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This is a practical guide to using a small astronomical telescope of a size that corresponds to most “first” telescopes – around 75-150 mm, i.e. 3-6 inches, in diameter.Visual Astronomy with a Small Telescope is for people who are sufficiently interested in astronomy to have purchased a small telescope or received one as a gift, but who are still developing experience of using one. They may have looked at the Moon and major planets and be wondering, “What's next?” There are many books catering for casual star-gazing and many more advanced books dealing with astrophotography and astrophysics, but this is for someone who has acquired their first telescope or soon will and wants to make the most of it.It explains how the optics of the telescope function, so the reader understands what their telescope can do and how eyepieces should be selected and used depending on the type of object being observed. It details different types of astronomical objects, their astrophysical significance, and how to observe them. It contains 43 detailed, clear charts and describes 380 objects suitable for visual observation with a small telescope and explains how to locate them without needing a computer-controlled telescope. It will help readers make the most of their telescopes to successfully observe the Universe and kick-start a life-long interest in star-gazing.• Presents essential information on optics, astronomy and astrophysics for anyone with a small telescope. • Contains 43 detailed charts, based on the constellations and showing stars down to magnitude 8.5, and identifies 380 objects suitable for visual observation with a small telescope. • Written by a Professor of Astrophysics with experience as both an amateur astronomer and a professional observational astronomer using telescopes at both small and major observatories around the world.

One of today's leading astronomers takes readers inside the decades-long search for the first galaxies and the origin of starlightAstronomers are like time travelers, scanning the night sky for the outermost galaxies that first came into being when our universe was a mere fraction of its present age. When Galaxies Were Born is Richard Ellis's firsthand account of how a pioneering generation of scientists harnessed the world's largest telescopes to decipher the history of the universe and witness cosmic dawn, the time when starlight first bathed the cosmos and galaxies emerged from darkness.In a remarkable career spanning more than forty years, Ellis has made some of the most spectacular discoveries in modern cosmology. He has traveled the world to conduct observations in locales as beautiful and remote as the Australian outback, the Canary Islands, Hawaii, and the Chilean desert. In this book, he brings to life a golden age of astronomy, describing the triumphs and the technical setbacks, the rivalries with competing teams, and the perennial challenge of cloudy nights. Ellis reveals the astonishing progress we have made in building ever larger and more powerful telescopes, and provides a tantalizing glimpse of cosmic dawn.Stunningly illustrated with a wealth of dramatic photos, When Galaxies Were Born is a bold scientific adventure enlivened by personal insights and anecdotes that enable readers to share in the thrill of discovery at the frontiers of astronomy.

A Practical Guide to Observational Astronomy provides a practical and accessible introduction to the ideas and concepts that are essential to making and analyzing astronomical observations.A key emphasis of the book is on how modern astronomy would be impossible without the extensive use of computers, both for the control of astronomical instruments and the subsequent data analysis. Astronomers now need to use software to access and assess the data they produce, so understanding how to use computers to control equipment and analyze data is as crucial to modern astronomers as a telescope.Therefore, this book contains an array of practical problems for readers to test their knowledge, in addition to a wealth of examples and tutorials using Python on the author's website, where readers can download and create image processing scripts.This is an excellent study guide or textbook for an observational astronomy course for advanced undergraduate and graduate astronomy and physics students familiar with writing and running simple Python scripts.Key Features Contains the latest developments and technologies from astronomical observatories and telescope facilities on the ground and in space Accompanied by a companion website with examples, tutorials, Python scripts, and resources Authored by an observational astronomer with over thirty years of observing and teaching experience About the AuthorM. Shane Burns earned his BA in physics at UC San Diego in 1979. He began graduate work at UC Berkeley in 1979, where he worked on an automated search for nearby supernovae. After being awarded a PhD in 1985, Professor Burns became a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wyoming. He spent the summer of 1988 as a visiting scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, where he helped found the Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP). He continued to work as a member of the SCP group while a faculty member at Harvey Mudd College, the US Air Force Academy, and Colorado College. The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the leader of the SCP for the group's'discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae.'During his career, Professor Burns has observed using essentially all of the world's great observatories, including the Keck Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope.Companion website for the book: https://mshaneburns.github.io/ObsAstro/

This open access book provides a comprehensive toolbox of analysis techniques for ionospheric multi-satellite missions. The immediate need for this volume was motivated by the ongoing ESA Swarm satellite mission, but the tools that are described are general and can be used for any future ionospheric multi-satellite mission with comparable instrumentation. In addition to researching the immediate plasma environment and its coupling to other regions, such a mission aims to study the Earth's main magnetic field and its anomalies caused by core, mantle, or crustal sources. The parameters for carrying out this kind of work are examined in these chapters. Besides currents, electric fields, and plasma convection, these parameters include ionospheric conductance, Joule heating, neutral gas densities, and neutral winds.

This book presents principal structures of space systems functionality of meteorological networks, media and applications for modern remote sensing, transmission systems, meteorological ground and users segments and transferring weather data from satellite to the ground infrastructures and users. The author presents techniques and different modes of satellite image interpretation, type of satellite imagery, spectral imaging properties, and enhancement of imaging technique, geo-location and calibration, atmospheric and surface phenomena. Several satellite meteorological applications are introduced including common satellite remote sensing applications, weather analysis, warnings and prediction, observation and measurements of meteorological variables, atmosphere and surface applications, ocean and coastal applications, land, agriculture and forestry applications, and maritime and aviation satellite weather applications. The author also covers ground segment and user segment in detail. The final chapter looks to the future, covering possible space integrations in meteorological and weather observation.This is a companion book of Global Satellite Meteorological Observation Theory (Springer), which provides the following topics:Evolution of meteorological observations and history satellite meteorologySpace segment with satellite orbits and meteorological payloadsAnalog and digital transmission, type of modulations and broadcasting systemsAtmospheric radiation, satellite meteorological parameters and instrumentsMeteorological antenna systems and propagation

This book includes 58 selected articles that highlight the major contributions of Professor Radha Charan Gupta—a doyen of history of mathematics—written on a variety of important topics pertaining to mathematics and astronomy in India. It is divided into ten parts. Part I presents three articles offering an overview of Professor Gupta's oeuvre. The four articles in Part II convey the importance of studies in the history of mathematics. Parts III–VII constituting 33 articles, feature a number of articles on a variety of topics, such as geometry, trigonometry, algebra, combinatorics and spherical trigonometry, which not only reveal the breadth and depth of Professor Gupta's work, but also highlight his deep commitment to the promotion of studies in the history of mathematics. The ten articles of part VIII, present interesting bibliographical sketches of a few veteran historians of mathematics and astronomy in India. Part IX examines the dissemination of mathematical knowledge across different civilisations. The last part presents an up-to-date bibliography of Gupta's work. It also includes a tribute to him in Sanskrit composed in eight verses.

This thesis focuses on understanding the growth and formation mechanism of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), an issue it addresses by investigating the dense interstellar medium that is assumed to be a crucial component of the fuel for SMBHs. The thesis also offers unique guidance on using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in active galactic nuclei (AGN) research. The author presents the three major findings regarding SMBH formation and growth: (1) The development of a new diagnostic method for the energy sources in galaxies based on submillimeter spectroscopy, which allows identification of accreting SMBHs even in obscured environments, (2) the discovery that the circumnuclear dense gas disk (CND), with a typical size of a few tens of parsecs, which plays a crucial role in governing the growth of SMBHs, and (3) the discovery that the mass transfer budget from the CND to the central SMBHs can be quantitatively understood with a theoretical model incorporating the circumnuclear starburst as a driver of mass transfer. The thesis skillfully reviews these three findings, which have greatly improved our understanding of the growth mechanism of SMBHs.

From the author of'Celestial Sleuth'(2014), yet more mysteries in art, history, and literature are solved by calculating phases of the Moon, determining the positions of the planets and stars, and identifying celestial objects in paintings. In addition to helping to crack difficult cases, these studies spark our imagination and provide a better understanding of the skies. Weather archives, vintage maps, tides, historical letters and diaries, military records and the assistance of experts in related fields help with this work.For each historical event influenced by astronomy, there is a different kind of mystery to be solved. How did the changing tides affect an army's battle plans? How did the phases of the moon affect how an artist painted a landscape? Follow these exciting investigations with a master “celestial sleuth” as he tracks down the truth and helps unravel mysteries as far back as the Middle Ages and as recent as the iconic 1945 photograph of a kiss inTimes Square on VJ Day. Topics or'cases'pursued were chosen for their wide public recognition and intrigue and involve artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet; historical events such as the campaigns of Braveheart in Scotland and battles in World War II and the Korean War; and literary authors such as Chaucer, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Byron, and Edgar Allan Poe.

​The universe contains many unusual sights and sounds, most of which are either very difficult to witness or simply go unnoticed. With the right tools, time, and location, some of the often talked about but seldom seen and heard gems in our skies can finally be observed.This book introduces readers to the rare and ephemeral happenings above our heads. It offers a crash course in astronomical history, detailing the observations, assumptions, and inventions of different cultures over time as they turned their studies to the stars. Using this as a baseline to redefine truly'rare'occurrences, Jonathan Powell then provides modern-day astronomers at all levels with pointers for what they can witness and when. From phenomena as old and far-off as a supernova witnessed a thousand years ago, and as recent and nearby as Sputnik's famous beeping, this book covers everything that one must know to see, hear, and appreciate the astronomical events happening around us.

This thesis develops and establishes several methods to determine the detailed geometric architecture of transiting exoplanetary systems (planets orbiting around, and periodically passing in front of, stars other than the sun) using high-precision photometric data collected by the Kepler space telescope. It highlights the measurement of stellar obliquity – the tilt of the stellar equator with respect to the planetary orbital plane(s) – and presents methods for more precise obliquity measurements in individual systems of particular interest, as well as for measurements in systems that have been out of reach of previous methods. Such information is useful for investigating the dynamical evolution of the planetary orbit, which is the key to understanding the diverse architecture of exoplanetary systems. The thesis also demonstrates a wide range of unique applications of high-precision photometric data, which expand the capability of future space-based photometry.

This book consists of invited reviews written by world-renowned experts on the subject of the outskirts of galaxies, an upcoming field which has been understudied so far. These regions are faint and hard to observe, yet hide a tremendous amount of information on the origin and early evolution of galaxies. They thus allow astronomers to address some of the most topical problems, such as gaseous and satellite accretion, radial migration, and merging. The book is published in conjunction with the celebration of the end of the four-year DAGAL project, an EU-funded initial training network, and with a major international conference on the topic held in March 2016 in Toledo. It thus reflects not only the views of the experts, but also the scientific discussions and progress achieved during the project and the meeting. The reviews in the book describe the most modern observations of the outer regions of our own Galaxy, and of galaxies in the local and high-redshift Universe. They tackle disks, haloes, streams, and accretion as observed through deep imaging and spectroscopy, and guide the reader through the various formation and evolution scenarios for galaxies. The reviews focus on the major open questions in the field, and explore how they can be tackled in the future. This book provides a unique entry point into the field for graduate students and non-specialists, and serves as a reference work for researchers in this exciting new field.

This review volume is motivated by the recent discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos by IceCube. The aim of the book is to bring together chapters on the status of current and future neutrino observatories with chapters on the implications and possible interpretations of the present observations and their upper limits. Each chapter is a mini-review of one aspect of the subject by leading experts. Taken together, the chapters constitute an up-to-date review of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos and their potential sources.

This outstanding thesis by Dominic Bowman provides a thorough investigation of long-standing questions as to whether amplitude modulation is astrophysical, whether it offers insights into pulsating stars, and whether simple beating of modes with stable amplitudes is unrecognised because of a lack of frequency resolution. In this thesis, the author studied a uniform sample of 983 delta Scuti stars—the most common type of main-sequence heat engine pulsator—that were observed nearly continuously for 4 years at stunning photometric precision of only a few parts per million by the Kepler space mission. With no mission planned to supersede the Kepler 4-year data set, this thesis will stand as the definitive study of these questions for many years. With revolutionary photometric data from the planet-hunting Kepler space mission, asteroseismic studies have been carried out on many hundreds of main-sequence solar-type stars and about 10,000 red giants. It is easy to understand why those stochastically driven stars have highly variable amplitudes. Over much of the rest of the Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) diagram, stellar pulsations are driven by heat mechanisms, which are much more regular than the stochastic driving in solar-like pulsators. Yet for decades, amplitude and frequency modulation of pulsation modes have been observed in almost all types of heat-driven pulsating stars. The author shows that the amplitude and frequency modulation are astrophysical, and he has investigated their implications and prospects to provide new insights into the delta Scuti stars and the many other types of heat-engine pulsators across the HR diagram.

This carefully researched monograph is a historical investigation of the illustrated Aratea astronomical manuscript and its many interpretations over the centuries. Aratus'270 B.C.E. Greek poem describing the constellations and astrological phenomena was translated and copied over 800 years into illuminated manuscripts that preserved and illustrated these ancient stories about the constellations. The Aratea survives in its entirety due to multiple translations from Greek to Latin and even to Arabic, with many illuminated versions being commissioned over the ages. The survey encompasses four interrelated disciplines: history of literature, history of myth, history of science, and history of art. Aratea manuscripts by their nature are a meeting place of these distinct branches, and the culling of information from historical literature and from the manuscripts themselves focuses on a wider, holistic view; a narrow approach could not provide a proper prospective. What is most essential to know about this work is that because of its successive incarnations it has survived and been reinterpreted through the centuries, which speaks to its importance in all of these disciplines. This book brings a better understanding of the history, changes and transmission of the original astronomical Phaenomena poem. Historians, art historians, astronomy lovers, and historians of astronomy will learn more specialized details concerning the Aratea and how the tradition survived from the Middle Ages. It is a credit to the poetry of Aratus and the later interpreters of the text that its pagan aspects were not edited nor removed, but respected and maintained in the exact same form despite the fact that all sixty Aratea manuscripts mentioned in this study were produced under the rule of Christianity.

This thesis combines a theoretical model of galaxy formation with a treatment of the radiative transfer in the titular dusty star-forming galaxies. Embedding this within the well-established ΛCDM (Lambda cold dark matter) cosmology, the author was able to simulate galaxy populations from which realistic observational images were synthesised. Based on further analysis, he shows that there is a good correspondence with observations from new instruments such as the SCUBA2 bolometric camera and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) interferometer, and reveals some novel aspects of this exciting galaxy population. In particular, he shows that blending of these galaxies in the imaging produces an artificial enhancement in their clustering, which he dubs “blending bias”. This implies that the host dark matter halo masses for these galaxies have previously been significantly overestimated. He also presents amongst the first predictions from a galaxy formation model for observations of these galaxies that will be made by the James Webb Space Telescope (the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope).

Space telescopes are among humankind's greatest scientific achievements of the last fifty years. This book describes the instruments themselves and what they were designed to discover about the Solar System and distant stars. Exactly how these telescopes were built and launched and the data they provided is explored. Only certain kinds of radiation can penetrate our planet's atmosphere, which limits what we can observe. But with space telescopes all this changed. We now have the means to'see'beyond Earth using ultraviolet, microwave, and infrared rays, X-rays and gamma rays. In this book we meet the pioneers and the telescopes that were built around their ideas. This book looks at space telescopes not simply chronologically but also in order of the electromagnetic spectrum, making it possible to understand better why they were made.

In this updated version of his classic on deep-sky imaging, astrophotographer Greg Parker describes how the latest technology can help amateur astronomers process their own beautiful images. Whether you are taking your own images from a backyard system or processing data from space telescopes, this book shows you how to enhance the visuals in the'electronic darkroom'for maximum beauty and impact. The wealth of options in the astrophotography realm has exploded in the recent past, and Parker proves an able guide for the interested imager to improve his or her comfort level against this exciting new technological backdrop. From addressing the latest DSLR equipment to updating the usage of Hyperstar imaging telescopes and explaining the utility of parallel imaging arrays, this edition brings the book fully up-to-date, and includes clear tutorials, helpful references, and gorgeous color astrophotography by one of the experts inthe field.

Targeting advanced students of astronomy and physics, as well as astronomers and physicists contemplating research on supernovae or related fields, David Branch and J. Craig Wheeler offer a modern account of the nature, causes and consequences of supernovae, as well as of issues that remain to be resolved.Owing especially to (1) the appearance of supernova 1987A in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud, (2) the spectacularly successful use of supernovae as distance indicators for cosmology, (3) the association of some supernovae with the enigmatic cosmic gamma-ray bursts, and (4) the discovery of a class of superluminous supernovae, the pace of supernova research has been increasing sharply. This monograph serves as a broad survey of modern supernova research and a guide to the current literature.The book's emphasis is on the explosive phases of supernovae. Part 1 is devoted to a survey of the kinds of observations that inform us about supernovae, some basic interpretations of such data, and an overview of the evolution of stars that brings them to an explosive endpoint. Part 2 goes into more detail on core-collapse and superluminous events: which kinds of stars produce them, and how do they do it? Part 3 is concerned with the stellar progenitors and explosion mechanisms of thermonuclear (Type Ia) supernovae. Part 4 is about consequences of supernovae and some applications to astrophysics and cosmology. References are provided in sufficient number to help the reader enter the literature.

Whether you're interested in visiting Apollo landing sites or the locations of classic sci-fi movies, this is the tourist guide for you! This tourist guide has a twist – it is a guide to a whole different world, which you can visit from the comfort of your backyard with the aid of nothing more sophisticated than an inexpensive telescope. It tells you the best times to view the Moon, the most exciting sights to look out for, and the best equipment to use, allowing you to snap stunning photographs as well as view the sights with your own eyes. Have you ever been inspired by stunning images from the Hubble telescope, or the magic of sci-fi special effects, only to look through a small backyard telescope at the disappointing white dot of a planet or faint blur of a galaxy? Yet the Moon is different. Seen through even a relatively cheap'scope, it springs into life like a real place, with mountains and valleys and rugged craters. With a bit of imagination, you can even picture yourself as a sightseeing visitor there – which in a sense you are.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.The third edition of this indispensable book in radio interferometry provides extensive updates to the second edition, including results and technical advances from the past decade; discussion of arrays that now span the full range of the radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum observable from the ground, 10 MHz to 1 THz; an analysis of factors that affect array speed; and an expanded discussion of digital signal-processing techniques and of scintillation phenomena and the effects of atmospheric water vapor on image distortion, among many other topics.With its comprehensiveness and detailed exposition of all aspects of the theory and practice of radio interferometry and synthesis imaging, this book has established itself as a standard reference in the field. It begins with an overview of the basic principles of radio astronomy, a short history of the development of radio interferometry, and an elementary discussion of the operation of an interferometer. From this foundation, it delves into the underlying relationships of interferometry, sets forth the coordinate systems and parameters to describe synthesis imaging, and examines configurations of antennas for multielement synthesis arrays. Various aspects of the design and response of receiving systems are discussed, as well as the special requirements of very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI), image reconstruction, and recent developments in image enhancement techniques and astrometric observations. Also discussed are propagation effects in the media between the source and the observer, and radio interference, factors that limit performance. Related techniques are introduced, including intensity interferometry, optical interferometry, lunar occultations, tracking of satellites in Earth orbit, interferometry for remote Earth sensing, and holographic measurements of antenna surfaces. This book will benefit anyone whois interested in radio interferometry techniques for astronomy, astrometry, geodesy, or electrical engineering.

ESPAS provides an e-Infrastructure to support access to a wide range of archived observations and model derived data for the near-Earth space environment, extending from the Earth's middle atmosphere up to the outer radiation belts. To this end, ESPAS will serve as a central access hub for researchers who wish to exploit multi-instrument multipoint data for scientific discovery, model development and validation, and data assimilation, among others. Observation based and model enhanced scientific understanding of the physical state of the Earth's space environment and its evolution is critical to advancing space weather and space climate studies, two very active branches of current scientific research. ESPAS offers an interoperable data infrastructure that enables users to find, access, and exploit near-Earth space environment observations from ground-based and spaceborne instruments and data from relevant models, obtained from distributed repositories. In order to facilitate efficient user queries ESPAS allows a highly flexible workflow scheme to select and request the desired data sets. ESPAS has the strategic goal of making Europe a leading player in the efficient use and dissemination of near-Earth space environment information offered by institutions, laboratories and research teams in Europe and worldwide, that are active in collecting, processing and distributing scientific data. Therefore, ESPAS is committed to support and foster new data providers who wish to promote the easy use of their data and models by the research community via a central access framework. ESPAS is open to all potential users interested in near-Earth space environment data, including those who are active in basic scientific research, technical or operational development and commercial applications.

Author Joseph Ashley explains video astronomy's many benefits in this comprehensive reference guide for amateurs. Video astronomy offers a wonderful way to see objects in far greater detail than is possible through an eyepiece, and the ability to use the modern, entry-level video camera to image deep space objects is a wonderful development for urban astronomers in particular, as it helps sidestep the issue of light pollution. The author addresses both the positive attributes of these cameras for deep space imaging as well as the limitations, such as amp glow. The equipment needed for imaging as well as how it is configured is identified with hook-up diagrams and photographs. Imaging techniques are discussed together with image processing (stacking and image enhancement). Video astronomy has evolved to offer great results and great ease of use, and both novices and more experienced amateurs can use this book to find the set-up that works best for them. Flexible and portable, they open up a whole new way of seeing space.

This prize-winning Ph.D. thesis by Chris Harrison adopts a multi-faceted approach to address the lack of decisive observational evidence, utilising large observational data sets from several world-leading telescopes. Developing several novel observational techniques, Harrison demonstrated that energetic winds driven by Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are found in a large number of galaxies, with properties in agreement with model predictions. One of the key unsolved problems in astrophysics is understanding the influence of AGN, the sites of growing supermassive black holes, on the evolution of galaxies. Leading theoretical models predict that AGN drive energetic winds into galaxies, regulating the formation of stars. However, until now, we have lacked the decisive observational evidence to confirm or refute these key predictions. Careful selection of targets allowed Harrison, to reliably place these detailed observations into the context of the overall galaxy population. However, in disagreement with the model predictions, Harrison showed that AGN have little global effect on star formation in galaxies. Theoretical models are now left with the challenge of explaining these results.

Perfect for science fairs or sleepovers, this book will inspire young readers to learn about constellations, the Sun, and even the Moon through hands-on experiments that use easy-to-obtain materials and the scientific method.

This book enables anyone with suitable instruments to undertake an examination of nebulae and see or photograph them in detail. Nebulae, ethereal clouds of gas and dust, are among the most beautiful objects to view in the night sky. These star-forming regions are a common target for observers and photographers. Griffiths describes many of the brightest and best nebulae and includes some challenges for the more experienced observer. Readers learn the many interesting astrophysical properties of these clouds, which are an important subject of study in astronomy and astrobiology. Non-mathematical in approach, the text is easily accessible to anyone with an interest in the subject. A special feature is the inclusion of an observational guide to 70 objects personally observed or imaged by the author. The guide also includes photographs of each object for ease of identification along with their celestial coordinates, magnitudes and other pertinent information. Observing Nebulae provides a ready resource to allow anyone with a little experience in astronomy, whether professional or amateur, to locate, identify and record the nebulae in our home galaxy. The author enables the observer to use a telescope and filters to the best advantage to see these celestial wonders, or to couple filters to a CCD camera or digital SLR camera in order to take quality images of celestial objects. By using these techniques it is even possible to make a valid contribution to professional investigations. And the views are unbeatable.

Almost every practical astronomer eventually aspires to have a fixed, permanent observatory for his or her telescope. A roll-off roof or dome observatory is the answer for the most popular home observatory design. Building a Roll-Off or Dome Observatory will help you decide whether to embark on the venture and will certainly increase your enthusiasm for the project.The author, both an amateur astronomer and a professional landscape architect, answers many of the common questions asked about observatory construction, covering the following topics:• Zoning, and by-law requirements common to most states, towns and municipalities• Where to locate the observatory• How to tailor the observatory for your particular needs• Tools and structural components required• Possible variations in design• How to combine the structure with other structures (incorporating a garden patio under the gantry inthe roll-off roof observatory, for example) This fully detailed outlines step-by-step construction, with professional detailed diagrams for each phase of construction.

This most recent book from lunar expert Charles J. Byrne combines the latest comprehensive imagery, topography and gravity data from all three recent Moon missions, Kaguya, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and GRAIL. These major polar-orbit surveys are presented here in compact form for the convenience of amateur and practical astronomers concerned with the Moon. Chosen from the Near and Far Side's large craters and basins over 200 km in diameter, each of the 71 highlighted features is depicted with a two-page presentation of the data that includes false color topographic maps next to the mission images. Additionally, the features are presented in the estimated chronological sequence of their creation, based on a consideration of stratigraphy (overlapping layers from neighboring features) and the relative degradation of surface features. Using this sequence as a way to convey the relative ages of lunar features, the author presents various theories concerning the Moon's impact and thermal history e.g. the available evidence allows for constraints to be placed on the duration of the Late Heavy Bombardment period. The relationships between impact dynamics and variations in the gravity field of the Moon are also discussed. The new mission data makes possible this renewed conjecture about the history and evolution of the Moon, which is presented here with much worthwhile information for amateurs and professionals alike.

Since the time of Galileo, astronomy has been driven by technological innovation. With each major advance has come the opportunity and enthusiasm to survey the sky in a way that was not possible before. It is these surveys of discovery that are the subject of this book.In the first few chapters the author discusses what astronomers learned from visible-light surveys, first with the naked eye, then using telescopes in the seventeenth century, and photography in the nineteenth century. He then moves to the second half of the twentieth century when the skies started to be swept by radio, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma ray telescopes, many of which had to be flown in satellites above the Earth's atmosphere. These surveys led to the discovery of pulsars, quasars, molecular clouds, protostars, bursters, and black holes. He then returns to Earth to describe several currently active large-scale projects that methodically collect images, photometry and spectra that are then stored in vast publicly-accessible databases. Dr. Wynn-Williams also describes several recent “microsurveys” – detailed studies of small patches of sky that have led to major advances in our understanding of cosmology and exoplanets.

This book is dedicated to all the people interested in the CoRoT mission and the beautiful data that were delivered during its six year duration. Either amateurs, professional, young or senior researchers, they will find treasures not only at the time of this publication but also in the future twenty or thirty years. It presents the data in their final version, explains how they have been obtained, how to handle them, describes the tools necessary to understand them, and where to find them. It also highlights the most striking first results obtained up to now. CoRoT has opened several unexpected directions of research and certainly new ones still to be discovered.

Amateur astronomers who have been disappointed by the results of an observing session can take comfort in the guidance of this book, which advises how to still gain useful experience in seemingly'failed'nights at the telescope. In a world with imperfect seeing conditions, incredible observing sessions are often mixed with less inspiring ones, discouraging the amateur observer. This book is designed to minimize subsequent disappointment for astronomers who encounter a few bad observing sessions, helping novice observers take something worthwhile away each and every time they go out under the night sky, regardless of the observations that were originally planned. Almost every observer remembers his first sight of ringed Saturn, hanging in the blackness of space. Practitioners agree that there is something special about visual observing. Real-time observations at the eyepiece can provide fleeting yet intense feelings that connect us with the universe in unique ways. But when expectations aren't met at the eyepiece, there are other ways to profit from the practice of astronomy. These rewards, though less showy, are well worth cultivating.This is a book that will help the reader see what constitutes a “successful” visual observing session. It explains the nature of the objects that the observer is seeing and advises how best to use their equipment. There are many hints and tips about how best to locate, recall, and record observations, including suggestions for trips to areas where there are dark skies and to public observatories. Amateur astronomy is a journey from the urban backyard all the way to dark rural skies, and with this guide the journey can be smooth.

A leading astronomer takes readers behind the scenes of the thrilling science of stellar archaeologyAstronomers study the oldest observable stars in the universe in much the same way archaeologists study ancient artifacts on Earth. Anna Frebel takes readers into the far-flung depths of space and time to provide a gripping firsthand account of the cutting-edge science of stellar archaeology. Weaving the latest findings in astronomy with her own compelling insights as one of the world's leading researchers in the field, she explains how sections of the night sky are'excavated'in the hunt for these extremely rare, 13-billion-year-old relic stars and how this astonishing quest is revealing tantalizing new details about the origins and evolution of the cosmos. Along the way, Frebel recounts her own stories of discovery, offering an insider's perspective on this exciting frontier of science.

An ideal resource for lecturers, this book provides a comprehensive review of experimental space astronomy. The number of astronomers whose knowledge and interest is concentrated on interpreting observations has grown substantially in the past decades; yet, the number of scientists who are familiar with and capable of dealing with instrumentation has dwindled. All of the authors of this work are leading and experienced experts and practitioners who have designed, built, tested, calibrated, launched and operated advanced observing equipment for space astronomy. This book also contains concise information on the history of the field, supported by appropriate references. Moreover, scientists working in other fields will be able to get a quick overview of the salient issues of observing photons in any one of the various energy, wavelength and frequency ranges accessible in space. This book was written with the intention to make it accessible to advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

Chapter 1 - NGC 6822 Chapter 2 - NGC 147 Chapter 3 - Messier 32 Chapter 4 - Messier 110 Chapter 5 - NGC 300 Chapter 6 - Other Nearest Galaxies

Chapter 1 - Nucleic Acid Sequence Chapter 2 - Nucleic Acid Secondary Structure Chapter 3 - Nucleic Acid Tertiary Structure Chapter 4 - DNA Chapter 5 - RNA Chapter 6 - Nucleic Acid Double Helix Chapter 7 - DNA Supercoil Chapter 8 - Protein Structure Chapter 9 - Proteinogenic Amino Acid Chapter 10 - Protein Primary Structure Chapter 11 - Protein Secondary Structure Chapter 12 - Protein Tertiary Structure Chapter 13 - Ribbon Diagram Chapter 14 - Protein Domain

Chapter 1 - Apollo Abort Guidance System Chapter 2 - Apollo Command/Service Module Chapter 3 - Apollo Guidance Computer Chapter 4 - Apollo PGNCS Chapter 5 - Apollo (Spacecraft) Chapter 6 - Apollo TV Camera Chapter 7 - Apollo/Skylab A7L Chapter 8 - Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package Chapter 9 - Apollo Lunar Module

There are'voids'obscuring all kinds of objects in the cosmos. Voids may be within an object, or between an object and us. Dark Nebulae, Dark Lanes, and Dust Lanes looks out into the deep sky at those apparent dark regions in space, which are among the most compelling telescopic destinations for amateur observers. One famous example is Barnard's dark nebulae - those striking dark clouds set against the background of stars in the Milky Way. But there are countless other less well known examples. These dark regions are often ignored altogether or commented upon only briefly in astronomy books, and it is all too easy to overlook the treasure trove they offer the observer. Dark Nebulae, Dark Lanes, and Dust Lanes is a great source of practical information for observers. Such voids may be successfully observed using conventional observing methods, but they are often far better seen with technologies such as light-pollution filters, CCD video cameras, and image intensifiers. This book explains the optimal ways to observe each object in detail.

,This is the updated, widely revised, restructured and expanded third edition of Léna et al.'s successful work Observational Astrophysics. It presents a synthesis on tools and methods of observational astrophysics of the early 21st century. Written specifically for astrophysicists and graduate students, this textbook focuses on fundamental and sometimes practical limitations on the ultimate performance that an astronomical system may reach, rather than presenting particular systems in detail. In little more than a decade there has been extraordinary progress in imaging and detection technologies, in the fields of adaptive optics, optical interferometry, in the sub-millimetre waveband, observation of neutrinos, discovery of exoplanets, to name but a few examples. The work deals with ground-based and space-based astronomy and their respective fields. And it also presents the ambitious concepts behind space missions aimed for the next decades. Avoiding particulars, it covers the whole of the electromagnetic spectrum, and provides an introduction to the new forms of astronomy becoming possible with gravitational waves and neutrinos. It also treats numerical aspects of observational astrophysics: signal processing, astronomical databases and virtual observatories.

Building an astronomical telescope offers the amateur astronomer an exciting challenge, with the possibility of ending up with a far bigger and better telescope than could have been afforded otherwise. In the past, the starting point has always been the grinding and polishing of at least the primary mirror, a difficult and immensely time-consuming process. But now that the Internet has brought us together in a global village, purchasing off-the-shelf goods such as parabolic mirrors, eyepieces, lenses, and telescope tubes, is possible. There are also a vast number of used mirrors and lenses out there, and it is now possible to track them down almost anywhere in the world. Online stores and auction houses have facilitated commerce regarding all sorts of useful optical components at a reasonable price. This is a book about making telescopes from available parts. It provides guidance on where to look and what to look for in selecting items useful for telescope making and explains how to assemble these components to produce an excellent instrument on a tight budget. At one time, many amateurs made their own telescopes from home-made parts. In today's rushed world, that has almost become a lost art. The Internet offers a wonderful alternative to either buying a pricey scope fully assembled or making your own from scratch.

With a lively yet rigorous and quantitative approach, Frederick R. Chromey introduces the fundamental topics in optical observational astronomy for undergraduates. Focussing on the basic principles of light detection, telescope optics, coordinate systems and data analysis, students are introduced to modern astronomical observation techniques and measurements. Cutting-edge technologies such as advanced CCD detectors and adaptive optics are presented through the physical principles on which they are based, helping students understand the power of modern space and ground-based telescopes, and the motivations and limitations of future development. Discussion of statistics and measurement uncertainty enables students to confront the important questions of data quality. With a purposeful structure and clear approach, this is an essential resource for all students of observational astronomy. It explains the theoretical foundations for observational practices and reviews essential physics to support students'mastery of the subject. Student understanding is strengthened through over 120 exercises and problems.