Observatories In Earth Orbit And Beyond

When I became President of International Astronomical Union Commission 44 for the triennial period 1985-1988, several members of the Organizing Committee and I agreed that it would be a good idea for our Commission to host a conference on observatories in space in view of their increasingly important role in astronomi cal research. IAU Colloquium Number 123 "Observatories in Earth Orbit and Beyond" is the first colloquium sponsored by IAU Com mission 44 on Astronomy from Space, although Commission 44 has co-sponsored numerous colloquia and symposia in the past. The past two decades have seen a flourishing of astronomical observatories in space. Over a dozen orbiting observatories have opened up a new window on the universe, providing hitherto una vailable data in the electromagnetic spectral range from gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet to infrared and radio. This has clearly demon strated the crucial nature of astronomical observations from space. The invited talks of present colloquium consist primarily of reviews of currently operating observatories in space, future observatories that have been approved by sponsoring government or space agencies, the launch systems of U.S.A., E.S.A., U.S.S.R. and Japan, discussions of various orbits and sites (such as the Moon), and alternate approaches in designing space observatories. Several panel discus sions addressed those issues as well as the major unsolved problems of astronomy. Contributed poster papers included descriptions of space observatories that are in planning stage.

"Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts" appearing twice a year has become oneof the fundamental publications in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics andneighbouring sciences. It is the most important English-language abstracting journal in the mentioned branches. The abstrats are classified under more than a hundred subject categories, thus permitting a quick survey of the whole extended material. The AAA is a valuable and important publication for all students and scientists working in the fields of astronomy and related sciences. As such it represents a necessary ingredient of any astronomical library all over the world.

Infrared astronomy has undergone an enormous revolution during the last decade. Despite the great technical difficulties of building detectors in a cryogenic environment, the scientific advances in infrared astronomy have been astounding. In the near future many more advances can be expected from still newer developments in telescope and detector designs. High quality detector arrays and passively cooled telescopes are very promising techniques for achieving considerably larger apertures. This volume contains the refereed papers from the workshop on 'Next Generation Infrared Observatory', dealing with all new aspects of future infrared telescopes.

Since the Space Age began a quarter-century ago, astronomers have been able to reach out and often touch celestial bodies that formerly could only be dimly viewed from afar. Probes have flown by or landed on many of the planets. Astronauts have made direct observations from Earth orbit and on the Moon. Most important, a host of satellites in Earth orbit have recorded the emissions of X-ray, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation from distant sources normally invisible beneath the atmosphere. And when the Space Telescope goes aloft, man's vision of the cosmos will be extended further still. The essays in this book describe the results of twenty-five years of space observation, summarize what has been learned so far, and speculate on the possibilities that are now within grasp. Leo Goldberg provides a point of departure by describing what astronomy was like when it was limited to peering at the night sky through Earthbound telescopes. Goldberg also expresses the hopes astronomers had for discovery in the anticipated Age of Space. The chapters that follow reveal what has been discovered about the geological features of the inner planets (James W. Head, III), the Moon (John A. Wood), the giant planets as seen during the close encounters of the Voyagers (Bradford A. Smith), and the Sun (Randolph H. Levine). The next chapters document the first ventures into deep space and describe the understanding of a previously invisible universe revealed by ultraviolet sources (Andrea K. Dupree) and X-ray sources within the Milky Way (Jonathan E. Grindlay) and beyond (Paul Gorenstein). George B. Field, who chaired the National Academy of Science committee charged with developing priorities for U.S. astronomical research in the 1980s, discusses the future of space astronomy. An epilogue by Ursula B. Marvin describes a planet body that until recently had never been seen from the vantage point of space: the Earth itself. The editors and most of the contributors are affiliated with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. James Cornell also edited, with Alan P. Lightman, Revealing the Universe: Prediction and Proof in Astronomy (MIT Press paperback).

There is no dearth of books on telescope optics and, indeed, optics is clearly a keyelementinthedesignandconstructionoftelescopes.Butitisbynomeans the only important element. As telescopes become larger and more costly, other aspects such as structures, pointing, wavefront control, enclosures, and project management become just as critical. Although most of the technical knowledge required for all these ?elds is available in various specialized books, journal articles, and technical reports, they are not necessarily written with application to telescopes in mind. This bookisa?rstattemptatassemblinginasingletextthebasicastronomicaland engineering principles used in the design and construction of large telescopes. Itsaimistobroadlycoverallmajoraspectsofthe?eld,fromthefundamentals ofastronomicalobservationto optics, controlsystems,structural,mechanical, andthermalengineering,aswellasspecializedtopicssuchassiteselectionand program management. This subject is so vast that an in-depth treatment is obviously imprac- cal. Our intent is therefore only to provide a comprehensive introduction to the essential aspects of telescope design and construction. This book will not replace specialized scienti?c and technical texts. But we hope that it will be useful for astronomers, managers, and systems engineers who seek a basic understanding of the underlying principles of telescope making, and for s- cialists who wish to acquaint themselves with the fundamental requirements and approaches of their colleagues in other disciplines.

Up-to-date accounts of recent and future advances in short-wavelength spectroscopy of laboratory and cosmic plasmas.