Spring 2013 a P R I L 2 0 1 3 P O I N T S O F INTEREST: the Spring 2013 Semester
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04 VO Annual Report PUB 2000.Pub
Vatican Observatory Annual Report 2004 Vatican Observatory (Castel Gandolfo) V-00120 Città del Vaticano Rome ITALY Vatican Observatory Research Group Steward Observatory University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721 USA http://vaticanobservatory.org Vatican Observatory Publications Vatican Observatory Staff The following are permanent staff members of the Vatican Observatory, Castel Gandolfo, It- aly, and the Vatican Observatory Research Group (VORG), Tucson, Arizona: GEORGE V. COYNE, S.J., Director JAMES J. BOWES, S.J. SABINO MAFFEO, S.J., RICHARD P. BOYLE, S.J. Special Assistant to the Director JUAN CASANOVAS, S.J. ALESSANDRO OMIZZOLO GUY J. CONSOLMAGNO, S.J. WILLIAM R. STOEGER, S.J. CHRISTOPHER J. CORBALLY, S.J., ANDREW P. WHITMAN, S.J., Vice Director for VORG; Administrator VORG President, National Committee to International Astronomical Union Adjunct Scholars: JOSÉ G. FUNES, S.J. EMMANUEL M. CARREIRA, S.J. JEAN-BAPTISTE KIKWAYA, S.J. LOUIS CARUANA, S.J. GIUSEPPE KOCH, S.J. MICHAEL HELLER Vice Director for Administration ROBERT JANUSZ, S.J. GUSTAV TERES, S.J. Vatican Observatory Foundation Board of Directors Officers GEORGE V. COYNE, S.J., President PAUL M. HENKELS, Chairman of the Board CHRISTOPHER J. CORBALLY, S.J., First Vice President RICHARD P. BOYLE, S.J., Second Vice President WILLIAM R. STOEGER, S.J., Secretary MANUEL J. ESPINOZA, Treasurer Directors RICHARD P. BOYLE, S.J. SHEILA GRINELL CHRISTOPHER J. CORBALLY, S.J. JOHN B. HENKELS GEORGE V. COYNE, S.J. PAUL M. HENKELS MICHAEL A. CRONIN CHRISTOPHER P. HITCHCOCK CHARLES L. CURRIE, S.J. JOHN B. HOLLYWOOD, S.J. BEN DALBY ROCCO L. MARTINO KAREN DALBY JAMES C. McGEE PAULA D’ANGELO PETER P. -
NL#145 March/April
March/April 2009 Issue 145 A Publication for the members of the American Astronomical Society 3 President’s Column John Huchra, [email protected] Council Actions I have just come back from the Long Beach meeting, and all I can say is “wow!” We received many positive comments on both the talks and the high level of activity at the meeting, and the breakout 4 town halls and special sessions were all well attended. Despite restrictions on the use of NASA funds AAS Election for meeting travel we had nearly 2600 attendees. We are also sorry about the cold floor in the big hall, although many joked that this was a good way to keep people awake at 8:30 in the morning. The Results meeting had many high points, including, for me, the announcement of this year’s prize winners and a call for the Milky Way to go on a diet—evidence was presented for a near doubling of its mass, making us a one-to-one analogue of Andromeda. That also means that the two galaxies will crash into each 4 other much sooner than previously expected. There were kickoffs of both the International Year of Pasadena Meeting Astronomy (IYA), complete with a wonderful new movie on the history of the telescope by Interstellar Studios, and the new Astronomy & Astrophysics Decadal Survey, Astro2010 (more on that later). We also had thought provoking sessions on science in Australia and astronomy in China. My personal 6 prediction is that the next decade will be the decade of international collaboration as science, especially astronomy and astrophysics, continues to become more and more collaborative and international in Highlights from nature. -
An Analysis of the First Three Catalogues of Southern Star Clusters and Nebulae
ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Cozens, Glendyn John (2008) An analysis of the first three catalogues of southern star clusters and nebulae. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/24051/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/24051/ Nicolas-Louis de La Caille, James Dunlop and John Herschel – An analysis of the First Three Catalogues of Southern Star Clusters and Nebulae Thesis submitted by Glendyn John COZENS BSc London, DipEd Adelaide in June 2008 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Information Technology James Cook University STATEMENT OF ACCESS I, the undersigned, author of this work, understand that James Cook University will make this thesis available for use within the University Library and, via the Australian Digital Theses network, for use elsewhere. I understand that, as an unpublished work, a thesis has significant protection under the Copyright Act and; I do not wish to place any further restriction on access to this work. ____________________ Signature Date ii STATEMENT OF SOURCES DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institution of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. -
A Systematics for Interpreting Past Structures with Possible Cosmic References in Sub-Saharan Africa
A SYSTEMATICS FOR INTERPRETING PAST STRUCTURES WITH POSSIBLE COSMIC REFERENCES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Richard Peter Wade MASTERS THESIS MSc:: Applliied Sciiences Uniiversiity of Pretoriia © University of Pretoria 2 MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS Submiitted as part of the requiirements for the degree of Masters of Sciience in Applliied Sciiences.. Facullty of Engiineeriing,, Buiillt Enviironment and Informatiion Technollogy – In the Department Archiitecture at Uniiversiity of Pretoriia Supervisors – Prof Gwen Theron (Superviisor) Prof Roger Fiisher (Co-Superviisor) Prof Karll Bakker (Head of Department) External – Prof Clliive Rugglles (UK) Prof Chriis van Vuuren (SA) Richard Peter Wade Uniiversiity of Pretoriia January 2009 3 Acknowledgements I am grateful to all my acquain tances, and family for their kind assistance throughout the many yea rs of researching the impossible. Many years were spen t in rural and urban settings with meager resources to achieve a better understanding of how the universe works. Perhaps this contribution can be applied to a better purpose for a beneficial future by resurrec ting tested lifestyles and emulating the past successes. To the follow ing, a special heartfelt thank you for so much: - Professors Gwen Theron, Roger Fisher, Ora Joubert, Chris van Vuuren, Hann es Eloff, Stanley Liftschitz, Aeneas Chigwedere, Felix Chami, Hannes Rautenbach, Karel Bakker, Victor Ralushai, Dave Laney, Alex Duffey, Andre De Villiers, M. E. R. Mathivha, Jean-Pierre Delaporte, Mathole Motshekga, Bradley Schaefer, Anthony Aveni, E C -
A Systematics for Interpreting Past Structures with Possible Cosmic References in Sub-Saharan Africa
A SYSTEMATICS FOR INTERPRETING PAST STRUCTURES WITH POSSIBLE COSMIC REFERENCES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Richard Peter Wade MASTERS THESIS MSc:: Applliied Sciiences Uniiversiity of Pretoriia © University of Pretoria 2 MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS Submiitted as part of the requiirements for the degree of Masters of Sciience in Applliied Sciiences.. Facullty of Engiineeriing,, Buiillt Enviironment and Informatiion Technollogy – In the Department Archiitecture at Uniiversiity of Pretoriia Supervisors – Prof Gwen Theron (Superviisor) Prof Roger Fiisher (Co-Superviisor) Prof Karll Bakker (Head of Department) External – Prof Clliive Rugglles (UK) Prof Chriis van Vuuren (SA) Richard Peter Wade Uniiversiity of Pretoriia January 2009 3 Acknowledgements I am grateful to all my acquain tances, and family for their kind assistance throughout the many yea rs of researching the impossible. Many years were spen t in rural and urban settings with meager resources to achieve a better understanding of how the universe works. Perhaps this contribution can be applied to a better purpose for a beneficial future by resurrec ting tested lifestyles and emulating the past successes. To the follow ing, a special heartfelt thank you for so much: - Professors Gwen Theron, Roger Fisher, Ora Joubert, Chris van Vuuren, Hann es Eloff, Stanley Liftschitz, Aeneas Chigwedere, Felix Chami, Hannes Rautenbach, Karel Bakker, Victor Ralushai, Dave Laney, Alex Duffey, Andre De Villiers, M. E. R. Mathivha, Jean-Pierre Delaporte, Mathole Motshekga, Bradley Schaefer, Anthony Aveni, E C -
Pi of the Sky” Detector
University of Warsaw Faculty of Physics Modelling of the “Pi of the Sky” detector Lech Wiktor Piotrowski PhD thesis written under supervision of prof. dr hab. Aleksander Filip Żarnecki arXiv:1111.0004v1 [astro-ph.IM] 31 Oct 2011 Warsaw, 2011 Abstract The ultimate goal of the “Pi of the Sky” apparatus is observation of optical flashes of astronomical origin and other light sources variable on short timescales, down to tens of seconds. We search mainly for optical emission of Gamma Ray Bursts, but also for variable stars, novae, blazars, etc. This task requires an accurate measurement of the source’s brightness (and it’s variability), which is difficult as “Pi of the Sky” single camera has a large field of view of about 20◦ × 20◦. This causes a significant deformation of a point spread function (PSF), reducing quality of brightness and position measurement with standard photometric and astrometric algorithms. Improvement requires a careful study and modelling of PSF, which is the main topic of the presented thesis. A dedicated laboratory setup has been created for obtaining isolated, high quality profiles, which in turn were used as the input for mathematical models. Two different models are shown: diffractive, simulating light propagation through lenses and effective, modelling the PSF shape in the image plane. The effective model, based on PSF parametrization with selected Zernike polynomials describes the data well and was used in photometry and astrometry analysis of the frames from the “Pi of the Sky” prototype working in Chile. No improvement compared to standard algorithms was observed in brightness measurements, however more than factor of 2 improvement in astrometry accuracy was reached for bright stars. -
![Arxiv:2010.06108V2 [Physics.Hist-Ph] 6 Jul 2021](https://docslib.b-cdn.net/cover/2344/arxiv-2010-06108v2-physics-hist-ph-6-jul-2021-4502344.webp)
Arxiv:2010.06108V2 [Physics.Hist-Ph] 6 Jul 2021
CONSTELLATIONS ACROSS CULTURES 1 Perceptual grouping explains similarities in constellations across cultures Charles Kemp1, Duane W. Hamacher2, Daniel R. Little1, and Simon J. Cropper1 1Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne 2School of Physics, University of Melbourne Author Note Charles Kemp https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9683-8737 Duane W. Hamacher https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3072-8468 Daniel R. Little https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3607-5525 Simon J. Cropper https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3574-6414 arXiv:2010.06108v2 [physics.hist-ph] 6 Jul 2021 Code and data are available at https://github.com/cskemp/constellations We acknowledge the Indigenous custodians of the traditional astronomical knowledge used in this paper, and thank Joshua Abbott, Celia Kemp, Bradley Schaefer and Yuting Zhang for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported in part by ARC FT190100200, ARC DE140101600, the McCoy Seed Fund, the Laby Foundation, the Pierce Bequest, and by a seed grant from the Royal Society of Victoria. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Charles Kemp, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. E-mail: [email protected] CONSTELLATIONS ACROSS CULTURES 2 Abstract Cultures around the world organise stars into constellations, or asterisms, and these groupings are often considered to be arbitrary and culture-specific. Yet there are striking similarities in asterisms across cultures, and groupings such as Orion, the Big Dipper, the Pleiades and the Southern Cross are widely recognized across many different cultures. Psychologists have informally suggested that these shared patterns are explained by Gestalt laws of grouping, but there have been no systematic attempts to catalog asterisms that recur across cultures or to explain the perceptual basis of these groupings. -
Ardua Et Astra: on the Calculation of the Dates of the Rising and Setting of Stars
M. Robinson, UCL Ardua et Astra 1 Ardua et Astra: On the Calculation of the Dates of the Rising and Setting of Stars Accepted for publication in Classical Philology in June 2007 (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/CP/home.html) From our earliest texts onwards, we find classical authors referring to the time of year by means of the rising and setting of various stars and constellations. Hesiod encourages us to begin the harvest at the rising of the Pleiades, and to plough at their setting; Alcaeus encourages us to drink at the rising of Sirius; and Horace assures us that a man content with his lot is not disturbed at the setting of Arcturus or the rising of Haedus. 1 Indeed, Quintilian suggests that a knowledge of the stars is necessary to understand poetry, because poets so often specify the time by means of the rising and setting of stars. 2 However, it is not just poets who rely on the stars to specify the time: we find a similar use in prose authors such as Thucydides or Hippocrates. 3 This is unsurprising, as before the reform of Julius Caesar, the calendars of the Greeks and Romans, with their erratic intercalations, were frequently out of step with the seasons and often gave no reliable indication of the time of year. 4 It is often helpful to know when these phenomena actually took place; and in some cases, such as Ovid’s Fasti , it can inform both textual and literary criticism. In the Fasti Ovid provides over forty dates for the rising and setting of various stars and constellations, following the tradition of the Greek parapegmata. -
A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism
A SCIENTIFIC DISSENT FROM DARWINISM “We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.” This was last publicly updated May 2021. Scientists listed by doctoral degree or current position. Philip Skell* Emeritus, Evan Pugh Prof. of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University Member of the National Academy of Sciences Lyle H. Jensen* Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Biological Structure & Dept. of Biochemistry University of Washington, Fellow AAAS Maciej Giertych Full Professor, Institute of Dendrology Polish Academy of Sciences Lev Beloussov Prof. of Embryology, Honorary Prof., Moscow State University Member, Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Eugene Buff Ph.D. Genetics Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences Emil Palecek Prof. of Molecular Biology, Masaryk University; Leading Scientist Inst. of Biophysics, Academy of Sci., Czech Republic K. Mosto Onuoha Shell Professor of Geology & Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Univ. of Nigeria Fellow, Nigerian Academy of Science Ferenc Jeszenszky Former Head of the Center of Research Groups Hungarian Academy of Sciences M.M. Ninan Former President Hindustan Academy of Science, Bangalore University (India) Denis Fesenko Junior Research Fellow, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia) Sergey I. Vdovenko Senior Research Assistant, Department of Fine Organic Synthesis Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and Petrochemistry Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences (Ukraine) Henry Schaefer Director, Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry University of Georgia Paul Ashby Ph.D. Chemistry Harvard University Israel Hanukoglu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Chairman The College of Judea and Samaria (Israel) Alan Linton Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology University of Bristol (UK) Dean Kenyon Emeritus Professor of Biology San Francisco State University David W. -
AAS NEWSLETTER Issue 124 a Publication for the Members of the American Astronomical Society
March 2005 AAS NEWSLETTER Issue 124 A Publication for the members of the American Astronomical Society AAS EXECUTIVE OFFICER BOB MILKEY TO RETIRE IN 2006 Inside Bob Milkey, who has ably served as AAS Executive Officer for nearly 11 years, has announced his intention to retire at the end of June 2006. After a long orbit through Baltimore, where he worked at the Space 3-4 Telescope Science Institute, and his service to the AAS in Washington, Milkey is eager to return to President’s Tucson, where he served on the scientific staff of the Solar Division of the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Column AAS President Bob Kirshner praised Milkey’s contribution: “Until I became President, I had only a vague 4 idea of what the Executive Officer did. Now I know that having someone like Bob Milkey, who understands Minneapolis what the Society is about and who has the skill and good sense to help us do those things every day, is Meeting essential to make the AAS operate successfully. He’s been an excellent Executive Officer and we will need to work hard to make sure we find a worthy successor.” 5 Election Results Kirshner is taking the lead to form a search committee to help define the job and to find the next Executive Officer. Full details of the search will be announced through the AAS electronic announcements and the 5 AAS Job Register. The goal is to find a successor by January 2006 to provide adequate time for the new Council Actions person to benefit from Bob’s knowledge before he departs. -
COLUMN ONE Ptolemy Tilted Off His Axis Studying a Statue of Atlas Holding the Sky, an American Astronomer Finds Key Evidence Of
COLUMN ONE You might call Brad Schaefer a detective to the stars. Ptolemy Tilted Off His Axis That's Antares, not Aniston. Betelgeuse, not Studying a statue of Atlas holding the sky, an Michael Keaton. American astronomer finds key evidence of what could be a major fraud in science history. When Schaefer's not cramming Astronomy 101 By John Johnson into his students at Louisiana State University in Times Staff Writer Baton Rouge, he is chasing his quarry across the starry landscape like a celestial Sherlock Holmes. March 30, 2005 Over the course of his career, he has written more In a sunlit gallery of the Museo Archeologico than 250 articles on such quirky subjects as how the Nazionale in Italy, astronomer Brad Schaefer came stars influenced Egyptian civilization and why face to face with an ancient statue known as the people seem to kill themselves when Halley's comet Farnese Atlas. comes around. For centuries, the 7-foot marble figure of the "I like to tell stories," he said. mythological Atlas has bent in stoic agony with a sphere of the cosmos crushing his shoulders. Dressed casually in tennis shoes and loose clothing, he looks younger than his 48 years. Backyard Carved on the sphere — one of only three celestial inventor, chess expert and former world-ranked globes that have survived from Greco-Roman times tiddlywinks player, the MIT graduate can seem the — are figures representing 41 of the 48 stereotypical absent-minded professor and perpetual constellations of classical antiquity, as well as the adolescent. celestial equator, tropics and meridians. -
On the Clarity of Visibility Tests Dennis W
On the Clarity of Visibility Tests Dennis W. Duke Florida State University The Almagest1 star catalog (ASC) has for centuries invited speculation about who actually compiled it. Of its many curious features, the fact that the catalog contains no stars which are visible in Alexandria but not visible in Rhodes suggested to Delambre2 that perhaps the catalog was actually compiled by Hipparchus, who is known to have lived in Rhodes (at about 36° north latitude), and not by Ptolemy, the author of the Almagest, who is known to have lived in Alexandria (at about 31° north latitude). In 1982 Rawlins3 constructed a model that, subject to its assumptions, provides a quantitative test of how well the catalog’s southern limit tells us the latitude of the observer. Rawlins’ application of the model produced a clear signal in favor of an observer at the latitude of Rhodes. In 2001 Schaefer4 used Rawlins’ basic model but with an updated set of technical inputs to reach a substantially different conclusion, basically favoring an observer at the latitude of Alexandria for at least three quadrants of the sky. It is the purpose of this paper to carefully examine exactly how the model works, and how conclusive are the results of either Rawlins’ or Schaefer’s analysis. Here is how the model works: we assume as input all the stars in the sky that are visible to the naked eye, and a catalog, in this case the ASC, that contains some subset of these stars. For each such star, we compute its apparent magnitude m and a probability of visual detection Pdet, which is a function of m.