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957 results in Observational Astronomy, Techniques and Instrumentation

Page 13 of 48

Unveiling Galaxies
  • The Role of Images in Astronomical Discovery
  • Jean-René Roy
  • Published online:
    06 October 2017
    Print publication:
    12 October 2017
  • Galaxies are known as the building blocks of the universe, but arriving at this understanding has been a thousand-year odyssey. This journey is told through the lens of the evolving use of images as investigative tools. Initial chapters explore how early insights developed in line with new methods of scientific imaging, particularly photography. The volume then explores the impact of optical, radio and x-ray imaging techniques. The final part of the story discusses the importance of atlases of galaxies; how astronomers organised images in ways that educated, promoted ideas and pushed for new knowledge. Images that created confusion as well as advanced knowledge are included to demonstrate the challenges faced by astronomers and the long road to understanding galaxies. By examining developments in imaging, this text places the study of galaxies in its broader historical context, contributing to both astronomy and the history of science.

  • Chapter 6 - Astronomical telescopes

  • Frederick R. Chromey, Vassar College, New York
  • Book:
    To Measure the Sky
    Published online:
    05 February 2019
    Print publication:
    20 October 2016, pp 150-192

  • Summary

    While I disagree with Proust about the thrill of seeing utterly new things (I’m sorry, that is an adventure), if I wonder about seeing things “with new eyes,” telescopes immediately come to mind. No instrument has so revolutionized a science, nor so long and thoroughly dominated its practice, as has the telescope astronomy. No instrument so simple (amateurs still make their own) has produced such a sustained transformation in humanity’s understanding of the universe.

  • Chapter 8 - Detectors

  • Frederick R. Chromey, Vassar College, New York
  • Book:
    To Measure the Sky
    Published online:
    05 February 2019
    Print publication:
    20 October 2016, pp 232-270

  • Summary

    Astronomical detection, even more than the work of Sherlock Holmes, is an exact science. Watson, though, has an equally important point: no astronomer, not even the coldest and most unemotional, is immune to that pleasant, even romantic, thrill that comes when the detector does work and the universe does seem to be speaking.

  • Chapter 2 - Uncertainty

  • Frederick R. Chromey, Vassar College, New York
  • Book:
    To Measure the Sky
    Published online:
    05 February 2019
    Print publication:
    20 October 2016, pp 32-58

  • Summary

    Upon foundations of evidence, astronomers erect splendid narratives about the lives of stars, the prevalence of habitable planets, or the fate of the universe. Inaccurate or imprecise evidence weakens the foundation and imperils the astronomical story it supports. Incorrect ideas and theories are vital to science, which normally works by proving many, many ideas to be wrong until only one remains. Wrong data, on the other hand, are deadly.

  • Chapter 11 - Spectroscopy

  • Frederick R. Chromey, Vassar College, New York
  • Book:
    To Measure the Sky
    Published online:
    05 February 2019
    Print publication:
    20 October 2016, pp 362-416

  • Summary

    Beginning in 1862, Huggins used a spectroscope to probe the chemical nature of stars and nebulae. Since then, spectrometry has been the tool for the observational investigation of almost every important astrophysical question, through direct or indirect measurement of temperature, chemical abundance, gas pressure, wavelength shift, and magnetic field strength. The book by Hearnshaw (1986), from which the above quotes were taken, provides a history of astronomical spectroscopy prior to 1965. Since 1965, the importance of spectroscopy has only increased. This chapter introduces some basic ideas about spectrometer design and use. Kitchin (1995, 2008) and Schroeder (1987) give a more complete and advanced treatment, and Hearnshaw (2009) provides a history of the actual instruments.

  • Chapter 1 - Light

  • Frederick R. Chromey, Vassar College, New York
  • Book:
    To Measure the Sky
    Published online:
    05 February 2019
    Print publication:
    20 October 2016, pp 1-31

  • Summary

    Astronomy is not for the faint of heart. Almost everything it cares for is forbiddingly remote, tantalizingly untouchable, and invisible in the daytime, when most sensible people do their work. Nevertheless, many – including you, brave reader – have enough curiosity and courage to collect the flimsy evidence that trickles in from the universe outside our atmosphere and hope it may hold a message.

Page 13 of 48