Astronomical Observations: a Guide for Allied Researchers
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Manastash Ridge Observatory History by Julie Lutz
Manastash Ridge Observatory History by Julie Lutz MRO Site Survey: Western Washington has a well-deserved reputation for clouds and rainy weather. Hence, the desirability of an observatory for professional astronomers in Washington state was not instantly obvious. However, a drive to the east side of the Cascade mountains yields much better weather. Long time University of Washington (UW) astronomer Theodor Jacobson started thinking about convenient telescope access for faculty and students when the university decided to expand astronomy dramatically in the mid-1960s. When the first UW astronomy department chair George Wallerstein arrived in 1965, he immediately started a campaign to get a research telescope. Wallerstein came to UW from Berkeley where faculty and Ph.D. students had ready access to telescopes, including a productive 20-inch. He felt strongly that a high-quality research telescope in Washington state would help create a high-quality astronomy department. A grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) provided enough money to purchase automated cameras for a site survey and a 16-inch Boller and Chivens telescope. The eastern side of the Cascade mountains was the obvious region to survey for the best telescope location. The site had to be within reasonable driving distance of the UW Seattle campus and have road access on at least a dirt/gravel track. Founding telescope engineer and jack-of-all-trades Ed Mannery surveyed severall locations during 1965/66. The best site turned out to be Manastash Ridge on US Forest Service land southwest of Ellensberg. However, Rattlesnake Mountain on the Hanford Reservation (owned by the US Department of Energy) outside of Richland had a developed road and readily-available electricity. -
Precollimator for X-Ray Telescope (Stray-Light Baffle) Mindrum Precision, Inc Kurt Ponsor Mirror Tech/SBIR Workshop Wednesday, Nov 2017
Mindrum.com Precollimator for X-Ray Telescope (stray-light baffle) Mindrum Precision, Inc Kurt Ponsor Mirror Tech/SBIR Workshop Wednesday, Nov 2017 1 Overview Mindrum.com Precollimator •Past •Present •Future 2 Past Mindrum.com • Space X-Ray Telescopes (XRT) • Basic Structure • Effectiveness • Past Construction 3 Space X-Ray Telescopes Mindrum.com • XMM-Newton 1999 • Chandra 1999 • HETE-2 2000-07 • INTEGRAL 2002 4 ESA/NASA Space X-Ray Telescopes Mindrum.com • Swift 2004 • Suzaku 2005-2015 • AGILE 2007 • NuSTAR 2012 5 NASA/JPL/ASI/JAXA Space X-Ray Telescopes Mindrum.com • Astrosat 2015 • Hitomi (ASTRO-H) 2016-2016 • NICER (ISS) 2017 • HXMT/Insight 慧眼 2017 6 NASA/JPL/CNSA Space X-Ray Telescopes Mindrum.com NASA/JPL-Caltech Harrison, F.A. et al. (2013; ApJ, 770, 103) 7 doi:10.1088/0004-637X/770/2/103 Basic Structure XRT Mindrum.com Grazing Incidence 8 NASA/JPL-Caltech Basic Structure: NuSTAR Mirrors Mindrum.com 9 NASA/JPL-Caltech Basic Structure XRT Mindrum.com • XMM Newton XRT 10 ESA Basic Structure XRT Mindrum.com • XMM-Newton mirrors D. de Chambure, XMM Project (ESTEC)/ESA 11 Basic Structure XRT Mindrum.com • Thermal Precollimator on ROSAT 12 http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/ Basic Structure XRT Mindrum.com • AGILE Precollimator 13 http://agile.asdc.asi.it Basic Structure Mindrum.com • Spektr-RG 2018 14 MPE Basic Structure: Stray X-Rays Mindrum.com 15 NASA/JPL-Caltech Basic Structure: Grazing Mindrum.com 16 NASA X-Ray Effectiveness: Straylight Mindrum.com • Correct Reflection • Secondary Only • Backside Reflection • Primary Only 17 X-Ray Effectiveness Mindrum.com • The Crab Nebula by: ROSAT (1990) Chandra 18 S. -
Chapter 3: Familiarizing Yourself with the Night Sky
Chapter 3: Familiarizing Yourself With the Night Sky Introduction People of ancient cultures viewed the sky as the inaccessible home of the gods. They observed the daily motion of the stars, and grouped them into patterns and images. They assigned stories to the stars, relating to themselves and their gods. They believed that human events and cycles were part of larger cosmic events and cycles. The night sky was part of the cycle. The steady progression of star patterns across the sky was related to the ebb and flow of the seasons, the cyclical migration of herds and hibernation of bears, the correct times to plant or harvest crops. Everywhere on Earth people watched and recorded this orderly and majestic celestial procession with writings and paintings, rock art, and rock and stone monuments or alignments. When the Great Pyramid in Egypt was constructed around 2650 BC, two shafts were built into it at an angle, running from the outside into the interior of the pyramid. The shafts coincide with the North-South passage of two stars important to the Egyptians: Thuban, the star closest to the North Pole at that time, and one of the stars of Orion’s belt. Orion was The Ishango Bone, thought to be a 20,000 year old associated with Osiris, one of the Egyptian gods of the lunar calendar underworld. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming, built by Plains Indians, consists of rocks in the shape of a large circle, with lines radiating from a central hub like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. -
History of Astrometry
5 Gaia web site: http://sci.esa.int/Gaia site: web Gaia 6 June 2009 June are emerging about the nature of our Galaxy. Galaxy. our of nature the about emerging are More detailed information can be found on the the on found be can information detailed More technologies developed by creative engineers. creative by developed technologies scientists all over the world, and important conclusions conclusions important and world, the over all scientists of the Universe combined with the most cutting-edge cutting-edge most the with combined Universe the of The results from Hipparcos are being analysed by by analysed being are Hipparcos from results The expression of a widespread curiosity about the nature nature the about curiosity widespread a of expression 118218 stars to a precision of around 1 milliarcsecond. milliarcsecond. 1 around of precision a to stars 118218 trying to answer for many centuries. It is the the is It centuries. many for answer to trying created with the positions, distances and motions of of motions and distances positions, the with created will bring light to questions that astronomers have been been have astronomers that questions to light bring will accuracies obtained from the ground. A catalogue was was catalogue A ground. the from obtained accuracies Gaia represents the dream of many generations as it it as generations many of dream the represents Gaia achieving an improvement of about 100 compared to to compared 100 about of improvement an achieving orbit, the Hipparcos satellite observed the whole sky, sky, whole the observed satellite Hipparcos the orbit, ear Y of them in the solar neighbourhood. -
Messier Objects
Messier Objects From the Stocker Astroscience Center at Florida International University Miami Florida The Messier Project Main contributors: • Daniel Puentes • Steven Revesz • Bobby Martinez Charles Messier • Gabriel Salazar • Riya Gandhi • Dr. James Webb – Director, Stocker Astroscience center • All images reduced and combined using MIRA image processing software. (Mirametrics) What are Messier Objects? • Messier objects are a list of astronomical sources compiled by Charles Messier, an 18th and early 19th century astronomer. He created a list of distracting objects to avoid while comet hunting. This list now contains over 110 objects, many of which are the most famous astronomical bodies known. The list contains planetary nebula, star clusters, and other galaxies. - Bobby Martinez The Telescope The telescope used to take these images is an Astronomical Consultants and Equipment (ACE) 24- inch (0.61-meter) Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope. It has a focal ratio of F6.2 and is supported on a structure independent of the building that houses it. It is equipped with a Finger Lakes 1kx1k CCD camera cooled to -30o C at the Cassegrain focus. It is equipped with dual filter wheels, the first containing UBVRI scientific filters and the second RGBL color filters. Messier 1 Found 6,500 light years away in the constellation of Taurus, the Crab Nebula (known as M1) is a supernova remnant. The original supernova that formed the crab nebula was observed by Chinese, Japanese and Arab astronomers in 1054 AD as an incredibly bright “Guest star” which was visible for over twenty-two months. The supernova that produced the Crab Nebula is thought to have been an evolved star roughly ten times more massive than the Sun. -
Introduction to Astronomy from Darkness to Blazing Glory
Introduction to Astronomy From Darkness to Blazing Glory Published by JAS Educational Publications Copyright Pending 2010 JAS Educational Publications All rights reserved. Including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Second Edition Author: Jeffrey Wright Scott Photographs and Diagrams: Credit NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USGS, NOAA, Aames Research Center JAS Educational Publications 2601 Oakdale Road, H2 P.O. Box 197 Modesto California 95355 1-888-586-6252 Website: http://.Introastro.com Printing by Minuteman Press, Berkley, California ISBN 978-0-9827200-0-4 1 Introduction to Astronomy From Darkness to Blazing Glory The moon Titan is in the forefront with the moon Tethys behind it. These are two of many of Saturn’s moons Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, ISS, JPL, ESA, NASA 2 Introduction to Astronomy Contents in Brief Chapter 1: Astronomy Basics: Pages 1 – 6 Workbook Pages 1 - 2 Chapter 2: Time: Pages 7 - 10 Workbook Pages 3 - 4 Chapter 3: Solar System Overview: Pages 11 - 14 Workbook Pages 5 - 8 Chapter 4: Our Sun: Pages 15 - 20 Workbook Pages 9 - 16 Chapter 5: The Terrestrial Planets: Page 21 - 39 Workbook Pages 17 - 36 Mercury: Pages 22 - 23 Venus: Pages 24 - 25 Earth: Pages 25 - 34 Mars: Pages 34 - 39 Chapter 6: Outer, Dwarf and Exoplanets Pages: 41-54 Workbook Pages 37 - 48 Jupiter: Pages 41 - 42 Saturn: Pages 42 - 44 Uranus: Pages 44 - 45 Neptune: Pages 45 - 46 Dwarf Planets, Plutoids and Exoplanets: Pages 47 -54 3 Chapter 7: The Moons: Pages: 55 - 66 Workbook Pages 49 - 56 Chapter 8: Rocks and Ice: -
An Overview of New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics About the National Academies
2020 VISION An Overview of New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics About the National Academies The National Academies—comprising the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council—work together to enlist the nation’s top scientists, engineers, health professionals, and other experts to study specific issues in science, technology, and medicine that underlie many questions of national importance. The results of their deliberations have inspired some of the nation’s most significant and lasting efforts to improve the health, education, and welfare of the United States and have provided independent advice on issues that affect people’s lives worldwide. To learn more about the Academies’ activities, check the website at www.nationalacademies.org. Copyright 2011 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America This study was supported by Contract NNX08AN97G between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Contract AST-0743899 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation, and Contract DE-FG02-08ER41542 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Energy. Support for this study was also provided by the Vesto Slipher Fund. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agencies that provided support for the project. 2020 VISION An Overview of New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics Committee for a Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics ROGER D. -
Astronomy (ASTR) 1
Astronomy (ASTR) 1 ASTR 3300. Astrophysics of Planetary Astronomy (ASTR) Systems. Units: 3 Semester Prerequisite: ASTR 2300 Courses Physical principles of planetary systems and their formation, stellar structure and evolution. Formerly PHYS 370; students may not earn credit ASTR 1000. Introduction to Planetary for both courses. Astronomy. Units: 3 ASTR 3310. Astrophysics of Galaxies and Semester Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of GE mathematics requirement, area B4 Cosmology. Units: 3 A brief history of the development of astronomy followed by modern Semester Prerequisite: ASTR 2300 descriptions of our planetary system, extrasolar systems, and the Physical principles of stellar evolution, galactic structure, extragalactic possibilities of life in the universe. Discussions of methods of extending astrophysics, and cosmology. knowledge of the universe. No previous background in natural sciences is ASTR 4000. Observational Astronomy. Units: required. Satisfies GE Category B1. Formerly offered as ASTR 103. 3 ASTR 1000L. Introduction to Planetary Semester Prerequisite: ASTR 2300, PHYS 3300 or other computer Astronomy Lab. Unit: 1 programming course. Prerequisite: CSE 201 or other computer Semester Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of GE mathematics programming course requirement, area B4 Introduction to the operation of telescopes to image astronomical targets, Semester Corequisite: ASTR 1000 primarily in the optical range. Topics include night sky motion and Laboratory associated with Introduction to Planetary Astronomy (ASTR coordinate systems; digital imaging, reduction, and analysis; proposal 1000). Satisfies GE Category B3. Materials fee required. design and review; and observation run planning. Projects include observation and analysis of both pre-determined objects and objects ASTR 1010. Introduction to Galaxies and of the students' choosing. Presentations throughout the course using Cosmology. -
The Astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler
Ice Core Records – From Volcanoes to Supernovas The Astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler Tycho Brahe (1546-1601, shown at left) was a nobleman from Denmark who made astronomy his life's work because he was so impressed when, as a boy, he saw an eclipse of the Sun take place at exactly the time it was predicted. Tycho's life's work in astronomy consisted of measuring the positions of the stars, planets, Moon, and Sun, every night and day possible, and carefully recording these measurements, year after year. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630, below right) came from a poor German family. He did not have it easy growing Tycho Brahe up. His father was a soldier, who was killed in a war, and his mother (who was once accused of witchcraft) did not treat him well. Kepler was taken out of school when he was a boy so that he could make money for the family by working as a waiter in an inn. As a young man Kepler studied theology and science, and discovered that he liked science better. He became an accomplished mathematician and a persistent and determined calculator. He was driven to find an explanation for order in the universe. He was convinced that the order of the planets and their movement through the sky could be explained through mathematical calculation and careful thinking. Johannes Kepler Tycho wanted to study science so that he could learn how to predict eclipses. He studied mathematics and astronomy in Germany. Then, in 1571, when he was 25, Tycho built his own observatory on an island (the King of Denmark gave him the island and some additional money just for that purpose). -
The 100-Inch Telescope of the Mount Wilson Observatory
The 100-Inch Telescope of the Mount Wilson Observatory An International Historical Mechanical Engineering Landmark The American Society of Mechanical Engineers June 20, 1981 Mount Wilson Observatory Mount Wilson, California BACKGROUND THE MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY was founded in 1904 by the CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASH- INGTON, a private foundation for scientific research supported largely from endowments provided by Andrew Carnegie. Within a few years, the Observatory became the world center of research in the new science of astrophysics, which is the application of principles of physics to astronomical objects beyond the earth. These include the sun, the planets of our solar system, the stars in our galaxy, and the system of galaxies that reaches to the limits of the The completed facility. visible universe. SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS The Mount Wilson 100-inch reflector dominated dis- coveries in astronomy from its beginning in 1918 until the dedication of the Palomar 200-inch reflector in 1948. (Both telescopes are primarily the result of the lifework of one man — George Ellery Hale.) Many of the foundations of modern astrophysics were set down by work with this telescope. One of the most important results was the discovery that the intrinsic luminosities (total light output) of the stars could be found by inspection of the record made when starlight is dispersed into a spectrum by a prism or a grating. These so-called spectroscopic absolute lumi- nosities, discovered at Mount Wilson and developed for over forty years, opened the way to an understanding of the evolution of the stars and eventually to their ages. Perhaps the most important scientific discovery of the 20th century is that we live in an expanding Universe. -
Find Your Telescope. Your Find Find Yourself
FIND YOUR TELESCOPE. FIND YOURSELF. FIND ® 2008 PRODUCT CATALOG WWW.MEADE.COM TABLE OF CONTENTS TELESCOPE SECTIONS ETX ® Series 2 LightBridge ™ (Truss-Tube Dobsonians) 20 LXD75 ™ Series 30 LX90-ACF ™ Series 50 LX200-ACF ™ Series 62 LX400-ACF ™ Series 78 Max Mount™ 88 Series 5000 ™ ED APO Refractors 100 A and DS-2000 Series 108 EXHIBITS 1 - AutoStar® 13 2 - AutoAlign ™ with SmartFinder™ 15 3 - Optical Systems 45 FIND YOUR TELESCOPE. 4 - Aperture 57 5 - UHTC™ 68 FIND YOURSEL F. 6 - Slew Speed 69 7 - AutoStar® II 86 8 - Oversized Primary Mirrors 87 9 - Advanced Pointing and Tracking 92 10 - Electronic Focus and Collimation 93 ACCESSORIES Imagers (LPI,™ DSI, DSI II) 116 Series 5000 ™ Eyepieces 130 Series 4000 ™ Eyepieces 132 Series 4000 ™ Filters 134 Accessory Kits 136 Imaging Accessories 138 Miscellaneous Accessories 140 Meade Optical Advantage 128 Meade 4M Community 124 Astrophotography Index/Information 145 ©2007 MEADE INSTRUMENTS CORPORATION .01 RECRUIT .02 ENTHUSIAST .03 HOT ShOT .04 FANatIC Starting out right Going big on a budget Budding astrophotographer Going deeper .05 MASTER .06 GURU .07 SPECIALIST .08 ECONOMIST Expert astronomer Dedicated astronomer Wide field views & images On a budget F IND Y OURSEL F F IND YOUR TELESCOPE ® ™ ™ .01 ETX .02 LIGHTBRIDGE™ .03 LXD75 .04 LX90-ACF PG. 2-19 PG. 20-29 PG.30-43 PG. 50-61 ™ ™ ™ .05 LX200-ACF .06 LX400-ACF .07 SERIES 5000™ ED APO .08 A/DS-2000 SERIES PG. 78-99 PG. 100-105 PG. 108-115 PG. 62-76 F IND Y OURSEL F Astronomy is for everyone. That’s not to say everyone will become a serious comet hunter or astrophotographer. -
A Needs Analysis Study of Amateur Astronomers for the National Virtual Observatory : Aaron Price1 Lou Cohen1 Janet Mattei1 Nahide Craig2
A Needs Analysis Study of Amateur Astronomers For the National Virtual Observatory : Aaron Price1 Lou Cohen1 Janet Mattei1 Nahide Craig2 1Clinton B. Ford Astronomical Data & Research Center American Association of Variable Star Observers 25 Birch St, Cambridge MA 02138 2Space Sciences Laboratory University of California, Berkeley 7 Gauss Way Berkeley, CA 94720-7450 Abstract Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative processes, a survey was con- ducted of the amateur astronomy community to identify outstanding needs which the National Virtual Observatory (NVO) could fulfill. This is the final report of that project, which was conducted by The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) on behalf of the SEGway Project at the Center for Science Educations @ Space Sci- ences Laboratory, UC Berkeley. Background The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) has worked on behalf of the SEGway Project at the Center for Science Educations @ Space Sciences Labo- ratory, UC Berkeley, to conduct a needs analysis study of the amateur astronomy com- munity. The goal of the study is to identify outstanding needs in the amateur community which the National Virtual Observatory (NVO) project can fulfill. The AAVSO is a non-profit, independent organization dedicated to the study of vari- able stars. It was founded in 1911 and currently has a database of over 11 million vari- able star observations, the vast majority of which were made by amateur astronomers. The AAVSO has a rich history and extensive experience working with amateur astrono- mers and specifically in fostering amateur-professional collaboration. AAVSO Director Dr. Janet Mattei headed the team assembled by the AAVSO.