PoS(sps5)025 http://pos.sissa.it/ ∗ [email protected] Speaker. In the distant past,science astronomy became was a often distinct cultural intertwinedtions enterprise, with with astronomy religion other has into fields. witnessed a a Mathematicalical variety unified statistics problems, of was cosmos. and rich stimulated today interac- in astrostatistics As the ismethodology 19th a to century small address by but challenges astronom- growing in cross-disciplinaryastronomy astronomical field became data advancing closely analysis. allied with Throughout physics the suchfoundly 20th that intertwined. astronomy century, and astrophysics Physical are chemistry nowin pro- played the a Milky major Way Galaxy, role and inmic astrochemistry molecular the is processes. identification now The an of importance active of molecules instrumentation), subfield cross-disciplinary interactions giving Earth with insights sciences engineering into (for (for cos- planetaryand studies), life computer sciences science (for astrobiology) (for is astroinformatics) also growing.both for Cross-disciplinary research crucial has discoveries been in essential astronomy andIt for should improving the be quality fostered of astronomicalsufficient with research. funding increased to nurture flexibility these in fields. the training of young astronomers and with ∗ Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence. c

Accelerating the Rate of Astronomical Discovery,August sps5 11-14, 2009 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Eric D. Feigelson Cross-disciplinary research in astronomy Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, PennsylvaniaLaboratory, State University University, Park 525 PA Davey 16802 U.S.A. E-mail: PoS(sps5)025 ]: 1 Eric D. Feigelson 2 ]: 13 Yahweh our Lord, how magnificent isWhen your I name witness ... your heavens thethe work moon of and your stars fingers that youWhat set are in mortals place that you mindYet them you ... made them little lesswith than glory divine and honor adorned them you gave them reign over your hands’ work. [I]n month XI, the 18th day, Venuswill became bring visible his in rain, the east: Ea his springs floods; will open, king Adad will send messages of reconciliation to king. The intertwining of astronomy with religion and human affairs was sundered in the cosmol- In this context, it is interesting to note that cosmologies integrating astronomy with terrestrial Similar links between the deity, celestial and terrestrial affairs were present in ancient Judaism, In many ancient and long-lived civilizations, astronomy was a cross-disciplinary enterprise in Earth, Air, Fire and Water. In traditional Christian cosmology, which incorporated much of Aris- ogy of Aristotle which dominated EuropeanHere thinking the from immutable Hellenistic heavenly realm through was Renaissance‘quintessential’ totally times. substance separated of from the the celestial mundane realm sublunary− had realm. no The relation to the substancetotelian of terrestrial science, world humanity reigned overcould the attain the terrestrial heavenly world realm and,astrological after with death. connections sufficient between Both faith astronomical their andconsequence, study grace, positions during of and the the heavenly terrestrial Middle objects Ages,empires events and than astronomical were in research Christian discouraged. Europe. was far As stronger a under the Islamic sciences did arise in theheim, Hermetic or tradition Paracelsus, outside in of the church 16th century teachings. was Theophrastus a of leading Hohen- figure who established important principles a monotheistic culture with Mesopotamiandraws heritage. a link Psalm between 8 God’s from powerthe as the terrestrial creator Davidic world of era [ the (c. celestial bodies 1000 and BC) the human dominion over the broadest sense. Theworldview interpretation with of little celestial differentiation bodies between andlonia, (what motions astronomical we bodies was today were an call) simultaneously integral science associatedand part with and with the of religion. human measures the affairs. of In Remnants time, Baby- of withdays these deities, of relationships the still week. remain Monday, in Friday therespectively, and English which Saturday language were in in associated the turn with the were"Monday" Moon, associated and Venus and with "Saturday" Saturn the retain the deitiesmanic goddess link Sin, of directly, Ishtar Venus. while and For "Friday"both Ninurta. the global is Babylonians, events named The like the famines after words astronomical or Frigg, deitieson floods the and were the personal directly Ger- positions events. involved Here, of in eachand the person’s human fortune celestial events depends bodies provided the at foundationtoday. their for The astrology birth. cuneiform which, Venus Tablet like Babylonian of the Ammisaduqa associations days from of between c.1700 the celestial B.C. week, presents endures omens such as [ Cross-disciplinary astronomy 1. The close integration of astronomy and culture in early societies PoS(sps5)025 Eric D. Feigelson Harmony of the ]: 11 3 ]. He developed a cosmology known as Scientific framework of Paracelsus 30 Astrology AlchemySunMoon Medicine Jupiter GoldVenus Silver TinSaturn CopperMars Heart Brain LeadMercury Kidneys Liver Quicksliver Iron Lungs Spleen Gall bladder Table 1: where celestial bodies were associated with (al)chemical substances and the condition of The goal of science is tothe unlock development nature’s secrets. of ... theoretical Ourobservations models understanding comes as which through well are as capable makingphisticated of testable mathematical explaining predictions. and the computational existing ... approachesus have through Fortunately, been this a developed interface, variety to these of help go under so- the general heading of statistical inference. Today, astronomy has strong connections to other sciences, as outlined in the following sec- Unlike earlier times, a strong barrier now separates astronomy from commonly held religious The field of statistics can be viewed as the mathematics of presenting and analyzing empir- The application of statistics torequires scientific careful data statement is of notcalculation the a problem, of straightforward formulation statistical mechanical of quantities, enterprise,vast models, and in but choice its judicious of scope evaluation and statisticalinference. of methodology, methods, so the it result. is difficult to Modern choose statistics optimal is paths for interpretation and tions. Unlike Aristotleian science, modernand astronomy processes understands (e.g. that gravitational the force) substanceworld. in (e.g. celestial Except objects atoms) for is the the newly same recognizedresearch material but Dark not as Matter yet in and discovered the Dark in terrestrial Energyterrestrial laboratories, inferred sciences this from represents of astronomical an physics, integration geology, chemistry of astronomy and with mathematics. the and philosophical beliefs (except forfoundation). the For continuing example, galaxies belief or in extrasolar astrology planetsa are real which not potential has associated for with little a deities. evidential re-integration Butscience, of there astronomy is astronomy with broader is culture. most AmongHollywood all widely movies, fields new known of magazines, physical and and popular enjoyed images. in media such as2. science Astronomy fiction and books, statistics ical data. It alsoprocesses is in a the physical tool world for from scientific limited observations induction, [ allowing generalization about populations and Cross-disciplinary astronomy of modern chemistry andUniverse medicine [ human organs (Table 1). Thus, specificbe diseases cured could by be application caused of by appropriate planetary metals. positions and might PoS(sps5)025 − Dialogue on the Eric D. Feigelson ]. From Greek times to the present, 27 . He recommended using the mean of all ob- 4 ]. Texts in statistics used examples from the biological 21 , 3 ]. In the early 19th century, Laplace and Legendre developed methods for param- 12 An example of a topic in astrostatistics is the treatment of samples (e.g., stars, galaxies, sources In recent decades, astronomers have increasing recognized the need for the sophisticated tools Newton’s theory of gravity provided a new understanding of the motions of Solar System bod- However, from the late-19th through the late-20th centuries, the close collaboration between Thus, astronomers and statisticians substantially broke contact. By the late 20th century, the Astronomy, as the oldest observational science, played an unusually important role in the de- at various wavelengths) which represent only tiny fractions of the underlying populations in the least squares, maximum likelihood, andvalidation Bayesian. are subtle Methodological and issues may in be widely model debated. selection and of modern statistics. Thefields. challenges Whenever faced a table in is modern presented with(in astronomy measured rows), span properties multivariate (in analysis an columns) is amazing for needed. afication range sample If is of of the involved. objects sub- sample If is variability heterogeneous, inIf some then the property multivariate classi- is spatial studied, distribution then ofin time 3-dimensional objects series redshift analysis is space, is present required. stars (e.g., inand 6-dimensional spatial photons point astrometric on processes space), are a then involved. 2-dimensional density Ifformula the estimation image, like data are a galaxies fit powerlaw to or a a parametricsion complicated function, and either function parameter a derived heuristic estimation from is astrophysical theory, pursued. then Several regres- approaches to parametric modeling are used or human sciences, rather than from the physical sciences. ies which in turn raisedobservations new [ challenges in the application of mathematical formulae to discrepant procedures for obtaining the ‘best’debated. estimate Hipparchus from advocated discrepant choosing astronomical the observations middleal-Biruni have of recommend been the the two mean extreme of valuesone the while measurement Ptolemy extremes. be and made, Some fearing medieval that scholars errorsments increased recommended were rather made. that than Galileo only decreased provided as a repeated moreTwo measure- modern Great discussion World in Views, his Ptolemaic his 1632 and book servations, Copernican and he outlined in non-mathematicalerrors language later incorporated many by of Gauss the into properties his of quantitative observational theory. eter estimation involving the minimizationresiduals of between the the largest datafoundation absolute and by residual model. Gauss or using the the The normalrapidly sum least (or became of squares Gaussian) the square theory method principal of was interpretive errors.was placed tool widely Least on known for squares as a computations scientific the observations, probabilistic ‘astronomicalmany and leading error astronomers Gauss’ function’. contributed distribution During to the least latter squares theory. part of the 19thastronomy century, and statistics dramatically declined.mography, economics, Statisticians medicine, concentrated psychology, and on industries human such sciences: asAstronomers, agriculture de- and already manufacturing. dependent onpower Newtonian of gravity, modern physics: increasingly electromagnetism, recognized thermodynamics, the quantum mechanics, explanatory and relativity. curriculum for training astronomers wasstatistical heavily dominated theory by or physics application. withsquares few Astronomers method, if from learned any practical basic courses guides statistical [ in methods, such as the least velopment of statistical methodology in past centuries [ Cross-disciplinary astronomy PoS(sps5)025 ]. 15 Statistical O, formalde- 2 ]. Eric D. Feigelson 3000 K, so it was 17 , > ]; the likelihood ratio 25 T 8 , water H ]; and the Kolmogorov- 3 23 ]. Methodological developments 5 , 32 ]. Two Nobel laureates and authors of major ]. Statisticians had little experience with trun- 33 5 16 ], followed by ammonia NH 31 minimization for model fitting (Legendre 1805, Pearson 2 χ series bring experts from both fields together. Summer schools ]. However, astronomical non-detections were tied to heteroscedastic 26 , 7 (http://r-project.org) as the dominant public domain software system for statistical R CO and carbon monoxide CO. Today, over 150 molecular species have been detected in ]. A number of long-lived collaborations between astronomers and statisticians are now 2 14 On the other hand, the frontier of methodology in astronomical research has an active van- The current state of statistical usage in astronomy is mixed. One one hand, the average study Optical emission is characteristically produced by gases at temperatures monographs on molecular spectroscopy, Gerhard Herzberg and Charles Townes, were actively in- guard of experts, bothA in particularly applying strong existing interest advancedogy in statistics [ Bayesian and modeling in is developing rapidly new emerging, methods. particularly in cosmol- thought that the baryonic universe was mostlycame in the evident form through of the atomic 20th and century ionizedin that gases. the a It Galactic cold slowly be- component interstellar of medium. moleculartion Most gases of were lines these also from molecules present are quantized identifiedhydroxyl rotational molecule by transitions OH emission was or in first absorp- identified thehyde [ millimeter H and submillimeter bands.interstellar clouds The and circumstellar envelopes [ 1901); Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests for goodness-of-fit measures (Kolmogorovcomponents 1933); analysis and for principal multivariate structurerecent (Hotelling 1936). decades are A not myriad widely methodsmisused: developed known incompatible in among least-squares astronomers. fits are Even often viewed traditional interchangeably procedures [ are often uses only a narrowtemporal range analysis; of least-squares and long-established methods: Fourier transforms (Fourier, 1809) for active such as the California/Harvard/ASCtional AstroStatistics Astrostatistics Collaboration, Group, and International the Computa- Center for Astrostatistics. Conferences such as the cation, and major advances werederived made the unique within maximum-likelihood the nonparametric astronomical estimatormathematical community. for properties randomly Lynden-Bell have (1971) truncated been data; studied its by statisticians [ test for comparing two models is oftenSmirnov applied goodness-of-fit outside test its is allowed range used [ instead of the more sensitivie Anderson-Darling test [ Challenges in Modern Astronomy for brief training in statistical principlesemergence and of software have emerged on four continents. The recent measurement errors (i.e., different for eachties observation), and and an upper integrated limits treatment has of uncertain- only recently begun [ analysis and visualization is anreluctance important to purchase development, expensive as proprietary astronomers systems designed had for been other hampered communities. by a 3. Astronomy and chemistry Cross-disciplinary astronomy nearby universe. StatisticalFlux inference limits is at needed the to telescopestatistical make jargon, lead or the to entirely leap non-detections missing sources, of fromdeveloped known known samples as for sources, truncation. to biomedical The known research populations. field as of andtreating left-censoring ‘survival industrial censored analysis’, in data quality [ assurance, was found to be effective in for estimating luminosity functions from truncated data is continuing today [ PoS(sps5)025 . 2 H 3 Eric D. Feigelson 1400 K. However, > T 1100 K, and is the likely ]. < 9 T < laboratory discharge, but it was unclear what 10 K, non-equilibrium reactions in molecular 2 ∼ H 6 2 T ]. A strong unidentified emission line had been seen at 29 , 28 ]. A chemist with expertise in soot formation in terrestrial hydrocarbon com- or cyclopropenylidene (Figure 1). Dozens of other emission and absorption 2 2 Structure of the interstellar organic ring molecule cyclopropenylidene, c-C H 3 Figure 1: Another example of effective cross-disciplinary interaction in astrochemistry was the introduc- The discovery of cyclopropenyldiene, the first interstellar organic ring molecule, illustrates the m. Originally nicknamed the ‘unidentified infrared emission bands’, their association with PAH µ tion of insights from hydrocarbon combustionpolycyclic into aromatic the hydrocarbons explanation or for PAHs. the A formationdusty galaxies significant of is fraction interstellar emitted of in several the broad bolometric emission luminosity bands centered of around 3.3, 6.2, 7.7,molecules, 8.6 essentially and small 11.3 2-dimensional components ofouter graphite with edges, hydrogen was atoms along facilitated the byautomobile exhaust comparing [ the astronomical spectrabustion asserted with that PAHs the should not Raman readily spectrum formatoms in of suppresses astronomical environments PAH because synthesis hydrogen at traditional soot forming temperatures, he found that PAH formationnamic was and possible kinetic in effects H-rich whichpreviously atmospheres unrecognized due makes narrow to an temperature a acetylene window around balance additionmechanism 900 of for step PAH thermody- formation irreversible. in carbon-rich This red occurs giant stellar in winds a [ 85.338 GHz since 1976 in dense molecularline cloud at cores and this circumstellar frequency envelopes. was An absorption finally detected in C intimate interactions between submillimeter astronomical observers,and laboratory theoretical physical quantum chemists, chemists [ Cross-disciplinary astronomy volved in the discovery of interstellarof molecules. astrochemical As molecular processes species developed. proliferated, understanding actions, Processes such reactions as catalyzed charge-exchange on and solidclouds ion-molecular and grains re- protoplanetary at disks are very unusual from the perspective of terrestrial chemistry. lines from this molecule were quicklythe found in identification. both the laboratory and at the telescope, confirming molecule had temporarily formedadditional to lines produce from the the same line. molecule bothery in of A the a ISM difficult doublet and trial-and-error laboratory at succeeded processbond 184.328 with lengths GHz to the and correlated discov- find allowed with calculation the ofphisticated 85 other quantum GHz transitions chemical of line. model. possible This molecular The approximately carriersradical most defined using ring, promising the a molecule c-C so- was the remarkable 3-carbon PoS(sps5)025 Eric D. Feigelson than of astronomy. − 7 ]. 24 geology, atmospheric studies and related fields − The study of Solar System planets and minor bodies is conducted more in the Perhaps second only to physics, and less widely discussed, is the powerful A nascent interest in advanced computational methods and informatics is emerg- As mentioned in §2, during the 20th century astronomy and physics became so ]. Meteoritics and cometary studies in our Solar System are now richly interacting with 10 , 18 Informatics Physics In other areas of astronomy, such as extragalactic astronomy, the observations give less de- Engineering Earth sciences The study of meteorites, rocks from the ancient Solar System impacting Earth, has perhaps the mineralogy of protoplanetary disksprocesses revealed involved in by the infrared origin spectroscopy of to planets unravel [ the complex ing among some astronomers. Avices few of the projects Centre are de well-established. Données Astronomiqueof The de Strasbourg tabular SIMBAD (CDS) and and provides Vizier access bibliographic ser- to data a wide in range useful formats. These capabilities required synergy between context of Earth sciences closely wedded that astrophysicsviewed was as the often empirical viewed arm of asthe astrophysics. greatest a Consider achievement the branch of structure 20th of and century evolutionoverall physics of equilibrium astrophysics. stars, and structure, Thermodynamics perhaps nuclear astronomy and physics gravity was determinephysics establish regulates the the the energy transfer of generation energy in through theMagnetohydrodynamics the interior core, and and the atomic spectral relativity lines have at thecompact smaller photosphere. stars. effects in Study ordinary of‘solar stars, the neutrino Sun problem’. but had are a critical major for impact on particle physicstail with and the only solution relatively to simplePerhaps the the physical most processes exciting interaction are today sufficient betweenprecision to astronomy measurement and address of physics the is the in cosmic astronomical cosmology. microwaveplasma data. High- background, outside galaxy of clustering galaxies structure, are andexpansion in hot dominated remarkable by agreement Dark Matter with and a Dark an Energy. astrophysical model ofdependence cosmic of astronomical discoveries on progresstectors, in infrared applied physics detector, and adaptive engineering.in optics CCD military and de- technologies. satellite technologies HighBell all Labs electron have in mobility a the transistor 1970s strong are technology,Millimeter foundation the developed Array. critical at Corning technology Fujitsu and for Hughes receivers and the on Danbury Hubble the optics forthcoming Space factories Atacama Telescope, in Large Chandra theern X-ray U.S. telescope Observatories, produced systems Gemini mirrors can for and not Subarucapabilities. have telescope. been Mod- built without access to rapidly improving technological been the most fruitfullaboratory area study of of interplay isotopic betweenthat abundances geology can in and be selected convincingly astronomy. grainsstars attributed of [ Remarkably to pristine interstellar detailed meteorites grains reveal formed patterns in the atmospheres of red giant Cross-disciplinary astronomy 4. Other cross-disciplinary fields But with the recentbetween discoveries astronomers and and Earth characterizations scientists ofand in exoplanets, the chemistry. understanding collaborations of Several are planetary newhave growing atmospheres, emerged cross-disciplinary surfaces to collaborations, address these similar issues. to those in astrostatistics, PoS(sps5)025 ]. Al- 4 Eric D. Feigelson and remote studies of Mars, Jovian moons, In situ 8 ]. But consider how our understanding today of molecular processes 20 Astrobiology, the study of life in the universe, is one of the most intriguing These cross-disciplinary fields contribute to astronomy in two ways: directly making discov- From the brief review above, it is clear that cross-disciplinary approaches have significantly Astroinformatics is being propelled by a variety of projects generating exceedingly large and Life sciences eries outside the corechemistry, field research in of physical astronomy, and quantum andorganic chemistry interstellar enhancing was molecules. essential discoveries Close for cross-disciplinary within the collaboration discovery the between of the core. microwave-band complex In astro- in cosmic environments would be impoverished hadtheir leaders expertise like to Herzberg the and astronomical Townes community notistry, fifty brought astrostatistics, years astrogeology, ago. astroinformatics, astrobiology Collectively, the and roles astronomicalhave of instrumentation been astrochem- enormous in furthering astronomical understanding. contributed to the advancement ofroles astronomical are insights bright. in the Cross-disciplinaryformations past, researchers in and consistently our the make thinking. prospects profound,with for revolutionary physics Astronomy future trans- since would Newton’s foundation obviously of be celestialchanics mechanics impoverished to and without stellar the application its spectra of [ symbiosis quantum me- asteroids and comets give insightstions into relevant chemical, for the mineralogical, emergence atmospheric ofof and life. planetary climatic Discovery system condi- of formation extrasolar processes. planetsZones A elucidate around number the of nearby complexities planets stars, are and alreadyincrease major known current specialized in samples. space-borne the Studies telescope Habitable of systems solarplanetary will and atmospheres enormously stellar necessary activity for give life. external Radioa conditions chance surveys which of for affect nearby revolutionary discovery stars of in technologically SETI advanced programs life. provide 5. Do cross-disciplinary approaches advance astronomical discovery? complex datasets. The Internationalwidely Virtual Observatory distributed (IVO) online is databases anbasic from ambitious access many effort tools are telescopes. to now federate in AssistedSynoptic place, but by Survey the Telescope computer scientific (LSST) usage scientists, of isvideo the the expected of IVO the to is entire just generate sky, and beginning. many ancillary The productscal petabytes Large such specialities of as developing multi-billion high-performance data, object computing catalogs. essentially (including distributed New a data astronomi- ‘cloud’ mining, computing), knowledge storage and representation, and semantic astronomy are emerging [ Cross-disciplinary astronomy astronomers, specialized librarians and computer engineers.Data The System, NASA/Smithsonian a Astrophysics billion-hit Web site, hasIt become has the principal become portal increasingly into intertwined the with astronomicalsome electronic literature. observatory services archives. of the main journals, the CDS, and together, the new cross-disciplinary field of astroinformatics,of analogous to bioinformatics the and more geoinformatics, advanced fields will grow rapidly in coming years. new cross-disciplinary fields of astronomy.as In there some is sense, no it evidence for doesa lifeforms not outside discover yet of have are Earth. an rapidly But empirical manyreveal progressing. basis of the the versatility elements of Biological underpinning lifeforms and such on early genetic Earth. study of extremophiles and Archaea PoS(sps5)025 ]. 14 Eric D. Feigelson CDM astrophysical models using large Λ 9 ameliorated to maximum future scientific return. It depends − and should be − First, young astronomers must be taught more broadly and flexibly, with meaningful exposure Second, sufficient and stable research funding is essential for cross-disciplinary research. The If the paths of cross-disciplinary astronomy are groomed and talented scientists tread them in a Despite the successes of cross-disciplinary research in astronomy, there are structural difficul- On the other hand, astrostatistics and astroinformatics do not direct discovery but rather im- to engineering, statistics, chemistry, geologyproblems. (and perhaps At biology) present, as the theybackground apply curriculum in to physics for (and astronomical training associated background research inthe astronomers mathematics) interested with concentrates little student or on to no a pursue opportunityand for strong cross-disciplinary speciality interests. texts for Informal self-instructions training are in also summer valuable schools, elements for education incriteria these for success areas. in these fields maybe a differ software from system those or in a core physical astronomy; chemistryastronomical laboratory the journals. rather major Effective than products evaluation rapid may of publications research in the proposalsdisciplinary primary is panels difficult; to there is downweight a unfamiliar tendencyalso cross-disciplinary for be efforts. reluctant to Observatory devote leaders scarce resources may areas. to expensive The personnel funding with of credentials astrostatistics, outside for thethe core example, funding is devoted to far methodology below in the thephysical needs Earth chemists of and are the biological receiving field, sciences. insufficient and funding There to far isfrom identify below also the molecular a revolutionary carriers worry submillimeter of that spectrometers the on many the lines Herschel and ALMA telescopes. spirit of creativity, then we can envision aastronomy blossoming leading a of broader astronomy alliance in with new non-scientific areas.worldviews culture, The similar possibility of to of the ancient traditional integrated societies,with should Ph.D. priests not promulgating religious be texts ignored. based on modern The astrophysics is emergence not unimaginable. of syncretic churches mostly on broadening the attitudeminority of of cross-disciplinary majority astronomers. of Two specific core avenues astronomers for improvement to are appreciate needed. and support the ties that can be 6. The future of cross-disciplinary astronomy prove the quality ofwritten: our "The understanding quiet of statisticians complexchanging have datasets. changed the the ways The world, that not we philosopherin by reason, Ian traditional discovering experiment, Hacking astronomy, new and has these facts formfrom ... skills large our surveys become but opinions". and in by essential precision Relatively for modelniques unimportant fitting. tapping are For the example, used advanced insights to Bayesian statistical in derive tech- cosmological megadatasets parameters in Cross-disciplinary astronomy astronomer, laboratory chemist and theoretical quantumindividuals) chemist is (who needed. may or In may engineering notsuch for be as instrumentation, far-infrared separate and astronomical gamma-ray discovery astronomy in dependflight entire on technologies high-technology fields to detectors lift and on theof space- telescope photographic above plates the with Earth’s CCDs obscuring inferometers atmosphere. the in 1980s The the and replacement the 2010s improvements areestablished of examples telescopes correlators where by in an engineering radio order inter- advances of have magnitude. increased sensitivities of high-precision datasets from the WMAP and Planck satellite-borne microwave telescopes [ PoS(sps5)025 Astrophys. Astrophys. , , , 2009 ], a research , 290, L25, 22 Eric D. Feigelson Bayesian Methods , 397, 55, 1992 , McGraw-Hill, New Astrophys. J. , , Cambridge Univ. Press, Astrophys. J. , , Wiley, New York, 1998 , Springer, New York, 2001 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the by Primack and Abrams [ On the astrophysical interpretation of isotope Statistical tools for classifying galaxy group 10 , 348, 298 , http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ A flexible method of estimating luminosity functions , 293, 192, 1985 On strong uniform consistency of the Lynden-Bell estimator for Nature , 23, 440, 1995 , Formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in circumstellar Statistical methods for astronomical data with upper limits. I - Astroinformatics: A 21st century approach to astronomy Linear regression in astronomy. II 399, 345, 1992 A simple test of independence for truncated data with applications to Astrophys. J. , , 341, 372, 1989 , 702, 1199, 2009 I would like to thank Michael Frenklach for 5 years of stimulating collab- Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences Astrophys. J. Annals of Statistics , Psalm 8: A new translation , , Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge UK, 2009 View from the Center of the Universe Some aspects of measurement error in linear regression of astronomical data Bayesian Logical Data Analysis for the Physical Sciences Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy Astrophys. J. Astrophys. J. A History of Mathematical Statistics from 1750 to 1930 , , , 683, 874, 2008 , 665, 1489, 2007 J. ancient_hebrew_poetry/files/psalm_8_a_new_translation.pdf, 2007 dynamics 1985 York, 1969 anomalies in meteoritic SiC grains Cambridge UK, 2005 in Cosmology J. unidentified infrared emission bands - Auto exhaust along the Milky Way http://www8.nationalacademies.org/astro2010/DetailFileDisplay.aspx?id=455 truncated data redshift surveys envelopes Univariate distributions Acknowledgements: [9] Frenklach, M. & Feigelson, E. D. [1] Aaboe, A., [6] Efron, B. & Petrosian, V., [7] Feigelson, E. D. & Nelson, P. I., [8] Feigelson, E. D. & Babu, G. J., [3] Bevington, P. R., [4] Borne, K. D. and 91 coauthors, [5] Chen, K., Chao, M.-T. & Lo, S.-H., [2] Allamandola, L. J., Tielens, A. G. G. M. & Barker, J. R. [13] Hobbins, J. F., [14] Hobson, M. P., Jaffe, A. H., Liddle, A. R., Mukherjee, P. & Parkinson, D. (editors), [11] Gregory, P., [16] Kelly, B. C., [17] Kelly, B. C., Fan, X., Vestergaard, M., [12] Hald, A., [15] Hou, A., Parker, L. C., Harris, W. E., Wilman, D. J., [10] Gallino, R., Busso, M., Picchio, G. & Raiteri, C. M., oration in astrochemistry, G. Jogeshand Babu my for wife 20 Zoë years Boniface of for exciting 25 years collaboration of in enthusiasm astrostatistics, for myReferences cross-disciplinary activities. cosmologist and a cultural philosopher respectively, provides aastronomy fascinating and linkage religious between modern symbols. Cross-disciplinary astronomy The recent book PoS(sps5)025 , , 2 H , 571, 3 , , Harvard Univ. Eric D. Feigelson , 13, 163, 1985 Astrophys. J. Proc. Nat. Acad. , , Statistics, Handle , Yale Univ. Press, New Ann. Statist. , Cambridge Univ. Press, , , Penguin Group USA, 2006 , 293, 178, 1985 , Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson AZ, 2007 , http://www.astrochymist.org Radio observations of OH in the interstellar Astrophys. J. , 314, 716 11 Laboratory and astronomical identification of Laboratory and astronomical spectroscopy of C , 155, 95, 1971 Meteoritic silicon carbide: Pristine material from carbon stars Protostars and Planets V Astrophys. J. View from the Center of the Universe , , 1985 2 H 3 Statistical analysis of astronomical data containing upper bounds - General Numerical recipes: The Art of Scientific Computing ,C A method of allowing for known observational selection in small samples applied to Estimating a distribution function with truncated data , 200, 829 A statistical method for estimating luminosity functions using truncated data The History of Statistics: The Measurement of Uncertainty before 1900 Mon. Not. Royal Astro. Soc. A hyper-bibliography of known astromolecules , Paracelsus: Medicine, Magic and Mission at the End of Time , 661, 703, 2007 Astrophysical data bearing on the relative abundance of the elements Nature , , 348, 293, 1990 , 11, 192, 1925 medium Haven, 2008 Press, Cambridge MA, 1986 cyclopropenylidene the first interstellar organic ring Astrophys. J. methods and examples drawn from X-ray astronomy Nature Sci. Cambridge UK, 1986 545, 2002 3CR quasars with Care: Detecting Multiple Model Components with the Likelihood Ratio Test [32] Woodroofe, M., [31] Weinreb, S., Barrett, A. H., Meeks, M. L. & Henry, J. C. [33] Woon, D. E., [29] Vrtilek, J. M., Gottlieb, C. A. & Thaddeus, P., [30] Webster, C., [28] Thaddeus, P., Vrtilek, J. M. & Gottlieb, C. A., [26] Schmitt, J. H. M. M., Cross-disciplinary astronomy [18] Lewis, R. S., Amari, S. & Anders, E., [25] Schafer, C. M., [27] Stigler, S. M., [22] Primack, J. R. & Abrams, N. E., [24] Reipurth, B., Jewitt, D. & Keil, K., [19] Lynden-Bell, D., [20] Payne, C., [21] Press, W. H., et al., [23] Protassov, R., van Dyk, D. A., Connors, A., Kashyap, V. L.,Siemiginowska, A.,