Table Of ContentORGANIZATIONS AND STRATEGIES IN ASTRONOMY 7
ASTROPHYSICS AND
SPACE SCIENCE LIBRARY
VOLUME 343
EDITORIALBOARD
Chairman
W.B. BURTON,National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A.
([email protected]); University of Leiden, The Netherlands ([email protected])
MEMBERS
F. BERTOLA, University of Padua, Italy;
J.P. CASSINELLI, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA;
C.J. CESARSKY, European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany;
P. EHRENFREUND, Leiden University, The Netherlands;
O. ENGVOLD, University of Oslo, Norway;
A. HECK, Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, France;
E.P.J. VAN DEN HEUVEL, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
V.M. KASPI, McGill University, Montreal, Canada;
J.M.E. KUIJPERS, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
H. VAN DER LAAN, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands;
P.G. MURDIN, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK;
F. PACINI, Istituto Astronomia Arcetri, Firenze, Italy;
V. RADHAKRISHNAN, Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India;
B.V. SOMOV, Astronomical Institute, Moscow State University, Russia;
R.A. SUNYAEV, Space Research Institute, Moscow, Russia
ORGANIZATIONS
AND STRATEGIES
IN ASTRONOMY
VOLUME 7
Edited by
ANDRÉHECK
Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory,
France
AC.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
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ISBN-13 978-1-4020-5300-9 (HB)
ISBN-10 1-4020-5301-0 (e-book)
ISBN-13 978-1-4020-5301-6 (e-book)
Published by Springer,
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© 2006 Springer
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Tableof contents
• Foreword
(R.M. Bonnet/ISSI) ix
• Editorial1
• British Astronomy
(P. Murdin/Inst. Astron. Cambridge & RAS) 13
• Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Physics in Greece
(V. Charmandaris/Univ. Crete) 49
• Astronomy in Ukraine
(Ya.V. Pavlenko/MAO et al.) 71
• Focussing European Astronomy
– ESO’s Role in the ‘Comeback’ of European Astronomy
(C. Cesarsky & C. Madsen/ESO) 97
• The International Space Science Institute (ISSI)
– An Interview with Roger M. Bonnet 115
• The International Space University (ISU)
(W. Peeters/ISU) 125
• EuroPlaNet: European Planetology Network
(M. Blanc/CESR et al.) 155
• RadioNet: Advanced Radio Astronomy Across Europe
(A.G. Gunn/JBO) 171
• Selecting and Scheduling Observing Proposals
at NRAO Telescopes
(D. Hogg/NRAO) 181
v
vi TABLE OF CON TEN TS
• Selecting and Scheduling Observations
at the IRAM Observatories
(M. Grewing/IRAM) 203
• Selecting, Scheduling and Carrying out
Observing Programmes at CFHT
(Chr. Veillet/CFHT) 227
• The Scholarly Journals
of the American Astronomical Society
(R.W. Milkey/AAS) 241
• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
(P. Murdin/RAS) 263
• Astronomy & Astrophysics
– A Journal of Astronomers for Astronomers
(G. Meynet/Geneva Obs.) 273
• LISA
– The Library and Information Services
in Astronomy Conferences
(B. Corbin/USNO & U. Grothkopf/ESO) 285
• The ADS Success Story
– An Interview with Gu¨nther Eichhorn 307
• The Progressive World Penetration
of the Strasbourg Astronomical Data Center (1970-1990)
(A. Heck/Strasbourg Obs.) 315
• The Genesis of the IAU WG on Astronomical Data
(G.A. Wilkins/Univ. Exeter) 355
• Biographical Sources for Astronomers
(W.R. Dick) 367
• German Astronomy in the Third Reich
(H.W. Duerbeck/VUB) 383
TABLE OF CON TEN TS vii
• The Psychology of Physical Science
(G.J. Feist/UCD) 415
• Thinking Like an Astronomer
(M.E. Gorman/Univ. Virginia) 419
• Mercury Magazine: The Incarnation of a Society
(J.C. White II/Gettysburg Coll.) 429
• Sterne und Weltraum
– A Popular Magazine Devoted to Science
and its Use in School Teaching
(J. Staude/MPIA) 439
• Communicating Astronomy with the Public
and the Washington Charter
(I. Robson/UK ATC) 449
• Communicating X-Ray Astronomy
(M. Watzke/Chandra X-Ray Ctr) 463
• Establishing an Effective Education
and Public Outreach Program at Gemini Observatory
– A Case Study
(P. Michaud/Gemini Obs.) 477
• Public Outreach
at The University of Texas McDonald Observatory
– A Brief History and Current Overview
(S.L. Preston/McDonald Obs.) 495
• The Europlanetarium Genk
– The Story of a Planetarium
(Chr. Janssen/Europlan.) 517
• The INSAP V Experience on Art and Astronomy
(M. Bolt/Adler Planetarium) 537
viii TABLE OF CON TEN TS
• What Does the New Climate for Dialogue and Debate
Mean for Communicating Astronomy?
(St. Miller/UCL) 543
• Communicating Astronomy
– Successes and Limits
(P. Murdin/Inst. Astron. Cambridge) 553
• Updated Bibliography of Socio-Astronomy 565
FOREWORD
AstronomyisthemostancientsciencehumanshavepracticedonEarth.
Itisascienceofextremesandoflargenumbers:extremesoftime–fromthe
big bang to infinity –, of distances, of temperatures, of density and masses,
ofmagneticfield,etc.Itisasciencewhichishighlyvisible,notonlybecause
stars and planets are accessible in the sky to the multitude, but also be-
cause the telescopes themselves are easily distinguishable, usually on top of
scenic mountains, and also because their cost usually represent a substan-
tialproportionofthenation’sbudgetandofthetaxpayerscontributionsto
that budget. As such, astronomy cannot pass unnoticed. It touches on the
origins of matter, of the Universe where we live, on life and on our destiny.
Ittouchesonphilosophyaswellasonreligion.Astronomyisthedirectcon-
tactofhumankindwithitsoriginsandtheimmensityofuniversalnature.It
is indeed a science of observation where experimentation is practically im-
possible and which is ruled by mathematics, physics, chemistry, statistical
analysis and modelling, while offering the largest number of verifications
of the most advanced theories of fundamental physics such as general rel-
ativity and gravitation. At the beginning of the 21st century astronomy is
clearly a multidisciplinary activity touching on all aspects of science. It is
thereforelogicalthatinthepastandstillnow,astronomyhasattractedthe
most famous scientists, be they pure observers, mathematicians, physicists,
biologists, experimentalists, and even politicians.
It is open to the non scientists: amateurs can practice astronomy and
theydoaboundallaroundtheworld,sometimescontributingtodiscoveries
like in the case of comets. The images of galaxies and of planets do possess
an undisputable beauty and, naturally, astronomy is a subject of interest
and most often of excitation to the public. It is one of the most popular
branches of science. The drawback, unfortunately, is that it has a tendency
of sometimes lying at the limit of scientific rigor. However, the rigorous
scientific character of astronomy as well as its popularity re-enforces the
need for a broad distribution of scientific results and discoveries in the
peer-reviewed journals as well as in more popular magazines and reviews.
ix
A. Heck (ed.), Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy, ix–xi.
© 2006 Springer.
