DOCSLIB.ORG

Guidestar December, 2013

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Guidestar December, 2013 Houston Astronomical Society Page 1 December, 2013 December, 2013 Volume 31, #12 At the December 6 Meeting Highlights: Seeing the Impossible: Top 10 Astronomical Nightmares 6 The Unsolved Mystery of Novice: Observing Jupiter 6 Most Volcanically Active Place 7 Saturn's Spokes Kid’s Outreach / Bylaws & Articles revs 8 Stephen O’Meara The Constants of Nature… and Life 9 Author, writer for Astronomy magazine Observatory Corner — Bob’s Dream 13 When the young Stephen O’Meara observed and sketched radial spokes in the rings of Saturn in the 70’s his observation was dismissed Will This Technology Transform 14 as an optical illusion. It wasn’t until the Voyager Astronomy space probe sent back, in 1979, photographs of the spokes that the observation was confirmed. What Free Astronomy Resources 15 are the spokes and why do they occur? Stephen Gliese 445 O’Meara will tell us. 16 Stephen O’Meara is a monthly columnist for Astronomy HAS Web Page: magazine, and the author of http://www.AstronomyHouston.org numerous books including The Messier Objects, The Caldwell See the GuideStar's Monthly Calendar of Objects, The Herschel 400 Events to confirm dates and times of all Observing Guide, and The Secret Saturn ring spokes as events for the month, and check the Web Deep. He has regularly been a sketched by Stephen featured presenter at the Texas O’Meara Page for any last minute changes. Star Party after staying up all night observing from the pristine west Texas skies. All meetings are at the University of Houston Science and Research building. See the last page for directions to the location. Novice meeting:······················· 7:00 p.m. The GuideStar is the winner of the 2012 “Jupiter’s Moons” — Debbie Moran Astronomical League Mabel Sterns See page 15 for more information Newsletter award. General meeting: ····················· 8:00 p.m See last page for directions and more information. The Houston Astronomical Society is a member of the Astronomical League. Page 2 December, 2013 The Houston Astronomical Society Table of Contents The Houston Astronomical Society is a non-profit corporation 3 ...............President's Message organized under section 501 (C) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Society was formed for education and scientific purposes. All 4 ...............December/January Calendar contributions and gifts are deductible for federal income tax 5 ...............Observations of the Editor purposes. General membership meetings are open to the public and attendance is encouraged. 6 ...............Top 10 Astronomical Nightmares Officers & Past President ...............Novice: Observing Jupiter 7 ...............Most Volcanically Active Place President: Bill Pellerin ................................... C:713-598-8543 Vice Pres: Rene Gedaly ................................. 8 ...............Kid's Outreach and Star Parties Secretary: Bill Flanagan ................................. ...............Notice of Revision to Bylaws / Articles\ Treasurer: Don Selle ..................................... Past President: Gordon Houston .................. 9 ...............The Constants of Nature... and Life 13 ...............Observatory Corner - Bob's Dream Directors at Large 14 ...............Will This Technology Transform Astronomy? Greg Barolak ................................................. H:281-467-5780 15 ...............Free Astronomy Resources Mark Holdsworth .......................................... H:713-478-4109 16 ...............Gliese 445 Mike Rao ....................................................... 832-689-4584 John Haynes .................................................. H:802-363-8123 Brian Cudnik.................................................. H:832-912-1244 Committee Chairpersons Audit .................... Scott Mitchell .................. H:281-293-7818 Other Meetings... Education ............. Debbie Moran ................. Field Tr./Obsg ...... Steve Fast........................ 713-898-2188 Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society meets in the Novice .................. Debbie Moran Observatory ......... Mike Edstrom the Lunar and Planetary Institute on the 2nd Friday of Program ............... Brian Cudnik.................... H:832-912-1244 each month. Web site: www.jscas.net Publicity ............... Mike Rao ........................ 832-689-4584 Telescope ............. John Haynes .................... H:802-363-8123 Welcoming ........... Vacant Fort Bend Astronomy Club meets the third Friday of the Membership ........ Steve Fast........................ 713-898-2188 month at 8:00 p.m. at the Houston Community Ad-Hoc Committee Chairpersons College Southwest Campus in Stafford, Texas http://www.fbac.org/club_meetings.htm. Texas Star Party ... Steve Goldberg. .............. H:713-721-5077 AL Awards ............ Doug McCormick ............ Novice meeting begins at 7:00 p.m., regular GuideStar ............. Bill Pellerin ...................... C:713-598-8543 meeting begins at 8:00 p.m. Website: Outreach .............. Bram Weisman Webmaster .......... Jeffery McLaughlin .......... http://www.fbac.org Email: [email protected] By-Laws Review ... Scott Mitchell .................. H:281-293-7818 Urban Observing .. Mike Rao ......................... 832-689-4584 North Houston Astronomy Club meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 4th Friday of each month in the Teaching Theatre Advisors of the Student Center at Kingwood College.Call 281- Dr. Reginald DuFour, Rice Univ. 312-1650 or [email protected]. Web Dr. Lawrence Pinsky, U. of H. site: www.astronomyclub.org Dr. Lawrence Armendarez, U. of St. Thomas Dues and Membership Information Brazosport Astronomy Club meets the third Tuesday of each month at the Brazosport planetarium at 7:45 Annual Dues:Regular ................................................ $36 Associate ..................................................................... $6 p.m. The Brazosport planetarium is located at 400 Sustaining ................................................................. $50 College Boulevard, Clute, TX, 77531. For more Student ..................................................................... $12 Honorary .................................................................. N/C information call 979-265-3376 All members have the right to participate in Society functions and to use the Observatory Site. Regular and Student Members re- ceive a subscription toThe Reflector. The GuideStar, the monthly publication of the Houston Astronomical Society is available on the web site. Associate Members, immediate family members of a Regular Member, have all membership rights, but do not receive publications. Sustaining members have the same rights as regular members with the additional dues treated as a donation to the Society. Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines are available GuideStar deadline to members at a discount. Membership Application: Send funds to address shown on last for the January page of GuideStar. Attention- Treasurer, along with the following information: Name, Address, Phone Number, Special Interests in Astronomy, Do you own a Telescope? (If so, what kind?), and where you first heard of H.A.S. issue is December 15th Page 3 December, 2013 President’s Message by Bill Pellerin, President What’s Going on with the HAS? significant change from the 2013 budg- et. Election of officers for 2014 — The nominations from our nomi- nating committee are: Bob’s Dream and the Observatory Founders recognition project — You President: Bill Pellerin can read about the Bob’s Dream project Vice President: Rene Gedaly in the Observatory Corner article in this Secretary: Bill Flanagan issue. This will be funded by donations Treasurer: Don Selle dedicated for that work. Director-at-large: Ash Alashqar The Observatory Founders project will Director-at-large: Brian Cudnik be funded from HAS general revenues Director-at-large: John Haynes to establish signs and plaques recogniz- Director-at-large: Mark Holdsworth ing members who have made a signifi- Director-at-large: Bram Weisman cant contribution of time and effort to Telescope: Allen Wilkerson the establishment of the observatory. Field Trip and Observing: Steve Fast There will also be recognition of discov- eries made at the HAS site and members Program: Brian Cudnik who have achieved AL Master Observer Publicity: Bram Weisman status. Novice: Debbie Moran Audit: Scott Mitchell Observatory: Mike Edstrom Cheers, Education: Debbie Moran Welcoming: open ..Bill Pellerin Nominations from the floor will be taken on the night of the meeting. If you wish to nominate someone other than yourself President you must confirm in advance that the person you nominate is will- ing to serve in the office for which he or she will be nominated. We did not have enough members attending the November meeting to hold the election (due to bylaws quorum require- ments), so the election will be held at the December meeting Bylaws & Articles of Incorporation changes — The bylaws and Articles of Incorporation changes needed to establish our non profit status with Colorado County (home of the HAS observing site) will be voted on at the December meeting. See page 6 of this GuideStar for the text of these amendments. Due to the lack of a quorum these could not be voted on at the November meeting. General bylaws review in progress — A bylaws review process has begun by a special ad-hoc committee headed by Scott Mitchell. There are a number of issues to be addressed in this review, in- cluding revising the quorum requirements, the elimination
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Monitor 1St Quarter 2019
    THE ACADEMY MONITOR VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 1 GREETINGS FROM THE GREAT HALLS OF LEARNING, S STARFLEET ACADEMY!!! T Q U A R IN THIS ISSUE: T Commandant Article 2 E Academy Information 3-5 Around the Academy R Outstanding Students 6 Academic Excellence Awards 7 Graduates 8-13 Academy Degree Program 14&15 2 Bridge Officers Cert Awards 16 0 Vessel Readiness Cert Program 17 Boothby 18-22 1 Miscellaneous 23-34 Editor Comments 35 9 FROM THE ACTING COMMANDANT The first Quarter of 2019 was insanely busy, as Academy continued to recover from the passing of Glen Diebold on September 26, 2018. We also migrated Academy from its separate server into SFI.org, so that the STARFLEET branding could be applied to Academy, and to eliminate the costs of an extra domain and web hosting. We had to close Glen’s unfinished projects that he left behind, and audit and retire those colleges that were not performing at minimum standards. We were not lacking in volunteers to direct those that were left. Survival Studies (COSS), a favorite among many students, was taken over by myself, the author of the first version of the college. The COSS has gone through a major rewrite and reformat. Long exams were divided into 25-point multiple choice or True and False exams. Three of the four schools are reopened, and the fourth will be open soon, with more exams to be added. Wherever an exam was split into 2 or more exams, the existing graduates was copied over with their grades and completion dates.
    [Show full text]
  • Mètodes De Detecció I Anàlisi D'exoplanetes
    MÈTODES DE DETECCIÓ I ANÀLISI D’EXOPLANETES Rubén Soussé Villa 2n de Batxillerat Tutora: Dolors Romero IES XXV Olimpíada 13/1/2011 Mètodes de detecció i anàlisi d’exoplanetes . Índex - Introducció ............................................................................................. 5 [ Marc Teòric ] 1. L’Univers ............................................................................................... 6 1.1 Les estrelles .................................................................................. 6 1.1.1 Vida de les estrelles .............................................................. 7 1.1.2 Classes espectrals .................................................................9 1.1.3 Magnitud ........................................................................... 9 1.2 Sistemes planetaris: El Sistema Solar .............................................. 10 1.2.1 Formació ......................................................................... 11 1.2.2 Planetes .......................................................................... 13 2. Planetes extrasolars ............................................................................ 19 2.1 Denominació .............................................................................. 19 2.2 Història dels exoplanetes .............................................................. 20 2.3 Mètodes per detectar-los i saber-ne les característiques ..................... 26 2.3.1 Oscil·lació Doppler ........................................................... 27 2.3.2 Trànsits
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Archive the Skyscraper August 2017
    the vol. 44 no. 08 Skyscraper August 2017 AMATEUR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF RHODE ISLAND 47 PEEPTOAD ROAD NORTH SCITUATE, RHODE ISLAND 02857 WWW.THESKYSCRAPERS.ORG In This Issue: 2 Astronomy Nights at Friday, August 4 at Seagrave Observatory River Bend Farm Gravitational Waves Found! 2 Let’s Go “Back to the Moon for A billion years ago, two black holes col- talk is given by Dr. Rainer Weiss, one of the Good” at the URI Planetarium lided and merged, sending powerful ripples co-founders of LIGO. He will speak about 3 Library Telescope Program across the fabric of space-time. In 2015 those the challenges of LIGO and of the implica- is “Off the Ground” gravitational waves reached Earth and tick- tions of this momentous discovery. 4 Perseid Meteor Shower: led the detectors of the Laser Interferometer Dr. Rainer Weiss is Professor of Physics, “Meteor-ocre” Display for 2017 Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). emeritus at MIT and co-founder of the La- This first-ever detection of gravitational ser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Ob- 4 Voyages to the Stars waves confirmed a long-standing prediction servatory. 5 M24 & NGC 6603 : Star Cloud of Einstein's general relativity. It also was the in Sagittarius & Open Cluster culmination of a decades-long effort." This 6 July Reports 7 Twenty Years Ago on Mars… 8 The Sun, Moon & Planets in August 9 Star Party Update & Recent Happenings at Seagrve Observatory Partial Solar Eclipse at Seagrave Observatory Monday, August 21, 2017 1-4pm Skyscrapers (rain date, April 8, 2024) Board Meetings Jeff Padell will be leading our local solar eclipse star party at Third Monday of the Month All Members Welcome Seagrave Observatory on Monday afternoon 1-4pm with white light and hydrogen-alpha-filtered solar telescopes.
    [Show full text]
  • Extrasolar Planets and Their Host Stars
    Kaspar von Braun & Tabetha S. Boyajian Extrasolar Planets and Their Host Stars July 25, 2017 arXiv:1707.07405v1 [astro-ph.EP] 24 Jul 2017 Springer Preface In astronomy or indeed any collaborative environment, it pays to figure out with whom one can work well. From existing projects or simply conversations, research ideas appear, are developed, take shape, sometimes take a detour into some un- expected directions, often need to be refocused, are sometimes divided up and/or distributed among collaborators, and are (hopefully) published. After a number of these cycles repeat, something bigger may be born, all of which one then tries to simultaneously fit into one’s head for what feels like a challenging amount of time. That was certainly the case a long time ago when writing a PhD dissertation. Since then, there have been postdoctoral fellowships and appointments, permanent and adjunct positions, and former, current, and future collaborators. And yet, con- versations spawn research ideas, which take many different turns and may divide up into a multitude of approaches or related or perhaps unrelated subjects. Again, one had better figure out with whom one likes to work. And again, in the process of writing this Brief, one needs create something bigger by focusing the relevant pieces of work into one (hopefully) coherent manuscript. It is an honor, a privi- lege, an amazing experience, and simply a lot of fun to be and have been working with all the people who have had an influence on our work and thereby on this book. To quote the late and great Jim Croce: ”If you dig it, do it.
    [Show full text]
  • Dear Cheap Astronomy – How Long Until We Won't Be Able to Hear The
    Question 1: Dear Cheap Astronomy – how long until we won’t be able to hear the Voyager spacecraft anymore? Just to clarify the question, the problem won’t be about our hearing them, but about the spacecraft ceasing to transmit once they run out of electrical power. The two close-to- identical Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977, Voyager 2 on the 20th of August and Voyager 1 two weeks later on the 5th of September. The trajectories and orbital mechanics involved in getting to their first mission objective, a fly-by of Jupiter, meant that Voyager 1 would arrive there first, despite it launching second. So, NASA called it Voyager 1 to avoid confusing the newsreaders of the day. Both spacecraft have radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which work by using the heat from a decaying lump of plutonium isotope 238 to generate electricity. Since we know the half-life of those lumps fairly exactly, we already know that after 2020 there won’t be enough power to continue running all the currently-operational systems and by around 2025 whatever work-arounds we have managed will fail as both spacecraft lose the capacity to collect and transmit data. After that, they will carry on silently with their golden records attached, time capsules from 1997 Earth for any aliens that find them. Although, given the time periods involved, it’s possible that human-crewed spacecraft might overtake them before that ever happens. Voyager 1 will make a first close pass of another star, called Gliese 445 in about 40,000 years. This is surprising since Gliese 445 is over 17 light years from Earth and Voyager 1 needs 17,000 years to cross just one light year.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report 2009 ESO
    ESO European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere Annual Report 2009 ESO European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere Annual Report 2009 presented to the Council by the Director General Prof. Tim de Zeeuw The European Southern Observatory ESO, the European Southern Observa­ tory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Several other countries have expressed an interest in membership. Created in 1962, ESO carries out an am­ bitious programme focused on the de­ sign, construction and operation of power­ ful ground­based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world­ View of the La Silla Observatory from the site of the One of the most exciting features of the class observing sites in the Atacama 3.6 ­metre telescope, which ESO operates together VLT is the option to use it as a giant opti­ with the New Technology Telescope, and the MPG/ Desert region of Chile: La Silla, Paranal ESO 2.2­metre Telescope. La Silla also hosts national cal interferometer (VLT Interferometer or and Chajnantor. ESO’s first site is at telescopes, such as the Swiss 1.2­metre Leonhard VLTI). This is done by combining the light La Silla, a 2400 m high mountain 600 km Euler Telescope and the Danish 1.54­metre Teles cope.
    [Show full text]
  • Thesearchforetlifeintheunivers
    Chapter-1 (The Grand Cosmos) - Why Extra-terrestrials.............................................................. 1 - In the Beginning....................................................................... 5 - The other Fantastic Four.......................................................... 8 - Let there be Light................................................................... 14 - To Be or not to Be.................................................................. 16 - Future from the Beyond......................................................... 23 Chapter-2 (Religions, Ancient Astronauts, Histories, UFOs & E.Ts) - The Sacred Whispers............................................................. 26 - The Ancient Astronauts Theory............................................. 30 - UFO s in Medieval Paintings.................................................. 34 - Ancient Astronauts or Ancient Archeology?........................ 35 - UFOs themselves................................................................... 38 - The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life: The Beginning.............44 Chapter-3 (Echoes from our Solar District) -The Story So Far..................................................................... 50 -The Water Worlds................................................................... 50 -Solar System: A very brief Tour.............................................. 52 - The Red Planet...................................................................... 53 - The Evening Star..................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Article Was Published in the Routledge Handbook of Big History, Eds
    HUMAN STUDIES AT A CROSSROAD: ANTHROPOLOGY... Man In India, 99 (3-4) : 217-241 © Serials Publications HUMAN STUDIES AT A CROSSROAD: ANTHROPOLOGY, BIG HISTORY, AND OUR GLOBAL FUTURES Barry H. Rodrigue Abstract: Anthropology has been in a constant process of expansion and clarification since humans began to consider their place in the world. As an exercise in increasing self-awareness, anthropology is not so much a discipline as it is an interdisciplinary field of study. In this way, it shares common ground with the field of big history, which also provides a way to contextualize humanity in its wider milieu. Such macro-views lead to new ways of thinking about past concepts, such as revising antiquated models of regional civilizations into a global civilization. In addition, anthropology has historical precedents for intersecting with big history, as in the works of Alexander von Humboldt, Sarat Chandra Roy, and Leslie White. The author describes these twin fields as complementary paradigms that can assist each other to not only better understand the human condition but to seek a new way forward in a time of climatic change and social crisis. His contention is that, just as anthropology historically built upon inputs from various societies and disciplines, its range of studies and social connections will continue to expand. This movement towards synthesis and holistic thinking will push anthropology into an exciting frontier of new challenges. Keywords: Anthropology, Civilization, Big History, Evolution, Social Change, Humanity, Future. We humans engage in a constant process of enlarging our understanding of the world around us. As our ancestors spread throughout Africa and beyond, they developed innovative strategies for survival – from tools and clothing to languages and customs.
    [Show full text]
  • El Hubble Proporciona Un Mapa Interestelar Para La Excursión Galáctica De Los Voyager
    Imagen: Vista del sistema solar desde el Voyager 1 (interpretación artística) EL HUBBLE PROPORCIONA UN MAPA INTERESTELAR PARA LA EXCURSIÓN GALÁCTICA DE LOS VOYAGER Fecha de publicación: 6 de enero de 2017 a las 11:15 am (EST) En 1977, las naves espaciales de la NASA, Voyager 1 y 2, iniciaron su viaje de exploración por el sistema solar para visitar los planetas gigantes exteriores. Ahora, las naves espaciales Voyager viajan a gran velocidad a través de territorios sin explorar en su viaje más allá de nuestro sistema solar. Por el camino, miden el medio interestelar, el entorno misterioso situado entre las estrellas y lleno de restos de estrellas muertas hace mucho tiempo. El Telescopio espacial Hubble de la NASA proporciona el "mapa de carreteras" al tomar medidas del material que se encuentra en la trayectoria de las sondas a medida que se mueven por el espacio. El Hubble se encuentra con una compleja y rica ecología interestelar, que contiene muchas nubes de hidrógeno, enlazadas con otros elementos. Los datos del Hubble, combinados con los de las naves espaciales Voyager, también han proporcionado nueva información sobre cómo viaja nuestro Sol a través del espacio interestelar. La historia completa Las dos naves espaciales Voyager viajan a gran velocidad a través de territorios sin explorar en su viaje más allá de nuestro sistema solar. Por el camino, miden el medio interestelar, el entorno misterioso situado entre las estrellas. El Telescopio espacial Hubble de la NASA proporciona el "mapa de carreteras", al tomar medidas del material que se encuentra en la trayectoria de las sondas a medida que se mueven por el espacio.
    [Show full text]
  • Voyager the Grand Tour to Interstellar Space
    Sky at Night MAGAZINE DISCOVER SPACE The story of voyager the grand tour to interstellar space EXCLUSIVE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH VOYAGER SCIENTISTS PLUS, NASA TELLS US HOW THE VOYAGERS CONTINUE TO SHAPE TODAY’S MISSIONS MARVELS AND MYSTERIES: OUR FARTHEST ENVOY: WHAT MESSAGES FOR ET: HOW THE VOYAGERS’ GREATEST VOYAGER 1 IS TELLING US THE GOLDEN RECORD COULD DISCOVERIES REVEALED ABOUT INTERSTELLAR SPACE HELP ALIENS FIND EARTH TECHNOLOGICALLYSUPERIOR THE ALL NEW “If you’re looking for a portable heavy duty mount... the CGX-L is a worthy contender” 0bca^]^\h=^f9d]T &XbbdT GERMAN EQUATORIAL MOUNT Celestron’s newly designed CGX-L Computerised Equatorial mount and tripod is the latest addition to the fully computerised equatorial mount series. Capable of carrying Celestron’s largest optical tubes with ease, CGX-L is designed for backyard observatories and remote imagers looking for exceptional load capacity to weight ratio, compact design, and innovative features that fully support large telescopes, imaging kits, and the latest in Additional Ports wireless tech accessories. ~4gcaP[PaVT&$[QRP_PRXch ~;PaVTa ##\\SXP\TcTa f^a\fWTT[b ~;^]VTa!&\\S^eTcPX[bPSS[Tc^bd__^ac [PaVTa^_cXRP[cdQTb ~AT\^cT^_TaPcX^]UaXT]S[hUTPcdaTb ~8]cTa]P[RPQ[T\P]PVT\T]c Longer Dovetail Saddle ~<TRWP]XRP[P]STaV^]^\XR X\_a^eT\T]cbcWa^dVW^dc ~BcdaSXTaTPbXTac^dbTP]STPbXTa c^caP]b_^ac COMPACT. ERGONOMIC. INNOVATIVE. 2^]ca^[b^UcfPaTX]R^]Yd]RcX^]fXcW Smoother Belt Drive System ALSO AVAILABLE THE ORIGINAL Compact Designed Tripod ~;PaVT$$[QRP_PRXch ~0[[]TfSTbXV] BcdaSXTaP]S\^aT aXVXSfXcW`dXRZTa SP\_T]X]VcX\T ~8\_a^eTS\^c^ab P]SSaXeTbhbcT\b Celestron® and StarSenseTM are registered trademarks or trademarks of Celestron Acquisition, LLC in the United States and in dozens of other countries around the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Outline Thesis
    Dissertation submitted to the Combined Faculties of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the Ruperto-Carola-University of Heidelberg, Germany for the degree of Doctor of Natural Sciences Put forward by Christian Schwab born in: Hanau Oral examination: 16th July 2010 A Calibration System for a Rayleigh Laser Guide Star Constellation & A Planet around a Giant Star Referees: Prof. Dr. Andreas Quirrenbach Prof. Dr. Joachim Krautter Für meinen Vater Stephan, dessen Wunsch das war. Abstract My thesis consists of two parts. In Part I, I describe my contributions to the laser guide star adaptive optics facility at the Large Binocular Telescope, the Advanced Rayleigh guided Ground layer adaptive Optics System , ARGOS. I investigate the effect of scattered light from propagating the laser light across the aperture, and find that contamination is not a concern for the science instruments. I present a study of reflective laser launch telescopes based on commercial optics, and compare this to the refractive design chosen as baseline for ARGOS. The discussed options present an interesting alternative with only small additional light loss at substantially reduced cost and procurement risk. I develop a calibration scheme for the full adaptive optics system, based on artificial light sources that illuminate the deformable mirror, imitating the laser guide star beacons. This enables the interaction between deformable mirror and wavefront sensor to be calibrated at any time, greatly enhancing the possibilities and time available for engineering on the installed system. The light source has to be placed in the prime fcous, as ARGOS uses the adaptive secondary mirrors of LBT. The optical design of the calibration light source is not trivial as the guide star constellation comprises of three beacons forming an equilateral triangle on a circle with a radius of 2 arcminutes.
    [Show full text]
  • La Ricerca Dei Mondi Extra-Solari: Implicazioni Filosofiche Ed Aspetti Metodologici Nell’Astrofisica Moderna
    ALMA Mater Studiorum Università degli Studi Bologna SCUOLA DI SCIENZE Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Astrofisica e Cosmologia Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia La ricerca dei mondi extra-solari: implicazioni filosofiche ed aspetti metodologici nell’Astrofisica moderna Tesi di Laurea di: Relatore: Chiar.mo Prof.: Fabio Antonelli Alberto Buzzoni Co-relatore: Prof. Orsola De Marco Sessione II Anno Accademico 2012/2013 1 INDICE 1 INTRODUZIONE p.3 2 STORIOGRAFIA ED ASPETTI FILOSOFICI p.6 2.1 Premessa p.6 2.2 Filosofia e mondi extra-solari p.8 2.3 Le prime possibili scoperte di esopianeti p.11 2.4 Storia recente p.14 3 METODI DI RICERCA DEGLI ESOPIANETI p.21 3.1 Possibili approcci osservativi p.21 3.2 I metodi di detezione astrometrica p.23 3.3 Lenti gravitazionali p.31 3.4 Esempi rilevanti di micro-lensing planetario p.33 3.4.1 OGLE-2012-BLG-0026 p.36 3.4.2 OGLE-2011-BLG-0251 p.41 3.4.3 MOA-2010-BLG-311 p.47 3.5 Il metodo delle velocità radiali e dei transiti planetari p.52 3.6 Immagine diretta p.59 3.7 Fondamenti matematici dei transiti planetari p.64 4 STRUMENTI DI DETEZIONE E PROGRAMMI DI RICERCA IN CORSO p.67 4.1 Strumenti di ultima generazione p.67 4.2 Programmi in corso ed a medio termine da terra e dallo spazio p.81 4.2.1 Il gruppo ExoPAG SAG#5 p.81 4.2.2 La missione Kepler p.82 4.2.3 La missione CoRot p.83 4.2.4 La missione GAIA p.84 4.2.5 Altri programmi e progetti di ricerca p.85 2 5 NUOVE LINEE DI RICERCA SULL’INTERAZIONE DINAMICA TRA PIANETI E STELLE: VERSO UNA RIVOLUZIONE DEL PARADIGMA EVOLUTIVO STELLARE? p.87 5.1 Stelle binarie
    [Show full text]