Debra Fischer Education Professional Experience Honors and Awards
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The Nearest Stars: a Guided Tour by Sherwood Harrington, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
www.astrosociety.org/uitc No. 5 - Spring 1986 © 1986, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 390 Ashton Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112. The Nearest Stars: A Guided Tour by Sherwood Harrington, Astronomical Society of the Pacific A tour through our stellar neighborhood As evening twilight fades during April and early May, a brilliant, blue-white star can be seen low in the sky toward the southwest. That star is called Sirius, and it is the brightest star in Earth's nighttime sky. Sirius looks so bright in part because it is a relatively powerful light producer; if our Sun were suddenly replaced by Sirius, our daylight on Earth would be more than 20 times as bright as it is now! But the other reason Sirius is so brilliant in our nighttime sky is that it is so close; Sirius is the nearest neighbor star to the Sun that can be seen with the unaided eye from the Northern Hemisphere. "Close'' in the interstellar realm, though, is a very relative term. If you were to model the Sun as a basketball, then our planet Earth would be about the size of an apple seed 30 yards away from it — and even the nearest other star (alpha Centauri, visible from the Southern Hemisphere) would be 6,000 miles away. Distances among the stars are so large that it is helpful to express them using the light-year — the distance light travels in one year — as a measuring unit. In this way of expressing distances, alpha Centauri is about four light-years away, and Sirius is about eight and a half light- years distant. -
Where Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps
W here Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps Abo ut the Activity Whe re are the distant worlds in the night sky? Use a star map to find constellations and to identify stars with extrasolar planets. (Northern Hemisphere only, naked eye) Topics Covered • How to find Constellations • Where we have found planets around other stars Participants Adults, teens, families with children 8 years and up If a school/youth group, 10 years and older 1 to 4 participants per map Materials Needed Location and Timing • Current month's Star Map for the Use this activity at a star party on a public (included) dark, clear night. Timing depends only • At least one set Planetary on how long you want to observe. Postcards with Key (included) • A small (red) flashlight • (Optional) Print list of Visible Stars with Planets (included) Included in This Packet Page Detailed Activity Description 2 Helpful Hints 4 Background Information 5 Planetary Postcards 7 Key Planetary Postcards 9 Star Maps 20 Visible Stars With Planets 33 © 2008 Astronomical Society of the Pacific www.astrosociety.org Copies for educational purposes are permitted. Additional astronomy activities can be found here: http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov Detailed Activity Description Leader’s Role Participants’ Roles (Anticipated) Introduction: To Ask: Who has heard that scientists have found planets around stars other than our own Sun? How many of these stars might you think have been found? Anyone ever see a star that has planets around it? (our own Sun, some may know of other stars) We can’t see the planets around other stars, but we can see the star. -
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. -
Thinking Outside the Sphere Views of the Stars from Aristotle to Herschel Thinking Outside the Sphere
Thinking Outside the Sphere Views of the Stars from Aristotle to Herschel Thinking Outside the Sphere A Constellation of Rare Books from the History of Science Collection The exhibition was made possible by generous support from Mr. & Mrs. James B. Hebenstreit and Mrs. Lathrop M. Gates. CATALOG OF THE EXHIBITION Linda Hall Library Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology Cynthia J. Rogers, Curator 5109 Cherry Street Kansas City MO 64110 1 Thinking Outside the Sphere is held in copyright by the Linda Hall Library, 2010, and any reproduction of text or images requires permission. The Linda Hall Library is an independently funded library devoted to science, engineering and technology which is used extensively by The exhibition opened at the Linda Hall Library April 22 and closed companies, academic institutions and individuals throughout the world. September 18, 2010. The Library was established by the wills of Herbert and Linda Hall and opened in 1946. It is located on a 14 acre arboretum in Kansas City, Missouri, the site of the former home of Herbert and Linda Hall. Sources of images on preliminary pages: Page 1, cover left: Peter Apian. Cosmographia, 1550. We invite you to visit the Library or our website at www.lindahlll.org. Page 1, right: Camille Flammarion. L'atmosphère météorologie populaire, 1888. Page 3, Table of contents: Leonhard Euler. Theoria motuum planetarum et cometarum, 1744. 2 Table of Contents Introduction Section1 The Ancient Universe Section2 The Enduring Earth-Centered System Section3 The Sun Takes -
Fy10 Budget by Program
AURA/NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2010 Revised Submitted to the National Science Foundation March 16, 2011 This image, aimed toward the southern celestial pole atop the CTIO Blanco 4-m telescope, shows the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the Milky Way (Carinae Region) and the Coal Sack (dark area, close to the Southern Crux). The 33 “written” on the Schmidt Telescope dome using a green laser pointer during the two-minute exposure commemorates the rescue effort of 33 miners trapped for 69 days almost 700 m underground in the San Jose mine in northern Chile. The image was taken while the rescue was in progress on 13 October 2010, at 3:30 am Chilean Daylight Saving time. Image Credit: Arturo Gomez/CTIO/NOAO/AURA/NSF National Optical Astronomy Observatory Fiscal Year Annual Report for FY 2010 Revised (October 1, 2009 – September 30, 2010) Submitted to the National Science Foundation Pursuant to Cooperative Support Agreement No. AST-0950945 March 16, 2011 Table of Contents MISSION SYNOPSIS ............................................................................................................ IV 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 1 2 NOAO ACCOMPLISHMENTS ....................................................................................... 2 2.1 Achievements ..................................................................................................... 2 2.2 Status of Vision and Goals ................................................................................ -
METEOR CSILLAGÁSZATI ÉVKÖNYV 2019 Meteor Csillagászati Évkönyv 2019
METEOR CSILLAGÁSZATI ÉVKÖNYV 2019 meteor csillagászati évkönyv 2019 Szerkesztette: Benkő József Mizser Attila Magyar Csillagászati Egyesület www.mcse.hu Budapest, 2018 Az évkönyv kalendárium részének összeállításában közreműködött: Tartalom Bagó Balázs Görgei Zoltán Kaposvári Zoltán Kiss Áron Keve Kovács József Bevezető ....................................................................................................... 7 Molnár Péter Sánta Gábor Kalendárium .............................................................................................. 13 Sárneczky Krisztián Szabadi Péter Cikkek Szabó Sándor Szőllősi Attila Zsoldos Endre: 100 éves a Nemzetközi Csillagászati Unió ........................191 Zsoldos Endre Maria Lugaro – Kereszturi Ákos: Elemkeletkezés a csillagokban.............. 203 Szabó Róbert: Az OGLE égboltfelmérés 25 éve ........................................218 A kalendárium csillagtérképei az Ursa Minor szoftverrel készültek. www.ursaminor.hu Beszámolók Mizser Attila: A Magyar Csillagászati Egyesület Szakmailag ellenőrizte: 2017. évi tevékenysége .........................................................................242 Szabados László Kiss László – Szabó Róbert: Az MTA CSFK Csillagászati Intézetének 2017. évi tevékenysége .........................................................................248 Petrovay Kristóf: Az ELTE Csillagászati Tanszékének működése 2017-ben ............................................................................ 262 Szabó M. Gyula: Az ELTE Gothard Asztrofi zikai Obszervatórium -
10. Scientific Programme 10.1
10. SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME 10.1. OVERVIEW (a) Invited Discourses Plenary Hall B 18:00-19:30 ID1 “The Zoo of Galaxies” Karen Masters, University of Portsmouth, UK Monday, 20 August ID2 “Supernovae, the Accelerating Cosmos, and Dark Energy” Brian Schmidt, ANU, Australia Wednesday, 22 August ID3 “The Herschel View of Star Formation” Philippe André, CEA Saclay, France Wednesday, 29 August ID4 “Past, Present and Future of Chinese Astronomy” Cheng Fang, Nanjing University, China Nanjing Thursday, 30 August (b) Plenary Symposium Review Talks Plenary Hall B (B) 8:30-10:00 Or Rooms 309A+B (3) IAUS 288 Astrophysics from Antarctica John Storey (3) Mon. 20 IAUS 289 The Cosmic Distance Scale: Past, Present and Future Wendy Freedman (3) Mon. 27 IAUS 290 Probing General Relativity using Accreting Black Holes Andy Fabian (B) Wed. 22 IAUS 291 Pulsars are Cool – seriously Scott Ransom (3) Thu. 23 Magnetars: neutron stars with magnetic storms Nanda Rea (3) Thu. 23 Probing Gravitation with Pulsars Michael Kremer (3) Thu. 23 IAUS 292 From Gas to Stars over Cosmic Time Mordacai-Mark Mac Low (B) Tue. 21 IAUS 293 The Kepler Mission: NASA’s ExoEarth Census Natalie Batalha (3) Tue. 28 IAUS 294 The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetism Bryan Gaensler (B) Wed. 29 IAUS 295 Black Holes in Galaxies John Kormendy (B) Thu. 30 (c) Symposia - Week 1 IAUS 288 Astrophysics from Antartica IAUS 290 Accretion on all scales IAUS 291 Neutron Stars and Pulsars IAUS 292 Molecular gas, Dust, and Star Formation in Galaxies (d) Symposia –Week 2 IAUS 289 Advancing the Physics of Cosmic -
The Search for Exomoons and the Characterization of Exoplanet Atmospheres
Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Astronomia e Astrofisica The search for exomoons and the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres Relatore interno : dott. Alessandro Melchiorri Relatore esterno : dott.ssa Giovanna Tinetti Candidato: Giammarco Campanella Anno Accademico 2008/2009 The search for exomoons and the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres Giammarco Campanella Dipartimento di Fisica Università degli studi di Roma “La Sapienza” Associate at Department of Physics & Astronomy University College London A thesis submitted for the MSc Degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics September 4th, 2009 Università degli Studi di Roma ―La Sapienza‖ Abstract THE SEARCH FOR EXOMOONS AND THE CHARACTERIZATION OF EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES by Giammarco Campanella Since planets were first discovered outside our own Solar System in 1992 (around a pulsar) and in 1995 (around a main sequence star), extrasolar planet studies have become one of the most dynamic research fields in astronomy. Our knowledge of extrasolar planets has grown exponentially, from our understanding of their formation and evolution to the development of different methods to detect them. Now that more than 370 exoplanets have been discovered, focus has moved from finding planets to characterise these alien worlds. As well as detecting the atmospheres of these exoplanets, part of the characterisation process undoubtedly involves the search for extrasolar moons. The structure of the thesis is as follows. In Chapter 1 an historical background is provided and some general aspects about ongoing situation in the research field of extrasolar planets are shown. In Chapter 2, various detection techniques such as radial velocity, microlensing, astrometry, circumstellar disks, pulsar timing and magnetospheric emission are described. A special emphasis is given to the transit photometry technique and to the two already operational transit space missions, CoRoT and Kepler. -
Hot Jupiters with Relatives: Discovery of Additional Planets in Orbit Around WASP-41 and WASP-47?,??
A&A 586, A93 (2016) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201526965 & c ESO 2016 Astrophysics Hot Jupiters with relatives: discovery of additional planets in orbit around WASP-41 and WASP-47?;?? M. Neveu-VanMalle1;2, D. Queloz2;1, D. R. Anderson3, D. J. A. Brown4, A. Collier Cameron5, L. Delrez6, R. F. Díaz1, M. Gillon6, C. Hellier3, E. Jehin6, T. Lister7, F. Pepe1, P. Rojo8, D. Ségransan1, A. H. M. J. Triaud9;10;1, O. D. Turner3, and S. Udry1 1 Observatoire Astronomique de l’Université de Genève, Chemin des Maillettes 51, 1290 Sauverny, Switzerland e-mail: [email protected] 2 Cavendish Laboratory, J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK 3 Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK 4 Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK 5 SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, North Haugh, Fife, KY16 9SS, UK 6 Institut d’Astrophysique et de Géophysique, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 Août, 17, Bat. B5C, 19C 4000 Liège 1, Belgium 7 Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Dr. Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117, USA 8 Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Camino El Observatorio 1515, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile 9 Centre for Planetary Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada 10 Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H4, Canada Received 14 July 2015 / Accepted 30 September 2015 ABSTRACT We report the discovery of two additional planetary companions to WASP-41 and WASP-47. -
About the Foroughi Cup and About the Seven Planets in the Ancient World
Archaeoastronomy and Ancient Technologies 2018, 6(2), 31–37; http://aaatec.org/art/a_cm2 www.aaatec.org ISSN 2310-2144 About the Foroughi Cup and about the seven planets in the Ancient World Mario Codebò 1, Henry De Santis 2 1 Archeoastronomia Ligustica, S.I.A., SAIt, Genoa, Italy; E-Mail: [email protected] 2 Archeoastronomia Ligustica, S.I.A., SAIt, Genoa, Italy; E-Mail: [email protected] Abstract The Foroughi Cup is an artefact of the 8th century BC of Aramaic cultural context, inside which images of stars and constellations are reproduced. In this study of ours we start from the conclusions reached by Amadasi Guzzo and Castellani in their two works of 2005 and 2006 and we add some further considerations and identifications. We then explain the hypothesis that some cultures of the Ancient World include seven planets, excluding the Moon and the Sun, because Mercury and Venus, always visible only at dawn or at sunset, were perhaps considered four different planets. Finally, we propose the thesis that their evil character depends, as for every new star (novae, supernovae, comets, etc.), on the fact that they alter the synchrony of the cosmos with their variable motion (variable declination heaven bodies). Keywords: Foroughi Cup, planets, Moon, Sun, Aramaic culture. The Foroughi Cup The Foroughi Cup is a bronze artefact (fig. 1), dated to the first half of the 1st millennium BC, containing in its concave interior a representation of the celestial vault and seven very small Aramaic inscriptions, only three of which are quite legible: ŠMŠ = Sun (above the representation of the Sun, in which a lion's head is also engraved); ŠHR = Moon (above the representation of the crescent of the Moon); hypothetically R'Š ŠR' = Head of the Bull (above the bucranium). -
Stellar Distances Teacher Guide
Stars and Planets 1 TEACHER GUIDE Stellar Distances Our Star, the Sun In this Exploration, find out: ! How do the distances of stars compare to our scale model solar system?. ! What is a light year? ! How long would it take to reach the nearest star to our solar system? (Image Credit: NASA/Transition Region & Coronal Explorer) Note: The above image of the Sun is an X -ray view rather than a visible light image. Stellar Distances Teacher Guide In this exercise students will plan a scale model to explore the distances between stars, focusing on Alpha Centauri, the system of stars nearest to the Sun. This activity builds upon the activity Sizes of Stars, which should be done first, and upon the Scale in the Solar System activity, which is strongly recommended as a prerequisite. Stellar Distances is a math activity as well as a science activity. Necessary Prerequisite: Sizes of Stars activity Recommended Prerequisite: Scale Model Solar System activity Grade Level: 6-8 Curriculum Standards: The Stellar Distances lesson is matched to: ! National Science and Math Education Content Standards for grades 5-8. ! National Math Standards 5-8 ! Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (grades 6 and 8) ! Content Standards for California Public Schools (grade 8) Time Frame: The activity should take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete, including short introductions and follow-ups. Purpose: To aid students in understanding the distances between stars, how those distances compare with the sizes of stars, and the distances between objects in our own solar system. © 2007 Dr Mary Urquhart, University of Texas at Dallas Stars and Planets 2 TEACHER GUIDE Stellar Distances Key Concepts: o Distances between stars are immense compared with the sizes of stars. -
IAU Division C Working Group on Star Names 2019 Annual Report
IAU Division C Working Group on Star Names 2019 Annual Report Eric Mamajek (chair, USA) WG Members: Juan Antonio Belmote Avilés (Spain), Sze-leung Cheung (Thailand), Beatriz García (Argentina), Steven Gullberg (USA), Duane Hamacher (Australia), Susanne M. Hoffmann (Germany), Alejandro López (Argentina), Javier Mejuto (Honduras), Thierry Montmerle (France), Jay Pasachoff (USA), Ian Ridpath (UK), Clive Ruggles (UK), B.S. Shylaja (India), Robert van Gent (Netherlands), Hitoshi Yamaoka (Japan) WG Associates: Danielle Adams (USA), Yunli Shi (China), Doris Vickers (Austria) WGSN Website: https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/ WGSN Email: [email protected] The Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) consists of an international group of astronomers with expertise in stellar astronomy, astronomical history, and cultural astronomy who research and catalog proper names for stars for use by the international astronomical community, and also to aid the recognition and preservation of intangible astronomical heritage. The Terms of Reference and membership for WG Star Names (WGSN) are provided at the IAU website: https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/. WGSN was re-proposed to Division C and was approved in April 2019 as a functional WG whose scope extends beyond the normal 3-year cycle of IAU working groups. The WGSN was specifically called out on p. 22 of IAU Strategic Plan 2020-2030: “The IAU serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and their surface features. To do so, the IAU has a number of Working Groups on various topics, most notably on the nomenclature of small bodies in the Solar System and planetary systems under Division F and on Star Names under Division C.” WGSN continues its long term activity of researching cultural astronomy literature for star names, and researching etymologies with the goal of adding this information to the WGSN’s online materials.