student and set permit a finding interaction among those involved in the mediation of the teacher-tutor who, in turn

Astronomy in Everyday Life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenberg, M.; Bladon, G.; Russo, P.; Christensen, L. L.

2014-01-01

For a long time astronomers and other scientists believed that the importance of their work was evident to society. But in these difficult days of financial austerity, even the most obvious benefits of science have to undergo careful scrutiny. So, now more than ever is the time to highlight the importance of astronomy as a field in terms of its contributions to our technology, our mind sets and our lives. Here we will outline both the tangible and intangible reasons why astronomy is an important part of society. Whilst considerable attention will be given to technology and knowledge transfer from astronomy, perhaps the most important contribution outlined is the awareness that astronomy gives us of the vastness of the Universe and our place within it.

The micro-mirror technology applied to astronomy: ANIS adaptive-slit near Infrared spectrograph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgarella, Denis; Buat, Veronique; Bely, Pierre; Grange, Robert

2018-04-01

This paper, "The micro-mirror technology applied to astronomy: ANIS adaptive-slit near Infrared spectrograph," was presented as part of International Conference on Space Optics—ICSO 1997, held in Toulouse, France.

Using Astronomy to shape a country's science and technology landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mokhele, Khotso

2015-03-01

There is data abundant to show a positive correlation between a nation's investment in science, engineering and technology and the economic prosperity of that nation. Yet, there remain many countries in the world, particularly in developing countries, where little, if any, serious investment in science, engineering and technology is evident. Even in these countries, policy documents speak positively about the positive correlation between investment in science, engineering and technology and national development and prosperity. Unfortunately these positive policy statements rarely get converted into real investment. When the National Research Foundation was founded in Post-Apartheid South Africa it set out to ``. . .contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of all people. . .'' and its inspiring vision was to achieve ``A prosperous South Africa and African continent steeped in a knowledge culture, free of widespread diseases and poverty, and proud contributors to the well-being of humanity." This organisation, with its altruistic vision, succeeded in convincing the emerging government to invest in and support the construction of the Southern African Large Telescope as one of its flagship projects. This decision was subsequently followed by a high level national decision to leverage South Africa's geographical advantage to host major global astronomy facilities such as the Square Kilometer Array. This presentation highlighted the reasons for such decisions and how we went about motivating government organs that investing in astronomy would contribute to addressing societal challenges by stimulating the science and technology landscape.

Benefits to the nation from astronomy and astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Virginia; Bahcall, John N.; Chaisson, Eric; Code, Arthur; Conklin, Edward K.; Cowan, John; Dalgarno, Alexander; Drake, Frank; Elson, Rebecca; Field, George

1991-01-01

It is argued that astronomy makes unexpectantly large contributions to formal and informal science education, given the small number of research astronomers. Technology transfer and spin-offs from astronomy have important applications in medicine, industry, defence, environmental monitoring, and consumer products. Astronomy provides unusually promising opportunities for international cooperation. Other sciences benefit from synergistic interactions with astronomy. A review is given of astronomy education and teacher training. The role of astronomy in medicine, industry, defence, energy technology, the environment, and everyday life is reviewed.

How, precisely, can astronomy be of benefit to anyone?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Bernard J. T.

2011-06-01

Astronomy as an observational science is technology driven both from the point of view of data acquisition and of data processing and visualisation. Astronomy exploits a very wide base of technologies which are developed, enhanced and extended by users. Consequently, astronomy can return new and enhanced technologies to areas well outside of astronomy itself. My own hi-tech company, Astraguard, a video imaging company, is a small but significant example of that technology return. Astronomy can provide both know-how and people for a diverse variety of areas: security, industrial process control, medical and biological imaging, petrochemicals, databases, and the financial industries to name but a few. It is unfortunate that those who teach astronomy are generally not aware of these possibilities. In this lecture I hope to take a first step towards showing what is possible. I hope to convince the reader that astronomy education, at all levels, can play a significant role in career development outside of astronomy and in higher education in developing countries.

Astronomy in Mozambique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro, Valério A. R. M.; Paulo, Cláudio M.

2015-03-01

We present the state of Astronomy in Mozambique and how it has evolved since 2009 following the International Year of Astronomy. Activities have been lead by staff at University Eduardo Mondlane and several outreach activities have also flourished. In 2010 the University introduced its first astronomy module, Introduction to Astronomy and Astrophysics, for the second year students in the Department of Physics. The course has now produced the first students who will be graduating in late 2012 with some astronomy content. Some of these students will now be looking for further studies and those who have been keen in astronomy have been recommended to pursue this as a career. At the university level we have also discussed on the possibility to introduce a whole astronomy course by 2016 which falls well within the HCD that the university is now investing in. With the announcement that the SKA will be split between South Africa with its partner countries (including Mozambique), and Australia we have been working closely with the Ministry of Science and Technology to make astronomy a priority on its agenda. In this respect, an old telecommunications antenna is being converted by the South Africa SKA Project Office, and donated to Mozambique for educational purposes. It will be situated in Maluana, Mozambique.

Advanced Technologies For Heterodyne Radio Astronomy Instrumentation - Part1 By A. Pavolotsky, And Advanced Technologies For Heterodyne Radio Astronomy Instrumentation - Part2 By V. Desmaris

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavolotsky, Alexey

2018-01-01

Modern and future heterodyne radio astronomy instrumentation critically depends on availability of advanced fabrication technologies and components. In Part1 of the Poster, we present the thin film fabrication process for SIS mixer receivers, utilizing either AlOx, or AlN barrier superconducting tunnel junctions developed and supported by GARD. The summary of the process design rules is presented. It is well known that performance of waveguide mixer components critically depends on accuracy of their geometrical dimensions. At GARD, all critical mechanical parts are 3D-mapped with a sub-um accuracy. Further progress of heterodyne instrumentation requires new efficient and compact sources of LO signal. We present SIS-based frequency multiplier, which could become a new option for LO source. Future radio astronomy THz receivers will need waveguide components, which fabricating due to their tiny dimensions is not feasible by traditional mechanical machining. We present the alternative micromachining technique for fabricating waveguide component for up 5 THz band and probably beyond.

The knowledge in astronomy of the students of technology in industrial automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voelzke, Marcos Rincon; Capasso Moraes, Ataliba

2016-07-01

This work is part of a research of the academic Masters in Science in Education at the Cruzeiro do Sul University, in Brazil. It seeks to present the results of the survey conducted among students of the technology course in industrial automation at the Federal Institute São Paulo at the Campus Cubatão. In the first step, the students' lack of knowledge to the related primary concepts of Astronomy turned out. Correcting these deficiencies found, external to the program content, a Basic Course in Astronomy, containing dialogued or expository lectures with the aid of audiovisual resources and access to textbooks. Analysed the responses of this second step, it was found that students had a significant improvement in learning.

Astronomy Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heck, A.; Madsen, C.

2003-07-01

Astronomers communicate all the time, with colleagues of course, but also with managers and administrators, with decision makers and takers, with social representatives, with the news media, and with the society at large. Education is naturally part of the process. Astronomy communication must take into account several specificities: the astronomy community is rather compact and well organized world-wide; astronomy has penetrated the general public remarkably well with an extensive network of associations and organizations of aficionados all over the world. Also, as a result of the huge amount of data accumulated and by necessity for their extensive international collaborations, astronomers have pioneered the development of distributed resources, electronic communications and networks coupled to advanced methodologies and technologies, often much before they become of common world-wide usage. This book is filling up a gap in the astronomy-related literature by providing a set of chapters not only of direct interest to astronomy communication, but also well beyond it. The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy nor in communication techniques while providing specific detailed information, as well as plenty of pointers and bibliographic elements. This book will be very useful for researchers, teachers, editors, publishers, librarians, computer scientists, sociologists of science, research planners and strategists, project managers, public-relations officers, plus those in charge of astronomy-related organizations, as well as for students aiming at a career in astronomy or related space science. Link: http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/1-4020-1345-0

Astronomy Librarian - Quo Vadis?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lagerstrom, Jill; Grothkopf, Uta

"You don't look like a librarian" is a phrase we often hear in the astronomy department or observatory library. Astronomy librarians are a breed apart, and are taking on new and non-traditional roles as information technology evolves. This talk will explore the future of librarians and librarianship through the lens of some of the recent talks given at the sixth "Libraries and Information Services in Astronomy" conference held in Pune, India in February 2010. We will explore the librarian's universe, illustrating how librarians use new technologies to perform such tasks as bibliometrics, how we are re-fashioning our library spaces in an increasingly digital world and how we are confronting the brave new world of Open Access, to name but a few topics.

Design and modeling of an additive manufactured thin shell for x-ray astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feldman, Charlotte; Atkins, Carolyn; Brooks, David; Watson, Stephen; Cochrane, William; Roulet, Melanie; Willingale, Richard; Doel, Peter

2017-09-01

Future X-ray astronomy missions require light-weight thin shells to provide large collecting areas within the weight limits of launch vehicles, whilst still delivering angular resolutions close to that of Chandra (0.5 arc seconds). Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a well-established technology with the ability to construct or `print' intricate support structures, which can be both integral and light-weight, and is therefore a candidate technique for producing shells for space-based X-ray telescopes. The work described here is a feasibility study into this technology for precision X-ray optics for astronomy and has been sponsored by the UK Space Agency's National Space Technology Programme. The goal of the project is to use a series of test samples to trial different materials and processes with the aim of developing a viable path for the production of an X-ray reflecting prototype for astronomical applications. The initial design of an AM prototype X-ray shell is presented with ray-trace modelling and analysis of the X-ray performance. The polishing process may cause print-through from the light-weight support structure on to the reflecting surface. Investigations in to the effect of the print-through on the X-ray performance of the shell are also presented.

Astronomy education through interactive materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voelzke, Marcos Rincon; Antunes de Macêdo, Josué

2015-08-01

This study presents results of a survey conducted at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (IFNMG), and aimed to investigate the potentialities of the use of interactive materials in the teaching of astronomy. An advanced training course with involved learning activities about basic concepts of astronomy was offered to thirty-two Licenciate students in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences, using the mixed methodology, combined with the three pedagogical moments. Among other aspects, the viability of the use of resources was noticed, involving digital technologies and interactive materials on teaching of astronomy, which may contribute to the broadening of methodological options for future teachers and meet their training needs.

Communicating Astronomy With Public in Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattarai, Suresh

2015-08-01

This paper highlights the mode of communications that Nepal Astronomical Society (NASO) implemented during 2007-2014 for promoting science and technology in Nepal with astronomy as a key tool.Camparatve study between the role of old media and new media for astronomy communication will be discussed. The role of new media and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to foster astronomy communication with the public with some case studies will be discussed in detail. Proposed model of integrating both old and old media with smooth transition between these communication channels will be presented and discuss in brief.

Astronomy at the Airport: Supernova Science in the Southampton Airport Departure Lounge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, S.

2017-09-01

Over four consecutive days in February 2016 a group of astronomy researchers from the University of Southampton, UK, engaged a total of 1500 passengers waiting in the departure lounge at Southampton Airport with their astronomy research. This article reflects on the challenges and successes of the project which aimed to reach out to young families who would not normally attend science events, and show astronomers as positive role models.

Innovation in Astronomy Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasachoff, Jay M.; Ros, Rosa M.; Pasachoff, Naomi

2013-01-01

Preface; Part I. General Strategies for Effective Teaching: Introduction; 1. Main objectives of SpS2; 2. Learning astronomy by doing astronomy; 3. Hands-on Universe-Europe; 4. Life on Earth in the atmosphere of the Sun; 5. A model of teaching astronomy to pre-service teachers; 6. How to teach, learn about, and enjoy astronomy; 7. Clickers: a new teaching tool of exceptional promise; 8. Educational opportunities in pro-am collaboration; 9. Teaching history of astronomy to second-year engineering students; 10. Teaching the evolution of stellar and Milky Way concepts through the ages; 11. Educational efforts of the International Astronomical Union; 12. Astronomy in culture; 13. Light pollution: a tool for astronomy education; 14. Astronomy by distance learning; 15. Edible astronomy demonstrations; 16. Amateur astronomers as public outreach partners; 17. Does the Sun rotate around Earth or Earth rotate around the Sun?; 18. Using sounds and sonifications for astronomy outreach; 19. Teaching astronomy and the crisis in science education; 20. Astronomy for all as part of a general education; Poster abstracts; Part II. Connecting Astronomy with the Public: Introduction; 21. A status report from the Division XII working group; 22. Outreach using media; 23. Astronomy podcasting; 24. IAU's communication strategy, hands-on science communication, and the communication of the planet definition discussion; 25. Getting a word in edgeways: the survival of discourse in audiovisual astronomy; 26. Critical evaluation of the new Hall of Astronomy; 27. Revitalizing astronomy teaching through research on student understanding; Poster abstracts; Part III. Effective Use of Instruction and Information Technology: Introduction; 28. ESO's astronomy education program; 29. U.S. student astronomy research and remote observing projects; 30. Global network of autonomous observatories dedicated to student research; 31. Remote telescopes in education: report of an Australian study; 32. Visualizing

Innovation in Astronomy Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasachoff, Jay M.; Ros, Rosa M.; Pasachoff, Naomi

2008-07-01

Preface; Part I. General Strategies for Effective Teaching: Introduction; 1. Main objectives of SpS2; 2. Learning astronomy by doing astronomy; 3. Hands-on Universe-Europe; 4. Life on Earth in the atmosphere of the Sun; 5. A model of teaching astronomy to pre-service teachers; 6. How to teach, learn about, and enjoy astronomy; 7. Clickers: a new teaching tool of exceptional promise; 8. Educational opportunities in pro-am collaboration; 9. Teaching history of astronomy to second-year engineering students; 10. Teaching the evolution of stellar and Milky Way concepts through the ages; 11. Educational efforts of the International Astronomical Union; 12. Astronomy in culture; 13. Light pollution: a tool for astronomy education; 14. Astronomy by distance learning; 15. Edible astronomy demonstrations; 16. Amateur astronomers as public outreach partners; 17. Does the Sun rotate around Earth or Earth rotate around the Sun?; 18. Using sounds and sonifications for astronomy outreach; 19. Teaching astronomy and the crisis in science education; 20. Astronomy for all as part of a general education; Poster abstracts; Part II. Connecting Astronomy with the Public: Introduction; 21. A status report from the Division XII working group; 22. Outreach using media; 23. Astronomy podcasting; 24. IAU's communication strategy, hands-on science communication, and the communication of the planet definition discussion; 25. Getting a word in edgeways: the survival of discourse in audiovisual astronomy; 26. Critical evaluation of the new Hall of Astronomy; 27. Revitalizing astronomy teaching through research on student understanding; Poster abstracts; Part III. Effective Use of Instruction and Information Technology: Introduction; 28. ESO's astronomy education program; 29. U.S. student astronomy research and remote observing projects; 30. Global network of autonomous observatories dedicated to student research; 31. Remote telescopes in education: report of an Australian study; 32. Visualizing

Analysis of knowledge in astronomy of the students of technology in industrial automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voelzke, Marcos Rincon; Capasso Moraes, Ataliba

2015-08-01

This work is part of a research of the academic Masters in Science in Education at the Cruzeiro do Sul University, in Brazil. It seeks to present the results of the survey conducted among students of the technology course in industrial automation at the Federal Institute São Paulo at the Campus Cubatão. In the first step, the students’ lack of knowledge to the related primary concepts of Astronomy turned out. Correcting these deficiencies found, external to the program content, a Basic Course in Astronomy, containing dialogued or expository lectures with the aid of audiovisual resources and access to textbooks. Analysed the responses of this second step, it was found that students had a significant improvement in learning.

Methodological pluralism in the teaching of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Macedo, Josué Antunes; Voelzke, Marcos Rincon

2015-04-01

This paper discusses the feasibility of using a teaching strategy called methodological pluralism, consisting of the use of various methodological resources in order to provide a meaningful learning. It is part of a doctoral thesis, which aims to investigate contributions to the use of traditional resources combined with digital technologies, in order to create autonomy for future teachers of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in relation to themes in Astronomy. It was offered an extension course at the "Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology" in the North of Minas Gerais (FINMG), Campus Januaria, for thirty-two students of licentiate courses in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences, involving themes of Astronomy, in order to search and contribute to improving the training of future teachers. The following aspects are used: the mixed methodology, with pre-experimental design, combined with content analysis. The results indicate the rates of students' prior knowledge in relation to Astronomy was low; meaningful learning indications of concepts related to Astronomy, and the feasibility of using digital resources Involving technologies, articulated with traditional materials in the teaching of Astronomy. This research sought to contribute to the initial teacher training, especially in relation to Astronomy Teaching, proposing new alternatives to promote the teaching of this area of knowledge, extending the methodological options of future teachers.

The astronomy education through interactive materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Macedo, Josué Antunes; Voelzke, Marcos Rincon

2014-11-01

This study presents results of a survey conducted at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (IFNMG), and aimed to investigate the potentialities of the use of interactive materials in the teaching of astronomy. An advanced training course with involved learning activities about basic concepts of astronomy was offered to thirty-two Licenciate students in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences, using three pedagogical moments. Among other aspects, the viability of the use of resources was noticed, involving digital technologies and interactive materials on teaching of astronomy, which may contribute to the broadening of methodological options for future teachers and meet their training needs

World Wide Web Astronomy 2.0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koppelman, M.; Gay, P. L.

2008-11-01

The Internet has changed astronomy. It's changed research, outreach and education and it's changed how people consume astronomy as enthusiasts. People have new ways to talk to each other and new ways to participate. Coined ``Web 2.0,'' technologies such as blogs, social networks, wikis, photo and video sharing sites, podcasts and micro-blogging have been adopted by the astronomy community and exciting things are happening as a result. The International Year of Astronomy's New Media Task Force has been working to harness the excitement of ``Web 2.0'' to make the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) highly visible on the Internet around the world.

Interactive Materials In The Teaching Of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macêdo, J. A.; Voelzke, M. R.

2014-10-01

This study presents results of a survey conducted at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (IFNMG), and aimed to investigate the potentialities of the use of interactive materials in the teaching of astronomy. An advanced training course with involved learning activities about basic concepts of astronomy was offered to thirty-two Licenciate students in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Science. The following steps were to be taken: i) analysis of the pedagogical projects (PPC) of the licenciates at the IFNMG, research locus of its Campus Januária; ii) analysis of students' preconceptions about astronomy and digital technologies, identified by the application of an initial questionnaire; iii) preparation of the course taking into account the students' previous knowledge; iv) application of the education proposal developed under part-time presence modality, using various interactive tools; v) application and analysis of the final questionnaire. The test was conducted with the qualitative and quantitative methodology, combined with a content analysis. The results indicated that in the IFNMG only the licenciate-course in physics includes astronomy content diluted in various subjects of the curriculum; the rates of students prior knowledge in relation to astronomy was low; an evidence of meaningful learning of the concepts related to astronomy, and of viability of resource use involving digital technologies in the Teaching of astronomy, which may contribute to the broadening of methodological options of future teachers and meet their training needs.

Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Information Seeking Behavior of Users in Astronomy and Astrophysics Centers of India: A Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahu, H. K.; Singh, S. N.

2010-10-01

This study is based on a survey designed to determine the Information Seeking Behavior (ISB) of Astronomy and Astrophysics users in India. The main objective of the study is to determine the sources consulted and the general pattern of the information-gathering system of users and the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the Astronomy and Astrophysics user's Information Seeking Behavior. It examines various Information and Communication Technology-based resources and methods of access and use. A descriptive sample stratified method has been used and data was collected using a questionnaire as the main tool. The response rate was 72%. Descriptive statistics were also employed and data have been presented in tables and graphs. The study is supported by earlier studies. It shows that Astronomy and Astrophysics users have developed a unique Information Seeking Behavior to carry out their education and research. The vast majority of respondents reported that more information is available from a variety of e-resources. Consequently, they are able to devote more time to seek out relevant information in the current Information and Communication Technology scenario. The study also indicates that respondents use a variety of information resources including e-resources for teaching and research. Books and online databases such as the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) were considered more important as formal sources of information. E-mail and face-to-face communications are used extensively by users as informal sources of information. It also reveals that despite the presence of electronic sources, Astronomy and Astrophysics users are still using printed materials. This study should to help to improve various Information and Communication Technology-based services. It also suggests that GOI should adopt Information and Communication Technology-based Information Centers and Libraries services and recommends a network-based model for Astronomy and

UNESCO Thematic Initiative ``Astronomy and World Heritage'': studies and research on technological heritage connected with space exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidorenko, Anna

The Convention concerning the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) provides a unique opportunity to preserve exceptional properties world-wide and to raise awareness about the Outstanding Universal Value of these properties. The mission of UNESCO regarding World Heritage consists of assisting the States Parties to this Convention to safeguard properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, to support activities led by States Parties in the preservation of World Heritage, and to encourage international cooperation in heritage conservation. Considering that sites related to science and technology are among the most under-represented on the World Heritage List and recognizing the absence of an integrated thematic approach for such sites, the World Heritage Committee launched the Thematic Initiative “Astronomy and World Heritage”. Developed in close collaboration between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and implemented by the National Focal Points world-wide, the Thematic Initiative on Astronomy and World Heritage aims to establish a link between Science and Culture towards the recognition of scientific values of sites linked to astronomy. It provides an opportunity not only to identify the properties but also to keep their memory alive and preserve them from progressive deterioration. The implementation of this initiative has revealed numerous issues that need to be addressed, and in particular in the domain of technological heritage connected with space exploration. For this reason, the World Heritage Committee during its 36th session (Saint Petersburg, 2012) encouraged cooperation between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, specialized agencies and relevant interdisciplinary scientific initiatives towards the elaboration of a Global Thematic Study on Heritage of Science and Technology, including studies and research on technological

The astronomy education through interactive materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voelzke, Marcos Rincon; Macedo, Josue

This study presents results of a survey conducted at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (IFNMG), and aimed to investigate the potentialities of the use of interactive materials in the teaching of astronomy. An advanced training course with involved learning activities about basic concepts of astronomy was offered to thirty-two Licenciate students in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences, using the mixed methodology, combined with the three pedagogical moments. Among other aspects, the viability of the use of resources was noticed, involving digital technologies and interactive materials on teaching of astronomy, which may contribute to the broadening of methodological options for future teachers and meet their training needs.

UK Higher Education Institutions' Technology-Enhanced Learning Strategies from the Perspective of Disruptive Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flavin, Michael; Quintero, Valentina

2018-01-01

The publication of institutional strategies for learning, teaching and assessment in UK higher education is practically ubiquitous. Strategies for technology-enhanced learning are also widespread. This article examines 44 publicly available UK university strategies for technology-enhanced learning, aiming to assess the extent to which…

Spatial Thinking in Astronomy Education Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Merryn; Cohen, Cheryl; Wilhelm, Jennifer; Lindell, Rebecca

2018-01-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] Multiple studies show that spatial thinking skills contribute to students' performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. The study of astronomy is no different with the understanding of many astronomical phenomena requiring spatial…

Leonardo (formerly Selex ES) infrared sensors for astronomy: present and future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Ian; Maxey, Chris; Hipwood, Les; Barnes, Keith

2016-07-01

Many branches of science require infrared detectors sensitive to individual photons. Applications range from low background astronomy to high speed imaging. Leonardo in Southampton, UK, has been developing HgCdTe avalanche photodiode (APD) sensors for astronomy in collaboration with European Southern Observatory (ESO) since 2008 and more recently the University of Hawaii. The devices utilise Metal Organic Vapour Phase Epitaxy, MOVPE, grown on low-cost GaAs substrates and in combination with a mesa device structure achieve very low dark current and near-ideal MTF. MOVPE provides the ability to grow complex HgCdTe heterostructures and these have proved crucial to suppress breakdown currents and allow high avalanche gain in low background situations. A custom device called Saphira (320x256/24μm) has been developed for wavefront sensors, interferometry and transient event imaging. This device has achieved read noise as low as 0.26 electrons rms and single photon imaging with avalanche gain up to x450. It is used in the ESO Gravity program for adaptive optics and fringe tracking and has been successfully trialled on the 3m NASA IRTF, 8.2m Subaru and 60 inch Mt Palomar for lucky imaging and wavefront sensing. In future the technology offers much shorter observation times for read-noise limited instruments, particularly spectroscopy. The paper will describe the MOVPE APD technology and current performance status.

Detector arrays for low-background space infrared astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccreight, C. R.; Mckelvey, M. E.; Goebel, J. H.; Anderson, G. M.; Lee, J. H.

1986-01-01

The status of development and characterization tests of integrated infrared detector array technology for astronomy applications is described. The devices under development include intrinsic, extrinsic silicon, and extrinsic germanium detectors, with hybrid silicon multiplexers. Laboratory test results and successful astronomy imagery have established the usefulness of integrated arrays in low-background astronomy applications.

Detector arrays for low-background space infrared astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccreight, C. R.; Mckelvey, M. E.; Goebel, J. H.; Anderson, G. M.; Lee, J. H.

1986-01-01

The status of development and characterization tests of integrated infrared detector array technology for astronomy applications is described. The devices under development include intrinsic, extrinsic silicon, and extrinsic germanium detectors, with hybrid silicon multiplexers. Laboratary test results and successful astronomy imagery have established the usefulness of integrated arrays in low-background astronomy applications.

World War II Radar and Early Radio Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, G.

2005-08-01

The pattern of radio astronomy which developed in Europe and Australia followed closely the development of metre wave radar in World War II. The leading pioneers, Ryle, Lovell, Hey and Pawsey, were all in radar research establishments in the UK and Australia. They returned to universities, recruited their colleagues into research groups and immediately started on some basic observations of solar radio waves, meteor echoes, and the galactic background. There was at first little contact with conventional astronomers. This paper traces the influence of the radar scientists and of several types of radar equipment developed during WW II, notably the German Wurzburg, which was adapted for radio research in several countries. The techniques of phased arrays and antenna switching were used in radar and aircraft installations. The influence of WW II radar can be traced at least up to 10 years after the War, when radio astronomy became accepted as a natural discipline within astronomy.

Astronomy all the time for everybody

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigore, Valentin

2015-08-01

General contextCommunicating astronomy with the public must be done all year and with all community members using all the available methods to promote the all aspects of astronomy: education, science, research, new technologies, dark-sky protection, astrophotography, mythology, astropoetry, astro arts and music.An annual calendarTwo aspect must be taken in consideration when create a calendar of activity:- astronomical events (eclipses, meteor showers, comets, etc.)- international and local astronomical events: Global Astronomy Months, Astronomy Day, Globe at Night, ISAN, public activitiesCommunicating astronomy with the whole communityA description of the experience of the author organizing over 500 events in 30 years of activity including all the community members: general public, students, teachers, artists, authorities, people with disabilities, minor and adult prisoners, etc.An experience of seven years as TV producer of the astronomy TV show “Ùs and the Sky” is presented.Promotion of the activityThe relation with the mass-media is an important aspect communicating astronomy with the public.Mass-media between rating and correct information of the public.The role of the cooperation with the community in astronomy projectsA successful model: EURONEAR project

Additive manufactured x-ray optics for astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atkins, Carolyn; Feldman, Charlotte; Brooks, David; Watson, Stephen; Cochrane, William; Roulet, Melanie; Doel, Peter; Willingale, Richard; Hugot, Emmanuel

2017-08-01

Additive manufacturing, more commonly known as 3D printing, has become a commercially established technology for rapid prototyping and the fabrication of bespoke intricate parts. Optical components, such as mirrors and lenses, are now being fabricated via additive manufacturing, where the printed substrate is polished in a post-processing step. One application of additively manufactured optics could be within the astronomical X-ray community, where there is a growing need to demonstrate thin, lightweight, high precision optics for a beyond Chandra style mission. This paper will follow a proof-of-concept investigation, sponsored by the UK Space Agency's National Space Technology Programme, into the feasibility of applying additive manufacturing in the production of thin, lightweight, precision X-ray optics for astronomy. One of the benefits of additive manufacturing is the ability to construct intricate lightweighting, which can be optimised to minimise weight while ensuring rigidity. This concept of optimised lightweighting will be applied to a series of polished additively manufactured test samples and experimental data from these samples, including an assessment of the optical quality and the magnitude of any print-through, will be presented. In addition, the finite element analysis optimisations of the lightweighting development will be discussed.

Astronomy Patch Day: An Interactive Astronomy Experience for Girl Scouts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knierman, K. A.; McCarthy, D. W.; Schutz, K.

2005-12-01

To help encourage a new generation of women in science, we have created Astronomy Patch Day for the Sahuaro Girl Scout Council in Tucson, Arizona. This all-day event is an interactive experience for Girl Scouts ages 5-18 to learn about astronomical concepts and women in astronomy. Our first Astronomy Patch Day, held on March 19, 2005, in conjunction with the Sahuaro Council's annual Science, Math, and Related Technologies (SMART) program, was very successful, reaching about 150-200 girls and their leaders. Individual troops rotated every half hour among our six activity booths: Earth-Moon, Solar System, Stars, Galaxies, Universe, and Ask an Astronomer, which were staffed by trained Girl Scout Leaders as well as faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and graduate students from Steward Observatory. To earn a patch, younger girls (ages 5-12) had to complete activities at three booths and older girls had to complete all six activities. Positive feedback for this event was received from both the girls and leaders. We plan to hold Astronomy Patch Day annually, possibly with different and/or additional activities in future years. K. Knierman is supported by an Arizona/NASA Space Grant Fellowship. This outreach program is supported by NIRCam/JWST E/PO.

Launching Astronomy: Standards and STEM Integration (LASSI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

French, Debbie; Burrows, Andrea C.; Myers, Adam D.

2015-01-01

While astronomy is prevalent in the Next Generation Science Standards, it is often relegated to the '4th nine-weeks' in middle and high school curricula. I.e., it is taught at the end of the year, if time permits. However, astronomy ties in many core ideas from chemistry, earth science, physics, and even biology (with astrobiology being an up-and-coming specialization) and mathematics. Recent missions to Mars have captured students' attention and have added excitement to the fields of engineering and technology. Using astronomy as a vehicle to teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) connects these disciplines in an engaging way. The workshop entitled, 'Launching Astronomy: Standards and STEM Integration,' (LASSI) is a year-long professional development (PD) opportunity for teachers in grades K-12 to use astronomy as a vehicle to teach STEM and implement science standards through astronomy. Eight teachers participated in a two-week summer workshop and six follow-up sessions are scheduled during the 2014-2015 school year. Additional teachers plan to participate in the upcoming follow-up sessions. We evaluate the effectiveness of the LASSI PD to identify and confront teachers' misconceptions in astronomy, and discuss whether teachers identified topics for which astronomy can be used as a vehicle for standards-based STEM curricula. Teachers from around Wyoming were invited to participate. Participating teachers were surveyed on the quality of the workshop, their astronomy content knowledge before and after listening to talks given by experts in the field, conducting standards-based inquiry activities, developing their own lessons, and their level of engagement throughout the workshop. Two-thirds of teachers planned to incorporate LASSI activities into their classrooms in this school year. Teachers' misconceptions and requests for astronomy-based curriculum were identified in the summer session. These will be addressed during the follow-up session

Global projects and Astronomy awareness activities in Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gautam, Suman

2015-08-01

Modern astronomy is a crowning achievement of human civilization which inspires teenagers to choose career in science and technology and is a stable of adult education. It is a unique and cost effective tool for furthering sustainable global development because of its technological, scientific and cultural dimensions which allow us to reach with the large portion of the community interact with children and inspire with our wonderful cosmos.Using astronomy to stimulate quality and inspiring education for disadvantaged children is an important goal of Nepal Astronomical Society (NASO) since its inception. NASO is carrying out various awareness activities on its own and in collaboration with national and international organizations like Central Department of Physics Tribhuvan University (TU), International astronomical Union (IAU), Department of Physics Prithvi Narayan Campus Pokhara, Nepal academy of science and technology (NAST), Global Hands on Universe (GHOU), EU- UNAWE and Pokhara Astronomical Society (PAS) to disseminate those activities for the school children and teachers in Nepal. Our experiences working with kids, students, teachers and public in the field of universe Awareness Activities for the school children to minimize the abstruse concept of astronomy through some practical approach and the project like Astronomy for the visually impaired students, Galileo Teacher Training program and International School for young astronomers (ISYA) outskirts will be explained which is believed to play vital role in promoting astronomy and space science activities in Nepal.

Astronomy from the chair - the application of the Internet in promoting of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomic, Zoran

2014-05-01

Internet and modern communication technologies are an indispensable part of modern life. The use of the Internet makes it possible to enhance the education and expand opportunities for acquiring new knowledge. One example is Astronomy, where today thanks to the Internet, we can control telescopes that are distant from us and listen to lectures from Universities in other countries. "Astronomy from the chair" is the name for a concept where amateur astronomers can deal with astronomy from their homes using the Internet. The concept can be divided into four sections depending on the content being offered: Robotic Observatory, Virtual Observatory, Online astronomy broadcasting and Online courses. Robotic observatory is defined as an astronomical instrument and detection system that enables efficient observation without the need of a person's physical intervention. Virtual Observatory is defined as a collection of databases and software tools that use the Internet as a platform for scientific research. Online astronomy broadcasting is part of concept "Astronomy from the chair" which gives users the opportunity to get directly involved in astronomical observation organized by an amateur astronomer from somewhere in the world. Online courses are groups of sites and organizations that provide the opportunity to amateur astronomers to attend lectures, save and watch video materials from lectures, do homework, communicate with other seminar participants and in that way become familiar with the various areas of Astronomy. This paper discusses a new concept that describes how the Internet can be applied in modern education. In this paper will be described projects that allows a large number of astronomy lovers to do their own research without the need to own a large and expensive set of astronomical equipment (Virtual Telescope from Italy, Observatory "Night Hawk" from Serbia and project "Astronomy from an armchair" at Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics in Nis), to help

Astronomy and Space Technologies, Photonics Applications and Web Engineering, Wilga, May 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romaniuk, Ryszard S.

2012-05-01

This paper is the first part (out of five) of the research survey of WILGA Symposium work, May 2012 Edition, concerned with photonics and electronics applications in astronomy and space technologies. It presents a digest of chosen technical work results shown by young researchers from different technical universities from this country during the Jubilee XXXth SPIE-IEEE Wilga 2012, May Edition, symposium on Photonics and Web Engineering. Topical tracks of the symposium embraced, among others, nanomaterials and nanotechnologies for photonics, sensory and nonlinear optical fibers, object oriented design of hardware, photonic metrology, optoelectronics and photonics applications, photonics-electronics co-design, optoelectronic and electronic systems for astronomy and high energy physics experiments, JET tokamak and pi-of-the sky experiments development. The symposium is an annual summary in the development of numerable Ph.D. theses carried out in this country in the area of advanced electronic and photonic systems. It is also a great occasion for SPIE, IEEE, OSA and PSP students to meet together in a large group spanning the whole country with guests from this part of Europe. A digest of Wilga references is presented [1-275].

Astronomy in the City for Astronomy Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ros, Rosa M.; Garc, Beatriz

2016-10-01

Astronomy is part of our culture. Astronomy cannot be isolated in a classroom, it has to be integrated in the normal life of teachers and students. ``Astronomy in the city'' is an important part of NASE (Network for Astronomy School Education) (Ros & Hemenway 2012). In each NASE course we introduce a ``working group session'' chaired by a local expert in cultural astronomy. The chair introduces several examples of astronomy in their city and after that, the participants have the opportunity to discuss and mention several similar examples. After this session all participants visit one or two sites proposed and introduced by the chair. After more than 5 years using this method we visited and discovered several examples of astronomy in the city: •Astronomy in ancient typical clothes. •Archaeological temples oriented according to the sunrise or set. •Petroglyphs with astronomical meaning. •Astronomy in monuments. •Sundials. •Oriented Colonial churches. •Astronomy in Souvenirs. In any case, teachers and students discover that Astronomy is part of their everyday life. They can take into account the Sun's path when they park their car or when they take a bus ``what is the best part in order to be seat in the shadow during the journey?'' The result is motivation to go with ``open eyes'' when they are in the street and they try to get more and more information about their surroundings. In summary, one of the main activities is to introduce local cultural aspects in NASE astronomy courses. The participants can discover a new approach to local culture from an astronomical point of view.

Practical Semantic Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, Matthew; Gray, N.; Burke, D.

2010-01-01

Many activities in the era of data-intensive astronomy are predicated upon some transference of domain knowledge and expertise from human to machine. The semantic infrastructure required to support this is no longer a pipe dream of computer science but a set of practical engineering challenges, more concerned with deployment and performance details than AI abstractions. The application of such ideas promises to help in such areas as contextual data access, exploiting distributed annotation and heterogeneous sources, and intelligent data dissemination and discovery. In this talk, we will review the status and use of semantic technologies in astronomy, particularly to address current problems in astroinformatics, with such projects as SKUA and AstroCollation.

How Create an Astronomy Outreach Program to Bring Astronomy to Thousands of People at Outdoor Concerts Astronomy Festivals, or Tourist Sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubowich, Donald

2015-08-01

I describe how to create an astronomy program for thousands of people at outdoor concerts based on my $308,000 NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars (MAUS) program (60 events 2009 - 2013), and the Astronomy Festival on the National Mall (AFNM, 10,000 people/yr).MAUS reached 50,000 music lovers at local parks and at the Central Park Jazz, Newport Folk, Ravinia, or Tanglewood Music Festivals with classical, folk, pop/rock, opera, Caribbean, or county-western concerts assisted by astronomy clubs. Yo-Yo-Ma, the Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, Phish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Deep Purple, Tony Orlando, and Wilco performed at these events. AFNM was started in 2010 with co-sponsorship by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. MAUS and AFMN combine solar, optical, and radio telescope observations; large posters/banners; hands-on activities, imaging with a cell phone mount; citizen science activities; hand-outs; and teacher info packet. Representatives from scientific institutions participated. Tyco Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Caroline Herschel made guest appearances.MAUS reached underserved groups and attracted large crowds. Young kids participated in this family learning experience-often the first time they looked through a telescope. While < 50% of the participants took part in a science activity in the past year, they found MAUS enjoyable and understandable; learned about astronomy; wanted to learn more; and increased their interest in science (ave. rating 3.6/4). MAUS is effective in promoting science education!Lessons learned: plan early; create partnerships with parks, concert organizers, and astronomy clubs; test equipment; have backup equipment; create professional displays; select the best location to obtain a largest number of participants; use social media/www sites to promote the events; use many telescopes for multiple targets; project a live image or video; select equipment that is easy to

Handheld Devices with Wide-Area Wireless Connectivity: Applications in Astronomy Educational Technology and Remote Computational Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budiardja, R. D.; Lingerfelt, E. J.; Guidry, M. W.

2003-05-01

Wireless technology implemented with handheld devices has attractive features because of the potential to access large amounts of data and the prospect of on-the-fly computational analysis from a device that can be carried in a shirt pocket. We shall describe applications of such technology to the general paradigm of making digital wireless connections from the field to upload information and queries to network servers, executing (potentially complex) programs and controlling data analysis and/or database operations on fast network computers, and returning real-time information from this analysis to the handheld device in the field. As illustration, we shall describe several client/server programs that we have written for applications in teaching introductory astronomy. For example, one program allows static and dynamic properties of astronomical objects to be accessed in a remote observation laboratory setting using a digital cell phone or PDA. Another implements interactive quizzing over a cell phone or PDA using a 700-question introductory astronomy quiz database, thus permitting students to study for astronomy quizzes in any environment in which they have a few free minutes and a digital cell phone or wireless PDA. Another allows one to control and monitor a computation done on a Beowulf cluster by changing the parameters of the computation remotely and retrieving the result when the computation is done. The presentation will include hands-on demonstrations with real devices. *Managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.

Augmentation of UK Space Debris Observing Capabilities Using Univiersity Optical Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herridge, Philip; Brown, David; Crowther, Richard

2013-08-01

The study of space debris requires a range of different sensors. Debris population monitoring requires survey, follow-on and characterisation capable sensors. In order to fully participate in space debris measurement the range of sensors available to the UK Space Agency needs to be augmented with additional capability. One source of untapped resource resides within the UK university sector. This paper discusses investigation into extending the optical sensor diversity available to the UK for participation in study of the debris environment through a collaboration between Space Insight Limited, a commercial company providing Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services to the UK Space Agency, and the Astronomy Group at the University of St Andrews.

COMMUNICATING ASTRONOMY IN EUROPE: Strategies and Challenges in International Organisations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrosa, Mariana

2007-08-01

How much do Europeans really know about science and technology? What do they think about it? For more than a decade, the European Union (EU) has carried out regular surveys to measure public opinion and knowledge on a variety of themes across its member states. One survey carried out in early 2005 is of particular interest to science communication - "Europeans, Science and Technology". It's easy to see that science and technology are racing along faster than ever and you would think that people's knowledge and interest of science and technology would be keeping pace. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Over the past few years, Europeans' overall interest in science and technology has decreased. Astronomy plays a special role within public science communication. It serves as a general science "catcher", not only for young people. Astronomy embraces core sciences such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and geology as well as technical disciplines including optics, observational techniques and data analysis. Astronomy reaches wide into the realm of philosophy; it rubs shoulders with religion and is at the core of many science fiction stories. In short, astronomy attracts a wide spectrum of people and may serve as a powerful vehicle for improving the public awareness and understanding of science. Several key International Organisations like the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), Europlanet and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) work in Astronomy and Space Sciences in Europe. As well as a general overview of the outreach and communication actions of some of these Organisations, focus will be made in specific cases and examples in the context of these organisations. 2009 will be the International Year of Astronomy. It will be interesting to see how these European Organisations are getting ready for this ultimate science communication challenge.

ZTF Undergraduate Astronomy Institute at Caltech and Pomona College

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penprase, Bryan Edward; Bellm, Eric Christopher

2017-01-01

From the new Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), an NSF funded project based at Caltech, comes a new initiative for undergraduate research known as the Summer Undergraduate Astronomy Institute. The Institute brings together 15-20 students from across the world for an immersive experience in astronomy techniques before they begin their summer research projects. The students are primarly based at Caltech in their SURF program but also includes a large cohort of students enrolled in research internships at Pomona College in nearby Claremont CA. The program is intended to introduce students to research techniques in astronomy, laboratory and computational technologies, and to observational astronomy. Since many of the students are previously computer science or physics majors with little astronomy experience, this immersive experience has been extremely helpful for enabling students to learn about the terminologies, techniques and technologies of astronomy. The field trips to the Mount Wilson and Palomar telescopes deepen their knowledge and excitement about astronomy. Lectures about astronomical research from Caltech staff scientists and graduate students also provide context for the student research. Perhaps more importantly, the creation of a cohort of like-minded students, and the chance to reflect about careers in astronomy and research, give these students opportunities to consider themselves as future research scientists and help them immensely as they move forward in their careers. We discuss some of the social and intercultural aspects of the experience as well, as our cohorts typically include international students from many countries and several students from under-represented groups in science.

Incorporating Astronomy Research into the High School Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beaton, Rachael; Zasowski, G.; Dirienzo, W.; Corby, J.

2012-01-01

Over the past three years, graduate students in the University of Virginia Astronomy Department (UVa) have partnered with the Central Virginia Governor's School for Science and Technology (CVGS) to advise high school juniors in individual astronomy research projects spanning eight months. CVGS, located 60 miles from UVa and servicing 14 schools in rural central VA, operates a daily, half-day program where talented high school juniors and seniors take courses in college-level science, mathematics, and technology, including research methods. UVa graduate students have mentored over a dozen students through astronomy research projects to fulfill their course requirements. The result of this unique partnership is the development of a full astronomy research curriculum that teaches the terminology, background concepts, analysis techniques and communication skills that are required for astronomy research, all designed for an off-site setting. The curriculum is organized into a set of "Tutorials,” which when combined with the standard CVGS Research and Statistics courses, result in an an effective, comprehensive, and productive research collaboration. In this poster, we will display our curriculum in a step by step basis as a model for potential collaborations with other institutions and comment on how these opportunities have benefited the high school students, CVGS and the graduate students involved.

Communicating astronomy with the public in Cuba

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvarez, O.

2008-06-01

Communicating astronomy with the public to produce attractive materials for a broad audience on TV is a difficult job in a third world country. One way of developing effective communication in fields like astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology whilst connecting the professional astronomer with a majority of the people is to combine the knowledge of the scientist with the most spectacular TV production methods of first world countries: integrating, through commentary and analysis, astronomy and science into the public debate of lay citizens. Here I present my ten years of experience of presenting a TV programme devoted to general science outreach. I also comment on the progress of the construction of the new planetarium, a cultural centre for science and technology, to be opened as part of the commemoration activities for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy. It is hoped to guide the interest of the people of Cuba towards basic science and astronomy in the most populated and frequented area of the country.

Large Area Field of View for Fast Temporal Resolution Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Covarrubias, Ricardo A.

2018-01-01

Scientific CMOS (sCMOS) technology is especially relevant for high temporal resolution astronomy combining high resolution, large field of view with very fast frame rates, without sacrificing ultra-low noise performance. Solar Astronomy, Near Earth Object detections, Space Debris Tracking, Transient Observations or Wavefront Sensing are among the many applications this technology can be utilized. Andor Technology is currently developing the next-generation, very large area sCMOS camera with an extremely low noise, rapid frame rates, high resolution and wide dynamic range.

Astronomy 3.0 Style

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Accomazzi, A.

2010-10-01

Over the next decade, we will witness the development of a new infrastructure in support of data-intensive scientific research, which includes Astronomy. This new networked environment will offer both challenges and opportunities to our community and has the potential to transform the way data are described, curated and preserved. Based on the lessons learned during the development and management of the ADS, a case is made for adopting the emerging technologies and practices of the Semantic Web to support the way Astronomy research will be conducted. Examples of how small, incremental steps can, in the aggregate, make a significant difference in the provision and repurposing of astronomical data are provided.

Infrared astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gillett, Frederick; Houck, James; Bally, John; Becklin, Eric; Brown, Robert Hamilton; Draine, Bruce; Frogel, Jay; Gatley, Ian; Gehrz, Robert; Hildebrand, Roger

1991-01-01

The decade of 1990's presents an opportunity to address fundamental astrophysical issues through observations at IR wavelengths made possible by technological and scientific advances during the last decade. The major elements of recommended program are: the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and the IR Optimized 8-m Telescope (IRO), a detector and instrumentation program, the SubMilliMeter Mission (SMMM), the 2 Microns All Sky Survey (2MASS), a sound infrastructure, and technology development programs. Also presented are: perspective, science opportunities, technical overview, project recommendations, future directions, and infrastructure.

UK Health and Social Care Case Studies: Iterative Technology Development.

PubMed

Blanchard, Adie; Gilbert, Laura; Dawson, Tom

2017-01-01

As a result of increasing demand in the face of reducing resources, technology has been implemented in many social and health care services to improve service efficiency. This paper outlines the experiences of deploying a 'Software as a Service' application in the UK social and health care sectors. The case studies demonstrate that every implementation is different, and unique to each organisation. Technology design and integration can be facilitated by ongoing engagement and collaboration with all stakeholders, flexible design, and attention to interoperability to suit services and their workflows.

Promise and Progress of Millihertz Gravitational-Wave Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, John G.

2017-01-01

Extending the new field of gravitational wave (GW) astronomy into the millihertz band with a space-based GW observatory is a high-priority objective of international astronomy community. This paper summarizes the astrophysical promise and the technological groundwork for such an observatory, concretely focusing on the prospects for the proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission concept.

The IAU Astronomy for Development Programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miley, George

2012-08-01

Astronomy is a unique tool for international development because it combines cutting-edge technology with fundamental science and has deep cultural roots. The International Astronomical Union regards furthering the exploitation of astronomy for sustainable global development as an important part of its mission.To realize these aspirations the IAU has developed an ambitious strategic plan for the period 2010-2020. This plan, "Astronomy for the developing world: Building from IYA 2009", endorsed by the IAU General Assembly in 2009, envisages a substantial increase in IAU educational and development activities during the next decade. This article will discuss the content of the plan, the processes that led to its creation and adoption and the setting up of the IAU Global Office of Astronomy for Development at the SAAO in Cape Town, South Africa. We shall also describe the activities envisaged in the plan and argue that such a program is important for its own sake and necessary to generate funding for the next generation of astronomical research facilities.

The UK National Quantum Technologies Hub in sensors and metrology (Keynote Paper)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bongs, K.; Boyer, V.; Cruise, M. A.; Freise, A.; Holynski, M.; Hughes, J.; Kaushik, A.; Lien, Y.-H.; Niggebaum, A.; Perea-Ortiz, M.; Petrov, P.; Plant, S.; Singh, Y.; Stabrawa, A.; Paul, D. J.; Sorel, M.; Cumming, D. R. S.; Marsh, J. H.; Bowtell, R. W.; Bason, M. G.; Beardsley, R. P.; Campion, R. P.; Brookes, M. J.; Fernholz, T.; Fromhold, T. M.; Hackermuller, L.; Krüger, P.; Li, X.; Maclean, J. O.; Mellor, C. J.; Novikov, S. V.; Orucevic, F.; Rushforth, A. W.; Welch, N.; Benson, T. M.; Wildman, R. D.; Freegarde, T.; Himsworth, M.; Ruostekoski, J.; Smith, P.; Tropper, A.; Griffin, P. F.; Arnold, A. S.; Riis, E.; Hastie, J. E.; Paboeuf, D.; Parrotta, D. C.; Garraway, B. M.; Pasquazi, A.; Peccianti, M.; Hensinger, W.; Potter, E.; Nizamani, A. H.; Bostock, H.; Rodriguez Blanco, A.; Sinuco-Leon, G.; Hill, I. R.; Williams, R. A.; Gill, P.; Hempler, N.; Malcolm, G. P. A.; Cross, T.; Kock, B. O.; Maddox, S.; John, P.

2016-04-01

The UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Metrology is one of four flagship initiatives in the UK National of Quantum Technology Program. As part of a 20-year vision it translates laboratory demonstrations to deployable practical devices, with game-changing miniaturized components and prototypes that transform the state-of-the-art for quantum sensors and metrology. It brings together experts from the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Nottingham, Southampton, Strathclyde and Sussex, NPL and currently links to over 15 leading international academic institutions and over 70 companies to build the supply chains and routes to market needed to bring 10-1000x improvements in sensing applications. It seeks, and is open to, additional partners for new application development and creates a point of easy open access to the facilities and supply chains that it stimulates or nurtures.

Astronomy Teaching in Europe's Secondary Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1994-11-01

EU/ESO Workshop for European Physics Teachers A joint Workshop of the European Union (EU) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) will take place on November 25 - 30, 1994 under the auspices of the European Week for Scientific Culture. The Workshop is entitled "Astronomy: Science, Culture and Technology". It will bring together at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany) more than 100 secondary school teachers and ministerial representatives from 17 European countries to discuss all aspects of this broad subject. It is the first and very visible part of a new, sustained effort to stimulate and modernize the teaching of the subjects of Astronomy and Astrophysics in European secondary schools. During the Workshop, the participants will experience the present state of this multi-disciplinary science in its most general context, that is as a human, long-term scientific and technological endeavour with great cultural implications. They will exchange views on how the various elements of Astronomy can best be utilized within the educational schemes of the individual countries, both as subjects in their own rights, and especially in support of many other items on the present teaching agenda. Why This Workshop ? Astronomy is probably the oldest science. Since innumerable millenia, it has continued to have a great influence on mankind's perception of itself and its surroundings. In our days, Astronomy and Astrophysics have become a central area of the natural sciences with many direct links to other sciences (e.g., many aspects of physics, mathematics, chemistry, the geo-sciences, etc.); it has an important cultural content (including our distant origins, the recognition of the location and restricted extent of our niche in space and time, cosmological considerations as well as philosophy in general); its recent successes are to a large amount dependent on advanced technologies and methodologies (e.g., optics, electronics, detector techniques at all wavelengths

Astronomy Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

Software Bisque's TheSky, SkyPro and Remote Astronomy Software incorporate technology developed for the Hubble Space Telescope. TheSky and SkyPro work together to orchestrate locating, identifying and acquiring images of deep sky objects. With all three systems, the user can directly control computer-driven telescopes and charge coupled device (CCD) cameras through serial ports. Through the systems, astronomers and students can remotely operate a telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory Institute.

An Introduction to ESERO-UK, the UK Space Education Office

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clements, Allan; Mather, Edward

2012-01-01

This article introduces the UK branch of the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO-UK), also known as the UK Space Education Office. It is a teaching project designed to use space to enthuse primary and secondary students to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The office is funded by the European Space…

Space instrumentation for gamma-ray astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teegarden, B. J.

1999-02-01

The decade of the 1990s has witnessed a renaissance in the field of gamma-ray astronomy. The seminal event was the launch of the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) in April 1991. There have been a flood of major discoveries from CGRO including breakthroughs in gamma-ray bursts, annihilation radiation, and blazars. The Italian SAX satellite was launched in April 1996. Although not primarily a gamma-ray mission, it has added a new dimension to our understanding of gamma-ray bursts. Along with these new discoveries a firm groundwork has been laid for missions and new technology development that should maintain a healthy and vigorous field throughout most of the next decade. These include the ESA INTEGRAL mission (INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, to be launched in mid-2001) and the NASA GLAST mission (Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope) with a likely launch in the middle of the next decade. These two missions will extend the observational capabilities well beyond those of CGRO. New technologies (to gamma-ray astronomy), such as cooled germanium detectors, silicon strip detectors, and CdTe detectors are planned for these new missions. Additional promising new technologies such as CdZnTe strip detectors, scintillator fibers, and a gamma-ray lens for future gamma-ray astronomy missions are under development in laboratories around the world.

Contribution to the popularization of the astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markishki, Pencho

The purpose of this report is the representation of a WEB-book, related to astronomy, astro-photography, optics and some additional areas that have direct practice for the amateur astronomers. The popularization of astronomy worldwide is the purpose of many amateur astronomers. It is interesting and maybe fascinated, requires often innovative solutions from the hobby star observers. Today it is possible to share the science information by different methods, using the modern information technologies - a possibility used by the amateur astronomers too. In Internet existing currently thousands of WEB- sites, related to astronomy, completed training programs developed by amateur astronomers are included. They are addressed often to the schools, to the hobby beginners or to the wide audience.

Community Plan for Far-Infared/Submillimeter Space Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leisawitz, David; Oegerle, William (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

The consensus of attendees at the Second Workshop on New Concepts for Far-Infrared/Submillimeter Space Astronomy is that the Single Aperture Far-IR telescope (SAFIR), a cooled spaceborne observatory, is important for the future of far-infrared astronomy. This paper describes the specifications and capabilities of SAFIR, possible designs for SAFIR, and suggests a development strategy for the technology necessary for the telescope.

Astronomy for teachers: A South African Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Witt, Aletha; West, Marion; Leeuw, Lerothodi; Gouws, Eldrie

2015-08-01

South Africa has nominated Astronomy as a “flagship science” and aims to be an international Astronomy hub through projects such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the South African Large Telescope (SALT). These projects open up career opportunities in maths, science and engineering and therefore offers a very real door for learners to enter into careers in science and technology through Astronomy. However, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS), the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) and Annual National Assessment (ANA) have highlighted that South Africa’s Science and Mathematics education is in a critical condition and that South African learners score amongst the worst in the world in both these subjects. In South Africa Astronomy is generally regarded as the worst taught and most avoided Natural Science knowledge strand, and most teachers that specialised in Natural Sciences, never covered Astronomy in their training.In order to address these issues a collaborative project between the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) was initiated, which aims to assist teachers to gain more knowledge and skills so that they can teach Astronomy with confidence. By collaborating we aim to ensure that the level of astronomy development will be raised in both South Africa and the rest of Africa.With the focus on Teaching and Learning, the research was conducted within a quantitative paradigm and 600 structured questionnaires were administered to Natural Science teachers in Public primary schools in Gauteng, South Africa. This paper reports the findings of this research and makes recommendations on how to assist teachers to teach Astronomy with confidence.

Developing Astronomy Research and Education in the Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sese, R. M. D.; Kouwenhoven, M. B. N. Thijs

2015-03-01

In the past few years, the Philippines has been gradually developing its research and educational capabilities in astronomy and astrophysics. In terms of astronomy development, it is still lagging behind several neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, while it is advanced with respect to several others. One of the main issues hampering progress is the scarcity of trained professional Filipino astronomers, as well as long-term visions for astronomy development. Here, we will be presenting an overview of astronomy education and research in the country. We will discuss the history and current status of astronomy in the Philippines, including all levels of education, outreach and awareness activities, as well as potential areas for research and collaborations. We also discuss issues that need to be addressed to ensure sustainable astronomy development in the Philippines. Finally, we discuss several ongoing and future programs aimed at promoting astronomy research and education. In essence, the work is a precursor of a possible white paper which we envision to submit to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in the near future, with which we aim to further convince the authorities of the importance of astrophysics. With the support of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), this may eventually lead to the creation of a separate astronomy agency in the Philippines.

A critical review of the state of foreign space technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grey, J.; Gerard, M.

1978-01-01

Scientific and technical capabilities of foreign nations, i.e., USSR, Japan, West Germany, UK, France, and other ESA nations, are reviewed. Attention is given to areas in which these nations are concentrating their efforts, as well as to areas in which achievements have already been realized. Among them: space industry and processing (including nonterrestrial mining), communications satellite technology, life support systems and space colonies, earth observation, space-borne astronomy and unmanned planetary probes, materials and propulsion, and exobiology (CETI/SETI).

Communicating Astronomy with the Public (Youth) as the Gateway to Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crabtree, Dennis R.

2015-03-01

Astronomy has a unique ability to excite and stimulate the curiosity of children. Because of this, society can use astronomy as a gateway to lead children on a path towards future learning of science and technology, and potentially to careers in these areas.

Teach Astronomy: An Online Resource for General Education and Informal Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardegree-Ullman, Kevin; Impey, C.; Patikkal, A.; Srinathan, A.; Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars CATS

2012-01-01

Teach Astronomy is a website developed for students and informal learners who would like to learn more general astronomy knowledge. This learning tool aggregates content from a myriad of sources, including: an introductory astronomy text book by C. D. Impey and W. K. Hartmann, astronomy related articles on Wikipedia, images from the Astronomy Picture of the Day, two to three minute video clips by C. D. Impey, podcasts from 365 Days of Astronomy, and news from Science Daily. In addition, Teach Astronomy utilizes a novel technology to cluster and display search results called a Wikimap. We present an overview of the website's features and suggestions for making the best use of Teach Astronomy in the classroom or at home. This material is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0715517, a CCLI Phase III Grant for the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

The International year of light 2015 and the “Cosmic light” message: awareness & dissemination in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchetti, Lucia

2015-08-01

By proclaiming the IYL2015, the United Nations recognizes the importance of light and light based technology in the lives of the citizens of the world and for the development of global society on many levels. Light and application of light science and technology are vital for existing and future advances in many scientific areas (from medicine to information & communication technology) and culture. Light is a key element in Astronomy: as astronomers, it is what we study and makes our science possible, but it is also what threatens our observations when it is set-off from the ground (light pollution). This year represents a magnificent and unique opportunity for the global Astronomical community to disseminate these messages and raise the awareness of the importance and preservation of dark skies for heritage and the natural environment. Global and National initiatives are taking place during the year of 2015 (and beyond) and in my talk I will give an overview of what, as IYL National Committee and Gold Sponsor of the year, we are carrying out in the UK. I will explain how we developed our National Programme and I will discuss how we can build-up a long-lasting “cosmic light” communication strategy exploiting the lesson learnt while carrying out our IYL UK year plan.

Research on the potential use of interactive materials on astronomy education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voelzke, Marcos Rincon; Macedo, Josue

2016-07-01

This study presents results of a survey conducted at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (IFNMG), and aimed to investigate the potentialities of the use of interactive materials in the teaching of astronomy. An advanced training course with involved learning activities about basic concepts of astronomy was offered to thirty-two Licenciate students in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences, using the mixed methodology, combined with the three pedagogical moments. Among other aspects, the viability of the use of resources was noticed, involving digital technologies and interactive materials on teaching of astronomy, which may contribute to the broadening of methodological options for future teachers and meet their training needs.

Astronomy in the Initial Formation of Sciences Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, Samuel; Euzébio, Geison João; Damasio, Felipe

2016-12-01

Although astronomy is considered one of the older sciences of mankind, its teaching in basic education is facing problems. It is the school responsibility the dissemination of correct scientific concepts, including those related to Astronomy. This study was conducted at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Santa Catarina, Campus Araranguá. In this article, we aimed to present the activities developed to help the formation of teachers, training undergraduate students in Natural Sciences with specialization in Physics to contribute to the dissemination and improvement of the teaching-learning of Astronomy. This paper presents the process and results of the evaluation of that training program. Analyses of the activity from the perspective of the participants are indicated and additional considerations are made regarding its use as a resource for teaching Astronomy and for teacher training.

Why Astronomy Should BE Part of the School Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Percy, John

Why is astronomy useful? Why should it be supported by taxpayers? Why should it be part of the school curriculum? In this paper I will list 20 reasons. They include: cultural historical and philosophical reasons; practical technological and scientific reasons; environmental aesthetic and emotional reasons; and pedagogical reasons. Astronomy can attract young people to science and technology. It can promote public awareness understanding and appreciation of science. It can be done as an inexpensive hobby; ""the stars belong to everyone"". Finally: I will connect the 20 reasons to the expectations of the modern school curriculum: knowledge skills applications and attitudes. In the context of the science curriculum this includes science technology society and environment.

Teaching and Learning Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasachoff, Jay; Percy, John

2005-12-01

Preface; Part I. Astronomy in the Curriculum Around the World: Preface; 1. Why astronomy is useful and should be included in the school curriculum John R. Percy; 2. Astronomy and mathematics education Rosa M. Ros; 3. Astronomy in the curriculum around the world; 4. Engaging gifted science students through astronomy Robert Hollow; 5. Poster highlights: astronomy in the curriculum around the world; Part II. Astronomy Education Research: Preface; 6. Astronomy education research down under John M. Broadfoot and Ian S. Ginns; 7. A contemporary review of K-16 astronomy education research Janelle M. Bailey and Timothy F. Slater; 8. Implementing astronomy education research Leonarda Fucili; 9. The Astronomy Education Review: report on a new journal Sidney C. Wolff and Andrew Fraknoi; 10. Poster highlights: astronomy education research; Part III. Educating Students: Preface; 11. Textbooks for K-12 astronomy Jay M. Pasachoff; 12. Distance/internet astronomy education David H. McKinnon; 13. Educating students with robotic telescopes - open discussion; 14. Poster highlights - educating students; Part IV. Educating teachers: Preface; 15. Pre-service astronomy education of teachers Mary Kay Hemenway; 16. In-service education of teachers Michèle Gerbaldi; 17. Poster highlights: educating teachers; Part V. Astronomy and Pseudoscience: Preface; 18. Astronomy, pseudoscience and rational thinking Jayant V. Narlikar; 19. Astronomical pseudosciences in North America John R. Percy and Jay M. Pasachoff; Part VI. Astronomy and Culture: Preface; 20. Teaching astronomy in other cultures: archeoastronomy Julieta Fierro; 21. Poster highlights: astronomy and culture; Part VII. Astronomy in Developing Countries: Preface; 22. Astronomy Curriculum for developing countries Case Rijsdijk; 23. Science education resources for the developing countries James C. White II; Part VIII. Public Outreach in Astronomy: Preface; 24. What makes informal education programs successful? Nahide Craig and Isabel

Teaching and Learning Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasachoff, Jay; Percy, John

2009-07-01

Preface; Part I. Astronomy in the Curriculum Around the World: Preface; 1. Why astronomy is useful and should be included in the school curriculum John R. Percy; 2. Astronomy and mathematics education Rosa M. Ros; 3. Astronomy in the curriculum around the world; 4. Engaging gifted science students through astronomy Robert Hollow; 5. Poster highlights: astronomy in the curriculum around the world; Part II. Astronomy Education Research: Preface; 6. Astronomy education research down under John M. Broadfoot and Ian S. Ginns; 7. A contemporary review of K-16 astronomy education research Janelle M. Bailey and Timothy F. Slater; 8. Implementing astronomy education research Leonarda Fucili; 9. The Astronomy Education Review: report on a new journal Sidney C. Wolff and Andrew Fraknoi; 10. Poster highlights: astronomy education research; Part III. Educating Students: Preface; 11. Textbooks for K-12 astronomy Jay M. Pasachoff; 12. Distance/internet astronomy education David H. McKinnon; 13. Educating students with robotic telescopes - open discussion; 14. Poster highlights - educating students; Part IV. Educating teachers: Preface; 15. Pre-service astronomy education of teachers Mary Kay Hemenway; 16. In-service education of teachers Michèle Gerbaldi; 17. Poster highlights: educating teachers; Part V. Astronomy and Pseudoscience: Preface; 18. Astronomy, pseudoscience and rational thinking Jayant V. Narlikar; 19. Astronomical pseudosciences in North America John R. Percy and Jay M. Pasachoff; Part VI. Astronomy and Culture: Preface; 20. Teaching astronomy in other cultures: archeoastronomy Julieta Fierro; 21. Poster highlights: astronomy and culture; Part VII. Astronomy in Developing Countries: Preface; 22. Astronomy Curriculum for developing countries Case Rijsdijk; 23. Science education resources for the developing countries James C. White II; Part VIII. Public Outreach in Astronomy: Preface; 24. What makes informal education programs successful? Nahide Craig and Isabel

Analysis of knowledge in Astronomy of the students of the Course of Technology in Industrial Automation at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of São Paulo - Campus Cubatao

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moraes, A. C.

2014-02-01

This work is part of a research of the academic Masters in Science in Education. It seeks to present the results of the survey conducted among students of the technology course in industrial automation at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of São Paulo at the Campus Cubatão (IFSP Campus Cubatão). In the first step, the students' lack of knowledge to the related primary concepts of Astronomy turned out. In a second step, a Basic Course in Astronomy was held outside the syllabus, including classes, lectures and films with pertinent content, which corrected initially found erros. Through a special approach, containing diverse teaching strategies, astronomical concepts were learned or relearned. Analysing the responses of this second step it was found that students had a significant improvement in learning.

Technology and Special Needs Provision in the UK: Is Current Law Satisfactory?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kariyawasam, Rohan

2007-01-01

Recently, the government has issued legislation on disability discrimination (the UK "Disability Discrimination Act" 2005) that is silent on the issue of access to technology for those adults and minors with special needs/disabilities either in the classroom or out of the classroom. At the same time, commercial legislation from Europe…

Sustainable Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blaha, C.; Goetz, J.; Johnson, T.

2011-09-01

Through our International Year of Astronomy outreach effort, we established a sustainable astronomy program and curriculum in the Northfield, Minnesota community. Carleton College offers monthly open houses at Goodsell Observatory and donated its recently "retire" observing equipment to local schools. While public evenings continue to be popular, the donated equipment was underutilized due to a lack of trained student observing assistants. With sponsorship from NASA's IYA Student Ambassador program, the sustainable astronomy project began in 2009 to generate greater interest in astronomy and train middle school and high school students as observing assistants. Carleton physics majors developed curricular materials and instituted regular outreach programs for grades 6-12. The Northfield High School Astronomy Club was created, and Carleton undergraduates taught high school students how to use telescopes and do CCD imaging. During the summer of 2009, Carleton students began the Young Astronomers Summer Experience (YASE) program for middle school students and offered a two-week, astronomy-rich observing and imaging experience at Goodsell Observatory. In concert with NASA's Summer of Innovation initiative, the YASE program was offered again in 2010 and engaged a new group of local middle school students in hands-on scientific experiments and observing opportunities. Members of the high school astronomy club now volunteer as observing assistants in the community and graduates of the YASE programs are eager to continue observing as members of a public service astronomy club when they enter the Northfield High School. These projects are training future scientists and will sustain the public's interest in astronomy long after the end of IYA 2009.

NASA's future plans for space astronomy and astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaplan, Michael S.

1992-01-01

NASA's plans in the field of space astronomy and astrophysics through the first decade of the next century are reviewed with reference to specific missions and mission concepts. The missions discussed include the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, the Submillimeter Intermediate Mission, the Astrometric Interferometry Mission, the Greater Observatories program, and Mission from Planet Earth. Plans to develop optics and sensors technology to enable these missions are also discussed.

Initial Teacher Training Science Nature and Mathematics and the Teaching of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macedo, Josué Antunes de

2014-11-01

Although Astronomy is part of the National Curriculum Parameters, it is rarely taught adequately in basic education. In this regard, this research has been developed aiming to investigate contributions to the use of traditional resources combined with digital technologies, in order to create autonomy for future teachers of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in relation to themes in Astronomy. The following steps were taken: i) analysis of educational pedagogical projects (EPP) from licentiate courses at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (FINMG); ii) analysis of students' preconceptions on Astronomy and digital technologies; iii) elaboration of the course and application, developed under the education modality of blended learning, using the teaching proposal of methological pluralism; iv) application and analysis of the final questionnaire. The research subjects were constituted by thirty-two students of Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences courses. A mixed methodology with a pre-experimental delineation, combined with content analysis, has been used. The results showed the following: at the IFNMG, only the licentiate course in physics includes Astronomy content in several curriculum subjects; students´ rates of previous knowledge of Astronomy are low, and there are indications of meaningful learning of concepts related to Astronomy. This research sought to contribute to initial teacher training, particularly in relation to Astronomy teaching, proposing new alternatives to promote the teaching of this knowledge area. Furthermore, the intention was to respond to requests of institutions for implementation of blended learning or distance courses, since during the survey it was verified that, although discussions in forums are important, there is a need for such courses to promote on-site meetings conducting practical and manipulative activities.

Problems facing promotion of astronomy in Arab countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osman, Anas M. I.

Promotion of astronomy in Arab countries is facing many scientific and technical problems. Teaching astronomy starts very late in schools, with very simple and limited courses. Many teachers lack a suitable astronomical background, which can lead to incorrect understanding by students of many astronomical ideas and phenomena. Teaching astronomy at higher levels is also very limited, for example: among the 16 universities in Egypt, astronomy is taught in only two faculties of science, just for two years. Graduate students find many difficulties in obtaining jobs related to astronomical activities and this is a serious limitation on the attraction of the study of astronomy. On the other hand, astronomical institutions are suffering from a serious lack of the new sophisticated equipment, while the budget allotted for maintenance is very small, and there is a serious shortage of technical staff. The training of astronomers and technicians is badly needed, since good research work depends on modern technological equipment and the complicated software used in controlling such equipment and in data analysis. Good libraries are needed for promotion of astronomy especially, the Internet facilities available for the staff is very limited. The effects of culture are very clear; many authorities in developing countries believe that astronomy is a luxury. Finally, most of astronomers are engaged with a lot of administration for all matters, so the free time left for science is very limited.

Research in space science and technology. [including X-ray astronomy and interplanetary plasma physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beckley, L. E.

1977-01-01

Progress in various space flight research programs is reported. Emphasis is placed on X-ray astronomy and interplanetary plasma physics. Topics covered include: infrared astronomy, long base line interferometry, geological spectroscopy, space life science experiments, atmospheric physics, and space based materials and structures research. Analysis of galactic and extra-galactic X-ray data from the Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS-3) and HEAO-A and interplanetary plasma data for Mariner 10, Explorers 47 and 50, and Solrad is discussed.

Division x: Radio Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Russ; Chapman, Jessica; Rendong, Nan; Carilli, Christopher; Giovannini, Gabriele; Hills, Richard; Hirabayashi, Hisashi; Jonas, Justin; Lazio, Joseph; Morganti, Raffaella; Rubio, Monica; Shastri, Prajval

2012-04-01

This triennium has seen a phenomenal investment in development of observational radio astronomy facilities in all parts of the globe at a scale that significantly impacts the international community. This includes both major enhancements such as the transition from the VLA to the EVLA in North America, and the development of new facilities such as LOFAR, ALMA, FAST, and Square Kilometre Array precursor telescopes in Australia and South Africa. These developments are driven by advances in radio-frequency, digital and information technologies that tremendously enhance the capabilities in radio astronomy. These new developments foreshadow major scientific advances driven by radio observations in the next triennium. We highlight these facility developments in section 3 of this report. A selection of science highlight from this triennium are summarized in section 2.

An Overview of the Swinburne Online Astronomy Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempsey, F.

2013-06-01

(Abstract only) An overview of the online astronomy courses at Swinburne University of Technology is presented for the benefit of AAVSO members who might be interested in the courses or programs. The decision to take the online Master's degree in astronomy at Swinburne was a natural evolution from being interested in astronomy at an early age, being an amateur astronomer all my life, and being a variable star observer and member of the AAVSO for the past several decades. This presentation provides an overview of the program and examples of the course materials, assignments, and projects that may provide some idea of the commitment and expectations for AAVSO members considering the program.

Exploring Metacogntive Visual Literacy Tasks for Teaching Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, Timothy F.; Slater, S.; Dwyer, W.

2010-01-01

Undoubtedly, astronomy is a scientific enterprise which often results in colorful and inspirational images of the cosmos that naturally capture our attention. Students encountering astronomy in the college classroom are often bombarded with images, movies, simulations, conceptual cartoons, graphs, and charts intended to convey the substance and technological advancement inherent in astronomy. For students who self-identify themselves as visual learners, this aspect can make the science of astronomy come alive. For students who naturally attend to visual aesthetics, this aspect can make astronomy seem relevant. In other words, the visual nature that accompanies much of the scientific realm of astronomy has the ability to connect a wide range of students to science, not just those few who have great abilities and inclinations toward the mathematical analysis world. Indeed, this is fortunate for teachers of astronomy, who actively try to find ways to connect and build astronomical understanding with a broad range of student interests, motivations, and abilities. In the context of learning science, metacognition describes students’ self-monitoring, -regulation, and -awareness when thinking about learning. As such, metacognition is one of the foundational pillars supporting what we know about how people learn. Yet, the astronomy teaching and learning community knows very little about how to operationalize and support students’ metacognition in the classroom. In response, the Conceptual Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team is developing and pilot-testing metacogntive tasks in the context of astronomy that focus on visual literacy of astronomical phenomena. In the initial versions, students are presented with a scientifically inaccurate narrative supposedly describing visual information, including images and graphical information, and asked to assess and correct the narrative, in the form of peer evaluation. To guide student thinking, students

A Radio Astronomy Curriculum for STARLAB

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boltuch, D.; Hund, L.; Buck, S.; Fultz, C.; Smith, T.; Harris, R.; Castelaz, M. W.; Moffett, D.; LaFratta, M.; Walsh, L.

2005-12-01

We present elements of a curriculum that will accompany the STARLAB module "Sensing the Radio Sky" a portable planetarium program and projection of the radio sky. The curriculum will serve to familiarize high school students to a set of topics in radio astronomy. The curriculum includes lessons and activities addressing several topics related to radio astronomy and the Milky Way that consists of two main resources: a manual and a multimedia website. It is designed to accommodate a wide variety of possible uses and time constraints. The manufacturer of STARLAB, Learning Technologies, Inc. produces a short manual to accompany each presentation for the STARLAB. The "Sensing the Radio Sky" manual we have created includes the mandatory, minimum background information that students need to understand radio astronomy. It briefly discusses waves and electromagnetic radiation, similarities and differences between optical and radio astronomy, probable misconceptions about radio astronomy, how radio images are produced, synchrotron radiation in the Milky Way, and galactic coordinates. It also includes a script that presenters can choose to follow inside the STARLAB, a lesson plan for teachers, and activities for students to complete before and after the STARLAB experience that mirror the scientific method. The multimedia website includes more detailed information about electromagnetic radiation and a more detailed comparison of optical and radio astronomy. It also discusses the life cycles of stars, radiation from a variety of specific sources, and pulsars, as each relates to radio astronomy. The five highly detailed lessons are pulled together in sixth "overview lesson", intended for use by teachers who want to present more than the basic material in the manual, but do not have the classroom time to teach all five of the in-depth lessons. . We acknowledge support from the NSF Internship in Public Science Education Program grant number 0324729.

Large Instrument Development for Radio Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisher, J. Richard; Warnick, Karl F.; Jeffs, Brian D.; Norrod, Roger D.; Lockman, Felix J.; Cordes, James M.; Giovanelli, Riccardo

2009-03-01

This white paper offers cautionary observations about the planning and development of new, large radio astronomy instruments. Complexity is a strong cost driver so every effort should be made to assign differing science requirements to different instruments and probably different sites. The appeal of shared resources is generally not realized in practice and can often be counterproductive. Instrument optimization is much more difficult with longer lists of requirements, and the development process is longer and less efficient. More complex instruments are necessarily further behind the technology state of the art because of longer development times. Including technology R&D in the construction phase of projects is a growing trend that leads to higher risks, cost overruns, schedule delays, and project de-scoping. There are no technology breakthroughs just over the horizon that will suddenly bring down the cost of collecting area. Advances come largely through careful attention to detail in the adoption of new technology provided by industry and the commercial market. Radio astronomy instrumentation has a very bright future, but a vigorous long-term R&D program not tied directly to specific projects needs to be restored, fostered, and preserved.

Survey on the use of CAD-CAM technology by UK and Irish dental technicians.

PubMed

Blackwell, E; Nesbit, M; Petridis, H

2017-05-12

Statement of the problem Digital workflows (CAD/CAM) have been introduced in dentistry during recent years. No published information exists on dental technicians' use and reporting of this technology.Purpose The aim of this cross sectional survey was to identify the extent digital technology has infiltrated the workplace and to investigate the factors affecting the use of CAD-CAM technology by dental laboratory technicians within Ireland and the UK.Materials and methods A web-based questionnaire was composed (Opinio, Object Planet Inc. Oslo, Norway) and distributed to UK and Irish dental technicians. Answers to all questions were anonymous and grouped such that general information was gathered initially, followed by branching of the survey into two sections depending on whether or not the respondent worked with CAD-CAM technology. Results were compiled and statistical analysis (Fisher's Exact test, SPSS, IBM, Armonk, New York, USA) was performed in order to investigate any correlation between various demographic variables and the answers provided.Results The survey was distributed to 760 UK technicians and 77 Irish technicians. The total number of completed surveys was 105, which yielded a total response rate of 14%. Most technicians reported using some form of CAD/CAM aspect in the workflow, and this was more significant for technicians working in large laboratories. Most training received was company-led. Large laboratories were also significantly correlated with less outsourcing of CAD/CAM work and a change in dental material use leading to the increase of zirconia and the decrease of noble alloys. Dental technicians did not report any significant change in working relationships and staffing as a result of CAD/CAM incorporation. High initial investment cost was the most common reason quoted from non-users, along with the lack of such technology in their working environment.

The Sky's the Limit! Introducing GCSE Astronomy at Glyncoed Comprehensive School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeffes, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Edexcel's GCSE Astronomy syllabus provides an opportunity for students to develop their understanding and enthusiasm for astronomy, as well as to complement and extend the reach of their study of key stage 4 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. This article, based on research conducted by the National Foundation for…

The Development of Astronomy and Emergence of Astrophysics in New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hearnshaw, John; Orchiston, Wayne

The development of astronomy and astrophysics in New Zealand from the earliest European exploration and settlement to the present day is discussed. The major contributions to astronomy by amateur astronomers are covered, as is the later development of astronomy and astrophysics in New Zealand's universities. The account includes the founding of professional observatories for optical astronomy at Mt. John (belonging to the University of Canterbury) and for radio astronomy at Warkworth (belonging to the Auckland University of Technology). Several major international collaborations in which New Zealand is participating (or has participated) are described, including SALT, MOA, IceCube and SKA. The founding and history of the Carter Observatory in Wellington, of the Stardome Observatory in Auckland (both engaged in astronomical education and outreach) and of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand are briefly covered.

Worldviews of Introductory Astronomy Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Chrystin; Wallace, C. S.; Brissenden, G.; Prather, E. E.; Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS)

2014-01-01

As a part of a larger project to study introductory astronomy students’ worldviews and beliefs about the role of science in society, we examined students’ responses to a subset of questions designed to probe students’ worldviews and how they change after taking a general education, introductory astronomy course (Astro 101). Specifically, we looked at about 400 students’ choices for the top ten scientific discoveries in the past 150 years. We collected students’ rankings twice: Once at the start of their Astro 101 class and once at the end. We created a rubric that we used to categorize the responses and we established the inter-rater reliability of the rubric. Our results show that students preferentially answered with topics related to technology and health and medicine. The data also show that there was an increase, pre- to post-instruction, in the number of responses in the technology and health and medicine categories. We also saw a decrease in the number of responses in the science category. These results imply that an aspect of the course specifically implemented to broaden student’s views on science in relation to society was successful. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-0847170, for the California-Arizona Minority Partnership for Astronomy Research and Education (CAMPARE) program. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Lenses for Seeing Astronomy in Hawaii

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veincent, Lehua M.

2012-01-01

It is well know that there has been a history of societal and cultural conflict surrounding the development of Western astronomy science in Hawai'i. To the outside observer, it may seem that the conflict is a residual effect from the manner in which the observatories were built, or that Native Hawaiians simply do not want outsiders encroaching on sacred mountains. While there may be some in the Islands who strongly argue against the observatories for these reasons, there are also individuals that support the idea of such needed research in this progressive time of technology. More importantly, these explanations are overly simplistic. What cultural experts, practitioners and liaisons now recognize is that much of the unexpected difficulties encountered in developing the Hawaiian workforce, science, technologies and sympathies to support the observatories, lie in a failure to understand the Native Hawaiian ontology related to themselves and their place in the world. One very simple way to characterize a Native Hawaiian worldview is that astronomy is not an isolated subject of study; rather, astronomy serves as a deeply interconnected human interface between the ocean, the land, language, genealogy, and a sense of place. In this paper Ke Kumu Lehua Veincent will describe the Hawaiian worldview, and shed light on the problem areas where this worldview, and the strictly academic view of astronomy come into conflict. Cultural intelligence and ancestral knowledge is also brought forth that suggests a much needed pathway in which these two viewpoints can engage and coexist with pono,or with balance without compromising what was, what is, and what is yet to come striving for continuous improvement, in science and for the people of Hawai'i.

Astronomy Education in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metaxa, M.

Basic education is fundamental to higher education and scientific and technological literacy. We can confront the widespread adult ignorance and apathy about science and technology. Astronomy, an interdisciplinary science, enhances students' interest and overcomes educational problems. Three years ago, we developed astronomy education in these ways: 1. Summer School for School Students. (50 students from Athens came to the first Summer School in Astrophysics at the National Observatory, September 2-5, 1996, for lectures by professional astronomers and to be familiarized with observatory instruments. 2. Introducing Students to Research. (This teaches students more about science so they are more confident about it. Our students have won top prizes in European research contests for their studies of objects on Schmidt plates and computations on PCs.) 3. Hands-on Activities. (Very important because they bring students close to their natural environment. Activities are: variable-star observations (AAVSO), Eratosthenes project, solar-eclipse, sunspot and comet studies. 4. Contact with Professional Astronomers and Institutes. (These help students reach their social environment and motivate them as "science carriers". We try to make contacts at astronomical events, and through visits to appropriate institutions.) 5. Internet Programs. (Students learn about and familiarize themselves with their technological environment.) 6. Laboratory exercises. (Students should do science, not just learn about it We introduced the following lab. exercises: supernova remnants, galaxy classification, both from Schmidt plates, celestial sphere.

Micro-System Technology for X-ray Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schattenburg, Mark L.

2002-01-01

This research investigation was devoted to developing micro-system and nanotechnology for x-ray astronomy optics. The goal was to develop and demonstrate new types of lightweight, high accuracy x-ray optics for future high throughput, high resolution x-ray telescopes such as Constellation X (Con-X) and MAXIM. A number of significant accomplishments were reported under this program, which are summarized below. Most of this work has been reported in journal and conference proceedings and in presentations to NASA and at international meeting (see Bibliography).

Astronomy and Politics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steele, John M.

The relationship between astronomy and politics is a complex but important part of understanding the practice of astronomy throughout history. This chapter explores some of the ways that astronomy, astrology, and politics have interacted, placing particular focus on the way that astronomy and astrology have been used for political purposes by both people in power and people who wish to influence a ruler's policy. Also discussed are the effects that politics has had on the development of astronomy and, in particular, upon the recording and preservation of astronomical knowledge.

Scientific divulgation through the teaching of Astronomy and Mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, Alysson Wanderley Teixeira; de Macedo, Josué Antunes; Voelzke, Marcos Rincon

2015-09-01

This article presents an experience report of a workshop held at the State School Professor Plínio Ribeiro, who aimed to spread the use of interactive materials for teaching Astronomy and its relationship with Mathematics during the Forum Biotemas. Despite being part of the official documents, be present in the curricular proposals from several Brazilian states, and has contributed to the human and technological development, Astronomy is rarely taught adequately in basic education, with unsatisfactory results presented by students and teachers. In this sense was held a workshop planned for elementary education students called 'Astronomy and Mathematics: Learn to Observe the Sky With Other Eyes' involving several resources. The methodology consisted of awareness of those involved, presentation videos, using Stellarium software, application of Mathematics in Astronomy and discussions. Among the main results, can highlight students' interest in scientific matters, because when the study of the sciences takes place without interaction with natural and technological phenomena, a huge gap in the education of students occurs. In this sense, the use of different resources, as templates, observations, real and virtual experiments, animations, simulations, video lessons, can arouse the interest of students by conceptual content, differently from what happens when the study takes place using only conventional resources, with books and handouts.

Artificial Intelligence in Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devinney, E. J.; Prša, A.; Guinan, E. F.; Degeorge, M.

2010-12-01

From the perspective (and bias) as Eclipsing Binary researchers, we give a brief overview of the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, describe major application areas of AI in astronomy, and illustrate the power of an AI approach in an application developed under the EBAI (Eclipsing Binaries via Artificial Intelligence) project, which employs Artificial Neural Network technology for estimating light curve solution parameters of eclipsing binary systems.

How to recognize the work of researchers in astronomy communication?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russo, Pedro

2015-08-01

One of the most important current trends in astronomy communication has been “change”. The field of astronomy communication has rapidly evolved in just the past few years, as new techniques and technologies have been adopted. Research astronomy has also visibly changed, as automation of survey systems and the launch of new telescopes has produced a tsunami of big data sets. Today, scientists and communicators must work together to navigate the raging waters of this data flood as they strive to keep our tech-savvy society informed.This invited talk will be given by Rick Fienberg.

Recommended Priorities for NASA's Gamma Ray Astronomy Program 1999-2013

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carol, Ladd

1999-01-01

The Gamma-Ray Astronomy Program Working Group (GRAPWG) recommends priorities for the NASA Gamma-Ray Astronomy Program. The highest priority science topic is nuclear astrophysics and sites of gamma ray line emission. Other high priority topics are gamma ray bursts, hard x-ray emission from accreting black holes and neutron stars, the Advanced Compton Telescope (ACT), the High-resolution Spectroscopic Imager (HSI), and the Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST). The recommendations include special consideration for technology development, TeV astronomy, the ultra-long duration balloon (ULDB) program, the International Space Station, optical telescope support, and data analysis and theory.

Air pollution control residues from waste incineration: current UK situation and assessment of alternative technologies.

PubMed

Rani, D Amutha; Boccaccini, A R; Deegan, D; Cheeseman, C R

2008-11-01

Current disposal options for APC residues in the UK and alternative treatment technologies developed world-wide have been reviewed. APC residues are currently landfilled in the UK where they undergo in situ solidification, although the future acceptability of this option is uncertain because the EU waste acceptance criteria (WAC) introduce strict limits on leaching that are difficult to achieve. Other APC residue treatment processes have been developed which are reported to reduce leaching to below relevant regulatory limits. The Ferrox process, the VKI process, the WES-PHix process, stabilisation/solidification using cementitious binders and a range of thermal treatment processes are reviewed. Thermal treatment technologies convert APC residues combined with other wastes into inert glass or glass-ceramics that encapsulate heavy metals. The waste management industry will inevitably use the cheapest available option for treating APC residues and strict interpretation and enforcement of waste legislation is required if new, potentially more sustainable technologies are to become commercially viable.

Southern African Office of Astronomy for Development: A New Hub for Astronomy for Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mutondo, Moola S.; Simpemba, Prospery

2016-10-01

A new Astronomy for Development hub needs innovative tools and programs. SAROAD is developing exciting tools integrating Raspberry Pi technology to bring cost-effective astronomy content to learning centres. SAROAD would also like to report achievements in realizing the IAU's strategic plan. In order to manage, evaluate and coordinate regional IAU (International Astronomical Union) capacity building programmes, including the recruitment and mobilization of volunteers, SAROAD has built an intranet that is accessible to regional members upon request. Using this resource, regional members can see and participate in regional activities. SAROAD has commenced with projects in the three Task Force areas of Universities and Research, Children and Schools and Public Outreach. Under the three Task Force areas, a total of seven projects have commenced in Zambia (some supported by funds from IAU Annual Call for proposals).

Highlights of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Hucht, Karel

2008-02-01

Preface Karel A. van der Hucht; Part I. Invited Discourses: Part II. Joint Discussions: 1. Particle acceleration - from Solar System to AGN Marian Karlicky and John C. Brown; 2. Pulsar emission and related phenomena Werner Becker, Janusz A. Gil and Bronislaw Rudak; 3. Solar activity regions and magnetic structure Debi Prasad Choudhary and Michal Sobotka; 4. The ultraviolet universe: Stars from birth to death Ana I. Gomez de Castro and Martin A. Barstow; 5. Calibrating the top of the stellar M-L relationship Claus Leitherer, Anthony F. J. Moat and Joachim Puls; 6. Neutron stars and black holes in star clusters Frederic A. Rasio; 7. The Universe at z > 6 Daniel Schaerer and Andrea Ferrara; 8. Solar and stellar activity cycles Klaus G. Strassmeier and Alexander Kosovichev; 9. Supernovae: One millennium after SN 1006 P. Frank Winkler, Wolfgang Hillebrandt and Brian P. Schmidt; 10. Progress in planetary exploration missions Guy J. Consolmagno; 11. Pre-solar grains as astrophysical tools Anja C. Andersen and John C. Lattanzio; 12. Long wavelength astrophysics T. Joseph W. Lazio and Namir E. Kassim; 13. Exploiting large surveys for galactic astronomy Christopher J. Corbally, Coryn A. L. Bailer-Jones, Sunetra Giridhar and Thomas H. Lloyd Evans; 14. Modeling dense stellar systems Alison I. Sills, Ladislav Subr and Simon F. Portegies Zwart; 15. New cosmology results from the Spitzer Space Telescope George Helou and David T. Frayer; 16. Nomenclature, precession and new models in fundamental astronomy Nicole Capitaine, Jan Vondrak & James L. Hilton; 17. Highlights of recent progress in seismology of the Sun and Sun-like stars John W. Leibacher and Michael J. Thompson; Part III. Special Sessions: SpS 1. Large astronomical facilities of the next decade Gerard F. Gilmore and Richard T. Schilizzi; SpS 2. Innovation in teaching and learning astronomy methods Rosa M. Ros and Jay M. Pasachoff; SpS 3. The Virtual Observatory in action: New science, new technology and next

Astronomy Education. Third Newsletter of the TGEA (Task Group on Education in Astronomy).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wentzel, Donat G., Comp.

This newsletter, published by the Task Group on Education in Astronomy, focuses on astronomy education both for the public and for schools. Topics in this issue include new publications related to astronomy education; a roster of consultants on astronomy education; a collection of course syllabuses (college level); teaching astronomy in schools,…

Astronomy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenstone, Sid; Smith, Murray

Selected materials needed to teach an astronomy unit as well as suggested procedures, activities, ideas, and astronomy fact sheets published by the Manitoba Planetarium are provided. Subjects of the fact sheets include: publications and classroom picture sets available from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and facts and statistics…

Introducing Astronomy Related Research into Non-Astronomy Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Douglas

The concern over the insufficient number of students choosing to enter the science and engineering fields has been discussed and documented for years. While historically addressed at the national level, many states are now recognizing that the lack of a highly-skilled technical workforce within their states' borders has a significant effect on their economic health. Astronomy, as a science field, is no exception. Articles appear periodically in the most popular astronomy magazines asking the question, "Where are the young astronomers?" Astronomy courses at the community college level are normally restricted to introductory astronomy I and II level classes that introduce the student to the basics of the night sky and astronomy. The vast majority of these courses is geared toward the non-science major and is considered by many students to be easy and watered down courses in comparison to typical physics and related science courses. A majority of students who enroll in these classes are not considering majors in science or astronomy since they believe that science is "boring and won't produce any type of career for them." Is there any way to attract students? This paper discusses an approach being undertaken at the Estrella Mountain Community College to introduce students in selected mathematics courses to aspects of astronomy related research to demonstrate that science is anything but boring. Basic statistical techniques and understanding of geometry are applied to a large virgin data set containing the magnitudes and phase characteristics of sets of variable stars. The students' work consisted of developing and presenting a project that explored analyzing selected aspects of the variable star data set. The description of the data set, the approach the students took for research projects, and results from a survey conducted at semester's end to determine if student's interest and appreciation of astronomy was affected are presented. Using the data set provided, the

Physics Education: Effect of Micro-Teaching Method Supported by Educational Technologies on Pre-Service Science Teachers' Misconceptions on Basic Astronomy Subjects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gurbuz, Fatih

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research study is to explore pre-service science teachers' misconceptions on basic astronomy subjects and to examine the effect of micro teaching method supported by educational technologies on correcting misconceptions. This study is an action research. Semi- structured interviews were used in the study as a data collection…

A Grand Vision for European Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2007-09-01

, community-based Infrastructure Roadmap, crucial to keep Europe at the forefront of astronomical research," says de Zeeuw. ESO PR Photo 44a/07 European astronomy today is fully competitive on the global scene and is at the forefront in many domains with such breakthroughs as the first detection of a planet around a sun-like star, the successful landing on Titan, the proof that a massive black hole exists in the centre of our own Galaxy, the discovery of gravitational arcs around galaxy clusters, and the proof that most Gamma Ray Bursts are caused by huge exploding stars. The rise of European astronomy to this top position by the end of last century has been achieved through extensive cooperation and coordination of efforts, in particular through ESO for optical astronomy and ESA for space astronomy. To strengthen this position and to extend it to all branches of astronomy and all nations of the new Europe, a group of European funding agencies set up the ASTRONET programme with the goal to establish a comprehensive long-term development plan of European astronomy. ASTRONET therefore covers all astrophysical domains from cosmology to the Solar system, and every observing window, from space and from the ground, and from electromagnetic radiation to particles and gravitational waves. It addresses the whole astronomical 'food chain' from infrastructure and technology development to observation, data access, modelling and theory, and the human resources needed to make it all work. This effort is quite similar in scope to the 'decadal surveys' conducted in the USA over the last half-century, but unlike its American counterpart, ASTRONET was set up directly by the national funding agencies, with strong support from the European Commission. "A shared long-term Science Vision for European astronomy is the fundamental first step in the process, soon to be followed by a detailed infrastructure and technology development roadmap," says Johannes Andersen (NOTSA, Denmark), the ASTRONET

Nontechnical Astronomy Books of 1989.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercury, 1990

1990-01-01

Presented are 126 reviews. Categories include amateur astronomy, children's books, computers and astronomy, cosmic rays, cosmology, education in astronomy, galaxies, general astronomy, history of astronomy, life in the universe, physics and astronomy, pseudoscience, quasars and active galaxies, reference, solar system, space exploration, stars and…

A Pilot Astronomy Outreach Project in Bangladesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Dipen; Mridha, Shahjahan; Afroz, Maqsuda

2015-08-01

In its strategic planning for the "Astronomy for Development Project," the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has ecognized, among other important missions, the role of astronomy in understanding the far-reaching possibilities for promoting global tolerance and citizenship. Furthermore, astronomy is deemed inspirational for careers in science and technology. The "Pilot Astronomy Outreach Project in Bangladesh"--the first of its kind in the country--aspires to fulfill these missions. As Bangladesh lacks resources to promote astronomy education in universities and schools, the role of disseminating astronomy education to the greater community falls on citizen science organizations. One such group, Anushandhitshu Chokro (AChokro) Science Organization, has been carrying out a successful public outreach program since 1975. Among its documented public events, AChokro organized a total solar eclipse campaign in Bangladesh in 2009, at which 15,000 people were assembled in a single open venue for the eclipse observation. The organization has actively pursued astronomy outreach to dispel public misconceptions about astronomical phenomena and to promote science. AChokro is currently working to build an observatory and Science Outreach Center around a recently-acquired 14-inch Scmidt-Cassegrain telescope and a soon-to-be-acquired new 16-inch reflector, all funded by private donations. The telescopes will be fitted with photometers, spectrometers, and digital and CCD cameras to pursue observations that would include sun spot and solar magnetic fields, planetary surfaces, asteroid search, variable stars and supernovae. The Center will be integrated with schools, colleges, and community groups for regular observation and small-scale research. Special educational and observing sessions for adults will also be organized. Updates on the development of the Center, which is expected to be functioning by the end of 2015, will be shared and feedback invited on the fostering of

Astronomy: On the Bleeding Edge of Scholarly Infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borgman, Christine; Sands, A.; Wynholds, L. A.

2013-01-01

The infrastructure for scholarship has moved online, making data, articles, papers, journals, catalogs, and other scholarly resources nodes in a deeply interconnected network. Astronomy has led the way on several fronts, developing tools such as ADS to provide unified access to astronomical publications and reaching agreement on a common data file formats such as FITS. Astronomy also was among the first fields to establish open access to substantial amounts of observational data. We report on the first three years of a long-term research project to study knowledge infrastructures in astronomy, funded by the NSF and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Early findings indicate that the availability and use of networked technologies for integrating scholarly resources varies widely within astronomy. Substantial differences arise in the management of data between ground-based and space-based missions and between subfields of astronomy, for example. While large databases such as SDSS and MAST are essential resources for many researchers, much pointed, ground-based observational data exist only on local servers, with minimal curation. Some astronomy data are easily discoverable and usable, but many are not. International coordination activities such as IVOA and distributed access to high-level data products servers such as SIMBAD and NED are enabling further integration of published data. Astronomers are tackling yet more challenges in new forms of publishing data, algorithms, visualizations, and in assuring interoperability with parallel infrastructure efforts in related fields. New issues include data citation, attribution, and provenance. Substantial concerns remain for the long term discoverability, accessibility, usability, and curation of astronomy data and other scholarly resources. The presentation will outline these challenges, how they are being addressed by astronomy and related fields, and identify concerns and accomplishments expressed by the astronomers we have

An Online Astronomy Course VS. A Interactive Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, Timothy F.; Bailey, Janelle M.; Jaeggli, Sarah A.; Jones, Lauren V.; Lee, Ariane C.

Contemporary science education reforms emphasize building instruction around students’ pre-instructional beliefs fostering a learning environment where students interact with information and phenomena and providing students with frequent feedback to help them monitor their own learning. Recently personal computers and the Internet have given students access to scientific data sets and visualization tools that only professional scientists could use a few years before. With these things in mind we designed a hypermedia learning experience for introductory astronomy (Astronomy Online) that matches Internet technology with how people learn. Astronomy Online was used as the sole delivery system for courses offered during the Fall 2002 semester. The courses are run online. In one manifestation the course was delivered to middle and secondary school teachers spread across the globe. In another version the course was delivered to college undergraduate non-science majors where the only class meetings were a single orientation session and three on-campus exams. We compare these with on-campus courses that use highly interactive teaching techniques by studying common examination questions the Astronomy Diagnostic Test an attitude survey and interviews with students

Thread safe astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seaman, R.

2008-03-01

Observational astronomy is the beneficiary of an ancient chain of apprenticeship. Kepler's laws required Tycho's data. As the pace of discoveries has increased over the centuries, so has the cadence of tutelage (literally, "watching over"). Naked eye astronomy is thousands of years old, the telescope hundreds, digital imaging a few decades, but today's undergraduates will use instrumentation yet unbuilt - and thus, unfamiliar to their professors - to complete their doctoral dissertations. Not only has the quickening cadence of astronomical data-taking overrun the apprehension of the science within, but the contingent pace of experimental design threatens our capacity to learn new techniques and apply them productively. Virtual technologies are necessary to accelerate our human processes of perception and comprehension to keep up with astronomical instrumentation and pipelined dataflows. Necessary, but not sufficient. Computers can confuse us as efficiently as they illuminate. Rather, as with neural pathways evolved to meet competitive ecological challenges, astronomical software and data must become organized into ever more coherent `threads' of execution. These are the same threaded constructs as understood by computer science. No datum is an island.

Getting and Holding a Job with an Astronomy Degree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guinan, E. F.

1995-12-01

This panel session will focus on a realistic assessment of the current and future employment opportunities for trained Astronomers. The development of strategies for finding worthwhile employment in today's \\it challenging\\ job market. Opportunities both within and without the traditional astronomy fields will be explored. Astronomy degrees can provide a broad training in related physical sciences, mathematics, computers, and innovative, new technologies while honing a person's ability to solve a wide spectrum of difficult and complex problems. With these skills, a number of past and present AAS members have found interesting and rewarding employment outside of mainstream Astronomy and in fields unrelated to Astronomy. This session will: \\hang 1. Summarize the results of the recent job survey conducted among AAS members. \\hang 2. Provide job search information from people who have recently found jobs and from experts who assist people with scientific and technical backgrounds to find jobs. \\hang 3. Focus attention on possible alternative careers.

Armenian Cultural Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-07-01

Cultural Astronomy is the reflection of sky events in various fields of nations' culture. In foreign literature this field is also called "Astronomy in Culture" or "Astronomy and Culture". Cultural astronomy is the set of interdisciplinary fields studying the astronomical systems of current or ancient societies and cultures. It is manifested in Religion, Mythology, Folklore, Poetry, Art, Linguistics and other fields. In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to this sphere, particularly international organizations were established, conferences are held and journals are published. Armenia is also rich in cultural astronomy. The present paper focuses on Armenian archaeoastronomy and cultural astronomy, including many creations related to astronomical knowledge; calendars, rock art, mythology, etc. On the other hand, this subject is rather poorly developed in Armenia; there are only individual studies on various related issues (especially many studies related to Anania Shirakatsi) but not coordinated actions to manage this important field of investigation.

Astronomy in Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soonthornthum, B.

2006-08-01

Astronomy in Asia has continuously developed. Local wisdom in many Asian countries reflects their interest in astronomy since the historical period. However, the astronomical development in each country is different which depends on their cultures, politics and economics. Astronomy in some Asian developing countries such as China and India are well-developed while some other countries especially in south-east Asia, with some supports such as telescopes, trainings, experts etc. from some developed countries, are trying to promote relevant research in astronomy as well as use astronomy as a tool to promote scientific awareness and understanding for the public. Recently, a new national research institute in astronomy with a 2.4-meter reflecting telescope has been established in Thailand. One of the major objectives of this research-emphasis institute would aim at a collaborative network among south-east Asian countries so as to be able to contribute new knowledge and research to the astronomical community.

Astronomy and Computing: A new journal for the astronomical computing community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Accomazzi, Alberto; Budavári, Tamás; Fluke, Christopher; Gray, Norman; Mann, Robert G.; O'Mullane, William; Wicenec, Andreas; Wise, Michael

2013-02-01

We introduce Astronomy and Computing, a new journal for the growing population of people working in the domain where astronomy overlaps with computer science and information technology. The journal aims to provide a new communication channel within that community, which is not well served by current journals, and to help secure recognition of its true importance within modern astronomy. In this inaugural editorial, we describe the rationale for creating the journal, outline its scope and ambitions, and seek input from the community in defining in detail how the journal should work towards its high-level goals.

Next-Generation X-Ray Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, Nicholas E.

2011-01-01

The future timing capabilities in X-ray astronomy will be reviewed. This will include reviewing the missions in implementation: Astro-H, GEMS, SRG, and ASTROSAT; those under study: currently ATHENA and LOFT; and new technologies that may enable future missions e.g. Lobster eye optics. These missions and technologies will bring exciting new capabilities across the entire time spectrum from micro-seconds to years that e.g. will allow us to probe close to the event horizon of black holes and constrain the equation of state of neutron stars.

History of Astronomy Under the Auspices of the IAU

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochhar, Rajesh; Sun, Xiaochun; Ruggles, Clive; Avilés, Juan Antonio Belmonte; Corbin, Brenda; Milone, Eugene; Norris, Raymond; Oigatto, Luisa; Sōma, Mitsuru

2016-04-01

International Astronomical Union was formed after the First World War although it became truly international only after the Second World War. Its Commission 41 on History of Astronomy (C41) was set up in 1948 and in a few years established itself as an active and influential unit. It has the distinction of being a joint Commission, the other partner being International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPS). Since IAU is an internationally respected body of professional astronomers, its support for history of astronomy enhances the credibility of the discipline in the eyes of scientists as well as science establishments of individual countries. C41 is committed to advancing objective and rigorous world history of astronomy taking into account all its aspects.

Journey of Ethiopia Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belay Tessema, Solomon

2015-08-01

Ancient astronomy had contributed away for the modern development of astronomy. The history of astronomy development in Ethiopian was liked with different beliefs and culture of the society. The Ethiopians were the first who invented the science of stars, and gave names to the planets, not at random and without meaning, but descriptive of the qualities which they conceived them to possess; and it was from them that this art passed, still in an imperfect state, to the Egyptians. Even though, Ethiopian’s contributions for astronomy in the world were immense but the journey of modern astronomy is still in the infant stage. The modern astronomy and space program in Ethiopia was started in 2004 in well organized form from three individuals to the public. In the past eleven years of journey of astronomy development in Ethiopia was the most challenging from national to international level. After strong struggle of a few committed individuals for the past eleven years the development of astronomy is completely changed from dark age to bright age. This paper will try to address the details of journey of astronomy in Ethiopia.

The Astronomy Workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, D. P.; Asbury, M. L.; Proctor, A.

2001-12-01

The Astronomy Workshop (http://janus.astro.umd.edu) is an interactive online astronomy resource developed, and maintained at the University of Maryland, for use by students, educators and the general public. The Astronomy Workshop has been extensively tested and used successfully at many different levels, including High School and Junior High School science classes, University introductory astronomy courses, and University intermediate and advanced astronomy courses. Some topics currently covered in the Astronomy Workshop are: Animated Orbits of Planets and Moons: The orbits of the nine planets and 91 known planetary satellites are shown in animated, to-scale drawings. The orbiting bodies move at their correct relative speeds about their parent, which is rendered as an attractive, to-scale gif image. Solar System Collisions: This most popular of our applications shows what happens when an asteroid or comet with user-defined size and speed impacts a given planet. The program calculates many effects, including the country impacted (if Earth is the target), energy of the explosion, crater size, magnitude of the planetquake generated. It also displays a relevant image (e.g. terrestrial crater, lunar crater, etc.). Planetary and Satellite Data Calculators: These tools allow the user to easily calculate physical data for all of the planets or satellites simultaneously, making comparison very easy. Orbital Simulations: These tools allow the student to investigate different aspects of the three-body problem of celestial mechanics. Astronomy Workshop Bulletin Board: Get innovative teaching ideas and read about in-class experiences with the Astronomy Workshop. Share your ideas with other educators by posting on the Bulletin Board. Funding for the Astronomy Workshop is provided by the National Science Foundation.

Outcomes of promotional efforts for astronomy among high school students through the astronomy olympiad

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Yoojea

2015-08-01

The Korean Astronomical Society initiated the Korea Astronomy Olympiad (KAO) in 2001 and also began to participate in the international astronomy olympiad in 2002, as a means to promote astronomy among Korean high school students. To find out how successful such endeavor has been, first how partipating students regard astronomy as their career choice has been investigated. Of the students who have taken part in the international astronomy olympiads and then have entered a college afterwards in the period 2002-2014, more than 50% have chosen astronomy, physics, or earth science as their college major. In addition, when the future career choices of the KAO applicants were examined through their school records, astronomy and space science were chosen to be 44% in 2014, a significant increase from 25% in 2010. Secondly, the astronomical content of the regular Korean high school curriculum has been compared with the syllabus of international astronomy olympiads, to see how students can enhance their astronomical understanding through participating in astronomy olympiads, which would in turn contribute to their possible future career in astronomy.

A technology program for the development of the large deployable reflector for space based astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiya, M. K.; Gilbreath, W. P.; Swanson, P. N.

1982-01-01

Technologies for the development of the Large Deployable Reflector (LDR), a NASA project for the 1990's, for infrared and submillimeter astronomy are presented. The proposed LDR is a 10-30 diameter spaceborne observatory operating in the spectral region from 30 microns to one millimeter, where ground observations are nearly impossible. Scientific rationales for such a system include the study of ancient signals from galaxies at the edge of the universe, the study of star formation, and the observation of fluctuations in the cosmic background radiation. System requirements include the ability to observe faint objects at large distances and to map molecular clouds and H II regions. From these requirements, mass, photon noise, and tolerance budgets are developed. A strawman concept is established, and some alternate concepts are considered, but research is still necessary in the areas of segment, optical control, and instrument technologies.

Astronomy Books of 1985.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercury, 1986

1986-01-01

Provides annotated listing of books in 16 areas: (1) amateur astromony; (2) children's books; (3) comets; (4) cosmology; (5) education in astronomy; (6) general astronomy; (7) history of astronomy; (8) life in the universe; (9) miscellaneous; (10) physics and astronomy; (11) pseudo-science; (12) space exploration; (13) stars and stellar evolution;…

Development Programs and Activities for Southeast Asia Regional Office of Astronomy for Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Insiri, Wichan

2015-08-01

In recent years, since the establishment of SEA-ROAD in 2012, the office has seen an exponential progress as it has proved to be one of the prominent regional hubs for IAU-OAD. Recent activities over the past years ranging from Winter and Summer Schools Trainings to Astronomy Technology Transfer Camp for high school students to Internship at NARIT are some examples of what promises to be a good sign of progressive leap in astronomy for the entire region. SEA-ROAD will continue to make an impact on astronomy education, popularization and public outreach as the office is vital and imperative to the capacity building of astronomy of the entire region.

X-ray and gamma ray astronomy detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decher, Rudolf; Ramsey, Brian D.; Austin, Robert

1994-01-01

X-ray and gamma ray astronomy was made possible by the advent of space flight. Discovery and early observations of celestial x-rays and gamma rays, dating back almost 40 years, were first done with high altitude rockets, followed by Earth-orbiting satellites> once it became possible to carry detectors above the Earth's atmosphere, a new view of the universe in the high-energy part of the electromagnetic spectrum evolved. Many of the detector concepts used for x-ray and gamma ray astronomy were derived from radiation measuring instruments used in atomic physics, nuclear physics, and other fields. However, these instruments, when used in x-ray and gamma ray astronomy, have to meet unique and demanding requirements related to their operation in space and the need to detect and measure extremely weak radiation fluxes from celestial x-ray and gamma ray sources. Their design for x-ray and gamma ray astronomy has, therefore, become a rather specialized and rapidly advancing field in which improved sensitivity, higher energy and spatial resolution, wider spectral coverage, and enhanced imaging capabilities are all sought. This text is intended as an introduction to x-ray and gamma ray astronomy instruments. It provides an overview of detector design and technology and is aimed at scientists, engineers, and technical personnel and managers associated with this field. The discussion is limited to basic principles and design concepts and provides examples of applications in past, present, and future space flight missions.

The Effect of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Based Training Programs Used in Astronomy Classes on the Success Levels of Science Teacher Candidates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sensoy, Onder; Yildirim, Halil Ibrahim

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) based educational practices in astronomy lectures on prospective science teachers' success levels. The study was conducted on 4th-grade prospective science teachers of a public university and lasted for 14 weeks. In the study,…

Astronomy in Indian Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhatia, V. B.

Tradition of astronomy in India goes back to ancient times. Many festivals and rituals are associated with astronomical phenomena. Indian children start learning rudiments of astronomy from primary classes. But primary teachers are not equipped to handle this subject so not much learning actually takes place. The first serious interface with astronomy occurs when children reach class X when they are 15 years old. Till last year astronomy was there in class XII also but it has now been dropped. This is a serious setback for the study of astronomy. In class X astronomy forms part of general science. Since children at this stage are not proficient in physics and mathematics the subject remains descriptive though there are useful activities for children to do. However the teachers are not equipped to handle this subject and there is no help in the form of visual material. So the subject remains neglected. The Indian astronomical community can help by training teachers and providing visual material. It must also urge authorities to reintroduce astronomy in class XII if astronomy is to flourish in India. Moreover India needs to network with developing countries share experiences with them and evolve a strategy that promotes astronomy.

The Astronomy Workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, D. P.; Asbury, M. L.

1999-12-01

The Astronomy Workshop (http://janus.astro.umd.edu) is an interactive online astronomy resource developed and maintained at the University of Maryland for use by students, educators and the general public. The Astronomy Workshop has been extensively tested and used successfully at many different levels, including High School and Junior High School science classes, University introductory astronomy courses, and University intermediate and advanced astronomy courses. Some topics currently covered in the Astronomy Workshop are: Animated Orbits of Planets and Moons: The orbits of the nine planets and 63 known planetary satellites are shown in animated, to-scale drawings. The orbiting bodies move at their correct relative speeds about their parent, which is rendered as an attractive, to-scale gif image. Solar System Collisions: This most popular of our applications shows what happens when an asteroid or comet with user-defined size and speed impacts a given planet. The program calculates many effects, including the country impacted (if Earth is the target), energy of explosion, crater size, and magnitude of the ``planetquake'' generated. It also displays a relevant image (e.g. terrestrial crater, lunar crater, etc.). Scale of the Universe: Travel away from the Earth at a chosen speed and see how long it takes to reach other planets, stars and galaxies. This tool helps students visualize astronomical distances in an intuitive way. Scientific Notation: Students are interactively guided through conversions between scientific notation and regular numbers. Orbital Simulations: These tools allow the student to investigate different aspects of the three-body problem of celestial mechanics. Astronomy Workshop Bulletin Board: Get innovative teaching ideas and read about in-class experiences with the Astronomy Workshop. Share your ideas with other educators by posting on the Bulletin Board. Funding for the Astronomy Workshop is provided by NSF.

The Astronomy Workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, D. P.; Asbury, M. L.

2000-05-01

The Astronomy Workshop (http://janus.astro.umd.edu) is an interactive online astronomy resource developed and maintained at the University of Maryland for use by students, educators and the general public. The Astronomy Workshop has been extensively tested and used successfully at many different levels, including High School and Junior High School science classes, University introductory astronomy courses, and University intermediate and advanced astronomy courses. Some topics currently covered in the Astronomy Workshop are: ANIMATED ORBITS OF PLANETS AND MOONS: The orbits of the nine planets and 63 known planetary satellites are shown in animated, to-scale drawings. The orbiting bodies move at their correct relative speeds about their parent, which is rendered as an attractive, to-scale gif image. SOLAR SYSTEM COLLISIONS: This most popular of our applications shows what happens when an asteroid or comet with user-defined size and speed impacts a given planet. The program calculates many effects, including the country impacted (if Earth is the target), energy of explosion, crater size, and magnitude of the ``planetquake'' generated. It also displays a relevant image (e.g. terrestrial crater, lunar crater, etc.). SCALE OF THE UNIVERSE: Travel away from the Earth at a chosen speed and see how long it takes to reach other planets, stars and galaxies. This tool helps students visualize astronomical distances in an intuitive way. SCIENTIFIC NOTATION: Students are interactively guided through conversions between scientific notation and regular numbers. ORBITAL SIMULATIONS: These tools allow the student to investigate different aspects of the three-body problem of celestial mechanics. ASTRONOMY WORKSHOP BULLETIN BOARD: Get innovative teaching ideas and read about in-class experiences with the Astronomy Workshop. Share your ideas with other educators by posting on the Bulletin Board. Funding for the Astronomy Workshop is provided by NSF.

The Astronomy Workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, D. P.; Asbury, M. L.

1999-09-01

The Astronomy Workshop (http://janus.astro.umd.edu) is an interactive online astronomy resource developed and maintained at the University of Maryland for use by students, educators and the general public. The Astronomy Workshop has been extensively tested and used successfully at many different levels, including High School and Junior High School science classes, University introductory astronomy courses, and University intermediate and advanced astronomy courses. Some topics currently covered in the Astronomy Workshop are: Animated Orbits of Planets and Moons: The orbits of the nine planets and 63 known planetary satellites are shown in animated, to-scale drawings. The orbiting bodies move at their correct relative speeds about their parent, which is rendered as an attractive, to-scale gif image. Solar System Collisions: This most popular of our applications shows what happens when an asteroid or comet with user-defined size and speed impacts a given planet. The program calculates many effects, including the country impacted (if Earth is the target), energy of explosion, crater size, and magnitude of the ``planetquake'' generated. It also displays a relevant image (e.g. terrestrial crater, lunar crater, etc.). Scale of the Universe: Travel away from the Earth at a chosen speed and see how long it takes to reach other planets, stars and galaxies. This tool helps students visualize astronomical distances in an intuitive way. Scientific Notation: Students are interactively guided through conversions between scientific notation and regular numbers. Orbital Simulations: These tools allow the student to investigate different aspects of the three-body problem of celestial mechanics. Astronomy Workshop Bulletin Board: Get innovative teaching ideas and read about in-class experiences with the Astronomy Workshop. Share your ideas with other educators by posting on the Bulletin Board. Funding for the Astronomy Workshop is provided by NSF.

Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation and Widespread Deployment of Renewable Energy Technologies in the UK

PubMed Central

Gove, Benedict; Williams, Leah J.; Beresford, Alison E.; Roddis, Philippa; Campbell, Colin; Teuten, Emma; Langston, Rowena H. W.; Bradbury, Richard B.

2016-01-01

Renewable energy will potentially make an important contribution towards the dual aims of meeting carbon emission reduction targets and future energy demand. However, some technologies have considerable potential to impact on the biodiversity of the environments in which they are placed. In this study, an assessment was undertaken of the realistic deployment potential of a range of renewable energy technologies in the UK, considering constraints imposed by biodiversity conservation priorities. We focused on those energy sources that have the potential to make important energy contributions but which might conflict with biodiversity conservation objectives. These included field-scale solar, bioenergy crops, wind energy (both onshore and offshore), wave and tidal stream energy. The spatially-explicit analysis considered the potential opportunity available for each technology, at various levels of ecological risk. The resultant maps highlight the energy resource available, physical and policy constraints to deployment, and ecological sensitivity (based on the distribution of protected areas and sensitive species). If the technologies are restricted to areas which currently appear not to have significant ecological constraints, the total potential energy output from these energy sources was estimated to be in the region of 5,547 TWh/yr. This would be sufficient to meet projected energy demand in the UK, and help to achieve carbon reduction targets. However, we highlight two important caveats. First, further ecological monitoring and surveillance is required to improve understanding of wildlife distributions and therefore potential impacts of utilising these energy sources. This is likely to reduce the total energy available, especially at sea. Second, some of the technologies under investigation are currently not deployed commercially. Consequently this potential energy will only be available if continued effort is put into developing these energy sources/technologies

Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation and Widespread Deployment of Renewable Energy Technologies in the UK.

PubMed

Gove, Benedict; Williams, Leah J; Beresford, Alison E; Roddis, Philippa; Campbell, Colin; Teuten, Emma; Langston, Rowena H W; Bradbury, Richard B

2016-01-01

Renewable energy will potentially make an important contribution towards the dual aims of meeting carbon emission reduction targets and future energy demand. However, some technologies have considerable potential to impact on the biodiversity of the environments in which they are placed. In this study, an assessment was undertaken of the realistic deployment potential of a range of renewable energy technologies in the UK, considering constraints imposed by biodiversity conservation priorities. We focused on those energy sources that have the potential to make important energy contributions but which might conflict with biodiversity conservation objectives. These included field-scale solar, bioenergy crops, wind energy (both onshore and offshore), wave and tidal stream energy. The spatially-explicit analysis considered the potential opportunity available for each technology, at various levels of ecological risk. The resultant maps highlight the energy resource available, physical and policy constraints to deployment, and ecological sensitivity (based on the distribution of protected areas and sensitive species). If the technologies are restricted to areas which currently appear not to have significant ecological constraints, the total potential energy output from these energy sources was estimated to be in the region of 5,547 TWh/yr. This would be sufficient to meet projected energy demand in the UK, and help to achieve carbon reduction targets. However, we highlight two important caveats. First, further ecological monitoring and surveillance is required to improve understanding of wildlife distributions and therefore potential impacts of utilising these energy sources. This is likely to reduce the total energy available, especially at sea. Second, some of the technologies under investigation are currently not deployed commercially. Consequently this potential energy will only be available if continued effort is put into developing these energy sources/technologies

Planetary astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morrison, David; Hunten, Donald; Ahearn, Michael F.; Belton, Michael J. S.; Black, David; Brown, Robert A.; Brown, Robert Hamilton; Cochran, Anita L.; Cruikshank, Dale P.; Depater, Imke

1991-01-01

The authors profile the field of astronomy, identify some of the key scientific questions that can be addressed during the decade of the 1990's, and recommend several facilities that are critically important for answering these questions. Scientific opportunities for the 1990' are discussed. Areas discussed include protoplanetary disks, an inventory of the solar system, primitive material in the solar system, the dynamics of planetary atmospheres, planetary rings and ring dynamics, the composition and structure of the atmospheres of giant planets, the volcanoes of IO, and the mineralogy of the Martian surface. Critical technology developments, proposed projects and facilities, and recommendations for research and facilities are discussed.

3D Virtual Reality for Teaching Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Speck, Angela; Ruzhitskaya, L.; Laffey, J.; Ding, N.

2012-01-01

We are developing 3D virtual learning environments (VLEs) as learning materials for an undergraduate astronomy course, in which will utilize advances both in technologies available and in our understanding of the social nature of learning. These learning materials will be used to test whether such VLEs can indeed augment science learning so that it is more engaging, active, visual and effective. Our project focuses on the challenges and requirements of introductory college astronomy classes. Here we present our virtual world of the Jupiter system and how we plan to implement it to allow students to learn course material - physical laws and concepts in astronomy - while engaging them into exploration of the Jupiter's system, encouraging their imagination, curiosity, and motivation. The VLE can allow students to work individually or collaboratively. The 3D world also provides an opportunity for research in astronomy education to investigate impact of social interaction, gaming features, and use of manipulatives offered by a learning tool on students’ motivation and learning outcomes. Use of this VLE is also a valuable source for exploration of how the learners’ spatial awareness can be enhanced by working in 3D environment. We will present the Jupiter-system environment along with a preliminary study of the efficacy and usability of our Jupiter 3D VLE.

Analysis of knowledge in astronomy of the students of technology in industrial automation at the Federal Institute Sao Paulo at the campus Cubatao

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voelzke, Marcos Rincon; Capasso Moraes, Ataliba

This work is part of a research of the academic Masters in Science in Education in its final stages. It seeks to present the results of the survey conducted among students of the technology course in industrial automation at the Federal Institute São Paulo at the Campus Cubatão. In the first step, the students’ lack of knowledge to the related primary concepts of Astronomy turned out. Correcting these deficiencies found, external to the program content, a Basic Course in Astronomy, containing dialogued or expository lectures with the aid of audiovisual resources and access to textbooks. Analyzed the responses of this second step, it was found that students had a significant improvement in learning.

Online Scholarly Conversations in General Education Astronomy Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Qijie; Wong, Ka-Wah

2018-01-01

In general education astronomy courses, many students are struggling with understanding the foundational concepts and theories in astronomy. One of the possible reasons is that, due the large class size, many of the courses are taught using a lecture mode, where human interactions and active learning are limited (Freeman et al., 2014). To address this challenge, we have applied the knowledge building framework (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006) to design an online collaborative learning component, called Scholarly Conversations, to be integrated into a general education astronomy course at a public, comprehensive university.During Scholarly Conversations, students are treated as scholars to advance knowledge frontiers (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006). The whole process involves the creation of new ideas and requires discourse and collective work for the advancement and creation of artifacts, such as theories and models (van Aalst, 2009). Based on the knowledge building principles (Scardamalia, 2002; Zhang, Scardamalia, Reeve, & Messina, 2009), several features have been built into Scholarly Conversations so that students are guided to deepen understanding of the astronomy concepts through three phases: knowledge sharing, knowledge construction and knowledge building, and reflections on learning growth (van Aalst, 2009; Cai, 2017). The online Scholarly Conversation is an extension of the lecture component of the general education astronomy course. It promotes student interactions and collaborative learning, and provides scaffolds for students to construct meanings of the essential concepts in astronomy through social learning and online technology. In this presentation, we will explain the specific design principles of the online Scholarly Conversation, and share the artifacts created to facilitate the online conversations in an general education astronomy course.Note: This project has been supported by the College of Education Research Grant Program at Minnesota State

Programming Wireless Handheld Devices for Applications in Teaching Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budiardja, R.; Saranathan, V.; Guidry, M.

2002-12-01

Wireless technology implemented with handheld devices has attractive features because of the potential to access large amounts of data and the prospect of on-the-fly computational analysis from a device that can be carried in a shirt pocket. We shall describe applications of such technology to the general paradigm of making digital wireless connections from the field to upload information and queries to network servers, executing (potentially complex) data analysis and/or database operations on fast network computers, and returning real-time information from this analysis to the handheld device in the field. As illustration, we shall describe several client/server programs that we have written for applications in teaching introductory astronomy. For example, one program allows static and dynamic properties of astronomical objects to be accessed in a remote observation laboratory setting using a digital cell phone or PDA. Another implements interactive quizzing over a cell phone or PDA using a 700-question introductory astronomy quiz database, thus permitting students to study for astronomy quizzes in any environment in which they have a few free minutes and a digital cell phone or wireless PDA. The presentation will include hands-on demonstrations with real devices.

Digital data preservation for scholarly publications in astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhury, Sayeed; di Lauro, Tim; Szalay, Alex; Vishniac, Ethan; Hanisch, Robert; Steffen, Julie; Milkey, Robert; Ehling, Teresa; Plante, Ray

2007-11-01

Astronomy is similar to other scientific disciplines in that scholarly publication relies on the presentation and interpretation of data. But although astronomy now has archives for its primary research telescopes and associated surveys, the highly processed data that is presented in the peer-reviewed journals and is the basis for final analysis and interpretation is generally not archived and has no permanent repository. We have initiated a project whose goal is to implement an end-to-end prototype system which, through a partnership of a professional society, that society's scholarly publications/publishers, research libraries, and an information technology substrate provided by the Virtual Observatory, will capture high-level digital data as part of the publication process and establish a distributed network of curated, permanent data repositories. The data in this network will be accessible through the research journals, astronomy data centers, and Virtual Observatory data discovery portals.

Teaching Astronomy in Extracurricular Study Groups of Armenia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khachatryan, Mher; Grigoryan, Avetik

2016-12-01

The report presents the history of activity of Extracurricular Study Groups of Ar¬menia teaching astronomy and related subjects. It mainly refers to the Aerospace Club founded in 1988, which has long been acting as an officially unre¬gis¬tered, but efficiently performing non-governmental organization - Armenian Youth Ae¬ro¬space Society. The Club teaches, provides a truly scientific view of the world, advocates astronomy and other scientific and technical areas, provides interesting lectures and ar¬ticles to schools and mass media, arranges seminars and meetings with renowned experts, publishes scientific ar¬ticles, manuals, books, puts forward important scientific and techno-logical problems and offer students to work together on them, seek for solutions and develop possible appli¬ca¬tions. All this is aimed at maintaining and further development of leading positions of Armenia's scientific potential, particularly in astronomy.

Astronomy in School Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gee, Brian

1979-01-01

Presents a report about astronomy education in the United Kingdom. Some of the views about astronomy activities in schools and the importance of teaching astronomy and space science in British schools are included. (HM)

New Concepts for Far-Infrared and Submillimeter Space Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benford, Dominic J. (Editor); Leisawitz, David T. (Editor)

2004-01-01

The Second Workshop on New Concepts for Far-Infrared and Submillimeter Space Astronomy aimed to highlight the groundbreaking opportunities available for astronomical investigations in the far-infrared to submillimeter using advanced, space-based telescopes. Held at the University of Maryland on March 7-8, 2002, the Workshop was attended by 130 participants from 50 institutions, and represented scientists and engineers from many countries and with a wide variety of experience. The technical content featured 17 invited talks and 44 contributed posters, complemented by two sixperson panels to address questions of astronomy and technology.

Astronomy Outreach for Large, Unique, and Unusual Audiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubowich, Donald

2015-08-01

My successful outreach program venues include: outdoor concerts and festivals; the US National Mall; churches, synagogues, seminaries, or clergy conferences; the Ronald McDonald Houses of Long Island and Chicago; the Winthrop U. Hospital Children’s Medical Center the Fresh Air Fund summer camps (low-income and special needs); a Halloween star party (costumed kids look through telescopes); a Super Bowl Star Party (targeting women); Science Festivals (World, NYC; Princeton U.; the USA Science and Engineering Festival); and the NYC Columbus Day Parade. Information was also provided about local science museums, citizen science projects, astronomy educational sites, and astronomy clubs to encourage lifelong learning. In 2010 I created Astronomy Festival on the National Mall (co-sponsored by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy) with the participation of astronomy clubs, scientific institutions and with Tyco Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Caroline Herschel making guest appearances. My programs include solar, optical, and radio telescope observations, hands-on activities, a live image projection system; large outdoor posters and banners; videos; hands-on activities, and edible astronomy demonstrations.My NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars (MAUS) program (60 events 2009 - 2013) reached 50,000 music lovers at local parks and the Central Park Jazz, Newport Folk, Ravinia, or Tanglewood Music Festivals with classical, folk, pop/rock, opera, Caribbean, or county-western concerts assisted by astronomy clubs. Yo-Yo-Ma, the Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, Phish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Deep Purple, Tony Orlando, and Wilco performed at these events. MAUS reached underserved groups and attracted large crowds. Young kids participated in this family learning experience - often the first time they looked through a telescope. While < 50% of the participants took part in a science activity in the past year, they

An exemplary developing astronomy movement in Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neupane, Sudeep

2015-03-01

Astronomy and space science education had been given least importance by Nepalese government in the past. The modern astronomy movement is believed to have started when an official observation programme of Haley's comet was organized by Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (RONAST) in 1986. Following the huge pressure from the scientific community, the Nepal government (Kingdom of Nepal at that time) established B.P. Koirala Memorial Planetarium, Observatory and Science Museum Development Board in 1992. Initiatives of the project started with observatory set up and the development of astrophysics syllabus for university students. Astrophysics is included as an elective paper in the Physics masters course. The lead astrophysicist of Nepal Dr. Binil Aryal is running a research group in Tribhuvan University since 2005 which has a significant number of international publications. The developing government initiatives and achievements will be discussed. In 2007, a group of astronomy enthusiastic students along with amateurs working independently in past established Nepal Astronomical Society (NASO), which surprisingly increased the amateur activities and inspired other amateur groups to revive. During IYA 2009, more than 80 outreach and observation events were organized solely by NASO. NASO was able to collaborate with many international programmes and projects like GHOU/GTTP, EurAstro, AWB, UNAWE, SGAC, Star Peace, TWAN etc during and beyond IYA2009. Currently Nepal is recognized as the most eventful country of outreach and astronomy education among the amateur community. The success story of the astronomy movement and the local difficulties while organizing the events will be explained.

An Industrial Technology Called Tribiology--the UK Experience and Its Implications

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-08-27

0 OF ONR LOFmlaN OF tNRL R-7-76 ,xl OFFICE Of N A Al INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY CALLED TRIBOLOGY--DES E ARCH THE UK EXPERIENCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS At...a number of studies on the thermal and elastic efects which predominate in the operation of large hydrodynamic bearings. These effects give rise to...Durham, 10 years after the Jost Report (from 30 " arch to I April 197b), the convention titled "Tribology 1976," devoted ,A *,J d, a1 .4 tiri to . ,i

Survey of UK dentists regarding the use of CAD/CAM technology.

PubMed

Tran, D; Nesbit, M; Petridis, H

2016-11-18

Statement of the problem Digital workflows (CAD/CAM) have been introduced in dentistry during recent years. No published information exists on dentists' use and reporting of this technology.Purpose The purpose of this survey was to identify the infiltration of CAD/CAM technology in UK dental practices and to investigate the relationship of various demographic factors to the answers regarding use or non-use of this technology.Materials and methods One thousand and thirty-one online surveys were sent to a sample of UK dentists composing of both users and non-users of CAD/CAM. It aimed to reveal information regarding type of usage, materials, perceived benefits, barriers to access, and disadvantages of CAD/CAM dentistry. Statistical analysis was undertaken to test the influence of various demographic variables such as country of work, dentist experience, level of training and type of work (NHS or private).Results The number of completed responses totalled 385. Most of the respondents did not use any part of a digital workflow, and the main barriers to CAD/CAM use were initial costs and a lack of perceived benefit over conventional methods. Dentists delivering mostly private work were most likely to have adopted CAD/CAM technology (P <0.001). Further training also correlated with a greater likelihood of CAD/CAM usage (P <0.001). Most users felt that the technology had led to a change in the use of dental materials, leading to increased use of, for example, zirconia and lithium disilicate. Most users were trained either by companies or self-trained, and a third felt that their training was insufficient. The majority of respondents (89%) felt that CAD/CAM had a big role to play in the future.Conclusion Most of the respondents did not use any part of a digital workflow. However, the majority of surveyed dentists were interested in incorporating CAD/CAM into their workflow, while most believed that it will have a big role in the future. There are still some concerns from

Citizen Astronomy in China: An Overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Quan-Zhi

2018-01-01

Citizen astronomers have benefited from technological advancements in the recent decades as they fill the scientific gaps left by professional astronomers, in the areas such as time domain observations, visual classification and data mining. Here I present an overview of the current status of citizen astronomy in China. Chinese citizen astronomers have made a visible contribution in the discoveries of new objects; however, comparing to their counterparts in the western world, they appear to be less interested in researches that do not involve making new discovery, such as visual classification, long-term monitoring of objects, and data mining. From a questionnaire survey that aimed to investigate the motivation of Chinese citizen astronomers, we find that this population is predominantly male (92%) who mostly reside in economically developed provinces. A large fraction (69%) of the respondents are students and young professionals younger than the age of 25, which differs significantly from the occupation and age distribution of typical Chinese Internet users as well as the user distribution of large international citizen science projects such as the Galaxy Zoo. This suggests that youth generation in China is more willing to participate citizen astronomy research than average generation. Additionally, we find that interests in astronomy, desire to learn new knowledges, have a fun experience and meet new friends in the community are all important driving factors for Chinese citizen astronomers to participate research. This also differs from their counterparts in western countries. With a large youth population that is interested in astronomy as well as a number of large astronomical facilities that are being planned or built, we believe that citizen astronomy in China has a vast potential. Timely and proper guidance from the professionals will be essential to help citizen astronomers to fulfill this potential.

Critical Issues in the Philosophy of Astronomy and Cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dick, Steven J.

2016-01-01

Although the philosophy of science and of specific sciences such as physics, chemistry, and biology are well-developed fields with their own books and journals, the philosophy of astronomy and cosmology have received little systematic attention. At least six categories of problems may be identified in the astronomical context: 1) the nature of reasoning, including the roles of observation, theory, simulation, and analogy, as well as the limits of reasoning, starkly evident in the anthropic principle, fine-tuning, and multiverse controversies; 2) the often problematic nature of evidence and inference, especially since the objects of astronomical interest are for the most part beyond experiment and experience;3) the influence of metaphysical preconceptions and non-scientific worldviews on astronomy, evidenced, for example in the work of Arthur S. Eddington and many other astronomers; 4) the epistemological status of astronomy and its central concepts, including the process of discovery, the problems of classification, and the pitfalls of definition (as in planets); 5) the role of technology in shaping the discipline of astronomy and our view of the universe; and 6) the mutual interactions of astronomy and cosmology with society over time. Discussion of these issues should draw heavily on the history of astronomy as well as current research, and may reveal an evolution in approaches, techniques, and goals, perhaps with policy relevance. This endeavor should also utilize and synergize approaches and results from philosophy of science and of related sciences such as physics (e.g. discussions on the nature of space and time). Philosophers, historians and scientists should join this new endeavor. A Journal of the Philosophy of Astronomy and Cosmology (JPAC) could help focus attention on their studies.

Tunable laser techniques for improving the precision of observational astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cramer, Claire E.; Brown, Steven W.; Lykke, Keith R.; Woodward, John T.; Bailey, Stephen; Schlegel, David J.; Bolton, Adam S.; Brownstein, Joel; Doherty, Peter E.; Stubbs, Christopher W.; Vaz, Amali; Szentgyorgyi, Andrew

2012-09-01

Improving the precision of observational astronomy requires not only new telescopes and instrumentation, but also advances in observing protocols, calibrations and data analysis. The Laser Applications Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland has been applying advances in detector metrology and tunable laser calibrations to problems in astronomy since 2007. Using similar measurement techniques, we have addressed a number of seemingly disparate issues: precision flux calibration for broad-band imaging, precision wavelength calibration for high-resolution spectroscopy, and precision PSF mapping for fiber spectrographs of any resolution. In each case, we rely on robust, commercially-available laboratory technology that is readily adapted to use at an observatory. In this paper, we give an overview of these techniques.

Primary Astronomy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenstone, Sid; Smith, Murray

Selected materials needed to teach an astronomy unit as well as suggested procedures, activities, ideas, and astronomy fact sheets published by the Manitoba Planetarium are provided. Subjects of the fact sheets include: publications and classroom picture sets available from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and facts and statistics…

Intermediate Astronomy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenstone, Sid; Smith, Murray

Selected materials needed to teach an astronomy unit as well as suggested procedures, activities, ideas, and astronomy fact sheets published by the Manitoba Planetarium are provided. Subjects of the fact sheets include: publications and classroom picture sets available from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and facts and statistics…

High Frequency Radar Astronomy With HAARP

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-01-01

High Frequency Radar Astronomy With HAARP Paul Rodriguez Naval Research Laboratory Information Technology Division Washington, DC 20375, USA Edward...a period of several years, the High frequency Active Auroral Research Program ( HAARP ) transmitting array near Gakona, Alaska, has increased in total...high frequency (HF) radar facility used for research purposes. The basic science objective of HAARP is to study nonlinear effects associated with

The California-Arizona Minority Partnership for Astronomy Research and Education (CAMPARE): Partnering Students to Astronomy at the University of Arizona's Astronomy Camp

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saldivar, Hector; McCarthy, D.; Rudolph, A. L.

2012-01-01

The California-Arizona Minority Partnership for Astronomy Research and Education (CAMPARE) is an NSF-funded partnership between the Astronomy Program at Cal Poly Pomona and the University of Arizona Steward Observatory designed to promote participation of underrepresented minorities, including women, in astronomy research and education. By means of this program, Cal Poly Pomona undergraduates that are either Physics majors or minors are qualified to participate in the program alongside graduate students from the University of Arizona as a camp counselor at the University of Arizona's Astronomy Camp, one of the elite astronomy programs worldwide. Students that participate in the CAMPARE program are granted an opportunity to work in a hands-on environment by teaching astronomy to students from all over the world in a highly structured environment. The CAMPARE student selected for this program in Summer 2011 worked under the supervision of Dr. Don McCarthy, professor at the University of Arizona and Astronomy Camp director for over 20 years, learning to lead a group of students through daily activities and ensure that the students are learning to their maximum potential. Through this experience, the CAMPARE student learned to capture students’ interest in astronomy and was introduced to real life teaching, which has helped prepare him for future experiences to come. We acknowledge the NSF for funding under Award No. AST-0847170, a PAARE Grant for the Calfornia-Arizona Minority Partnership for Astronomy Research and Education (CAMPARE).

Southern Africa Regional Office of Astronomy for Development: A New Hub for Astronomy for Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siseho Mutondo, Moola

2015-08-01

A new Astronomy for Development hub needs innovative tools and programs. SAROAD is developing exciting tools integrating Raspberry Pi® technology to bring cost-effective astronomy content to learning centres. SAROAD would also like to report achievements in realising the IAU's strategic plan. In order to manage, evaluate and coordinate regional IAU capacity building programmes, including the recruitment and mobilisation of volunteers, SAROAD has built an intranet that is accessible to regional members upon request. Using this resource, regional members can see and participate in regional activities. This resource also forms the foundation for closer collaboration between SAROAD member countries. SAROAD has commenced with projects in the three Task Force areas of Universities and Research, Children and Schools and Public Outreach. Under the three Task Force areas, a total of seven projects have commenced in Zambia. A further two projects involve the collaboration of Zambia and other regional member countries in order to foster engagement with important regional astronomy facilities (e.g. SKA). SAROAD has identified the IAU’s International Year of Light and a starting point for offering regional support for IAU-endorsed global activities. SAROAD has set up a hub dedicated to regional events and activities about the International Year of Light. SAROAD has a database of regional authorities to enable contact with the region's decision makers and experts. SAROAD will hold an annual event which brings forum for astronomy for development. The creation of the database and the SAROAD Road show is a first step towards this goal. The SAROAD website has helped to advertise upcoming events for astronomy development and education; it is used to provide advice, guidance and information for astronomers in all countries in the Southern Africa. Fundraising is the primary goal for SAROAD in 2015 towards financial self-sufficiency by 2020. We report on the methods that work best

The 2050 Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Longair, Malcolm

2011-05-01

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology have changed out of all recognition over the last 40 years. The lecture will review some of the key scientific, technological and sociological changes which have contributed to that revolution and seek to understand the issues of maintaining that drive for discovery and understanding over the next 40 years. Some science objectives are well defined, but others may need new concepts, unexpected discoveries and quite a bit of good luck. A personal perspective will be presented on topics which the community should take seriously for the advance of astronomy and astrophysics and the role it can play for the betterment of society.

Should We Limit the Number of Astronomy Students?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bachmann, Kurt T.; Boyce, Peter B.

1994-01-01

Presents two views about the future of astronomy. Explains that government budget cuts and an oversupply of young scientists have decimated the employment prospects. Encourages students to train for a wide variety of careers and to become entrepreneurs who bring technologies to the consumer. (DDR)

Electronic publications, a useful technique for astronomy outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stavinschi, M.; Mosoia, C.

2012-09-01

Thanks to modern technology, astronomy can be communicated to the public through a variety of techniques, from classic conferences (also upgraded to the video projectors, etc.) to TV, print media and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, MySpace, etc. We are going to present advantages of electronic publishing, starting from informing the public with latest astronomy news, to providing a place for public debate. In an era of global crisis e-publishing is a must do, be it seen from the financially perspective, or the desired impact to the public. We are going to present a constant example of year electronic publication dedicated to promoting science and communication; also, the Science Communicators Network Interested in spreading the word of astronomy. The aim is to establish connections with all OEP participants with a view to know each other and try to work in common for the better message transmission to the public. Together, we might build a single platform with multiple educational results.

News Teaching: The epiSTEMe project: KS3 maths and science improvement Field trip: Pupils learn physics in a stately home Conference: ShowPhysics welcomes fun in Europe Student numbers: Physics numbers increase in UK Tournament: Physics tournament travels to Singapore Particle physics: Hadron Collider sets new record Astronomy: Take your classroom into space Forthcoming Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-05-01

Teaching: The epiSTEMe project: KS3 maths and science improvement Field trip: Pupils learn physics in a stately home Conference: ShowPhysics welcomes fun in Europe Student numbers: Physics numbers increase in UK Tournament: Physics tournament travels to Singapore Particle physics: Hadron Collider sets new record Astronomy: Take your classroom into space Forthcoming Events

Radio astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, R. M.; Manchester, R. N.

1980-01-01

The activities of the Deep Space Network in support of radio and radar astronomy operations during July and August 1980 are reported. A brief update on the OSS-sponsored planetary radio astronomy experiment is provided. Also included are two updates, one each from Spain and Australia on current host country activities.

Introductory Disciplines of Astronomy in Undergraduation Geography in Brazilian Public Universities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henrique Azevedo Sobreira, Paulo

2015-08-01

There are some previous works about introductory disciplines of Astronomy in higher education in various undergraduation at Brazilian universities, but this is a specific research for Geography courses in public universities. Some undergraduate courses in Geography in Brazil offer introductory disciplines of Astronomy, since the second half of the twentieth century. This work presents an updated survey on the topic, and it proposes an effort at the national level, for the benefit of the increase in introductory disciplines of Astronomy in undergraduation in Geography. The data collected from public universities were obtained from the consultation of the websites of state universities, federal and county in 2012, 2013 and 2015, for information on the Geography courses and, among them, those with disciplines of Astronomy. The results show that there are 94 undergraduation in Geography courses in public universities, 12 of them had introductory disciplines of Astronomy until 2012 and 2013. In 2015 three of these disciplines were canceled which reduced to 9 universities. There were 23 undergraduation in Geography courses in 10 bachelor degrees and 14 education degrees with Astronomy disciplines. At 2015 it decreased to 20 in 5 bachelors and 8 education degrees. There are two undergraduation Geography courses with two introductory disciplines of Astronomy, while the other 18 offer only one discipline. The inclusion of introductory disciplines of Astronomy depends on the actions of professors' groups who works in undergraduation Geography courses, and of the astronomers initiative to offering them. The ideal is that the astronomers who actuate like professors in universities, normally in Math, Physics, Technologies, Enginnering and Science courses, they would can help and offer introductory disciplines in Astronomy for undergraduation in Geography courses.

Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees: Results from the 2012 Survey of Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees. Focus On

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulvey, Patrick; Nicholson, Starr

2014-01-01

Interest in astronomy degrees in the U.S. remains strong, with astronomy enrollments at or near all-time highs for the 2012-13 academic year. The total number of students taking an introductory astronomy course at a degree-granting physics or astronomy department is approaching 200,000. Enrollments in introductory astronomy courses have been…

The Future of Space Astronomy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Field, George B.

1984-01-01

Discusses various aspects of space astronomy, considering advantages, the space telescope and ground-based astronomy, an orbiting astrophysics facility, solar physics, and other areas. Indicates that earth-based astronomy will continue to be carried out there and space astronomy will be limited to observations that can be carried out only from…

Burden of disease, research funding and innovation in the UK: Do new health technologies reflect research inputs and need?

PubMed

Ward, Derek; Martino, Orsolina; Packer, Claire; Simpson, Sue; Stevens, Andrew

2013-04-01

New and emerging health technologies (innovation outputs) do not always reflect conditions representing the greatest disease burden. We examine the role of research and development (R&D) funding in this relationship, considering whether areas with fewer innovative outputs receive an appropriate share of funding relative to their disease burden. We report a retrospective observational study, comparing burden of disease with R&D funding and innovation output. UK disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and deaths came from the World Health Organization (WHO) 2004 Global Burden of Disease estimates; funding estimates from the UK Clinical Research Collaboration's 2006 Health Research Analysis; and innovation output was estimated by the number of new and emerging technologies reported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Horizon Scanning Centre between 2000 and 2009. Disease areas representing the biggest burden were generally associated with the most funding and innovation output; cancer, neuropsychiatric conditions and cardiovascular disease together comprised approximately two-thirds of DALYs, funding and reported technologies. Compared with DALYs, funding and technologies were disproportionately high for cancer, and technologies alone were disproportionately high for musculoskeletal conditions and endocrine/metabolic diseases. Neuropsychiatric conditions had comparatively few technologies compared to both DALYs and funding. The relationship between DALYs and innovation output appeared to be mediated by R&D funding. The relationship between burden of disease and new and emerging health technologies for different disease areas is partly dependent on the associated level of R&D funding (input). Discrepancies among key groups may reflect differential focus of research funding across disease areas. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

School-Based Extracurricular Astronomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanger, Jeffrey J.

2010-01-01

The International Year of Astronomy in 2009 focused considerable public attention on Astronomy and generated valuable resources for educators. These activities are an effective vehicle for promoting Science to students and to the wider school community. The most engaging practical astronomy activities are best delivered with sustained support from…

Indian Astronomy: the missing link in Eurocentric history of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haque, Shirin; Sharma, Deva

2016-06-01

A comprehensive history of Astronomy should show in reasonable chronological order, the contributions from wherever they arise in the world, once they are reliably documented. However, the authors note that consistently, the extremely rich contributions from Ancient Indian scholars like Aryabatha and Bhramagupta are omitted in Eurocentric education and syllabi. It is speculated whether religious underpinnings could have been responsible for its suppression in the past. An appeal is made to represent the history of Astronomy in Eurocentric versions, to be inclusive of Indian Astronomy as accurately and completely as possible in science education.

CAP2013 - Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robson, I.

2014-01-01

The highly successful and very popular Communicating Astronomy with the Public conference series held its fifth event (CAP2013) at the Copernicus Science Centre and the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland, from 13 to 17 October. This review gives a summary of the event proceedings.

Joseph Henry and Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rothenberg, Marc

2016-01-01

Joseph Henry (1797-1878) is best known for his work in electromagnetism and as the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. But he was also a pioneer solar physicist, an early advocate of US participation in astrophysics, and a facilitator of international cooperation in astronomy. This paper will briefly trace his role in the development of the US astronomical community from the time he taught astronomy at Princeton in the 1830s through his death, focusing on failed efforts to persuade US astronomers and patrons of astronomy that the best path for US astronomy should be astrophysics. He thought that the US could make a more significant contribution to astronomy science by striking out on a less travelled path rather than competing with the established European observatories.

Highschool astronomy research workshop in Thailand and how it transforms Thai astronomy education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tangmatitham, Matipon

2017-01-01

The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) have launched the program "Advance Teacher Training Workshop" that aims to introduce both the students and astronomy teacher alike to the nature of critical thinking in science via hands on experience in astronomy projects. Students and accompanying teachers are participated in 5 days workshop in which each of them must select an individual astronomy research project. The project is then carried out on their own for the next 6 months, after which their works are presented in a conference. Progress is monitored and extra aid is delivered as needed via the use of social media. Over a hundred projects have been completed under this program. Follow up study have suggests that this workshop has shown to be quite successful at improving critical thinking skills in participants. As the program became more popular, other schools began to follow. To support the growing interest, we have also launched the "Thai Astronomical Society: student session", a highschool astronomy conference for anyone who participated or interested in astronomy related projects. Via these stages we are able to secure a permanent foothold in Thai astronomy education and inspire new generations to participate in astronomy projects.

Astronomy Landscape in Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemaungani, Takalani

2015-01-01

The vision for astronomy in Africa is embedded in the African Space Policy of the African Union in early 2014. The vision is about positioning Africa as an emerging hub for astronomy sciences and facilities. Africa recognized the need to take advantage of its natural resource, the geographical advantage of the clear southern skies and pristine sites for astronomy. The Pan African University (PAU) initiative also presents an opportunity as a post-graduate training and research network of university nodes in five regions of Africa and supported by the African Union. The Southern African node based in South Africa concentrates on space sciences which also includes astronomy. The PAU aims to provide the opportunity for advanced graduate training and postgraduate research to high-performing African students. Objectives also include promoting mobility of students and teachers and harmonizing programs and degrees.A number of astronomy initiatives have burgeoned in the Southern African region and these include the Southern Africa Largest Optical Telescope (SALT), HESS (High Energy Stereoscopic System), the SKA (Square Kilometre Array) and the AVN (African Very Long Baseline Interferometer Network). There is a growing appetite for astronomy sciences in Africa. In East Africa, the astronomy community is well organized and is growing - the East African Astronomical society (EAAS) held its successful fourth annual conference since 2010 on 30 June to 04 July 2014 at the University of Rwanda. Centred around the 'Role of Astronomy in Socio-Economic Transformation,' this conference aimed at strengthening capacity building in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science in general, while providing a forum for astronomers from the region to train young and upcoming scientists.

Infrared engineering for the advancement of science: A UK perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Ian M.

2017-02-01

Leonardo MW (formerly Selex ES) has been developing infrared sensors and cameras for over 62 years at two main sites at Southampton and Basildon. Funding mainly from UK MOD has seen the technology progress from single element PbSe sensors to advanced, high definition, HgCdTe cameras, widely deployed in many fields today. However, in the last 10 years the major challenges and research funding has come from projects within the scientific sphere, particularly: astronomy and space. Low photon flux, high resolution spectroscopy and fast frame rates are the motivation to drive the sensitivity of infrared detectors to the single photon level. These detectors make use of almost noiseless avalanche gain in HgCdTe to achieve the sensitivity and speed of response. Metal Organic Vapour Phase Epitaxy, MOVPE, grown on low-cost GaAs substrates, provides the capability for crucial bandgap engineering to suppress breakdown currents and allow high avalanche gain even in very low background conditions. This paper describes the progress so far and provides a glimpse of the future.

Astronomy Allies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flewelling, Heather; Alatalo, Katherine A.

2017-01-01

Imagine you are a grad student, at your first conference, and a prominent senior scientist shows interest in your work, and he makes things get way too personal? What would you do? Would you report it? Or would you decide, after a few other instances of harassment, that maybe you shouldn't pursue astronomy? Harassment is under-reported, the policies can be difficult to understand or hard to find, and it can be very intimidating as a young scientist to report it to the proper individuals. The Astronomy Allies Program is designed to help you with these sorts of problems. We are a group of volunteers that will help by doing the following: provide safe walks home during the conference, someone to talk to confidentially, as an intervener, as a resource to report harassment. The Allies are a diverse group of scientists committed to acting as mentors, advocates, and liaisons. The Winter 2015 AAS meeting was the first meeting that had Astronomy Allies, and Astronomy Allies provided a website for information, as well as a twitter, email, and phone number for anyone who needs our help or would like more information. We posted about the Astronomy Allies on the Women In Astronomy blog, and this program resonates with many people: either they want to help, or they have experienced harassment in the past and don't want to see it in the future. Harassment may not happen to most conference participants, but it's wrong, it's against the AAS anti-harassment policy ( http://aas.org/policies/anti-harassment-policy ), it can be very damaging, and if it happens to even one person, that is unacceptable. We intend to improve the culture at conferences to make it so that harassers feel they can't get away with their unprofessional behavior.

Astronomy Allies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flewelling, Heather; Alatalo, Katherine A.

2016-01-01

Imagine you are a grad student, at your first conference, and a prominent senior scientist shows interest in your work, and he makes things get way too personal? What would you do? Would you report it? Or would you decide, after a few other instances of harassment, that maybe you shouldn't pursue astronomy? Harassment is under-reported, the policies can be difficult to understand or hard to find, and it can be very intimidating as a young scientist to report it to the proper individuals. The Astronomy Allies Program is designed to help you with these sorts of problems. We are a group of volunteers that will help by doing the following: provide safe walks home during the conference, someone to talk to confidentially, as an intervener, as a resource to report harassment. The Allies are a diverse group of scientists committed to acting as mentors, advocates, and liaisons. The Winter 2015 AAS meeting was the first meeting that had Astronomy Allies, and Astronomy Allies provided a website for information, as well as a twitter, email, and phone number for anyone who needs our help or would like more information. We posted about the Astronomy Allies on the Women In Astronomy blog, and this program resonates with many people: either they want to help, or they have experienced harassment in the past and don't want to see it in the future. Harassment may not happen to most conference participants, but it's wrong, it's against the AAS anti-harassment policy ( http://aas.org/policies/anti-harassment-policy ), it can be very damaging, and if it happens to even one person, that is unacceptable. We intend to improve the culture at conferences to make it so that harassers feel they can't get away with their unprofessional behavior.

Astronomy Allies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flewelling, Heather; Alatalo, Katherine

2015-08-01

Imagine you are a grad student, at your first conference, and a prominent senior scientist shows interest in your work, and he makes things get way too personal? What would you do? Would you report it? Or would you decide, after a few other instances of harassment, that maybe you shouldn't pursue astronomy? Harassment is under-reported, the policies can be difficult to understand or hard to find, and it can be very intimidating as a young scientist to report it to the proper individuals. The Astronomy Allies Program is designed to help you with these sorts of problems. We are a group of volunteers that will help by doing the following: provide safe walks home during the conference, someone to talk to confidentially, as an intervener, as a resource to report harassment. The Allies are a diverse group of scientists committed to acting as mentors, advocates, and liaisons. The Winter 2015 AAS meeting was the first meeting that had Astronomy Allies, and Astronomy Allies provided a website for information, as well as a twitter, email, and phone number for anyone who needs our help or would like more information. We posted about the Astronomy Allies on the Women In Astronomy blog, and this program resonates with many people: either they want to help, or they have experienced harassment in the past and don't want to see it in the future. Harassment may not happen to most conference participants, but it's wrong, it's against the AAS anti-harassment policy ( http://aas.org/policies/anti-harassment-policy ), it can be very damaging, and if it happens to even one person, that is unacceptable. We intend to improve the culture at conferences to make it so that harassers feel they can't get away with their unprofessional behavior.

The NASA airborne astronomy program - A perspective on its contributions to science, technology, and education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Harold P.

1992-01-01

The publication records from NASA's airborne observatories are examined to evaluate the contribution of the airborne astronomy program to technological development and scientific/educational progress. The breadth and continuity of program is detailed with reference to its publication history, discipline representation, literature citations, and to the ability of such a program to address nonrecurring and unexpected astronomical phenomena. Community involvement in the airborne-observation program is described in terms of the number of participants, institutional affiliation, and geographic distribution. The program utilizes instruments including heterodyne and grating spectrometers, high-speed photometers, and Fabry-Perot spectrometers with wide total spectral ranges, resolutions, and numbers of channels. The potential of the program for both astronomical training and further scientific, theoretical, and applied development is underscored.

A Radio Astronomy Curriculum for the Middle School Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, J.; Finley, D. G.

2000-12-01

In the summer of 2000, two teachers working on a Masters of Science Teaching program at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, spent eight weeks as interns at the Array Operations Center for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Socorro, New Mexico, under the auspices of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program. The resulting projects will directly benefit students in the indvidual classrooms, as well as provide an easy-to-access resource for other educators. One of the products is a Radio Astronomy Curriculum for upper middle school classes. Radio astronomy images, based on scientific research results using NRAO's Very Large Array, are featured on trading cards which include an explanation, a ``web challenge'', and in some cases, a comparison of radio and optical images. Each trading card has corresponding lesson plans with background information about the images and astronomy concepts needed to do the lessons. Comparison of optical and radio astronomy is used as much as possible to explain the information from research using visible and radio wavelengths. New Mexico's Content Standards and Benchmarks (developed using national standards) for science education was used as a guide for the activities. The three strands of science listed in the standards, Unifying Concepts and Processes, Science as Inquiry, and Science Content are addressed in the lessons. Higher level thinking and problem solving skills are featured throughout the curriculum. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. The NSF's RET program is gratefully acknowledged.

Astronomy - Naval Oceanography Portal

Science.gov Websites

section Advanced Search... Sections Home Time Earth Orientation Astronomy Meteorology Oceanography Ice You are here: Home › Astronomy USNO Logo USNO Astronomical Applications AA Data Services Astronomical Optical/IR Products VLBI-based Products Astrometry Information Center Info Astronomy The Sky This Week a

Light and lightened mirrors for astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fappani, Denis

2008-07-01

For ground-based astronomy, more and more large telescopes are emerging all around the world. Similarly to space borne telescopes, for which the use of lightened optics has always been a baseline for purpose of mass reduction of payloads, same kinds of lightened/light mirrors are then now more and more intensively used also for ground-based instrumentation for astronomy, requiring larger and larger components. Through several examples of typical past realizations (class 0.5m-1m) for different astronomical projects requiring light or lightened mirrors for different reasons (optimisation of mass and stiffness, reduction of thermal inertia, increasing of dynamic performance for fast scanning purpose,....), the presentation will point out issues for lightening design, manufacturing and control of such parts, as well as brief overview of the corresponding existing "state of the art" for these technologies in SESO.

Nature and reporting characteristics of UK health technology assessment systematic reviews.

PubMed

Carroll, Christopher; Kaltenthaler, Eva

2018-05-08

A recent study by Page et al. (PLoS Med. 2016;13(5):e1002028) claimed that increasing numbers of reviews are being published and many are poorly-conducted and reported. The aim of the present study was to assess how well reporting standards of systematic reviews produced in a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) context compare with reporting in Cochrane and other 'non-Cochrane' systematic reviews from the same years (2004 and 2014), as reported by Page et al. (PLoS Med. 2016;13(5):e1002028). All relevant UK HTA programme systematic reviews published in 2004 and 2014 were identified. After piloting of the form, two reviewers each extracted relevant data on conduct and reporting from these reviews. These data were compared with data for Cochrane and "non-Cochrane" systematic reviews, as published by Page et al. (PLoS Med. 2016;13(5):e1002028). All data were tabulated and summarized. There were 30 UK HTA programme systematic reviews and 300 other systematic reviews, including Cochrane reviews (n = 45). The percentage of HTA reviews with required elements of conduct and reporting was frequently very similar to Cochrane and much higher than all other systematic reviews, e.g. availability of protocols (90, 98 and 16% respectively); the specification of study design criteria (100, 100, 79%); the reporting of outcomes (100, 100, 78%), quality assessment (100, 100, 70%); the searching of trial registries for unpublished data (70, 62, 19%); reporting of reasons for excluding studies (91, 91 and 70%) and reporting of authors' conflicts of interests (100, 100, 87%). HTA reviews only compared less favourably with Cochrane and other reviews in assessments of publication bias. UK HTA systematic reviews are often produced within a specific policy-making context. This context has implications for timelines, tools and resources. However, UK HTA systematic reviews still tend to present standards of conduct and reporting equivalent to "gold standard" Cochrane reviews and superior

Learning radio astronomy by doing radio astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaquerizo Gallego, J. A.

2011-11-01

PARTNeR (Proyecto Académico con el Radio Telescopio de NASA en Robledo, Academic Project with the NASA Radio Telescope at Robledo) is an educational program that allows high school and undergraduate students to control a 34 meter radio telescope and conduct radio astronomical observations via the internet. High-school teachers who join the project take a course to learn about the science of radio astronomy and how to use the antenna as an educational resource. Also, teachers are provided with learning activities they can do with their students and focused on the classroom implementation of the project within an interdisciplinary framework. PARTNeR provides students with firsthand experience in radio astronomy science. Thus, remote radio astronomical observations allow students to learn with a first rate scientific equipment the basics of radio astronomy research, aiming to arouse scientific careers and positive attitudes toward science. In this contribution we show the current observational programs and some recent results.

Conceptual Astronomy Knowledge among Amateur Astronomers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berendsen, Margaret L.

Amateur astronomers regularly serve as informal astronomy educators for their communities. This research inquires into the level of knowledge of basic astronomy concepts among amateur astronomers and examines factors related to amateur astronomy that affect that knowledge. Using the concept questions from the Astronomy Diagnostic Test Version 2, an online survey was developed as an assessment. In particular, astronomy club members with at least some college-level astronomy education score substantially higher on the assessment (mean score: 85) than do college undergraduates after taking their first astronomy course (mean score: 47). Astronomy club members scored up to 17% higher than unaffiliated amateurs, an indication that regular contact with like-minded hobbyists improves basic knowledge. Proportionally more astronomy club members report doing outreach than do unaffiliated amateurs (87% vs. 46%). It appears that those who are likely to be more knowledgeable are also those doing more outreach.

Astronomy Help - Naval Oceanography Portal

Science.gov Websites

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The decade of discovery in astronomy and astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

A survey of astronomy and astrophysics in the 1990s is presented and a prioritized agenda is offered for space- and ground-based research into the 21st century. In addition to proposing new telescopes for ground and space, the research infrastructure is discussed. The urgent need is emphasized for increased support of individual investigators, for appropriate maintenance and refurbishment of existing facilities, and for a balanced program of space astronomy. The scientific and the technical opportunities of the 1990s are summarized and the technological development is described needed for instruments to be built in the first years of the next century. Also addressed is the suitability of the Moon as an observation site.

Charting the Development of Technology-Enhanced Learning Developments across the UK Higher Education Sector: A Longitudinal Perspective (2001-2012)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Richard; Voce, Julie; Jenkins, Martin

2016-01-01

This article reviews key findings from six surveys of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) across the UK higher education (HE) sector, conducted by Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association in association with Jisc. Updating the findings presented by Jenkins, Browne, Walker, and Hewitt [2010. The development of technology enhanced…

Dark Skies Awareness Programs for the U.S. International Year of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Constance E.; U. S. IYA Dark Skies Working Group

2009-01-01

The loss of a dark night sky as a natural resource is a growing concern. It impacts not only astronomical research, but also our ecology, health, safety, economics and energy conservation. For this reason, "Dark Skies are a Universal Resource” is one of seven primary themes of the U.S. International Year of Astronomy program in 2009. Its goal is to raise public awareness of the impact of artificial lighting on local environments by getting people involved in a variety of dark skies-related programs. To reach this goal, activities have been developed that: 1) Teach about dark skies using new technology (e.g., an activity-based planetarium show on DVD, podcasting, social networking, Second Life) 2) Provide thematic events on light pollution at star parties and observatory open houses (Dark Skies Discovery Sites, Astronomy Nights in the (National) Parks, Sidewalk Astronomy Nights) 3) Organize an event in the arts (e.g., a photography contest) 4) Involve citizen-scientists in unaided-eye and digital-meter star counting programs, as well as RFI monitoring (e.g., GLOBE at Night and Quiet Skies) and 5) Raise awareness about the link between light pollution and public health, economic issues, ecological consequences, energy conservation, safety and security (e.g., the Dark Skies Toolkit, Good Neighbor Lighting, Earth Hour, National Dark Skies Week, traveling exhibits and a 6-minute video tutorial). To deliver these programs, strategic networks have been established with astronomy clubs (ASP's Night Sky Network's astronomy clubs and the Astronomical League), science and nature centers (Astronomy from the Ground Up and the Association of Science and Technology), educational programs (Project ASTRO and GLOBE) and the International Dark-sky Association. The poster will describe the "know-how” and the means for people to become community advocates in promoting Dark Skies programs as public events at their home institutions. For more information, visit http://astronomy2009

Astronomy Popularization via Sci-fi Movies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qingkang

2015-08-01

It is astronomers’ duty to let more and more young people know a bit astronomy and be interested in astronomy and appreciate the beauty and great achievements in astronomy. One of the most effective methods to popularize astronomy to young people nowadays might be via enjoying some brilliant sci-fi movies related to astronomy with some guidance from astronomers. Firstly, we will introduce the basic information of our selective course “Appreciation of Sci-fi Movies in Astronomy” for the non-major astronomy students in our University, which is surely unique in China, then we will show its effect on astronomy popularization based on several rounds of teaching.

NASA Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Airborne Astronomy Ambassador Program Evaluation Results To Date

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harman, Pamela K.; Backman, Dana E.; Clark, Coral

2015-08-01

SOFIA is an airborne observatory, capable of making observations that are impossible for even the largest and highest ground-based telescopes, and inspires instrumention development.SOFIA is an 80% - 20% partnership of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), consisting of a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft carrying a diameter of 2.5 meters (100 inches) reflecting telescope. The SOFIA aircraft is based at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, Building 703, in Palmdale, California. The Science Program Office and Outreach Office is located at NASA Ames Research center. SOFIA is one of the programs in NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Astrophysics Division.SOFIA will be used to study many different kinds of astronomical objects and phenomena, including star birth and death, formation of new solar systems, identification of complex molecules in space, planets, comets and asteroids in our solar system, nebulae and dust in galaxies, and ecosystems of galaxies.Airborne Astronomy Ambassador Program:The SOFIA Education and Communications program exploits the unique attributes of airborne astronomy to contribute to national goals for the reform of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, and to the elevation of public scientific and technical literacy.SOFIA’s Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA) effort is a professional development program aspiring to improve teaching, inspire students, and inform the community. To date, 55 educators from 21 states; in three cohorts, Cycles 0, 1 and 2; have completed their astronomy professional development and their SOFIA science flight experience. Cycle 3 cohort of 28 educators will be completing their flight experience this fall. Evaluation has confirmed the program’s positive impact on the teacher participants, on their students, and in their communities. Teachers have incorporated content knowledge and specific components of their experience into their curricula, and have given hundreds of presentations and

How CubeSats contribute to Science and Technology in Astronomy and Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cahoy, Kerri Lynn; Douglas, Ewan; Carlton, Ashley; Clark, James; Haughwout, Christian

2017-01-01

CubeSats are nanosatellites, spacecraft typically the size of a shoebox or backpack. CubeSats are made up of one or more 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm units weighing 1.33 kg (each cube is called a “U”). CubeSats benefit from relatively easy and inexpensive access to space because they are designed to slide into fully enclosed spring-loaded deployer pods before being attached as an auxiliary payload to a larger vehicle, without adding risk to the vehicle or its primary payload(s). Even though CubeSats have inherent resource and aperture limitations due to their small size, over the past fifteen years, researchers and engineers have miniaturized components and subsystems, greatly increasing the capabilities of CubeSats. We discuss how state of the art CubeSats can address both science objectives and technology objectives in Astronomy and Astrophysics. CubeSats can contribute toward science objectives such as cosmic dawn, galactic evolution, stellar evolution, extrasolar planets and interstellar exploration.CubeSats can contribute to understanding how key technologies for larger missions, like detectors, microelectromechanical systems, and integrated optical elements, can not only survive launch and operational environments (which can often be simulated on the ground), but also meet performance specifications over long periods of time in environments that are harder to simulate properly, such as ionizing radiation, the plasma environment, spacecraft charging, and microgravity. CubeSats can also contribute to both science and technology advancements as multi-element space-based platforms that coordinate distributed measurements and use formation flying and large separation baselines to counter their restricted individual apertures.

Astronomical Book Trek: Astronomy Books of 1983.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraknoi, Andrew

1984-01-01

Presents an annotated list of technical and non-technical astronomy books. Topic areas of non-technical books include general astronomy, amateur astronomy, computers and astronomy, history of astronomy, pseudoscience, space exploration, physics and astronomy, and textbooks. Each entry includes author, title, description, source, and current cost.…

Astronomy Students Learn to Think Big.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Somerville, W. B.

1989-01-01

Presents background information related to astronomy for high school students. Discusses the differences between astronomy and astrophysics, and the employment of the astronomy graduates. Lists degree programs in astronomy and related subjects in an appendix. (YP)

NASA's future plans for space astronomy and astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaplan, Mike

1992-01-01

A summary is presented of plans for the future NASA astrophysics missions called SIRTF (Space Infrared Telescope Facility), SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy), SMIM (Submillimeter Intermdiate Mission), and AIM (Astrometric Interferometry Mission), the Greater Observatories, and MFPE (Mission From Planet Earth). Technology needs for these missions are briefly described.

Video-Tutorials for Tech Sign Vocabulary in Astronomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egelston-Dodd, Judy; Ting, Simon

2007-01-01

This article describes the mediated American Sing Language (ASL) presentation of technical vocabulary and definitions within the context of a web-based astronomy course for first year students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY). Deaf students showed achievement gains with fewer…

Highlights of Astronomy, Volume 14

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Hucht, Karel

2007-08-01

Preface Karel A. van der Hucht; Part I. Invited Discourses: Part II. Joint Discussions: 1. Particle acceleration - from Solar System to AGN Marian Karlicky and John C. Brown; 2. Pulsar emission and related phenomena Werner Becker, Janusz A. Gil and Bronislaw Rudak; 3. Solar activity regions and magnetic structure Debi Prasad Choudhary and Michal Sobotka; 4. The ultraviolet universe: Stars from birth to death Ana I. Gomez de Castro and Martin A. Barstow; 5. Calibrating the top of the stellar M-L relationship Claus Leitherer, Anthony F. J. Moat and Joachim Puls; 6. Neutron stars and black holes in star clusters Frederic A. Rasio; 7. The Universe at z > 6 Daniel Schaerer and Andrea Ferrara; 8. Solar and stellar activity cycles Klaus G. Strassmeier and Alexander Kosovichev; 9. Supernovae: One millennium after SN 1006 P. Frank Winkler, Wolfgang Hillebrandt and Brian P. Schmidt; 10. Progress in planetary exploration missions Guy J. Consolmagno; 11. Pre-solar grains as astrophysical tools Anja C. Andersen and John C. Lattanzio; 12. Long wavelength astrophysics T. Joseph W. Lazio and Namir E. Kassim; 13. Exploiting large surveys for galactic astronomy Christopher J. Corbally, Coryn A. L. Bailer-Jones, Sunetra Giridhar and Thomas H. Lloyd Evans; 14. Modeling dense stellar systems Alison I. Sills, Ladislav Subr and Simon F. Portegies Zwart; 15. New cosmology results from the Spitzer Space Telescope George Helou and David T. Frayer; 16. Nomenclature, precession and new models in fundamental astronomy Nicole Capitaine, Jan Vondrak & James L. Hilton; 17. Highlights of recent progress in seismology of the Sun and Sun-like stars John W. Leibacher and Michael J. Thompson; Part III. Special Sessions: SpS 1. Large astronomical facilities of the next decade Gerard F. Gilmore and Richard T. Schilizzi; SpS 2. Innovation in teaching and learning astronomy methods Rosa M. Ros and Jay M. Pasachoff; SpS 3. The Virtual Observatory in action: New science, new technology and next

Television as an Aid to Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Samantha

2018-01-01

In the late nineteenth-century, readily available dry, gelatin-based photographic emulsions revolutionized astronomy. Photography not only provided a permanent record, but also allowed for integration over extended exposures, helping astronomers observe fainter objects than possible with the eye alone. In 1942, television pioneer Vladimir Zworykin, patented the Telelectroscope, an electronic telescope which removed the observer from the eyepiece and replaced photographic emulsion with a television camera. By the mid-1950s, the astronomical community had developed a growing interest in the possible uses of television technology and at the 1955 Dublin meeting of the IAU, a special session was devoted to the application of television in astronomy.Here, I will examine the use of commercially-available television camera tubes by professional and amateur astronomers and explain how results from these early observations encouraged the astronomical community to further test, design, and build electronic imaging devices specifically for astronomical use.

Astronomy and Mathematics Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ros, Rosa M.

There are many European countries where Astronomy does not appear as a specific course on the secondary school. In these cases Astronomy content can be introduced by means of other subjects. There are some astronomical topics within the subject of Physics but this talk concerns introducing Astronomy in Mathematics classes. Teaching Astronomy through Mathematics would result in more exposure than through Physics as Mathematics is more prevalent in the curriculum. Generally it is not easy to motivate students in Mathematics but they are motivated to find out more about the universe and Astronomy current events than appears in the media. This situation can be an excellent introduction to several mathematics topics. The teachers in secondary and high school can use this idea in order to present more attractive mathematics courses. In particular some different examples will be offered regarding * Angles and spherical coordinates considering star traces * Logarithms and visual magnitudes * Plane trigonometry related orbital movements * Spherical trigonometry in connection with ecliptic obliquity * Conic curves related to sundial at several latitudes Some students do not enjoy studying Mathematics but they can be attracted by practical situations using Applied Mathematics: Astronomy is always very attractive to teenagers.

The IDL astronomy user's library

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landsman, W. B.

1992-01-01

IDL (Interactive Data Language) is a commercial programming, plotting, and image display language, which is widely used in astronomy. The IDL Astronomy User's Library is a central repository of over 400 astronomy-related IDL procedures accessible via anonymous FTP. The author will overview the use of IDL within the astronomical community and discuss recent enhancements at the IDL astronomy library. These enhancements include a fairly complete I/O package for FITS images and tables, an image deconvolution package and an image mosaic package, and access to IDL Open Windows/Motif widgets interface. The IDL Astronomy Library is funded by NASA through the Astrophysics Software and Research Aids Program.

Critical Perspectives of Technology-Enhanced Learning in Relation to Specialist Communication Design Studio Education within the UK and Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshalsey, Lorraine; Sclater, Madeleine

2018-01-01

This paper investigates the widespread integration of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) within specialist Communication Design studio education in the UK and Australia. The impetus for this paper has grown from the challenges facing day-to-day design studio education and the recognition that the use of technology in higher education today has…

Astronomy On-Line Programme Enters "hot Week"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1996-11-01

World's Biggest Astronomy WWW-Event Attracts Thousands of Students The Astronomy On-line Programme (See ESO Press Release 09/96 of 18 June 1996) began officially on 1 October and is now about to enter its most intense phase, known as the Hot Week . On 18 - 22 November, an estimated 4000 astronomy-interested, mostly young people in Europe and on four other continents will get together during five days in what - not unexpected - has become the world's biggest astronomy event ever organised on the World Wide Web. This carefully structured Programme is carried out in collaboration between the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE), the European Southern Observatory and the European Commission, under the auspices of the Fourth European Week for Scientific and Technological Culture. The Programme has already had a most visible impact on the school education of natural sciences in various countries; for instance, the Internet-connection of schools has been advanced in some, in order to allow groups to participate. There have been numerous contacts among the groups across the borders and there are clear signs that many Astronomy On-line participants have progressed to use the impressive possibilities of the Web in an efficient and structured way. There has been a lively media interest in Astronomy On-line all over Europe and it is expected to increase during the next week. The current status of Astronomy On-line It is obvious that the pilot function of the Astronomy On-line Programme in the use of the Web has been very effective and that the associated dissemination of astronomical knowledge has been successful. At this time, more than 650 groups have registered with Astronomy On-line. Most come from 31 different European countries and a few dozen groups are located in North and South America as well as in Asia and Australia. Together they have experienced the steady build-up of Astronomy On-line over the past weeks, by means of numerous contributions from a

Gender Stereotypes among Women Engineering and Technology Students in the UK: Lessons from Career Choice Narratives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powell, Abigail; Dainty, Andrew; Bagilhole, Barbara

2012-01-01

In the UK, women remain under-represented in engineering and technology (E&T). Research has, therefore, investigated barriers and solutions to women's recruitment, retention and progression. Recruitment into the sector may be supported by exploring the career decisions of women and men who have chosen to study E&T. Triangulating…

Low-background detector arrays for infrared astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccreight, C. R.; Estrada, J. A.; Goebel, J. H.; Mckelvey, M. E.; Mckibbin, D. D.; Mcmurray, R. E., Jr.; Weber, T. T.

1989-01-01

The status of a program which develops and characterizes integrated infrared (IR) detector array technology for space astronomical applications is described. The devices under development include intrinsic, extrinsic silicon, and extrinsic germanium detectors, coupled to silicon readout electronics. Low-background laboratory test results include measurements of responsivity, noise, dark current, temporal response, and the effects of gamma-radiation. In addition, successful astronomical imagery has been obtained on some arrays from this program. These two aspects of the development combine to demonstrate the strong potential for integrated array technology for IR space astronomy.

Astronomy in Culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stavinschi, M.

2010-07-01

Which is more appropriate? “Astronomy in culture,” or “Astronomy and culture,” or “Culture without astronomy?” These are only few variants, each with its own sense. I guess the last question is the most pertinent. Does culture really exist without astronomy? The existence and evolution of the human civilization answer NO! But what “culture” means? When we are thinking of a culture (the Hellenistic one, for instance), we mean a set of customs, artistic, religious, intellectual manifestations that differentiate one group or society from another. On the other hand, we often use the notion of culture in a different sense: shared beliefs, ways of regarding and doing, which orient more or less consciously the behavior of an individual or a group. An example would be the laic culture. Moreover, the set of knowledge acquired in one or several domains also constitutes a culture, for instance the scientific culture of an individual or a group. Finally, the set of cultures is nothing else but the civilization. Now, if we come back in time into the history of civilization, we find a permanent component, which was never missing and often played a decisive part in its evolution: the Astronomy.

Astronomical Book Trek: Astronomy Books of 1982.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraknoi, Andrew

1983-01-01

Provided in two separate annotated lists are technical and nontechnical astronomy books. Categories in the latter group include: general astronomy; astronomy textbooks; amateur astronomy; astronomy history; life on other worlds; astrophysics; the solar system; space exploration; and the sun. (JN)

Worldwide Impact: International Year of Astronomy Dark Skies Awareness Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, C. E.; Pompea, S. M.; Isbell, D.

2009-12-01

The arc of the Milky Way seen from a truly dark location is part of our planet's natural heritage. More than one fifth of the world population, two thirds of the United States population and one half of the European Union population have already lost naked eye visibility of the Milky Way. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a serious and growing issue that impacts astronomical research, the economy, ecology, energy conservation, human health, public safety and our shared ability to see the night sky. For this reason, “Dark Skies Awareness” is a global cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy. Its goal is to raise public awareness of the impact of artificial lighting on local environments by getting people worldwide involved in a variety of programs through: - New Technology (website, podcasts, social networking, Second Life) - Educational Materials (Great Switch Out, a traveling exhibit, brochures, posters, CDs, DVDs, educational kit) - The Arts (photo contest) - Events (Earth Hour, International Dark Sky Week, World Night in Defense of Starlight, Dark Skies Discovery Sites, Sidewalk Astronomy, Nights in the Parks) - Citizen Science Programs (5 star hunting programs & Quiet Skies) Dark Skies Communities (Starlight Initiative, International Dark Sky Communities) Many countries around the world have participated in these programs. We will highlight 24 countries in particular and focus on successful techniques used in aspects of the programs, results and impact on the audience, and plans and challenges for maintaining or extending the program beyond the International Year of Astronomy. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is partially funded from a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Astronomy Division. The National Optical Astronomy Observatory is host to the IYA2009 Dark Skies Awareness programs and is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under cooperative agreement with NSF.

Teaching of Science Through the Seedbed of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno Pedraza, L. A.; Salinas Barreto, L. F.

2017-07-01

This astronomy seedbed seeks for different methodologies for the development of lifelong learning; this seedbed works through three lines of field that are: rocketry (work different models to reach an advanced machinery), paper models of probes and space vehicles (looking for the representation of the mechanism and its operation), comets (the study of movement in our solar system). In light of the above this seedbed will achieve a breakthrough in science thanks to this learning based on field projects, with different methodologies of study. For this reason we took into account the design and modeling of structures for the explanation of astronomical trends. Taking into account a school curriculum with research activities in astronomy, astrophysics and aerospace science-oriented from the basic knowledge of astronomy, such as the modeling of the motion of the planets, the model of an immediately propulsion rocket and the representation of the functioning of a black hole. The advances were: in rocketry on February 18 2012, in the municipality of "Villa de Leyva", in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founder of the Dominicans of St Catherine of Siena, was launched a pilot of solid fuel rocket with a payload that reached a height of a thousand meters. The modeling on paper in 2015, in the seedbed of astronomy were different models of rockets, spacecraft and satellites. In order to be able to explain in a simple and didactic way the advances in astronomy of these technological mechanism. Since 2015 the observation camp has taken place using telescopes Smith Cassegrain type. This equipment allow investigators to get photos using color filters, which demonstrate the process of this great event.

Minoan Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blomberg, Mary; Henriksson, Göran

Of the three great cultures of the ancient eastern Mediterranean — the Babylonian, Egyptian, and Minoan — we have considerable knowledge of the astronomy of the first two through their documents (see relevant sections of this Handbook). Very little written material, however, has survived from Minoan Crete, but the evidence of other impressive archaeological discoveries implies that the inhabitants were on a par with their neighbors and had made similar advances in astronomy. In lieu of written sources, we have used the methods of archaeoastronomy to recover as much as possible about Minoan astronomy. In short, these are measuring the orientations of walls and their opposite horizons at a representative selection of monuments, analyzing the measurements statistically, and comparing the results with digital reconstruction of the positions of significant celestial bodies for the time when the walls were built.

Improving Astronomy Achievement and Attitude through Astronomy Summer Project: A Design, Implementation and Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Türk, Cumhur; Kalkan, Hüseyin; Iskeleli', Nazan Ocak; Kiroglu, Kasim

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of an astronomy summer project implemented in different learning activities on elementary school students, pre-service elementary teachers and in-service teachers' astronomy achievement and their attitudes to astronomy field. This study is the result of a five-day, three-stage, science school,…

Junior High Astronomy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenstone, Sid; Smith, Murray

Selected materials needed to teach an astronomy unit as well as suggested procedures, activities, ideas, and astronomy fact sheets published by the Manitoba Planetarium are provided. Subjects of the fact sheets include: publications and classroom picture sets available from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and facts and statistics…

Discovering astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, R. D.

1978-01-01

An overview of basic astronomical knowledge is presented with attention to the structure and dynamics of the stars and planets. Also dealt with are techniques of astronomical measurement, e.g., stellar spectrometry, radio astronomy, star catalogs, etc. Basic physical principles as they pertain to astronomy are reviewed, including the nature of light, gravitation, and electromagnetism. Finally, stellar evolution and cosmology are discussed with reference to the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe.

Vision for Astronomy in South Africa and partnership with the US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemaungani, Takalani

2014-01-01

The 2002 National Research and Development Strategy identified astronomy as a national geographic advantage. This identification was based on the historical investments in optical and, to a lesser extent, radio astronomy up to that point and the realisation that the conditions prevailing in Sutherland were among the best in the world. Since then a number of astronomy initiatives have burgeoned in the Southern African region and these include the HESS, SKA and the AVN. Currently, investments in astronomy are by far the biggest investments being made by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). South Africa’s involvement in modern astronomy dates back to 1685 when a French Astronomer, Guy Tachard, setup an observatory at the southern tip of Africa to decipher the star charts of the extreme southern sky. In 1820, a permanent observatory - the Royal Observatory - was established outside of Cape Town and astronomy has been practised continuously since then. By the late 1980s, it became clear that for South African astronomers and astrophysicists to continue conducting first class research, the acquisition of a much larger, powerful and sophisticated telescope would be necessary. This provided the impetus for a new vision to construct the largest single optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, eventually known as the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). Within the last decade, the African appetite for radio astronomy initiatives has increased exponentially. This has largely been spurred by the African bid to host the SKA project and the need for African countries to work in close partnership that consequently resulted in a successful bid to co-host the SKA project and the subsequent need to ensure its effective implementation. This partnership, and the interactions related thereto, has effectively enhanced awareness around the requirements for hosting radio astronomy instrumentation and the associated benefits that could be derived in making such

Astronomy in Iraq

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alsabti, A. W.

2006-08-01

The history of modern Iraqi astronomy is reviewed. During the early 1970's Iraqi astronomy witnessed significant growth through the introduction of the subject at university level and extensively within the school curriculum. In addition, astronomy was popularised in the media, a large planetarium was built in Baghdad, plus a smaller one in Basra. Late 1970 witnessed the construction of the Iraqi National Observatory at Mount Korek in Iraqi Kurdistan. The core facilities of the Observatory included 3.5-meter and 1.25-meter optical telescopes, and a 30-meter radio telescope for millimetre wavelength astronomy. The Iraqi Astronomical Society was founded and Iraq joined the IAU in 1976. During the regime of Saddam Hussain in the 1980's, the Observatory was attacked by Iranian artillery during the Iraq-Iran war, and then again during the second Gulf war by the US air force. Years of sanctions during the 1990's left Iraq cut off from the rest of the international scientific community. Subscriptions to astronomical journals were halted and travel to conferences abroad was virtually non-existent. Most senior astronomers left the country for one reason or another. Support from expatriate Iraqi astronomers existed (and still exists) however, this is not sufficient. Recent changes in Iraq, and the fall of Saddam's regime, has meant that scientific communication with the outside world has resumed to a limited degree. The Ministry of Higher Education in Baghdad, Baghdad University and the Iraqi National Academy of Science, have all played active roles in re-establishing Iraqi astronomy and re-building the damaged Observatory at Mount Korek. More importantly the University of Sallahudin in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, has taken particular interest in astronomy and the Observatory. Organized visits to the universities, and also to the Observatory, have given us a first-hand assessment of the scale of the damage to the Observatory, as well as the needs of astronomy teaching

The Development of Technology Enhanced Learning: Findings from a 2008 Survey of UK Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenkins, Martin; Browne, Tom; Walker, Richard; Hewitt, Roger

2011-01-01

This article summarises the key findings from a UK survey of higher education institutions, focusing on the development of technology enhanced learning (TEL). TEL is defined as any online facility or system that directly supports learning and teaching. The 2008 survey builds upon previous UCISA surveys conducted in 2001, 2003 and 2005 and for…

Easy PC Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duffett-Smith, Peter

1996-11-01

Easy PC Astronomy is the perfect book for everyone who wants to make easy and accurate astronomical calculations. The author supplies a simple but powerful script language called AstroScript on a disk, ready to use on any IBM PC-type computer. Equipped with this software, readers can compute complex but interesting astronomical results within minutes: from the time of moonrise or moonset anywhere in the world on any date, to the display of a lunar or solar eclipse on the computer screen--all within a few minutes of opening the book! The Sky Graphics feature of the software displays a detailed image of the sky as seen from any point on earth--at any time in the future or past--showing the constellations, planets, and a host of other features. Readers need no expert knowledge of astronomy, math or programming; the author provides full details of the calculations and formulas, which the reader can absorb or ignore as desired, and a comprehensive glossary of astronomical terms. Easy PC Astronomy is of immediate practical use to beginning and advanced amateur astronomers, students at all levels, science teachers, and research astronomers. Peter Duffett-Smith is at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge and is the author of Astronomy with Your Personal Computer (Cambridge University Press, 1990) and Practical Astronomy with Your Calculator (Cambridge University Press, 1989).

Youth for Astronomy & Engineering Program: Engaging Local Families and Partners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Tania

2017-01-01

Youth for Astronomy and Engineering (YAE) is a program in the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Communication and Public Outreach designed to engage the local community in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This is accomplished through a series of yearly events such as astronomy and engineering clubs for students, family nights, and star parties. These events leverage our mission science to expose participants to the latest science discoveries (Hubble), new developments in space technology (James Webb), STEM career information, and activities that are representative of the work done by individuals in the astronomical and engineering fields. The YAE program helps provide a progression of opportunities for audiences by attracting and identifying highly-engaged individuals for participation in more intensive experiences. It also helps increase our impact by creating a network for piloting educational outreach initiatives at the local level before nationwide release. This poster will highlight the YAE program.

Quickly Creating Interactive Astronomy Illustrations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slater, Timothy F.

2015-01-01

An innate advantage for astronomy teachers is having numerous breathtaking images of the cosmos available to capture students' curiosity, imagination, and wonder. Internet-based astronomy image libraries are numerous and easy to navigate. The Astronomy Picture of the Day, the Hubble Space Telescope image archive, and the NASA Planetary…

Music Inspired by Astronomy: A Selected Listing for the International Year of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraknoi, A.

2008-11-01

Part of the aim of the International Year of Astronomy is to show the connections between astronomy and other areas of human culture. Such connections are easily found in music, where astronomical ideas have found a wide range of expression. This is not a comprehensive listing, but a sampling of some of the pieces that are available on CD's, and that may be of particular interest to educators and astronomy enthusiasts. To qualify for the list, a piece (or the composer's vision for it) has to include some real science and not just an astronomical term in the title or in a few lyrics. For example, we do not list The Planets, by Gustav Holst, since it treats the astrological view of the planets. And we regret that Philip Glass' opera Galileo is not available on CD and therefore cannot be listed. Nor do we include the thousands of popular songs that use the moon or the stars for an easy rhyme or a quick romantic image. And, while many jazz pieces have astronomy in the title, it is often hard to know just how the piece and the astronomy go together; so we've sadly omitted jazz too. For those with old-fashioned ears, like the author, we note that no warranty is made that all these pieces are easy to listen to, but each takes some key idea from astronomy and makes music out of it. A more comprehensive discussion can be found in my article in Astronomy Education Review: http://aer.noao.edu/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=193

"Radio Astronomy, Whatever That May Be." The Marginalization of Early Radio Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarrell, Richard

2005-01-01

Today we see radio astronomy as a fully-integrated part of astronomy; it is now just one of several available wavelength regimes and many astrophysicists who use radio data are not radio astronomers themselves. At the beginning, it was very different. Between 1946 and 1960, radio astronomy emerged as an important speciality but it was an area little understood by mainstream astronomers. Radio astronomers rarely published in astronomical journals, gave papers at astronomical conferences or were accorded much notice. The pioneers in the field were not astronomers themselves and had little in common with astronomers. In this paper I note the various ways in which radio astronomy was alienated from the mainstream in its first decade and some of the reasons this alienation occurred. I will also speculate on when and how the integration began to occur.

Astronomy Explained

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

North, Gerald

Every year large numbers of people take up the study of astronomy, mostly at amateur level. There are plenty of elementary books on the market, full of colourful photographs, but lacking in proper explanations of how and why things are as they are. Many people eventually wish to go beyond the 'coffee-table book' stage and study this fascinating subject in greater depth. This book is written for them. In addition, many people sit for public examinations in this subject each year and this book is also intended to be of use to them. All the topics from the GCSE syllabus are covered here, with sample questions at the end of each chapter. Astronomy Explained provides a comprehensive treatment of the subject in more depth than is usually found in elementary works, and will be of interest to both amateur astronomers and students of astronomy.

Outreach and Astronomy-Education Activities of the University of Arizona Astronomy Club

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGraw, Allison M.; Hardegree-Ullman, K.; Walker-LaFollette, A.; Towner, A. P.

2014-01-01

The University of Arizona Astronomy Club provides unique outreach experiences for all ages. Our undergraduates work together to volunteer their time for various types of outreach events. This club uses several techniques to execute astronomy education such as hands-on 3D models, exciting demonstrations of scientific phenomena, and multiple small telescopes for both solar and night-time viewing. The students bring the models and telescopes to locations both on and off campus; from dark sky locations in the desert southwest to elementary schools, our undergraduates are willing to teach astronomy just about anywhere.

Active optics as enabling technology for future large missions: current developments for astronomy and Earth observation at ESA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallibert, Pascal

2017-09-01

In recent years, a trend for higher resolution has increased the entrance apertures of future optical payloads for both Astronomy and Earth Observation most demanding applications, resulting in new opto-mechanical challenges for future systems based on either monolithic or segmented large primary mirrors. Whether easing feasibility and schedule impact of tight manufacturing and integration constraints or correcting mission-critical in-orbit and commissioning effects, Active Optics constitutes an enabling technology for future large optical space instruments at ESA and needs to reach the necessary maturity in time for future mission selection and implementation. We present here a complete updated overview of our current R and D activities in this field, ranging from deformable space-compatible components to full correction chains including wavefront sensing as well as control and correction algorithms. We share as well our perspectives on the way-forward to technological maturity and implementation within future missions.

Teaching Astronomy Online

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radnofsky, Mary L.; Bobrowsky, Matthew

This article is intended to provide an overview of the practical, pedagogical, and philosophical considerations in designing a Web-based astronomy course, and to demonstrate the educational benefits that such online courses can afford students. Because online students need to take more responsibility for their learning, faculty must make course expectations extremely clear. Online education allows for increased student participation and equal access to college by such groups as the military, the handicapped, full-time employees, and rural and senior citizens. Teaching the sciences online--especially astronomy--gives students more time to think critically about new information. This article also includes tools, checklists, and resources helpful for introducing faculty to online course development in astronomy.

Astronomy sortie missions definition study. Volume 2, book 1: Astronomy sortie program technical report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The work performed to arrive at a baseline astronomy sortie mission concept is summarized. The material includes: (1) definition of the telescopes and arrays; (2) preliminary definition of mission and systems; (3) identification, definition, and evaluation of alternative sortie programs; (4) the recommended astronomy sortie program; and (5) the astronomy sortie program concept that was approved as a baseline for the remainder of the project.

Astronomy, Astrology, and Medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenbaum, Dorian Gieseler

Astronomy and astrology were combined with medicine for thousands of years. Beginning in Mesopotamia in the second millennium BCE and continuing into the eighteenth century, medical practitioners used astronomy/astrology as an important part of diagnosis and prescription. Throughout this time frame, scientists cited the similarities between medicine and astrology, in addition to combining the two in practice. Hippocrates and Galen based medical theories on the relationship between heavenly bodies and human bodies. In an enduring cultural phenomenon, parts of the body as well as diseases were linked to zodiac signs and planets. In Renaissance universities, astronomy and astrology were studied by students of medicine. History records a long tradition of astrologer-physicians. This chapter covers the topic of astronomy, astrology, and medicine from the Old Babylonian period to the Enlightenment.

Fractal astronomy.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beech, M.

1989-02-01

The author discusses some of the more recent research on fractal astronomy and results presented in several astronomical studies. First, the large-scale structure of the universe is considered, while in another section one drops in scale to examine some of the smallest bodies in our solar system; the comets and meteoroids. The final section presents some thoughts on what influence the fractal ideology might have on astronomy, focusing particularly on the question recently raised by Kadanoff, "Fractals: where's the physics?"

Web-based visualization of very large scientific astronomy imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertin, E.; Pillay, R.; Marmo, C.

2015-04-01

Visualizing and navigating through large astronomy images from a remote location with current astronomy display tools can be a frustrating experience in terms of speed and ergonomics, especially on mobile devices. In this paper, we present a high performance, versatile and robust client-server system for remote visualization and analysis of extremely large scientific images. Applications of this work include survey image quality control, interactive data query and exploration, citizen science, as well as public outreach. The proposed software is entirely open source and is designed to be generic and applicable to a variety of datasets. It provides access to floating point data at terabyte scales, with the ability to precisely adjust image settings in real-time. The proposed clients are light-weight, platform-independent web applications built on standard HTML5 web technologies and compatible with both touch and mouse-based devices. We put the system to the test and assess the performance of the system and show that a single server can comfortably handle more than a hundred simultaneous users accessing full precision 32 bit astronomy data.

Science education reforms in the UK.

PubMed

2012-10-01

As children return to school at the end of the summer in the UK, planned reforms aim to increase their science and maths literacy. A comprehensive foundation in these essential subjects is necessary to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of science and technology for decades to come.

Armenian Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickaelian, Areg M.; Farmanyan, Sona V.

2016-12-01

A review is given on archaeoastronomy in Armenia and astronomical knowledge reflected in the Armenian culture. Astronomy in Armenia was popular since ancient times and Armenia is rich in its astronomical heritage, such as the names of the constellations, ancient observatories, Armenian rock art (numerous petroglyphs of astronomical content), ancient and medieval Armenian calendars, astronomical terms and names used in Armenian language since II-I millennia B.C., records of astronomical events by ancient Armenians (e.g. Halley's comet in 87 B.C., supernovae explosion in 1054), the astronomical heritage of the Armenian medieval great thinker Anania Shirakatsi's (612-685), medieval sky maps and astronomical devices by Ghukas (Luca) Vanandetsi (XVII-XVIII centuries) and Mkhitar Sebastatsi (1676-1749), etc. For systemization and further regular studies, we have created a webpage devoted to Armenian archaeoastronomical matters at Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS) website. Issues on astronomy in culture include astronomy in ancient Armenian cultures, ethnoastronomy, astronomy in Armenian religion and mythology, astronomy and astrology, astronomy in folklore and poetry, astronomy in arts, astrolinguistics and astroheraldry. A similar webpage for Astronomy in Armenian Culture is being created at ArAS website and a permanent section "Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture" has been created in ArAS Electronic Newsletter. Several meetings on this topic have been organized in Armenia during 2007-2014, including the archaeoastronomical meetings in 2012 and 2014, and a number of books have been published. Several institutions are related to these studies coordinated by Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) and researchers from the fields of astronomy, history, archaeology, literature, linguistics, etc. are involved.

Third-World Astronomy Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narlikar, Jayant V.

Several developing countries of the Third World have been actively interested in astronomy, as is evidenced by the membership of the IAU. The enthusiasm of individual astronomers from these countries is, however, not matched by the resources available to them to pursue their interest in astronomy, in teaching as well as research, at an above-threshold level. Major problems requiring solutions are (I) isolation from the mainstream work, which leads to research work which is not quite relevant or realistic, and to teaching based on outdated knowledge; (II) lack of financial resources, leading to shortage of books and journals in the library, insufficient computing power, out-of-date instruments, as well as inability to participate in essential activities like schools, workshops, and major international conferences and symposia; and (III) lack of handson experience with state-of-the-art instrumentation that often leads to good scientists being turned away from astronomical observations towards abstract theories. Experience of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics at Trieste, Italy and of the inter-university centres in India, like the IUCAA at Pune, has shown that limited resources can be made to go a long way by sharing, networking and intelligent use of communications technology. Based on the above experience, this proposal envisages setting up a Third World Astronomy Network (TWAN) under the auspices of the IAU, within the wider ICSU-umbrella with support from the UNESCO as well as participating nations. The TWAN will operate with a few key institutions as local nodal points of a wide network. The objectives of the proposed TWAN and the role of the Nodal Institutions (NIs) are spelled out in this proposal, along with the budgetary support required.

A Threat to Childhood Innocence or the Future of Learning? Parents' Perspectives on the Use of Touch-Screen Technology by 0-3 Year-Olds in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Jane; Fotakopoulou, Olga

2016-01-01

The rise in personal ownership of touch-screen technology such as iPads and smartphones in the UK in recent years has led to the increasing use of such technology by babies and very young children. This article explores this practice via an online parental survey with 226 UK parents of children aged 0-3 years within the context of the current…

The Teaching of Astronomy in Mauritius

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heeralall-Issur, Nalini

In this presentation we describe the present teaching of Astronomy in Mauritius. At present Astronomy is taught mostly at University level as electives (Astrophysics I & II) within our BSc Physics course or the MSc Physics with Astrophysics Specialisation Option. However there are limitations due to both facilities available & staff resources at the higher level. At the lower level very few secondary school students are exposed to (taught) astronomy and even among well educated adults many ignore very basic knowledge of Astronomy. We finally discuss some realistic suggestions for improving the teaching of Astronomy at all levels in Mauritius.

Quickly creating interactive astronomy illustrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, Timothy F.

2015-01-01

An innate advantage for astronomy teachers is having numerous breathtaking images of the cosmos available to capture students' curiosity, imagination, and wonder. Internet-based astronomy image libraries are numerous and easy to navigate. The Astronomy Picture of the Day, the Hubble Space Telescope image archive, and the NASA Planetary Photojournal are just a few of the many available.1-3 At the same time, computer video projectors and SMART Boards are becoming ever more commonplace in classrooms. Taken together, it has never been easier to bring astronomy directly into classrooms to actively engage students to improve student understanding and motivate student learning.

Working Papers: Astronomy and Astrophysics Panel Reports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bahcall, John N.; Beichman, Charles A.; Canizares, Claude; Cronin, James; Heeschen, David; Houck, James; Hunten, Donald; Mckee, Christopher F.; Noyes, Robert; Ostriker, Jeremiah P.

1991-01-01

The papers of the panels appointed by the Astronomy and Astrophysics survey Committee are compiled. These papers were advisory to the survey committee and represent the opinions of the members of each panel in the context of their individual charges. The following subject areas are covered: radio astronomy, infrared astronomy, optical/IR from ground, UV-optical from space, interferometry, high energy from space, particle astrophysics, theory and laboratory astrophysics, solar astronomy, planetary astronomy, computing and data processing, policy opportunities, benefits to the nation from astronomy and astrophysics, status of the profession, and science opportunities.

Cost viability of 3D printed house in UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobi, A. L. Mohd; Omar, S. A.; Yehia, Z.; Al-Ojaili, S.; Hashim, A.; Orhan, O.

2018-03-01

UK has been facing housing crisis due to the rising price of the property on sale. This paper will look into the viability of 3D printing technology as an alternative way for house construction on UK. The analysis will be carried out based on the data until the year of 2014 due to limited resources availability. Details cost breakdown on average size house construction cost in UK were analysed and relate to the cost viability of 3D printing technology in reducing the house price in UK. It is found that the 3D printing generates saving of up to around 35% out of total house price in UK. This cost saving comes from the 3D printed construction of walls and foundations for material and labour cost.

STEM Education as a Gateway to Future Astronomy: the Case of Ethiopian Universities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adhana Teklr, Kelali

2015-08-01

Over last two decades education sector in Ethiopia has got due attention. To meet the education deficit of the nation number of universities has been increased from two to thirty eight and twelve more are coming soon. The proliferation has brought a spillover effect that universities have to compete for center excellence in research and education. Convincingly, government’s support is geared towards knowledge-based and innovation-driven system of education to back up the green economic development plan.In an effort to build inclusive economic development emphasis is given to innovative competency building through science and technology fields. The universities in the nation have establish laboratories to educate school boys and girls at early stage of their schooling in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects as means to paving future destiny. Though most of the astronomy and space science labs are virtual ones; more and more student have been inspired and want astronomy and space science as their future career fields. Assessment study carried out in universities running STEM education showed that there is a mismatch between the capacity of the labs and number of students wanted to study astronomy and space sciences. The universities have endorsed that STEM education is the gateway to future astronomy and strongly advised concerned bodies and partnering institutions to collaboratively work to intensify the teaching-learning of STEM subjects.The assessment study compiled astronomic and space science exercises carried out by instructors and students and the document is ready to be disseminated to universities and middle and secondary schools to promote the science nationwide. The results have motivated university instructors, science and technology professionals, researchers and policy makers to be more involved in shaping future destiny of the young generation and have their shown determination to support the STEM education so that it will

Developing technology for surgery in the UK: a multidisciplinary meeting of engineers and surgeons.

PubMed

Taylor, G W

2007-03-01

There is an increasing necessity for surgeons and engineers to work together in order to target future technological developments at clinical need and cost-effectiveness. This is a report of two linked meetings with these objectives, held at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, London, UK. The two meetings were organized by the same faculty members and held on consecutive days. Delegates included surgeons, academic mechanical engineers, researchers and industrial representatives. The programme was made up of varied presentations by surgeons and engineers as well as open discussion of the topics covered. Delegates were updated on the current state of surgical robotics in the UK in four surgical specialties; urology, neurosurgery, orthopaedics and ENT. This included clinical and experimental evidence, together with discussion of future advances. Minimally invasive surgery, real-time imaging and the development of more compact and cost effective surgical robots were identified as key areas for future research. Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Conceptual frameworks in astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pundak, David

2016-06-01

How to evaluate students' astronomy understanding is still an open question. Even though some methods and tools to help students have already been developed, the sources of students' difficulties and misunderstanding in astronomy is still unclear. This paper presents an investigation of the development of conceptual systems in astronomy by 50 engineering students, as a result of learning a general course on astronomy. A special tool called Conceptual Frameworks in Astronomy (CFA) that was initially used in 1989, was adapted to gather data for the present research. In its new version, the tool included 23 questions, and five to six optional answers were given for each question. Each of the answers was characterized by one of the four conceptual astronomical frameworks: pre-scientific, geocentric, heliocentric and sidereal or scientific. The paper describes the development of the tool and discusses its validity and reliability. Using the CFA we were able to identify the conceptual frameworks of the students at the beginning of the course and at its end. CFA enabled us to evaluate the paradigmatic change of students following the course and also the extent of the general improvement in astronomical knowledge. It was found that the measure of the students’ improvement (gain index) was g = 0.37. Approximately 45% of the students in the course improved their understanding of conceptual frameworks in astronomy and 26% deepened their understanding of the heliocentric or sidereal conceptual frameworks.

Astronomy in New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hearnshaw, John B.

2006-01-01

Although New Zealand is a young country, astronomy played a significant role in its early exploration and discovery during the three voyages of Cook from 1769. In the later 19th century several expeditions came to New Zealand to observe the transits of Venus of 1874 and 1882 and New Zealand's rich history of prominent amateur astronomers dates from this time. The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (founded in 1920) has catered for the amateur community. Professional astronomy however had a slow start in New Zealand. The Carter Observatory was founded in 1941. But it was not until astronomy was taken up by New Zealand's universities, notably by the University of Canterbury from 1963, that a firm basis for research in astronomy and astrophysics was established. Mt John University Observatory with its four optical telescopes (largest 1.8 m) is operated by the University of Canterbury and is the main base for observational astronomy in the country. However four other New Zealand universities also have an interest in astronomical research at the present time. There is also considerable involvement in large international projects such as MOA, SALT, AMOR, IceCube and possibly SKA.

Big Data as catalyst for change in Astronomy Libraries - Indian Scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birdie, Christina

2015-08-01

Research in Astronomy fosters exciting missions and encourages libraries to engage themselves in big budget astronomy programs which are the flagship projects for most of the astronomers. The scholarly communication resulting from analyzing Big Data has led to new opportunities for Astronomy librarians to become involved in the management of publications more intelligently. In India the astronomers have committed their participation in the mega ‘TMT’ (Thirty Meter Telescope) project, which is an international partnership science program between Caltech, University of California, Canada, Japan, China and India. Participation in the TMT project will provide Indian astronomers an opportunity to carryout frontline research in astronomy. Within India, there are three major astronomy research institutes, namely, Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Inter-University center for Astronomy & Astrophysics (IUCAA), & Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational sciences (ARIES) are stake holders in this program along with Indian Government as veuture capitalist. This study will examine the potential publishing pattern of those astronomers and technologists within India, with special focus to those three institutes. The indications of already existing collaborations among them, the expertise in instrument building, display of software development skills and cutting edge research capability etc. can be derived from analyzing their publications for the last ten years. Attempt also will be made to examine the in-house technical reports, newsletters,conference presentations etc. from these three institutes with a view to highlight the hidden potential skills and the possible collaboration among the Indian astronomers expressed from the grey literature.The incentive to make the astronomy libraries network stronger within India, may evolve from the findings and future requirements. As this project is deemed to be the national project with the financial support from science

Youth for Astronomy and Engineering - Engaging Local Families and Partners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Tania; Eisenhamer, B.; Ryer, H.

2013-06-01

Youth for Astronomy and Engineering (YAE) is a program in the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach. It is designed to engage the local community in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This is accomplished through a series of yearly events such as astronomy and engineering clubs for students, family nights, and professional development for local educators. These events leverage SMD mission science to expose participants to the latest science discoveries (Hubble), new developments in space technology (James Webb), STEM career information, and activities that are representative of the work done by individuals in the astronomical and engineering fields. The YAE program helps provide a progression of opportunities for audiences by attracting and identifying highly-engaged individuals for participation in more intensive experiences. It also helps increase our impact by creating a network for piloting E/PO products and initiatives at the local level before nationwide release. This poster will highlight the YAE program.

Youth for Astronomy & Engineering Program: Engaging Local Families and Partners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Tania; Eisenhamer, B.; Ryer, H.

2014-01-01

Youth for Astronomy and Engineering (YAE) is a program in the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach. It is designed to engage the local community in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This is accomplished through a series of yearly events such as astronomy and engineering clubs for students, family nights, and professional development for local educators. These events leverage SMD mission science to expose participants to the latest science discoveries (Hubble), new developments in space technology (James Webb), STEM career information, and activities that are representative of the work done by individuals in the astronomical and engineering fields. The YAE program helps provide a progression of opportunities for audiences by attracting and identifying highly-engaged individuals for participation in more intensive experiences. It also helps increase our impact by creating a network for piloting E/PO products and initiatives at the local level before nationwide release. This poster will highlight the YAE program.

The Relationship between Preservice Science Teachers' Attitude toward Astronomy and Their Understanding of Basic Astronomy Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bektasli, Behzat

2016-01-01

Turkish preservice science teachers have been taking a two-credit astronomy class during the last semester of their undergraduate program since 2010. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between preservice science teachers' astronomy misconceptions and their attitudes toward astronomy. Preservice science teachers were given an…

From astronomy to Nature Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woods, Paul

2018-01-01

Leaving academia was hard, but becoming an editor for Nature Astronomy has been an unexpected delight. That is not to say it is a bed of roses; rather it is the variety and complexity of the challenges of the job that make it so enjoyable.

Early Dutch radio astronomy (1940-1970) : the people and the politics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elbers, Astrid

2015-12-01

Radio astronomy was born during the Second World War. The early post-war radio astronomy group in the Netherlands was one of the most important radio astronomy groups in the world. There are several reasons for this. Firstly: Dutch radio astronomers were trained as (optical) astronomers, while in most countries engineers and physicists with a background in wartime radar research were the first radio 'astronomers'. This was because radio telescopes shared the technology of wartime radar installations. Because Dutch astronomers were not familiar with the new kind of instrumentation, they had to conclude strategic alliances with industrial partners such as Philips, the PTT and the KNMI. These alliances would offer much more than merely technical know-how, which means that the disadvantage would prove to be an advantage in the end. Secondly: astronomy was still a very small-scale undertaking in the early post-war period. Even so, ZWO was still a very small organisation. The fact that so few people were involved meant that the impact of a personal network could be enormous. Thirdly: the Dutch post-war context was remarkably favourable to science: it was considered to be a key factor in the rebuilding of the country.

White supremacism and Islamic astronomy in history of astronomy texts from the eighteenth century to the present day

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lockard, Joe

2018-04-01

This paper reviews manifestations of racism in European and American histories of Arab and Persian astronomy from the eighteenth century to the present day. Its first section discusses representation of Islamic astronomy from Adam Smith to late Victorian writers, particularly tracing ideas of Arab unoriginality and scientific incapacity. The second section first relates the appearance of scientific racism in the early twentieth-century historiography of astronomy, then how the rise of scientifically and linguistically competent scholarship in the latter twentieth century provided much-improved information on Islamic achievements in astronomy. The paper’s conclusion underlines the importance of avoiding ethnic supremacism and integrating research on Islamic astronomy into teaching and publishing on the history of astronomy.

Astronomy Books of 1984: The Non-Technical List.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraknoi, Andrew

1985-01-01

Presents an annotated list of nontechnical astronomy books in these categories: amateur astronomy; children's books; cosmology; galaxies; general astronomy; history of astronomy; life in the universe; physics and astronomy; pseudoscience; quasars and active galaxies; solar system; space exploration; stars/stellar evolution; sun; astronomy…

Electromagnetics and Antenna Technology, Chapters 4 and 5

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-07

potential future application is for performing radio astronomy missions [9–16]. The antenna technology described here could be applied to other platforms...vector sensor antenna for radio astronomy [11] is depicted in the photograph shown in Figure 5.1. This electromagnetic vector Figure 5.1 Photograph of...for performing radio astronomy missions. The antenna technology described here could be applied to other platforms such as airborne vehicles, towers

Analysis of knowledge in Astronomy of the students of the technology course in industrial automation at the Federal Institute São Paulo at the Campus Cubatão

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moraes, Ataliba Capasso; Voelzke, Marcos Rincon

2014-05-01

This work is part of a research of the academic Masters in Science in Education in its final stages. It seeks to present the results of the survey conducted among students of the technology course in industrial automation at the Federal Institute São Paulo at the Campus Cubatão. In the first step, the students' lack of knowledge to the related primary concepts of Astronomy turned out. Correcting these deficiencies found, external to the program content, a Basic Course in Astronomy, containing dialogued or expository lectures with the aid of audiovisual resources and access to textbooks. Analysed the responses of this second step, it was found that students had a significant improvement in learning.

High Energy Astronomy Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

An overview of the High Energy Astronomy Observatory 2 contributions to X-ray astronomy is presented along with a brief description of the satellite and onboard telescope. Observations relating to galaxies and galactic clusters, black holes, supernova remnants, quasars, and cosmology are discussed.

Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper | UW-Madison Astronomy

Science.gov Websites

Department of Astronomy Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper Overview Description About WHAM Fabry-Perot Spectroscopy National Science Foundation Astronomy and... 02.20.2012 | Continue Reading » WHAM featured at Natural Astronomy Galactic Structure GALFA GLIMPSE GLIMPSE360 WHAM Extragalactic Astronomy & Cosmology Local

The Correlation between Pre-Service Science Teachers' Astronomy Achievement, Attitudes towards Astronomy and Spatial Thinking Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Türk, Cumhur

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in pre-service Science teachers' astronomy achievement, attitudes towards astronomy and skills for spatial thinking in terms of their years of study. Another purpose of the study was to find out whether there was correlation between pre-service teachers' astronomy achievement, attitudes towards…

Space astronomy and upper atmospheric sounding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, H.

1971-01-01

The discoveries and activities of the Space Science Program are reported. Results of studies are presented for the following areas: gamma and x-ray astronomy, optical geophysics and solar wind, infrared astronomy, radio astronomy, and rocket spectroscopy. Lists of publications, talks, and conferences are included.

Astronomy in Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watson, F.; Couch, W.

2017-12-01

Australians have watched the sky for tens of thousands of years. The nineteenth century saw the foundation of government observatories in capital cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. While early twentieth-century astronomy focused largely on solar physics, the advent of radio astronomy at the end of the Second World War enabled Australia to take a leading role in the new science, with particular emphasis on low-frequency studies. Today, the radio quietness of its outback interior provides an excellent location for the Australian core of the Square Kilometre Array. Australian optical astronomy has flourished since the 1960s, with the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope becoming the principal national facility in 1974. Access to ESO’s facilities at the La Silla Paranal Observatory is warmly welcomed by all Australian astronomers.

Astronomy in Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burton, Michael G.

2010-10-01

Antarctica provides a unique environment for astronomers to practice their trade. The cold, dry and stable air found above the high Antarctic plateau, as well as the pure ice below, offers new opportunities for the conduct of observational astronomy across both the photon and the particle spectrum. The summits of the Antarctic plateau provide the best seeing conditions, the darkest skies and the most transparent atmosphere of any earth-based observing site. Astronomical activities are now underway at four plateau sites: the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Concordia Station at Dome C, Kunlun Station at Dome A and Fuji Station at Dome F, in addition to long duration ballooning from the coastal station of McMurdo, at stations run by the USA, France/Italy, China, Japan and the USA, respectively. The astronomy conducted from Antarctica includes optical, infrared, terahertz and sub-millimetre astronomy, measurements of cosmic microwave background anisotropies, solar astronomy, as well as high energy astrophysics involving the measurement of cosmic rays, gamma rays and neutrinos. Antarctica is also the richest source of meteorites on our planet. An extensive range of site testing measurements have been made over the high plateau sites. In this article, we summarise the facets of Antarctica that are driving developments in astronomy there, and review the results of the site testing experiments undertaken to quantify those characteristics of the Antarctic plateau relevant for astronomical observation. We also outline the historical development of the astronomy on the continent, and then review the principal scientific results to have emerged over the past three decades of activity in the discipline. These range from determination of the dominant frequencies of the 5 min solar oscillation in 1979 to the highest angular scale measurements yet made of the power spectrum of the CMBR anisotropies in 2010. They span through infrared views of the galactic ecology in star

Grade 9 Astronomy Study: Interests of Boys and Girls Studying Astronomy at Fletcher's Meadow Secondary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krstovic, Mirjan; Brown, Laura; Chacko, Merin; Trinh, Brenda

In this report, we discuss the interests of Grade 9 boys and girls studying astronomy at Fletcher's Meadow Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario. A total of 152 Grade 9 academic students were asked to rate their interest levels in various astronomy topics on a scale of 0 3, where 0 represented no interest and 3 represented a high level of interest. We also asked the students to rate all the in-class activities on the same scale. Our analysis of the data suggests that there are many similarities in interest levels in various astronomy topics between boys and girls. In addition, boys and girls expressed similar preferences for in-class astronomy activities with only minor differences, suggesting similar learning styles in astronomy for boys and girls at the Grade 9 level.

Exploring science and technology through the Herschel space observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minier, V.; Rouzé, M.

2015-03-01

Because modern astronomy associates the quest of our origins and high-tech instruments, communicating and teaching astronomy explore both science and technology. We report here on our work in communicating astronomy to the public through Web sites (www.herschel.fr), movies on Dailymotion (www.dailymotion.com/AstrophysiqueTV) and new ITC tools that describe interactively the technological dimension of a space mission for astrophysics.

Women in Astronomy II: Ten Years After

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sargent, Wallace

2004-01-01

The meeting "Women in Astronomy II: Ten Years After" took place at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA June 27-28, 2003. The meeting was sponsored by the Committee on the Status of Women of the American Astronomical Society and was attended by about 155 participants. The purpose of the meeting was: "To review the current status of women in astronomy, understand their work environment, assess development since the 1992 Baltimore conference, and recommend future actions that will improve the environment for all astronomers." A description of the meeting and its background can be found at http://www.aas.org/%7Ecswa/WIA2003.html. The proceedings are being edited by Profs. Meg Urry (Yale University) and Ran Bagenal (University of Colorado). The principal outcome of WIAII was a series of recommendations, "The Pasadena Recommendations", which have been approved by the AAS Council and which can be found at http://www.aas.org/%7Ecswa/.

RU SciTech: Weaving Astronomy and Physics into a University-sponsored Summer Camp for Middle School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hart, Quyen N.

2015-01-01

We present a successful model for organizing a small University-sponsored summer camp that integrates astronomy and physics content with other science disciplines and computer programming content. The aim of our science and technology camp is to engage middle school students in a wide array of critical thinking tasks and hands-on activities centered on science and technology. Additionally, our program seeks to increase and maintain STEM interest among children, particularly in under-represented populations (e.g., Hispanic, African-American, women, and lower socioeconomic individuals) with hopes of decreasing disparities in diversity across many STEM fields.During this four-day camp, organized and facilitated by faculty volunteers, activities rotated through many STEM modules, including optics, telescopes, circuit building, computer hardware, and programming. Specifically, we scaffold camp activities to build upon similar ideas and content if possible. Using knowledge and skills gained through the AAS Astronomy Ambassadors program, we were able to integrate several astronomy activities into the camp, leading students through engaging activities, and conduct educational research. We present best practices on piloting a similar program in a university environment, our efforts to connect the learning outcomes common across all the modules, specifically in astronomy and physics, outline future camp activities, and the survey results on the impact of camp activities on attitudes toward science, technology, and science careers.

The IAU Office of Astronomy for Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Govender, Kevin

2015-03-01

The IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD)†, established in March 2011 as part of the implementation of the IAU Strategic Plan, is currently located in South Africa and serves as a global coordinating centre for astronomy-for-development activities. In terms of structure the OAD is required to establish regional nodes (similar offices in different parts of the world which focus on a particular geographic or cultural region) and three task forces: (i) Astronomy for Universities and Research, (ii) Astronomy for Children and Schools, and (iii) Astronomy for the Public. This paper will describe the progress of the OAD towards the realisation of the vision `Astronomy for a better world'.

SEAC - European Society for Astronomy in Culture

Science.gov Websites

relationship between astronomy and culture. It is named to commemorate the outstanding contributions of Carlos , Société Européenne pour l'Astronomie dans la Culture / European Society for Astronomy in Culture (SEAC) SEAC Educational Strategy for Cultural Astronomy Read on here. Further Conferences: 2018 Graz

Moments of astronomy education in Bucharest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusu, Mircea V.; Stavinschi, Magda

2008-09-01

Selection from past astronomy education, activities, textbooks and curricula will be presented. Didactic aspects and comparison with physics education will be exemplified. The astronomy/science education along the time in Romania was roughly divided in four directions: very broad information texts for everybody, popular science, school textbooks, science fictions and astronomy/science literature, and exemplified using original texts. All categories were intended to extend literacy in science, but in different ways. The trends for different periods were outlined. The teaching of astronomy and astrophysics in high school and universities, with special attention to the Faculty of Physic from University of Bucharest are presented. Suggestions for future improvement of both related fields, physics and astronomy, will be one of the outcomes of our communication.

The Astronomy Encyclopedia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Patrick

2002-11-01

With more than 3,000 alphabetically arranged entries and 500 stunning color and black-and-white photographs, star maps, and diagrams, The Astronomy Encyclopedia covers everything that the general enthusiast--and the more serious researcher--would want to know about planets, stars, galaxies, and our universe. Here is concise, reliable information on the whole field of astronomy, ranging from adaptive optics and cold dark matter, to Islamic astronomy and the lens defect known as vignetting. It includes a host of major articles on the cornerstones of astronomical investigation, such as the Milky Way, the sun and the planets, optical and radio telescopes, stars, black holes, astrophysics, observatories, astronomical photography, space programs, the constellations, and famous astronomers. And there are concise entries on planetary features and satellites, asteroids, observational techniques, comets, satellite launchers, meteors, and subjects as diverse as life in the Universe and the structure of meteorites. Scores of tables list the brightest stars in the major constellations, annual meteor showers, major variable stars, dwarf stars, energy production processes in the Sun, and other relevant data. More than 100 astronomers from leading universities and observatories around the world, each an expert in their own particular field, wrote and reviewed the entries to ensure their authority. Readers can thus be assured that the Encyclopedia provides the most up-to-date and reliable information available. Under the general editorship of Patrick Moore, one of the world's best-known and most trusted voices on astronomy, The Astronomy Encyclopedia is an authoritative and strikingly attractive roadmap for exploring the last great frontier of the world in which we live.

Space-Based Astronomy: An Educator Guide with Activities for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogt, Gregory L.

2001-01-01

If you go to the country, far from city lights, you can see about 3,000 stars on a clear night. If your eyes were bigger, you could see many more stars. With a pair of binoculars, an optical device that effectively enlarges the pupil of your eye by about 30 times, the number of stars you can see increases to the tens of thousands. With a medium-sized telescope with a light-collecting mirror 30 centimeters in diameter, you can see hundreds of thousands of stars. With a large observatory telescope, millions of stars become visible. This curriculum guide uses hands-on activities to help students and teachers understand the significance of space-based astronomy--astronomical observations made from outer space. It is not intended to serve as a curriculum. Instead, teachers should select activities from this guide that support and extend existing study. The guide contains few of the traditional activities found in many astronomy guides such as constellation studies, lunar phases, and planetary orbits. It tells, rather, the story of why it is important to observe celestial objects from outer space and how to study the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Teachers are encouraged to adapt these activities for the particular needs of their students. When selected activities from this guide are used in conjunction with traditional astronomy curricula, students benefit from a more complete experience.

Mathematical Astronomy in India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plofker, Kim

Astronomy in South Asia's Sanskrit tradition, apparently originating in simple calendric computations regulating the timing of ancient ritual practices, expanded over the course of two or three millennia to include detailed spherical models, an endless variety of astrological systems, and academic mathematics in general. Assimilating various technical models, methods, and genres from the astronomy of neighboring cultures, Indian astronomers created new forms that were in turn borrowed by their foreign counterparts. Always recognizably related to the main themes of Eurasian geocentric mathematical astronomy, Indian astral science nonetheless maintained its culturally distinct character until Keplerian heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics replaced it in colonial South Asia's academic mainstream.

Discovering Astronomy Through Poetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mannone, John C.

2011-05-01

The literature is replete with astronomical references. And much of that literature is poetry. Using this fact, not only can the teacher infuse a new appreciation of astronomy, but also, the student has the opportunity to rediscover history through astronomy. Poetry can be an effective icebreaker in the introduction of new topics in physics and astronomy, as well as a point of conclusion to a lecture. This presentation will give examples of these things from the ancient literature (sacred Hebraic texts), classical literature (Homer's Iliad and Odyssey), traditional poetry (Longfellow, Tennyson and Poe) and modern literature (Frost, Kooser, and others, including the contemporary work of this author).

Astronomy Education Under Dark Skies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cecylia Molenda-Zakowicz, Joanna

2015-08-01

We have been providing professional support for the high school students and the astronomy teachers since 2007. Our efforts include organizing astronomy events that take from several hours, like, e.g., watching the transit of Venus, to several days, like the workshops organized in the framework of the projects 'School Workshops on Astronomy' (SWA) and 'Wygasz'.The SWA and Wygasz workshops include presentations by experts in astronomy and space science research, presentations prepared by students being supervised by those experts, hands-on interactive experience in the amateur astrophotography, various pencil-and-paper exercises, and other practical activities. We pay particular attention to familiarize the teachers and students with the idea and the necessity of protecting the dark sky. The format of these events allows also for some time for teachers to share ideas and best practices in teaching astronomy.All those activities are organized either in the Izera Dark-Sky Park in Poland or in other carefuly selected locations in which the beauty of the dark night sky can be appreciated.

Transmission of Babylonian Astronomy to Other Cultures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Alexander

Babylonian astronomy and astrology were extensively transmitted to other civilizations in the second and first millennia BC. Greek astronomy in particular was largely shaped by knowledge of Babylonian observations and mathematical astronomy.

A Poisoned Chalice? Why UK Women Engineering and Technology Students May Receive More "Help" than Their Male Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powell, Abigail; Dainty, Andrew; Bagilhole, Barbara

2011-01-01

The UK engineering and technology (E&T) sector is male-dominated, with women facing various cultural and structural barriers in entering and developing their careers within it. Existing research in this area has focused on women's recruitment or retaining women in employment, but little has addressed women's transition to industry through the…

Optical Astronomy in Post-Apartheid South Africa: 1994 to 2004

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitelock, P. A.

2004-10-01

The progress of optical astronomy in post-apartheid South Africa is discussed. Particular emphasis is given to the socio-political climate which embraced the idea of a 10-m class telescope as a flagship project that would lead to widespread development in science, technology and education - not only in South Africa, but across the subcontinent.

Greening Technology in U.K. Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bristow, Rob

2009-01-01

With the world focusing on climate change and individuals through to organizations questioning how they can reduce their personal and professional carbon footprints, JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) is looking at how it can help U.K. education professionals learn from one another. In 2009, the final report from JISC's SusteIT study…

Demographics in Astronomy and Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulvestad, James S.

2011-05-01

Astronomy has been undergoing a significant demographic shift over the last several decades, as shown by data presented in the 2000 National Research Council (NRC) report "Federal Funding of Astronomical Research," and the 2010 NRC report, "New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics." For example, the number of advertised postdoctoral positions in astronomy has increased much more rapldly than the number of faculty positions, contributing to a holding pattern of early-career astronomers in multiple postdoctoral positions. This talk will summarize some of the current demographic trends in astronomy, including information about gender and ethnic diversity, and describe some of the possible implications for the future. I thank the members of the Astro2010 Demographics Study Group, as well as numerous white-paper contributors to Astro2010, for providing data and analyses.

Ancient Indian Astronomy in Introductory Texts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narahari Achar, B. N.

1997-10-01

It is customary in introductory survey courses in astronomy to devote some time to the history of astronomy. In the available text books only the Greek contribution receives any attention. Apart from Stonehenge and Chichenitza pictures, contributions from Babylon and China are some times mentioned. Hardly any account is given of ancient Indian astronomy. Even when something is mentioned it is incomplete or incorrect or both. Examples are given from several text books currently available. An attempt is made to correct this situation by sketching the contributions from the earliest astronomy of India, namely Vedaanga Jyotisha.

Astronomy Demonstrations and Models.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckroth, Charles A.

Demonstrations in astronomy classes seem to be more necessary than in physics classes for three reasons. First, many of the events are very large scale and impossibly remote from human senses. Secondly, while physics courses use discussions of one- and two-dimensional motion, three-dimensional motion is the normal situation in astronomy; thus,…

2009 to be the International Year of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2007-12-01

Yesterday, the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy, with the aim of increasing awareness among the public of the importance of astronomical sciences and of promoting widespread access to new knowledge and experiences of astronomical observation. The year 2009 is chosen to commemorate the 400 years since renowned scientist Galileo Galilei pointed a telescope towards the sky. This led him to discover, among other things, the four major satellites of Jupiter, the mountains and craters on the Moon, as well as sunspots. More importantly perhaps, Galileo's use of the telescope substantiated Copernicus' heliocentric model of our Solar System, paving the way for modern science, and for four hundred years of amazing discoveries in astronomy. Nowadays, telescopes on the ground and in space explore the Universe, 24 hours a day, across the whole electromagnetic spectrum. And indeed, today, astronomy stands out as one of the most modern and dynamic sciences, using some of the most advanced technologies and sophisticated techniques available to scientists. The United Nations Resolution was submitted by Italy, Galileo Galilei's home country, gaining full support of the General Assembly's Second Committee. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA 2009) is an initiative by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO. "This is an important step in furthering the interest of the public in what is arguably the oldest of all sciences: astronomy," says Tim de Zeeuw, the ESO Director General. "I am very proud because ESO and its member states have been actively working together with the IAU and UNESCO to help achieve this result." In addition to a wide array of activities planned both at the local and international level, ESO is also hosting the IYA 2009 Secretariat at its Headquarters in Garching. At the IAU General Assembly held in July 2003 in Sydney (Australia), the IAU proposed to designate 2009 as the

Advancements in Kinetic Inductance Detector, Spectrometer, and Amplifier Technologies for Millimeter-Wave Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Che, George

Spec devices and demonstrate basic functionality of the first WSpec prototype. As part of an effort to develop the first W-Band (75-110 GHz) TKIP, I construct a cryogenic waveguide feedthrough, which enhances the Astronomical Instrumentation Laboratory's capability to test W-Band devices in general. These efforts contribute to the continued maturation of these kinetic inductance technologies, which will usher in a new era of millimeter-wave astronomy.

Copernican Astronomy and Oceanic Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKittrick, Paul

2014-01-01

This paper examines the relationships between the century long development of the “New Astronomy” (Copernicus’ axially rotating and solar orbiting earth, governed by Kepler’s laws of planetary motion) of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and the emerging astronomical navigation technologies of the fifteenth and sixteenth century Iberian oceanic explorers and their sixteenth and seventeenth century Protestant competitors. Since the first breakthroughs in Portuguese astronomical navigation in ascertaining latitude at sea were based upon the theories and observations of classically trained Ptolemaic astronomers and cosmographers, it can be argued that the new heliocentric astronomy was not necessary for future developments in early modern navigation. By examining the history of the concurrent revolutions in early modern navigation and astronomy and focusing upon commonalities, we can identify the period during which the old astronomy provided navigators with insufficient results - perhaps hastening the acceptance of the new epistemology championed by Galileo and rejected by Bellarmine. Even though this happened during the period of northern protestant ascendancy in exploration, its roots can be seen during pre-Copernican acceptance in both Lutheran and Catholic Europe. Copernican mathematics was used to calculate Reinhold’s Prutenic Tables despite the author’s ontological rejection of the heliocentric hypothesis. These tables became essential for ascertaining latitude at sea. Kepler’s Rudophine Tables gained even more widespread currency across Europe. His theories were influenced by Gilbert’s work on magnetism - a work partially driven by the requirements of English polar exploration. Sailors themselves never needed to accept a heliocentric cosmography, but the data they brought back to the metropolis undermined Ptolemy, as better data kept them alive at sea. This exchange between theoretician and user in the early modern period drove both

Discovery and Classification in Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dick, Steven J.

2012-01-01

Three decades after Martin Harwit's pioneering Cosmic Discovery (1981), and following on the recent IAU Symposium "Accelerating the Rate of Astronomical Discovery,” we have revisited the problem of discovery in astronomy, emphasizing new classes of objects. 82 such classes have been identified and analyzed, including 22 in the realm of the planets, 36 in the realm of the stars, and 24 in the realm of the galaxies. We find an extended structure of discovery, consisting of detection, interpretation and understanding, each with its own nuances and a microstructure including conceptual, technological and social roles. This is true with a remarkable degree of consistency over the last 400 years of telescopic astronomy, ranging from Galileo's discovery of satellites, planetary rings and star clusters, to the discovery of quasars and pulsars. Telescopes have served as "engines of discovery” in several ways, ranging from telescope size and sensitivity (planetary nebulae and spiral galaxies), to specialized detectors (TNOs) and the opening of the electromagnetic spectrum for astronomy (pulsars, pulsar planets, and most active galaxies). A few classes (radiation belts, the solar wind and cosmic rays), were initially discovered without the telescope. Classification also plays an important role in discovery. While it might seem that classification marks the end of discovery, or a post-discovery phase, in fact it often marks the beginning, even a pre-discovery phase. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the classification of stellar spectra, long before dwarfs, giants and supergiants were known, or their evolutionary sequence recognized. Classification may also be part of a post-discovery phase, as in the MK system of stellar classification, constructed after the discovery of stellar luminosity classes. Some classes are declared rather than discovered, as in the case of gas and ice giant planets, and, infamously, Pluto as a dwarf planet.

Music and Astronomy Under the Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubowich, D.

2008-11-01

Bring telescope to where the people are! Music and Astronomy Under the Stars is a public astronomy outreach program at community parks during and after free summer music concerts and outdoor movie nights. This project also includes daytime activities because there are some afternoon concerts and daylight children's concerts, and observations using remotely operated telescopes in cloudy weather. While there have been many astronomy outreach activities and telescope observations at city sidewalks and parks, this program targets a completely different audience---music lovers who are attending free summer concerts held in community parks. The music lovers who may never have visited a science museum, planetarium, or star party will be exposed to telescope observations and astronomy information with no additional travel costs. This program will permit the entire community to participate in telescope observations and view astronomical video information to enhance the public appreciation of astronomy. This program will also reach underrepresented and underserved groups (women, minorities, older adults). The population base for the initial target audience (Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York) is 2,500,000. My partners are the Amateur Observers' Society of New York (AOS) and the Towns of Oyster Bay, Hempstead, North Hempstead, and Huntington. Music and Astronomy Under the Stars is program that should continue beyond the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) and can be expanded into a national program.

Education and Public Outreach in the International Year of Astronomy at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibbs, M. G.; Manning, J. G.; Gurton, S.; Fraknoi, A.; Berendsen, M.; Hurst, A.; White, V.

2008-11-01

At the forefront of sharing the excitement of our exploration of the universe for 120 years, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is poised to use its networks and services to implement education and outreach programs for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy (IYA). The ASP is working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the American Astronomical Society (AAS), National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), Association of Science---Technology Centers (ASTC), and several other astronomical and educational organizations on IYA projects. The ASP will develop and implement four key signature programs, pending funding, for the IYA: a) IYA 2009 Cosmic Companion, with astronomy activities primarily for amateur astronomy clubs; b) Galileo Teacher Training Program, designed primarily for in-service teachers; c) Expanding the Informal Universe, to bring astronomy into smaller museums and nature centers; and d) Cosmic Clearing-House, an online educational resource for the best astronomy outreach resources and activities. The overarching goal for these programs is to bring together scientists, educators, and amateurs astronomers to improve science education and literacy through astronomy. The Society welcomes additional partners who seek to cooperate on IYA programs or work with the networks of formal and informal educators and amateur astronomers the ASP continues to support.

A Basic Astronomy Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraknoi, Andrew

This bibliography lists the most useful and scientifically accurate astronomy books published in the 1980s for beginners and students. The books are categorized under the topics of: (1) astronomy in general; (2) solar system as a whole; (3) planets; (4) asteroids, comets, and meteorites; (5) the sun; (6) stars and their evolution; (7) mikly way…

UniBoard: generic hardware for radio astronomy signal processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hargreaves, J. E.

2012-09-01

UniBoard is a generic high-performance computing platform for radio astronomy, developed as a Joint Research Activity in the RadioNet FP7 Programme. The hardware comprises eight Altera Stratix IV Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) interconnected by a high speed transceiver mesh. Each FPGA is connected to two DDR3 memory modules and three external 10Gbps ports. In addition, a total of 128 low voltage differential input lines permit connection to external ADC cards. The DSP capability of the board exceeds 644E9 complex multiply-accumulate operations per second. The first production run of eight boards was distributed to partners in The Netherlands, France, Italy, UK, China and Korea in May 2011, with a further production runs completed in December 2011 and early 2012. The function of the board is determined by the firmware loaded into its FPGAs. Current applications include beamformers, correlators, digital receivers, RFI mitigation for pulsar astronomy, and pulsar gating and search machines The new UniBoard based correlator for the European VLBI network (EVN) uses an FX architecture with half the resources of the board devoted to station based processing: delay and phase correction and channelization, and half to the correlation function. A single UniBoard can process a 64MHz band from 32 stations, 2 polarizations, sampled at 8 bit. Adding more UniBoards can expand the total bandwidth of the correlator. The design is able to process both prerecorded and real time (eVLBI) data.

World's Biggest Astronomy Event on the World-Wide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1996-06-01

`Astronomy On-Line' will connect students all over Europe Astronomy On-Line is a major, all-European project that will take place in conjunction with the 4th European Week for Scientific and Technological Culture later this year. It is based on intensive use of the World-Wide-Web (WWW) and represents the first large-scale attempt in the world to bring together pupils and their teachers all over one continent to explore challenging scientific questions, using modern communication tools, both for obtaining and for communicating information. The programme will be carried out in a collaboration between the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE) [1] and the European Southern Observatory, and together with the European Commission (EC). The active phase of Astronomy On-Line will start on October 1 and reach a climax on November 18 - 22, 1996 . What is `Astronomy On-Line'? In this project, a large number of students and their teachers at schools all over Europe, together with professional and amateur astronomers and others interested in astronomy, will become associated in a unique experience that makes intensive use of the vast possibilities of the World-Wide-Web (WWW). Although the exact number of participants will not be known until the beginning of October, it is expected to run into thousands, possibly many more. The unusual size and scope of Astronomy On-Line will contribute to make it an important all-European media event. The central idea is that the participants, through the WWW, will `meet' in a `marketplace' where a number of different `shops' will be available, each of which will tempt them with a number of exciting and educational `events', carefully prepared to cater for different age groups, from 12 years upwards. The events will cover a wide spectrum of activities, some of which will be timed to ensure the proper progression of this very complex project through its main phases. The benefits In fact, Astronomy On-Line will be the first

The Virtual World Presence of the International Year of Astronomy 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gauthier, Adrienne J.; Huber, D.; Gay, P. L.; New Media Task Group IYA2009

2010-01-01

From January 2009 to January 2010, the virtual celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 has come full circle side-by-side with the real world celebrations. Throughout the year, the 'Astronomy 2009' island promoted the IYA2009 within the virtual world of Second Life(R) with the goal to engage and inspire the general public in astronomy. This island is situated in the group area called SciLands, a science and technology focused mini-continent of over 60 islands. We are host to immersive exhibits for the real life projects: From Earth to the Universe, The World at Night, Dark Skies Awareness, Let There Be Night, IAAA The Artists' Universe, 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, Spitzer's MIPSGAL/GLIMPSE walkable image, and Adler Planetarium's Far Out Fridays lecture series. Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Hubble Heritage project provided over 300 free textures in a gift pack to visitors. Other exhibits include a replica of the Lord Rosse Leviathan telescope, an astrophotography grotto featuring Adam Block, David Malin, and John Gleason's work, a functional planetarium donated by Rob Knop, and live star party events from Chico Observatory. We'll review the exhibits and live events presented throughout the past year and speak towards the plans for the future. Formative evaluation strategies and first impressions of the summative evaluation of the first year of the project will be presented. Special thanks to our sponsors: Interstellar Studios/400 Years of the Telescope, Department of Astronomy University of Arizona, Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and Helio Huet.

The History of Radio Astronomy and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory: Evolution Toward Big Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malphrus, Benjamin Kevin

1990-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the sequence of events that led to the establishment of the NRAO, the construction and development of instrumentation and the contributions and discovery events and to relate the significance of these events to the evolution of the sciences of radio astronomy and cosmology. After an overview of the resources, a brief discussion of the early days of the science is given to set the stage for an examination of events that led to the establishment of the NRAO. The developmental and construction phases of the major instruments including the 85-foot Tatel telescope, the 300-foot telescope, the 140-foot telescope, and the Green Bank lnterferometer are examined. The technical evolution of these instruments is traced and their relevance to scientific programs and discovery events is discussed. The history is told in narrative format that is interspersed with technical and scientific explanations. Through the use of original data technical and scientific information of historical concern is provided to elucidate major developments and events. An interpretive discussion of selected programs, events and technological developments that epitomize the contributions of the NRAO to the science of radio astronomy is provided. Scientific programs conducted with the NRAO instruments that were significant to galactic and extragalactic astronomy are presented. NRAO research programs presented include continuum and source surveys, mapping, a high precision verification of general relativity, and SETI programs. Cosmic phenomena investigated in these programs include galactic and extragalactic HI and HII, emission nebula, supernova remnants, cosmic masers, giant molecular clouds, radio stars, normal and radio galaxies, and quasars. Modern NRAO instruments including the VLA and VLBA and their scientific programs are presented in the final chapter as well as plans for future NRAO instruments such as the GBT.

Rescuing Middle School Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayo, L. A.; Janney, D.

2010-12-01

There is a crisis in education at the middle school level (Spellings, 2006). Recent studies point to large disparities in middle school performance in schools with high minority populations. The largest disparities exist in areas of math and science. Astronomy has a universal appeal for K-12 students but is rarely taught at the middle school level. When it is taught at all it is usually taught in isolation with few references in other classes such as other sciences (e.g. physics, biology, and chemistry), math, history, geography, music, art, or English. The problem is greatest in our most challenged school districts. With scores in reading and math below national averages in these schools and with most state achievement tests ignoring subjects like astronomy, there is little room in the school day to teach about the world outside our atmosphere. Add to this the exceedingly minimal training and education in astronomy that most middle school teachers have and it is a rare school that includes any astronomy teaching at all. In this presentation, we show how to develop and offer an astronomy education training program for middle school teachers encompassing a wide range of educational disciplines that are frequently taught at the middle school level. The prototype for this program was developed and launched in two of the most challenged and diverse school systems in the country; D.C. Public Schools, and Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools.

Enhancement of K - 12 Astronomy Education Through Multicultural Outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanamandra-Fisher, P. A.

1997-12-01

History bears out the fact that various cultures developed their own unique interpretation of the stars and the universe. Children are first introduced to the cultural lore in their pre--school years by their primary teachers --- the parents. In today's technological world, with social migration and assimilation of differing ethnic peoples into a common society, parents often neglect or ignore this valuable contibution to enhancing the child's interest in astronomy at an early age. This important contibution can be re-awakened by applying a multicultural approach to introductory astronomy/solar system science in primary grades by teachers, parents and scientists. Such an integrated approach unifies a society and instructs the child by identifying its cultural and scientific heritage. Some common examples are the interpretation of the Big Dipper, Zodiac and the planets. These and other examples will be provided along with teaching aids.

Future Professional Communication in Astronomy II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Accomazzi, Alberto

The present volume gathers together the talks presented at the second colloquium on the Future Professional Communication in Astronomy (FPCAII), held at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (Cambridge, MA) on 13-14 April 2010. This meeting provided a forum for editors, publishers, scientists, librarians and officers of learned societies to discuss the future of the field. The program included talks from leading researchers and practitioners and drew a crowd of approximately 50 attendees from 10 countries. These proceedings contain contributions from invited and contributed talks from leaders in the field, touching on a number of topics. Among them: The role of disciplinary repositories such as ADS and arXiv in astronomy and the physical sciences; Current status and future of Open Access Publishing models and their impact on astronomy and astrophysics publishing; Emerging trends in scientific article publishing: semantic annotations, multimedia content, links to data products hosted by astrophysics archives; Novel approaches to the evaluation of facilities and projects based on bibliometric indicators; Impact of Government mandates, Privacy laws, and Intellectual Property Rights on the evolving digital publishing environment in astronomy; Communicating astronomy to the public: the experience of the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

Reviews in Modern Astronomy: Vol. 15: JENAM 2001: Astronomy with Large Telescopes from Ground and Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schielicke, Reinhard E.

2002-11-01

This 15th volume in the annual series on recent developments and scientific progress in astronomy and astrophysics contains fourteen invited reviews presented during the Joint European and National Astronomical Meeting JENAM 2001, held in Munich, Germany. Readers also learn about the lecture on macro- and microscopic views of nearby galaxies given by Keiichi Kodaira, Japan, who was awarded the Karl Schwarzschild medal 2001. Further contributions on the topic provide the latest results on the search for extra-solar planets, formation of stars and galaxies, physics of active galactic nuclei, as well as new telescopes and sensor technologies for various wavelengths.

Motivational Didactics Activities for Education of Astronomy in Basic Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melo, J.

2010-03-01

The present research was carried through with 234 pupils of the State school of Basic Education Mayor Rinaldo Poli located in the city of Guarulhos. In this project it was aspired to use topics of Astronomy with the following objectives: to motivate the pupils in the lessons of Sciences; to search ways so that the learning process would become more significant and also to help to spread out Astronomy in the level of basic education. Although being recommended in the "Parametros Curriculares Nacionais (PCN)", in the "Orientacoes Complementares aos Parametros (PCN+)" and more recently in the "Proposta Curricular do Estado de Sao Paulo", Astronomy is little imparted in the Basic Education. Initially a questionnaire was applied with the intention to verify the previous knowledge of the pupils, which evidenced that, among other things, 18.5% of the pupils of 5th grades knew what Astronomy investigates, whereas only 3.8% of the pupils of 6th grades knew what a planet is, and still 25.5% of the pupils of 8th grades knew how to define the Moon. The intervention work was conducted in the following form: first some Astronomy-related subjects were chosen which the pupils researched and afterwards presented in groups; then they built mockups, using Conceptual Maps to explain this subject and making a work with scales of the stars. After the intervention work the same questionnaire was applied and the index of rightness reached, respectively, the percentages of 63.0%, 39.2% and 68.1%, showing that the learning became significant. It is supposed that Astronomy is important in the process of Education Learning for being the oldest of the sciences, for having a character to multidiscipline, allowing the quarrel of fascinating and interesting subjects as, for example, the space origin of the universe, trips, the existence or non-existence of life in other planets, beyond current subjects as the new technologies.

Fifty years of X-ray astronomy: A look back and into the (near) future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santangelo, Andrea; Madonia, Rosalia

2014-01-01

In this article we review the history of X-ray astronomy from the pioneering years to the age of the great observatories. We will try to show how new discoveries have been linked to technological breakthroughs, to science policy achievements and have been always supported by the passion of scientists who dedicated their life to the exploration of the Universe at the high energies. We will also briefly review the current challenges of X-ray astronomy (and astrophysics) and the missions already planned or that are being designed to address these challenges.

Music and Astronomy Under the Stars 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubowich, D.

2010-08-01

Bring telescopes to where the people are! Music and Astronomy Under the Stars is a three-year NASA-funded astronomy outreach program at community parks during and after music concerts and outdoor family events—such as a Halloween Stars-Spooky Garden Walk. While there have been many astronomy outreach activities and telescope observations at city sidewalks and parks, this program targets a completely different audience: music lovers who are attending summer concerts held in community parks. These music lovers who may never have visited a science museum, planetarium, or star party are exposed to telescope observations and astronomy information with no additional travel costs. Music and Astronomy Under the Stars increased awareness, engagement, and interest in astronomy at classical, pop, rock, and ethnic music concerts. This program includes solar observing before the concerts, telescope observations including a live image projection system, an astronomical video presentation, and astronomy banners/posters. Approximately 500-16,000 people attended each event and 25% to 50% of the people at each event participated in the astronomy program. This program also reached underrepresented and underserved groups (women, minorities, older adults). The target audience (Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York) is 2,900,000 people, which is larger than combined population of Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. Although eleven events were planned in 2009, two were canceled due to rain and our largest event, the NY Philharmonic in the Park (attended by 67,000 people in 2008), was cancelled for financial reasons. Our largest event in 2009 was the Tanglewood Music Festival, Lenox MA, attended by 16,000 people where over 5000 people participated in astronomy activities. The Amateur Observers' Society of New York assisted with the NY concerts and the Springfield STARS astronomy club assisted at Tanglewood. In 2009 over 15,000 people participated in astronomy

Overview of lunar-based astronomy.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, H. J.

The Moon offers both significant advantages and drawbacks for astronomy. Recognition of these characteristics can clarify the objectives toward which developments should be directed and can help to inhibit premature or excessive selling of lunar developments on the basis of astronomy.

Chaco astronomies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martín López, Alejandro

2015-08-01

This presentation discusses the result of 18 years of ethnographic and ethnohistorical studies on Chaco astronomies. The main features of the systems of astronomical knowledge of the Chaco Aboriginal groups will be discussed. In particular we will discuss the relevance of the Milky Way, the role of the visibility of the Pleiades, the ways in which the celestial space is represented, the constitution of astronomical orientations in geographic space, etc. We also address a key feature of their vision of the cosmos: the universe is seen by these groups as a socio-cosmos, where humans and non-humans are related. These are therefore actually socio-cosmologies. We will link this to the theories of Chaco Aboriginal groups about power and political relations.We will discuss how the study of Aboriginal astronomies must be performed along with the studies about astronomies of Creole people and European migrants, as well as anthropological studies about the science teaching in the formal education system and by the mass media. In this form we will discuss the relevance of a very complex system of interethnic relations for the conformation of these astronomical representations and practices.We will also discuss the general methodological implications of this case for the ethnoastronomy studies. In particular we will talk about the advantages of a study of regional scope and about the key importance of put in contact the ethnoastronomy with contemporary issues in social sciences.We also analyze the importance of ethnoastronomy studies in relation to studies of sociology of science, especially astronomy. We also study the potential impact on improving formal and informal science curricula and in shaping effective policies to protect the tangible and intangible astronomical heritage in a context of respect for the rights of Aboriginal groups.

Python in Astronomy 2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenness, Tim; Robitaille, Thomas; Tollerud, Erik; Mumford, Stuart; Cruz, Kelle

2016-04-01

The second Python in Astronomy conference will be held from 21-25 March 2016 at the University of Washington eScience Institute in Seattle, WA, USA. Similarly to the 2015 meeting (which was held at the Lorentz Center), we are aiming to bring together researchers, Python developers, users, and educators. The conference will include presentations, tutorials, unconference sessions, and coding sprints. In addition to sharing information about state-of-the art Python Astronomy packages, the workshop will focus on improving interoperability between astronomical Python packages, providing training for new open-source contributors, and developing educational materials for Python in Astronomy. The meeting is therefore not only aimed at current developers, but also users and educators who are interested in being involved in these efforts.

Landolt-Börnstein: Group 6:2c, 1982. Numerical Data and Functional Relationships in Science and Technology - New Series Group 6: 2C -- "Astronomy and Astrophysics -- Interstellar Matter, Galaxy, Universe"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biermann, P.; Fink, H. H.; Fricke, K. J.; Gliese, W.; Grewing, M.; Huchtmeier, W. K.; Madore, B. F.; Netzer, H.; Rahe, J.; Scheffler, H.; Schmadel, L. D.; Schmid-Burgk, J.; Tammann, G. A.; Trümper, J.; Wielen, R.; Witzel, A.; Zech, G.

The full Landolt-Börnstein Group 6 series contains: VI/1 Astronomy and Astrophysics · Astronomy and Astrophysics VI/2a Astronomy and Astrophysics · Astronomy and Astrophysics · Methods, Constants, Solar System VI/2b Astronomy and Astrophysics · Astronomy and Astrophysics · Stars and Star Clusters VI/2c Astronomy and Astrophysics · Astronomy and Astrophysics · Interstellar Matter, Galaxy, Universe VI/3a Astronomy and Astrophysics · Astronomy and Astrophysics · Instruments, Methods, Solar System VI/3b Astronomy and Astrophysics · Astronomy and Astrophysics · Stars and Star Clusters VI/3c Astronomy and Astrophysics · Astronomy and Astrophysics · Interstellar Matter, Galaxy, Universe VI/4B Astronomy and Astrophysics · The Solar System

The Oxford Guide to the History of Physics and Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heilbron, John L.

2005-06-01

With over 150 alphabetically arranged entries about key scientists, concepts, discoveries, technological innovations, and learned institutions, the Oxford Guide to Physics and Astronomy traces the history of physics and astronomy from the Renaissance to the present. For students, teachers, historians, scientists, and readers of popular science books such as Galileo's Daughter , this guide deciphers the methods and philosophies of physics and astronomy as well as the historical periods from which they emerged. Meant to serve the lay reader and the professional alike, this book can be turned to for the answer to how scientists learned to measure the speed of light, or consulted for neat, careful summaries of topics as complicated as quantum field theory and as vast as the universe. The entries, each written by a noted scholar and edited by J. L. Heilbron, Professor of History and Vice Chancellor, Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, reflect the most up-to-date research and discuss the applications of the scientific disciplines to the wider world of religion, law, war, art and literature. No other source on these two branches of science is as informative or as inviting. Thoroughly cross-referenced and accented by dozens of black and white illustrations, the Oxford Guide to Physics and Astronomy is the source to turn to for anyone looking for a quick explanation of alchemy, x-rays and any type of matter or energy in between.

Advances in Machine Learning and Data Mining for Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Way, Michael J.; Scargle, Jeffrey D.; Ali, Kamal M.; Srivastava, Ashok N.

2012-03-01

Advances in Machine Learning and Data Mining for Astronomy documents numerous successful collaborations among computer scientists, statisticians, and astronomers who illustrate the application of state-of-the-art machine learning and data mining techniques in astronomy. Due to the massive amount and complexity of data in most scientific disciplines, the material discussed in this text transcends traditional boundaries between various areas in the sciences and computer science. The book's introductory part provides context to issues in the astronomical sciences that are also important to health, social, and physical sciences, particularly probabilistic and statistical aspects of classification and cluster analysis. The next part describes a number of astrophysics case studies that leverage a range of machine learning and data mining technologies. In the last part, developers of algorithms and practitioners of machine learning and data mining show how these tools and techniques are used in astronomical applications. With contributions from leading astronomers and computer scientists, this book is a practical guide to many of the most important developments in machine learning, data mining, and statistics. It explores how these advances can solve current and future problems in astronomy and looks at how they could lead to the creation of entirely new algorithms within the data mining community.

Astronomy Week in Madeira, Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Augusto, P.; Sobrinho, J. L.

2012-05-01

The outreach programme Semanas da Astronomia (Astronomy Weeks) is held in late spring or summer on the island of Madeira, Portugal. This programme has been attracting enough interest to be mentioned in the regional press/TV/radio every year and is now, without doubt, the astronomical highlight of the year on Madeira. We believe that this programme is a good case study for showing how to attract the general public to astronomy in a small (population 250 000, area 900 km2) and fairly isolated place such as Madeira. Our Astronomy Weeks have been different each year and have so far included exhibitions, courses, talks, a forum, documentaries, observing sessions (some with blackouts), music and an astro party. These efforts may contribute towards putting Madeira on the map with respect to observational astronomy, and have also contributed to the planned installation of two observatories in the island.

History of Astronomy in Moldova

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaina, A.

The epoch of Stephen the Great (1457-1504) were marked in Moldova by a developement of astronomy in the connection with interests for navigation. Moldavian ships triped from Cetatea Alba (actualy Belgorod-Dniestrovskii, Odessa region, Ukraine) on Dniester gulf of the Black Sea to Genova and Venice. Other moldavian hospodars after the falling down of Moldova under the ottoman domination made attempts to develope astronomy as well as other natural sciences. Between them: Petru Rares (1527-1538, 1541-1546) and Demetrios Cantemir (1673-1723). The founder of the modern astronomy in Bessarabia is Nicolas N. Donitch (b. 1/13 september 1874 in Chisinau - d. 1956 or 1958 in Nice (?), France), member of the IAU since 1922, member of the russian, german, french and other astronomical societies, Honorary member of the Romanian Academy (1922-1948, reestablished in 1991). Donitch built the first private astronomical observatory in Starya Dubbosary (actualy Dubasarii-Vechi) in 1908. He dealt with solar and planet physics and astronomy, small bodies in solar system, meteorites researches, comet and solar eclipses observations, zodiacal light. After 1945 he worked in France. Now we have an astronomical observatory at the University and about 20 astronomers dealing with various branches of astronomy: from relativistic astrophysics and variable stars to solar system astronomy, celestial mechanics and atmospheric optics. We have a number of internationally recognized astronomers borne in Bessarabia or of Moldavian origin, worked in other countries, except Nicolas Donitch. Between them: V.A.Albitzky (1981-1951), A.N.Deutsch (1899-1968), N.Florea (1912-1941), V. Nadolschi, E.A.Grebenikov, M. Stavinschi and other.

Astronomy for everybody: An Approach from the CASAO/NAUH view

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pineda de Carias, M. C.

2006-08-01

Central America Suyapa Astronomical Observatory / National Autonomous University of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras Astronomy is a science that attracts the attention of all age people from a variety of views and interests. At the Central America Suyapa Astronomical Observatory of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (CASAO/NAUH), furthermore the formal general course of Introduction to Astronomy (AN-111) for all careers students and the regular courses for a Master in Astronomy and Astrophysics students, three different academicals outreach programs have become of importance, after less than a decade of experience. A Visiting to the CASAO/NAUH Program, aim for elementary and secondary schools, where astronomers three times per week presents to groups of fifteen up to one hundred students and its teachers, conferences on selected topics of astronomy illustrated with real sky and astronomical objects images, give the opportunity to observe the sun, the moon and planets using a small telescope, and explain how nowadays astronomers do their observations and also how the Mayas that inhabited Central America did at their times. The Astronomical Nights Program intended for general public, children, youth and adults who attend on Friday nights to the Astronomical Observatory, to learn about astronomical bodies' properties, the sky of the week and the differences of making observations using small telescopes and with a naked eye. Intro_Astro@Internet, an on line course program designed for school teachers and also for college and university students of Central America willing to learn more systematically by their own using new technologies about the sky, the solar system, the stars and the universe. In this paper we present a complete description of these programs in the ways they are currently develop at CASAO/NAUH, and a discussion of how these programs contribute to the implementation of the IAU Resolution on the Value of Astronomy Education.

Blazing the Trail for Astronomy Education Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailey, Janelle M.; Lombardi, Doug

2015-01-01

Education research has long considered student learning of topics in astronomy and the space sciences, but astronomy education research as a sub-field of discipline-based education research is relatively new. Driven by a growing interest among higher education astronomy educators in improving the general education, introductory science survey…

History of UK contribution to astronautics: Politics and government

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hicks CB, Colin

2009-12-01

In all developed countries, once it emerged from the amateur era, Space (and especially rocketry) moved on the public agenda because of its potential significance for both the civil and military policies of governments (coupled with its appetite for new money). In the UK the policy treatment of Space broadly paralleled that in other countries until the post-Empire trauma, the burn-out of the White-Hot Technological revolution of Harold Wilson, and the financial crises of the 1970s exhausted the public appetite for large scale publicly funded projects in high technology. The culmination for Space of these pressures came in 1986-1987 when the UK rejected the emerging international consensus and, almost alone, stayed outside the manned space commitments which developed into the International Space Station. In this paper, Colin Hicks will review the UK political developments which led up to the 1986-1987 decision and how the politics and organisation of UK space activity have developed since then to the point where in 2008 a major government review of the UK involvement in manned space was commissioned.

Astronomy for international development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miley, George

2011-06-01

This review deals with the importance of astronomy for international development a nd capacity building. I shall summarize the present global state of astronomical research and education and describe current global astronomy education and development programs being carried out by the IAU and others. A decadal strategic plan will be described that envisages a substantial increase in IAU education and development activities during the next decade.

Indian Astronomy: History of

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mercier, R.; Murdin, P.

2002-01-01

From the time of A macronryabhat under dota (ca AD 500) there appeared in India a series of Sanskrit treatises on astronomy. Written always in verse, and normally accompanied by prose commentaries, these served to create an Indian tradition of mathematical astronomy which continued into the 18th century. There are as well texts from earlier centuries, grouped under the name Jyotishaveda macronn d...

Astronomy and Disabled: Implementation of new technologies to communicate science to new audiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García, Beatriz; Ortiz Gil, Amelia; Proust, Dominique

2015-08-01

Commission 46 proposed in 2012 the creation of an interdisciplinary WG in which astronomers work together with technicians, educators and disability specialists to develop new teaching and learning strategies devoted o generate resources of high impact among disabled populations, which are usually away from astronomy. Successful initiatives designed to research the best-practices in using new technologies to communicate science in these special audiences include the creation of models and applications, and the implementation of a data base of didactic approaches and tools. Between the achievements of this proposal, we have original development in: design of electronics, design of original software, scripts and music for Planetarium functions, design of models and their associated explanatory script, printed material in Braille and 3D, filming associated with sign language, interviews and docs recompilation and the recently project on the Sign Language Universal Encyclopedic Dictionary, based on the proposal by Proust (2009) and, which proposes the dissemination of a unique language for the deaf worldwide, associated with astronomical terms.We present, on behalf of the WG, some of the achievements, developments, successful stories of recent applications of this new approach to the science for all, thinking in the new “public of sciences”, and new challenges.

Crowdfunding Astronomy Research With Google Sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metcalfe, Travis S.

2015-12-01

For nearly four years, NASA's Kepler space telescope searched for planets like Earth around more than 150,000 stars similar to the Sun. In 2008 with in-kind support from several technology companies, our non-profit organization established the Pale Blue Dot Project, an adopt-a-star program that supports scientific research on the stars observed by the Kepler mission. To help other astronomy educators conduct successful fundraising efforts, I describe how this innovative crowdfunding program successfully engaged the public over the past seven years to help support an international team in an era of economic austerity.

Cultural Astronomy in the Armenian Highland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farmanyan, S. V.; Suvaryan, Yu. M.; Mickaelian, A. M. (Eds.)

2016-12-01

The book contains 29 articles of the Proceedings of the Young Scientists Conference "Cultural Astronomy in the Armenian Highland" held at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences on 20-23 June 2016. It consists of 4 main sections: "Introductory", "Cultural Astronomy", "Archaeoastronomy", "Scientific Tourism and Journalism, Astronomical Education and Amateur Astronomy". The book may be interesting to astronomers, culturologists, philologists, linguists, historians, archaeologists, art historians, ethnographers and to other specialists, as well as to students.

A "Thinking Journey" to the Planets Using Scientific Visualization Technologies: Implications to Astronomy Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yair, Yoav; Schur, Yaron; Mintz, Rachel

2003-01-01

Presents a novel approach to teaching astronomy and planetary sciences centered on visual images and simulations of planetary objects. Focuses on the study of the moon and the planet Mars by means of observations, interpretation, and comparison to planet Earth. (Contains 22 references.) (Author/YDS)

The emergence of x-ray astronomy, neutron stars and black holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gursky, H.

2003-10-01

Remo Ruffini's professional career began just as X-ray astronomy began its second decade. His paper on the maximum mass of cold stars was instrumental in establishing Cygnus X-1 as a black hole. The idea of black holes and neutron stars had originated more than 40 years earlier based on considerations of white dwarfs. It was not until the explosion of technology that emerged after World War II that the observational evidence developed which enabled establishing the existence of these objects. The discovery of X-ray sources in 1962 and the subsequent maturing of that discipline and of radio astronomy were the key elements. By now a large number of stellar objects are found to be neutron stars and black holes.

Health information technology and sociotechnical systems: a progress report on recent developments within the UK National Health Service (NHS).

PubMed

Waterson, Patrick

2014-03-01

This paper summarises some of the research that Ken Eason and colleagues at Loughborough University have carried out in the last few years on the introduction of Health Information Technologies (HIT) within the UK National Health Service (NHS). In particular, the paper focuses on three examples which illustrate aspects of the introduction of HIT within the NHS and the role played by the UK National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT). The studies focus on stages of planning and preparation, implementation and use, adaptation and evolution of HIT (e.g., electronic patient records, virtual wards) within primary, secondary and community care settings. Our findings point to a number of common themes which characterise the use of these systems. These include tensions between national and local strategies for implementing HIT and poor fit between healthcare work systems and the design of HIT. The findings are discussed in the light of other large-scale, national attempts to introduce similar technologies, as well as drawing out a set of wider lessons learnt from the NPfIT programme based on Ken Eason's earlier work and other research on the implementation of large-scale HIT. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

The Astronomy Spacelab Payloads Study: Executive volume

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The progress of the Astronomy Spacelab Payloads Project at the Goddard Space Flight Center is reported. Astronomical research in space, using the Spacelab in conjunction with the Space Shuttle, is described. The various fields of solar astronomy or solar physics, ultraviolet and optical astronomy, and high energy astrophysics are among the topics discussed. These fields include scientific studies of the sun and its dynamical processes, of the stars in wavelength regions not accessible to ground based observations, and the exciting new fields of X-ray, gamma ray, and particle astronomy.

Gender stereotypes among women engineering and technology students in the UK: lessons from career choice narratives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, Abigail; Dainty, Andrew; Bagilhole, Barbara

2012-12-01

In the UK, women remain under-represented in engineering and technology (E&T). Research has, therefore, investigated barriers and solutions to women's recruitment, retention and progression. Recruitment into the sector may be supported by exploring the career decisions of women and men who have chosen to study E&T. Triangulating quantitative and qualitative data from E&T students at a UK university, this paper examines the gendered nature of career choice narratives. It finds that women often maintain contradictory views; upholding gendered stereotypes about women's suitability for the so-called masculine work, yet also subscribing to ideals that the sector is accessible to all who wish to work in it. This is explained using an individualist framework in which women construct an autonomous sense of self, yet are also shaped by a gendered self. Women's discourse around career choice, therefore, reveals the problematic nature of gender norms for achieving gender equity in E&T.

The Sharjah Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences (SCASS 2015): Concept and Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naimiy, Hamid M. K. Al

2015-08-01

The Sharjah Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences (SCASS) was launched this year 2015 at the University of Sharjah in the UAE. The center will serve to enrich research in the fields of astronomy and space sciences, promote these fields at all educational levels, and encourage community involvement in these sciences. SCASS consists of:The Planetarium: Contains a semi-circle display screen (18 meters in diameter) installed at an angle of 10° which displays high-definition images using an advanced digital display system consisting of seven (7) high-performance light-display channels. The Planetarium Theatre offers a 200-seat capacity with seats placed at highly calculated angles. The Planetarium also contains an enormous star display (Star Ball - 10 million stars) located in the heart of the celestial dome theatre.The Sharjah Astronomy Observatory: A small optical observatory consisting of a reflector telescope 45 centimeters in diameter to observe the galaxies, stars and planets. Connected to it is a refractor telescope of 20 centimeters in diameter to observe the sun and moon with highly developed astronomical devices, including a digital camera (CCD) and a high-resolution Echelle Spectrograph with auto-giving and remote calibration ports.Astronomy, space and physics educational displays for various age groups include:An advanced space display that allows for viewing the universe during four (4) different time periods as seen by:1) The naked eye; 2) Galileo; 3) Spectrographic technology; and 4) The space technology of today.A space technology display that includes space discoveries since the launching of the first satellite in 1940s until now.The Design Concept for the Center (450,000 sq. meters) was originated by HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, and depicts the dome as representing the sun in the middle of the center surrounded by planetary bodies in orbit to form the solar system as seen in the sky.

Teaching Astronomy Classes and Labs in a Smart Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gugliucci, Nicole E.

2017-01-01

Saint Anselm College is a small liberal arts college in New Hampshire with an enrollment of approximately 1900 students. All students are required to take one science course with a laboratory component. Introduction to Astronomy is now being offered in regular rotation in the Department of Physics, taking advantage of the new "smart" classrooms with the technology and set up to encourage active learning. These classrooms seat 25 students and feature 5 "pods," each with their own screen that can be hooked up to a student computer or one of the iPads available to the professor. I will present how these classrooms are used for Introduction to Astronomy and related courses under development for active learning. Since the class requires a laboratory component and New Hampshire weather is notably unpredictable, the smart classroom offers an alternative using freely available computer simulations to allow for an alternative indoor laboratory experience.

PARTNeR: A Tool for Outreach and Teaching Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallego, Juan Ángel Vaquerizo; Fuertes, Carmen Blasco

PARTNeR is an acronym for Proyecto Académico con el Radio Telescopio de NASA en Robledo (Academic Project with the NASA Radio Telescope at Robledo). It is intended for general Astronomy outreach and, in particular, radioastronomy, throughout Spanish educational centres. To satisfy this target, a new educational material has been developed in 2007 to help not only teachers but also students. This material supports cross curricular programs and provides with the possibility of including Astronomy in related subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Technology, Mathematics or even English language. In this paper, the material that has been developed will be shown in detail and how it can be adapted to the disciplines from 4th year ESO (Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria-Compulsory Secondary Education) to High School. The pedagogic results obtained for the first year it has been implemented with students in classrooms will also be presented.

Infrared Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grygar, J.

2018-04-01

Although infrared radiation was described by W. Herschel already in 1800, technical problems delayed its use in astronomy for 160 years. After the invention of a sensitive bolometer and semiconducting CCD arrays for very wide infrared window the progress in the field accelerated. Many high-altitude observatories started their work in the last three decades of XXth century and since 1983 space observatories became most important due to the fact that infrared radiation penetrates through opaque cold shells. Moreover, cosmological expansion of the Universe shifts the maximum of spectral energy of distant hot objects from ultraviolet to near infrared region. Infrared astronomy is also essential for improving our knowledge of the cold universe, particularly for studies about the birth of stars, planetary systems and galaxies.

University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-10-01

the Virgo Cluster , and motions toward Centaurus and the ‘‘Great At- tractor.’’ In collaboration with former UH student J. Jensen ~Gemini!, R. Thompson...operated in Hawaii by the Joint Astronomy Centre ~JAC! based in Hilo on behalf of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council of the United...and Keck II telescopes of the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated by the California Association for Research in Astronomy for the use of

New Media E/PO: Building a Digital Astronomy Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, Pamela L.

2008-05-01

Today's communications landscape is rich with new technologies. Cell phones and laptops are the constant companions of content consumers, and as we plan tomorrow's Education and Public Outreach programs, we need to consider how to most effectively utilize these technologies with their new, dynamic content possibilities - We need to use New Media. The field of New Media includes dynamic content sites such as: blogs, pod/vodcasts, Flickr, Facebook, Ustream, Twitter, and Second Life. The first part of this talk will summarize what New Media is available in the field of astronomy. All new media technologies have one thing in common: Users can easily create and input their own content and/or comments. These new media users and content contributors can just as easily be professional researchers, E/PO professionals, amateur astronomers, stay-at-home parents, and school kids. All are welcome in the online community, and today, all voices are digitally joined in the cacophony of astronomy new media content. This rich diversity supports many opportunities for learning, mentoring, content distribution, and discussion of ideas (including the debunking of bad ideas). In the second half of this talk, ways to use new media to build a community that shares, promotes, and comments on content is discussed, and techniques for dealing with the high flux of content are outlined. Also covered are the considerations that need to be made to make content as broadly accessible as possible.

Multimedia Astronomy Communication: Effectively Communicate Astronomy to the Desired Audience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Star Cartier, Kimberly Michelle; Wright, Jason

2017-01-01

A fundamental aspect of our jobs as scientists is communicating our work to others. In this, the field of astronomy holds the double-edged sword of ubiquitous fascination: the topic has been of interest to nearly the entire global population at some point in their lives, yet the learning curve is steep within any subfield and rife with difficult-to-synthesize details. Compounding this issue is the ever-expanding array of methods to reach people in today's Communications Era. Each communication medium has its own strengths and weaknesses, is appropriate in different situations, and requires its own specific skillset in order to maximize its functionality. Despite this, little attention is given to training astronomers in effective communication techniques, often relying on newcomers to simply pick up the ability by mimicking others and assuming that a firm grasp on the subject matter will make up for deficiencies in communication theory. This can restrict astronomers to a narrow set of communication methods, harming both the communicators and the audience who may struggle to access the information through those media.Whether writing a research paper to academic peers or giving an astronomy talk to a pubic audience, successfully communicating a scientific message requires more than just an expert grasp on the topic. A communicator must understand the makeup and prior knowledge of the desired audience, be able to break down the salient points of the topic into pieces that audience can digest, select and maximize upon a medium to deliver the message, and frame the message in a way that hooks the audience and compels further interest. In this work we synthesize the requirements of effective astronomy communication into a few key questions that every communicator needs to answer. We then discuss some of the most common media currently used to communicate astronomy, give both effective and poor examples of utilizing these media to communicate astronomy, and provide key

News and Views: LSST mirror blank; More and better maths; Free telescopes; The hurricane season is starting again Get ready: IYA2009 UK website up and running

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2008-10-01

As floods and hurricanes disrupt the lives of people round the world, a new generation of scientific tools are supporting both storm preparedness and recovery. As International Year of Astronomy 2009 approaches, the UK website is developing more features that make it easier to see what's planned for this science extravaganza.

Reports of planetary astronomy, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

A collection is presented of summaries designed to provide information about scientific research projects conducted in the Planetary Astronomy Program in 1990 and 1991, and to facilitate communication and coordination among concerned scientists and interested persons in universities, government, and industry. Highlights of recent accomplishments in planetary astronomy are included.

Astronomy Matters for Chemistry Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huebner, Jay S.; And Others

1996-01-01

Describes basic misconceptions about the origin of elements and forms of matter found in chemistry texts that need modification in light of modern observational data and interpretations given in astronomy. Notes that there are forms of matter other than elements and compounds. Confounding examples from astronomy include white dwarfs, neutron…

Astronomy and Public Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suntzeff, Nicholas B.

2014-01-01

Astronomy is an unusual science in that almost all of what we study can only be passively observed. We enjoy tremendous public support for our research and education, both domestically and abroad. Our discoveries in cosmology and exoplanets have captured world-wide attention, as have stunning images from the Great Observatories of NASA, and ground based telescopes. Despite the passive nature of our science, it touches humanity profoundly. There are groups of amateur astronomers in every conceivable country who meet to look at the sky. Almost one billion people from 150 countries participated in The International Year of Astronomy 2009. No other science reaches humanity as ours does. In a recent poll, it was found that the among all the things the US does abroad, US science is seen by the world as our most positive face. We as astronomers can use this good will to affect positive changes in the world through public policy. I would like to explore how astronomy has impacted public policy, especially foreign policy, and what more we can do in the future. I also hope to encourage astronomers that a career path into public policy is an excellent use of a Ph.D. in astronomy.

International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soonthornthum, B.; Kunjaya, C.

2011-01-01

The International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics, an annual astronomy and astrophysics competition for high school students, is described. Examples of problems and solutions from the competition are also given. (Contains 3 figures.)

Documenting the Vocabulary of Astronomy Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Scott; Parrish, M.; Gay, P. L.

2008-05-01

Learning astronomy can be a life-long process, with the seeds of knowledge planted in K-12 classes blossoming in elective college courses to create adults who actively acquire astronomy content. One of the goals of many astronomy 101 courses is to prepare students to be intelligent consumers of mainstream astronomy content, including magazine articles, popular books, and online news. To meet this goal, astronomy educators need to understand what content is being presented in the media and what level vocabulary is being used. The most simplistic way to address this problem is to examine the topics covered and vocabulary used in mainstream astronomy blogs and news feeds. In this study we looked at a selection of prominent blogs and news feeds and we present a statistical study of the frequency different scientific terms are used and topics are addressed. To make this study possible, software to read in RSS feeds was created. This software had to meet the following design specifications: runs in a reasonable amount of time, removes all XML and HTML code from text, sees words with different capitalizations as the same word, ignores end of sentence or phrase punctuation without ignoring hyphens, and has an editable list of "common English words.” This code will be available after the conference at http://www.starstryder.com. Results of this study find that many of the primary topics of Astronomy 101 classes, such as the HR Diagram, are rarely mentioned in blogs and online news, while often de-emphasized topics, such as extra solar planets, cosmology, and high energy astrophysics, show up regularly.

Archaeo- and Cultural Astronomy in Armenia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farmanyan, Sona V.; Mickaelian, Areg M.

2015-08-01

We present a general overview on Armenian Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture to mention and summarize some activities and related organizations involved. Armenia is rather rich in archaeoastronomy and culture, including calendars, rock art, mythology, etc. Archaeoastronomical issues in Armenia include: Zodiac Constellations (believed to be introduced for the first time in the Armenian Highland); Ancient Observatories; Armenian Rock Art; Ancient Armenian Calendar and other (medieval) calendars; Astronomical Terms and Names; Records of Astronomical Events by ancient Armenians; Anania Shirakatsi’s (612-685) Astronomical Heritage; Medieval Sky Maps and Astronomical Devices. During the recent years, we have organized a number of meetings, where archaeoastronomy was involved: Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting (JENAM-2007), Special Session #6: “Archaeoastronomy” (2007), ArAS VIII Annual Meeting “Astronomy and Society”, Session “Archaeoastronomy” (2009), Archaeoastronomical meeting “Astronomical Heritage in the National Culture” dedicated to Anania Shirakatsi’s 1400th anniversary (2012), Meeting “Relation of Astronomy to other Sciences, Culture and Society” (RASCS), Sessions“Archaeoastronomy” and “Astronomy in Culture” (2014). Along with Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO), there are several other institutions related to Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture: Institute of History, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Institute of Literature, Institute of Language, Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscripts). We have introduced a section “Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture” in the newsletter of Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS). This is to strengthen ArAS activities and to widen our knowledge in this area, to encourage and establish collaborations with other scientists related to these subjects; historians, archaeologists, ethnographers, philologists, linguists, artists and other

Social Astronomy: Cooperating with Local Community Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bará, S.

2009-11-01

When the IYA2009 Canada Committee, chaired by Jim Hesser, first came together, it established a vision: "to offer an engaging astronomy experience to every person in Canada, and to cultivate partnerships that sustain public interest in astronomy". We called the engaging astronomy experience a "Galileo Moment". We knew that a Galileo Moment could be a first look through a telescope at the Moon, Jupiter or Saturn. But we especially wanted to connect with new audiences, not just the same people who always came to astronomy events. So we knew that a Galileo Moment could equally well be the intellectual or emotional effect of an astronomy-inspired piece of art or music. So far in 2009, over 10 000 Canadians have experienced a Galileo Moment of the latter kind, thanks to the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra's The Galileo Project.

NASA thesaurus: Astronomy vocabulary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

A terminology of descriptors used by the NASA Scientific and Technical information effort to index documents in the area of astronomy is presented. The terms are listed in hierarchical format derived from the 1988 edition of the NASA Thesaurus Volume 1 -- Hierarchical Listing. Over 1600 terms are included. In addition to astronomy, space sciences covered include astrophysics, cosmology, lunar flight and exploration, meteors and meteorites, celestial mechanics, planetary flight and exploration, and planetary science.

Development of optimized detector/spectrophotometer technology for low background space astronomy missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, B.

1985-01-01

This program was directed towards a better understanding of some of the important factors in the performance of infrared detector arrays at low background conditions appropriate for space astronomy. The arrays were manufactured by Aerojet Electrosystems Corporation, Azusa. Two arrays, both bismuth doped silicon, were investigated: an AMCID 32x32 Engineering mosiac Si:Bi accumulation mode charge injection device detector array and a metal oxide semiconductor/field effect transistor (MOS-FET) switched array of 16x32 pixels.

Editorial: What Use Is Astronomy?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Percy, J. R.

2018-06-01

Why do people such as AAVSOers observe or analyze variable stars? A few readers may simply say that observing is a relaxing, outdoor pastime, like fishing, and that analysis is a way to keep the mind occupied, like solitaire. But most will say "to advance the science of astronomy." But what use is astronomy?

The General History of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gingerich, Owen

2010-04-01

Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. The Birth of Astrophysics and Other Late Nineteenth-Century Trends (c.1850-c.1920); 1. The origins of astrophysics A. J. Meadows; 2. The impact of photography on astronomy John Lankford; 3. Telescope building, 1850-1900 Albert Van Helden; 4. The new astronomy A. J. Meadows; 5. Variable stars Helen Sawyer Hogg; 6. Stellar evolution and the origin of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram David DeVorkin; Part II. Observatories and Instrumentation: 7. Astronomical institutions. Introduction Owen Gingerich, Greenwich Observatory Philip S. Laurie, Paris Observatory Jacques Lévy, Pulkovo Observatory Aleksandr A. Mikhailov, Harvard College Observatory Howard Plotkin, United States Naval Observatory Deborah Warner, Lick Observatory Trudy E. Bell, Potsdam Astrophysical Observatory Dieter B. Herrmann; 8. Building large telescopes, 1900-1950 Albert Van Helden; 9. Astronomical institutions in the southern hemisphere, 1850-1950 David S. Evans; 10. Twentieth-century instrumentation Charles Fehrenbach, with a section on 'Early rockets in astronomy' Herbert Friedman; 11. Early radio astronomy Woodruff T. Sullivan III; Appendix: The world's largest telescopes, 1850-1950 Barbara L. Welther; Illustrations: acknowledgements and sources; Index.

Astronomy Education Challenges in Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Fady Beshara Morcos, Abd

2015-08-01

One of the major challenges in Egypt is the quality of education. Egypt has made significant progress towards achieving the Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Many associations and committees as education reform program and education support programs did high efforts in supporting scientific thinking through the scientific clubs. The current state of astronomical education in Egypt has been developed. Astronomy became a part in both science and geography courses of primary, preparatory and secondary stages. Nowadays the Egyptian National Committee for Astronomy, put on its shoulders the responsibility of revising of astronomy parts in the education courses, beside preparation of some training programs for teachers of different stages of educations, in collaboration with ministry of education. General lectures program has been prepared and started in public places , schools and universities. Many TV and Radio programs aiming to spread astronomical culture were presented. In the university stage new astronomy departments are established and astrophysics courses are imbedded in physics courses even in some private universities.

Dispelling superstitions in Nepalese society with astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shah, Rishi

2011-06-01

Throughout human history, astronomy has played crucial rôle in the development of our civilization, culture and daily chores of lives that have been influenced by observations of Sun, moon, planets, stars and other cosmic entities. Our ancestors who were hunting and gathering and foraging food while living in caves learned to think logically by gazing at the twinkling stars in the heavens. Seasons for crops plantation were determined, time concept was introduced, entire sky was charted and the motions of celestial objects were meaningfully understood. With the advent of telescopes, the geocentric model of universe was replaced by the revolutionary heliocentric concept of our Solar System. Astronomy dispelled superstitious beliefs strongly prevailing in societies. Closely associated with numerous disciplines of science astronomy is still flourishing worldwide and is attempting to fly us away to those habitable cosmic bodies of our universe. By establishing well-equipped observational infrastructure local and international astronomy research and development could be enhanced. Introduction of astronomy in education system right from school would attract and encourage students to pursue higher studies for enabling them for participating in future international scientific and exploration programmes. Astronomy has helped our society to progress peacefully and efficiently.

Astronomy Outreach for Large and Unique Audiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubowich, D.; Sparks, R. T.; Pompea, S. M.; Kendall, J. S.; Dugan, C.

2013-04-01

In this session, we discuss different approaches to reaching large audiences. In addition to star parties and astronomy events, the audiences for some of the events include music concerts or festivals, sick children and their families, minority communities, American Indian reservations, and tourist sites such as the National Mall. The goal is to bring science directly to the public—to people who attend astronomy events and to people who do not come to star parties, science museums, or science festivals. These programs allow the entire community to participate in astronomy activities to enhance the public appreciation of science. These programs attract large enthusiastic crowds often with young children participating in these family learning experiences. The public will become more informed, educated, and inspired about astronomy and will also be provided with information that will allow them to continue to learn after this outreach activity. Large and unique audiences often have common problems, and their solutions and the lessons learned will be presented. Interaction with the participants in this session will provide important community feedback used to improve astronomy outreach for large and unique audiences. New ways to expand astronomy outreach to new large audiences will be discussed.

Astronomy Teaching Problems in Armenia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyulzadyan, M. V.

2015-07-01

Astronomy, like any science, constantly develops unlimitedly approaching absolute objective truth; every moment of its accomplishments are due to the level of public welfare demands and culture. Armenia for centuries had a major contributor to the ancient as well as to the modern astronomy development. But it has been already a couple of years that the "Astronomy" course is not present at the schools of Armenia. Despite that fact, several schools put an effort to stress the importance of that subject by extracurricular groups trying to fill that gap. How this work is carried out and what results do we have? What can be done to increase the level of astronomical education as well as for its expansion?

Knowledge and Innovation: A Comparative Study of the USA, the UK and Japan. Routledge Studies in Innovation, Organizations and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Helen

2012-01-01

This new book presents case studies from the US, the UK and Japan. Packed full of vignettes from cases studies and subscribing to a socio-cultural approach rather than the often tacit assumption that knowledge and "technology transfer" is a logistical problem, this excellent volume illuminates the often misunderstood process of knowledge…

Engaging the Public Through an Interactive Astronomy Outreach Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Kristen

2018-01-01

The growing technology sector of the U.S. economy in an increasingly complex world has made it more important than ever for students to gather information, think critically, and solve problems. These skills are often acquired through the study of STEM disciplines. In an effort to inspire students and the public in the Charlotte, NC area to take an interest in STEM related fields, the Physics Department at Davidson College has recently developed an interactive astronomy community engagement program. This program is comprised of off-campus events that bring STEM programming to K-12 children, on-campus public star parties, and a day-long astronomy fair called Davidson Space Day. This presentation will illustrate the implementation of each of these components of our outreach program, present an evaluation of their success, and describe future goals and lessons learned thus far. This outreach program was made possible through funding from the NC Space Grant Consortium.

DMDs for multi-object near-infrared spectrographs in astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smee, Stephen A.; Barkhouser, Robert; Hope, Stephen; Conley, Devin; Gray, Aidan; Hope, Gavin; Robberto, Massimo

2018-02-01

The Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), typically used in projection screen technology, has utility in instrumentation for astronomy as a digitally programmable slit in a spectrograph. When placed at an imaging focal plane the device can be used to selectively direct light from astronomical targets into the optical path of a spectrograph, while at the same time directing the remaining light into an imaging camera, which can be used for slit alignment, science imaging, or both. To date the use of DMDs in astronomy has been limited, especially for instruments that operate in the near infrared (1 - 2.5 μm). This limitation is due in part to a host of technical challenges with respect to DMDs that, to date, have not been thoroughly explored. Those challenges include operation at cryogenic temperature, control electronics that facilitate DMD use at these temperatures, window coatings properly coated for the near infrared bandpass, and scattered light. This paper discusses these technical challenges and presents progress towards understanding and mitigating them.

What next for astronomy?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Robert

2009-12-01

"Astronomy is in the midst of a golden age," wrote Catherine Cesarsky, my predecessor as president of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), earlier this year in Physics World (March pp22-24). I believe that is certainly true and it is an opportunity that we must take full advantage of. Astronomy is one of the great ways to bring science to the public - the images of the universe obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope, for example, are full of beauty. Astronomy is all about us. Indeed, the Earth and the life on it have developed from the cosmos, and the sky is the one laboratory that all humanity shares equally and that is accessible to all. There is little about the subject that appeals to fear - except, perhaps, the occasional killer asteroid. So what better science to inspire and educate people that what we do not know is definitely worth knowing?

Strategies for Teaching Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, J.

2000-12-01

No matter whether you are teaching school children, undergraduates, or colleagues, a few key strategies are always useful. I will present and give examples for the following five key strategies for teaching astronomy. 1. Provide a Contextual Framework: It is much easier to learn new facts or concepts if they can be ``binned" into some kind of pre-existing mental framework. Unless your listeners are already familiar with the basic ideas of modern astronomy (such as the hierarchy of structure in the universe, the scale of the universe, and the origin of the universe), you must provide this before going into the details of how we've developed this modern picture through history. 2. Create Conditions for Conceptual Change: Many people hold misconceptions about astronomical ideas. Therefore we cannot teach them the correct ideas unless we first help them unlearn their prior misconceptions. 3. Make the Material Relevant: It's human nature to be more interested in subjects that seem relevant to our lives. Therefore we must always show students the many connections between astronomy and their personal concerns, such as emphasizing how we are ``star stuff" (in the words of Carl Sagan), how studying other planets helps us understand our own, and so on. 4. Limit Use of Jargon: The number of new terms in many introductory astronomy books is larger than the number of words taught in many first courses in foreign language. This means the books are essentially teaching astronomy in a foreign language, which is a clear recipe for failure. We must find ways to replace jargon with plain language. 5. Challenge Your Students: Don't dumb your teaching down; by and large, students will rise to meet your expectations, as long as you follow the other strategies and practice good teaching.

Women's and Men's Career Choices in Astronomy and Astrophysics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivie, Rachel; White, Susan; Chu, Raymond Y.

2016-01-01

The Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students (LSAGS) arose from the 2003 Women in Astronomy Conference, where it was noted that a majority of young members of the American Astronomical Society were women. The astronomy community wishes to make every effort to retain young women in astronomy, so they commissioned a longitudinal study to be…

Education with Infrared Astronomy and Spitzer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hemphill, Rosa; Blackwell, J. A.; Herrold, A.; Petroff, E.

2007-12-01

We present education and outreach results using our experiences involving the Spitzer Space Telescope project, Star Formation in High Redshift Clusters with Spitzer. The project is a collaboration between the Spitzer Science Center and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, we measured star formation rates in three galaxy clusters at intermediate redshifts. Six teachers were chosen for the program, each with an interest and involvement in astronomy education. From this project, lesson plans, public outreach, lectures and demonstrations were generated which better the understanding of infrared astronomy, multiwavelength astronomy, galaxy and star formation, and cosmology. The teacher mentors are Dr. Gregory Rudnick (NOAO), Dr. Rose Finn (Siena College), and Dr. Vandana Desai (Caltech). Please see the companion posters by Emily Petroff, Zak Schroeder, and Thomas Loughran, et al, for information concerning the science results.

Making Space for Specialized Astronomy Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacMillan, D.

2007-10-01

With the growth of both free and subscription-based resources, articles on astronomy have never been easier to find. Locating the best and most current materials for any given search, however, now requires multiple tools and strategies dependent on the query. An analysis of the tools currently available shows that while astronomy is well-served by Google Scholar, Scopus and Inspec, its literature is best accessed through specialized resources such as ADS (Astrophysics Data System). While no surprise to astronomers, this has major implications for those of us who teach information literacy skills to astronomy students and work in academic settings where astronomy is just one of many subjects for which our non-specialist colleagues at the reference desk provide assistance. This paper will examine some of the implications of this analysis for library instruction, reference assistance and training, and library webpage development.

2011 Astronomy Day at McDonald Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preston, Sandra; Hemeway, M.; Wetzel, M.

2012-01-01

Our philosophy is that everyday is Astronomy Day because the McDonald Observatory's Frank N. Bash Visitors Center is open 362 days a year. So, how did we create a special celebration for the "Astronomy Day” declared by the Astronomical League? During September 26-29 we conducted 20 videoconferences and served 12,559 students with "Astronomy Day” programming. Connect2Texas provides bridging for a network of Texas-based museums and cultural, historical, and scientific organizations that offer educational content to schools throughout the state via videoconferencing. Connect2Texas connected McDonald Observatory to 334 schools; most of these schools were in Texas, but schools in a dozen other states also participated. While most schools had a "view-only" connection, at least 20 of the schools had interactive connections, whereby the students could ask questions of the presenter. Connect2Texas also collects evaluation information from the participating schools that we will use to produce a report for our funders and make modifications to future programs as need be. The videoconferences were offered free of charge. The theme for the 2011 Astronomy Day program was the Year of the Solar System, which aligns with NASA's theme for 2011 and 2012. By aligning with this NASA theme, we could leverage NASA artwork and materials to both advertise and enrich the learning experience. Videoconference materials also included pre- and post-videoconference assessment sheets, an inquiry based activity, and pre- and post-videoconference activities, all of which were made available online. One of the lessons learned from past Astronomy Day videoconferences is that the days the Astronomical League declares as "Astronomy Day” are not always good days for Texas schools to participate. So, we choose an Astronomy Day that meets the needs of Texas schools and our schedule - so any day can be Astronomy Day. 2011 Astronomy Day was made possible by The Meyer-Levy Charitable Trust.

Astronomy in the Service of Islam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, David A.

In their assessment of Islamic astronomy, historians have usually been concerned only with that part of the Muslim scientific heritage that was transmitted to the West in the Middle Ages. Yet most Islamic works on astronomy were not transmitted to the West, and they are known today mainly due to the work of orientalists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This is the case of Muslim writings on three aspects of mathematical science that were closely linked with religious observance. This is an overview of those "Islamic aspects of Islamic astronomy".

47 CFR 2.107 - Radio astronomy station notification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Radio astronomy station notification. 2.107....107 Radio astronomy station notification. (a) Pursuant to No. 1492 of Article 13 and Section F of Appendix 3 to the international Radio Regulations (Geneva, 1982), operators of radio astronomy stations...

47 CFR 2.107 - Radio astronomy station notification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Radio astronomy station notification. 2.107....107 Radio astronomy station notification. (a) Pursuant to No. 1492 of Article 13 and Section F of Appendix 3 to the international Radio Regulations (Geneva, 1982), operators of radio astronomy stations...

47 CFR 2.107 - Radio astronomy station notification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Radio astronomy station notification. 2.107....107 Radio astronomy station notification. (a) Pursuant to No. 1492 of Article 13 and Section F of Appendix 3 to the international Radio Regulations (Geneva, 1982), operators of radio astronomy stations...

47 CFR 2.107 - Radio astronomy station notification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Radio astronomy station notification. 2.107....107 Radio astronomy station notification. (a) Pursuant to No. 1492 of Article 13 and Section F of Appendix 3 to the international Radio Regulations (Geneva, 1982), operators of radio astronomy stations...

47 CFR 2.107 - Radio astronomy station notification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Radio astronomy station notification. 2.107....107 Radio astronomy station notification. (a) Pursuant to No. 1492 of Article 13 and Section F of Appendix 3 to the international Radio Regulations (Geneva, 1982), operators of radio astronomy stations...

Cultural Astronomy in Armenia and in the World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-12-01

Cultural Astronomy is the reflection of sky events in various fields of nations' culture. In foreign literature, this field is also called "Astronomy in Culture" or "Astronomy and Culture". Cultural astronomy is the set of interdisciplinary fields studying the astronomical systems of current or ancient societies and cultures. It is manifested in Religion, Mythology, Folklore, Poetry, Art, Linguistics and other fields. In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to this sphere, particularly international organizations were established, conferences are held and journals are published. Armenia is also rich in cultural astronomy. The present paper focuses on Armenian archaeoastronomy and cultural astronomy, including many creations related to astronomical knowledge; calendars, rock art, mythology, etc. On the other hand, this subject is rather poorly developed in Armenia; there are only individual studies on various related issues (especially many studies related to Anania Shirakatsi) but not coordinated actions to manage this important field of investigation.

Astronomers Without Borders: A Global Astronomy Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simmons, M.

2011-10-01

Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) brings together astronomy enthusiasts of all types - amateur astronomers, educators, professionals and "armchair" astronomers for a variety of online and physicalworld programs. The AWB web site provides social networking and a base for online programs that engage people worldwide in astronomy activities that transcend geopolitical and cultural borders. There is universal interest in astronomy, which has been present in all cultures throughout recorded history. Astronomy is also among the most accessible of sciences with the natural laboratory of the sky being available to people worldwide. There are few other interests for which people widely separated geographically can engage in activities involving the same objects. AWB builds on those advantages to bring people together. AWB also provides a platform where projects can reach a global audience. AWB also provides unique opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration in EPO programs. Several programs including The World at Night, Global Astronomy Month and others will be described along with lessons learned.

ASTRONOMY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Louisiana Arts and Science Center, Baton Rouge.

THIS TEACHER'S GUIDE FOR A UNIT ON ASTRONOMY ESTABLISHES (1) UNDERSTANDINGS AND ATTITUDES, (2) SKILLS, AND (3) CONCEPTS TO BE GAINED IN THE STUDY. THE OVERVIEW EXPLAINS THE ORGANIZATION AND OBJECTIVES OF THE UNIT. TOPICAL DIVISIONS ARE (1) THE EARTH, (2) THE MOON, (3) THE SUN, (4) THE SOLAR SYSTEM, (5) THE STARS, (6) THE UNIVERSE, AND (7) SPACE…

Humanising Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levin, S.

2008-06-01

Universe Awareness (UNAWE) is an international programme that aims to expose underprivileged children (in the age group 4-10) to the inspirational aspects of astronomy. We are currently at the stage of developing materials that will be utilised in a diverse range of environments. This paper explores UNAWE's particular approach to developing tools which includes not only indigenous and folkloric astronomical knowledge, but also the culture of transmission of such knowledge. A specific understanding and explanation of the Universe, the Sun, Moon and stars is present in every culture and can be found contained in its history, legends and belief systems. By consciously embracing different ways of knowing the Universe and not uniquely the rational model, UNAWE places the humanising potential of astronomy at the centre of its purpose. Whilst inspiring curiosity, pride and a sense of ownership in one's own cultural identity, such an approach also exposes children to the diversity of other peoples and their cultures as well as the unifying aspects of our common scientific heritage. The means of creating and delivering the astronomy programme are as relevant to the desired educational outcomes as the content. The challenge in the design of materials is to communicate this stimulating message to the very young. Respect for alternative values systems, the need for dialogue and community participation, and where possible the production of materials using local resources is emphasised. This paper touches recent experiences liaising with communities in India, South Africa, Tunisia, Venezuela and Colombia.

Accessible Astronomy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glickstein, Neil

1994-01-01

Describes the development of a theme-based, multidisciplinary course. The article partitions into the following sections: (1) Constructing the Course; (2) Putting the Ideas to Work; (3) Connecting Science and Society; and (4) The Arts and Astronomy. (ZWH)

The Effect of Media on Preservice Science Teachers' Attitudes toward Astronomy and Achievement in Astronomy Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bektasli, Behzat

2013-01-01

Studies show that it is hard to change students' attitudes toward science. This study specifically explored if media affect preservice science teachers' attitudes toward astronomy and their astronomy achievement. The sample for the pilot study consisted of 196 preservice science and mathematics teachers for attitude assessment and 230 preservice…

Science and Mathematics in Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woolack, Edward

2009-01-01

A brief historical introduction to the development of observational astronomy will be presented. The close historical relationship between the successful application of mathematical concepts and advances in astronomy will be presented. A variety of simple physical demonstrations, hands-on group activities, and puzzles will be used to understand how the properties of light can be used to understand the contents of our universe.

Popular Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newcomb, Simon

2011-10-01

Preface; Part I. The System of the World Historically Developed: Introduction; 1. The ancient astronomy, or the apparent motions of the heavenly bodies; 2. The Copernican system, or the true motions of the heavenly bodies; 3. Universal gravitation; Part II. Practical Astronomy: Introductory remarks; 1. The telescope; 2. Application of the telescope to celestial measurements; 3. Measuring distances in the heavens; 4. The motion of light; 5. The spectroscope; Part III. The Solar System: 1. General structure of the solar system; 2. The sun; 3. The inner group of planets; 4. The outer group of planets; 5. Comets and meteors; Part IV. The Stellar Universe: 1. The stars as they are seen; 2. The structure of the universe; 3. The cosmogony; Addendum to Part III chapter 2; Appendix; Index; Addendum II, the satellites of Mars; Explanation of the star maps.

Handbook Of X-ray Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnaud, Keith A.; Smith, R. K.; Siemiginowska, A.; Edgar, R. J.; Grant, C. E.; Kuntz, K. D.; Schwartz, D. A.

2011-09-01

This poster advertises a book to be published in September 2011 by Cambridge University Press. Written for graduate students, professional astronomers and researchers who want to start working in this field, this book is a practical guide to x-ray astronomy. The handbook begins with x-ray optics, basic detector physics and CCDs, before focussing on data analysis. It introduces the reduction and calibration of x-ray data, scientific analysis, archives, statistical issues and the particular problems of highly extended sources. The book describes the main hardware used in x-ray astronomy, emphasizing the implications for data analysis. The concepts behind common x-ray astronomy data analysis software are explained. The appendices present reference material often required during data analysis.

Highlighting the History of French Radio Astronomy. 7: The Genesis of the Institute of Astronomy at Millimeter Wavelengths (IRAM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Encrenaz, Pierre; Gómez González, Jesús; Lequeux, James; Orchiston, Wayne

2011-07-01

Radio astronomy in France and in Germany started around 1950. France was then building interferometers and Germany large single dishes, so it was not unexpected that their first projects involving millimetre radio astronomy were respectively with an interferometer and a single dish. In this paper, we explain in detail how these two projects finally merged in 1979 with the formation of the Institute of Radio Astronomy at Millimetre Wavelengths (IRAM), after a long process with many ups and downs. We also describe how Spain started radio astronomy by joining IRAM. Presently, IRAM is the most powerful facility worldwide for millimetre radio astronomy. We wish to dedicate our paper to the memory of Émile-Jacques Blum (1923-2009), who played a major role in the construction of IRAM but died before he could participate in the writing of this paper. An interview made one month before his death was very useful in the preparation of this paper.

Hybrid sol-gel planar optics for astronomy.

PubMed

Ghasempour, A; Leite, A M P; Reynaud, F; Marques, P V S; Garcia, P J V; Alexandre, D; Moreira, P J

2009-02-02

Hybrid sol-gel planar optics devices for astronomy are produced for the first time. This material system can operate from the visible (0.5 microm) up to the edge of astronomical J-band (1.4 microm). The design, fabrication and characterization results of a coaxial three beam combiner are given as an example. Fringe contrasts above 94% are obtained with a source with spectral bandwidth of 50 nm. These results demonstrate that hybrid sol-gel technology can produce devices with high quality, opening the possibility of rapid prototyping of new designs and concepts for astronomical applications.

Data Wrangling Within Different Astronomy Career Trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2012-01-01

Five kinds of astronomers work with large data sets: cosmologists, data analysts, instrumentation people, observers, and numerical theorists. Each of these career trajectories can diverge and converge in and out of collaborations with each other and perform different kinds of work. Nonetheless, each group defines and wrangles data differently. This poster characterizes their different meanings of data, analytic skills, techniques, and technologies. It also identifies some sites and patterns of convergence. We plot these collaborative relationships in bi-partite graphs. These emergent characteristics of the astronomy workforce have implications for curricula, pedagogies, and the division of labor in research collaborations.

Computers in Astronomy: Astronomy on an Apple Macintosh.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mosley, John E.

1987-01-01

Presents a review of computer programs written for the Apple Macintosh computer that teach astronomy. Reviews general programs, along with some which deal more specifically with sky travel, star charting, the solar system, Halley's Comet, and stargazing. Includes the name and address of each producer. (TW)

Network for Astronomy School Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deustua, Susana E.; Ros, R. M.; Garcia, B.

2014-01-01

The Network for Astronomy School Education Project (NASE) was developed in response to the IAU's most recent 10 Years Strategic Plan to increase the efforts of the IAU in schools. NASE's mission is to stimulate teaching astronomy in schools, through professional development of primary and secondary school science teachers in developing and emerging countries. NASE's organizational principle is to build capacity by providing courses for three years in cooperation with a Local Organizing Committee (Local NASE Group). The Local NASE Group consists of 6-8 local university professors and education professional who will promote astronomy activities and organize future courses in subsequent years in their region of their country. NASE philosophy is to introduce low-tech astronomy, and has thus developed an a suite of activities that can be carried out with inexpensive, quotidian materials. Supporting these activities is a text for teachers, plus a complete set of instructional materials for each topic. These materials are available in English and Spanish, with future editions available in Chinese and Portuguese. We describe and discuss NASE activities in Central and South America from 2009 to the present.

The Society of Astronomy Students: From the Ground Up

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rees, Shannon; Maldonado, M.; Beasley, D.; Campos, A.; Medina, A.; Chanover, N. J.

2014-01-01

The Society of Astronomy Students (SAS) at New Mexico State University (NMSU) was founded in October of 2012 and chartered in January 2013. New Mexico State University is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, which is a small city with a population of just over 100,000. The main campus at NMSU has an enrollment of approximately 14,300 undergraduate students and 3,375 graduate students. The NMSU Astronomy Department is a vibrant research environment that offers Ph.D. and M.S. Graduate degrees and serves the undergraduate population through a large number of general education courses. Although there is no undergraduate major in Astronomy at NMSU, students can earn an undergraduate Astronomy Minor. The SAS was conceived as a way to provide undergraduates with an interest in astronomy a way to communicate, network, and provide mutual support. Currently, the SAS is in its second year of being a chartered organization and has about 18 active members, about half of whom are planning on pursuing an Astronomy Minor. The SAS is striving to become one of the most active clubs on the NMSU campus in order to raise awareness about Astronomy and encourage the option of pursuing the Astronomy Minor. One of the main focus areas of the SAS is to be involved in both astronomy-related and non-astronomy-related public outreach and community service events. Since the clubs inception, the SAS members have contributed a total of over 120 volunteer hours. We do many outreach events with the elementary and middle schools around the community; these events are done jointly with the Astronomy Graduate Student Organization at NMSU. In the near future, the SAS is also planning a wide range of activities, including a guest speaker series at weekly club meetings, tours of the Apache Point Observatory, full moon outings, and participation in amateur astronomy events such as the Messier Marathon. This presentation will include an overview of the club's history, accomplishments, and future activities.

Multiverso: Rock'n'Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caballero, J. A.

2012-05-01

In the last few years, there have been several projects involving astronomy and classical music. But have a rock band ever appeared at a science conference or an astronomer at a rock concert? We present a project, Multiverso, in which we mix rock and astronomy, together with poetry and video art (Caballero, 2010). The project started in late 2009 and has already reached tens of thousands people in Spain through the release of an album, several concert-talks, television, radio, newspapers and the internet.

Covering the Standards: Astronomy Teachers' Preparation and Beliefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plummer, Julia D.; Zahm, Valerie M.

2010-01-01

An online survey of science teachers and interviews with curriculum directors were used to investigate the coverage of astronomy in middle and high schools in the greater Philadelphia region. Our analysis looked beyond astronomy elective courses to uncover all sources of astronomy education in secondary schools. We focused on coverage of state…

Astronomy Remote Observing Research Projects of US High School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadooka, M.; Meech, K. J.

2006-08-01

In order to address the challenging climate for promoting astronomy education in the high schools we have used astronomy projects to give students authentic research experiences in order to encourage their pursuit of science and technology careers. Initially, we conducted teacher workshops to develop a cadre of teachers who have been instrumental in recruiting students to work on projects. Once identified, these students have been motivated to conduct astronomy research projects with appropriate guidance. Some have worked on these projects during non-school hours and others through a research course. The goal has been for students to meet the objectives of inquiry-based learning, a major US National Science Standard. Case studies will be described using event-based learning with the NASA Deep Impact mission. Hawaii students became active participants investigating comet properties through the NASA Deep Impact mission. The Deep Impact Education and Public Outreach group developed materials which were used by our students. After learning how to use image processing software, these students obtained Comet 9P/ Tempel 1 images in real time from the remote observing Faulkes Telescope North located on Haleakala, Maui for their projects. Besides conducting event-based projects which are time critical, Oregon students have worked on galaxies and sunspots projects. For variable star research, they used images obtained from the remote observing offline mode of Lowell Telescope located in Flagstaff, Arizona. Essential to these projects has been consistent follow-up required for honing skills in observing, image processing, analysis, and communication of project results through Science Fair entries. Key to our success has been the network of professional and amateur astronomers and educators collaborating in a multiplicity of ways to mentor our students. This work-in-progress and process will be shared on how to inspire students to pursue careers in science and technology with

Popular Astronomy in the World and in Armenia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickaelian, A. M.

2014-10-01

A review on the popular astronomy and astronomy outreach in the world and in Armenia is given. Various ways and methods of popularization of astronomy are described. The International Year of Astronomy (IYA-2009), amateur astronomy, publication of books and other materials, the database of astronomical books, AstroBook exhibition, science-popular articles, "Astghagitak" online science-popular astronomical journal, calendar of astronomical events, databases of Solar and Lunar eclipses 2001-2050, planetary triple conjunctions 2001-2050, and of periodic comets at ArAS webpage, ArAS School Lectures Program, public lectures, "Universe" club at "Mkhitar Sebastatsi" educational ensemble, the online database of Armenian astronomers, biographies of famous Armenian astronomers, astronomers' anniversaries, scientific journalism of Armenia, and "Mass media news" section at ArAS webpage are described and discussed.

Highlights of Astronomy, Vol. 16

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montmerle, Thierry

2015-04-01

Part I. Invited Discourses: 1. The Herschel view of star formation; 2. Past, present and future of Chinese astronomy; 3. The zoo of galaxies; 4. Supernovae, the accelerating cosmos, and dark energy; Part II. Joint Discussion: 5. Very massive stars in the local universe; 6. 3-D views of the cycling Sun in stellar context; 7. Ultraviolet emission in early-type galaxies; 8. From meteors and meteorites to their parent bodies: current status and future developments; 9. The connection between radio properties and high-energy emission in AGNs; 10. Space-time reference systems for future research; Part III. Special Sessions: 11. Origin and complexity of massive star clusters; 12. Cosmic evolution of groups and clusters of galaxies; 13. Galaxy evolution through secular processes; 14. New era for studying interstellar and intergalactic magnetic fields; 15. The IR view of massive stars: the main sequence and beyond; 16. Science with large solar telescopes; 17. The impact hazard: current activities and future plans; 18. Calibration of star-formation rate measurements across the electromagnetic spectrum; 19. Future large scale facilities; 20. Dynamics of the star-planet relations strategic plan and the Global Office of Astronomy for Development; 21. Strategic plan and the Global Office of Astronomy for Development; 22. Modern views of the interstellar medium; 23. High-precision tests of stellar physics from high-precision photometry; 24. Communicating astronomy with the public for scientists; 25. Data intensive astronomy; 26. Unexplained spectral phenomena in the interstellar medium; 27. Light pollution: protecting astronomical sites and increasing global awareness through education.

PULSE@Parkes, Engaging Students through Hands-On Radio Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollow, Robert; Hobbs, George; Shannon, Ryan M.; Kerr, Matthew

2015-08-01

PULSE@Parkes is an innovative, free educational program run by CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science (CASS) in which high school students use the 64m Parkes radio telescope remotely in real time to observe pulsars then analyse their data. The program caters for a range of student ability and introduces students to hands-on observing and radio astronomy. Students are guided by professional astronomers, educators and PhD students during an observing session. They have ample time to interact with the scientists and discuss astronomy, careers and general scientific questions. Students use a web-based module to analyse pulsar properties. All data from the program are streamed via a web browser and are freely available from the online archive and may be used for open-ended student investigations. The data are also used by the team for ongoing pulsar studies with two scientific papers published to date.Over 100 sessions have been held so far. Most sessions are held at CASS headquarters in Sydney, Australia but other sessions are regularly held in other states with partner institutions. The flexibility of the program means that it is also possible to run sessions in other countries. This aspect of the program is useful for demonstrating capability, engaging students in diverse settings and fostering collaborations. The use of Twitter (@pulseatparkes) during allows followers worldwide to participate and ask questions.Two tours of Japan plus sessions in the UK, Netherlands and Canada have reached a wide audience. Plans for collaborations in China are well underway with the possibility of use with other countries also being explored. The program has also been successfully used in helping to train international graduate students via the International Pulsar Timing Array Schools. We have identified strong demand and need for programs such as this for training undergraduate students in Asia and the North America in observing and data analysis techniques so one area of planned

News clippings for introductory astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobrowsky, Matthew

1999-09-01

Most students entering our introductory astronomy course for nonscience majors arrive not merely lacking scientific facts-they also have misconceptions about the nature of science, and many have a handicapping ``science anxiety'' (in addition to math anxiety). So I have added a ``current science'' requirement to our introductory course. Each student must compile a file of five astronomy news articles taken from readily available sources.

Questions raised over future of UK research council

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banks, Michael

2010-02-01

Five senior physicists have written to the UK science minister, Lord Drayson, about the "dismal future" for researchers in the country in the wake of a £40m shortfall in the budget of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The physicists, who chair the STFC's five advisory panels, have also called for structural reforms to be made to the council. They warn that unless the government takes action to reverse the situation, the UK will be "perceived as an untrustworthy partner in global projects" and predict that a brain drain of the best UK scientists to positions overseas will ensue.

“Astronomy for a Better World”: IAU/OAD Task Force One Activities to Develop Astronomy Education and Research at Universities in the Developing World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guinan, Edward Francis; Kolenberg, Katrien

2015-08-01

The Task Force (1) on Astronomy for Universities & Research (TF-1) was established in 2012 as part of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD). This Task Force drives activities related to astronomy education and research at universities mainly in the developing world. Astronomy is used to stimulate research and education in STEM fields and to develop and promote astronomy in regions of the world where there is little or no astronomy. There is also potential for developing research in the historical and cultural aspects of astronomy which may prove important for stimulating an interest in the subject in communities where there is yet no established interest in the science.Since the establishment of the OAD, over 25 TF-1 programs have been funded (or partially funded) to support a wide variety of interesting and innovative astronomy programs in Africa, Asia, South-East Asia, Middle-East, and in South & Central America. Nearly every aspect of development has been supported. These programs include supporting: regional astronomy training schools, specialized workshops, research visits, university twinning programs, distance learning projects, university astronomy curriculum development, as well as small telescope and equipment grants. In addition, a large new program - Astrolab - was introduced (by J-P De Greve and Michele Gerbaldi) to bring starlight” into the class room. In the Astrolab program students carry out and reduce CCD photometry secured by them using remotely controlled telescopes. Results from pilot programs will be discussed.OAD TF-1 programs will be discussed along with future plans for improving and expanding these programs to bring astronomy education and research to a greater number of people and indeed to use Astronomy for a Better World. Information and advice will also be provided about applying for support in the future.

Astronomy and astrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zarka, Philippe

2011-06-01

Astrology meets a large success in our societies, from the private to the political sphere as well as in the media, in spite of the demonstrated inaccuracy of its psychological as well as operational predictions. We analyse here the relations between astrology and astronomy, as well as the criticisms opposed by the latter to the former. We show that most of these criticisms are weak. Much stronger ones emerge from the analysis of the astrological practice compared to the scientific method, leading us to conclude to the non-scientificity of astrology. Then we return to the success of astrology, and from its analysis we propose a renewed (and prophylactic) rôle for astronomy in society.

Interactions and Interventions: Current Research on Improving Informal Astronomy Education via the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manning, James G.; Gurton, S.; Hurst, A.; Berendsen, M.; Storksdieck, M.; Haley-Goldman, K.; Stein, J.; Pompea, S.; Garmany, C.; Sparks, R.; Pollock, W.

2007-12-01

In building national capacity for better informal astronomy education and public outreach (EPO), what sorts of professional development interactions are most effective in what situations--and what interventions for improvement can be effectively applied? Building on previous experience, the ASP, in conjunction with its partners, is conducting two National Science Foundation (NSF) funded projects investigating astronomy teaching and learning in informal contexts to explore these questions in both museum-based and amateur astronomy club settings. "Astronomy from the Ground Up" (AfGU) develops capacity for hands-on astronomy education in small and medium-sized science centers and nature centers through on-site and online professional development workshops and the establishment of a "community of practice" network. The ASP, in collaboration with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) and the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), is investigating which model--face-to-face or online professional development--works best and will be sustainable for that target group. "Sharing the Universe" (STU) builds on the Night Sky Network in which amateur astronomy clubs, through the ASP with financial and logistical support from NASA and its missions, are provided tools and training to conduct EPO activities with their public audiences. The ASP, in collaboration with the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), launched a national survey in late 2007 to investigate the factors that either support or discourage sustained amateur astronomer EPO efforts, followed by an in-depth study of a subset of both successful and struggling clubs, and leading to the development of interventions that support amateur astronomy outreach within the context of a nurturing club environment. The presentation will offer some early and initial results of the AfGU project--which reveal some interesting and unforeseen advantages of the online model over the on-site model--and some

Astronomy Graphics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubin, W. N.

1982-01-01

Various microcomputer-generated astronomy graphs are presented, including those of constellations and planetary motions. Graphs were produced on a computer-driver plotter and then reproduced for class use. Copies of the programs that produced the graphs are available from the author. (Author/JN)

Accessible Universe: Making Astronomy Accessible to All in the Regular Elementary Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grady, C. A.; Farley, N.; Avery, F.; Zamboni, E.; Clark, B.; Geiger, N.; de Angelis, M.; Woodgate, B.

2002-05-01

Astronomy is one of the most publicly accessible of the sciences, with a steady stream of new discoveries, and wide public interest. The study of exo-planetary systems is a natural extension of studies of the Solar System at the elementary and middle-school level. Such space-related topics are some of the most popular science curriculum areas at the elementary level and can serve as a springboard to other sciences, mathematics, and technology for typical student learners. Not all students are typical: 10 percent of American students are identified as having disabilities which impact their education sufficiently that they receive special education services; various estimates suggest that an additional 10 percent may have milder impairments. Most frequently these students are placed in comprehensive (mixed-ability) classrooms. Budgetary limitations for most school systems have meant that for the bulk of these children, usually those with comparatively mild learning impairments affecting their ability to access text materials and in some cases to make effective use of visual materials, individualized accommodations in the science curriculum have not been readily available. Our team, consisting of an astronomer, regular education teachers, and special educators has been piloting a suite of curriculum materials, modified activities, including use of assistive technology, age- appropriate astronomy web resources, and instructional strategies which can more effectively teach astronomy to children with disabilities in the regular education grade 3-5 classroom. This study was supported by a grant HST-EO-8474 from the STScI and funded by NASA.

Pharmaceutical HIV prevention technologies in the UK: six domains for social science research.

PubMed

Keogh, Peter; Dodds, Catherine

2015-01-01

The development of pharmaceutical HIV prevention technologies (PPTs) over the last five years has generated intense interest from a range of stakeholders. There are concerns that these clinical and pharmaceutical interventions are proceeding with insufficient input of the social sciences. Hence key questions around implementation and evaluation remain unexplored whilst biomedical HIV prevention remains insufficiently critiqued or theorised from sociological as well as other social science perspectives. This paper presents the results of an expert symposium held in the UK to explore and build consensus on the role of the social sciences in researching and evaluating PPTs in this context. The symposium brought together UK social scientists from a variety of backgrounds. A position paper was produced and distributed in advance of the symposium and revised in the light this consultation phase. These exchanges and the emerging structure of this paper formed the basis for symposium panel presentations and break-out sessions. Recordings of all sessions were used to further refine the document which was also redrafted in light of ongoing comments from symposium participants. Six domains of enquiry for the social sciences were identified and discussed: self, identity and personal narrative; intimacy, risk and sex; communities, resistance and activism; systems, structures and institutions; economic considerations and analyses; and evaluation and outcomes. These are discussed in depth alongside overarching consensus points for social science research in this area as it moves forward.

No Child Left Behind and High School Astronomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krumenaker, Larry

2009-01-01

Astronomy was a required subject in the first American secondary level schools, the academies of the 18th century. When these were supplanted a century later by public high schools, astronomy still was often required, subsumed into courses of Natural Philosophy. Reasons given at that time to support astronomy as a part of general education include…

Grist : grid-based data mining for astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacob, Joseph C.; Katz, Daniel S.; Miller, Craig D.; Walia, Harshpreet; Williams, Roy; Djorgovski, S. George; Graham, Matthew J.; Mahabal, Ashish; Babu, Jogesh; Berk, Daniel E. Vanden;

Grist: Grid-based Data Mining for Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacob, J. C.; Katz, D. S.; Miller, C. D.; Walia, H.; Williams, R. D.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Graham, M. J.; Mahabal, A. A.; Babu, G. J.; vanden Berk, D. E.; Nichol, R.

2005-12-01

The Grist project is developing a grid-technology based system as a research environment for astronomy with massive and complex datasets. This knowledge extraction system will consist of a library of distributed grid services controlled by a workflow system, compliant with standards emerging from the grid computing, web services, and virtual observatory communities. This new technology is being used to find high redshift quasars, study peculiar variable objects, search for transients in real time, and fit SDSS QSO spectra to measure black hole masses. Grist services are also a component of the ``hyperatlas'' project to serve high-resolution multi-wavelength imagery over the Internet. In support of these science and outreach objectives, the Grist framework will provide the enabling fabric to tie together distributed grid services in the areas of data access, federation, mining, subsetting, source extraction, image mosaicking, statistics, and visualization.

Bibliographic Resources for the Historian of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corbin, B. G.

1999-12-01

Many large library collections now have online bibliographic catalogs on the web. These provide many hidden resources for the historian of astronomy. Special searching techniques will allow the historian to scan bibliographic records of hundreds of entries relating to biographies of astronomers, collected works of astronomers, ancient and medieval astronomy and many other historical subjects. Abstract databases such as the Astrophysics Data System and ARIBIB are also adding much historical bibliographic information. ARIBIB will eventually contain scanned images of the Astronomischer Jahresbericht containing bibliographic entries for all literature of astronomy from 1899 to 1968 and Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts from 1969 to present. Commercial services such as UnCover and FirstSearch provide a means of reaching bibliographic entries for journal and book literature in the history of astronomy which were not easily located in the past. A broad overview of these collections and services will be given, and searching techniques for finding ``hidden" bibliographic data will be presented. Web page addresses will be given for all sources covered.

Identification and Support of Outstanding Astronomy Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoev, A. D.; Bozhurova, E. S.

2006-08-01

The aims, organizational plan and syllabus of a specialized Astronomy School with a subject of training students for participation in the International Astronomy Olympiad, are presented. Thematic frame includes basic educational activities during the preparation and self-preparation of the students and their participation in astronomical Olympiads. A model of identification and selection of outstanding students for astronomical Olympiads has been developed. Examples of didactic systems of problems for development of mathematical, physical and astronomical skills are shown. The programme ends with individual training for solving problems on astronomy and astrophysics. Possibilities, which the characteristic, non-standard astronomical problems give for stimulating the creative and original thinking, are specified. Basic psychological condition for development of the students' creative potential - transformation of the cognitive content in emotional one - is demonstrated. The programme of identification and support of outstanding students on astronomy is realized in collaboration with The Ministry of Education and Science, Public Astronomical Observatories and Planetaria, Institute of Astronomy - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and The Union of Astronomers in Bulgaria.

Astronomy Research Seminars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genet, Russell M.

2018-06-01

Astronomy Research Seminars are offered by a rapidly growing number of community colleges and universities. Over the past decade some 120 student team research papers have been published with approximately 500 coauthors. Each team manages their own research, obtains and analyzes original data, writes a team paper, obtains an external review, submits their paper for publication, and gives a public PowerPoint presentation. The student teams are supported by: (1) an extensive community-of-practice which consists of professional and amateur astronomers, educators, and Seminar graduates; (2) the Institute for Student Astronomical Research (www.in4star.org); (3) the Small Telescope Astronomy Research Handbook and (4) an in-person/online, open-source Canvas learning management system with videos, quizzes, and other, extensive supporting material. Team research projects are completed in a semester or less and are managed by the students themselves. The Seminars have expanded from double star astronomy to asteroid astrometry, eclipsing binary times of minima, and exoplanet transits. Conducting authentic research inspires students, provides them with important skills in teamwork, project management and scientific literacy, and gives them confidence in their abilities to participate in scientific research. Being coauthors of published papers boosts student educational careers with respect to admissions and scholarships.

PREFACE: 15th Russian Youth Conference on Physics and Astronomy (PhysicA.SPb)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sokolovskii, Grigorii; Averkiev, Nikita

2013-08-01

The fifteenth Russian Youth Conference on Physics and Astronomy PhysicA.SPb was held 23-24 October 2012 in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The Conference continues the tradition of Saint-Petersburg Seminars on Physics and Astronomy originating from the mid-90s. The main feature of PhysicA.SPb since then, remains the combination of both scientific and educational quality of the contributions delivered to the young audience. This feature makes it possible to combine the whole spectrum of modern Physics and Astronomy within one conference. PhysicA.SPb 2012 has brought together more than 150 students, young scientists and their professors from many universities and research institutes across Russia, as well as from Belarus, Ukraine, Finland, France and the United Kingdom. Oral and poster presentations were combined into a few well-defined sections among which one should name Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics of semiconductors, Physics of solid state, Physics and technology of the alternative energetics, Nanostructured and thin-film materials, THz and UHF materials and devices, and Physics of the quantum-sized structures. This issue of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series presents the extended contributions from participants of PhysicA.SPb 2012 that were peer-reviewed by expert referees through processes administered by the Presiders of the Organising and Programme Committees to the best professional and scientific standards. Grigorii S. Sokolovskii and Nikita S. Averkiev Editors

Young Astronomers and Astronomy teaching in Moldavia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaina, Alex

1998-09-01

Curricular Astronomy is taught in Moldavia , except Transnistria and Gagauzia, in the final (11th class) of the secondary schools and gymnasiums, and in the 12th class of the lyceums. The program takes 35 academic hours. The basic book is by Vorontsov-Veliaminov, used in the former USSR, but the Romanian one is also used, in spite of many criticisms addressed to both by our astronomy teachers. In Transinstria (on the left of the Dniester river)astronomy is taught 17 hours. Extracurricular activities develop at the Real Lyceum, where students and amateur astronomers carry out regular observations. Particularly, photographs of the comet Hale-Bopp have been realized using a Cassegrain 450 mm telescope by young astronomers under supervision of S. Luca and D. Gorodetzky (Gorodetchi). Except the telescope from the Real Lyceum other few telescopes are in construction. Unfortunately, no planetarium exists now in Chisinau, since the old one was returned to church. Astronomy courses are taught at the physical and mathematical departments of the Pedagogical University, Transnistrian Moldavian University in Tiraspol and the State University of |Moldavia. Many efforts were made by the State University lecturers and scientists to popularize Astronomy and Astrophysics in the books and in the press, at the radio and TV. No astronomy is taught at the Gagauzian National University in Comrat. No astronomiucal departments exist in Universities of |Moldavia.

Relation of Astronomy to other Sciences, Culture and Society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-07-01

The book contains the Proceedings of XIII Annual Meeting of the Armenian Astronomical Society "Relation of Astronomy to other Sciences, Culture and Society". It consists of 9 main sections: "Introductory", "Astronomy and Philosophy", "Astrobiology", "Space-Earth Connections", "Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics", "Astronomy and Culture, Astrolinguistics", "Archaeoastronomy", "Scientific Tourism and Scientific Journalism", and "Armenian Astronomy". The book may be interesting to astronomers, philosophers, biologists, culturologists, linguists, historians, archaeologists and to other specialists, as well as to students.

Outreach for Families and Girls- Astronomy at Outdoor Concerts and at Super Bowl or Halloween Star Parties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubowich, Donald A.

2011-05-01

Bring telescope to where the people are! Music and Astronomy Under the Stars (MAUS) is a NASA-funded as astronomy outreach program at community parks and music festivals (1000 - 25,000 people/event). While there have been many astronomy outreach activities and telescope observations at sidewalks and parks, this program targets a different audience - music lovers who are attending concerts in community parks or festivals. These music lovers who may not have visited science museums, planetariums, or star parties are exposed to telescope observations and astronomy information with no additional travel costs. MAUS includes solar observing, telescope observations including a live imaging system, an astronomical video, astronomy banners/posters, and hands-on activities. MAUS increased awareness, engagement, and interest in astronomy at classical, pop, rock, and ethnic music concerts. Since 2009 over 50,000 people have participated in these outreach activities including a significant number of families and young girls. In addition to concerts in local Long Island parks, there were MUAS events at Tanglewood (summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra), Jazz in Central Park, and Astronomy Night on the National Mall (co-sponsored by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy). In 2011 MUAS will be expanded to include Ravinia (summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra), the Newport Folk Festival, and the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (site of the 1969 Woodstock festival). According to our survey results, music lovers became more informed about astronomy. Expanding Hofstra University's successful outreach programs, I propose the creation of a National Halloween Stars event targeting children and a National Super Bowl Star Party targeting girls, women, and the 2/3 of Americans who do not watch the Super Bowl. This can be combined with astronomers or amateur astronomers bringing telescopes to Super Bowl parties for football fans to stargaze during

Pondering astronomy's perplexingly preposterous propositions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, Tim

2017-12-01

Astronomy is one of those ideas that naturally makes one wonder. Questions of how big? how far? how many? and how long? are just a few ideas that naturally present themselves when one contemplates the night sky and the universe. Despite astronomy's inherent ability to captivate students' interest, even master teachers need an evolving toolkit of innovative strategies to intellectually engage students, particularly in the domain of critical thinking.

Historic Radio Astronomy Working Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2007-06-01

This special issue of Astronomische Nachrichten contains the proceedings of a session of the Historic Radio Astronomy Working Group of the International Astronomical Union that took place during the 26th General Assembly of the IAU in Prague on 17th August 2006. In addition to the talks presented in Prague some contributions were solicited to give a more complete overview of `The Early History of European Radio Astronomy'.

Some innovative programmes in Astronomy education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babu, G. S. D.; Sujatha, S.

In order to inculcate a systematic scientific awareness of the subject of Astronomy among the students and to motivate them to pursue careers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, various innovative educational programmes have been designed at MPBIFR. Among them, the main programme is termed as the ``100-hour Certificate Course in Astronomy and Astrophysics'' which has been designed basically for the students of the undergraduate level of B.Sc. and B.E. streams. The time duration of the 100 hours in this course is partitioned as 36 hours of classroom lectures, 34 hours of practicals and field trips and the remaining 30 hours being dedicated to dissertation writing and seminar presentations by the students. In addition, after the 100-hour course, the students have the option to take up specialized advance courses in the topics of Astrobiology, Astrochemistry, Radio Astronomy, Solar Astronomy and Cosmology as week-end classes. These courses are at the post graduate level and are covered in a span of 18 to 20 hours spread over a period of 9 to 10 weeks. As a preparatory programme, short-term introductory courses in the same subject are conducted for the high school students during the summer vacation period. Along with this, a three-week programme in basic Astronomy is also designed as an educational package for the general public. The students of these courses have the opportunity of being taken on field trips to various astronomical centers as well as the Radio, Solar and the Optical Observatories as part of their curriculum. The guided trips to the ISRO’s Satellite Centre at Bangalore and the Satellite Launching Station at SHAR provide high degree of motivation apart from giving thrilling experiences to the students. Further, the motivated students are encouraged to involve themselves in regular research programmes in Astronomy at MPBIFR for publishing research papers in national and international journals. The teaching and mentoring faculty for all these programmes

HF Radio Astronomy from a Small Satellite

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-15

SSC16-XI-03 HF Radio Astronomy from a Small Satellite Frank C. Robey1, Mary Knapp2, Alan J. Fenn1, Mark Silver1, Kerry Johnson1 Frank J. Lind3...frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum (below 15 MHz) is one of the least explored windows in observational astronomy . Observations at these...pdf. [Accessed: 17-Oct-2015]. 3. G. Hallinan, “The Owens Valley LWA,” in Exascale Radio Astronomy , 2014, vol. 2. 4. C. J. Lonsdale, R. J. Cappallo

Some Daytime Activities in Solar Astronomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burin, Michael J.

2016-01-01

This century's transits of Venus (2004, 2012) captured significant public attention, reminding us that the wonders of astronomy need not be confined to the night. And while nighttime telescope viewing gatherings (a.k.a. "star parties") are perennially popular, astronomy classes are typically held in the daytime. The logistics of…

Student Comprehension of Mathematics through Astronomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Search, Robert

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine how knowledge of astronomy can enhance college-level learning situations involving mathematics. The fundamental symbiosis between mathematics and astronomy was established early in the 17th century when Johannes Kepler deduced the 3 basic laws of planetary motion. This mutually harmonious relationship…

A Brief History of Publishing Papers on Astronomy Education Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraknoi, Andrew

2014-01-01

While some research had been done on K-12 and planetarium astronomy teaching from the 1930's to the 1980's, the growth of research on college physics education offered astronomy education researchers a model for examining techniques for teaching introductory college astronomy survey "Astronomy 101" courses as well. This early research…

Teach Astronomy: An Educational Resource for Formal and Informal Learners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Impey, Chris David

2018-01-01

Teach Astronomy is an educational resource, available in the form of a user-friendly, platform-agnostic website. Ideal for college-level, introductory astronomy courses, Teach Astronomy can be a valuable reference for astronomers at all levels, especially informal learners. Over the past year, multiple changes have been made to the infrastructure behind Teach Astronomy to provide high availability to our tens of thousands of monthly, unique users, as well as fostering in new features. Teach Astronomy contains interactive tools which supplement the free textbook, such as a Quiz Tool with real-time feedback. The site also provides a searchable collection of Chris Impey’s responses to questions frequently asked by our users. The developers and educators behind Teach Astronomy are working to create an environment which encourages astronomy students of all levels to continue to increase their knowledge and help others learn.

Developing a Global Science and Math Education System Based on Real Astronomy Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pennypacker, Carlton

2015-03-01

Global Hands-On Universe (GHOU) is an educational system where students use real astronomy data from (largely optical) telescopes to learn fundamental physics, math, astronomy, and technology.GHOU is a good example of a collaborative global education project, where data, software, teacher training methods, curriculum, activities, telescopes, and human resources are developed by many members of GHOU and then shared internationally.Assessments show that in this program students learn more science and math than in conventional classroom teaching, and students change their attitudes towards choosing careers in science and technology.GHOU is an exemplar of appropriate use of computers in the classroom for real data analysis.The International Asteroid Search program of GHOU has helped students discover over 700 asteroids. Half a dozen high schools have named the asteroids they have found after their high school (some from here in Texas!).GHOU has found resonance with many teachers and students around the world, reaching approximately 20,000 global teachers in the International Year of Astronomy in 2009.In addition, activities from French HOU are part of the official French National Curriculum, and exit exam, teacher training syllabus and teacher exit exams. GHOU has found particular enthusiasms in nations with increasing technology basis - for example, GHOU is reaching many teachers in China, Chile, Indonesia, Kenya, Venezuela, with expansion plans for Cuba underway. Some nations, such as Portugal, have reached reasonable fractions of their teachers through GHOU. Workshops are planned in Iran, and HOU colleagues are starting to build a GHOU telescope in Israel. US HOU had trained approximately 1000 teachers in the United States, before the closing of the NSF Teacher Enhancement Section.But as many new large and smaller telescopes come on line - e.g., the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope - the need for GHOU around the world and even the United States will only increase.

Astronomy in the streets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kebe, Fatoumata

2015-08-01

The Ephemerides Association was founded last year by a PhD student in Astronomy. The association is devoted to the promotion and advancement of knowledge of the universe through research and education.The main activities of the association are scientific meetings, the planning and realization of scientific projects, the support of the scientific activities of its members, and the dissemination of related information among members and other interested persons.The association targets the disadvantaged zones of the Paris suburbs.The main issue was how to bring astronomy in those places. In the suburbs, since most of the youth are poor, most leisure activities like cinema are out of your reach. Thus, mostly of them will play football or basketball outside.We decided to go to meet young people who find themselves together in the evening. We prepare the telescope as well as the fasicules to start the observation of the planets. The discussion finally lead to their career plans and aspirations. Astronomy has become a tool to address societal issues. We present our results after one year of activity.

Astronomy in the International Year of Light 2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Constance E.; Pompea, Stephen M.; Green, Richard F.; Fienberg, Richard Tresch; Seitzer, Patrick

2014-06-01

In December 2013 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015), recognizing “the importance of raising global awareness of how light-based technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to global challenges in energy, education, agriculture, and health.” John Dudley, president of the European Physical Society and chair of the IYL 2015 Steering Committee, explains: “An International Year of Light is a tremendous opportunity to ensure that policymakers are made aware of the problem-solving potential of light technology. Photonics provides cost-effective solutions to challenges in so many different areas: energy, sustainable development, climate change, health, communications, and agriculture. For example, innovative lighting solutions reduce energy consumption and environmental impact, while minimizing light pollution so that we can all appreciate the beauty of the universe in a dark sky.”IYL 2015 is bringing together many different stakeholders, including scientific societies and unions, educational and research institutions, technology platforms, non-profit organizations, and private-sector partners to promote and celebrate the significance of light and its applications during 2015.The AAS and the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which were heavily involved in the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, will play a role in IYL 2015 — especially since the AAS will host the 29th General Assembly of the IAU in August 2015. Other US-based organizations, such as NOAO, are organizing efforts jointly with IAU and AAS members to form a cornerstone. Discussion for this presentation will center on the IYL cornerstone project in astronomy, dark-skies awareness, and optics and the related projects and events being formed, as well as the regional, national, and international committees and contact points being established to ensure that all nations of the world

Radio Frequency Interference: Radio Astronomy's Biggest Enemy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acevedo, F.; Ghosh, Tapasi

1997-12-01

As technology progresses, the demand for the usage of the electromagnetic spectrum increases with it. The development is so fast and prolific that clean band space for passive users such as Radio Astronomy is becoming ever so scarce. Even though, several spectral bands have been protected for Radio Astronomy by Federal Communication Commission (in the USA) under the recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), pressure for making more spectral space commercially usable is extreme. Although these commercial usages make our modern living at all possible, often the extreme vulnerability of passive users are are not fully appreciated, resulting in unwanted emissions (RFI) in the Radio Astronomy Bands. Another source of RFI is the fact that many of the electronic devices used in the observatories themselves generate radio waves. If proper precautions are not taken, these can be received back through the Radio Telescope itself. This problem is referred to as internal RFI. The focus of this paper is the search and diminution of internal RFI in the Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Using a simple setup of a log-periodic antenna and a Spectrum Analyzer, spectra spanning a frequency range of 100 - 1800 MHZ were recorded in some areas of the Observatory and the new Visitor Center (AOVEF). The measurements disclosed sources of radio emission among some of the digital electronic equipment in the Equipment room and a few displays in the AOVEF. Most prominent of these was a 2.5 MHz comb spanning the entire range of the measurements emitted from the SRENDIP and AOFTM machines. The respective groups were informed and corrective shielding & isolations were implemented immediately. In AOVEF, three displays, some audio-visual equipment, and video/digital cameras used by the visitors were found to be "leaky". In future, the use of such cameras will be prohibited and the exhibits will be screened appropriately.

NASA's Airborne Astronomy Program - Lessons For SOFIA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erickson, Edwin F.

2007-07-01

Airborne astronomy was pioneered and has evolved at NASA Ames Research Center near San Francisco, California, since 1965. Nowhere else in the world has a similar program been implemented. Its many unique features deserve description, especially for the benefit of planning the operation of SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, and in particular since NASA Headquarters’ recent decision to base SOFIA operations at Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California instead of at Ames. The history of Ames’ airborne astronomy program is briefly summarized. Discussed in more detail are the operations and organization of the 21-year Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) program, which provide important lessons for SOFIA. The KAO program is our best prototype for planning effective SOFIA operations. Principal features of the KAO program which should be retained on SOFIA are: unique science, innovative new science instruments and technologies, training of young scientists, an effective education and public outreach program, flexibility, continuous improvement, and efficient operations with a lean, well integrated team. KAO program features which should be improved upon with SOFIA are: (1) a management structure that is dedicated primarily to safely maximizing scientific productivity for the resources available, headed by a scientist who is the observatory director, and (2) stimuli to assure prompt distribution and accessibility of data to the scientific community. These and other recommendations were recorded by the SOFIA Science Working Group in 1995, when the KAO was decommissioned to start work on SOFIA. Further operational and organizational factors contributing to the success of the KAO program are described. Their incorporation into SOFIA operations will help assure the success of this new airborne observatory. SOFIA is supported by NASA in the U.S. and DLR (the German Aerospace Center) in Germany.

Heavenly Conflicts: The Bible and Astronomy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Avalos, Hector

1998-01-01

The relationship between the Bible and modern astronomy has been complicated and often turbulent. Many scientists would argue that for modern astronomy to be born, biblical cosmology had to die. Article includes a history of the church/science relationship, a primer in biblical cosmologies, and a discussion of some philosophical problems behind…

The National Astronomy Consortium (NAC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Von Schill, Lyndele; Ivory, Joyce

2017-01-01

The National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) program is designed to increase the number of underrepresented minority students into STEM and STEM careers by providing unique summer research experiences followed by long-term mentoring and cohort support. Hallmarks of the NAC program include: research or internship opportunities at one of the NAC partner sites, a framework to continue research over the academic year, peer and faculty mentoring, monthly virtual hangouts, and much more. NAC students also participate in two professional travel opportunities each year: the annual NAC conference at Howard University and poster presentation at the annual AAS winter meeting following their summer internship.The National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) is a program led by the National Radio Astronomy Consortium (NRAO) and Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), in partnership with the National Society of Black Physicist (NSBP), along with a number of minority and majority universities.

Astronomy in Primary and Secondary Education in Slovenia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomboc, Andreja

2015-08-01

I will present the status of astronomy in educational system in Slovenia. In primary schools astronomy is offered as an optional course in the last 3 grades (12-15 yrs old), while in secondary schools a few astronomical topics are present only as part of other subjects (e.g. physics, geography). I will describe a pilot project of an astronomy course in secondary schools, which was carried out in the school year 2013/14. The main focus of my presentation will be the experience gained with organisation of the Slovenian National Astronomy Competition. It is organised by the Slovenian Society of Mathematicians, Physicists and Astronomers since 2009, building on an extensive network of over 200 primary and secondary school teachers who participated in IYA2009 activities, and who now represent majority of mentors for the competition. In 2013, only 5 years after the start of competition, our pupils attended the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics for the first time and with great success. Supporting activities include the Slovenian version of the Portal to the Universe (www.portalvvesolje.si) and translation of Space Scoop astronomy news for children.

A Website for Astronomy Education and Outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Impey, C.; Danehy, A.

2017-09-01

Teach Astronomy is a free, open access website designed for formal and informal learners of astronomy. The site features: an online textbook complete with quiz questions and a glossary; over ten thousand images; a curated collection of the astronomy articles in Wikipedia; a complete video lecture course; a video Frequently Asked Questions tool; and other materials provided by content partners. Clustering algorithms and an interactive visual interface allow users to browse related content. This article reviews the features of the website and how it can be used.

Astronomy on Tap: Public Outreach Events in Bars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rice, E. L.; Levine, B. W.

2016-12-01

Astronomy on Tap public outreach events are as easy to organise or as elaborate as you would like them to be. In addition to communicating cutting-edge research and fundamental concepts to the public, Astronomy on Tap events showcase the passion, creativity and diversity of scientists, facilitate personal and meaningful interactions between scientists and the general public, and offer networking and professional development opportunities for scientists. Astronomy on Tap organisers provide a growing cadre of resources for starting similar events, which have so far taken place in twenty locations around the world, mainly in the United States but also in Canada, Chile, and Taiwan, reaching a total of almost 15 000 people. Through this reflection on the Astronomy on Tap project we invite you to consider whether you could adopt aspects of the Astronomy on Tap model for existing outreach programmes, or even organise a new satellite event in your location.

Astronomy on Tap: science engagement in the pub

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livermore, Rachael C.; Silverman, Jeffrey Michael

2015-08-01

Astronomy on Tap is a series of free lectures by astronomers in the pub, aimed at disseminating the latest research to the public in an informal setting. Started in New York City in 2013, Astronomy on Tap has now expanded to seven cities across North and South America. Organized by local astronomers, each event features talks by astronomers from local institutions or visitors, or others whose professions or hobbies intersect with astronomy, along with games and opportunities for the public to interact with professional astronomers. The largest Astronomy on Tap events are in Austin, Texas, attracting over 150 people each month, which consists of populations outside of the self-selected groups that might be reached by more formal EPO activities. The organisers of Astronomy on Tap in Austin (AoTATX) will discuss the impact of and feedback from all of the locations, and present information on setting up new satellite locations.

Bringing Astronomy Directly to People Who Do Not Come to Star Parties, Science Museums, or Science Festivals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubowich, Donald A.

2013-01-01

My successful programs have included telescope observations, hands-on activities, and edible astronomy demonstrations for: outdoor concerts or music festivals; the National Mall; churches, synagogues, seminaries, or clergy conferences; the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island (New Hyde Park, NY), the Winthrop University Hospital Children’s Medical Center (Mineola, NY); the Fresh Air Fund summer camps; a Halloween star party with costumed kids looking through telescopes; a Super Bowl Star Party; the World Science Festival (NYC); the Princeton University Science and Engineering Expo; the USA Science and Engineering Festival; and the NYC Columbus Day Parade. These outreach activities have reached thousands of people including many young girls. Information was also provided about local science museums, citizen science projects, astronomy educational sites, and astronomy clubs to encourage learning after these events. In 2010 I created Astronomy Night on the National Mall (co-sponsored the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy) with the participation of astronomy clubs, Chandra X-Ray Center, STScI, NASA, NOAO, NSF and the National Air and Space Museum. Since 2009 my NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars (MAUS) program has brought astronomy to 50,000 music lovers who attended the Central Park Jazz, Newport Folk, Tanglewood, or Ravinia music festivals or classical, folk, rock, pop, opera, or county-western concerts in local parks assisted by astronomy clubs. MAUS is an evening, nighttime, and cloudy weather traveling astronomy program combining solar, optical, and radio telescope observations; a live image projection system; large outdoor posters and banners; videos; and hands-on activities before and after the concerts or at intermission. Yo-Yo-Ma and the Chicago Symphony or Boston Symphony Orchestras, the McCoy Tyner Quartet with Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, the Stanley Clarke Band, Phish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Deep Purple, Patti Smith

Infrared Astronomy Satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrera, G. A.

1981-09-01

In 1982, the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) will be launched into a 900-km sun-synchronous (twilight) orbit to perform an unbiased, all-sky survey of the far-infrared spectrum from 8 to 120 microns. Observations telemetered to ground stations will be compiled into an IR astronomy catalog. Attention is given the cryogenically cooled, 60-cm Ritchey-Chretien telescope carried by the satellite, whose primary and secondary mirrors are fabricated from beryllium by means of 'Cryo-Null Figuring'. This technique anticipates the mirror distortions that will result from cryogenic cooling of the telescope and introduces dimensional compensations for them during machining and polishing. Consideration is also given to the interferometric characterization of telescope performance and Cryo/Thermal/Vacuum simulated space environment testing.

Grade 9 Astronomy Study: Interests of Boys and Girls Studying Astronomy at Fletcher's Meadow Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krstovic, Mirjan; Brown, Laura; Chacko, Merin; Trinh, Brenda

2008-01-01

In this report, we discuss the interests of Grade 9 boys and girls studying astronomy at Fletcher's Meadow Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario. A total of 152 Grade 9 academic students were asked to rate their interest levels in various astronomy topics on a scale of 0-3, where 0 represented no interest and 3 represented a high level of…

iSTAR: The International STudy on Astronomy Reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tatge, Coty B.; Slater, Timothy F.; Slater, Stephanie J.

2015-08-01

This paper reports the first steps taken in the International STudy on Astronomy Reasoning (iSTAR). The iSTAR Project is an attempt to look beyond traditional wisdom and practices in astronomy education, to discover the ways in which cognitive abilities and human culture interact to impact individuals’ understanding of and relationship to astronomy content knowledge. In contrast to many international studies that seek to rank nations by student performance on standardized tests, the iSTAR Project seeks to find ways that culture may unexpectedly enhance performance in astronomy. Using the Test of Astronomy Standards (TOAST) as a reasonable, initial proxy for the content knowledge a well educated person might know in astronomy, the iSTAR team then defined culture as a construct with five components: practices, traditional knowledge, historical and genealogical relationships, place-based knowledge, and language. Given the complexity of this construct, Stage 1 of the project focuses on the cultural component of language, and assumed that prior to the collection of data from students, the process of translating the TOAST could provide valuable expert-based information on the impact of language on astronomy knowledge. As such, the work began with a study of the translation process. For each of the languages used in the testing phase of the iSTAR protocol, a succession of translators and analysts were engaged, including two educated, non-astronomer native speakers, a native speaking astronomer, and a native speaking linguistics expert. Multiple translations were analyzed in order to make relevant meaning of differences in the translations, and provide commentary on the ways in which metaphor, idiom, cultural history are embedded in the language, providing potential advantages in the learning of astronomy. The first test languages were German, Hawaiian, and American Sign Language, and initial findings suggest that each of these languages provide specific advantages

Astronomy Camp - Celebrating 31 Years of Summer Science Camps

Science.gov Websites

Astronomy Camp Banner - Logo with a background of NGC 3718 taken by previous campers. Home Information Flyer Facilities Registration Publications Alumni Awards Links Shirts Need Information? Astronomy . Bigelow. Astronomy Camp 2018: Astrophotography through the 61-inch Kuiper telescope. Inspiring youth

Information Society: Agenda for Action in the UK.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips of Ellesmere, Lord

1997-01-01

Explains the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology in the UK (United Kingdom) and discusses its report that addresses the need for information technology planning on a national basis. Topics include electronic publishing for access to government publications, universal access, regulatory framework, encryption and verification,…

FETTU Wins International Year of Astronomy 2009 Prize

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-02-01

responses have been overwhelmingly positive." Around the world, there have been over 500 separate FETTU exhibits in nearly 70 different countries. These exhibits were enabled by making FETTU's repository of material freely available to those who agreed to participate in the project. FETTU exhibits have been placed in such locations as the hallways of the Iranian Parliament, outside on a plaza in Reykjavik, Iceland, in an art museum in Shanghai, China, during a space art contest for children in Bangladesh, throughout villages in Uruguay, in a prison in Coimbra, Portugal, and at UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Stonehenge in the U.K. The Bhaumik awards and certificates will be handed over in March during the Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2010 Conference, in Cape Town, South Africa. Kimberly Kowal Arcand, FETTU co-chair together with Megan Watzke, will give a keynote talk at the conference. FETTU was selected both as a global cornerstone project for the IAU as well as a major component of the US IYA program. Although the FETTU project was originally conceived for IYA2009, there are plans to have the exhibits continue to be displayed in 2010 and beyond. For more information on FETTU and a list of locations, see http://www.fromearthtotheuniverse.org Additional information on the Mani Bhaumik prize can be found at: http://www.astronomy2009.org/resources/prize/

Europe Unveils 20-Year Plan for Brilliant Future in Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2008-11-01

for Earth Sciences and Astronomy (INSU) of the CNRS. To build consensus on priorities in a very diverse community, the Science Vision and Roadmap were developed in an open process involving intensive interaction with the community through large open meetings and feedback via e-mail and the web. The result is a plan now backed by astronomers in 28 Member and Associated States of the EU, with over 500 million inhabitants. Over 60 selected experts from across Europe contributed to the construction of the ASTRONET Roadmap, ensuring that European astronomy has the tools to compete successfully in answering the challenges of the Science Vision. They identified and prioritised a set of new facilities to observe the Universe from radio waves to gamma rays, to open up new ways of probing the cosmos, such as gravitational waves, and to advance in the exploration of our Solar System. In the process, they considered all the elements needed by a successful scientific enterprise, from global-scale cooperation on the largest mega-project to the need for training and recruiting skilled young scientists and engineers. One of two top-priority large ground-based projects is ESO's European Extremely Large Telescope. Its 42-metre diameter mirror will make the E-ELT the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world -- "the biggest eye on the sky". The science to be done with the E-ELT is extremely exciting and includes studies of exoplanets and discs, galaxy formation and dark energy. ESO Director General Tim de Zeeuw says: "The top ranking of the E-ELT in the Roadmap is a strong endorsement from the European astronomical community. This flagship project will indisputably raise the European scientific, technological and industrial profile". Among other recommendations, the Roadmap considers how to maximise the future scientific impact of existing facilities in a cost-effective manner. It also identifies a need for better access to state-of-the art computing and laboratory facilities

UK medicines regulation: responding to current challenges

PubMed Central

Richards, Natalie

2016-01-01

The medicines regulatory environment is evolving rapidly in response to the changing environment. Advances in science and technology have led to a vast field of increasingly complicated pharmaceutical and medical device products; increasing globalization of the pharmaceutical industry, advances in digital technology and the internet, changing patient populations, and shifts in society also affect the regulatory environment. In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regulates medicines, medical devices and blood products to protect and improve public health, and supports innovation through scientific research and development. It works closely with other bodies in a single medicines network across Europe and takes forward UK health priorities. This paper discusses the range of initiatives in the UK and across Europe to support innovation in medicines regulation. The MHRA leads a number of initiatives, such as the Innovation Office, which helps innovators to navigate the regulatory processes to progress their products or technologies; and simplification of the Clinical Trials Regulations and the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, to bring innovative medicines to patients faster. The Accelerated Access Review will identify reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies. PRIME and Adaptive Pathways initiatives are joint endeavours within the European regulatory community. The MHRA runs spontaneous reporting schemes and works with INTERPOL to tackle counterfeiting and substandard products sold via the internet. The role of the regulator is changing rapidly, with new risk‐proportionate, flexible approaches being introduced. International collaboration is a key element of the work of regulators, and is set to expand. PMID:27580254

New Opportunities for Astronomy in Hawaii

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasinger, Guenther

2012-01-01

As one of the premier astronomy sites in the world, Hawai'i is well positioned to assume a leadership role in the development of the next generation of the world's most powerful ground-based telescopes: the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST), and Pan-STARRS, all slated for the Hawaiian islands. The development of these new facilities represents great scientific potential for the astronomy research community. Pan-STARRS, an innovative wide-field imaging facility developed at IfA, has been operational via its first telescope, PS1, since 2010. With the largest digital camera ever built - 1.4 Gigapixels - and an unprecedented field of 7 deg2, PS1 generates a time-lapse movie of the Northern sky in 5 pass-bands. PS1 has already discovered a number of potentially hazardous asteroids, comets, and a new class of very luminous supernova explosions. The second telescope, PS-2, is under construction on Haleakala, with an ultimate aim a four-telescope system in one enclosure on Mauna Kea. Haleakala--the House of the Sun--is the best place on Earth for solar astronomy and has therefore been chosen by NSF as the site of the world's largest solar telescope, the ATST. ATST will employ a 4m primary mirror with a unique off-axis design optimized for high-contrast solar imaging and spectropolarimetry. Construction, which is already funded, is expected to start soon with two of the first-light instruments being developed in Hawaii. The TMT, ready for construction on Mauna Kea, will be among the world's most advanced ground-based observatories, operating in wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet to mid-infrared, integrating the most modern innovations in precision control, segmented mirror design, and adaptive optics. It will address bold scientific questions like the search for habitable extrasolar planets, the First Light in the Universe, the earliest Black Holes and the nature of space itself.

Introducing AstroGen: the Astronomy Genealogy Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tenn, Joseph S.

2016-12-01

The Astronomy Genealogy Project (AstroGen), a project of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), will soon appear on the AAS website. Ultimately, it will list the world's astronomers with their highest degrees, theses for those who wrote them, academic advisors (supervisors), universities, and links to the astronomers or their obituaries, their theses when online, and more. At present the AstroGen team is working on those who earned doctorates with astronomy-related theses. We show what can be learned already, with just ten countries essentially completed.

The Development of Astronomy and Emergence of Astrophysics in Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Tsuko

This chapter overviews the emergence and development phases of modern astronomy and astrophysics in Japan, mainly before WWII. In the beginning of the nineteenth century under the samurai regime of the Tokugawa Shogunate, shogunal astronomers started to learn Western astronomy through a Dutch translation of the book Astronomie by J.J. Lalande. After the Meiji Restoration (1868) the new government founded the University of Tokyo (1877), the first modern university in Japan, in which Tokyo Astronomical Observatory (TAO) also started in 1888. Terao Hisashi, who had gone to Paris to study the modern astronomy, became the first Director of TAO in 1888. The astronomy introduced by Terao into Japan was so-called classical astronomy. Two of Terao's early students made Japan's first internationally recognized achievements in astronomy, the discovery of the Z-term in the polar motion of the Earth by Kimura (Astronomische Nachrichten, 158, 234-240, 1902) and the discovery of asteroid families by Hirayama (Astronomical Journal, 31, 185-188, 1918).

Structural and Aerodynamic Optimization of UltraLightweight Technology for Research in Astronomy (ULTRA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etzel, P. B.; Martin, R.; Romeo, R.; Fesen, R.; Hale, R.; Taghavi, R.; Anthony-Twarog, B. J.; Shawl, S. J.; Twarog, B. A.

2004-12-01

The focus of ULTRA (see poster by Twarog et al.) is a three-year plan to develop and test ultralightweight technology for research applications in astronomy. The goal is to demonstrate that a viable alternative exists to traditional glass-mirror technology by designing, fabricating, and testing a research telescope prototype comprising fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) materials. To date, several mirror designs have been tested. The main goal in the first year has been to develop a 0.4m diameter mirror and OTA that serve as prototypes for the 1m telescope design. Mirrors of 0.4m diameter have been successfully fabricated which yield diffraction limited images. This poster will include a display of the complete OTA (including optics), optics test results, and astronomical images taken with prototype mirrors. Finite element analysis has been used to evaluate the OTA and mirror designs. Preliminary design details were incorporated in a knowledge-based system. Adaptive Modeling Language (AML), an object oriented programming language developed by Technosoft, Inc., was used to develop a parameterized geometric model of the preliminary design. The system can generate mirrors with radials/circumferentials, tube core substructures, as well as modeling the support structure. Computational fluid dynamics analyses were performed for sweep, inclination and ambient wind speed. Finite element analyses were performed for core density and arrangement, skin thickness, back-surface curvature, spider configuration and arrangement of the OTA, while the loading conditions considered thus far are thermal, inertial, and aerodynamic pressure loads. Experimental tests, including ultrasonic nondestructive evaluations, infrared imaging, modal testing, and wind tunnel tests, have been performed on the first prototype mirror, with the primary goal of validating analytical models and identifying potential manufacturing induced variations to be expected among "like" mirrors. Support of this work by

Music and Astronomy Under the Stars - 2009 Update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubowich, Donald A.

2010-01-01

Bring telescope to where the people are! Music and Astronomy Under the Stars is a three-year NASA-funded outreach program at parks during and after concerts and family events - a Halloween Spooky Garden Walk. While there have been many outreach activities and telescope observations at city sidewalks and parks, this program targets a completely different audience - music lovers who attend summer concerts held in community parks. These music lovers who may never have visited a science museum, planetarium, or star party are exposed to telescope observations and astronomy information with no additional travel costs. Music and Astronomy Under the Stars increased awareness, engagement, and interest in astronomy at classical, pop, rock, and ethnic music concerts. This program includes solar observing before the concerts, telescope observations including a live image projection system, an astronomical video presentation, and astronomy banners/posters. Approximately 500 - 16,000 people attended each event and 25% to 50% of the people at each event participated in the astronomy program. This program also reached underrepresented and underserved groups (women, minorities, older adults). The target audience is 2,900,000 people, which is larger than combined population of Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. Although eleven events were planned in 2009, two were canceled due to rain and our largest event, the NY Philharmonic in the Park (attended by 67,000 people in 2008), was cancelled for financial reasons. Our largest event in 2009 was the Tanglewood Music Festival, Lenox MA, attended by 16,000 people where 5000 people participated in astronomy activities. The Amateur Observers' Society of NY assisted with the NY concerts and the Springfield STARS club assisted at Tanglewood. 1500 people looked through telescopes at the Halloween program (6000 saw the posters). In 2009 over 15,000 people participated in these astronomy activities which were attended by

BoF - Python in Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrett, P. E.

This BoF will be chaired by Paul Barrett and will begin with an introduction to Python in astronomy, be followed by reports of current Python projects, and conclude with a discussion about the current state of Python in astronomy. The introduction will give a brief overview of the language, highlighting modules, resources, and aspects of the language that are important to scientific programming and astronomical data analysis. The closing discussion will provide an opportunity for questions and comments.

Bolometric detector systems for IR and mm-wave space astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Church, S. E.; Lange, A. E.; Mauskopf, P. D.; Hristov, V.; Bock, J. J.; DelCastillo, H. M.; Beeman, J.; Ade, P. A. R.; Griffin, M. J.

1996-01-01

Recent developments in bolometric detector systems for millimeter and submillimeter wave space astronomy are described. Current technologies meet all the requirements for the high frequency instrument onboard the cosmic background radiation anisotropy satellite/satellite for the measurement of background anisotropies (COBRAS/SAMBA) platform. It is considered that the technologies that are currently being developed will significantly reduce the effective time constant and/or the cooling requirements of bolometric detectors. These technologies lend themselves to the fabrication of the large format arrays required for the Far Infrared and Submillimeter Space Telescope (FIRST). The scientific goals and detector requirements of the COBRAS/SAMBA platform that will use infrared bolometers are reviewed and the baseline detector system is described, including the feed optics, the infrared filters, the cold amplifiers and the warm readout electronics.

History of Astronomy in Portugal: Theories, Institutions and Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saraiva, Luis

2014-01-01

In Portugal, throughout its history, astronomy was developed in the context of the mathematical sciences. During the times of Portugal's Maritime Discoveries, astronomical navigation was based on spherical trigonometry, and therefore it was the mathematicians who taught astronomy to the pilots. During the 17th century, basic notions of astronomy were taught in mathematical courses in the University and in the main Jesuit colleges. This tradition continued in the 18th century, so it is no wonder that one of the most influent Portuguese astronomers during this period was the mathematician José Monteiro da Rocha. During the 19th century the new centres of science teaching, as the Polytechnic School in Lisbon, or the Polytechnic Academy in Oporto, developed astronomy teaching and research in the context of the mathematics subjects. The inheritors of these 19th century institutions, respectively the Faculties of Sciences of Lisbon and Oporto, upheld this tradition until the final decades of 20th century and continued to consider astronomy as a subject to be taught in their mathematics departments. This Meeting aims at outlining several perspectives on the history of astronomy in Portugal, particularly analysing its ties with mathematical sciences and astronomy applications. The Meeting is organised by the Museum of Science of the University of Lisbon (MCUL) with CMAF, CMUC, CMUP and the CIUHCT, and is included in CIM events. It is integrated in the commemorations of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009).

To See the Unseen: A History of Planetary Radar Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butrica, Andrew J.

1996-01-01

This book relates the history of planetary radar astronomy from its origins in radar to the present day and secondarily to bring to light that history as a case of 'Big Equipment but not Big Science'. Chapter One sketches the emergence of radar astronomy as an ongoing scientific activity at Jodrell Bank, where radar research revealed that meteors were part of the solar system. The chief Big Science driving early radar astronomy experiments was ionospheric research. Chapter Two links the Cold War and the Space Race to the first radar experiments attempted on planetary targets, while recounting the initial achievements of planetary radar, namely, the refinement of the astronomical unit and the rotational rate and direction of Venus. Chapter Three discusses early attempts to organize radar astronomy and the efforts at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, in conjunction with Harvard radio astronomers, to acquire antenna time unfettered by military priorities. Here, the chief Big Science influencing the development of planetary radar astronomy was radio astronomy. Chapter Four spotlights the evolution of planetary radar astronomy at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA facility, at Cornell University's Arecibo Observatory, and at Jodrell Bank. A congeries of funding from the military, the National Science Foundation, and finally NASA marked that evolution, which culminated in planetary radar astronomy finding a single Big Science patron, NASA. Chapter Five analyzes planetary radar astronomy as a science using the theoretical framework provided by philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn. Chapter Six explores the shift in planetary radar astronomy beginning in the 1970s that resulted from its financial and institutional relationship with NASA Big Science. Chapter Seven addresses the Magellan mission and its relation to the evolution of planetary radar astronomy from a ground-based to a space-based activity. Chapters Eight and Nine discuss the research carried out at ground

Motivational Differences between MOOC and Undergraduate Astronomy Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Formanek, Martin; Wenger, Matthew; Buxner, Sanlyn; Impey, Chris David

2018-01-01

It is vital for the instructors and designers of the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to understand the motivation of its users for enrolling in the class and their reasons to engage with the material. This is particularly important for MOOCs focusing on scientific topics such as our MOOC on Astronomy (Astronomy: Exploring time and space) whose audience is less motivated by a desire to advance their careers compared to other MOOCs. In order to learn more about the motivation of our learners we deployed in our Astronomy MOOC a survey based on the Science Motivation Questionnaire II developed by Glynn et. al (2011). We specifically asked for reasons to sign up for the course and the overall motivation and attitude towards astronomy and science courses. We compare results of 3360 participants of this survey with a similar instrument administered to 638 students in undergraduate Astronomy classes for non Astronomy majors at the University of Arizona. Our comparison not only looks at the demographic differences, but also at reasons for signing up for the course and scores in motivational categories such as self-determination, self-efficacy, grade motivation, career motivation, hobby motivation, social motivation, and intrinsic motivation showing, that these populations of learners are fundamentally different.

Astronomy Adventures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braus, Judy, Ed.

1986-01-01

Ranger Rick's NatureScope is a creative education series dedicated to inspiring in children an understanding and appreciation of the natural world while developing the skills they will need to make responsible decisions about the environment. The topic of this issue is "Astronomy Adventures." Contents are organized into the following…

Astronomy Activities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenstone, Sid

This document consists of activities and references for teaching astronomy. The activities (which include objectives, list of materials needed, and procedures) focus on: observing the Big Dipper and locating the North Star; examining the Big Dipper's stars; making and using an astrolabe; examining retograde motion of Mars; measuring the Sun's…

Ten Years of "Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education" RELEA: Achievements and Challenges for International Astronomy Education Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bretones, Paulo S.; Jafelice, Luiz C.; Horvath, Jorge E.

2016-01-01

This study reviews 10 years of "Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education" (RELEA), showing that the journal has become a valuable resource for publishing and highlights its pathway as scholarly journal. Furthermore, it is also a call to astronomy education specialists to consolidate their efforts considering similar journals…

A Sourcebook of Cooperative Learning Activities for Introductory Undergraduate Astronomy for Non-Science Majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deming, Grace L.; Miller, Scott T.; Trasco, John D.

1996-05-01

Students become more interested in learning and retain more in courses that rely on active rather than passive teaching methods. Cooperative learning activities can be structured to engage students toward greater participation in their own education. We have developed a sourcebook containing a variety of cooperative learning methods and activities to aid in the teaching of astronomy at the undergraduate level. Special effort has been made to include activities that can be used within the classroom or as a group homework assignment, in courses with teaching assistants and those without, and in large or small classes. In addition to reinforcing concepts taught in introductory astronomy, the activities are structured to strengthen skills associated with a scientifically literate person. A goal of undergraduate science education is to produce citizens who can understand and share in the excitement of scientific discoveries as well as make informed decisions regarding scientific and technological issues. The sourcebook, available in August, 1996, will contain sections on the advantages/disadvantages of group activities, basic cooperative learning techniques, in class/out of class activities, and how to use peer instruction to expose students to the wonderfaul astronomy resources on the internet. Each activity includes suggestions to the instructor as to how the assignment can be incorporated into an introductory astronomy course. This project funded by NSF DUE-9354503.

Summary: Special Session SpS15: Data Intensive Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montmerle, Thierry

2015-03-01

A new paradigm in astronomical research has been emerging - ``Data Intensive Astronomy'' that utilizes large amounts of data combined with statistical data analyses. The first research method in astronomy was observations by our eyes. It is well known that the invention of telescope impacted the human view on our Universe (although it was almost limited to the solar system), and lead to Keplerfs law that was later used by Newton to derive his mechanics. Newtonian mechanics then enabled astronomers to provide the theoretical explanation to the motion of the planets. Thus astronomers obtained the second paradigm, theoretical astronomy. Astronomers succeeded to apply various laws of physics to reconcile phenomena in the Universe; e.g., nuclear fusion was found to be the energy source of a star. Theoretical astronomy has been paired with observational astronomy to better understand the background physics in observed phenomena in the Universe. Although theoretical astronomy succeeded to provide good physical explanations qualitatively, it was not easy to have quantitative agreements with observations in the Universe. Since the invention of high-performance computers, however, astronomers succeeded to have the third research method, simulations, to get better agreements with observations. Simulation astronomy developed so rapidly along with the development of computer hardware (CPUs, GPUs, memories, storage systems, networks, and others) and simulation codes.

John Quincy Adams's rhetorical crusade for astronomy.

PubMed

Portolano, M

2000-09-01

Astronomy thrived in Europe during the early nineteenth century, but in the United States a utilitarian mind-set opposed it. John Quincy Adams's oratory in support of American astronomical discovery reached its peak during congressional debate over the Smithsonian Institution (1838-1846). During this debate Adams countered proposals to found a university with plans for an observatory. His addresses to congressional and public audiences about observatories and astronomy were intended to foster interest in the science and encourage the growing astronomical community in America. Although the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., was established before the Smithsonian debate ended, many considered Adams its political father. Adams composed his speeches on astronomy in a systematic manner, following neoclassical principles of rhetoric that he had taught at Harvard University. His speeches both in and outside of Congress show evidence of the rhetorical principles he conscientiously used in the service of astronomy.

47 CFR 5.91 - Notification of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Notification of the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory. In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box NZ2, Green Bank, West Virginia, 24944, in writing, of the technical...

47 CFR 5.91 - Notification of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notification of the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory. In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box NZ2, Green Bank, West Virginia, 24944, in writing, of the technical...

47 CFR 5.91 - Notification of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Notification of the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory. In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy... Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box NZ2, Green Bank, West Virginia, 24944, in writing, of the technical...

Women's and men's career choices in astronomy and astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivie, Rachel; White, Susan; Chu, Raymond Y.

2016-12-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] The Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students (LSAGS) arose from the 2003 Women in Astronomy Conference, where it was noted that a majority of young members of the American Astronomical Society were women. The astronomy community wishes to make every effort to retain young women in astronomy, so they commissioned a longitudinal study to be conducted that would pinpoint the factors that contribute to retention in general, with a focus on differences between women and men. The LSAGS follows a cohort of people who were graduate students in astronomy or astrophysics during 2006-07. The first survey was conducted during 2007-08 and the second during 2012-13. The analysis presented in this paper used a subset of the respondents, all of whom had Ph.D.s in astronomy, astrophysics, or a related field at the time of the second survey. We tested the effects of four major concepts on two measures of attrition from physics and astronomy. These concepts included the imposter syndrome, mentoring and advising during graduate school, the "two-body problem" that occurs when a couple needs to find two jobs in the same geographic area, and the sex of the respondent. While the imposter syndrome and mentoring affected the likelihood of respondents' thinking about leaving the field, they did not directly contribute to actually working in a field that was not physics or astronomy. Relationship with graduate advisors and the two-body problem both had significant effects on working in physics or astronomy, as did completing a postdoc. The sex of the respondent had no direct effect on our measures of attrition, but indirectly affected attrition because women were less likely to report positive relationships with graduate advisors and more likely to report two-body problems. This research identifies specific areas of concern that can be addressed by the scientific community to increase the retention of all people

A Three-Year Program of Micro- and Nano-System Technology Development for X-Ray Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Canizares, Claude R.

1997-01-01

For many years the work at MIT aimed at the development of new concepts and technologies for space experiments in high-energy astrophysics, but not explicitly supported by flight programs, has been supported. This work has yielded new devices and techniques for X-ray astronomy, primarily low-noise, deep-depletion charge-coupled devices (CCDS) for spectrally-resolved X-ray imaging, and high-performance transmission gratings for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. Among the most significant recent achievements have been the development by G. Ricker and associates of the X-ray CCD camera flying on ASCA, and currently in development for AXAF and Astro-E, and the development by C. Canizares and associates of thick, 200 nm-period transmission gratings employing the phenomenon of phase shifting for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy up to energies of 8- 1 0 keV that is essential for the operation of the AXAF High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS). Through the current SR&T grant, the latter technology is now being extended successfully to the fabrication of 100 nm-period transmission gratings, which have twice the dispersion of the AXAF gratings. We note that, among other outcomes, the modest investments of past SR&T Grants at MIT resulted in the development of the key technologies for fully one-half of the scientific instrumentation on AXAF. In addition, NASA flight programs that have benefited from previous SR&T support at MIT include the SAS 3 X-ray Observatory, which carried the first rotation modulation collimator, the Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer (FPCS) on the Einstein Observatory, the CCD cameras on ASCA and planned for Astro-E, the High Energy Transient Experiment (HETE), the Solar EUV Monitor on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the Medium Energy Neutral Atom imager (MENA) on the Image for Magnetopause-to-aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) mission, and the recently-approved Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers (TWINS

Improving Teach Astronomy: A Survey of Instructors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)