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The Astronomical Garden of Venus and Mars-NG915: the Pivotal Role Of
The astronomical garden of Venus and Mars - NG915 : the pivotal role of Astronomy in dating and deciphering Botticelli’s masterpiece Mariateresa Crosta Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF- OATo), Via Osservatorio 20, Pino Torinese -10025, TO, Italy e-mail: [email protected] Abstract This essay demonstrates the key role of Astronomy in the Botticelli Venus and Mars-NG915 painting, to date only very partially understood. Worthwhile coin- cidences among the principles of the Ficinian philosophy, the historical characters involved and the compositional elements of the painting, show how the astronomi- cal knowledge of that time strongly influenced this masterpiece. First, Astronomy provides its precise dating since the artist used the astronomical ephemerides of his time, albeit preserving a mythological meaning, and a clue for Botticelli’s signature. Second, it allows the correlation among Botticelli’s creative intention, the historical facts and the astronomical phenomena such as the heliacal rising of the planet Venus in conjunction with the Aquarius constellation dating back to the earliest represen- tations of Venus in Mesopotamian culture. This work not only bears a significant value for the history of science and art, but, in the current era of three-dimensional mapping of billion stars about to be delivered by Gaia, states the role of astro- nomical heritage in Western culture. Finally, following the same method, a precise astronomical dating for the famous Primavera painting is suggested. Keywords: History of Astronomy, Science and Philosophy, Renaissance Art, Educa- tion. Introduction Since its acquisition by London’s National Gallery on June 1874, the painting Venus and Mars by Botticelli, cataloged as NG915, has remained a mystery to be interpreted [1]1. -
The Faint Globular Cluster in the Dwarf Galaxy Andromeda I
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA), Vol. 34, e039, 4 pages (2017). © Astronomical Society of Australia 2017; published by Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/pasa.2017.35 The Faint Globular Cluster in the Dwarf Galaxy Andromeda I Nelson Caldwell1, Jay Strader2,7, David J. Sand3,4, Beth Willman5 and Anil C. Seth6 1Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA 2Center for Data Intensive and Time Domain Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas Tech University, PO Box 41051, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA 4Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA 5LSST and Steward Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA 6Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA 7Email: [email protected] (RECEIVED July 7, 2017; ACCEPTED August 10, 2017) Abstract Observations of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies can be used to study a variety of topics, including the structure of dark matter halos and the history of vigorous star formation in low-mass galaxies. We report on the properties of the faint globular cluster (MV ∼−3.4) in the M31 dwarf galaxy Andromeda I. This object adds to the growing population of low-luminosity Local Group galaxies that host single globular clusters. Keywords: galaxies: individual: Andromeda I – globular clusters: general 1 INTRODUCTION a standard cuspy halo were present, the GC would have been very unlikely to have survived to the present day. -
Asteroid Shape and Spin Statistics from Convex Models J
Asteroid shape and spin statistics from convex models J. Torppa, V.-P. Hentunen, P. Pääkkönen, P. Kehusmaa, K. Muinonen To cite this version: J. Torppa, V.-P. Hentunen, P. Pääkkönen, P. Kehusmaa, K. Muinonen. Asteroid shape and spin statistics from convex models. Icarus, Elsevier, 2008, 198 (1), pp.91. 10.1016/j.icarus.2008.07.014. hal-00499092 HAL Id: hal-00499092 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00499092 Submitted on 9 Jul 2010 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Accepted Manuscript Asteroid shape and spin statistics from convex models J. Torppa, V.-P. Hentunen, P. Pääkkönen, P. Kehusmaa, K. Muinonen PII: S0019-1035(08)00283-2 DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2008.07.014 Reference: YICAR 8734 To appear in: Icarus Received date: 18 September 2007 Revised date: 3 July 2008 Accepted date: 7 July 2008 Please cite this article as: J. Torppa, V.-P. Hentunen, P. Pääkkönen, P. Kehusmaa, K. Muinonen, Asteroid shape and spin statistics from convex models, Icarus (2008), doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2008.07.014 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. -
Naming the Extrasolar Planets
Naming the extrasolar planets W. Lyra Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, K¨onigstuhl 17, 69177, Heidelberg, Germany [email protected] Abstract and OGLE-TR-182 b, which does not help educators convey the message that these planets are quite similar to Jupiter. Extrasolar planets are not named and are referred to only In stark contrast, the sentence“planet Apollo is a gas giant by their assigned scientific designation. The reason given like Jupiter” is heavily - yet invisibly - coated with Coper- by the IAU to not name the planets is that it is consid- nicanism. ered impractical as planets are expected to be common. I One reason given by the IAU for not considering naming advance some reasons as to why this logic is flawed, and sug- the extrasolar planets is that it is a task deemed impractical. gest names for the 403 extrasolar planet candidates known One source is quoted as having said “if planets are found to as of Oct 2009. The names follow a scheme of association occur very frequently in the Universe, a system of individual with the constellation that the host star pertains to, and names for planets might well rapidly be found equally im- therefore are mostly drawn from Roman-Greek mythology. practicable as it is for stars, as planet discoveries progress.” Other mythologies may also be used given that a suitable 1. This leads to a second argument. It is indeed impractical association is established. to name all stars. But some stars are named nonetheless. In fact, all other classes of astronomical bodies are named. -
Science in the Urantia Papers
Science ¾ Scientific Validation of the UB z By Denver Pearson z By Phil Calabrese ¾ Seraphic Velocities ¾ Astronomy The Scientific Integrity of the Urantia Book by Denver Pearson As scientifically minded readers first peruse the Urantia Book, it soon occurs to them that many of its statements on the natural sciences conflict with currently held data and theories. In the minds of many this gives rise to doubts about the truthfulness of those statements. Wisdom would lead us to realize that nothing short of perfection is perfect, and anything touched by human hands has fingerprints. This should be our guiding thoughts as we contemplate the accuracy of the scientific content of the Urantia Papers. Several years ago, at the first scientific symposium, it was implied by one of the speakers that the revelation contains errors. This implication is alarming. More recently, at the second symposium held in Oklahoma, an interesting publication named "The Science Content of The Urantia Book" was made available (this document is obtainable from the Brotherhood of Man Library). In this publication is an article entitled "Time Bombs" in which the author suggests that the revelators planted certain inaccurate scientific statements in the book in order to prevent it from becoming a fetish. He states "...the revelators incorporated safeguards in the papers that would form The Urantia Book to diminish the tendency to regard it as an object of worship. What safeguards did they use? Suppose they decided to make sure that mortals reading it understood that some cosmological statements in the book would be found to be inaccurate". -
September 2020 BRAS Newsletter
A Neowise Comet 2020, photo by Ralf Rohner of Skypointer Photography Monthly Meeting September 14th at 7:00 PM, via Jitsi (Monthly meetings are on 2nd Mondays at Highland Road Park Observatory, temporarily during quarantine at meet.jit.si/BRASMeets). GUEST SPEAKER: NASA Michoud Assembly Facility Director, Robert Champion What's In This Issue? President’s Message Secretary's Summary Business Meeting Minutes Outreach Report Asteroid and Comet News Light Pollution Committee Report Globe at Night Member’s Corner –My Quest For A Dark Place, by Chris Carlton Astro-Photos by BRAS Members Messages from the HRPO REMOTE DISCUSSION Solar Viewing Plus Night Mercurian Elongation Spooky Sensation Great Martian Opposition Observing Notes: Aquila – The Eagle Like this newsletter? See PAST ISSUES online back to 2009 Visit us on Facebook – Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 2 of 27 September 2020 President’s Message Welcome to September. You may have noticed that this newsletter is showing up a little bit later than usual, and it’s for good reason: release of the newsletter will now happen after the monthly business meeting so that we can have a chance to keep everybody up to date on the latest information. Sometimes, this will mean the newsletter shows up a couple of days late. But, the upshot is that you’ll now be able to see what we discussed at the recent business meeting and have time to digest it before our general meeting in case you want to give some feedback. Now that we’re on the new format, business meetings (and the oft neglected Light Pollution Committee Meeting), are going to start being open to all members of the club again by simply joining up in the respective chat rooms the Wednesday before the first Monday of the month—which I encourage people to do, especially if you have some ideas you want to see the club put into action. -
And Ecclesiastical Cosmology
GSJ: VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2018 101 GSJ: Volume 6, Issue 3, March 2018, Online: ISSN 2320-9186 www.globalscientificjournal.com DEMOLITION HUBBLE'S LAW, BIG BANG THE BASIS OF "MODERN" AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSMOLOGY Author: Weitter Duckss (Slavko Sedic) Zadar Croatia Pусскй Croatian „If two objects are represented by ball bearings and space-time by the stretching of a rubber sheet, the Doppler effect is caused by the rolling of ball bearings over the rubber sheet in order to achieve a particular motion. A cosmological red shift occurs when ball bearings get stuck on the sheet, which is stretched.“ Wikipedia OK, let's check that on our local group of galaxies (the table from my article „Where did the blue spectral shift inside the universe come from?“) galaxies, local groups Redshift km/s Blueshift km/s Sextans B (4.44 ± 0.23 Mly) 300 ± 0 Sextans A 324 ± 2 NGC 3109 403 ± 1 Tucana Dwarf 130 ± ? Leo I 285 ± 2 NGC 6822 -57 ± 2 Andromeda Galaxy -301 ± 1 Leo II (about 690,000 ly) 79 ± 1 Phoenix Dwarf 60 ± 30 SagDIG -79 ± 1 Aquarius Dwarf -141 ± 2 Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte -122 ± 2 Pisces Dwarf -287 ± 0 Antlia Dwarf 362 ± 0 Leo A 0.000067 (z) Pegasus Dwarf Spheroidal -354 ± 3 IC 10 -348 ± 1 NGC 185 -202 ± 3 Canes Venatici I ~ 31 GSJ© 2018 www.globalscientificjournal.com GSJ: VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2018 102 Andromeda III -351 ± 9 Andromeda II -188 ± 3 Triangulum Galaxy -179 ± 3 Messier 110 -241 ± 3 NGC 147 (2.53 ± 0.11 Mly) -193 ± 3 Small Magellanic Cloud 0.000527 Large Magellanic Cloud - - M32 -200 ± 6 NGC 205 -241 ± 3 IC 1613 -234 ± 1 Carina Dwarf 230 ± 60 Sextans Dwarf 224 ± 2 Ursa Minor Dwarf (200 ± 30 kly) -247 ± 1 Draco Dwarf -292 ± 21 Cassiopeia Dwarf -307 ± 2 Ursa Major II Dwarf - 116 Leo IV 130 Leo V ( 585 kly) 173 Leo T -60 Bootes II -120 Pegasus Dwarf -183 ± 0 Sculptor Dwarf 110 ± 1 Etc. -
Modelling and Mapping Resource Overlap Between Marine Mammals and Fisheries on a Global Scale
Modelling and Mapping Resource Overlap between Marine Mammals and Fisheries on a Global Scale by KRISTIN KASCHNER Biologie Diplom, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg, Germany, 1998 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Zoology) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 2004 © Kristin Kaschner, 2004 Abstract Potential competition for food resources between marine mammals and fisheries has been an issue of much debate in recent years. Given the almost cosmopolitan distributions of many marine mammal species, investigations conducted at small geographic scales may, however, result in a distorted perception of the extent of the problem. Unfortunately, the complexity of marine food webs and the lack of reliable data about marine mammal diets, abundances, food intake rates etc., currently preclude the assessment of competition at adequately large scales. In contrast, the investigation of global resource overlap between marine mammals and fisheries (i.e., the extent to which both players exploit the same type of food resources in the same areas) may, however, be easier to achieve and provide some useful insights in this context. Information about the occurrence of species is a crucial pre-requisite to assess resource overlap and also to address other marine mammal conservation issues. However, the delineation of ranges of marine mammals is challenging, due to the vastness of the ocean environment and the difficulties associated with surveying most species. Consequently, existing maps of large-scale distributions are mostly limited to subjective outlines of maximum range extents, with little additional information about heterogeneous patterns of occurrence within these ranges. -
Celestial Home of Stars Magda Streicher [email protected]
deep-sky delights Celestial Home of Stars Magda Streicher [email protected] In an�quity the Capricornus constella- �on was seen as a monster with the head and forelegs of a goat and the posterior of a fish. The creature could almost be compared to the so-called Mermaid but Image source: Stellarium.org could also some�mes, in the case of Cap- ricornus, refer to the Fishman. served towards the east it indicates the The name ‘Tropic of Capricornus’ origi- point of the winter sols�ce, this sols�ce nates from the fact that when first ob- at present being 33o to the west in the figure of Sagi�arius. The constella�on is special to the au- thor for two good reasons. Not only does she live right inside the old Tropic of Capricorn Circle, but the image also reflects a par�cular shape: it looks very much like a huge lopsided triangle, and special in the star composi�on. Heaven alone knows how anyone could see a sea goat with horns in that par�cular star pa�ern, but be that as it may … We will carefully unravel the constella�on, which holds a large number of bright stars to pleasure the eye. The constella�on occupies 414 square degrees of sky and is situated just east of Sagi�arius, but sadly it is not rich in Monument marking the tropic of Capricorn deep-sky objects. S�ll, it is an easily outside Polokwane, Limpopo province. recognisable compila�on, with several mnassa vol 72 nos 5 & 6 126 127 june 2013 capricornus: celestial home of stars look-alike double stars and is, famously, The lovely double star, alpha Capri- a close neighbour to the centre of the corni, also the star closest to the Sagit- Milky Way. -
Connecting @Ll Space People Welcome Message 2
Connecting @ll Space People Welcome Message 2 IAF 2018 Events Overview 3 IAF General Assembly 4 ISF 2017 6 IAF Spring Meetings 2018 8 GLAC 2018 9 IAC 2018 10 Overview 11 Plenaries 13 Highlight Lectures 20 Late Breaking News 23 IAF Global Networking Forum (GNF) 24 IAC Special Sessions 37 IAF IDEA “3G” Diversity Events 44 IAC Hosts Summit 46 9th IAF International Meeting for Members 48 of Parliaments YPP Networking Reception 50 Emerging Space Leaders 51 Grant Programme (ESL Grants) Press Conference: Upcoming Global Conference 52 on Space for Emerging Countries, GLEC 2019 ISF 2018 54 IAF Committees’ Reports 56 Technical Committees 57 Administrative Committees 78 Published by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) 3rd Issue - February 2019 IAF 2018 Activities 80 Copyright © International Astronautical Federation. Other 2018 Events 80 All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted by any form or by any The International Astronautical Federation 83 means, electronical or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission from the publishers. CONTENTS IAF 2018 Events Overview Welcome Message Spring has already event in Uruguay. For three days, than 10,000 attendees came to Meetings begun, but experts gathered in Montevideo witness this exceptional event. 2018 2019 we can look to discuss space applications back at 2018 as a very impressive with a specific focus on emerging The majority of IAF publications and successful year. This publica- space nations and Latin America. and for the first time, the IAC tion, the IAF Highlights, is sum- Final Programmes, have been marizing the main IAF events The 69th International Astro- printed in recycled paper this and activities that took place. -
GTO Keypad Manual, V5.001
ASTRO-PHYSICS GTO KEYPAD Version v5.xxx Please read the manual even if you are familiar with previous keypad versions Flash RAM Updates Keypad Java updates can be accomplished through the Internet. Check our web site www.astro-physics.com/software-updates/ November 11, 2020 ASTRO-PHYSICS KEYPAD MANUAL FOR MACH2GTO Version 5.xxx November 11, 2020 ABOUT THIS MANUAL 4 REQUIREMENTS 5 What Mount Control Box Do I Need? 5 Can I Upgrade My Present Keypad? 5 GTO KEYPAD 6 Layout and Buttons of the Keypad 6 Vacuum Fluorescent Display 6 N-S-E-W Directional Buttons 6 STOP Button 6 <PREV and NEXT> Buttons 7 Number Buttons 7 GOTO Button 7 ± Button 7 MENU / ESC Button 7 RECAL and NEXT> Buttons Pressed Simultaneously 7 ENT Button 7 Retractable Hanger 7 Keypad Protector 8 Keypad Care and Warranty 8 Warranty 8 Keypad Battery for 512K Memory Boards 8 Cleaning Red Keypad Display 8 Temperature Ratings 8 Environmental Recommendation 8 GETTING STARTED – DO THIS AT HOME, IF POSSIBLE 9 Set Up your Mount and Cable Connections 9 Gather Basic Information 9 Enter Your Location, Time and Date 9 Set Up Your Mount in the Field 10 Polar Alignment 10 Mach2GTO Daytime Alignment Routine 10 KEYPAD START UP SEQUENCE FOR NEW SETUPS OR SETUP IN NEW LOCATION 11 Assemble Your Mount 11 Startup Sequence 11 Location 11 Select Existing Location 11 Set Up New Location 11 Date and Time 12 Additional Information 12 KEYPAD START UP SEQUENCE FOR MOUNTS USED AT THE SAME LOCATION WITHOUT A COMPUTER 13 KEYPAD START UP SEQUENCE FOR COMPUTER CONTROLLED MOUNTS 14 1 OBJECTS MENU – HAVE SOME FUN! -
An Ancient and a Primordial Collisional Family As the Main Sources of X-Type Asteroids of the Inner Main Belt
Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. agapi2019.01.22_R1 c ESO 2019 February 6, 2019 An ancient and a primordial collisional family as the main sources of X-type asteroids of the inner Main Belt ∗ Marco Delbo’1, Chrysa Avdellidou1; 2, and Alessandro Morbidelli1 1 Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS–Lagrange, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CS 34229 – F 06304 NICE Cedex 4, France e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] 2 Science Support Office, Directorate of Science, European Space Agency, Keplerlaan 1, NL-2201 AZ Noordwijk ZH, The Netherlands. Received February 6, 2019; accepted February 6, 2019 ABSTRACT Aims. The near-Earth asteroid population suggests the existence of an inner Main Belt source of asteroids that belongs to the spec- troscopic X-complex and has moderate albedos. The identification of such a source has been lacking so far. We argue that the most probable source is one or more collisional asteroid families that escaped discovery up to now. Methods. We apply a novel method to search for asteroid families in the inner Main Belt population of asteroids belonging to the X- complex with moderate albedo. Instead of searching for asteroid clusters in orbital elements space, which could be severely dispersed when older than some billions of years, our method looks for correlations between the orbital semimajor axis and the inverse size of asteroids. This correlation is the signature of members of collisional families, which drifted from a common centre under the effect of the Yarkovsky thermal effect. Results. We identify two previously unknown families in the inner Main Belt among the moderate-albedo X-complex asteroids.